A little bit of zoo fun

I picked Lesley and Charlie up at 7, stopped for bagels and coffee and headed to the zoo. It was Malia's first trip to the zoo and for the most part she was content to ride in the stroller. She did get a kick out of seeing the orangutans, she did her best to communicate with them by growling and squealing. She was also pulling on the bars to the exhibit, not sure if she was interested in the oranguatans or teething. The highlight of the trip for me was the monkey exhibit, we were the only ones walking through the exhibit and the monkeys were very friendly, some of the little guys were within arm's reach. A nice new addition that opened in Sept. is the splash pad and cavern which was our last stop and was very refreshing as it was already warming up at 10:30 a.m. Then it was home to nap in preparation for our girls night later in the day
(pedis, manis & cheesecake factory) with everyone at our MOPS table. Thanks Lesley for a fun day at the zoo and a much needed girls night out.

Charlie pretend kissing the goat, he also hugged every single goat in the petting zoo

Malia and I splashing around

So much for splashing, time to soak

Lesley and Charlie who is having too much fun to look at the camera

We are all ready to go home, too cute look at Malia and Charlie holding hands

Autumn is here

I know, I know it is 101 today, but I am going to choose to look at the bright side of things. This is the first official day of Fall and that means...my favorite time of the year is here. Here a few of the reasons I love the Fall

1. it is cooling down at night time, and I have been enjoying walks with my
fabulous neighbor Nicole
2. Halloween is just around the corner, and I can't wait to get Malia's costume
in the mail and try it on my little lady...hint, hint ;)
3. Stephen, Malia and I all have birthdays to celebrate in the upcoming season
4. wow, I can't believe my baby is going to be 1!
5. Tanner is graduating in 2 short months, go little brother
6. it will be cool enought to turn my oven on for one of my favorite hobbies,
baking!
7. homemade chili with a dollop of sour cream on top
8. time with family at Thanksgiving...and I am not going to lie the food is tops
9. Stephen and I can take Malia to the park
10. My Mom is healthy
11. caramel dapples (it is spelled that way on purpose, I love ya Kalli & Becky)
12. the smell of tea lights burning in a pumpkin, I know strange
13. time to drag out the sweater boxes that have been itching to come out from
underneath the bed

Climber, Climb On

I apologize for the cheesy title but those of you who have done any rock climbing know the phrase. Like rock climbing I am beginning to wish I had some sort of pulley and rope system that would keep Malia from tumbling down whatever she is climbing on. I am not exagerrating when I say I was only out of the room for 1 minute. I was packing her diaper bag for the gym and when I returned this is what I found. My heart started racing...and then I ran for the camera. It is so cool to see her personality develop, she is very determined and as you can see very adventurous. On the other hand my Mom tells me that I was so cautious I didn't walk without assistance until I was 16 months old. Every day is an adventure...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy 9 Months Malia!

Malia turned 9 months today and her friend Mattox in Utah turned 1 year old. Happy Birthday Mattox! My sweet baby got a great report from Dr. Z, which I was very happy about and Malia was very pleased that she only had 1 shot, instead of the usual 4 or 5. Malia weighs 16lb 14.5 oz (25th percentile) and is 26.25 inches tall (25th percentile). She is just a little peanut! I thank the Lord that she is healthy and growing well.

Maraca Mama

It is so much fun to see Malia doing her best to imitate different things that Stephen and I do. I have been showing her for a week or so how to shake the maracas, with not a single shake from Malia. And then yesterday after I emptied her bath water and returned to the family room there she was shaking them like a pro and giggling. Now she won't put them down! As you can see from the second picture she is also beginning to get curious about how things work, she was trying her hardest to pull the maraca apart. So much fun!

Shake, Shake, Shake

So Curious

Such a Happy Girl

My little cling-on

A few months ago I was commiserating with Krissy about how both of our babies were at that clingy stage, where they can be happily playing with a toy, but the moment you step out of their line of vision they whine and cry, and eventually have a total meltdown if you don't return immediately. I just realized last week that Malia is past that stage, and thank goodness! Now that she speed crawls if I leave the room and she wants to be with me, she will follow me. I don't mind that she follows me everywhere I go, it is so much better than whining. Here she is helping me do the laundry, her idea of help involved pulling all of the clean clothes from the dryer and throwing them on the ground. She also loves to watch the clothes spin around in the washing machine, she will shreak with excitement and when I join her she will point at the glass and giggle. Who knew seeing your baby get excited about laundry could be so much fun!