(Milestones)

I've been meaning to post this for a few week now but am just now getting around to it. My baby girl is getting SO big! She made a couple of developmental leaps while we were in Seattle. She started officially crawling and she had her first tooth break through! I am a little shaken by all of this at once. :) David's dad has two cats at his house and we believe that's what got her up and moving, she really wanted to chase them. This video was taken early in the morning on the 4th of July.

She had been running a slight fever and was a little touchy the first few days we were in Seattle then on Monday I saw a little sliver poking out of her gums! We were at the park playing and I said, "David Dean we have a tooth!" I was excited for her.

Natalie is exactly Cyrena's age when she got her first tooth. But Cyrena was about twice Natalie's age when she started crawling. She was definitely a late bloomer!

So now I am remembering what it's like to have a crawling baby into EVERYTHING. She has found and played with every doorstop, every dead bug, and enjoys smearing and swimming in her own spitup on the tile. Anytime you pick her up, she immediately swivels around and tries to get down or to see what's going on around her. She will not be contained now that she's had a taste of freedom.

Natalie feels that now she has a tooth so feeding her with a spoon is no longer necessary. She can mash food pretty well and is doing AMAZING picking up food and feeding herself. I LOVE this stage! She is also very vocal, social, and nosy. She always needs to know what her sister is up to.

Anyone have some freezer space? This girl is growing up too fast!

Tag, I'm really it!

Umm...Ashley D tagged me almost a month ago. And since I don't want her trying any voo-doo magic on me I'm going to do it! Here goes.

8 Favorite Shows:
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. The Unit (cancelled now....*sob)
5. Word World (seriously, the teacher in me LOVES this!)
6. Anything on Discovery
7. 48 hours mystery
8. Dateline

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Grocery shopped
2. Made cards
3. Took the girls swimming
4. Changed 4 poopy diapers (poor baby is teething)
5. Had friends over for FHE
6. Ate a root beer float (it had been awhile!!)
7. Made shrimp pasta
8. Watched the Bachelorette (did I just say that out loud??? I'm ashamed)

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Preschool
2. Money
3. Arizona wintertime
4. David coming home from work
5. Natalie walking and talking
6. Being retired and hanging out with David all the time
7. Cyrena learning how to read and write
8. Having a full happy family

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Wingers
2. Culver's
3. Ajo Al's
4. Cheesecake Factory
5. BJ's
6. Paradise Bakery
7. Panda Express
8. Meatballz

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Money
2. More kids
3. A maid
4. Raising righteous children
5. Patience
6. A stronger relationship with my Savior
7. A new mattress
8. A new couch

8 People I Tag:
1. Anyone
2. Who
3. Would
4. Like
5. To
6. Do
7. This
8. Tag

Seattle trip part 2: Grandma and Grandpa Lemmert

After a tasty dinner Sunday, we all went for a walk on a pier on Lake Washington. David's mom and stepdad live about 20 steps away. :)

Natalie had her first experience in a swing. Cyrena was SO excited for her. Then we all walked along the pier and watched windsurfers and other boaters.

Is this making anyone nervous? David was a nervous wreck.

Quite a view

Monday morning David went to help his dad trim a few trees at the house where David grew up. David's dad still owns it and rents it out. So Cyrena went along to get a Grandpa Randy fix.

Around lunchtime we headed to the zoo. I can honestly say it was the best zoo experience I've ever had. Not only were we with our super fun cousins but we saw amazing things.

I have to give props to David for this adorable, artistic photo. I love it. I will frame it.

Funny elephant tricks. They'll do anything for an apple. So will I.

These orangatangs thought they were so funny. They grabbed some burlap sacks to pull over themselves to nap. But they couldn't help but peek out and make faces at all of us watching.

Ok, I promise I am not zoomed in one iota. I am standing on the other side of a glass enclosure. These brown bears are fishing in a shallow pool. And we got to witness it all. I was mesmerized. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. These bears are BIG.

