10 months old

new things this month:
-Starting to stand more often without support, until she realizes she's doing it and gets nervous and sits down. But she is gaining better control and balance of her body.
-LOVES to walk (assisted). Any open finger, walker, rolling chair, any sort of implement that she can stand and propel herself with she will find and push and scoot around.
-She will bear crawl is she's on a hard surface
-She eats table food now for every meal, with the exception of her baby oatmeal in the morning, and formula. She wants to feed herself all the time and will take some things off a spoon until she sick of it and wants to pick things up. She's really good at feeding herself. It's hilarious to watch her eat macaroni noodles because she slurps them in. it's so cute. I kinda got it on camera the other day:

(taken 6.6)

-She has started taking only one nap a day. She will nap for about 2-3 hours. Some days she will still take 2....we're all adjusting.
-Starting to form words. She has said "da da da" and "ba ba" and "ma". Most common it's "da da da". She hasn't associated the sounds with anything yet, it's still indiscriminate but i'm happy she is trying instead of just shrieking all the time and i love her new little noises.
-She's gotten 2 more teeth this month, making that 4 on top and 2 on bottom.
-i love how when she gets really happy or excited she scrunches her nose.
-She's pretty much just all over the place and into everything. She is fast and loves to explore.

 

tough mudder

If you're wondering if most of our weekends this summer are consumed by races/athletic events... you're correct. Luckily we've got a few vacations in the mix too but basically we are booked solid.

This weekend took us to Vail, Colorado for Paul and 4 of his closest, craziest, friends to compete in the "Tough Mudder" Basically a navy seals training obstacle course race, going up a ski slope. The course was 10+ miles and spanned over hills all over the mountain. Intermixed with the trail was about 25 crazy obstacles. Fun right?

We left Friday afternoon with our little caravan and stopped about halfway in Grand Junction for dinner. We rented a big townhouse for all of us to stay at that was awesome! It was huge and nice and a great location. We all got our own rooms and tried to get a good night's rest.

Saturday was race day. We got up, got ready, and grabbed some Subway breakfast. A sight never to be seen again at Subway:

(The boys decided to dress as lumberjacks. Which for a few of them - especially Paul - somehow turned into an excuse to wear extremely short cut of jean shorts). We headed over to Beaver Creek resort where the race was held, got checked in and walked around the venue.  It was definitely a guys event, there were girls doing it too but it was all geared up for the fellas... messy and rough and tumble.

 

And then at 12:20 they were off!

Unfortunately the best way to see the course is to follow right behind a participant because spectators could only get to a few of the obstacles. But all of us girls definitely tried our hardest! As soon as the boys started we were off too, following and catching buses, hiking, riding gondolas and running after them. We got everywhere we could considering we were all wearing sandals and lugging bags and babies in tow.  I created my own little mudslide as i was hurrying down a hill and slipped and fell on my bum, and a little bit on Caitlin. Definitely took us a few minutes to recover from that! The boys seriously had a blast though and it was fun to see them when we did. It was also fun to witness all the other people during their obstacles and see how people handled things. We definitely heard our share of colorful language as participants came out of freezing cold pools or slapped against the ground during the slip n' slide.

 

 This was the "Gernoble Jacuzzi" obstacle. Basically a huge dumspter full of freezing cold water including ice cubes, blue dye, sludge and other unknown items. Paul took a giant leap in and a giant leap out.

This was the giant slip n' slide that ended in a muddy puddle then they had to run up a mound of snow and slide down the other side.

 Other obstacles included greased monkey bars, swimming under barrels, crawling through box mazes, climbing over walls, lots of ropes and ladders, and lots of cold water. The last one was running through mud with hay bales with live wires hanging down. The boys caused quite the crowd uproar when they decided to all take off their shirts and run through the wires together for their big grand finale.

 

The boys finished and had so much fun. They had plenty of stories to tell of obstacles and things that happened along the way. And they all said they would do it again in a heart beat! 

 

After the race we went back to our place and took some much needed showers, ordered some much needed pizza and relaxed. That night we went hot tubbing and watched a movie. 

  

Sunday we headed home! We were only a little ways into our trip when we got stopped between two big tunnels. There was an accident in the tunnel in front of us and traffic was stopped for about an hour and a half. Luckily the weather was nice and we got to get out of the car and enjoy the sunshine. We even let the little girls take the wheel for a little while.

What a fun weekend to spend with friends and family! We are so lucky to have such fun and crazy people in our lives to have these experiences with.

