Best Laugh Yet!

Dar & I were talking about the things we needed to get done yesterday. I told him I was going to go fold my last load of laundry and Rori thought it was hilarious. Luckily she kept laughing so I pulled out the video camera. Hence why I mention the laundry in the video...she thought it was funny. She's been laughing for a while now but yesterday was the best laughs we've heard so far! Hope you love it as much as we do!

NEWBORN PHOTOS!

I know Rori is way past newborn stage, but click here to check out a sampling of her adorable newborn photos. She was 2 weeks old when we had these taken. Thanks again, Travis!

My hubby's new hobby

Remember this post from last September? Well, my honey is now in the business of honey; better known as beekeeping. Anyone who knows my adorable science savvy hubby knows that when he finds something he's interested in, he takes it on wholeheartedly and he does an amazing job with it! Springtime is the time to prepare your beehive and this year Dar is living his dream (that really only began last fall).

Two weeks ago Dar bought his beehives and his new hobby has just taken off since then. It's actually been pretty neat for both of us to learn about these incredible creatures and how important they are in our lives. I guess I've never really thought about it before now, but honeybees are pretty neat! (And unfortunately their numbers have really been declining over the last few years. Not good if you like to eat food!) It'll be fun for both of us to experience the process of beekeeping and we'll keep you posted on this new adventure.

The bee boxes before getting a nice coat of paint to keep them from weathering

Dar's bees hard at work
He could just sit in front of the hive and watch the bees work for hours. If only he had the time. *sigh*

Pretty cool!

And here's some really awesome shots he got yesterday of one of his little worker bees hard at work harvesting nectar.

And of course, his two leading ladies sporting twinner flowers he gave us :)

5.11.11 - 4 months!

I can't believe how fast time is flying by & that our baby girl is already 4 months old!! She is seriously spoiling us rotten and everyone tells us to not expect the next one to be as good to us as she is. But we can hope, right?

Rori's 4 month stats:

Weight: 12 lbs 4 oz (21%)
Length: 24.5 in (60%)
Head: 39 cm (7%)

Here's a cute video of Rori talking to me a few days ago. So cute! :)

And of course no blog post would be complete without a picture or two of our darling little munchkin. We love you, sweet girl!

LOVE those chubby little cheeks!

This one made me laugh. She's really strong but still doesn't like to do tummy time very much. She's not even crying, just complaining :)

At 4 months:
-She's getting better at laughing more and more. We love it!
-She rolled over for the first time on my mom's birthday 5.10.11, and is still working on doing it again on her own. (She actually did roll over again later the same night I posted this. You go, girl!)
-She sleeps through the night most nights, and even when she doesn't she's still a really good sleeper and will go right back to sleep after she eats.
-She loves to sit and will lean forward enough to get into a full sitting position when we prop her up on a pillow or in the corner of the couch. She LOVES to sit! We have to watch her really well though because she's not strong enough to stay sitting yet and usually topples over :)
-She loves bath time more and more and is really getting into kicking her feet and splashing water all over us!
-She starting "talking" more in the last couple of weeks. Sometimes I'll be busy doing something and she'll just entertain herself by talking to her hand or the fan or whatever catches her eye. I love it! Her little voice is seriously to die for!
-She's working on saying "mom" and it makes me so proud! (Watch the video if you haven't already.)
-She's working on regrowing some of her hair because I finally scrapped off her cradle cap and she lost a good amount of hair with it.
-She learned to suck her thumb but likes to suck on her fingers too. Lately she mostly just gags herself. Silly girl.
-She is very alert and really soaks in everything around her.

The "Greats"

Rori is pretty lucky in that she still has 4 great-grandparents living, and she's been able to meet all of them already! In this day and age where divorce is unfortunately so common, I think it's wonderful that this little girl's parents, both sets of grandparents, and all of her great-grandparents are all still married to each other (and for those who have passed on, they were still married before they died!). How lucky she is!

She got to meet her Great Grandpa and Omie first
{My mom's parents}

Then she met Granny Great
{My dad's mom--age 90.5}

And on Mother's Day she got to meet Great Grandmother Jennings
{Dar's mom's mom--age 89.5}

We are so blessed to have all these wonderful people around who have taught us so much and who we love so dearly! And Rori is especially blessed to have met them!

It was a success!!

Today is my mom's {50th} birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Since it's a big one, my siblings and I decided to throw my mom a surprise party on Saturday and it was a huge success! She had no idea, we had a great turn out, good food, the weather was perfect, and we got to see some old family friends we haven't seen in years! Thanks to everyone who came & also to my sisters and Dad who flawlessly executed a well thought out plan to get my mom out of the house and back in time. We were all very happy with how the party went. We love you, Mom! Thanks for everything you do for our family!

Setting up decorations, with my brother in the background acting as our look-out

She's here!

Surprised & happy!

Mom's long-time friend, Carrie

Happy to see me again (4 times in 1 week!)

Surprised to see my baby brother too!

And my best friend who recently returned from Australia!

P was getting in on the fun too. So cute!

My beautiful baby girl

And no family party or get together would be complete without playing with blankets

Yes, there are 4 kids in that blanket!

And some of the older kids had to get in on the fun too.Getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday"

My Dad singing his traditional English style "Happy Birthday" song
(He served his mission in England)

Bob & Andrea singing their family's traditional "Happy Birthday" song

My mom's awesome cake--Thanks again, Shelly!

Cutting the cake

Miss Abbie

Ben & me

And she got lots of great gifts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!
WE LOVE YOU!

We've been busy!

We've made several trips up north in the last week for different events:

Liam turned 3!

It was a little chilly but we stayed cozy :)

Dar gave Rori her first driving lesson. I think she might be an aggressive driver...just look at that face!

So focused

Andrea & Sean got married!!

Husband and Wife
It was a beautiful day, but just a bit chilly for me!
Our sweet princess!
Bundled up and sitting in the sun to stay warm
Beautiful flowers on the temple grounds
So Andrea. We love you! :)
Family photo. Rori had fallen asleep though. Sweet thing.
Connie, a good family friend/cousin got married:

Another reason we've been busy:
If you've been reading our blog for a while you might remember these guys:
They've been living in Australia for the past year and a half but...they're back!!! They surprised us by showing up on our doorstep the Tuesday after Easter. We're so glad to have them home with us and love having our family complete again :)

And just for kicks:
Our little sleeping gnome :)

A couple weeks ago Rori discovered she could suck on her thumb. She's gotten it in her mouth and just chewed on it but now she likes to suck on it, and she's not very quiet about it either! SO cute! We also have to keep a hat on her head or socks on her hands at night and when she's sleepy because she scratches and digs at her head :(

Rori teaching Dar how to properly ingest a burp cloth

She fell asleep while she and I were watching UP. Cutie pie.

On Saturday, April 30th, Rori belly laughed for the first time--her first real giggle. So stinkin' adorable! We were at Banana Republic in the mall and Dar found a green straw hat and put it on just for kicks (we didn't even think Rori was paying attention) and she totally laughed at him!! He then put on a blue hat but it was just the green one that she liked, I guess. We couldn't believe it! She's been laughing a lot more since then...like when we play peek-a-boo, or tell her we love her over and over again, or do "so big" with her arms. Her laugh is seriously to die for! We can't get enough of it. Well, we just can't get enough of this little girl in general. She is such a joy and we're loving watching her personality develop! Hopefully we'll get her laugh on video soon!