Thanksgiving!

We had a lot of fun over Thanksgiving weekend.  Edwin and Jennifer and family came from Iowa to visit us.  Thanks for driving so far. 

Uncle Daniel came to visit us from Rexburg, ID. 

The cousins had a lot of fun playing together.  I had to tell Rohan to sit this close to Grace.  He didn’t want to at first, but then he finally did.

After we let dinner settle we went outside and played stop and go. 

Ann was the stoplight this time. 

Daniel and Kevin ate a little too much I think.  This is what they were doing while we played outside. 

Katelynn loved playing with all of her cousins.  She is walking great now.  For a few days when she would walk she would hold her hands like this, way up in the air. 

What Katelynn learned this week

This has been week full of learning for Katelynn.  

She got some blocks for her birthday and is getting really good at building things.

 

She likes to bebop to music and was testing out daddies new wireless headphones.  She has some great dance moves that I hope to catch on video soon.

Aunt Shanna took us to a fun play place and Katelynn learned how to slide. 

And the best thing is she learned to walk!!  Yay, for Katelynn!  She is getting better and braver each day.  She has walked from our bedroom all the way to the kitchen.  She gets really excited and laughs and laughs, then falls over because she got distracted.  It is so much fun to see her growing up.  We sure do love our little girl. 

I got a new calling and am the Assistant Beehive Advisor.  It is a lot of fun.  I taught the lesson this week and it was on using our time wisely. I know that if we turn our lives over to the Lord he will bless us and will help us accomplish all that is important.   Our joys will be deeper and our peace greater. 

One Year Old!

Katelynn turned one this week!  She is getting so big.  We had a fun little party with her.  She had a lot of fun too.  She is really good at walking with us while we hold one hand, but she does not like it when we let go.  She can stand up by herself but won’t do it.  She will get there though. 

She really liked her cake….

but not enough to get too messy.  This was as messy as she got. 

The video shows and tells all that happened though.  She is our cute little girl.

She was more interested in our phones than in her presents

and liked the paper more too.

It was a different story once the toys were opened though.  We sure do love our little girl.  She brings lots of fun and joy into our lives. 

Winter Blast

The week started off great.  Monday it was a record high of 80 degrees, Tuesday it was in the fifties and then Wednesday we woke up to 10 inches of snow and 30 degree weather.  Things sure can change a lot in a week. 

This is what it looked like last week…

and this is what it looks like this week.  We shook some of the snow off of the tree branches, but didn’t get to some in time.  So sad, the tree out our front window lost three branches.  I was surprised the roses still had their petals, but they do, although they are a little wilted. 

Katelynn likes playing with Kevin.  They have a lot of fun together. 

I have been having fun making yummy pumpkin things.  I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cream cheese cookies and some super yummy pumpkin cornmeal waffles with cinnamon cream maple syrup.  They were soooo delicious. 

Katelynn loves playing with this beach ball.  She will push it, then chase it, push it, then chase it for quite awhile.  She really liked the whipped cream I gave her and the pumpkin waffles. 

Pumpkins and Fall!!

I love Fall!  It is my favorite time of year.  There is so much to love about it.  The new crispness in the air, the amazing colors, pumpkins, pumpkin sweets, and much, much more.  This is our first fall in Colorado and it has been great so far.  The days are so warm and the nights are just the right temperature. 

We still have roses blooming with all the fall colors.  It is gorgeous!  If you want to find out how much I love fall, just ask Kevin or Shanna; I’m sure I’ve told them lots of time how much I love fall.  These roses and the tree are right outside our front window.  I've decided that I want a maple tree in my yard, the kind that turns red in the fall.  I absolutely love them.  

This week was full of fun and friends.  This is my friend Miriam with her son Andrew.  I watch him on Tuesdays.  Miriam came over for lunch this week. 

We went and picked some pumpkins from a farm on Saturday.  There were lots of good ones to choose from, but don’t worry we got the perfect ones. 

Katelynn thought they looked good enough to eat.

Kevin was Mr. Buff man and carried our pumpkins for us. 

Katelynn has been pulling herself up to the tub lately.  She likes to pull herself up while either of us is showering and then wants to get in.  This results in her getting a bath.  This morning I found her like this while I was fixing my hair.  Hiding and then slowing coming out.  Peek a boo mommy! 

Fun and Friends

We listened to part of General Conference with Ben and Shanna.  Katelynn had a lot of fun with the boys.

She loves playing with Rohan and Bruce. 

She really liked it when Bruce pushed her around in this container.

Kevin held Savitri for a little while.  She sure is a cute baby. 

Rohan had to have a turn pushing Katelynn too. 

The boys like playing with Kevin. 

Katelynn, hanging out with daddy!  They bring lots of fun to my life. 

Rohan will walk Katelynn around and around.  She loves it.  Bruce wanted to join in on this picture.  Such cute kids!

We watch this cute boy on Tuesdays for a little bit.  He and Katelynn are just two weeks apart. 

Katelynn likes having other people to play with besides me.  Although she likes to steal toys from him and from the other babies at church.  She is getting so big. 

It is really fun to watch Katelynn with this toy.  She just kicks and kicks it.  I think she likes that it moves.

What we have been up to

On Labor Day we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was Kevin’s first time going and my second. 

It is a very pretty park.  The cool thing about it, is that you get to drive above 12,000 ft.  When you get that high you enter an alpine tundra, in which no trees grow.  It is very beautiful and cool to see that plants that can grow in that type of environment. 

One of the cool things we saw was a whole herd of elk.  There were probably about forty of them just chilling on the hillside.  There were a lot of cars stopped and taking pictures of them and so we didn’t stop.  I have never seen that many elk together all at once. 

I gave Kevin a haircut last week.  It was my first time cutting hair.  I have to say it didn’t turn out that bad.  I messed up in one spot and it is a little shorter than what he is used to, but he is pleased with it and so am I.  It is nothing like his sister Karin could do, but I am learning.  Kevin was very patient and I was very nervous.  It took two hours to complete.  I think I will be able to go a little faster next time. 

Mmmm, bread!  I have been making bread lately and wanted to show off my handiwork.  This is a delicious recipe we got from Kevin’s Mom.  It tastes so much better than store bought bread and nothing beats hot bread just out of the oven, especially with butter and honey on it. 

Katelynn loves taking baths now.  She didn’t used to, but now she loves it.  She kicks and kicks and I think we end up almost as wet as she does.  It is so much fun seeing her grow up and learn new things.  She has learned to clap, to “wave” hi, and sometimes she even gives us a kiss. 

Crazy Hair!  It is crazy to think that Katelynn is already 11 months old.  She will be one year before we know it.  Her main form of getting around is still scooting.  She is getting really fast at it and likes to follow us around the house.  She also loves for us to hang onto her hands and walk her around everywhere.