Cyrena and Phaedra got along about 90% of the time. That's HUGE for 3 year olds. I personally fell in love with Julianne's kids, they are so adorable and fun to be with. It had been too long since we had seen them.

Raegan was nice enough to come with us and helped to entertain the kids. She is an amazing girl and I hope my girls turn out like her!

We had a little FHE that night. It included a treasure hunt that resulted in the everlastingly tasty Tillamook ice cream.

Natalie got up early every morning on our vacation. It was hard to keep her quiet for the rest of the sleeping house. She always plays with her ear while she's drinking her bottle. Ahh, cute.

Cousins that played hard together! Tuesday morning we had to say good-bye to them.

This was taken on the beach right by David's mom and stepdad home.

We went to visit a park that David frequented as a child. Cyrena really took to the water and loved walking along the dock.

David took this picture of Seattle behind Cyrena. Too funny.

For our last big 'activity' we surprised Cyrena with miniature golf. Oh my goodness was she excited. It was fun to watch her concentrate and then finally just pick her ball up, place it next to the hole and putt it in.

That night we headed back to David's sister Tammy's house for dinner and a little rock band. Apparently the songs are pretty soothing because they lulled Natalie right to sleep on Benny's lap.

A big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Lemmert and David's siblings for a great time! We enjoyed catching up with family and making lots of memories!

Seattle trip part 1: Grandma and Grandpa Dean

**Long post ahead**

When we arrived in Seattle Thursday,we were greeted by David's dad and stepmom. We hadn't seen them in 2 years so it was very exciting! Cyrena warmed right up and quickly became best friends with Grandpa Randy.

We started off in Pike Place market because you just have to, you know?

And we had to get some of their freshly made mini donuts....you've never had a donut until you've had these. Check out that grease on the bag.

I'll never forget my first time 7 years ago... :)

Cyrena and grandpa enjoying the view after eating donuts

Fresh, beautiful flowers everywhere!

Then it was back to their house for a yummy dinner and some rest, we'd all gotten up early.

Check out what Cyrena got to sleep in. She LOVED it!

Happy Natalie with Grandpa

Friday we went on an awesome picnic at a local park/petting zoo.

Cyrena bought a Seattle t-shirt at the market. She will treasure it always.

Cyrena got tired walking up the STEEP hill from the petting zoo. I decided it was easier to carry Natalie than her. David was embarrassed.

Cyrena took pictures of David and I racing down the hill. It was exhilarating.

Richard and Stacy came to dinner and since it doesn't get dark until 10, we spent the evening outside playing.

We spent the 4th of July at the ward breakfast and then on to a parade in downtown Everett! It was long, but really fun. Cyrena was mesmerized by everything. She just sat on a cooler and watched every bit.

Cyrena wanted Stacy to sit next to her on the cooler the entire parade. Poor Stacy, it was really hot up there right by the asphalt but she was so sweet and stuck it out!

Cyrena was so excited to pay/donate a dollar to get a little pin to wear.

It made the day worth it. Also, the tweens sharing the candy they got from the parade put a smile on her face. She was never quite quick enough.

Ohhhh, she loves him. In fact, when we parted ways that night she made quite a scene.

On to David's sister's house for a BBQ. There we met up with another of David's sisters and his mom and stepdad.

Don't they look too cool?

Highlights of the evening were: Driveway dance party, David getting thrown onto the slip n slide, Cyrena and Coby fighting over the tractor, and much much more.

Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa Dean. We felt so at home with you and enjoyed every minute. Your hospitality was astounding and we feel lucky to have made so many memories with you!

Star-spangled crafts!

