Skyler's Birthday

We celebrated Skyler's first birthday on Monday with Josh's parents and grandpa. We kept it pretty simple and served dinner, opened presents then had cake and ice cream. Skyler got some new toys, a puzzle and a book.

Skyler had no interest in eating her cake and ended up just demolishing the piece we gave her.

1 Year Old

Remembering Grandma Dora

My Grandma Dora passed away last Monday and her funeral was this past weekend. I always dread going to funerals, but her's was different. It wasn't somber like I was expecting. There were sad moments, but it really was a celebration of her life. My aunt and uncle each told stories from their childhood as well as my grandma's childhood and had the congregation all laughing. My favorite part though, was when my dad read this poem written by my grandma entitled Requiem. She wrote it with the purpose of it being read at her funeral.

Dora Mecham Imlay

March 12, 1923 - November 7, 2011

Halloween

My aunt and uncle were kind enough to let us borrow this cute skunk costume for Skyler to wear on Halloween. I was surprised that Skyler never really tried to take the hat off and seemed content while wearing the costume. We went trick-or-treating to all the businesses downtown in the afternoon, then went to a few houses in the neighbor at night. She really enjoyed checking out her candy stash once we got home.

Trick-or-Treating Downtown

Candy!

11 Months Old

Pumpkin

Josh's mom bought Skyler a pumpkin decorating kit for Halloween. It included some stickers and a few other things to put on a pumpkin to make it look like a cat. It was perfect for someone Skyler's age since no carving was involved.

Playing with her pumpkin before we decorated it

Skyler loves her pumpkin!

Popsicles

I found some real fruit popsicles that Skyler loves. I'm sad it's starting to cool down because they have been the perfect summer snack!

Baby Walker

Skyler LOVES her baby walker. But if we put her in it, she kicks and screams and fusses until we take her out. It's only fun to play with from the outside.

10 Months Old

My Birthday

My birthday this year was pretty relaxing. Josh ended up having to work so Skyler and I spent the day together hanging out. We went for a run in the morning then headed to a local mall and shopped around later in the day. Josh got home late that night so we went out to eat to celebrate the next day. Thanks for a great birthday Josh!

Bar Results

The bar results are finally in and Josh passed! We are excited to finally have the results and Josh is relieved to know he doesn't have to take it again. Now the job hunt begins!

9 Months

At 9 months old, Skyler is growing fast! Like her dad she is a very good eater and will eat pretty much anything we give her. Her newest nickname? Escapo - she can no longer be contained and is into EVERYTHING. She has 6 teeth and her hair is growing back in.

People are always stopping us and commenting on her pretty blue eyes. Love this girl!

Lazy Boy

We recently got this lazy boy from Josh's parents. It's Skyler's favorite chair. She loves just relaxing in it with her toys.

Family Visit

A couple weeks ago my parents, 2 sisters and younger brother came out to visit. We headed up to Logan to visit my Grandma Dora and Great Aunt Edna who are in an assisted living facility.

Me, my mom, Lindsay

My grandma was sick when we visited her and could barely stay awake. She has recently been suffering from memory loss and is now in the Alzheimer's unit. It's hard to see her like this, and I'm not even sure she remembered any of us. We don't know that she will be around much longer, so I'm glad we were able to visit with her for a little bit.

Preston, Lindsay, Me and Skyler

Dad, Grandma Dora, Mom

We also visited with my Great Aunt Edna who, at 103 years old, is the oldest one in the facility. She was on her way to go play bingo when we stopped by. She was very excited to see us!

Me and Skyler, Edna, Dad, Mom, Preston and Lindsay

Skyler and Lindsay

Shark Week

Skyler enjoys watching shark week on the discovery channel just as much as I do.

8 Months Old

The Grumple

Those who know Josh well know he is a fan of The Simpsons. One of the episodes starts off with the Simpsons going to Krusty's Krismas on Ice, which tells the story of the Grumple (a parody of Dr. Suess' the Grinch.) At one point in the episode the Grumple is seen standing outside the Simpson's home saying "Grumpily Grumpily Groo! Your blood will make my stew!" Skyler is quite grumpy at times and has been given a few new nicknames because of it - the Grumple, Grumpily Groo or just Groo.

Our Grumple

Sleep Sack

A month or two ago we stopped swaddling Skyler when we put her to bed. I noticed when I changed her diaper in the morning she was almost always cold. I checked around online and found this pattern by McCall's for baby sleep sacks. I bought the pattern, some fabric and a zipper at Joann's and made a sleep sack that night.
I have only had time to make one, but I have some pink camouflage fleece and a matching zipper to make a second one. It was so quick and easy to make, and I'm glad Skyler doesn't get cold at night anymore. We don't need to use it every night, but we have definitely gotten a lot of use out of it.

Fun at the Park

Last night we went to the park for a BBQ with some friends. It was nice to get out and spend time with good company. As usual, Skyler just tried to eat everything she could get her hands on.

7 Months Old

Pantry

I've been wanting some shelves in our furnace room for a while to add some extra storage space. Josh bought some 2x4s and plywood and was able to quickly build this shelving unit for me. I love how much extra space it gives us!
I've also been wanting some kind of can rotation system and found some heavy-duty cardboard organizers online here. It took a few minutes to figure out how to put the first one together, but after that they went together pretty quickly.
We discovered Skyler loves tools, just like her dad. (Don't worry - we supervised her while she played with them and didn't let her anywhere near the box cutters.)