Swiss Days

It has been far too long since I last posted. Admittedly life has been a little busy. Thankfully we've been able to fit some fun times into the mix.

We had a great time at Swiss Days. This was Sadie's first parade and she loved it, especially all the doggies doing tricks.

After the parade we found Tadd who was shuttling people with his bus. It was fun to see him driving his b

ig bus back and forth.

We enjoyed walking around to all the tents, especially seeing Brielle and all her "Breezy Bows"! Sadie is a people watcher for sure and we can't wait until next year!

What did we ever do before?

Life with Sadie is so full, it's hard to even imagine what we did before for entertainment! She constantly keeps us on our toes, and smiling all the while.

The most precious achievement is that she folds her arms to pray when we sit down to eat. She will also fold them on cue. It's so neat to see that we are maybe actually setting a good example, and she's catching on. She's so aware and learning so many things so quickly.

She now just runs wherever she goes. LOVES to be outside, with the wind blowing in her hair. Knows that lids go on her food, bottle, and sippy cup and can put them on herself. (not tightly of course) She plays "Twinkle Twinkle" on the piano w/ grandma, and loves to torture Penny and is obsessed with mauling Ody. She spins around in circles when music is playing or someone is singing. Claps when people on tv are clapping and is just thoroughly amused with life.

She sure is an independent little thing! Lots of times she'll just leave our sides and go explore or play for long periods of time in her room. It's the cutest thing ever to watch her in action. Babbling the whole time with her stuffed animals and toys. She has mastered the CD player and can make it play whenever she wants. She still loves her books and loves to snuggle before bed w/ her mommy. (My personal favorite time of the day)

Here are a few shots of her new little dress that Julie "just couldn't resist." What a little princess. She KNEW she looked special. She just kept spinning around & prancing about knowing we were so proud and filled with admiration. She sure loves to be the center of attention!! And---we're so thankful to have her as our center of attention!!

Curly Top

We've been wanting to get some curls in Sadie's hair for so long. I finally found some curlers and couldn't wait to try them out! I got Sadie nice and occupied (eating in the high chair) and went for it. Rolling as fast as I could go! She was so sweet to let me get them all in and here is the "look."It truly is amazing that she didn't pull them out and kept them in ALL NIGHT!!!! It was like Christmas morning taking them out! We just didn't know what we'd get. Well----we got some pretty tight little curls! She looked like a little Shirley Temple. I think next time we'll use a few of the bigger sizes. Here's a look at the final product---

AND-----jus a few other shots of our cute little Sadie Girl~

Busy Busy

Well, it's been about a month since my last post.....so sorry to be so boring!! School is back in session, and I'm trying to balance my time a little differently these days.

Sadie has adjusted well to having both Tadd & I back to work. Grandma Billie is tending Sadie everyday and they are enjoying eachothers company.

Sadie is such a riot these days and constantly doing cute things. (I think I'll copy Brielle and give ya a few bullets.)

• she is an avid walker



• loves to run and give hugs



• obsessed with finding out what's in all the drawers and cupboards



• loves the toilet paper



• would spend all day in Ody's water bowl if she could



• laughs and thinks its a game when we say "No, no" and even a stern "NO!"



• loves her toothbrush....but I'm not sure how much we get brushed....



• still pulls every bow and cute hair do out



• walks around the house with her laundry, double fisted



• eats chunky foods & even feeds herself from time to time

She is just such a blessing and we adore her every move. She adds so much to our lives and we're so thankful for our little Sadie Girl!

NEXT------A last little summer hurrah at Duck Creek

We love Duck Creek Soooo much!! Every year the Gunther clan gets together and camps for a weekend before school starts. I wasn't able to go this year because I was getting my classroom ready....but these are some fun pics that tadd got.
Maggie had a huge bubble maker and the kids loved it. Especially Sadie, she had such a fun time. Her shoes had the dirt to prove it!

Look at that stance!!! What's that belly doing?

Happy 1st Birthday Sadie!!!

Wow!! What a week it has been! We picked up my mom (Grandma Janet) from the airport on Tuesday. We are so excited to have her here so she can spend some special time with Sadie. It's been so much fun watching the two of them together. They clearly adore eachother! Sadie warmed up to her grandma right away and by the night was giving her "love pats" and her special "open-mouthed" kisses. (She doesn't give these away to just anyone!)

Sadie's Birthday was just perfect! We began the day with her last swimming lesson of the session. It was extra fun because the only people that showed up for it was Sadie & Molly!! (Brielle's girly) They were so very cute together and since it was just the four of us we got some great pics and footage. Taddy Daddy even took Sadie down the huge water slide. She loved it!!