Foto Friday

 She's such a busy body that usually she won't stay still for long but in the morning i turn on Disney Channel for her and she will watch it a little then play, then watch. She loves whenever there are songs on. In between programs sometimes there's this little segment called "Choo Choo Soul" or something like that and there's this girl with big hoop earrings and a muscly-guy who's the conductor and they have a bunch of kids on the train and they sing R&B style songs about random stuff. I think it's kinda weird but the other day i was in checking my email and it got REALLY quiet in the family room so i went out and the little miss could not take her eyes off "choo choo soul" she watched it for the whole song.

the first day of summer

June 20th was the official "First day of Summer" and the longest day of the year. It seems that Utah was waiting to be official but now it is decidedly summer. Thank goodness! We spent some time out in the garden enjoying the extended sun hours.

just give her some rocks and some dirt and she's happy. (the binkie is key for occupying the mouth so rocks don't get in there)

ever the helper.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's day to all the fathers out there and especially my own dad, father-in-law, and my hubby. It has been a true joy watching Paul be a daddy. I could go on and on about it but basically he really loves our family more than anything and he shows us each day. He is obsessed with Caitlin and I love it. And it's mutual.. she loves him so much. She lights up whenever he is around and loves to play with him. I love watching him with her, it really warms my heart. I'm so glad that he loves being a dad and is so good at it!
Look how cute this video is of Paul and Caitlin dancing together (taken 6.9):

 

We spent our Father's day going to church, relaxing and playing together. Paul got a special dinner and a few cards and gifts. And he got to spend lots of quality time with his girls!

Ragnar

Paul participated in the (Wasatch Back) Ragnar Relay Race on Friday and Saturday. He ran with mostly members of Melissa's family and extended family, but it was especially fun for him to get to do it with both his brothers. The race is 192 miles total, from Logan to Park city, completed over two days (including night time!) Divided into 36 legs, done by a team of 12 (everyone runs 3 legs). the team is divided into two vans and take turns where all 6 runners run and then they get a break while the other van goes. Typically it's about 5 hours on, 5 off. But that all depends on how fast people run! Their team name was the "Killer Bees".
Leg #1 for Paul: 6.9 miles, uphill for 1.5 miles, steep downhill for the rest. Most of it on a gravel road. He ran this in the morning so i wasn't there but his average mile time was 7:40! (definitely some brotherly competition starting already) Then they got a short break while the other van ran their legs.

Leg #2: Jenna, Caitlin and I were happy to join them around Ogden for their second turns to run. It was so fun to follow their van in the car as a "support vehicle" and cheer on our runners! We stopped at exchange points to see "the passing of the baton" and of course took pictures all along the way. This leg for Paul was his hardest --8.1 miles, all uphill, and some of it was very steep. Everyone had to wear their reflective gear and headlamps because it was dark by the time they finished. Of course Paul was such a beast and did awesome all the way through. It was fun to be able to see him run the whole way and cheer him on. After that we were able to go back to Melisa's family's Midway house and get some sleep! What a blessing to have a nice warm house and an air mattress to sleep on instead of sleeping bags out in the cold like a lot of participants. And the chocolate shake from Dairy Keen didn't hurt either. The runners got about 4 hours in, I slept a little longer then met up with them as they completed their last legs.



Leg #3: Was his easiest-- 3.1 miles on pretty flat lands. I am amazed that they were able to do so well after already have run so much and sat in the car so long and being so sore. After they finished their 3rd turns the other van finished theirs (so they were able to go back to the house for a little nap) then we all met up to cross the finish line as an entire team.
 






What an adventure! I'm sure we have a few days of recovery ahead of us but well worth it! One of my favorite parts as a spectator was looking at all the vans. You can pretty much write any appropriate, inappropriate or funny thing you want on your van saying your team name and/or slogan and there were some hilarious and creative ones. I also liked watching for people in costumes. It was so fun to see everyone encouraging each other and pushing so hard and doing so well.

Foto Friday

 best. snuggle. ever. 

She's always been snuggly.. but now it's only on her terms, which is usually just when she's going down for a nap or bedtime so whenever she is perfectly still and letting you snuggle her for no reason.. it's bliss.

(taken 6.12)

the day-to-day

this week...

Monday night our neighborhood had a big BBQ and closed off the cul-de-sac across from our house. Everyone brought food and treats and mingled and played and it was really fun! It was fun to get to know some of my neighbors better and i am always so pleasantly surprised at how kind and welcoming everyone who lives around here is. I love it! 

