A Few Highlights from last year...

A photo review of our year.

Aimee's First Snow Experience (these are during an ice storm that hit at the beginning of the year.) Aimee loved eating the snow.

Aimee discovers the piano which becomes one of her favorite "toys."

Daddy joins the Army's Health Professional Scholarship Program. This means the Army pays all school-related costs for 3 years in exchange for 3 years of professional service after school. It will be an adventure, and we have good company as several of Boyd's school friends are also in the program.

Spring showers! Aimee's first rain play (with daddy close by!)

Spring Trips:

A spring trip to Kat's parents. While there, we visited the Chihuly (sp?) glass exhibit at the desert botanical garden with Grandma. Truly amazing, this is the second exhibit I have seen by him and I was equally impressed. Any more opportunities to see his work and I will be there!

Aimee loves her 'Grandma-great' who she played with all visit. Aimee would go into her room and play all the music-box books Grandma-great keeps in a box of toys especially for visiting grand and great-grand children. We LOVE to be there and get to know our grandma's.

Visiting Great-Granny Bessie and Aunts Yvonne, Sherril, and Geri. Such Gracious hospitality everytime we visit. Aimee is so loved!!!

Summer (July) trips:

Fishing and picnic with Cousins Mac and Zoe and Granny Bets. 4th of July festival and soccer game with Granny Bets.

Spending a weekend with Papa Bob and cousins. We went to a

park and to a couple acquariums. We love to watch the fish

The most exciting moment of this summer was Aimee's decision to start walking (after watching her younger cousin Zoe running around, Aimee just up and started walking!) In fact,

the same night she started walking she tried chasing Mac and Zoe across the floor. Aimee loved playing with her cousins! Thank you Zoe for the great example!!!

A special trip with Aunt Julina and cousins to Ikea!! woo-whoo for shopping! and then to the

mall to ride the Merry-Go-Round. Another first for Aimee.

Finishing up the July travel craziness with an extended Kat family reunion. This is Aimee taking on the pinata. Yes, she does know what to do with that stick!

Back home again, playing with neighbors Peter and Ian on the sprinkler mat. Water is SO much fun!

Daddy's dental school friends love to go rock climbing, and invited us to join. We discovered a sport we can do together without any competition or difference in abilities effecting the fun of the adventure! Aimee took right to it too and actually tried climbing (with us helping her of course!) Next summer we may need to get a harness for her... She also learned how to do 'knuckles' after a high five. Thanks Travis and Nate for the good memories!!! Looking forward to more. --check out those shoes, size 2 1/2. She is so cute!

Aimee discovers the fun of fall leaves. Compliments to the lawn mower guy for making such a big pile to play in!!! The pile was as tall as Peter, our next door neighbor shown in this picture.

Daddy gets to go hunting, he has talked about wanting to get a deer (for preparedness sake, to have the skill in case it ever becomes a necessity) and now he has done it. He has told me since that the experience wasn't quite as thrilling when he saw something alive and beautiful taken down so easily. I think this will become a "only when absolutely necessary" activity. Turns out neither of us have a taste for venison, though his friends who were kind enough to take him out had a way of preparing it with horseradish sauce and a cherry glaze on top that made it palatable. We have since heard that deer jerky is actually really good. So maybe we will have to try some before writting it off altogether.

And to finish off the memorable events of 2009, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Grandma's, Grandpa, Uncles and Aunts, and best of all... Cousins!!! in Kat's immediate family. A wonderfully warm (though not quite warm enough to use the pool although a few cousins took a polar dive on a dare...) After Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to celebrate an early Christmas with Michelle and Dave, and Aimee and I before Aimee and I came home to spend 2 deliciously relaxed weeks with daddy for our very 1st Christmas at home (we got video footage of the experience but not any pictures that I could find.) We look forward to future Christmas's at home. Aimee loved to open the paper and boxes, though I think next year she will be a bit more aware of the 'special' nature of the holiday.

And that is our 2009 year.

2009 in quick summary

Beginning and End of 2009

Quick summary of 2009:

Boyd studied

Kat worked on video projects for family and watched Aimee grow

Aimee worked on growing up.

in a few more details...

Boyd has been working hard in school to learn what he needs to know to be a good dentist and loves to look in Aimee's mouth to see what teeth are growing in, to floss Aimee's teeth and to

make sure I am brushing her teeth at least 3 times a day (of course when I am in control of the tooth brush she gets her 1 nightly brushing...) He also wants to check my teeth out every now and then, seeing how my teeth line up, trying to see how much my grinding has effected my bite, pointing out the different names of different teeth, telling me to floss

more... he is going to be a great dentist!!! He practices what he will be preaching too, becuase he very regularly flosses and brushes his own teeth! Aside from teeth, he is very good to get friends together and play games or have dinner. We are very blessed with great neighbors and friends!!

[He isn't going to like this picture... : ) but then he shouldn't let me do all the updating...]