Later that night we had a little bash for the Birthday girl and it was so much fun to have all the cousins & relatives together. It was extra special to have my own mom there to share it all with us. Sadie totally knew she was the "main" attraction. She thrives on attention and people around her. She loved opening the presents with the cousins, but just wanted to play with the toy she got. She didn't realize we had to keep things moving so that all the kiddos could go swim. We took the cake/ice cream over to the pool so that everyone could enjoy swimming as long as possible.

What a wonderfully perfect day. I just can't believe our little girl is one!! What a great year it's been. She has added so much to our lives. We love and adore her every move. We are so thankful for her and for all of our family! We love you!!

~Grandma Janet, Kara & Sadie~

It Happened!!!!

On Tuesday, July 15th Sadie's first tooth finally popped through!! Monday was kind of a sad day for her. When she was eating I noticed a hole in her gums! It was so weird. The next day that hole was filled up by the point of her first tooth. Two days later her second tooth poked through. We're so glad that we can now begin giving her some different food! She's still having fevers and sometimes feeling a little sad, so we're not sure if she's got more on the way or what.

Swimming at Gunlock

We had the best time ever swimming at Gunlock. This was Sadie's first experience at the lake and she soaked up every minute!! She loved all of the different textures and climbing opportunities. She was a little unsure of the feel of her feet sinking in the mud, and the taste of the sand, but loved making mud pies and splashing in the water.

Ody sure had a great time too. We played fetch and he swam and swam like a champ. We were the only ones at the lake so he had free reign to run wherever he wanted. He was in his glory as we all were. What a great day together with our little family and we still have the sand in our teeth to prove it!

4th of July Fun

We had such a fun 4th of July! We went up to Maggie's for a BBQ then headed up to Brian Head for the fireworks. It was so perfect. While it was 100 degrees in St. George we were needing sweatshirts and blankets to enjoy our fireworks! It was such a fun atmospere with live music, bon-fires, sparklers, pine trees, treats and family.

We weren't quite sure how Sadie was going to react to it all, but she was so tuckered out that she slept through it all!! Admittedly I had blankets on both sides of her ears to help block out the loud noises.

We were so thankful that the dogs didn't freak out this year too. Last year they were so terrified it was so sad. So, a great 4th---can't wait to do it again next year!

The Claflin's Are Back!

We are so thankful to have Amy back in Utah with her cute little family. We went to Pleasant Grove to see their beautiful new home, and what a blessing it is!! It's right up against the mountains and Amy said it's her dream home. Way to go Amy!

After swimming at the pool we all went to Chucky Cheese for some lunch and had a great time together. Sadie was just loving the "eye candy" everywhere she looked!

Baby Konrad Gunther

Last weekend we went up to Provo to see our new family addition. Austin and Sarah had their little baby Konrad and it was so much fun to meet him! We all met over at Kurt and Celene's for some taco's and family fun. It was crazy to see Sarah's parents there because we grew up with them in Michigan and my mom is actually pretty good friends with her dad. So it was fun to share old memories.

Daddy's Girl

There just isn't anything better than watching Tadd with Sadie. Her eyes just light up when he walks into the room or she sees him. He is such a wonderful Daddy. He's so much fun and such a "hands on" Dad. He's been helping out so much with the housework since I've been in school and going crazy. He's the best and I just couldn't do anything without his help. He brings light into my days, my eyes and my heart. We love you Taddy Daddy!!

Grandpa

We had a fun visit with Grandpa Kimbler. He was in Vegas and took a quick trip to say Hi! It was so fun for him to see Sadie and she had a great time with him. (so did we) She snuggled with him to drink her "ba-ba" and then he read some bedtime stories with her.

Father's Day

Yesterday was Taddy Daddy's first Father's Day and it was great! It's been so fun watching him be such a wonderful daddy and to honor him on this day was really special. Sadie gave him a little book about daddy's and daughters that they can read together and a few other little things.

Later, we went to Kevyn's to have some yummy casseroles with the fam. We had a fun time, but the best entertainment ended up being Sadie and Luke! They played for so long with these wooden balls and were soooo excited!! Neither one could keep their mouth closed and Luke even added the all too famous tongue!! Way to go Luke!! We laughed so hard at the two of them and these memories are certainly priceless!!

Mama

Yippee!! It finally happened! 10 1/2 months later Sadie has begun to say ma ma!! She has been saying da da, daddy, dad since she was born it seems. G and D were her first sounds, soooo it's been a while!!

But---with Father's Day here I'm so glad she can look at him and say Daddy!! What a great dad tadd is!! Sadie just adores him, and I do too!

We've been hangin' at the pool the last few days and Sadie has been in heaven!! She just loves every minute of it! Becky and the girls came over to swim today and she couldn't stop watching them, she soaks everything in!

As for me----2 classes down, 2 A's and 2 to go!! ug ug ug---

Yay to Maggie!

Maggie is just the best ever! She posted some pics of Sadie's first swinging experience! I didn't even know she had a camera so this was such a sweet surprise!! Daisy is pushing Sadie in the first pic and then it's Jake and Sadie in the second. We love our cousins!!