Alright, I'm heading to Seattle in, oh, about 12 hours.  Yet here I am.  I can't help but post a bit about our 4th of July crafts.  Let me just say this.  Cyrena LOVES our flag.  Everywhere we drive she looks for it and points it out excitedly.  When she sees it in a book, she beams.  So preparing her for the 4th of July has been a lot of fun.  Here's what we've been up to:

Cookie Cutter Stars

We dipped our star cookie cutters in blue and red paint, then stamped it onto the paper.  When she was done with her design, we added glitter!  I've done this with different cookie cutters with my preschoolers.  But I saw the stars twist on here and had to give it a try.  Cyrena loved it of course.  But she had to put them on top of each other over and over.  I kept trying to get her to spread out...but she has her own design ideas and I let her go with it.  

This was supposed to be a flag (again with her own design ideas.  She wanted to fingerpaint a flag, then got tired halfway through and requested a brush.   Brushes are easier to paint with.  Therefore, we have no more white stripes on the flag.  Sorry to disappoint.  I think it's pretty cute though.

Last week we made a 4th of July mobile I saw on here.  I don't have a picture of ours but it looks very similar to the one you'll see in the post.  I think it is SO cute and Cyrena has loved having it in her room, spinning from the draft of the fan.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful 4th of July.   I know we'll be having fun in the Northwest!

Startin' young

This was on my list of things to do this summer.  I really wanted to make Cyrena this lazy days skirt.  I think I bought this fabric 2 months ago and I just haven't gotten around to it.  I decided today was the day.  And it was SO easy!  It took me just over an hour with the help of my assistant.  Otherwise it would have taken about 30-45 minutes.  Seriously it's so easy and I was so happy with the result.  You use ribbon for the hem which makes it easier and cuter.  We had to make a matching headband.  My assistant actually used the sewing machine for the headband.  She loved every minute of it.  

Close-up of the skirt

Her headband she made all by herself (kind of....)

On another note...........Cyrena had her first bloody nose this afternoon while I was finishing up the sewing project.  I felt so bad, it kind of scared her.  I've seen quite a few bloody noses in my day.  While I was teaching, we were retrained every year on how to deal with bloody noses.  The worst one happened while I was pregnant with Cyrena.  I couldn't get this boy's nose to stop bleeding so I finally send him to the nurse's office.  Then I proceeded to dry heave into the trash can.  Lovely.  Cyrena did NOT like me pinching the bridge of her nose, but it stopped the bleeding quickly.  Poor girl.  

This is how Cyrena looked after she went potty this morning.  Classic.  

It reminded me of a funny/sad story.  In the fall of 2004 I had my first miscarriage.   We had finally gotten pregnant after  a couple of years of trying.  I went away for the weekend with my mom, sister, niece and aunt.  We were shopping and having fun.  One morning I felt some cramping.  I immediately became worried.  We went to lunch and before we even ordered I rushed to the bathroom.  They were out of toilet seat covers so I lined the seat with strips of toilet paper.  Then I saw what I feared...I was spotting.  I was heartsick.  

I left the bathroom, went back to the table and tried to order.  I couldn't see the menu because my eyes were wet with tears.  My family was asking me if I was alright, I couldn't talk.  The server came to take our order but I rushed away from the table back to the bathroom.  

When I got there of course there was a line so I had to stand there with tears streaming down my face, waiting.  My mom followed me to the bathroom.  She was trying to keep a straight face but she couldn't help laughing.  She reached behind me and pulled off strips of toilet paper that had been trailing behind me through the whole restaurant on the way back to the bathroom.  OH MY GOODNESS how embarrassing.  

Who of us hasn't been there?  But really, it had to be one of the worst days of my life.  Luckily, when we all get together, we can laugh about it, but at the time I DID NOT LAUGH.  To hear my family tell it, the strips of toilet paper were 8 feet long, but really they weren't that long.  Just long enough to flap in the wind of my rushing to the bathroom.  

Seeing Cyrena walk out of the bathroom like this today made me SMILE and reminded me of the humor of my own embarrassment almost 4 years ago.  

Brand-new

Our sweet, brand-new nephew, William.  He looks fresh and beautiful. Congrats to his parents and older brothers and sister!