I have all of my families old video footage that his been digitized and that is all mixed up. So I have been putting together movies of individuals using this footage. It is very rewarding in a creative outlet sense, it does take a lot of time though. I mostly take care of Aimee which is the most rewarding job!! I am amazed at how different taking care of my own daughter is from babysitting or from watching parenting from a sideline...the sideline position sometimes seems easier because there are very few in the moment emotions involved! I never understood the "pick your battles" until I had Aimee crawling all over the chairs and table--I chose the battle of 'no climbing on the table' and left the chairs issue alone (within safety bounds of course).

Aimee is definitely growing up! She understands SO MUCH! from night night time (when she will cuddle with her blanket) to outside (when she will get her jacket and shoes). She is using more and more words... nigh-nigh, bath, bubble, cup, eat, moo, meow, daddy, jammies, jacket,

popcorn, drink, cheese, please, thank-you, dog, yellow, plane, car, truck, one, two, three ... and she is repeating words so well. She has the cutest smile with a dimple in one cheek. She discovered swimming in the summer and loved it, her bath times are more fun now especially when bubbles are involved. She has learned how to take off her clothes and many mornings I have gone in and found everything (including clothes and diaper!) thrown out of the crib. I am glad she isn't persistant about keeping her clothes off, she just likes to take them off every once in a while!!! She has been learning how to play with other kids and we are working on sharing which is a very tricky skill to learn. She has especially loved playing with her cousins!!! She has been a great traveler, going out west on airplanes several times. She loves to play peek-a-boo with other passengers. (side note-- I have seen so many good people who have jumped in to help me with folding/unfolding stroller, carrying the car seat on the plane, smile and play with Aimee ... as I have traveled alone with Aimee. I am so grateful to all of the friendly faces and people in life!!) Aimee has been a joy and blessing in so many ways and life is beautiful with her around.

So there is a quick idea of what 2009 has been like. Next post will include memorable moments from the last year with a few more pictures. Then on to 2010.

The leaves came down (fall) and Aimee played

Christmas came and Aimee dressed up, and played 

 The snow came and Aimee played

Spring is all but here, guess what Aimee will be doing . . . 

One Year Old

  Now that Aimee is One it is probably time to update a bit.  In the last 3 weeks she has mastered going up and down stairs.  She is babbling a whole lot more.  She LOVES to play with other kids, she watches them most intently trying to figure out how they do what they do and then with the skills she feels she has a chance at being successful she tries (it is almost written on her face as she thinks it through!!) She is especially good at clapping, giving high-fives and tens, crawling, and is beginning to understand that chase is a game!  She has a sit-and-scoot which she loves to ride on (she can't quite reach the ground to scoot).  She continues to be a happy, joyful little person and her personality is developing so well. 

  Boyd continues to study hard and is dedicating as much time as we let him to doing well in school.  He is a great example of working for what you want, wether it be school, work, family etc. We are looking forward to spring break next week, especially as the weather is showing spring on it's way!!! Hurray for sunny springs and summers!!!  

  

Night Out!

daddy started dental school!!! he says it got real for him with his first 'hiss-tall-oh-gee'  test, but the school had a big "white coat ceremony" and THEY said he is NOW he has begun. it was a fancy affair, i got to wear my cute green skirt with the pink flowers and a flower headband in my hair.  mommy says i looked soo cute and she knows! they talked and talked and sometimes people laughed, but i liked the loud noise they made with their hands, they did it lots, mommy called it 'clapping'. 

after putting his coat on and all the clapping and talking we all went to see aunt yvonne and uncle clifford and cousin arnie.  they said daniel was 'playing football' but i only saw lots of funny hats (were they on people) running into each other (is that a nice way to play?). there were loud noises there too--but they scared me so mommy moved away from the scary sounds, she's so good to understand me. i don't remember much else cause i went to sleep.  sometimes i think this is a funny place, but i like it. 

Grandma, look at me!!!

I'm such a big girl to be sitting up so tall; 

okay, it's true, more often I fall.

But in time you will see

the strength that's in me 

as i master to sit, crawl,

to walk, run, and all.

So Grandma, look at me!

Such a big girl you'll see.

Some days are just Plain Poopy

So each sunday I team teach a class of 8-12 Nine year olds.  Last Sunday our lesson was going great when my team teacher stepped out for a few seconds, as I was standing up in the back with Aimee I went on with the good discussion we had going so she slipped out easily.  And then it happened, Aimee added her 2 cents (or should we say cups?) worth.  She exploded out of her diaper.  It took a minute or two for us all to register, we were staring in shock, then the kids started asking if that was REALLY poop? two or three got dramatic and hung themselves out the room window, another two jumped in to help me find my baby wipes, I am just standing there, plastered in "mustard" from waist down (one line went solidly down to the floor where it left a little puddle), and I think I must have still been in a little bit of shock because I kept trying to go on with the lesson as if nothing had happened or maybe nobody noticed. . .  Then as my team teacher popped her head back in to ask me to come out and assist for a second I realized it was a lost cause, so puddled my way across the floor. . . Yup, one more memorable lesson for Valient Nines.