Hello, everyone!
We’ve had a very busy & fun month. Ariel is now 11 months—so close to a year old! She has eight teeth now & has finally started WALKING!!! She still crawls once in awhile simply because it’s faster for her right now as she’s learning to master her balance. She has added “Daddy” to her vocabulary as well.
We celebrated both our moms’ birthdays this month. Both were a lot of fun! We went boating for my mom’s birthday, which Ariel loves. We enjoyed a picnic out on the boat, and then had cake & presents at our house. We were pretty sore from going tubing on the back of the boat, but it was a good time.
Before Janeen’s birthday, there was the 4th of July, which we didn’t celebrate the traditional way. David had to work, so Janeen, Patrice and I took Ariel to an ice-cream shop & to the park. Ariel had more fun pushing her stroller around than anything else! She loves figuring out how to do things on her own!
The fireworks were not very fun that night, as Ariel had trouble getting to sleep with all the noise. She ended up sleeping most of the night in her carseat next to our bed because the only way we finally got her to sleep was a car ride around our neighborhood. Hopefully next year will be better for all of us!
For Janeen’s birthday, we had a delicious spaghetti dinner at her house prepared by Chefs Patrice & Nathan. :) Laurice, John, Chantal & Jordan came too. Ariel was pretty thrilled to see the newest residents of the Jenkins’ household—Cotton & Talladega, the kittens. It was a lot of fun!
Last weekend, Ariel took her first official vacation with us. We went to Cascade, Idaho, where Janeen had rented a cabin for the week. We spent about 3 days there and had a lot of fun. Patrice was able to join us for a few days as well. Ariel had a bit of trouble getting to sleep & staying asleep in the evenings, but I suppose that’s to be expected in a new environment.
We took Ariel to a few restaurants, went on a few rather short hikes (due to the pesky mosquitoes), and played at the “beach” by the lakeside. Ariel LOVES being in the water; her name could not be more fitting—she truly is a little mermaid! And she could not have been happier playing in the sand—she did attempt to eat some of course, but quickly discovered it was much more fun to squish it in her hands.
One of the highlights of the vacation was a visit from a not-so-friendly bat! He swooped in early one morning and terrorized Patrice and Janeen while David and Ariel captured it in a blanket and released the little guy outside. He was NOT happy about being caught!
Ariel also got to try ice cream for the first time… I’m not sure what to make of her resulting facial expression, but she kept coming back for more!
So, all in all, it has been a very interesting month for us. I’ve been taking her to the library for story hour, which she seems to enjoy quite a bit. She loves being around other people & says “hi” every chance she gets. We also finally got our house refinanced, so we’re looking forward to saving money! And other GREAT news—Angie’s artery has completely healed and her headaches have substantially subsided. She is not completely in the clear yet, however, since her kidneys are still not functioning as they should be. She is scheduled to get her kidney biopsy done in September, so please continue to keep her in your thoughts. I will post an update once we find out what’s going on.
We have a HUGE milestone to celebrate next month---Ariel’s FIRST birthday!! So, we’ll be sure to post a blog highlighting her special day along with plenty of photos.
Grandad Chris sent an adorable head band that Ariel sports quite well….
I hope this post finds you all doing well. Lots of love to you all!!
Tammy, David, & Ariel
