June 23, 2011

Cali with the Copes

Our good friends, Gordon and Courtney Cope, recently move to Southern California. We got an invitation to stay with them at their family's house in Dana Point.
They were wonderful hosts. even though they have a brand new baby boy, they showed us the sight.


Sea World!!! This was Noelle's first time. The last time Chris and I were here we were on our Honeymoon. My, how things have changed since then.










Salt Creek Beach



Noelle doesn't particularly like the feel of sand on her feet or hands, so this was a big step.


Noelle wouldn't get in the ocean... "brrrr" she says.

 Little sand buddies. They played so well together the whole trip. 





Fisherman's Warf for dinner and the Pier




More pictures to come....

June 17, 2011

Month 17




It seems like so much has changed in a month. You now have 2 front teeth and are working on one more. Your vocabulary is growing like wildfire! Hello, bye, shoes, more, please (peeeeez), thank you (gek goo), daddy, and cheese, not to mention all the phrases that are getting closer and closer to the real thing. Along with this advancement of your speech, your sassy-ness has grown to a whole new level! You know exactly what you want and you are very particular. Last week you brought me two bottles of nail polish to paint your nails. I picked a color.. assuming you didn't have a preference, but when I finished with the first hand you insisted that I use the other color on the remaining hand. Who knew? You play well by yourself and are working on sharing with others. You love to play with Oliver. The other day you were playing at his house and he taught you how to climb outside through the doggie door. you two went in and out, in and out, or about 45 minutes... which in toddler time is a long time. 
You understand most everything we say so we are able to ask you what you want. The response is either an enthusastic "Yeah!" or a sweet "no". Everyone that meets you is enthralled with how animated you are. There is no hiding your emotions, which really helps mommy. You still love Mickey Mouse Club house and could watch TV all day if I would let you. You have a new love of books, your little sponge brain is picking up everything. After your nap, you love to pick out a few books and sit in my lap while we read them together. This week you like Eye Spy books and the week before it was The Hungry Catepillar. You always want to be the one to turn the pages.



You received your first haircut and were a little angel the whole time. You didn't seem to care for the after picture, overall it was very needed. Let's hope those curls grow back quickly.







There are a lot of firsts this month. You went into nursery a few weeks early and you seem to be enjoying it. Heaven knows that you have the word "No!" down if you ever need to use it. You are a new comer to the idea of Time Outs... and you seem to dislike them already. Unfortunately, there will be many more to come, I am sure. You are still very active and love to dance. I need to get you into lessons soon to start working off some of your energy. Oddly enough, you have now started to show signs of stranger danger. You generally put on a show for any onlooker, but there are those random few who make you uneasy. Some familiar faces you do like to see are the Kohler's. They visited this month, and as always you had a blast. I don't know who you like better Amy or Kaden. 


Speaking of likes, this month these are a few of your favorite things.

Anything to do with the wipe box, whether you are riding in it or pushing around your latest favorite toy. We definitely get our money's worth.

This combines two of your favorite things... Your over-sized dog (thanks provost!) and your necklaces. You had mastered the art of putting them on and taking them off of yourself, now you are working on the dog.

"Cheese!" I had written the alphabet on the cement block in the backyard. You love to write you own letters as well as pronouncing them. Right now all of the letters are "E" or "B".

You love when Oliver comes to play. I think you guys are starting a band in this pic... So cute!

June 15, 2011

Stayin' Cool



Things are really heating up here in St. George and it's all we can do to stay cool. Water is the only thing that brings relief. Splash pads, neighbor's swimming pools, the community center, backyard kiddie pool, and Sand Hollow reservoir are the main places we visit this time of year. We consider ourselves lucky when a little friend will tag along. 

Ollie kickin' it at Sand Hollow... nearing 102 degrees!!

Yummmm



Our attempt to keep cool.
This is one of 3 local splash pads we visit.

The Splash Pad in down town St. George. Noelle loves to climb the rock, mainly because she sees the big kids doing it.



June 8, 2011

Hogel Zoo

Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Sean treated Noelle and I to the Hogle Zoo. It had been months since we last went and I couldn't wait to see how Noelle would respond to the animals this time around. Most of the animals were out so we were able to see most of them. Noelle definitely showed off the animals sounds she has been working on these last few months. 







The silverback gorilla walked straight to the window and stared right at Tiffany and Noelle. He even got lower, to eye level. It was amazing to see a creature so close. We were able to stare right into his eyes. I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

Rawwwwrrrrr!!!











Rawwwrrrr!!! Respect the animals. These two are pretty wild when they get together.

She loves her Auntie Tiffany