Nine

This darling little miracle turned 9 months today! Time seems to have slipped away since the arrival of this fun little girlie.

This month has been all about...

Toothies: Arista has 8 teeth! She got 2 while in Hawaii and 4 coming through the gums the past 2 weeks. Despite the incredible pain she has been through, she has kept a smile on her face. We've been trying our hardest to help her little teeth with frozen pretzels, giant carrot sticks, and Popsicles.

Traveling: We went from Idaho to Texas and from Texas to Hawaii and from Hawaii to Virginia. That's right, this 9 month old baby has been all over the USA! While I am clenching my seat during the turbulence, she is laughing! Arista is quite the travel bug.





Crawling: Arista took up crawling while in Hawaii, and now she is on a roll. She crawls everywhere and anywhere. Chris even taught her how to crawl up the stairs. A baby gate will be purchased in the near future.



Standing up: Now that Arista has mastered the crawl, she is all about pulling herself up on things and trying to walk. Grandma and Grandpa have a huge foot rest and she circles around it for hours at a time.





Arista currently loves sweet potato and carrot baby food, along with sweet potato Gerber puffs. She can drink from a sippy cup, and will drink formula when I am away. She has severe separation anxiety when she is away from me, but was able to sleep a night away while we celebrated our anniversary. Arista LOVES animals and is fascinated by chewy. She loves to get up really close to him until he runs away. Arista loves to swim, especially with her daddy! Arista loves life and can bring a smile to any ones face.

Arista you are a doll, and we love you more and more everyday! Happy 9 months!!

A Very 'Cheesy" Birthday

Grandpa Chad had a birthday on Thursday and we were torn on what to get him, so we decided to be creative...


We built him a diet Mt. Dew castle with powerade pillars 2 gift cards, black licorice,bananas for palm trees and a balloon as the flag.

We went out to dinner at one of Chad's favorite places, The Cheesecake Factory.









We told our waitress that it was Chad's birthday and they brought him out the cheesecake he ordered with a candle and "Happy Birthday" written on the plate. After the chorus of singing ended and the waiters went back to work Chad asked what kind of cake they had brought out to him. In which we all laughed and told him it was the cheesecake he had ordered.



Grandpa Chad let Arista dig into his dessert along with him. She was a sticky mess, but loved every minute.







We love birthdays and were excited to be able to celebrate with Chad. We hope you had a great one! We love you!

Hawaii Trip 2010

The final day of the BAR exam Arista and I flew to Texas to meet up with Chris. After spending the night in Houston we left early the next morning on an 8 hour flight to Oahu, Hawaii.



We found this little kitty in the Houston Airport, and Arista loved playing with it on the flight.

In Texas we bought Arista this little toy steering wheel. She had a blast driving the plane and shifting the gear.

The flight went by rather quickly. We were able to watch 2 movies, have 2 meals, and Arista slept about 6 out of the 8 hours! Chris' parents picked us up at the airport and then we went to grab a quick bite to eat and then headed to Bellows Air Force base. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo with Chris' sister Marissa and husband Chris. Chris' parents and brother and sister-in-law we in the one right next door. Our luggage was lost when we arrived, but luckily we brought a swimsuit in our carry on. We threw them on and headed to the beach, which was literally right outside the back door.

I have a huge fear of the ocean but the waves looked just like the ones from the wave pool at Roaring Springs waterpark, so I decided that I would go out there and jump in them. I was doing great, jumping through the waves until a massive one came. I thought that I would be able to stand and take it, and it totally rocked me. I was doing somersaults under the water, and the moment I came up I decided the ocean was not the place for me. So I spent most of my days working on my tan.

While I was in Idaho I made sure to get a good base tan before leaving for Hawaii, so I wouldn't get burned. Chris decided to go the first day without sunscreen...ouch! He was fried! His entire body has peeled numerous times, even his arms! It took him a good 4 days or so to recover from the horrible burn.

Arista was not a fan of the water at first.

We spent many many days soaking in the sun. Arista and her cousin Claire enjoyed playing in a little blow-up pool that Grandma Sue brought for them.



One day we went to Duke's Restaurant for dinner and to celebrate Curt's 27th birthday. We spent the night walking through shops at Waikiki. We went mini golfing one night at Bellows and Arista crawled for the first time on the golfing green. We were all so proud of her.