Also-- more props to Maggie for the fabulous embroidered Sadie shirt!! A treasure for life!!

Grillin' Out

We enjoyed a little grill fest for dinner last night. Tadd grilled the best pork chops ever, but the very best part was watching Sadie enjoy a little corn on the cob! We had a good laugh and she was the hit for sure!

After dinner was over we cleaned up as a family, and this is a true caption of how the Gunther's do it!!

Swings & Swimming

Tadd & Sadie went up to see Maggie and the kids yesterday. They had such a great time together and Sadie had her first swinging experience. Tadd told Daisy to just be slow with her, but the higher and faster the swing got the more Sadie loved it! Tadd said he's never heard Sadie laugh so hard! I'm so glad Maggie got to see what a rad baby girl we have!

Later that night we had a little family bonding time at the pool. Sadie just LOVES her floaty tube. She just laughs and laughs and thinks it's so much fun! Although she doesn't laugh as hard as she did on the swing! She also looks pretty cool in her little sunglasses!

Summer Dayz

Wow! What a crazy week it has been!! Tomorrow will be the last day of my Children's Literature class and then I will have 1 1/2 classes completed. This one was pretty intense for sure, but I learned soooo much!

Major props to Taddy Daddy for making it all possible. I truly have the best husband ever.

Also, a big THANKS to Brielle for tending Sadie girl. Looks like they all had a great time! Molly & Sadie are so dang cute together! I had to "pirate" this pic from Brielle's blog so I hope it shows up!

More Firsts

Today we had our Billie over to eat Sunday Dinner with us. As we got ready for prayer Tadd said "Sadie fold your arms." And SHE FOLDED HER ARMS!!! Oh-my-crazy!!! She has never-ever folded her arms before, so she sat there during the prayer for a few minutes with her little arms folded!!

Of course it could be a total fluke, which it probably is......but it was great. We just all looked at eachother with wide eyes and continued on with the prayer! These are the moments that make life complete. I so love being a mommy!

First Haircut

I'm beginning to realize that this may just become a Sadie Blog!! It seems that she is what happens to be interesting these days!

Today was Sadie's First Haircut!! We only cut about an 1/8 of an inch off, but I still saved her precious locks for her baby book! I heard that if you cut their hair it will help it grow in thicker. It was starting to look a little straggly on the ends. I've been putting it off because the tips/ends of her hair are jet black. It's her newborn hair and a part of me just wanted to keep it there forever!! But I'm all about a healthier set of hair I guess.

We had the camera all ready to document our big undertaking......but it seemed as though no one had a free hand!! It took all we had to get her to sit still long enough to make one little snip at a time! But she was a good girl, and amazingly enough her hair curled under at the bottom! Really strange---but cute!!

Here it goes!

Here's the family update to get us started~

Tadd is the happiest ever with his new job driving school bus #304, he had a great year with his kids and they even clapped for him on the last day. They just adore him....like we all do, how could you not?!! He will drive two days a week during the summer for special needs kids.
(yes--it will be a SHORT BUS!!) lol

Sadie has just been the best blessing of all time! She has made our lives so full of love & laughter! She is so funny, we pretty much just sit around and watch her! She now is getting into everything! She crawls at full speed, opens drawers, cupboards ect. and is quick to empty them. She holds on to furniture, people or whatever and toddles along while holding on. (we're expecting her first step any day.) She babbles non-stop, laughs a lot and has even learned to do the "courtesy laugh." She still waves, but will now do it on command when someone is going "bye-bye." She knows where everyone's nose is and her own and loves to point and say what sounds like "look" or "look it." She LOVES books. She will sit for so long in her room just going from book to book. She is such a joy and we are so incredibly grateful for her sweet spirit in our home.

We are also so very thankful for our Billie across the street. We just don't know what we'd do without her company and support. She has been our second biggest blessing! She tended Sadie EVERYDAY during the school year....and not to mention they were split shifts!! There is no way I could've gone back to teaching if it hadn't been for her willingness to serve. I guess her reward is maybe how much Sadie adores her! They could just play and laugh for hours, they are just the best of friends. There really is no better image than watching Sadie being chased on hands and knees by Grandma Billie! Its been so fun having her so close, we just adore her and are so grateful to have her in our everyday lives---she is a ray of light to all.

As for me, school is out for the school year, but I've begun my own schooling. I'm beginning the Master's program----so here we go!! I'll be taking four Graduate classes this summer. I'll be finished with them in June, so I'll still have four full weeks of bliss with my little Sadie girl & Taddy Daddy before I go back to teaching. Its been four years since I've been in school, but I have quite a few friends from Sunset joining the adventure with me, so I think I'll be ok.

All else is great! We love our family, our extended family and all of our many friends!! We are so blessed and lucky!