Happy 4th of July!

We had such an awesome holiday weekend. Spencer didn't have school on Friday, so we went down to Columbus a day early and went to the temple. It was the first time we'd been back since Sydney was born, and it was a much needed visit! I'm so grateful we were able to go, and it was so nice to be able to leave Sydney in good hands- she got to bond with her Aunt Shauna.

On Saturday morning we went to Upper Arlington's 4th of July parade. The streets were packed! It was fun to dress Sydney up in the little shirt and bow I made for her, while I was content to look like I just woke up (read: glasses, ponytail, very little makeup).

A local grocer sponsored a hot dog stand across the street from where we watched the parade. Nothin' like eating free hot dogs at 9am (sick); still, Shauna and I were the only ones to opt out. Spencer claimed it was "the best hot dog I've ever eaten." They also passed out free firework popsicles, which I was happy to take advantage of.

Uncle Sam riding his sweet bike.

Spencer making Sydney laugh.

Our sweet girl.

That afternoon my Mom and Dad came over and we got Shauna's house ready for their annual party.

Sydney hanging out with Grandpa.

Shauna and I made lots of these cute pom-poms and hung them inside...

and out.

We ate so much at the party that night that I felt like I was going to explode. It was all delicious! The climax of the celebration was fireworks in the park. We had seen downtown's Red, White, and Boom fireworks from the freeway the night before, and it was so nice (for Sydney's sake) to get the view without the sound. I was much more concerned for the park fireworks since they were being set off literally right in front of us. She fell asleep in her stroller on our walk over there, and I couldn't believe she stayed asleep for a majority of the show! When she did wake up, I held her and plugged her ears, and she went right back to sleep.

Relaxing while we waited for the fireworks to start.

Just had to post this picture to capture Spencer's face. Classic.

Sydney at 8 months

Sydney's eighth month has been a really fun one. She's eating a lot, playing a lot, and just being her happy self. I'm glad to have such a content little girl to experiment with, as I often wonder what the heck I "should be" doing. How did mom's of old ever get by without a plethora of books to consult about every little concern that comes up?

It took a while for her to get the stability to sit up for longer periods of time, but now she's a pro at it.

We went to the local kiddie pool a few times last month, and it surprisingly went over really well. The bottom of the pool was textured, and she was almost more interested in feeling that then she was in playing with her toys.

Spencer got to come with us once; it's really just an excuse for us to try to get tan (which, as you can see, we both really need!).

The last week of month eight was a big one. On June 26th, her bottom left incisor cut through, and the right one followed on July 2nd. She didn't even really seem to be cranky for the whole experience either, she just wanted to chew on everything (which is really nothing new).

On June 30th, my cousin Heather came over with her little boy Alex for a play date. As they were getting ready to go, Heather got a little pink Johnson & Johnson lotion out of her diaper bag, and Sydney crawled forward to get it. She's been up on all fours and pushing herself backwards for several weeks, so it's fun to see her figure out the forward direction.

I bought her first sippy cups a few weeks ago, but I think it will take a while for her to get it. For now she pretty much just likes to gnaw on the spout, and I'll sometimes take out the valve and help her get a drink so she can see it's more than just a toy.

Her stinky diapers are easier to clean up, but must be immediately banished to the garage so they don't stink up her room.

Bedtime is usually around 8:30pm, and she'll usually sleep until about 8:30am, waking up once to eat.

Our little Sydney is growing up! Here's to a happy 9th month!

Time Flies

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago we were just barely getting hitched. That sounds like a long time, and at the same time hardly sounds like any time at all. Funny how that works.

Our wedding day was so beautiful. I remember melting the ribbon on my veil with the iron that morning, getting my hair done, forgetting my bouquet in Wendy's fridge when we went to the temple for pictures before getting married, sweating like a man during said pictures because it was like 92 degrees outside with 80% humidity at 10:30am, trying desperately to not cry during the ceremony but failing miserably, coming out of the temple to find that no one was really waiting for us, going to our wedding luncheon, driving up to Medina for the reception, showing off my new hubby to friends and family, heading to the hotel afterward. It was certainly a day to remember!

How little we knew each other on that day! (e.g. Spencer had no idea how easy it is for me to get emotional, and I had no idea his mission in Argentina left him with bowel problems.) But we knew we loved each other, which I guess is the most important thing.

The best part is that 4 years later, after all of our flaws have been exposed, we're still in love.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Stars, Stripes, & Sydney

My neighbor Mary Pat and I have been sharing a subscription to Family Fun magazine, and I thought the 4th of July t-shirts in them were so cute. I decided to make one for Sydney for her first Independence Day celebration. I found some cute fabric on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics and a little navy t-shirt at Target.

I traced my star templates onto the fabric squares, then pinned them to the inside of the shirt.

Next I stitched along the edges of the stars. This picture shows the shirt right side out.

When I was finished stitching, I gathered the t-shirt fabric and made a few cuts so the patterned fabric would show through. I think if I did it all over again I would have made all of the stars bigger, but I'm pretty happy with the end result!

In other news, a few weeks ago I found this ExerSaucer at a yard sell for $5. It was filthy, but after about 15 Clorox wipes and a run through the laundry, everything looked like new.

It's especially helpful when I'm getting dinner ready or loading/emptying the dishwasher. She is just so entertained, and I don't have to worry about her rolling away and finding a cord to chew on :)

We love this wide, toothless grin (or as Spencer calls it in his fancy dentist lingo, her "edentulous" smile). Such a happy girl!

