Update on Kara

I have to quickly write this down so I don't forget. In the last week Kara has started talking like crazy! She says the following words: da (done), mo (more), da (daddy), ni ni (night night). She signs as well as says done and more.

Lily didn't talk this early because we taught her to sign a lot earlier and a lot more words then we have taught Kara.

Lots more to come! We've had a busy couple of weeks.

Kara's 9 Month Check Up

Kara's growing like a weed! Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 3 oz (5%)
Height: 28 inches (60%)
Head Size: 46.5 cm

Kara has been crawling for about 1.5 months. As soon as she started crawling she began trying to walk. With her motivation I'm guessing she'll be walking well before she turns 1. She is getting into everything and eating whatever she can find off the floor. She loves to eat real food. Her favorite foods are the little baby hot dogs. As far as we can tell Kara is allergic to all casein products, gluten, and eggs. Hopefully this will change over time.

Kara can say Hi and Momma though she says neither very often. She is a child of few words. But she is full of smiles. Rarely will you find her upset or sad. She loves her bed and will play in it for quite awhile after she wakes up from a nap.

Kara's goes really fast when she is tired but does eventually crash. She lets me know she is tired by a particular cry. Then I sing her the night night song and she curls up in her blanket and quickly goes to sleep.

Kara is such a sweet child! How grateful we are that she is in our family!

Swimming Party!

We love having barbecues in the summer. We had our first barbecue yesterday. It was a blast...except the fact that the pool heater wasn't turned on so it was SOOOOO cold. Here are some fun pix:

Kara...notice all the red blotches on her face? She is allergic to EVERYTHING! This was right after she had a little piece of BBQ potato chips. Isn't she an absolute doll, though?

My sweet Lily is uber afraid of the water. Notice she has a life jacket on AND a floatie. She was in heaven and probably would've taken a nap there if I would've let her.

My cute girls. Lily had a blast pulling Kara around. Kara had a blast being pulled around.

Kember pulls the floaties around. Choo Choo!

The Johnson family and Dan (he did a great job bbqing)

The Gubler family (I caught them at a bad time. They were both about to put food in their mouth.)

Part of the Tuttle family.

So much FUN! We love to invite people all summer long. If you are reading this then you might be next!!

Fire House!

For structured playgroup this week we went to the Fire House! The kids had a blast. First we all got to see a cute video about how to get out of a burning house. Then they got to see the actual fire engine! It was fun to see it up close and see all the tools and mechanisms tucked inside the truck. The fireman couldn't spend too much time with us because he ended up having to go out on a call.

It was a great activity! Thanks Tarah!

Happy Easter!

EASTER EGG HUNT

The Dixie State Easter Egg Hunt was a madhouse. I have never seen so much candy. It was on acres and acres of grass. And it was gone in about 5 minutes. Crazy.

Lily and Daizy and Kara all got some candy. They were please.

Kara liked the eggs more than the candy. She was not about to let go of them!

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EASTER MORNING
Lily got books for Easter...

...and a tutu. Don't let the scowl fool ya, this was her favorite present

Our Swimming Pool

One of the great things about living in an apartment complex is the pool. We love it! Lily is deathly afraid of the water....she's afraid of sinking, of getting water in her eyes, you name it.

Lily is ready for entry into the water!

It took about 30 minutes for Lily to relax enough to do a back float. So what do y'all think? To take swimming lessons or not to take swimming lessons?

Lily's favorite friend in the apartment complex. Daizy is a fish out of water. She kept encouraging Lily to swim.

Grandma and Grandpa Southwick Come to Visit

We weren't able to find a time when we could see Dan's parents while we were in Logan. So, they came down and visited us the next weekend! It was so fun to see them! We went up to the Dixie rock and hiked around a bit. We hadn't ever been there so it was great to explore.

Hiking with Grandpa Southwick is a neat and educational experience.

Kara and Mom

Grandpa Southwick visits Lily in her "house."

The view was amazing!

Daddy and the kids lounge on the rocks.

Walking on the Turtle Road. There are a lot of turtles living on either side of this road. They were endangered so this area was made to protect them.

Enjoying the walk on Turtle Road.

We explored the rocks and didn't realize that we were too far away from an easy exit down the rocks. So we had to do some sliding down. It was a bit scary but we all made it!

Kara spends quality time with Grandpa Southwick.

Visiting Grandma Southwick at her hotel was soooo exciting for the girls!


Grandpa and Grandma Southwick took us to Golden Corral for dinner and then went to church with us the next day. It was so fun to have them come!

Visiting Logan

Dan had a school conference he had to go with in Salt Lake City so we tagged along. It was fun to see everyone! We were able to visit with our old ward and playgroup which was so fun! What great friends we have!

We had tons o fun with Grandma and Grandpa Mecham...on Friday night we went to see Dan's brother and sister in Brigham City. Lily was giddy to see her cousins! (Of course I forgot my camera! We're always in such a hurry to get there that we always forget things.)

Friday and Saturday my siblings came to visit. It was fun to see the new babies and see how the cousins had grown! It's amazing how everyone changes in such a fast time! Lily loved playing with all her cousins. It was like time had never passed.

Grandpa helps the kids play in the snow. The snowman's face was melted by the end of the day.

Kara got to know here Grandma again pretty quickly.

Shonnee holding little Bentley, Daniel's little girl. She's a doll!

Great Grandma Mecham came to visit. It was so fun to see her again! I'm impressed that she's still able to drive so far even though she's 91!

We went to the Golden Spike in Brigham City. This is where the railroad tracks met when they were building them across the country. It was pretty neat to see.

Original tracks.

The train that goes on the track. The gold color in the paint is actual gold!!

Thiokol. Pretty cool, huh?

Grandma Mecham helping Lily do an art project.

Dan's conference went really well. He learned a lot about the nursing field. He also got to know a lot of the nursing student colleagues who were there. And he got a lot of free stuff. =0) He can't wait to go again next year.