Utah Trip

So, here we are again.  it's been a really long time.  But, I have a good excuse!  Caroline and I went to visit family in Utah for a whole month.  Yes, it was a very long time, but we had lots of fun!  We got to meet our new cousin, sweet Felicity!  She is the cousin that is the closest in age to caroline and I plan on them being best friends in a few years!

Caroline loved eating up at the counter at Grandma and Grandpas house!

We went to Bear Lake for a family reunion, sadly Eli couldn't be there because he was finishing his internship at the childrens hospital in Louisville, he joined us in July.  We went to the Minnetonka Cave.  It was cool, but cold and had a lot of stairs, and I mean a LOT of wet, slippery, steep stairs.  But, it was neat to go to a cave.  I don't think I've been in one since fourth grade!

Caroline really liked playing at Bear Lake!  She loved the water!

We met up with my dear friend Amber and her fiance Isaac and walked over to Bridal Veil Falls.  If you'll notice a theme in our pictures is water.  Caroline really loves water.

we loved City Creek shopping center in Salt Lake City.  Here's Caroline playing in the water with her cousin AJ.

She also really loved the skywalk over the street.

We went with Eli's mom and Grandma again! It was so much fun!

Eli, his Mom, Grandma, and Caroline all looking at videos on his phone.

Eli's mom was staying at a hotel and we went to see her.  They had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.  Needless to say, Caroline really liked it!

So, it was a good trip.  We ended up driving back, and Caroline did great.  She had a hard time being gone at first, but she got used to everyone and ended up having a really good time with all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends.  Thanks for the fun memories everyone!

There Was a Little Girl

There was a little girl,

            Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

            When she was good,

            She was very, very good,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Picture Dump!

  

I finally found the connector to my camera!  Here are pictures from my trip to Missouri in April, when my sister Alaina visited, and just cute stuff Caroline's been doing.  Enjoy!

wearing daddy's socks

just cute

With her sweet cousin Guiliana at my parents house in Missouri

Playing at the gym in the church building in Kearney with her cousin Quincey.  Caroline is lucky to have the best cousins.

She had her own baby easter egg hunt in the backyard

The whole group who was at my moms house: My sister Ronda's four girls, her friend Sara's two boys and mom, and my brothers five kids, and my mom.  It was so much fun.

Quite possibly my favorite picture of Caroline ever taken.  Eating her Easter candy after waking up.

Easter Sunday.  Too bad Eli was in Kentucky.  We missed him.

Me, my parents, my sister Ronda and her four beautiful daughters.

Me and Mom at the Kansas City Temple open house!

Me, Caroline, and my sister Alaina and her three boys, tiny baby in the sling, at the Louisville zoo.

Pygmy hippo

These three are my favorite pictures of Eli and Caroline.  Totally captures how happy her daddy makes her!

On the Carousel at the zoo with dad.

Taking a bath with cousins Milo and Oliver.  She liked it for a while, but they are kind of rowdy!

Eli's taught her that it's funny to put pants on her head.  Now she does it all the time to be silly!

Found this at a garage sale.  She loves to crawl through the tunnel!

Her favorite things right now are helping me cook and playing in the sink.  Anything with water, or wa-wa as she calls it, are her favorite things.

This is what she looks like when Daddy gets her dressed.  Those are pj shorts.  Daddy loves all the bright colors!

Playing in the sink, it's actually a smile

being silly

Her favorite book to carry around right now and pretend to read is Eli's Eye Examination and Diagnosis text book.  It has really gross pictures of eyes with different diseases.  She won't leave it alone.  Maybe she'll be an ophthalmologist when she grows up.

This is from today!

First Year of Medical School: Check

That's right.  Eli finished his first year of medical school!  He did so well and I am very proud of him.  It was a crazy year, with a lot of new things, but with everything that happened, he was able to focus and do well in his classes.  He honored in two classes too!  I really believe the Lord has blessed him tons.  Eli is very good at always putting his calling and his family first.  I've told him often that even though he is super busy with school and church, I always feel like Caroline and I are most important to him.  I'm so happy I married him.

On Friday he took two tests.  He got a 90% on one and an 80% on the other.  We celebrated by going on a real date!  We got a babysitter.  We went to dinner and a movie.  We had a really great time!  We saw the Avengers and loved it.  Now he has the rest of May off, then an internship in June, then July and half of August off!  We've only had a weekend so far, but it has been heavenly having him home, with out the stresses of studying and homework weighing on him.  Did I mention I'm proud of him?

I still can't find my hookup for the computer for pictures.  Sorry.  Caroline has been very funny and cute lately.  And also obstinate and headstrong.  We like to call her our little monster because she likes to growl and stomp around.  She is a stinker, but a very lovable one.  She is happy to have her daddy home too!

Gratitude

Today I've been thinking about things I am grateful for.  This is by no means a comprehensive list, because there's not enough space for that, but here are a few things.

• Eli's phone wouldn't charge anymore, so I took it to the sprint store today and they replaced it for free!  Getting the insurance is worth it!
• Caroline is becoming more and more fun each day.  She is hilarious and smart and learning a ton.
• I'm starting my hot yoga class tomorrow morning.  90 minutes, over 100 degrees.  I may live to regret this, but for now I am very excited.
• We were able to see some friends from BYU that we haven't seen for a while.  It was fun!
• Eli's last day of school is on the 11th.  Any prayers would be welcome.  I can't believe the first year is almost over!  It's been crazy.  The best part is his internship doesn't start until June, so we have him for a few weeks!  
• Lately I've really been feeling the spirit very abundantly in our lives.  We've been learning some wonderful things at church and have been able to improve a few things.

Life has been great lately.  I'm very grateful for everything we have been blessed with.  

Busy Baby

Caroline is a whopping 13 1/2 months old now.  And boy, has she learned a lot of new stuff lately. 

(I don't have any new pictures to post because I can't find my cord, but I will keep looking and then post pictures from our Missouri trip.)

She can walk!  She's been walking for about a month, after almost walking for two months.  I can't remember how many times I told Eli I thought she'd walk before the week was out, and every time he reminded me I said the same thing about crawling and it took her a couple months too.  He was right.  But she loves to walk now.  At first it was a real shock to see her walking all over the place, but she enjoys it so much, and it's adorable.

She can talk some too. Here are her words: Mama, Dada, Wawa (water), Uh-oh, Nana (banana), Jesus, Shoes, and Dod (dog).  When she can't talk she points and makes a kind of whiny sound.

She prays.  We never actively taught her to fold her arms, but just by observing us praying before meals she started doing it herself.  As soon as we put her in the highchair she folds her arms.  Before bed we read scriptures then say prayers.  As soon as the scriptures are closed she folds her arms.  In the past few days she has also started saying amen.  It's not a clear "amen", but it's a two syllable sound at the end of a prayer.  That makes me so happy!

She loves being outside.  She always has, but it got more intensified at my parents house, who have a big yard.  As soon as she woke up she pointed at the door to go out.  Luckily my older nieces were there and loved taking her out for me!  Thanks Loveridge girls!

She can sing.  I just start singing a simple "ahhh" sound and then she does it back.  She's starting to sing on her own as she's walking around the house.  It is the best sound ever!

She still loves her daddy and is so happy when he comes home to play with her everyday!

I think that's about all.  When I get the picture sorted out I'll write about our trip to Missouri.  It was really fun.  This is her at the Louisville zoo before we left.  I have to put at least one picture up.  She's just so darn cute!