Tuesday I went golfing for my VERY first time. I had been to the driving range a few times before but i had never played on an actual course. My grandpa would be so proud (or maybe he wouldn't based on how i played). We went with Whitney and Morgan and Jenna was nice enough to babysit so we got to have a really fun date night with them just golfing away! We played 9 holes and it was really fun! Don't think i'll be golfing all the time now but it was a good thing to check off the list. I was horrible at first but luckily i improved... and took lots of liberties.

Caitlin can climb stairs. We have a little stair in our bathroom that goes up to our tub and she loves to climb up on it and then at the BBQ she climbed up some porch steps so i decided to try her out on our little stairs to our loft and sure enough.. she climbs.

Wednesday night we went to the Pleasant Grove "Strawberry Days" rodeo. I LOVE rodeos, as i have expressed many times. It's not summer until there's a rodeo to go to. (sidenote- I also feel this way about baseball games but sadly haven't made it to one for awhile) Anyways we got a bunch of friends together and went. It was fun! Unfortunately Caitlin didn't really enjoy it.. about half an hour into it was her bedtime and let's just say she was a wreck the rest of the night. However she did like looking at the baby cows. The rest of us had fun watching and eating strawberries and cream.. so delicious!

 

 

 

Thursday Caitlin finally got into the pantry. She's been trying to get in there for weeks now... whenever i would open the door she'd come crawling over as fast as he could but i would always close it before she got there because i knew it'd be a mess if she got in. Well.. i wasn't fast enough this time and she just climbed and scavenged those lower shelves to her little heart's content. 

triathlete

Paul completed his first triathlon on Saturday! He did awesome! It was a sprint triathlon: swim .5 mile, bike 13 miles, run 3.2 miles It was so exciting to be there cheering him on. The course was pretty small so we were able to see him a lot as he went from event to event. Mike and Jenna came to support also and we had a good time watching. Luckily the weather cooperated and everything worked out great! Paul did extremely well for his first time, placing 19th overall and 2nd in his age division! His total time was 1:22:24 I'm so proud of him for accomplishing this goal and can't wait to see how he does with his other races!

feeling fit

One thing that i haven't talked about too much on here is the fitness goals that Paul and I have for this summer, and going. We've both been trying to work out and have chosen a few things to train for and it's been exciting to see our progress and see our hard work pay off. It is so hard to run around here because they weren't joking when they named our city cedar HILLS so the terrain is a challenge, then add to that the weird weather and pushing a stroller so it takes a lot of motivation for me to get out there. The Dicksons started a little family workout log where each day we can all post what we did to work out and it's actually really motivating to be able to share with the rest of the family what kinds of things we're doing.

I've also been going about once a week to a class in Lehi called "Ballet Blast". I love it! It's ballet moves mixed with cardio, mat work, ab work, and all kind of things. It's an hour of pure sweat and no breaks. I love my friends who come with me and it's a nice change when i'm sick of running. I highly recommend it! 

Paul has got some exciting ones coming up in June so stay tuned but I did want to mention our goal for May: to run a 10k. Unfortunately, that 10k was supposed to be on Memorial Day and we got snowed out. So, we both ran unofficial 10ks to make up for it. Paul far surpassed the goal and went out and ran 13.1 miles one night (so i guess we can check his half marathon off the list too!) but for me it was a little more of a challenge. The farthest i had ever ran was 6 miles, in training for the 10k so since i was so bitter about ours being cancelled i decided to try to run 7 miles. Tuesday, May 31st was declared my personal race day and so i picked a route and i was to begin my race once Paul got home from work so he could watch Caitlin and i didn't have to push the stroller. I actually did a lot better than i expected myself to do: 7 miles in 62 minutes and i felt really good the whole time. To date, that's the fastest and farthest I've ever run. My next goal is to tackle a half marathon in July!

Foto Friday

 She has discovered the world under our kitchen table. And she is just short enough that she can stand and go in and out without bumping her head. Once she grows another inch she's going to have a rude awakening. But for now, she's content under the table.

Mowing the lawn with dad
(both taken 6.3)

parading around

The Utah Valley Parade of Homes is going on right now. Whitney, Caitlin and I made the rounds over two days and there were some really pretty ones, some huge ones, and some just ok ones. I always like to look and though and it's definitely a lot more fun looking now that i have a house where i can actually incorporate some of these ideas!

 

afterwards we went to Rubio's for Taco Tuesday.. Caitlin sure knows how to "put the lime in the coconut"! (p.s. she has such crazy hairs!)