What a Summer!

I guess it has been a couple of months since I have posted on our blog. It has been a crazy summer for us. I have been teaching two classes online. They have been keeping me extremely busy. I will be taking a break from teaching this fall, which will be nice. This way I will have a chance to spend more time being a mom.

Adysen is growing so fast. Over the last couple of months she has learned how to stand up while holding onto things. Now she pulls up on everything! She has two teeth on the bottom now. Well, they are still just coming in. I think if you click on the picture below you can see a little bit of a tooth. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Adysen is now 10 months old. She is so much fun!

We went to a BBQ the other night with some friends. Adysen loved eating watermelon. I never realized how dark watermelon juice was before. I am so glad we have a washer and dryer in our apartment now. :)

What a fun box to play in! Check out those blue eyes! Everybody loves them.

Look what I can reach! The last month I have done a lot of baby proofing.

Don't worry, after taking this picture I moved all the food into boxes.

We enjoyed spending time with the Alexanders when they came to Utah for a family reunion in July. We had a lot of fun participating in the various activities, but most of all we enjoyed making memories and being with our family. Adysen had a lot of fun with her aunts, uncles, and grandparents!

Alton's immediate family with Grandpa and Grandma Alexander.

Grandpa and Grandma Alexander and their children, grand children, and great-grandchildren. Adysen is on Grandma's lap. Alton and I are in the back row 4th and 5th from the left.

Standing Up - Well, at least with some assistance. These pictures were taken on July 1st (or June 30th, I think the date on our camera is off). This was when she first started standing using the couch. I took of the cushions so that it would be easier for her to stand.

Hanging out with Daddy! We went to Boise during the middle of June for my teaching conference. Adysen and Alton played all day together while I was in meetings. They went to some stores and saw lots of fun things.

This is one of my favorite facial expressions. What a cutie!

Too Many New Posts for One Day

Today I thought it would be a great day to get caught up on all of our blogging. We have done a lot of fun things the last few weeks. You may need to click on "older posts" at the bottom of our blog to see the rest of the posts I made today. It is fun to share our experiences and memories with our friends and family. :)

8 Month Photo Shoot

Adysen turned 8 months old on Friday. How exciting! She is growing so fast (and moving fast too). Sunday we tried taking some pictures of her. Our camera is a little slow and we took about 120 pictures. However, we came up with a few really cute ones. The bow and dress were made by one of our friends in our ward and her mom (www.peekaboobowtique.com).

Ensign Peak and Hogle Zoo

We had a lot of fun last weekend. On Friday we hiked up Ensign Peak with one of Alton's friends from work and his fiancee. It was a fun little hike, but quite steep. There was a beautiful view of the valley from the top. However, it was a windy, hazy day so we couldn't see very far. It would be fun to try going back when it is a little more clear.

Then on Saturday we went to Hogle Zoo with our same friends and another couple that Alton goes to school with. We really enjoyed ourselves. Adysen is still a little young to be interested in the animals. However, she really liked watching the turtle swim. She followed it with her hand. She also liked watching the monkeys run back and forth.

I found it especially interesting because one couple we went with is from China and the other is from India. They were able to tell us a little more about the different animals that are found in their countries. For example, the peacock is the national bird of India. The told us about the rain dance the peacock does right before it rains. They were surprised when the peacock at the zoo spread its wings for us, because usually they only do that before it rains. Interestingly, it rained that afternoon after we got home.

What an awesome experience!!

Baby's Best Friend

Adysen was so excited to chase after Cocoa. She is a slow little scooter, but she eventually caught up to him. She wasn't sure what to think when she actually got close enough to touch him. She would reach out and touch his fur, then he would try to lick her. She would back up a little bit and take a big look at him. Then she would scoot closer again. It was so much fun to watch her.

Calene's Graduation

On May 29th we went up to Blackfoot for Calene's graduation. It was neat to be able to listen to her give the closing remarks (she graduated in the Top Ten with a 4.0 gpa). I enjoyed watching some of the students I taught graduate. On the graduation program I counted the names of at least 52 students (out of 238) I taught in 2 1/3 years I was teaching at BHS.

Alton's sister Kelsey is also graduating this year. We are so proud of our sisters and wish them luck in their futures. What an exciting time in their lives.

New Carpet

We decided with Adysen starting to move around we wanted a little softer surface for her to be playing on. Our floor was really hard with a thin carpet and no padding. We also are planning on living in this apartment for the next 4 years. So, we want it to feel a little more like home. After spending a couple of hours looking through all the carpet remnants at RC Willey, we found a section with small pieces for $19.99. We found one that would fit almost our entire living room and decided it was perfect for us. What an awesome deal! We are thrilled to have our new carpet.

I have to admit that my cinder block apartment is really starting to grow on me. That week we also purchased a used washer and dryer from someone moving out of the apartments. Now I can do the laundry myself during the day without having to worry about Adysen. It is so wonderful! I can't believe how much easier laundry is now!! I think it is my favorite household chore. :)

Adysen scooting on her new floor.

I think she likes it as much as we do.

On the Move

On May 21th Adysen started scooting herself forward. She is getting faster every day. She is helping us keep our house clean. No matter how many toys or cool things we have for her to play with, she always seems to want to find "big people things" - shoes, cords, books, magazines, etc. Why did they make the power button on our computer such a pretty blue color? :) Anyways, we are loving every minute with Adysen. Here is a little video of her scooting around. This is when she was first learning to scoot (May 25th).

Sometimes Eating is Just Plain Messy

One day I accidently mixed up too much cereal. So when Adysen was done eating, Alton decided it would be a great learning opportunity for her to play with her food. At first she didn't like getting her hand to be messy (she must get that from me), but it didn't last long. Alton also cleaned her up after her adventurous meal. What a great Daddy! :)

Lagoon

This year we decided to get season passes to Lagoon. On May 16th we went with Uncle Mark and had a lot of fun. Alton and I learned that we can wait in line together and then just take turns going on the ride and holding Adysen. It turned out being a lot easier than we thought it would be. We also took Adysen on her first train ride around the little lake. We are looking forward to spending more time at Lagoon this summer. :)