Were were able to go and see the Hawaii Temple while were were there one day, and it is BEAUTIFUL! It has been closed since 2008 for renovation, so we weren't able to go inside. We were able to watch a video about the Polynesian Culture center and the church, in the visitors center. It was neat to see how their visitors center is set up. After the temple we went snorkeling at Shark's Cove. It was my first time snorkeling and I was really nervous. I did great for about 20 minutes, then my mouth was hurting from biting so hard on the snorkle. We saw soo many neat looking fish, and Arista loved splashing in the water.



One of the days we went to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Arista loved the boat ride over to the memorial. It was neat to see all of the names, and the boat still leaking oil from so long ago. After Pearl Harbor we went and hiked the Diamond Head Volcano. There were many many stairs so Chad and Chris took turns carrying Arista up to the top. It was breathtakingly beautiful uptop. It was a steep hike, but totally worth it.



We had a great trip and were so glad we were able to have this opportunity to all be together. We spent our final days playing tennis, riding a crazy 4 person bike, and going shopping at Waikiki again.



Thank you to Chris' parents Chad and Sue for a wonderful trip. We were sad to leave and head back to the real world, but we are grateful for the photographs and memories we have. We wish our little Preslie could have been there with us, but she wasn't forgotten.

Deep in the heart of Texas...

My Daddy takes the Texas bar this week, please cross your fingers for him!

I love you Daddy, and can't wait to see you in a few days!

Good luck!!

Love, Arista

8 Exciting Months

Our little miracle turned 8 months today. It's hard to believe that our little baby is growing up so fast. Arista and I have had a fun filled month here in Idaho. Arista has reached some huge milestones including 3 teeth, and the army crawl! Arista is everywhere and loves to get into everything! She is really close to crawling, and often does a one-legged crawl. She loves to laugh, eat, and sing. Whenever a song is on she loves to join in. She still wakes up a few times during the night to eat or from teething pain. Arista loves chasing her auntie's cats, and loves puppy kisses from her friend Jager. Arista is a total Ma Ma's girl, and I can't ever be too far from her sight. She has had a blast in Idaho with my family and will miss them a lot when we leave next week. We just love our little baby!!

*Arista LOVES swimming, and goes almost 3 times a week.

*Arista got her first highchair, and eats solid food twice a day. She enjoys drinking water and juice from a sippy cup, and chewing on Baby Mum Mums.

*Arista had her first taste of frosting and she couldn't get enough.

*Grandma gave Arista her first drink of water from a cup.

*Arista met my dear friend Amanda and her family for lunch. We had a great time catching up, and are thrilled that Amanda and her husband are expecting. :)

*Arista and I go shopping at least once a day, and she LOVES it.

*I found this rainbow swimming suit, and knew Arista had to have it.

*Arista and I are best buds, and I hope we will always be close.

Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope

I found this site through a fellow angel Mommy Courtney. It's a site of women telling their stories of their loss and losses. Check out our story here.

Mona Lisa Floats on the 4th

4th of July weekend was a BLAST this year! Our cousin's Caysi and Stephen, and their kids Gracie and Mallory came to visit. They got in Wednesday night and we went straight to see Eclipse. I LOVED it! I was totally team Edward until seeing that movie. I have decided I am "Team Edward" for the books and "Team Jacob" for the movies. :)

The next day we went swimming at the pool and then us girls went to Corona Village for dinner.

Princess Fiona (Mallory) and Mikelle baking cookies


Caysi Nickle Pickle


On Friday we decided to float the Boise River. The water was so cold my feet literally hurt when you had them in the water. We hit some trees, but I came out scratch free. Poor Caysi and Gracie got some pretty bad battle wounds. Despite the scratches they had a blast! I wish we could have floated it 3 more times!



Gracie Lou Freebush




That night I went to a fancy fondue restaurant called "The Mona Lisa". I went with my cousins and Aunt and Uncle. The cheeses were fantastic! I had my first bite of Alligator which I really liked, and for dessert it was endless pots of chocolate and sweets.





Saturday Stephen bbq'd for us. He made the yummiest spicy chicken and potatoes. Then they headed to the airport. We were sad to see them go, but are excited to see them again in a few weeks.

Stephen


Sunday the 4th was a fun day. We went to church and then Arista and I took a long nap. After a tasty dinner of Chicken and Potatoes we sat and watched the local fireworks on tv. We were going to go to Ann Morrison park to watch them, but Arista didn't make it. She was exhausted, and slept through all the loud "bangs" outside.



I love the 4th, and am so grateful for all of the people who have fought, and are fighting for the freedom I enjoy today. We really do live in a wonderful country. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

PS: I couldn't help but wonder how beautiful all the fireworks must have looked from Preslie's seat. :)