Fall Wrap-up & Winter Beginnings…

Hello, everyone!

It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost here already!  November went by so fast!  Ariel has 14 teeth now!  Only 6 more to go for her complete set of baby teeth—wow!  Also, I got my haircut at the beginning of the month to a shoulder-length cut (about 5 in cut off).  So for me, it was a big change! 

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Later in the month, we got to see one of our out-of-state friends we haven’t seen in a long time—Kim came down to visit from Colorado & stopped by to visit & meet Ariel.  It was great catching up with her!

And of course, we celebrated two Thanksgiving dinners (luckily on two separate days!).  The first was at Janeen’s.  Ariel loved seeing Jordan & watching him jump around and act silly.  She was laughing so much, and she also enjoyed teasing everyone at the dinner table by denying them bites of her food! 

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Then on the following Saturday, we celebrated at my parents’ house.  Since we’ve always had a fake tree, we made it a family tradition to set up the tree on the night of Thanksgiving.  It was a lot of fun watching Ariel wrap the tinsel around herself like a shawl & attempt to hang ornaments on the tree!  Then we played board games most of the evening after Ariel went to bed. It was a lot of fun! 

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So far this month, we’ve gone to a few indoor play areas since it’s been so cold.  One is called Monkey Bizness, and Ariel loves it!  And the other is called Rafiki, which is set up with lots of different areas for play (kitchen, babies, arts & crafts, trucks/cars, blocks, etc).  Ariel absolutely loves going down slides & climbing, and it definitely helps to have places for her to get all her energy out!

Janeen & I took her to the zoo to see Santa, though we never did locate him! ;)  We had more fun showing Ariel the animals & letting her go down the slides & explore.  And of course she got to have a hot chocolate (well…technically a “warm chocolate” in her sippy cup).

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We picked out our Christmas tree last weekend & got it all set up.  We decided to get a small one this year (only 4 ft) & put it in our office so we can close the door.  We thought it may be too tempting in the living room for Ariel to pull off all the ornaments & tinsel.  She still gets to come into the office, and so far has been really good about not messing with it too much.  She likes to point to the ornament with our wedding photo & exclaim loudly “Daddy” or “Mom;” she also points to the ornament of herself from last year & then proceeds to point to herself as if saying “That’s me!”  So cute!

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I turned 29 on Dec. 18—last year in the 20’s!! ;)  David took me out Friday, & then we celebrated a “combo” birthday at my parents’ house Saturday for both of us since David’s birthday is Dec. 28.  It was definitely a fun-filled weekend!

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We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas since Ariel will be much more engaged this year. ;)  And of course, we’ll have David’s birthday, New Years Eve,  & our “combo” birthday party with David’s family.  So we’ll have a lot more to share on the next blog!  We hope you all have safe & happy holidays! 

Love to you all,

Tammy, David, & Ariel 

Birthdays, Halloween & More!

Hi, everyone!

Wow—it’s nearly winter already!  We have been so unbelievably busy that the blog has been set aside for quite some time now.  So, we’re catching up on this one!

Ariel is now 15 months, though she’ll be 16 months next week already—growing so fast!  She understands a lot of language, and is able to say about 7 words now.  She uses a lot of nonverbal communication too to get across what she wants.  She’s an intelligent little gal!

We went to Janeen’s work picnic at the beginning of October.  Ariel enjoyed herself quite a bit watching people, playing at the park, & eating! 

Then we celebrated Patrice’s 26th birthday in the middle of the month.  She provided some entertainment with her cool new glow in the dark juggling balls.  And Janeen played a joke on her by including a creepy doll in her gift since Patrice found her present long before the party & knew what she was getting. 

Angie had her big 30th birthday a week later, and we had a lot of fun while Janeen & my parents split the babysitting time since it was quite a late evening for David & me.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant & then went dancing downtown.

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October was such a fun month!  We also went to a pumpkin patch with our friends, the Getechas, to  pick out pumpkins for Halloween.  Ariel loved the swing rides they had & also enjoyed seeing the animals at the petting zoo.

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Ariel’s friend, Olivia, celebrated her 2nd birthday on October 30. So many October birthdays!

And then of course at the end of the month was Halloween!  Ariel looked so cute in her ladybug costume!  I tried it on her the day before, & she didn’t want to take it off.  Then the night of Halloween, we had the grandparents over to see her & she performed a little twirl for them after we got her all dressed up.  Our friends, the Getechas, stopped by to say hello & we did a little trick-or-treating with them.  Ariel really enjoyed the holiday, and politely waved at people & took candy from buckets.  So cute!

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Beyond all the celebrations, we’ve been enjoying walks on the trail with Ariel, spending time in the backyard (bundled up of course!), and just hanging out with friends & family.  Here are a few bonus shots:

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Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving this week.  We’ll post a few photos from those events in the next blog.  And of course Christmas is right around the corner!  It will be a lot of fun to see Ariel get more involved with the season this year.

Well, we hope you are all doing well & have a happy Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate). ;) 

Love to you all,

Tammy, David & Ariel

Fun in the Fall

Hello, everyone!

