The Last Few Months

We've been busy the last few months.  Ariana is growing and learning new things every day.  I have a lot to catch up on, so this is going to be a long post.  But there will be lots of pictures, I promise!

For Halloween, Ariana was a kitty-cat.  She was sure adorable!  We didn't take her out trick-or-treating.  In fact, we didn't go anywhere -- she had had a rough napping day and finally fell asleep in the late afternoon.  If there's one thing I've learned, it is that you don't mess with a napping baby!  So, we dressed her up in her costume the following day to take pictures.

November brought a mobile baby!  Ariana discovered how to army crawl.  It took her a while to venture out of our office where we spend most of our time (most of our upstairs is tile/wood, so it's easier to play in a room with carpet), but everyday she'd go a little further.

We also had family pictures taken in November.  A great friend from our ward took them, and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.  There's a lot, so I won't be offended if you scroll past them! :)

Before we knew it, Thanksgiving was here!  We spent Thanksgiving Day with the locals in Tim's family.  Tim had to work Black Friday (yuck!), so Ariana and I left him behind and headed up to my parents' house to spend some time with them.  We did a bit of shopping, but mostly just enjoyed each other's company.

December seemed to fly by, and I'm not sure how I managed to get everything ready for Christmas in time.  Ariana figured out how to really crawl, though she still uses a mixture of army and traditional.  She also started talking more and can say "dada".  No association with her dad yet, but I'm sure that's not far away.

A few days before Christmas, my brother, Bill, got engaged!  He is marrying a wonderful woman named Jessie!  We adore her and are so excited for her to be a part of the family.  They have decided to get married on May 11 in the Logan LDS temple.  This is mine and Tim's anniversary!  We're pretty excited to spend our 6th anniversary in the same building (and same room!) where we were married.

We took a quick trip to Logan for Christmas, and it was delightful!  Ariana didn't really get the concept of presents, but she did enjoy "helping" Dad with the unwrapping.

One of her favorite presents is this blow up penguin.  It makes noises (fortunately, not annoying ones!) when you push it.

My dad has an amazing Santa suit, and has gone to family parties and such as Santa.  I asked him to get dressed up so we could take some pictures.  Ariana was intrigued at first, but then decided she didn't like Santa very much.  Oh, well! We'll try again next year.

We haven't had very much snow this year, but we did have a bit of a snowstorm one morning.  Tim was so excited to get Ariana bundled up and introduce her to snow.

Since Christmas, Ariana has figured out how to pull herself to a standing position.  Now that's all she wants to do!

Today, Ariana had her 9 month check-up.  She weighs 13 lbs. 12 oz. (SO little!) and is 27 in. long.  She is eating more and more foods and currently loves yogurt and bananas.  She brings so much joy into our lives!

So, it turns out that this post has mostly been about Ariana, but she's the one that changes so quickly.  Tim and I are the same -- ready for a new year and loving life!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy year to each of you!