Private

Hi all. Our blog is going private. If you'd like to be able to access it still, leave your email for me. Thanks friends!

Pictures

An old friend of mine took some pictures for us a few weeks ago. You can check out her blog at www.bekahloss.blogspot.com. Here are just a few of the pics. I definitely have some favorites posted, do you?

(What you don't see in this picture is what happened next. Do you see that fist full of leaves? She very much enjoyed eating them directly after this picture was taken.)

New toys

We had a very good Halloween here. Esther's first, you know. We wanted to make sure she got the most out of her costume so we made Esther wear her costume while we ran errands during the day. Despite the fact that the head was a little baggy and it was making her sweat like crazy, she loved it! Grandma Karrie got some really great pictures of her, but until I get copies the above picture of the sleepy giraffe will have to do.

We like to keep things simple. Esther wasn't extremely excited by what came in the box shown above, but she has really enjoyed the box.

Here I am modeling my new boots as Esther attempts to stand in her new wagon. As long as the wagon keeps moving she stays seated. But the minute the wagon stops she wants to stand.

Here is a better shot of Esther in her new wagon from Papa and Vicki. Thanks again! She loves it!

And just for fun, here is another shot of my birthday present. Yeah for boots! Good job Jackie!

President Packer's Talk

Loved reading this man's perspective on President Packer's talk.

http://gaymormonguy.blogspot.com/2010/10/president-packers-talk-from-gay-mormon.html?spref=fb

Babies & Baskets

This little blue eyed beauty has a new pastime...

playing in her basket.

This surprisingly entertaining item frequently keeps Esther occupied for spans of 15 to 20 minutes. All I have to do is place a variety of random objects (including a toothbrush, measuring spoons, chap-stick, and a piece of ribbon).

She also uses anything she can grab a hold of to help herself stand up. After discovering this trick she continued to learn to climb up her crib bumper and almost flung herself out of her crib.

Needless to say the bumper had to go, which is extremely unfortunate because it is so cute.

Esther's after bath hairdo. Awesome.

On a different note, Esther and I spent the day in Lehi yesterday. Ashley was meant for motherhood. I went down hoping to be of some help and she was showered, had her make-up on, and her house was spotless clean. Her sweet little boy was having a bit of a hard time latching on while nursing but Ashley was so patient and understanding. She seemed completely calm and was great at knowing exactly what Carson needed.

Ashley with her sweet Carson.

And finally, Royal came to play for a few hours today. He was hamming it up and Esther couldn't get enough of him. I told him that she is going to be very sad when he moves to China and he was curious as to why. He kept saying, "She can come and visit me in China whenever she wants to". I don't think he quite understands just how far China actually is.

From Cradle to Crawling

(Esther relaxing cross-legged in her morning bath)

Summer is quickly dwindling to fall but with its advent come some good things. Namely, baseball playoffs, the return of college football (much to Sausha's dismay), and apparently babies start crawling at the beginning of fall. At least that is what ours has done. Esther, defying Dr. Spock and his incorrect and falsified research, has started crawling at 6 months rather than the prescribed age of 8 months. She has also started standing up with the support of either her crib or our coffee table which has resulted in some stellar tumbles. Today she head-butted the edge of the table and the other day she seemingly leaped from the bars on her crib and crashed into the bars on the opposite side. Both resulted in inconsolable tears; or at least tears that mom rather than dad had to brush away for her to calm down.

School has also started. Sausha is finishing up her last semester of her undergrad and I am just starting my grad program. Neither of us are excited to be in school, but we're happy that she, at least, is almost done. In an effort to save on gas and time at work I have started riding a bike to work. However, I don't have my own bike so I borrowed my dad's. When he was in law school his Fuji bike was stolen and being too poor to purchase another Fuji, he bought a Peugeot bicycle from a garage sale. The Peugeot has been along as long as I can remember and now I proudly ride it to work and to campus. I feel a little like the Miss Gulch from the Wizard of Oz riding it, but you have to make do with what you got.

Esther occasionally loves her father, as evidenced in this photo.

I'm a firm believer that, as a family, we only go swimming so Sausha can put Esther in her sun hat and cute orange slice bathing suit.

A side note from the author's wife, Jack always despairingly tells me how no one ever comments on his posts. So, comment please. Even if it is only out of pity.

By the way, Esther had her 6 month appointment last week. 15 lbs. 1 oz, 27 and 1/2 inches long.

Royal

This little munchkin isn't going to be around much longer. His dad recently accepted a job in Guangzhou China and their little family will be leaving in a matter of months. So this is a brief picture ode to Royal.

Oh yeah, so cool with the sunglasses.

I know you aren't gone yet, but you will definitely be missed when you are (and that goes for Meredith and Zach too).