The Past Few Months in Pictures (and a few words)

Ariana's been busy the last few months.  Here's some of what she's been up to:

Ariana learned to drink from a straw.  Of course, she forgot once we taught her to blow kisses, but she's starting to remember again.  Ariana has been learning to eat new foods.  In late March, she got a cold and lost her appetite.  It's taken me several months to get her to eat again. But we've made a lot of progress in the last month and a half, and she does quite well now. Compared to many other children, she still eats very little, but since she's very little, she seems to be eating what she needs.

Ariana found a new friend, Christian, to play with at a family reunion.  They were born on the same day.  Last year they were about the same size.  This year, Christian is much bigger (though you can't tell from the picture).

Grandma NorRene spoils Ariana and her latest treat is this car.  It has several songs that it plays and Ariana loves it.  Thanks, Grandma!

Ariana adores her cousin Mason.  She loves to give him hugs.  He's such a great sport -- seriously, what 7-year-old boy lets a 1 year old snuggle with him?!  This picture was taken at the airport waiting for Grandma Teri and Grandpa Wally to arrive from their mission to Tonga.  We are so glad they are back!

A week after Wally and Teri came home, all of Tim's siblings and their families came into town and we had a great reunion.  We rented a very nice, large cabin up in the mountains.  This picture is on a hike we took.  It was so beautiful!

Ariana loves to swing!  We are lucky to have a park across the street from us, so we often can be found swinging away.

Ariana continues to love shoes.  She has figured out how to (kind-of) walk in Mom's sandals.

Ariana got to play with her cousin, Charity, while Mom and Dad went to see Wicked.  It was amazing!  I've been wanting to see it for many years and was disappointed when we couldn't get tickets the last time it was in Salt Lake.  This time around, though, we were able to go with Wally, Teri, Gouch, Anna, and their daughter, Nikki.  It was wonderful!

Ariana has been sharing her dad with the Saratoga Springs Art Council who recently put on a production of The Sound of Music.  At the last minute, a dancer at the ball scene had to drop out, so they asked Tim to step in since he has dance background.  He was only on stage for about 5 minutes, but it was still fun.  Wally, Teri, and I went to see it last week and we enjoyed it.  Obviously, this picture doesn't include Tim (he actually took the picture at a rehearsal), but it was fun to see him on stage.

You might notice in many of the pictures above, Ariana's hair is running wild.  For many months she wouldn't allow me to do anything with it.  Anytime I'd put a clip, hair tie, or anything else, she'd rip it out.  I felt awful that my little girl looked so scraggly, but it certainly wasn't worth the battle.  Anyway, about a week ago, I thought I'd try again and she actually let me do it!  I am so excited!  Tim thinks she looks a bit like Boo with her hair in pigtails. 

 Although Ariana inherited my super-fine hair, she got a bit of her daddy's curl.  It is darling!

My concert pianist-in-training.  She was so excited to play by herself.  Normally, I hold her while she plays or she'll walk up to the piano and play peeking over the keyboard.

Tim and I are doing well.  We are staying with Tim's parents until the winter, so we've moved our stuff into storage.  We are grateful for their willingness to let us stay with them.  We will be looking for a home in November, but I imagine that it will be January or February before we actually move (why does real estate take so long?!).  Lenders want Tim to be at his job for 6 months before they will give us a loan, so that's the reason we won't look until November.

I was recently given a new responsibility at church.  I am still playing the piano for Primary (just Senior Primary now), but in addition, I am the Webelos Scout Leader.  I am excited, apprehensive, overwhelmed, and have no idea what I'm doing.   It will be a great learning experience for me and I'm excited for the challenge!

We hope your summer has been as exciting as ours!