10 months

Today Hannah is 10 months. She is delightful and such a good baby. She eats just about anything (really - ANYTHING!). She crawls. She pulls herself up on some things. She loves seeing her brother and sister. She is patient with me when I am doing chores or tending to the other kids. She is not the greatest at falling asleep on her own. She likes to have a bottle with her (bye, bye healthy teeth?). I think she's getting better at it. Once she falls asleep though she sleeps well.

Just for fun, here are 3 pictures of 3 kiddos about 9.5 - 10 months old.

Helping Hands

We are real Mormons now because we have our own "Mormon Helping Hands" t-shirts. No, there weren't any natural disasters here in Michigan. (That is what I've always seen the shirts used for when I've seen pictures in the Church News.) Our stake service project this year was to clean up homes of the elderly working through county agencies. I didn't get an action shot of Mike and I because I got to hang out with the kids in the nursery while he worked at one of the homes. It was a good morning.

Our branch was in charge of 4 homes. Here are some action shots from the home Mike helped clean up.

Finally

I think I have finally caught up.

A Couple Firsts

Abby's first day of preschool was this week. She is at the same school as last year but in a different class which means new teachers. She is happy. I am happy she is happy.

Hannah is still growing up. She started drinking from a sippy cup today. (I feel silly blogging about it because it is a small thing, but it was a big deal to us so why not.)

This doesn't fall in the category of firsts, but I must say that Briton is doing GREAT with his speaking! He is now imitating instead of babbling and putting 2-3 word phrases together. While we were in Utah, I told Mike that he'd be amazed at the progress he made while we were gone. His teachers are impressed and we just reviewed his IEP this morning and upped his goals. We still have a lot of work ahead of us but I am very pleased with Briton's willingness to work and practice his speaking. Heavenly Father has blessed our little boy and we are grateful.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Good Morning America voted Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the most beautiful place in America. Dave and Kaye came out to visit last week and we took a short camping trip to Sleeping Bear. It was cold, but we really enjoyed it. As always, Lake Michigan is beautiful.

(1 - Hannah and I hiking the dunes; 2 - Mike, Abby and Briton on the dune with Glen Lake in the background; 3 - Mike and Hannah in a boat museum; 4 - Briton helping out a ranger program demonstrating shipwreck rescues; 5 - Briton insisting on pushing Hannah in the stroller; 6-8 - It is hard to tell how high we are above the lake but the dune slopes down steeply to the lake here; 9 - Another pretty overlook; 10 - Abby at the Point Betsie lighthouse)

Have I ever mentioned that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state?

This picture more or less shows the steep slope down to the lake from the bluff. I downloaded the picture from nps.gov and it is a winter picture. Of course, this isn't the dune you climb, but we walked along the top and looked out over the lake.

Hannah - 9 months

This little girl grew up so much in a few short weeks. She crawls, sits up from a crawl and is now starting to try and pull herself up to a stand. She is the most patient baby I know and we love her dearly.

Over-due post on the trip to Utah

The kids and I took a 2-week trip to Utah in August. We had a great time, saw a lot of people, missed Mike and were happy to be with family we love and who love us.

Since it has been a while and there is plenty I should update. Here is a picture a day from our trip:

Friday - The main reason for the trip was my beautiful sister, Kaley's, wedding. (OK - so a couple days have more than one picture.) My mom did such a great job decorating the yard. It was lovely!

Saturday - The two little kids and I went to the Sandy City Balloon Festival. Later in the day we spent time with two of my sisters and parents. We went to a monster truck show with an organization my sister, Stephanie, participates in! (I remember all the monster truck commercials on TV as a kid and I think I secretly wanted to go.)

Sunday - After church my mom, the kids and I headed out to Yellowstone. We caravaned with Dave, my father-in-law, and had a picnic in Idaho Falls.

Monday - We spent the day in my happy place. My sister, Tami, and her kids came up as well!

Tuesday - Another day in Yellowstone...

Wednesday - We stayed in Island Park, visited Big Springs, took a canoe ride (and saw 3 moose) and had fun with cousins!

Thursday - A long drive home and no pictures.

Friday - We met up with my sister-in-law, Bekah, her family and my in-laws. We enjoyed the park and then went to visit great-grandparents. Friday afternoon the kids stayed with my mother-in-law while my family and I accompanied Kaley to the temple for her first time. It was a good day.

Saturday - We spent more time with Kaye. We rode the train (happy Briton) and visited a couple sites around Temple Square. We ate at my favorite - Sweet Tomatoes. (We also ate there last Saturday with my parents and some sibs.)

Sunday - Church and a family party complete with snakes...

Monday - We had more cousin time with my sister-in-law and niece! It was great to see them. We also really enjoyed visiting more great-grandmas!

Tuesday - We drove to the cabin!

Wednesday - We spent the day at the cabin with Kaley and Steph and their families - not enough pictures but another happy place!

Thursday -I think it was a pretty low key day. I went shopping and bought myself a new dress. In the evening I enjoyed going to my book club with dear friends. Kids stayed home with grandma and grandpa. Briton played trains!

Friday - Before heading home we went to the This is the Place Heritage Park with my parents and Steph and her boys.

Thanks again to everyone who made the trip so enjoyable for us - especially my parents who hosted us! We enjoyed seeing all of you!