Eliza's afternoon in Paris 1st birthday party

I had so much fun planning Eliza's first birthday party. It all came together when Eliza received a Paris romper as a baby gift and since we announced our pregnancy right after returning from Paris and love crepes it made for the perfect theme. We ordered Eliza's Paris invitations and birthday banner from Lillian Hope Designs on etsy.

For the food we had crepes with berries, nutella, and whipped cream, mini quiches cooked in a ham shell, almond, strawberry, and raspberry macaroons, and palmiers (french cookies that form a heart shape).

I decided to go with the mini cake in a can from Oh Happy Day because it looked simple enough and loved the idea of a mini cake. I ended up experimenting with the cake the morning of the party and it turned out to be a big mistake. I must have put too much cake mix in the can so it wouldn't cook all the way through and only half of the cake ended up coming out. I decided to go back to the store and buy another cake mix only to get home and realize I had used up all of the eggs on the mini quiches. I ran over to the neighbors house to borrow some eggs and it was a good thing because she had four glass Pyrex dishes which saved the cake. We also used Oh Happy Day's trick to create this extra long birthday candle.

And the highlight of the party was definitely the cake. Her face says it all. By the time she was done with it every layer was completely destroyed.

Halloween

 Eliza dressed up as a giraffe for the Buehner family Halloween party. We pulled together some simple safari costumes to go along with a family theme. Eliza loves going for bucking bronco rides on shoulders. I put her on my shoulders to get a good smile out of her and woke up the next day with a stiff neck. It took over a week to recover. Let's just say this picture was the last buckin bronco ride from her mama.

Katelan and Ben as Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wold

 Calli and Dan as Corella Deville and a Dalmation

 My dad and mom as Fred and Wilma Flinstone

 We went to an afternoon showing of Thriller. The dance show is always impressive and I look forward to it every year. We returned home to a delicious meal from my mom and made caramel apples for dessert. 

On Halloween Eliza dressed up as a Tiger. My mom's Halloween costume closet came in handy this year. We enjoyed our ward's chili cook off and decided to wait until next year to participate in the trunk or treat.

Gardner Village

 I love Halloween, as soon as September was coming to an end I got so excited for Halloween, and even had my decorations up before October 1st. It got me out of my summer coming to an end rut. I was excited to pick out Eliza's first Halloween costume, Halloween parties, and of course taking Eliza to Gardner Village. We took advantage of the two buck Tuesdays. We went the first time with Eliza's neighborhood friend Madison. It was sure tough getting a good picture of those two. No one does Halloween better than Gardner Village. We couldn't resist going a 2nd time with Eliza's cousin Maia. And yes my 11 month old rode a pony. I was sure glad the ponies only made a few laborious rounds before my back went out from holding Eliza steady. We will definitely be for the Christmas displays.

11 months...

 

 

This month Eliza got her first tooth, oh boy did it hurt.

Her first tooth came in on the top. She now has three teeth that have broken through.

Eliza's new trick is sitting up on her own. Every time we go to check on her in her crib she's sitting up playing and she loves it.

She thinks it's the greatest thing ever being able to look over the crib.

Eliza is so close to crawling, but right now she is best at scooting backwards and every once in a while gets stuck underneath the dresser.

It has been so fun to see her little personality develop. 

She smiles easily, laughs more often, flaps her hands in excitement or sometimes frustration, and has just started clapping.

We just love our little girl!

Silver Lake

How have we lived so close to Big Cottonwood Canyon our entire lives and never been to Silver Lake? We've now been twice. The first time we saw a moose along the trail. We came a little more prepared for the cool weather the second time. I'm still getting used to the cooler weather in the evenings. Poor Eliza was only dressed in a onsie on the first go. I can never get enough of the gorgeous colors of fall.

10 months...

weight: 14 pounds 9 ounces (finally doubled her birth weight)

nicknames: bear/ bear cubs

favorite foods: cheese puffs or baby Cheetos, spinach apples and rutabaga surprisingly, and always sweet potatoes.

she's not crawling yet, but rolls everywhere, practices her swim moves, and is starting to get into crawling position.

she is a little monkey and holds her bottle with her hands and feet, sometimes feet only. 
she has never needed buttpaste!

she thinks it is so funny when we sit her up in her crib she can now see over the railing and loves to play peekaboo with us.    

she still loves to be carried around in the bjorn and can hardly make it through a run in the jogger without falling asleep.

she loves the aquarium and tries to grab the fish as they swim by.

she has the most beautiful big eyes and button nose.
she is the best thing that has ever happened to us.

i can't believe my baby will be one in two more months! 

Newport beach

 

We just returned from our family vacation to Newport. We looked forward to this trip all summer. It was our favorite Newport trip so far because we got to introduce Eliza to the beach. Unfortunately Calli and Ben were unable to come this year due to starting school. Katelan flew out for the weekend and Dan came out during the week. At the end of the week Scott said he could  have stayed all month. We can't get enough of the Newport weather, morning jogs on the boardwalk, and playing at the beach all day. We stayed in a beach house right on the boardwalk so we were able to put Eliza down for her morning and afternoon naps. It was the perfect trip for Eliza. We can't wait until next year!

  

Bike ride to the wedge. I was loving all of the charming houses along the way.

the little ones didn't last long...

Scott's sister Amy moved to San Diego this summer for Robbie's PhD program. It was so much fun spending the day with them.

 

We thought it would be fun to try Sea World this year. We enjoyed seeing Shamu, but it was HOT, real hot. We didn't last long without any shade or misters. By the time we left Eliza had red puffy eyes and slept the entire ride home.

 

Philip tried body surfing for the first time this year. Each year he watches his brothers surf and wants to be big just like them. Watching his face after catching his first wave was priceless, pure joy. 

Cute Tiff is pregnant with baby number 5 in October. It didn't stop her from getting out in the waves. It was so nice to catch up with them.

We ate Seaside donuts everyday, of course. Every year we have a new favorite donuts. This year we loved getting their ham and cheese/ almond croissants for breakfast.