Sunday, October 30, 2011

new calling

Today I got released as the CTR 7 teacher and called to be the Laurel Advisor.  In Primary any lesson in which I let my class act out a story as I told it, or that involved coloring in any way, was a total success.  My little class of four girls was full of hugs and sweetness and said the cutest things.  Almost every week I'd have a funny little story to tell Spencer on our walk home from church.  So you can imagine how I feel; I'm excited, but a bit intimidated by my new responsibilities.

My leaders in YW were just the best and I still keep in touch with many of them.  They have definitely set a high standard!  I really hope I can have the same kind of positive influence on the lives of the girls in my class.  I also wish I had kept more of the handouts and lesson ideas from when I was in young women's because I'm at a total loss.  Will I have to bring baked goods to church every week for a lesson to be good, or make cutely crafted scrapbooky bookmarks as handouts?

Before I forget, I need to write down something cute that happened last week in my primary class.  I was humming a song and the girls were trying to guess what it was.  "Oh!  I know!" one exclaimed.  "Give Said the Little Man!"  I almost laughed out loud.  I was humming Give Said the Little Stream.  But I'm sure my sweet little student has wondered for some time why the grass grew greener everywhere the little man went.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

10 Months

Where has the time gone?  Our sweet Clara is ten months old!

At ten months she...

...is still on the petite side of things.  In fact, our pediatrician thinks she'll be off the charts in height and weight by her next visit.  But she is healthy and growing.
 ...loves to sit and play and entertains herself quite well.  Her favorite toys are her keys and her puppy.

...is really into books and her favorite right now is Playtime Peekaboo.  She loves to be read to, but will also grab a book, turn the pages and babel to herself.

...has become quite vocal.  She loves to practice new sounds and says "mama" and "dada" all the time.

...definitely loves her parents and can get very shy around people she's not familiar with.  I personally love this, because it's one of the only times she'll snuggle into my chest or shoulder (while flashing a coy little smile to the stranger).

... has been known to cry on occasion when left with a loving relative.

...lights up whenever her daddy walks into the room.  She LOVES her daddy and will kick her legs and smile and squeal every time she sees him.

...loves to pat her kitty cat, who is quite tolerant of her sometimes-less-than-gentle antics.

...continues to be a stellar sleeper, sleeping 11-12 hours at night and taking two 2-hour naps during the day (at 9 and 2).

...eats just about everything that we eat (feeds herself) and despite her small size has quite the appetite.  She can't shove the cheerios and bananas in her mouth fast enough.  She can eat an entire apple or peach for lunch.  The only foods she hasn't loved are broccoli and green beans.

...has eight (!) teeth and she knows how to use them.

...is still breastfeeding and loving it.

...enjoys going on walks and running errands with me and sitting in the carts at stores where she can see everything that's going on.

...apparently has a fear of large pumpkins and elevators.

...communicates by nodding her head which is so cute and funny, but quite helpful:  "Clara, do you need more cheerios?" head nod yes-yes-yes!

...is not crawling yet, but can definitely get around - she rolls and pivots and pulls up to stand.  She also does this thing where she gets up on her toes and balance on her head.  So silly!

...LOVES to stand and bounce and she loves to stand on the couch facing the window to see what's happening outside.

...still wears some 3-6 month size clothes, but mostly 6-9 month size.

...is so expressive!

...refuses to sleep at church, even though it's nap time.  She loves her bed and does not like to try to sleep elsewhere.  As much as daddy would love her to fall asleep in his arms, it's only happened once or twice (ever).

...has a favorite time of day, and it's bedtime! She gets so excited when we do the "jam jam" and put her in her crib.

This little doll has definitely won our hearts, but with a smile like this how could she not?

Sunday, October 23, 2011

In the Orchard


For a long, long time I've been convinced that documenting my family is one of the most important things I can do.  I take plenty of photos, but I also have wanted to have some nice family photos each year - you know, where we are all in a pretty place looking somewhat put together.  The beautiful fall colors, crisp autumn air and dreamy creamy golden light simply beg for a family photo shoot.  I was planning on hiring a professional to take our photos, but in the end I decided we'd just try and do it ourselves this year.

I asked my sweet sister-in-law to help out and she happily obliged (thanks Carol!). The stars seemed to align as I heard of a beautiful [secret] nearby orchard just one day before we had "family photos" scribbled on the calendar.  Just over a mile from our house, a generous family with an abundance of land and gorgeous trees laden with impeccable fruit, sweetly let us set up in their apple orchard for a late afternoon of smiles and laughter and clicks of the shutter.  We all took turns setting up the shots, adjusting the camera settings, trying to get Clara to smile, and snapping the photos; it was definitely a collaborative effort.  Here's a tiny peek at a few favorites.











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