4th of July Weekend

4th of July this year was so great! Much better than last year (think hot dessert heat, pregnant, the cabin...need I say more). Dave had the whole weekend off and we loved every minute of it. Friday afternoon we headed up to Dave's family cabin in Oakley with Dave's parents, Mike and Traci, Ryan and Frances, and Carly and Tommy. We had KFC which I had not had in like ten years but I must say their grilled chicken is pretty tasty, then we headed off to the Rodeo. I was loaded up on Claritin (I am deathly allergic to horses and hay) so it was perfect! Elsie was so good considering it started at 8 which is her bed time. She took a nap on my lap which was amazing and then she woke up for the fireworks and she loved them! The next few days we just hung out at the cabin with baby Brooklyn, went on four-wheelers and walks, the Burbidges came up, Eric was home for the weekend and of course we ate, ate and ate, oh and Dave went shooting, of course.

It was the prefect weekend and exactly what we needed! We came home Monday morning and headed off to the pool. It was short-lived considering Miss Elsie girl was exhausted and the heat made everything a million time worse. But it was still fun to get out and do stuff with Dave.

Now here are a boat load of pictures of the weekend...

(I don't know if you can tell I only have one child and feel the need to document her every move)

When we were walking into the arena Elsie had her sunglasses on while in the bjorn, people were cracking up and she thought it was pretty funny

Elle is obessed with food lately. She wants to eat whatever I am drinking or eating and this weekend she decided it was Coke. Dave wanted to give her some...I said no

Her first piggie back ride...

I love this picture!!

5 Months

Dear Elsie:

What a character you are quickly becoming! Even though you are still so young, your personality is starting to shine through and we think you are a doll! You are such a happy and content baby. I think we finally have tackled acid reflux and you are happy seriously all the time. You love to laugh like crazy and when you get going you crack right up. The other day I was showing you a ball with different colors and you thought it was so funny. Your laugh is adorable! Grandpa Harold described it best when he said that it sounds just like a baby squeal that you would hear in an ad. You end every laugh you make with a little shrill/squeal at the end and you love to tip your head backwards and purse your lips when you laugh... you look just like your daddy when you do it. You laugh over anything and we love to see your eyes light up and get you going! You have found your screaming voice and talking voice for sure. Random times you will just let out a little scream and if I try to contain it you get even louder. I swear your favorite place to practice it is at church. We love your ahh's and random noises you make. You also love it when we sing you songs and when we dance to music. You think it is the funniest thing in the world. You still love books and your new favorite is the animal noise book. You especially like the lion growling, the kitty meowing and the monkey noises. You are starting to play on your tummy with toys and are getting quite good at it. You have rolled over (front to back) once but you don't have the desire to do it again. You have started to pivot while on your tummy though to get to other toys. You love playing in your activity center and in your bouncer with the lion toys... You have a thing for growling noises. We have started you on rice cereal because you are seriously obsessed with grown up food. You always start at Mommy when she eats your drinks and you are always opening your mouth when you even get by food. You so far have had rice cereal, pureed avocados, sweet potatoes and peas. You will of course always eat anything but you don't really dig the avocados. Daddy always lets you have licks of things and you get so excited. You get this serious look on your face like you have every intention of eating what you try. We gave you the mesh thing with fruit in it and you had a ball. You chewed on it for a while and were so content to have food in your mouth. You have had two vacations to the Torrey cabin and the Oakley cabin, both which you loved. You are stating to stay up longer so we are getting to do some fun things. You are really good about being in crowds and being around people you don't know. However, if someone talks to you in a low tone your pout your lower lip and whimper, which is pretty funny. You have grown like a weed this past month and really filled out, which I think it has to do with the fact that you prefer the bottle. At about 4 months and 3 weeks you weighed 14.5 pounds and you have the cutest little chubby thighs I have ever seen. You are the sweetest little girl with an easy temperament, but you are not afraid to tell us when you prefer something. You still love any type of movement (the car, the swing, walking). I started to make you take your naps in your crib and after a few days were fine, but when we came back from Oakley you were exhausted so I reunited you with your swing. You were in heaven!! It was hysterical. You just snuggled right in and just enjoyed the ride for a good 30 minutes, content as can be, and then you took a 3 hour nap in it! Boy how you love that thing! We cherish every moment we get with you and we have had so much fun playing and interacting with you more as you grow and develop. You are so aware and alert now. You are aware of your name and you look at us when we talk to you, you will always turn and try to find us and you are starting to love playing with your cousin Brooklyn. You are the light of our lives and we couldn't love anything more. Always remember what a special gift you are to your family and much we treasure you. You are such a smart and beautiful baby girl with such a sweet spirit. We feel so blessed to be your parents! You will always be our littlest princess!!

xoxo Mommy and Daddy

Elsie's New Looks

Our little girl has been sporting some new looks lately...

Piggie Tails

Our Little Diva

Dave's mom gave Elsie these sunglasses for Easter and she loves loves loves them!

We put them on her when it started to get sunny and she seriously can't get enough of them and always will keep them on. We think it is pretty funny!