Ariel is 14 months old now!  She has 12 teeth, including three molars already, and is getting more & more hair with little curls starting in the back.  Her personality is full of drama & lots of energy—she’s so much fun!

Fall has officially begun here in Boise…  The weather has definitely been cooler lately, compared with 94 degrees a few short weeks ago!  We’ve been enjoying spending time with family & working on yard projects.

David’s high school friend, Stehvn Tesar, got married over Labor Day weekend in September.  The wedding gave us a chance to get dressed up & go dancing while Janeen babysat Ariel.  Here’s a snapshot of us in our backyard.

 

Ariel really enjoys the park these days as she is more & more mobile & independent.  We’ve been exploring lots of different parks.  Here are a few shots of her:

She definitely enjoys visiting her grandparents.  Janeen made some delicious gingerbread and gave Ariel the beater to enjoy. 

And in return, Ariel performed for us all with her “upside-down baby” move.

My parents bought her a little toy car to ride in, which she likes quite a bit & makes the car sound while she’s in it or pushing it.  Her car sound is basically a good tongue roll—so cute!

David has been hard at work in the garden creating a patio.  With the help of my parents, we’ve created a larger retaining wall for the bushes in the corner of the yard so David would have a place to put all the extra dirt from the garden patio project.  Here are some of the photos of our progress:

 

Ariel always enjoys helping with yard projects too! 

Ariel attended her first little birthday party, as her friend, Malik, turned one last month.  She really enjoys interacting with other children.  We see Malik & his four-year-old  sister, Kaya, weekly.  She has another friend, Olivia, who we see weekly as well. I need to get some recent pictures of the two of them for the blog! 

Here’s Ariel & Malik:

 

And Ariel with her friends, Kaiya & Kaden.

 

We are looking forward to Halloween.  Ariel will be a little ladybug this year.  We’ll post pictures for sure!  And both our sisters, Angie & Patrice, have birthdays this month, so there will be pictures from those events too.

Hope this update finds you all doing well! 

Lots of love to you all! 

Tammy, David, & Ariel

Our Trip to Iowa

Hello, everyone!  We visited my home town of Cedar Falls, Iowa, August 17-23.  My sister, Angie, came too.  It was Ariel’s first plane ride. She did quite well on the way there, but we struggled a bit entertaining her on the way back since she stayed awake almost the whole time minus two twenty minute naps. 

 

 

It was great seeing everyone!  We did a little shopping  & four-wheeling, but mostly spent time catching up with family. 

 

David won Ariel a little toy on the second try from one of those fifty-cent “claw” machines.  We were pretty proud!

David looking cool on the four-wheeler!

James catching some major air on a jump!

Me, Ang, Jackie & James with Ariel

James & his football team cut their shirts this way, so he made David one too, and we had to get a photo of it!  Looks like he might need another size!

Hanging out at the Sands household….

Dad cooking banana cream pies—yum!

Aunt Julie, our cousin Tina, & Ang

Adorable Ariel relaxing after the photo session

Ariel loved getting baths at Dad & Bert’s house!

 

We also got family photos while we were there.  Check them out at www.lattinphoto.com  Choose “View your photos,” then go to “portraits,” enter the password—LATTINPORTRAIT, and select our album—8/21/09 San.  I’m not sure how much longer they will be posted, so be sure to look at them soon if you’d like to!

We also had a BBQ at my cousin, Lori’s home, and that was a lot of fun to see my mom’s side of the family too.  Ariel enjoyed playing with all the kids, but it was especially cute to see her interact with Lori’s daughter, Ruby, who is almost two months younger.  We also got a chance to take some group photos; it was a good photo opportunity since nearly all of Granny’s great grandkids were there! 

Granny with her great grandchildren.

Me, Ariel, Granny & all my cousins

Granny & the grandkids.

My aunts & uncle---too bad Moma is missing!

 

Ariel & Ruby playing together---so cute!

Ariel received many gifts from everyone, which was such a sweet gesture & truly appreciated! 

My cousins, Darci & Justin from dad’s side, visited from Indiana towards the end of the week.  Darci brought her two daughters, Taylor & Madeline.  It was really nice to see them again! 

My grama Pat’s memorial was on Saturday, and we visited with a lot of family on my dad’s side who we hadn’t seen in years.  My Granny also attended.

We went with my Aunt Julie to bury my Grama’s ashes during our  trip.  It was quite emotional being at the cemetary because it made it “real” that Grama has passed away.

Iowa is not quite the same without Grama.  We miss her so much & will keep her in our hearts forever.  As a tribute to my grama, we went to the park she always took us to growing up & took photos just like the old days. 

Cousins—Darci, Ang, Justin, & Me; we have this same photo from various ages when we used to visit growing up.

 

Ariel had fun running around while her Uncle James chased her.

Me & my brother, James.

 

So, although we had some sad moments, we had a lot of fun remembering the good times. Grama would’ve wanted it that way. 

Love to you all,

David, Tammy, & Ariel