a call to arms from sarah

so my sister in law, sarah, posted about how nobody is posting lately. she's totally right. i have been elbowed myself about not posting for awhile. i know, i know - it's only been like a week. but, if you're like most people on my list, nobody has been posting for like a week ... or longer. so here i am, trying to make good and put something out there.

disclaimer: i'm sorry that most of our blogging revolves around kate.

speaking of our sweet little one :)
she has been doing so many things lately! kate is a fantastic eater. she, so far, has eaten and enjoyed every morsel we have fed her. she loves peas, beans, sweet potatoes, all kinds of squash, carrots, applesauce and cereal ... i keep waiting for her to make a funny face and refuse to eat something but so far, she is awesome. she is also starting to attempt holding her own bottle. we got the cup with handles to try and motivate her :) i swear there's nothing harder than milk in there!

she is a little conversationalist these days too. she babbles on and on about all things goo-goo, ba-ba, and da-da. i'm not yet taking it personally that she doesn't talk about ma-ma, because she's still using everything indescriminately. i do, however, realize that dada will probably be her first real word and i'll just have to deal with that :) she gets in kicks where she will fake cough on end and blow really wet, drooly raspberries. those are my favorites. kate is a fabulous laugher.
weston gets her laughing the best and she just giggles and giggles. she seems to be most amused by his hair - he puts her on his shoulders and she grabs hold of his hair and thinks it's hilarious. she also loves when you swing her in her johnny jumper - it's apparently a knee-slapper.

kate now sits up really well. when she starts to wobble or tip over, she'll either catch herself (yeah, she has abs of steel) or manage a soft landing. she wasn't the least bit interested in sitting (she'd lock her legs up and refuse) until she spent a couple of days with her cousin, reynolds. it was like she realized, if he can do it, so can i. what a girl - stubborn streak like her mom. here she is, sitting with her other cousin, sophie. they are about 2.5 months apart.

kate is seriously on the move. this girl can motor with her army crawl like no other. she's so fast, too. we box her into our living room with pillows and baskets and she rolls around and crawls all over that 8'x8' space :)

she's had a few experiences that make me feel like the worst person in THE WORLD. kate's in the big bathtub now. i've had her in a baby bathtub (it's pink) until about 2 weeks ago. i was showing weston how big she was (the 2nd night) that she could take a bath in the big tub and what happened? i felt AWFUL - it took one millisecond and she had fallen forward (from sitting) face down into 3 inches of water. obviously i quickly grabbed her and she was fine, albeit sputtering and coughing - but she let me know she was not too stoked on what just happened and not too trusting for a minute, either :) kate also had her first "slide" off our bed. i can't believe i'm admitting this to the blogosphere. i had her on our bed for a few minutes and i was right beside her - no big deal. because of the aforementioned crawling and serious cruising, i looked at her (she was fine, playing in the middle of the bed) and like 2 seconds later, there she was at my feet on the floor - scared to death and letting me have it. i wanted to cry. luckily, she went off the end and the 2 down comforters made a nice slide for her on the way down. man, it's the WORST.

but, she's surviving :)

we have made a few trips to monroe to see our families. weston hasn't been able to come with me very much, so most of them have been day trips. i keep telling myself it's okay to visit so much because this might be the last year we are this close to our families in awhile. i want to take full advantage and let kate get to know her grandparents as much as possible. i don't think anyone's objecting :) i am in monroe right now, actually, because weston is working all weekend - how appropriate ... laboring over labor day. my sister johanna and her 2 youngest are here helping my mom paint several rooms in the house so i thought i'd offer my 2 helping hands as well.

my good friend, emily, got married this month to her longtime squeeze, rey. i have heard all about rey for several years and finally met him this summer. i couldn't be happier for the 2 of them. weston shot their wedding and got some amazing shots. my mom made emily's dress - isn't it gorgeous? i hope i can learn my mom's mad skills when it comes to formalwear (or any-wear for that matter). it's been such a tradition in my family - my mom made all the wedding dresses (for her 2 daughters and 3 daughters-in-law). i hope i can keep the tradition going when kate gets married.

i had a cousin, michael get married a couple of weeks ago as well. this was fun because i got to catch up with cousins that i only see once a year, if that. visiting at the reception was limited because everyone is always so busy, but the next day we had lunch at carin's house in highland and all of the devries, boren, and most of the hadley cousins were there. i always love visiting and really catching up with heather (devries). she and her husband live in idaho, so i can always count on seeing her at the bi-annual general conference lunches at carin's house :)

this month i got to see kristi (cartwright) while she was in utah. it's always super fun catching up with her, reminiscing about the serious good old days, and cracking up over the latest wacky story she's just lived through. i love spending any time at all with her family. her mom and 3 sisters are awesome.

i made one more quilt.
weston's been busy shooting for the salt lake magazine, slug. you can check out some of his skate photos here. i don't know how many of these are for the mag, but you get the idea.

on tuesday, weston is going back to school to kick off his FINAL year! he's had a nice break and i'm sure, is ready to start up again. he, unlike me, likes school. maybe that would have made all the difference for me - tests and papers. i really like to learn, i even don't mind reading the textbooks. it was all the tests, papers, deadlines that turned me off to all of it. maybe if it were all practical (labs, experiments, etc.) i would have felt differently. weston works hard and his classwork is rigorous. he just doesn't have to deal with reading 1200 pages of bio in 16 weeks and regurgitating it on paper. he gets to play, and work very hard, but play nonetheless. he'd be the first to agree, i'm sure. he's very talented, great at what he does, and makes up for those tests and papers by having to create. something i cannot do. i can copy like a mad woman, but ask me to come up with something on my own and you'd be up a creek without that paddle. he's amazing.

