Forget the Zoo . . .

Persephone was unimpressed with the zoo, but the pet shop? Oh, yea baby! She kept trying to snatch the fish and I think that those guppies are lucky that her determined efforts were thwarted by the thick aquarium glass. Thanks to my friend Alyssa for this baby friendly activity. It was a huge hit!

Baby Blessing

Gabe gave Persephone a blessing in church on Sunday. He blessed her that she would come to know her Heavenly Father and that she would always be able to look to her parents for advice. We were pleased to have several of our family members present at the event.

(Doesn't she look like a porcelain doll in this picture?)


My brother and his family also attended, but snuck out before any pictures.

Pillow Fort for a Snowy Day

Stay at "Home" Story Time

After hearing that RSV, (a potentially deadly disease for young babies,) has been at a record high this season I made the decision to avoid groups of kids for the next few weeks until Spring comes. I'm not really a stay-at-home kind of gal, so I still thought it was important that Persy and I go outside. My girlfriend and I nixed our plans to go to Story Time last week, and opted for the zoo instead. I decided to do my own zoo themed story time with Persy that day as well, (realizing of course that "themes" are entirely lost on babies!)

Books:



Song: "Going to the Zoo" by Raffi (We danced along with the music.)

Finger Play:
5 Little Monkeys Swingin' in a tree
(Hold 5 fingers upside down and swing)
Teasing Mr. Alligator "Can't catch me! Can't catch me!"
(Wag pointer finger back and forth and point to self)
Along comes Mr. Alligator quiet as can be
(Put hands together and swim them like an alligator)
And SNAPPED that monkey right out of the tree!
(Clap hands on SNAPPED and repeat song 5 times gradually decreasing your monkeys.)

The Elephant goes like this and that,
(Hold arms wide and move back and forth like a big elephant)
He's terribly big and he's terribly fat.
He has no fingers; He has no toes,
(Pull in fingers to make a fist)
But goodness gracious oh what a nose
(Show a giant elephant nose with your arm)

Activity: Go to the Zoo

Worl'ds Greatest Baby Toy

1 Metal Bowl + 1 Wooden Spoon = Hours of Entertainment
What do you do to keep your babes happy?

I confess . . .

I have been a terrible blogger lately. Overcome by guilt, I now feel penitent and ready to begin anew in my blogging efforts. In the spirit of contrition I feel it necessary to confess a few of my other "sins." O.K. world, here it goes . . .

* I tell people I'm 5'10" even though I'm only 5'9 and a half
* Sometimes I read library books in the bathtub
* I once ate an entire log of cookie dough all by myself
* I rarely dust and my bathtub can get pretty scuzzy too
* There's a Britney Spears song on one of my ipod playlists, (oh the shame!)
* I've used the "10 Items or Less" lane at least 2 times when I've knowingly had at least a dozen items
* When I was 19, I had money set aside to get a butterfly tattoo. I've always been grateful that my best friend talked me out of it.
* I write down things on my to-do list after they've already been done

Oh, it felt good to get that off my chest! Now, back to less revealing topics, family pictures and the like. :)

Temple Sealing

We had the privilege of taking Persy to the temple with us last week to be sealed as a family. It made me so happy to be in the temple surrounded by friends and family that love us. I felt so grateful for the support and love.

I've thought a lot about the adventure we've had in choosing adoption for our family and I can honestly say that what started out as a trial has become the greatest blessing of my life. Not only did it bring us a beautiful and sweet little daughter, it also taught me many lessons about myself and putting faith in God. I hope that next time the Lord's timing doesn't coincide with my timing I will look back on this experience and feel hopeful. (This picture was taken in front of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. If you would like to learn more about Mormon temples you can visit www.mormon.org)

This is a picture of our good friends Marisa and Dave. Dave is a graphic designer and helped us create an attractive adoption profile that really highlighted our interests and personality. I wish I had taken more pictures of the other friends we had in attendance as well as the family members present. I was so busy chatting with people afterwards, that I neglected the camera.



Gabe's Grandma- my 90 year old grandmother was also in attendance



My Parents



The Handsome and Happy Father with his Daughter



4 Generations