Do for One as I Do for the Other

I couldn't resist making one for Clara too.

I'm a Sucker for Digital Scrap Booking

I could literally spend hours (that I don't have) doing this. I just downloaded free digital scrap booking through Serif and I REALLY like it. I might even get suckered into upgrading. So far the free version has everything I need so I'll try to get by with this version... for a while anyway.

Pretty Christmas cards here I come!!!

Aiyana... Almost 26 Months

Every day that I pick this girl up from daycare I am greeted with the biggest, tightest hug that a two year old can possibly give. It is the best feeling to have those little arms wrapped so tightly around me. Aiyana is learning so much that I can hardly keep up with all of the new things that she is doing. Today she counted for me during our car ride home from daycare. I usually like to sing to her on our way home, but today when I started to sing a familiar tune she held up one finger and very firmly said "NO". I thought "well maybe she doesn't like that song anymore" so I started a new one and... "NO". I felt a little rejected to tell you the truth. I asked what she wanted to sing and she smiled then started to count while holding up her fingers. So we counted instead.

I finally ventured off to the pond that my husband has told me about. The pond is about five minutes from our house and there's a one mile walkway around the perimeter. I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty it was and I wished that I had taken advantage of it being there sooner. In any case, I found a new favorite place to walk when the weather gets cooler.

Aiyana has become quite the little helper around the house. Dana says she's just like me and I have to smile to myself and think "yep... she is". Aiyana might even exceed my level and need for cleanliness and even I find her a bit over-the-top about certain things. For instance, she will not continue eating if she spilled some of her food on her place mat; she will insist it be cleaned up before she takes another bite. Things like that make me crazy at times, but I am thankful that she picks up after herself at such a young age and she is very pleased with herself when she helps mommy clean around the house. Gotta teach 'em young ;o)

My Angel... Aiyana... fast asleep.

Clara 8 Months Old

I love this girl... She is such a sweet little one and although I look forward to all the wonderful milestones ahead; I don't want to see these baby years go by.

Clara is just about ready to crawl, in fact I think she will be all over the place in about a month. Initially I was concerned about Clara's lack of interest in babbling and using consonants. Don't get me wrong... Clara is loud and she lets her presence be known, but her communication has thus far consisted of this wrenching "ehhhh" noise, an ever-so precious "ohhhh" noise and not much else. That is until today. Now we can add "thah, thah, thah, thah" to the list. I guess I cannot expect both of my girls to reach their milestones at the same age. Aiyana babbled earlier than Clara, but Clara has outdone Aiyana in the sitting department.

Here's a video of Clara's new sound...

My Dream Job

Digital Photo Editing

Actually... I really love what I do now, but I also really love THIS. Come check out my new business venture. I am so excited about it I can hardly stand it.

Time For A New Camera

I decided that I want a new camera. Anyone have any suggestions, or advice, on a digital SLR type camera that is user friendly enough for a novice like me? I've been doing my research and I am aware that the proper lens makes all the difference. It looks like there are many lens options out there and I will be needing more than just one. It's all over-whelming for me, but I really want this. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE taking pictures. I also want to take a course on photography so I am going to look into that at the local colleges. I am so excited about this new venture.

I am most interested in purchasing a Nikon... I have always wanted one. This is one that I found on sale at Cosco CAMERA. I'm not even sure if this is a good one to purchase for someone with little lens experience or if it has too many limitations for me to continue learning during my photography journey.

Pictures with the Girls

All About Aiyana

The princess shoes... she walks around in this toddler version of pumps like it's nothing. The clip ends with her tickling me ;o)



She doesn't think she's too big for this... Note how she call's me teacher in this video... that's Aiyana's new name for us.



Entertainment at it's finest...



Yay!!! She's learning to ride her tricycle all by herself

Could They Be More Opposite?

I recently took a picture of Clara and I remembered that I had the same pose of Aiyana. So here they are...

Aiyana 10 Months

Clara 7 1/2 Months

Clara 7 1/2 Months Old

I feel so bad for not keeping up with Clara's monthly photos. I skipped five months and almost skipped 7 months, but I caught it before she turned 8 months. It's tough to get pictures of just Clara because Aiyana always wants to jump in the photo. So I took these while Aiyana was upstairs ;o).

Clara is coming into her own. I love to watch her while she tries to play with Aiyana. The look in her eyes shows that she is so eager to get up and start running around with her big sister. I always thought that Clara would be the more mild tempered one of the two, but she is just as feisty as Aiyana is. Boy are we going to have our hands full when these girls become teenagers.

~@~

I don't think I posted it yet, but Clara is in the 96th percentile for height and 56th percentile for weight. She is just as tall as Aiyana was at 12 months.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

In no particular order, here are some pictures we took on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon...

It was very windy that day if you can't tell. This was my mom's first time seeing the canyon from the north side.



This picture was actually taken on our way to the canyon. A forest fire that started from lightening caused a large area of trees to burn :o(

That little bundle of Clara wasn't so easy toting around on the trails.

Aiyana had a blast

We took the Bright Angel Trail to view the rim

Here's a little video snippet. Aiyana appears clumsy on her feet, but she's actually quite the sturdy little one. Maybe it was the altitude that had her off balance? Anyway, that's not why I am including this video. Little Clara wanted to steal the spotlight for a while so she uses her ever-so-loud vocals to gain the camera attention. This is very typical of Clara's vocal expressions. My mom was disappointed I didn't video tape some of the canyon as we were walking along, but who wants to see the canyon when you can see these two little cuties?

Camping in the Kaibab National Forest

These pictures were taken on our way up to the Kaibab National Forest

We traveled many-a-mile on these gravel roads to find our campsite. If it weren't for Nicole (Dana's brother's wife) almost running us off the road I don't think we would have ever found where everyone was camping. Thank you Nicole ;o). You could easily get lost in this forest.

My mom took this picture... we decided that Aiyana must have been deep in thought.

Clara is all bundled up for the cooler weather. It dipped into the lower 50's that night... brrrr. That's too cold for us Phoenix folk.

Nana & Clara

Dana took Aiyana for a quad ride and despite the look on her face in this picture, she really enjoyed it.

Aiyana & her cousin Skye

All packed up and ready to head to the north rim of the Grand Canyon... Who needs carseats anyway?

These Two Girls...

...are so much fun. Clara watches everything her big sister does now. Aiyana has no idea how much Clara already looks up to her and I know it will be many years from now before Aiyana may finally realize that she has an admirer... her little sister Clara.

SLC

Aiyana sporting her new swimming suit

Clara & her cousin Jaynie


Downtown Salt Lake City

I wish I had more to say about this trip, but I don't so I hope you enjoyed the pictures at least.