"I think I can..I think I can.."

Ry has been biking up the big hills in Bountiful to get ready for his first (and maybe last) bike race this year. He is pretty excited to get started.

He didn't have anyone doing it with him, so he was a bit of a loner compared to all these groups with big teams. He wants to get on a team so he can enjoy group riding, but doesn't want to commit that much time. Tough decision.

The race starts at the equestian park in Draper, and climbs to the top of Suncrest. Once the racers got to the top of Suncrest, they raced down the south side into Highland. Then for good measure, they climbed back up to the top of Suncrest again. That is two category 2 climbs if you are familiar with cycling. A vertical climb of 2100+ feet in just 15 miles such does tucker you out. Ry said that he didn't really see the beautiful view because it was behind him on the climbs. He was going so fast on the downhill (Speeds up to 45mph on a skinny little bike) that he was paying too much attention to not crashing and didn't dare look up.

Ry did well until about halfway up the second climb when the group he was with started to accelerate, and his poor little legs wouldn't move much faster. He finished in the top 70% (okay so that is not very good), and accomplished his goal of finishing.

Ba was very supportive through all of this, and was even a race volunteer.

Trauma Drama

We had a busy end of the week. LE decided to inhale a small part of a pink crayon. After going to our doctor to avoid the ER, we were sent to the ER at Primary Children's Hospital to get X-rays. Her right lung would not deflate when she was breathing. The doctor said it was like a ball valve, and was wondering if we knew what that was. PLEASE, that is what Ry does for a living. They decided LE needed to get "scoped". To put her to sleep, she needed to have not eaten for 6 hours, and they told us this right after she ate. Annoying. LE had fun playing with all the toys and charming the nurses till about 11:00PM. Then they stuck her with needles, and she was pretty unhappy. Right when Ba had her calmed down, and put her to sleep, they came in to wake her up, so they could put her to sleep. The operation only took about 10min. We had a nice night sleeping in our cloths so they could monitor the lung. We woke up and Ry drove straight to work. He said a lot of his work had to be redone from Friday morning, but we survived. LE is doing great without any side affects, and we think she was the only one not traumatized by the experience.

LE is getting to be pretty adventuresome as is seen here standing up on a motor cycle. With the blue hue to her jamies, the doctors and nurses usually thought she was a boy. BA kept on the pink socks to help remind them.


LE loved to take the "ear lookers" off the wall because the light would turn on, and the she would put it back and repeat for about 15min. The crib was more like a play cage than a bed. We ended up 'sleeping' three on a twin bed.


This toe light was used to help monitor her heart rate. LE liked to chase her tail around, and we think she looked like ET. "LE go hooome".


LE needed to rehydrate so we gave her juice that was only half diluted. What a rush! She pounded that stuff. I thought she was going to have breathing problems on the recovery because she wouldn't stop to get any air.

To top it off when we got home Friday at noon we found out that pipes in our apartment had broken. What fun.

Take a Seat

When we moved we sold all of our furniture to make the process easier. The problem was that the only thing we had to sit on was some nice soft carpet and folding chairs. We were looking for couches, and we found a microfiber set of couch, love, and oversized chair in amazing condition. We sure like sitting in our new couches, and although they are not the top grade, and "slightly used", they are way better than the floor. It is amazing how much you appreciate things when you are used to having nothing.

Ry made that rocking chair LE is standing on. He looking online at some pictures from a google search, and made the design from there. After a few visits to Lowes, and a friends wood shop we have a fantastic mini playground. We are planning on painting it, but we are not sure what color. Any suggestions? Ba wants white, and Ry wants bright yellow or green (it doesn't match the room). It was fun for Ry to make it, and it is nice that he likes doing crafts like this. Maybe we should have family craft time where we make bows and scrapbook.

For five minutes

LE has now been officially walking for five minutes. I am a stickler about these advancements in life. I think a baby has to be stable for at least four steps before it is considered a "walk." She does have a bit of a swagger, but it looks pretty legitimate to me. Of course she is motivated by footwear, what a girl. Does it look like a valid walk to you?

A red flag has been thrown from the sidelines, so we will take a timeout for an official review in slow motion. It looks like 7 occurrences of the full weight on one foot in sequence before she reaches the flip-flops. Validated.

ONE

People always say how quick infants grow up. It is true as we look at her one year mark. Le is at a stage in life where she is learning a little sign language and also learning all the silly things her dad teaches her.

LE was oblivious that the celebration was for her, but she really likes her new car she got for the celebration. She opens the seat and loves putting things in and out of it. She was giggling for hours while playing with a balloon. The concept of things falling up is pretty funny.

Ba did a great job at making this dog cake. Whenever LE hears or sees a dog she gets crazy excited and starts to pat her chest with both hands. (the sign is supposed to be her leg with one hand, but its cute so we encourage it)
Warning: the following is rated NB by the "Mothers Association for Infants" due to the mild Naked Baby exposure.

When given the chance to eat cake, she started off tentative, and was pretty neat.

That didn't last too long when she started to enjoy the goodness of chocolate. She also LOVES ice cream (takes after her mother).

Then she went crazy throwing it everywhere. Someone...(I bet you can guess who) thought it would be funny for her to practice her signs like "Dog", and "Hair."

Happy Birthday Day LE.

Blitz to Arizona

We moved down to Bountiful two weeks ago because Ry got a job in SLC that he really likes. Too much work and not enough play makes people grumpy, so before Ry started we decided to go on a quick trip to Pheonix, Az. For those of you who are new, "Blitz" means lightning, or very fast. Ba's brother lives down where the palm trees grow in February, so we thought it would be nice to catch some winter rays.

Le did very well on the plane even though we check her oh so comforting "blanket". She liked to walk up and down the aisles lunging out at innocent computers.

Arizonies where so much fun. We had a great time bike ridding, running, walking, and just playing outside. LE loved to watch the girls run around and eat sand at the playground...YUM. She liked to climb on "Bubbes" who is only 4 month old.
Aunt E helped make Ry's 27th birthday a special one. She made an outstanding meal, and dessert. After babies were in bed, we went outside and played nights games.
This is the shirt that LE gave her dad for his bday. It is also her 11 month old carseat pic.
We took some palm tree seeds and we hope to grow them in Utah. We will see how long that lasts.
"Curly" tipped over while crossing a big puddle while riding her bike. Ry decided to give her a break and took a turn.
The girls had a lot of fun together.
We went on a fun hike, the sunset was so beautiful. It was very nice to get away and enjoy time together before Ry started working. Thank you Arizona family, for letting us come stay with you!

Regular LE Clips

Upon popular request, here are some videos of LE doing regular things that you don't get to see if you aren't around all the time.

The Giggles...


The Rock Star...



The Breakfast...