KC

Dave's cute Grandpa passed away June 26th and we had the funeral last Thursday. He was such a a character and we will miss him!

Kenneth Clifford Irving 12/31/27 ~ 6/26/2010 Kenneth Clifford Irving, 82, passed away peacefully doing what he loved best - working a 10 hour day on his bobcat, and retiring to read a political book at his desk. Kenneth was born at The Beulah Home in Edmonton, Canada, and later adopted by Adam Clifford Irving and Louisa Elizabeth Dragoo, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. On the family farm, Ken and his siblings learned the gift of hard work and service to others, especially for the needy and underprivileged. He attended BYU, and was a member of the Phi Eta Sigma. Prior to serving on an LDS North Central States Mission, he was training with the 1943 Vulean Air Cadets. Ken married Hermine "Mimi" Cziep, Austria, and had seven children; later divorced. He married Elaine Bott Tanner, three children; later divorced. The Kenneth C. Irving Construction Company built many homes and other structures in Utah. Subsequently, Ken Kompany, was involved in backhoe operations. Some of dad's favorite things were: John Wayne westerns; books, newspapers/news; political/religious discussions and singing his favorite church songs. Dad loved chocolate and nuts, beef steaks, potatoes, jello and cracked wheat cereal. He loved gadgets including digital cameras, computers and old cars. He loved the gospel of Jesus Christ! Kenneth is survived by his children (and many grandchildren) Harold (Michele) Irving, Susan (John) Bahlmann, Emily (David) Steck, Royal (deceased) (Pamela) Irving, Christina (Philippe) Rateau, Bryan (Janeal) Irving; Samuel Irving, Robert Irving, Marie Irving, Janette (Pascal) Dimenyamana, Rebecca (Trenton) Dupaix, Mark Edward (Alysha) Tanner-Irving, Matthew (Trisha) Tanner-Irving, Elisha (Omar) Villarreal, and Tyler Tanner. Services held at the Imperial LDS Ward, 2738 So. Fillmore Street (1530 E). Viewing, 6-8 p.m Wed., June 30 and Thurs., July 1, 2010 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Funeral - July 1, 2010 at noon. Interment will be at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. Directors, Independent Funeral Service. Condolences www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/ or www. legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/

Catch Up

I am so behind on this thing, and I have lots of things to document so here we go...

Father's Day

Elsie was so excited to celebrate her dad and her grandpa's she could hardly contain herself

Saturday night we had my parents down for dinner so we could celebrate Father's Day with them.

On the actual day, we started out by making Dave breakfast al a Barefoot Contessa (yes still obsessed) and giving him our gifts. Then we were off to church and after we went up to Dave's parents house for dinner.

Please note the spit-up coming out of my child's mouth in this picture. It was the best one I got and we take what we can get these days

We went to the park after dinner so the little girls could swing on the swings

Okay I know people will see this and think we are crazy but here is Elle and crazy Titan (Harold's new puppy) Dave has been wanting to do this forever and I finally give in for a quick second. She actually was not afraid of him and always is staring at him wanting to see what he is doing

Here are the cutest little girls

And here they are with their Grandpa

And here is our baby girl either trying to be a tom-boy or trying to get some street cred as Adrienne would say

We had such a great Father's Day and were so happy to be able to celebrate our favorite Dad!! Elsie really does already love her Daddy so much! She always cracks up when he is around and she loves playing with him. Dave is such an amazing father just like I always knew he would be!!

First Food

I was not going to start Elsie on rice cereal until she was at least five months old but she of course had different plans. She started eyeing food and was always leaning forward and opening her mouth whenever food was around her. So we started rice cereal a few weeks ago when she was about four and half mouths. Boy does this little girlie love love love her food! Here are some pictures of her first time trying rice cereal!

After a week or so of cereal we moved on to pureed avocados but she was not feeling that at all. We have since tried sweet potatoes and peas, both which she likes. Dave of course lets her lick some of his food (after I lectured him on a few things she can't eat, I swear sometimes I don't know how she would survive if he was her sole-caregiver, but we still love you). She seriously loves food and wants to eat like a big kid. I have to put her by the table while we eat and let her have a few things we have or she throws a fit. I started giving her some fruit in this little mesh bag thing and she of course loves it-if I take it away she gets so mad. Funny little girl!

If we don't get it in fast enough she resorts to the bid which is quickly turning into a favorite toy

Things we have been up to this Summer

Elle loves playing with her toys...more importantly she loves chewing on her toys. This little girl is happiest when she has something in her mouth

Little sleeping beauty

We attempted the pool with Avery and Adrienne again but the girls fell asleep right when we got there, so what did we do.... had our moms babysit them while we layed out. They woke up just as we were getting ready to leave. It was perfect!

We hit up the Arts Festival with my family and of course Elsie had a ball. She loves all the attention and she really loves being out at crowds. Here she is with my sister's boyfriend Chad. They are working on being friends

Elsie loves to help Mama with the laundry

We visited our Great Grandma Mimi who we love seeing!