Back From the Dead

Ok, so here I am again. Sorry about all the time that has passed since I last posted. We got caught up in the holidays and lately I have been consumed with sorting and organizing our home. One of my New Year resolutions is to go through all our stuff that's in storage and hasen't been open in forever and get rid of everything we don't need. It's taking a lot longer than I think. Sometimes I come across boxes full of junk that I have no idea why we hung onto for so long and other times I come across stuff from my childhood and I get wrapped up in going through the memories. I've got a lot done but I still have a long way to go. It feels so good to finally purge our home of unwanted and unnecessary items.

Our Christmas was great. We spent two weeks at Kevin's parent's home in Wichita, Kansas. It was so fun to watch Sarah look at all the presents. When it came time for her to open the presents she was more interested in the wrapping and boxes of course. Her big present that we got her was a walker from Fisher Price that is shaped like a car. Sarah loves it and it has really helped her in learning to walk. Speaking of which she is very close to walking on her own. For a few weeks now she walks everywhere with us as long as she is holding on to one of our fingers. Last week she got brave and has started to let go and take 10-15 steps on her own before she sits down.

Kevin got me an 8gig Zune mp3 player. I LOVE having it. I can watch movies on it if I want to but I mainly use it for my music and audio books. It is so nice to listen to while I am cleaning the house or running errands (yes I am one of those annoying people who listens to it while I drive). But I do keep the volume down so I can pay attention to traffic.

I tried to get Kevin a meaningful gift this year and I think I accomplished that. For his 18th birthday he was given a beautiful print of the space shuttle preparing to launch. It was not framed and has been rolled up in a tube for 13 years. I took it to Michael's and had it framed really nice for him. He loved it so much that he got emotional when he saw it. Mission accomplished.

Anyways, I will try to do better at posting regularly. I know how much I enjoy reading all your blogs and I'm sure some of you have been frustrated with my lack of posting.

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to post a quick note to everyone. I know that I haven't updated the blog in quite a while, sorry about that. It has been crazy busy around here. Kevin and I are getting ready to go out of town for the holidays and won't be back until after the New Year. I'll post again when we get back and I'll share all about Sarah's first Christmas. In the mean time we love you all and miss you so much. Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

Talking and Teething

Sarah had a big day last Friday, November 23. She woke up happy like she normally does and I took her downstair to feed her. I could tell she was hungry but we got to the third or fourth bite of oatmeal and she started crying and fussing. She would turn her head away from the food and didn't want to eat. So I decided to feel her gums to see if she had a tooth coming through and she did! It is on the bottom in the front on her right side (left if you're looking at her). Here she is at 9 1/2 months old and she finally got her first tooth. I was so excited I started jumping up and down and couldn't wait to tell everyone. After I calmed down I gave her some teething tablets to help with the pain.

Later that morning Kevin was sitting with Sarah on the couch. We have some friends staying with us for a while and they have a cat. As the cat walked by in front of Sarah she pointed at it and said, "dity" (kitty). Kevin and I looked at each other because we weren't sure we heard right. Then she said it again, "dity". Again we both were so excited. She said her first word as well as getting her first tooth. We kept her going for a while, us saying "kitty" and she would answer "dity".

In the evening we had put up our Christmas tree and I was holding Sarah and showing her the tree. I pointed to the tree and said, "tree". Then she answered with "gee". Holy cow! Her second word and in the same day. Again we kept repeating the word back and forth.

And finally at dinner time Sarah was sitting in her high chair and she dropped some food. I said "uh-oh" and she said "uh-uh". I said it again and she answered back. So not only did she have her first tooth come in but she said her first three words as well. We have had a really good time with her talking and she is trying oh so hard to say more words. Of course she practices the three she knows all the time and uses them in the correct context as well. It's so fun to watch Sarah learn and grow. Her next big step will be walking.

Candy, Candy, Candy!

We had a wonderful Halloween and really enjoyed taking Sarah around in her costume for her first Halloween. Kevin and I dressed up as vampires and Sarah was a lady bug. As we took her around all the neighbors thought she was so cute. Most of the time Sarah was very serious and pensive just taking everything in. I think she was trying to figure out why everyone was dressed so weird. When we got home she had so much fun going through all her candy. Then she passed out and didn't even wake up when we put her on her changing table to get her pajamas on. Here are some pictures. The first one is from our Trunk-or-Treat at church. She is sitting with her friends Ben and Owen. Owen was really cute with Sarah and put his arm around her as we were getting ready to take their picture. He even gave her a hug. The rest of the pictures are from Halloween night. Trick-or-treat!

The T.P. Queen

Sarah discovered the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom the other day. She had the best time unraveling it. I let it go on for a bit until she started eating it. When I took it out of her mouth she started to cry. Here is the story in pictures:

Taste of Homes

For the past few months I have been getting together with friends for something called Taste of Homes. It's a girls night out that happens once a month. Each month we have a different theme for the food like salads, soups, BBQ just to name a few. You make the dish and bring the recipe printed out with enough copies for everyone. Then we get together to eat and visit. If you like the food then you have the recipe available to take home. We take turns hosting the event. If you are hosting then you do not have to make any food. This month was my turn to host and I spent a lot of time putting up Halloween decorations to make the night more fun. Here are some pictures of the decorations:

I was a mad woman for three weeks making a lot of these decorations and putting them up. My Taste of Homes was a success and it got everyone in the mood for Halloween. Over the months I have been able to collect a number of amazing recipes that are now becoming staples in our home. I have set up a Recipe blog that I will use to post a number of these recipes for you to enjoy. The links are to the right, underneath our family picture. I have tasted all of them and they are delicious. I have also put a banana boat recipe out there for all of you who have never had them before. Enjoy!

Banana Boats

The other day I was reading my cousin, Rachel's blog and a while ago she did a post on a trip her famiy took up the canyon. They had banana boats while they were there and I mentioned to Kevin that I have never had banana boats before. He promplty informed me that I was missing out and I had to try them. He turned the oven on and made a banana boat for me to try. We took it outside and ate it together on the lawn. Of course as soon as Sarah saw that we were eating something she came crawling up in our laps trying desperately to get a taste of the action. We gave some to her and she kept begging for more. Here is the end result:

Begging for more

Hey Sarah, she likes it

I think banana boats are going to become a staple food for future camping trips.