Spring

Boise is warming up and we are having some nice spring weather.  This of course means we are spending a lot more time outside.
A few photos from one of our trips to the park

Busy Baby. 

Moxie having fun in the background

Sara's new talents

Some video clips of Sara from months 8-10 featuring her new talents

Winter

Yikes! I am bad about this blog post thing.  I'll try to be better but I make no promises.

So what have we been up to this winter?

Sara has been growing fast and learning new things everyday.  Ellis and I have loved watching her change and learn.

Ellis and Sara took a quick trip home in February.  They spent some time with both grandparents and went to a surprise 30th birthday which the birthday boy turned into an elaborate surprise proposal. Congrats Maggie and Carlo! Ellis was still able to surprise Carlo by flying in.

 Party Time!

Sara loves food.  She prefers to feed herself so its been a challenge to think of foods she can eat with her hands without making a huge mess.  I have mostly given up and just let her make a giant mess.  I did let it go too far when she ate cream of wheat with hands... I mean poured cream of wheat into her lap.  Needless to say, our dogs Moxie and Bogie love meal time.

 Sara also loves bath time.  She has outgrown the sink and is now in the big tub.  We have been meaning to get her signed up for swim lessons but haven't got organized yet.

Sara is about the easiest baby ever to put to bed.  You put Pjs on her and into the crib she goes.  Nap time on the other hand is a bit of a battle.  Below is a picture of a typical "nap"

Thanks to Ellis cousin, Brooke, we now have a backpack we can use for walks.  Most of the time she likes it but sometimes she less than thrilled.  For those of you who know the Cunningham family will know that when they are mad they get thin lips and a big chin.  As you can see, it must be genetic. 

Sara went from army crawling to crawling on all fours and keeping us busy chasing after her.  She has also learned to pull her self up and shuffle along furniture. She likes to look outside.

 We are lucky enough to live 2 blocks from a big park with a play ground.  Sara loves the swings.  She also loves watching other kids, especially older kids.  Sometimes at day care she gets to visit the pre-school side of the building and she loves hanging out with all the big kids.  She actually loves daycare and being around other kids.

watching the big kids at the park

Our good friends Becky and Rocky had their second, Johnny, a few months after Sara was born.  They are very fun to watch together, especially now that they are both getting bigger.

Mostly Sara is a very sweet and funny kid.  She is very curious about things and loves to interact with people. 

She just makes us laugh

She was curious about the kitchen stools and then got stuck inside the legs of the stool.  What a goof 

We did manage to do a few things that weren't completely about Sara but only a few.  :) 

Ellis turned 30 a few weeks ago.  We enjoyed a nice evening out in Boise.  It was a great evening and a nice break from our usual night at home.  We also had a BBQ at a friends house and enjoyed lots of food and some warm weather.  

Ellis enjoyed the end of hunting season and is already counting the days until next season.  

I got a promotion at work and am so glad to have found my job at the hospital when we moved to Boise.  I love working in healthcare. 

I took some nordic and skate skiing lessons this winter and enjoyed a few days skiing in the mountains. 

Santa

Santa came to visit Sara's day care.  All the kids got to meet Santa and sit in his lap to tell them what they want for Christmas.  As you might imagine the bigger kids were the most excited and swarmed Santa.  The babies on the other hand were not so sure about this Santa guy.

Sara who normally loves everyone and cries about nothing was not so sure about sitting in Santa's lap. They captured one of her looking less upset but personally I prefer the classic kid screaming in Santa's lap photo. It feels very traditional.  Santa gave Sara a small stuffed penguin from the North Pole.  The dogs have already claimed it as their gift.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving.  Grandma Susu, Grandpa Greg, Aunt Madeline and her boyfriend Zach, Robin (Ellis Cousin), Great Aunt AJ, and Great Grandma Donna all came up to Idaho to spend the holiday with us.  We rented a beautiful cabin is Cascade, ID not too far from the lake.  We have Susan's organizational skills to thank for such a well planned trip and Grandma Donna for leading the way on all our delicious foods.  We just had a great time all together.
Grandma Donna even stayed home with Sara and our dogs so the rest of us could take off to enjoy an afternoon at the hot springs.  I sure do love hot springs.

Grandma Donna and Sara play together

Sara was one happy baby the whole week.  Who wouldn't be with 9 adults to tend to your every need and desire

Aunt AJ and Sara

Sara and Moxie cuddle

Everyone (minus AJ who took the photo) at the cabin.  yes it was named "Rustic Luxury"

First Foods

Sara started to eating solid foods a few weeks ago.  At first she was not very interested in food and hated most things we let her try.  She even shuddered in disgust after trying avocados. Just in time for Thanksgiving, Sara decided that food in fact was delicious and is now loving eating regular meals.  She eats lunch at day care and eats dinner when she gets home.  She is still mostly getting her food from milk but starting to eat more and more. 

Her favorite food is squash and apples. 

She also enjoys kale, apple, banana

She often gives us big smiles at meal time

She hasn't totally mastered eating though and is still working on what is food and what is not. :)

Yaya and Grandpa Visit

I'm several weeks late but in late October Yaya and Grandpa John and their 4 dogs came to visit for a few days.  We had a nice few days together.  Sara was much more crabby and needy than normal so while we wish they got to visit with the usually happy Sara, Ellis and I were grateful to have extra hands around.  Plus grandparents think your great no matter what.

 We think Sara might have fussy because she was teething.  She enjoyed some time sucking on the cool granite

Grandpa and Sara spent several hours reading her new cloth book.  She love that book.  Thanks Yaya

All 6 dogs made themselves quite at home. 

The dog cousins enjoyed some chase and started a mini landslide on the hike

We enjoyed a beautiful fall walk with all the changing leaves

 Sara and Mom

Grandpa and Sara switched hats for the hike.  What a grandpa won't do for the amusement of a grandkid

Bath time

And since I'm so late, one photo from Halloween.  Sara was a Strawberry.