Zoe Turns 1!

Zoe turned one on April 8th. It was actually Easter that day, so we decided to celebrate the day before. We were lucky enough with the weather to be able to go to a park, it was perfect and sunny, even though the day before was like one of the best snow days we'd had all year. She didn't get to blow out her candle, because the wind kept blowing it out for her, but she did eat her whole cupcake except for the frosting which ended up all over her! And now for picture overload :)

 Grandma Bea

 Pops

 Uncle Mike

Grandma Diane with Zoe and cousin Charlie

 Cousin Cambri (this girl is a pro at the swings)

 Uncle Ben

 Milo and Uncle Ty Ty

 Cody and Charlie

 Milo (love this big guy!)

 Tyler and Cody, just a couple of big kids themselves

Grandpa Al, the biggest kid on this playground

 Everyone had to take their turn swingin', it was a lot of fun, and very entertaining. 

She liked the swings a lot, but wasn't sure quite what do to, she just kind of hung there!

Luckily Milo was there to help Zoe with her presents, she got a lot of fun stuff, so blessed with lots of people that love her!

Since her actual birthday was on Easter, she got spoiled two days in a row! Easter is my favorite holiday, so I was super excited to have her birthday on Easter this year. I can't believe we have a toddler now. I am so blessed to have this perfect little soul in my life, I love her more than anything, and more than I ever knew I could love something!

Spring Time

Spring has sprung! Well for the most part, it is Utah so it could snow in July, but we are loving the warmer weather and longer days. I hate in the winter when I go to work in the dark, and come home in the dark, it is super depressing. Zoe loves being outside, especially with the dogs. It has been so fun to go lay a blanket on the lawn and play with them. Even on the days that I work and don't get home until 6 or so, we have still been able to go on walks. I totally notice in Zoe's mood, and my own too, the days we get to go outside to walk and play.

 Going on walks

  (My Sister in Law, Emily, made Zoe that cute hat for Christmas)

Playing outside

Zoe is loving animals right now. Anytime we see an animal, or a picture of an animal, she gets so excited. We took her to Cabella's and she had so much fun, just oohing and aahing at everything. I can't wait to take her to the zoo this year. Whenever Ty works in the basement (we...well he is starting to finish it) and we go down to visit, she always likes to go see the deer on the wall. Tyler got really sad about it the other day because he said some day he will have to tell her that he shot those deer, sad! Anytime she hears the dogs bark outside, she will point to the door that goes to the garage. She is in pointer mode lately, which is kind of nice because we can somewhat understand what she wants.

 Pointing to the animals at Cabella's missing a sock!

We are really excited for Easter this year. Easter is my all time favorite holiday. It is just happy and colorful, things are coming back alive, and the sun is getting warmer. Even better, Zoe turns 1 on Easter this year, so it will be extra special.

 Our tree in bloom!

A few random pics

Growing Too Fast

Zoe is now almost 11 months old, so close to 1 year! It has really been the best year of my life, and I have enjoyed being a mom more than I could've imagined. One thing I regret, is not documenting some of the milestones as well as I should have. I was talking with one of the girls I work with, and she has a little girl about 6 wks. younger than Zoe. She thinks her little girls is teething again, so she said she was looking back in her other babies books on when they got their teeth. I remember vaguely when she hit some of the milestones, but I need to be better noting it, along with my thoughts or whatever. I know that will be fun to look back through when she is older. Another thing that is hard for me is keeping up with this blog (as you can tell :) I blog because I don't scrap book, and I need something to keep our memories. But sometimes I feel like it is a chore. Since I am a working mother as well, the time I am at home, I spend as much time with her, and blogging doesn't cross my mind most of the time. Anyone else feel this way?? Here are some of the things I remember:

2 mo: Smiling and laughing a lot. Great sleeper.
4 mo: Rolling over
5 mo: First camping trip to Fish Lake.
6 mo: Got her first tooth, along with 5 others! 4 on top, 2 on bottom. Hasn't got anymore since.
6 mo: Started on solid foods, loves sweet potatoes, butternut squash, applesauce, and cereal.
8 mo: Sitting up by herself, great eater. Loves most everything, will try anything. Applesauce seems to be a favorite still. Started finger goods, loves bread and cheese bites!
9 mo: Crawling (Christmas Eve was when she did it first, by Christmas Day she was a pro).
10 mo: Pulling herself up onto stuff, getting into everything. Her favorite place to play is in the pantry. Loves animals, hates diaper changes.

