Monday, June 16, 2014

12 MONTHS

In graduate school it was drilled into my head that if you don't document it...it didn't happen...well that is exactly the reason I have been delaying this post...I am in complete denial that I have a 12 month old.  Even if I don't document it...it is true this little guy is one.  The picture below was our best shot with the 12 month sticker.  The moment Phin is placed on his back he flips over to his tummy.  I decided it wasn't worth torturing Phin, Seth or myself to get a picture that would match the rest of the monthly sticker pictures. 




Phin weighs 24.25 pounds and is 31 inches tall.  He is in the 72nd percentile for weight and the 85th percentile for height.  He has four teeth...two on the bottom and two on the top.  He is wearing 18 month clothes and size 4 diapers.  He hates having his diaper changed but is starting to realize that diaper changes are not going to disappear.  He is very mobile these days and we are quickly learning the areas of our apartment that are not child-proofed.  


Phin loves to stand and is able to cruise along all of the furniture.  He discovered the trash can this month and was quite disappointed when I took an egg shell and tin can away from him.  He loves emptying drawers, shelves and whatever else he can get his hands on.  At this point I am able to clean faster than he is able to make messes...but he is getting pretty fast.  He is quite a talker and does some serious conversational babbling or jargon where he sounds like he is really talking.  He can say mama, dada, hi, no and Scott.  He can throw quite a fit when he doesn't get his way...and we are hoping this is a stage that quickly passes. 


I attempted to take a picture each week of him in the same place...the pictures aren't exactly a week apart...or in exactly the same spot...but this is what we ended up with.


My favorite picture is the very last one...Phin is sticking out his tongue just like Seth does when he is being mischievous.


May was a pretty busy month for Phin.  He attended his first Quilt show with Mom and Nona.  He is a serious people watcher and loved watching everyone at the show.



Phin also started playing with all of the cars that Seth has been collecting. He has started to push them along the carpet which is so fun to watch.


We tested out the doubles kit for our stroller and took a walk with cousin James while JB and Nona worked on swamp coolers at some rentals.  We started Phin out on bottom...but he was kicking James so he ended up being put back up on top.


Phin and James loved watching Benny and Andrew feed the ducks at the Garden Park Ward.


Phin also tried his hand behind this wheel on a visit to Lowe's.


He also had his first Berry Smoothie at Costco...he is a berry believer now...and squawks when the smoothie is taken away from him.


We took a walk around the Capitol building one night.  Phin loves being out on the grass.


He wasn't sure what to think about this statue.


We celebrated my first real Mother's Day.  Phin and Seth made me a sweet card and surprised me with flowers.


Phin discovered that he quite likes feeding his Daddy.  


He also took a double cart ride with his cousin Kate at Costco.


At Frisbee this month Phin learned a new trick and started doing a bear crawl in an attempt to keep his legs off of the grass.



He also can manage to pull off a downward facing dog.  I was really attempting to capture a picture of him reaching the doorknob...but this was what I got.


Phin also squeezed himself into a few tight situations this month.


The Friday after Memorial Day I took him by my Grandparents grave.  The headstone was just the perfect height for him.



Phin loves to crawl under anything that he can...



He can also do clap his hands and point on command.


We started swim lessons on his birthday.  He loves being in the water.  I think he looks quite adorable in his rash guard suit.


He also loves the swings on the way home from the Rec center.


For dinner on his birthday we picked up some KFC and biked to a near-by park for dinner.  I thought for sure that he would love the mashed potatoes and gravy...not so.




Phin seemed to like his birthday present...a bike trailer.



Happy Birthday to our little Phin!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend = Cache Valley

We spent Memorial Day weekend up in Cache Valley visiting family and celebrating the upcoming arrival of Tawnya and Jami's baby.  We played a ton of games while we were up there.  The nieces and nephews loved playing Heroscape with Seth.


Phin loved exploring Grandma Jo and Grandad's backyard.



We showed him our hand prints on a stepping stone.  


After the baby shower Aunt Emily played dress up with Phin.  Abby had brought several boxes of girls clothes for Beth and Audrey to go through and Emily was trying to convince Audrey that she needed a butterfly costume for Emmaline.  



Jamie and Jotham's family were sweet enough to host us.  Phin loved watching their kids run around...he also loved watching their chickens.




While we played games we kept Phin busy with some licorice...he was entertained this way for almost an hour.


A couple of days before our trip I threw out my back changing Phin's diaper...he is quite wiggly these days.  I had been to the chiropractor the day before we left but was still in quite a bit of pain for most of the trip.  Jamie showed us a trick that has become a lifesaver...the leg over the baby technique is a keeper.   Phin is starting to learn that there is no escape from a diaper change.


Saturday evening we walked down to the Hyde Park Cemetery to visit a couple of my ancestors Robert Reeder and Lydia Wilkinson Reeder who were in the pioneers in the Willie and Robinson handcart companies.



Phin loved playing with Grandma Jo's cookie cutters.



Monday we hiked to the wind caves in Logan Canyon.  The scenery was spectacular.



Phin even sported his Donald Trump hair for the occasion.







On our way down we encountered a rattlesnake on the trail...it sure got my adrenaline pumping.


It apparently didn't get Phin's pumping...


A weekend in Cache Valley wouldn't be complete without shotgun shooting.