Christmas is coming!

After Thanksgiving we pulled out all the Christmas decorations and put up our tree. Sadie had a blast pulling everything out of the boxes and checking it all out.

She was pretty curious about the tree. She enjoyed taking off all of the ornaments and the silver beads, which she would then use as a necklace. As time went on, we had less and less ornaments on the bottom half of the tree, which was ok. She loved the lights and even tested her boundries with putting them in her mouth----lit! AHHHHHH!!! She spent a lot of time chasing the cat and dog behind the tree and around. Our tree got a lot of action this year and the needles on the floor were proof. One day for the first time ever I actually considered doing a fake one next year!!

We also had a great time at the Jubilee of Trees. Sadie loved all the trees walking around saying "oooooh, pretty!" She was making the old people nervous who were guarding the trees, but we didn't let her go under the rope. duh

When we saw Santa, she ran right up to him, got about three feet away and then darted back to the safety of mommy and daddy. It was interesting though that her first instinct was to go see him! We got a picture with Santa and this became our Christmas card. Fun-fun-fun!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We had heard that the Lodge in Zion National Park served a yummy Thanksgiving feast, so we decided to check it out this year.

Zion was sooo beautiful. It had been raining all morning and there were waterfalls and the rocks were a vibrant reddish color. Billie, Tadd, Sadie and I met my Aunt Julie and Uncle Gary there and enjoyed a nice meal together. It was a nice day, but we'll probably cook next year.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was so much more fun with Sadie than last year when I dressed her in a duck outfit and she slept in the bouncy chair as I handed out candy.

We had a blast carving out pumpkins together. Sadie was pretty mystified by the seeds and goop in the pumpkins. Her favorite part was to take the lid off the finished pumpkin and look at the candle and say "Hot." Too cute!

We began Halloween day with Tadd bringing her to school so that she could go with me through the school Halloween parade. She was soooo precious and cute in her little butterfly outfit. My kids (students) loved her and were so sweet with her after the parade. Sadie did really well being the center of attention. he he

We later got to go on our first Trick-or-Treat excursion and it was sheer bliss. She was able to pick some candy from the neighbor's bowl, but would then throw it on the ground, with much force may I add. It was so hilarious. We just went to a few neighbors and then some of my students from other years stopped by and that was fun too.

Andy and Emily decked out their house, so we went and hung out with them for a little. There is nothing more precious than watching Luke and Sadie interact. I love it! After that we went to Kevyn's and Jerry's since we finally had a little bambino to share. It was a fun Holiday for us and we can't wait to have many more with our sweet little girly girl.

Stahli Farm

I am on Christmas break, so I'm taking this opportunity to catch up on the few months that I've missed out on a little computer time. So, even though it is January, these pics are from the middle of October 2008.

I desperately wanted to take Sadie to a pumpkin patch now that she was bigger, and we discovered that Stahli's had a few fun things open to the public. There were lots of animals, a slide that went into a bin of corn kernals, a little tractor ride, music, food and of course pumpkins!!

Sadie was timid at first, but then got into the animals. She pointed every which way saying "ooh, oooooh, ah" and all her other excited little sounds. She dared to touch the lambs, chased chickens and proudly said "Duck!" as she pointed to the ducks. This was the first time she had seen a real duck (actually a goose) so I was surprised she made the transition from picture/toy to reality so well. She was intrigued by the ducks, but their loud honking scared the bee-jeebes out of her!

Her very favorite place was the corn kernal bin. She stayed in there for so long watching the kids come out of the slide and playing with the corn. She threw a fit every time I tried to get her out, so we decided since we weren't on a time frame that she could just stay and enjoy her new little experience. We did make it to the pumpkin patch by way of a tractor ride. The field was very picked over, which was ok pumpkin hunting wise---but I was hoping there would be more for her experience. It's much more spectacular when you see a huge patch.

As a kid we lived on a farm and had a pumpkin patch. We used to put a stake in the ground with our name on it "claiming" our pumpkin as it continued to grow. So, of course I wanted Sadie to have some of the same exposure/memories of pumpkin patches.

We stayed for hours enjoying each area of animals more than once. It was a perfectly enjoyable family outing. We are a happy family!!

Playin' at the park

We've been having such a great time taking Sadie and Ody to the park. Sadie is such an independant little girl. She now (Oct. 2008) climbs up all the stairs and goes down the slides by herself. She says "weeeeeeeeee" as she goes down and is just full of smiles and pride in her accomplishments. We love watching her run around and have a great time. She loves to be outside experiencing all the world around her.

Stephanie Got Married!!

We are so very proud of our Stephy who got married in the Timp temple to Reese Peterson. They met in Wyoming and are living there now. We had such a great time at time at the wedding. It was so beautiful and special to be a part of. WAY TO GO STEPH!!!

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?