Giving Thanks

For Thanksgiving break, we were able to visit Erin's family in Washington. It was great to spend quality time with family

We have so much to be thankful for. More than anything else, we're grateful to have our baby girl. Many of our family and friends are aware of the fasting, prayers, and patience that preceded the birth of Aly into our home. What a joy she is to us!

Dancing Queen

One of Aly's many new skills is dancing. We think she has great rhythm. Here is Dave teaching her to dance.

Game Time

Aly loves to watch sports with Daddy. She shares his passion for all the same teams - the BYU Cougars, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.


Aly and Daddy at the Spurs-Blazers game.


Aly and Daddy at Husker game time.

Fall Break

Dave was on Fall break this past week, so we took advantage of the extra leisure time and headed to the coast. Our destination was Astoria, OR, and the nearby Fort Stevens' State Park. We hiked around a toadstool-bordered trail with Aly's new hiking backpack...


... explored the wreckage of the Peter Iredale at low tide...



... and enjoyed fresh fish 'n chips from a landlubbered fishing vessel.


Aly's favorite part was learning to drive. She got us home safely.

Aly's First Halloween

It's great having a baby under a year old, because every holiday and special event is a "first" once again. Somehow that makes it more exciting for the rest of us, too.

For her first Halloween, Grandpa and Grandma Glabe sent Aly a few costumes they had gathered along the way. We made sure to take plenty of pictures to record the moments. The only thing Aly loved more than wearing the costumes was watching Daddy try to wear them:)

Fall Leaves

Fall is a fun new season for Aly. She loves all the colorful leaves on the ground. She especially loves ripping them into a million pieces and then shoving those pieces in her mouth. We just couldn't resist posting some of these adorable pictures of her.

Lifting Burdens

We listened to this video today, and it reminded us of all that we hold most dear. Hope you all enjoy it!

Click the link below to view the video:

Lifting Burdens

Pumpkin patch!

We took Aly pumpkin picking for the first time at a nearby farm. She loved it, especially the corn maze. Some of the squash and pumpkins in the patch were larger than she was!

"Real" food

Aly has been eyeing our dinner plates for the past month and a half, but we've managed to hold off on solid foods until now. The pediatrician's advice was to start her out on rice cereal mixed with Mom's milk until it was soupy... yuck. What a way to be introduced to real food - rice cereal. Aly didn't hide her distaste very well, although she seemed to like the idea of chewing on the rubber-coated spoon with her two new (and very first) teeth.

We later found that if we mixed the rice cereal with some watered-down white grape juice, Aly found it tolerable. Like granulated sugar on your cornflakes, I guess...

Hair bows

Apparently making hair bows is a "must have" skill for mommies with little girls. Here is Erin's first attempt. A special thanks to her friend Lyndsie for teaching her and providing her with her first time supplies. Now she's hooked. And another thanks to Aly for making it look so good. Now hopefully no one will ask if she is a boy or a girl.

Playtime

Aly loves to laugh and giggle when she plays. She especially loves it when Dave acts like a dog chasing after her, as in this video.

New toys

It's exciting to watch Aly as she discovers new things. Lately she loves to grab her toys (and Mom's hair, and our plates at dinnertime, and Dad's nose, and anything else that gets too close). While at Grandma Shurtz's home in Sequim, we learned how much Aly loves balls, so we purchased one for her. It has quickly become her favorite toy, as evidenced by the smiles in these photos:

Canada!

While vacationing in Sequim, we took the ferry from Port Angeles to Vancouver Island. It was the first time Dave and Aly had ever been to Canada. We found plenty of fresh fish, breathtaking gardens, intricate architecture, and even a wooly mammoth!

More Sequim photos

Sequim!

Sequim (pronounced "skwim"), Washington is one of our favorite places on earth. This gem of a town is a small, sunny retirement community on the Olympic Peninsula. Wait... did I just say "sunny" and "Olympic Peninsula" in the same sentence? Indeed I did. Sequim is an anomaly, to be sure, and is surrounded by the most breathtaking rainforest and mountain scenery you can imagine alongside the beauty of the Pacific Ocean. Picture orca whales, mossy forests, waterfalls, beaches, crystal-clear glacial lakes, and six-foot ferns - that was our vacation in Sequim. And here are some photos of it:

Ducks and wetlands

Aly loves being outdoors, just like her mom and dad. Here are some photographs of us at the wetlands near our home and feeding the ducks at the local pond.