what a long and, possibly to most of you, boring post. if you made it this far, congratulations :) thanks for reading. and, as sarah got to me, GET TO YOUR POSTING!!!

where in the world is carmen guiness?

so i got a surprise phone call from my good friend, carmen guiness, this afternoon. she and her husband, greg, and kids live in oceanside and are amazing and gracious enough to let us come crash every summer.
apparently, carmen has been helping her brother-in-law and his family relocate from texas to utah. she helped kristy drive with the kids behind dave and the uhaul. it took an entire day to get out of texas! crazy.

we only got to spend about an hour together, but it is always so fun to chat with carmen. the thing i love most about our friendship is that it's one of those that no matter how long it's been, you can always pick up where you left off.

carmen, i'm so glad you called today and stopped by! i can't wait until we're closer to you guys next summer! :)

cynthia's baby shower

my sister-in-law, cynthia, is pregnant with baby boy #2 - benjamin thomas cottle. she is scheduled for a c-section on september 5th. some of the little cousins (i'm thinking alex, my brother, started this) are saying his middle name is kenobi, not thomas. i think, even if alex is serious about this one, cynthia will win in the end :)

she had a baby shower last friday evening and my mom and i flew out to be there with the rest of the sisters.
here is cynthia, ever the gracious guest of honor, making the rounds talking to the guests.
cynthia, her friend, and sarahsome of the refreshments
kate, my sister johanna, and jen's sister jessica
some ward friends, my mom, and reynolds (sarah and andrew's 2nd)
jen and her mom, beverly
reynolds and my mom, kate and johanna. kate and reynolds are a week apart.some of cynthia's haul :)i made cynthia this diaper cake. i first saw one about 2 years ago and have been wanting to make one ever since. i just wish i had gotten a better picture of it.kate and reynolds loved the wrapping paper and ribbonkate is going to be so much fun at christmas - i can't wait :)some thank you favors i made for the occasion.

good luck in 4 weeks, cynthia! wouldn't it be nice if he decided to make his appearance even earlier? :)

july birthdays

it was andrew's birthday on the first. andrew is my only younger brother and he lives in denver with his wife and 2 kids. i had to put this picture in because andrew has a pretty good sense of humor. this was mid-haircut. i think it's hilarious that he rocked this awesome 10-90 even for a few minutes - did you keep it this way longer than a few minutes, andrew? either way, pretty sweet :)
i really like how andrew looks in this picture - he has a very genuine smile here. andrew is almost 2 years younger than me and we are notorious for our fighting when we were younger, and occasionally as we have gotten older :) i love andrew and i love how close we got in the couple of years before he went on his mission. i think we both helped each other make it through some rough months. happy late birthday, andrew!

on the third, it was chris' birthday. chris is weston's dad - my father-in-law. as my mom would put it, "chris is a good man." couldn't agree more. i would dare say there is nothing he wouldn't do to help his family or someone in need. he's a very generous person and would always do the right thing.
this is a picture weston took of his dad one afternoon when they went out deer hunting (yes, weston grew up hunting, and i'm sure was pretty good ... he's good at whatever he does). one of chris' favorite past-times is antler hunting. he's got a garage full of antlers - one day he'll surprise us all with his millions from a big antler sale :)
if i had to pick one thing chris has done for me, that i'm most grateful for, it would have to be for raising an amazing son. i have known weston very well for over 12 years and he has always been a great example of integrity and trying to do the right thing. chris has been able to show weston how to become the man he is by his own example and i will love him forever for that! happy birthday, chris!

drew turned 11 on the sixth. drew is my nephew (2nd oldest) and he also lives in denver.
drew is a sweet boy - he is going to be one of those good guys. he just knows what is right and, for the most part ;), he does it. he is such a good big brother and example to his 2 younger sisters. it has been a fun year - to watch drew mature and change.
i can't believe he is only 1 year away from becoming a deacon! i still remember the sunday in church when drew was about 2-3, he was standing on the bench in the chapel and started to pull his pants down to show me his spiderman underwear :) i love you drew! happy birthday :)

the ninth was jen's birthday. jen is drew's mom and my sister-in-law. she is married to travis, my oldest brother, and they also live in denver (sensing a trend? everyone but us and my parents live there). jen is THE example of fitness and exercise. here she is (purple jacket) after running a race in boulder (not sure how far, so i'm not going to guess). i am so envious of the L-O-V-E she has for raising her heartrate :) jen is also a wonderful mother. i lived with them for a few months several years ago and one day it hit me, watching her with her 3 kids, how important it really is to spend as much time as you can with your kids, make great memories, and love them.
jen has a fantastic sense of humor, a serious competitive side, and can be a very compassionate person. i love you jen, i'm so glad you are one of my sisters, and i hope you had a great birthday!

quilts

here are the latest 3 quilts i made for friends:

this quilt is for adam jennings mcfarland (don't you just love the middle name? i think it's fantastic). he was born just last week!
this quilt was made for marlys hurd (kristi's oldest daughter). mar and i have the same birthday and i think she's 5. am i right, kristi? i asked her what colors she wanted and she said "PINK" pink it is :)
this quilt was made for kristi's other daughter, riley. riley is 2(ish)? i really should know this stuff - sorry kristi :) this little girl looks JUST LIKE HER MOM. i know we say that about certain kids, but in this case, it's 100% true. riley is a cutie.

believe it or not, i have 3 more on the horizon. stay tuned for them! by the way, would anyone ever purchase one of these quilts? i have had people tell me i need to start charging but i never think they'd sell. any takers? any commissions? i'd love to do it! comment and let me know.

they make fabulous shower gifts :)

check back soon - lots of posting coming!

holy crap i'm 6 months old!