Here's to hoping to doing better in the future!

The big 3-0

On Jan 25th Tyler turned 30. He took it a lot better than I would! One thing I have noticed with Ty, is that age doesn't matter to him. "It's just a number Rach" he would tell me. 25 was a big one for me, and I hated turning 26 because I was closer to 30 than 20. I need to be more like Ty, just enjoy the celebration and forget about the number. I wanted to throw a big party for him with a bunch of his friends, but all he wanted was to go antler hunting...go figure (yes it is that time already, and yes it does come sooner every year I swear). We ended up just having the fams over for dinner and birthday cake, it was a great way to celebrate. Again, I never take enough pics.

Little Swimmer

Danielle and I got the girls started in swim lessons. I know that sounds crazy, but it is really good for them to start in the pool early. The girl we go to will see them as early as 6 mo. We waited until the girls were 9 mo. The lady and her daughters that do it, have a pool in their backyard, and they cover it in the winter, it's pretty cool. They don't waste anytime getting these babies used to the water. They immediately dunk them and start to teach them how to hold their breath under water. Obviously they are not learning the breaststroke, but survival water skills. Learning how to float on their backs, and finding the surface if they were to fall into any water. It is really amazing what they do. I will admit that it is hard to watch, because for the most part she doesn't like it. I really like the one on one teaching method that they have too. No matter what age your child is, they always have their own lesson, it is not a group lesson. It was good to do in the winter I thought, because it got us out of the house. I will for sure do it again in the fall. Check them out on facebook, O'neal Aquatics. I loved the water when I was little, and still do. I plan to spend a lot of time swimming with this little water baby!

New Year 2012

This New Year's Eve was uneventful, with having a baby that goes to bed at 8, it changes a lot of things! I actually don't really enjoy ringing in the New Year, I know, weird. It is a drinkers holiday along with St. Patrick's Day, and if you don't drink (like muah) the time is usually filled with eating junk and going to bed feeling that way. Also, I am more of a morning person than night. Fighting sleep to say Happy New Year, just isn't worth it to me anymore. What I do enjoy is New Year's Day. My family has this tradition of eating fondue on New Year's Day, and it is such a fun tradition. My mom always does a great job with meats, veggies, bread and cheese, dessert with chocolate, the works for sure. Anyone who has had fondue, knows that it is a time consuming thing. You can only cook a few items at a time, and it takes a bit for it to cook. It is the longest dinner we have all year, and it is fun to just have everyone at the table talking and laughing. I wish I would have had my camera to take a picture of everyone and all the pots. This is a tradition I hope to enjoy for a long time, and look forward to every New Year.

Christmas Time

So I went a little overboard for Zoe's first Christmas. The problem was that I would buy stuff, stash it (I don't know why) and then forgot I bought it. Online shopping kind of goes the same way, buy it, forget you bought it until it shows up at your door. Tyler laughed at me because I wrapped up most of her gifts, I don't think she fully unwrapped even one! She loved the paper, wrapping, and bows more than anything.

Regardless of my serious type A personality and wanting EVERYTHING to be perfect and orderly, especially for her first Christmas, it was perfect (even without snow). We loved spending the day with family and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, and not all those silly gifts.  

We got the girls together to take some fun pics for some gifts, they turned out pretty cute. The dress is actually as dress both Danielle and I wore as babies.