Clarke and Char Round 2

When Clarke and Char passed through on their way home, we were excited that they decided to stay a few extra days. On Thursday morning we went to Kirtland for a quick Church tour. I think this was Char's first time seeing everything.

Clarke, Andrew, Charlotte, Lucy, Me, & Sydney in front of the Whitney Store.

My favorite room in here is the School of the Prophets. Whenever the Sister missionaries read the testimonies of men who witnessed Christ's appearance there, I am overwhelmed with the feeling that it is a sacred and special place.

After the tour we enjoyed having a picnic next to the Visitor's Center.

We had already made plans to go to the Kirtland Strawberry Festival with the Heaton's on Saturday afternoon, so after the rainclouds cleared away we all headed up to check it out.

Me, Stacey, and one of many signs falsely advertising the focus of this event.

I'm pretty sure everything I read about the festival online said there would tons of strawberries (including chocolate covered!) and strawberry shortcake. In reality it was like 1% berry and 99% carnival. Either way, the kids were in heaven with all the rides, and the adults had fun too.

Jack and Andrew on the Honey Pot ride.

Of course my favorite part of this ride was the sign outlining conditions of people that should avoid going on it. Click on the pic to check it out.

Talk about cautious! Now I'm no doctor, but I don't think the Honey Pot ride was so crazy that it would cause a serious spike in someone's blood pressure. I think it spun around at like 5 mph, I don't even think the bears moved up and down.

Lucky for us, Sydney is too small to care about going on rides. So instead of spending our money on that, we spent it on treats.

Lucy, Clarke, and Spencer enjoying some kettle corn.

Ahh, kettle corn. We can never resist (and Spencer can never resist buying the HUGEST bag available). We also had corn dogs for lunch- it was a very healthy day. I don't think I've had a corn dog since I was like 10 years old. No joke, it really hit the spot.

Me and Sydney.

Thanks Clarke and Char for visiting us! Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Busy Bees

Last week was one of the busiest I've had in a while! To start the week off, Clarke and Charlotte came to visit for a few days. They were passing through as part of a road trip to Boston, and we were excited to be right on their way. It's always fun to hang out with family.

A few hours after they left on Wednesday, Sydney and I headed down to Marietta for a mid-week family reunion (minus Spencer and Dan) at Wendy's house. It was my first time visiting them in their new place, and they hadn't seen Sydney since last Thanksgiving.

Their beautiful home.

I was a bit frazzled when we arrived because Sydney had been screaming for the last hour of our drive. Wendy and all the kids were waiting outside for us when we got there.

Mom, Dad, Shauna, and James came the following morning.

Allison and Elayna.

Allison was cracking me up because she asked Shauna lots of personal questions about her being pregnant (reminiscent of Dallin's fertilization question he asked me a few Christmases ago). Shauna eventually told her she didn't feel comfortable talking about it. Elayna loved brushing my hair. She has definitely made the jump from toddler to big kid since the last time I saw her.

Little Riley loved holding Sydney.

I told all the girls that my rules for holding Sydney were: 1.) they had to sit down when holding her, and 2.) I had to be nearby. Riley kept asking my why they had to sit down (after all, she has been holding her younger siblings for years). I just had to tell her it was because Sydney is my baby so I get to make the rules for holding her. I'm sure I threw the word "paranoia" in my explanation somewhere too.

James loved playing with his cousins, and he also loved playing that guitar!

Dallin and Dad spent lots of time in the basement playing the Wii. I can't believe Dallin is almost 9 years old.

Me, Sydney, & Shauna.

On Friday morning, Wendy, Shauna, and I went downtown to check out some cute shops. It was fun to hang out with my sisters, and I got lots of ideas for stuff I could totally make myself.

James was having a ball enjoying lots of free rides on this horse. Sydney and I headed home after we were done shopping.

On Saturday we went to the Lake Farm Park in Kirtland. Since Spencer is on active duty right now, our whole family totally got in free! It was "Working Dog Weekend," so there were tons of people there showing off their dogs. Spencer spent lots of time trying to convince me that we need one :) I hardly took any pictures, but here are the few we managed to get:

This picture doesn't do that bunny justice. It was the fattest, hugest rabbit I have ever seen!

Family pic.

We had lots of fun and look forward to going again! After such a busy week, I was certainly grateful for a day of rest on Sunday. I enjoyed a nice long nap after church :)

7 months

Where has the time gone? The newness of each stage makes me feel like Sydney is still brand new even though she's been with us for over half a year. We are having so much fun with her and love having her in our family.


Some milestones from month 7:

• Growling. Oh how we love the sound of it! Totally cracks us up.
• Getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.

• Grabbing and yanking my hair. I'm not a huge fan of this one.
• Eating more pureed foods, or "people food" as we like to call it (eg. "Hey Spencer, will you give her some people food while I get _____ ready?"). So far she's tried peas, green beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, applesauce, bananas (she's not so fond of Gerber's version of this, but likes them when we mash them up ourselves), and peaches.
• Saying "ma ma."
• Sitting up on her own, but just for a (very) little while at a time.
  

She's also getting more attached to me and tends to cry if she sees me leave the room. Spencer is getting really good at making her laugh, and I have my moments too. Other people generally comment on what a happy and content little baby she is.

A few weeks ago Sydney also got to meet my friend Antoinette, a fellow Highland High Alumni. We chatted at Panera for like 2 hours, and Sydney was an angel the whole time.