A Day in Utah

Good Morning!  Mama says today Grandma Stirland is going to take me to see the fishes!  I can't wait!  But first I have to eat.  Then nap.  Then eat again.  Great Grandma Barney wanted to know what was taking us so long to leave!  Since I still can't seem to get my point across, mama tried to explain to Grandma Great for me that we are on MY schedule and that we will leave when I am good and ready.    

Here we are with the fishes!  

The first time we past the otters, they were sleeping.  While everyone was over watching them sleep, I entertained myself by watching the water run down the rocks.  That was so much fun!  I laughed and laughed!  People started seeing how much fun I was having and came over to see what was going on.  On the way back the otters were awake.  Mama was very assertive (GO MAMA!) and pushed her way through the crowd so I could see.  That's so unlike mama, but she would do anything for me.

I also saw the penguins.  It was SO exciting!!!  They would dart through the water and fly out of the top!  I kicked and waved my arms and even yelled to get their attention!  Grandma tried to take a picture of that too, but it was too dark so it didn't turn out.  Very sad.

When we were done with the fishes, we were very close to the middle school where mama use to teach music, so we stopped to visit!  Thanks for taking us Grandma!

There's us with Miss Tove!  She is mama's good friend.  She was the rock mama leaned on all while she taught at Butler.  Miss Tove always believed in mama. 

Yay for Miss Tove!

There's Mrs. Morgan, the principal at Butler.  

It was my first trip to the principles office....

Oh, and while we were there, I finally let grandma hold me.  

That's a really nice bracelet you have, grandma!

Oh the way home we passed by the place where daddy and mama first met 

- it was a little Italian restaurant back in those buildings on the left. 

Then we came home and I played with Aunt Jamie and the duck!

Then I tried to see if Uncle JoJo was really sleeping.

Since he wasn't he got up and we had a good chat.

Then I tried to bond with Grandma Great

While mama tried to bond with Uncle JoJo!

Another great day!  

Dinner At The Stirland's

Almost the whole family was coming over for dinner at Uncle Daniel's home!  We were missing Grandma Stirland and the Texas Stirlands.  Can't wait for Christmas!  Mama says we will ALL be together!

Here's me and Abby waiting in great anticipation

While we waited, Abby did mama's hair.  

Uncle Michael and Aunt AmySue finally made it!  Uncle Michael made mama brownies.  

She loves Uncle Michael's brownies!  

Then... 

While we were waiting for dinner....

Attack of the cousin Abby!

Phew!  It was exhausting just to watch!

There was much talking. 

Enough, mama! Pay attention to MEEEE...!

Then dinner.

It was a great day!

The Daniel Barney Stirland Family

When we got to Utah, we stayed at Uncle Daniel and Aunt Shelly's house.  

Their kids are older, so there was no place for me to sleep. 

Mama's cousin Nicole let her borrow this fancy crib!  Thanks great cousin Nicole!  

The first thing mama did was take a picture for daddy.  Mama looks sleepy doesn't she?  Well, that's 'cause I'm still on NY time and I got her up at 4 am to play.  It was FUN!  

Here's my cousin Sam.  He played car with me.  He's pretty cool.

Here's my cousin Abby.  She's is awesome!  We had lots of fun together. 

A group shot of me and my cousins

And here's Uncle Daniel and Aunt Shelly.  I like them!

Aunt Shelly found me lots of toys to play with.  

One of my favorites was the dental floss. 

Uncle Daniel played car with me too.  It was fun.

Thanks for letting us stay with you!  Can't wait to see you again soon!

10th Month

9 Months Old

23.1 pounds, 29 1/2 inches

40

41

42

43

No new tooth this month, although from the last picture, you can tell she is still teething....  (I forgot to mention she got her 6th tooth last month).

From the pictures you can also see it is getting more difficult for me to take a nice sitting picture.  She is moving all the time.  She is crawling all over and when she does she lets out this high pitched squeak sound of excitement.  It's so fun to see her move about.  She is "cruising" (holding on to furniture and walking about) and can even stand on her own for about 10 seconds.  Next step - walking!  

She loves to do whatever dad and mama are doing.  She wants to try whatever dad and mama are eating - sometimes she likes, sometimes she doesn't.  She even tried my apple the other day.  Nice to put those teeth to work.  

She loves to try and do things herself and she gets very frustrated when she can't seem to do what she thinks she should be able to do.  I helped her feed herself cereal the other day - she had her hand around the spoon and would scoop up the cereal and bring it to her mouth while I guided her (yes people, I will have a rough time giving up control on that - perhaps if there wasn't a cleaning deposit on the line...).  It was fun to see the excitement in her eyes as she realized that she was (somewhat) doing it herself.

She definitely knows her own mind and has a will of her own, and as I've alluded to, we've even seen a bit of a temper.  I say she gets the from Don, but Don replies that after seeing me in the wee hours of the night not being able to sleep, he has no doubt in his mind where she gets the temper from.  Apparently it's not a pretty sight.  Ah, marriage.  The things we learn about each other, eh...? :D

She has started giving kisses - wide open gummy mouth pressed up against your cheek kisses.  No gift  could be more sweeter than those wet sloppy gentle kisses from my sweet little girl.

Getting to Utah

This is us before the plane left Indiana....

This is us after landing in Utah - a little blurry, but so were we at this point....

Actually, considering it was a 3 1/2 hour flight, Rebekah did pretty well.  And three cheers for the kindest of ladies sitting next to us!  Not only did she help me make bottles to feed Rebekah, and was understanding when she got incredibly antsy, but she joined in when I was singing to her!  She even played an imaginary banjo for Reka!  Don't know her name, but I will be forever grateful to her.  I LOVE good people!  The world is full of them - just have to be lucky enough to find them.

My brother Joseph and his wife Jamie picked us up from the airport and after a long struggle with the car seat, we were off!

Now... What memories will Utah bring....?  Stay tuned....

Visiting

Lots of people to meet in Indiana!

First, daddy's high school buddy Danny and his wife and kid!  

This is us with Leli and Nikki

Daddy thought mama hid her face on purpose.

Silly daddy....

This is dad's uncle John.

...and aunt Ruth (grandma's sister)

This is us with dad's aunt Martha (grandpa Walker's brother's wife)

This is the whole family!  

Paul, dad, mama (wow, she is short), me

and grandma and Frank

Peaches, Apricots, and Apples...

Enough Said.