Immediately upon returning from Christmas break, Melina was recruited for a great research position at a certain international biotechnology company based here in St Louis. It was a contract position for three months, during which time we were pretty busy juggling both of our schedules. But now Melina is back with Arianna at home and I have a lighter school schedule. So we can afford to spend more time updating our blog for the rest if you.
November has been an exciting month for us. First off, Ben's sister, Rachel, got married on the 7th, and we got to be there for the wedding in Virginia. Arianna was the flower girl at the wedding, and was so cute! She was doing really well before she face planted into the grass; but, she's always good for a quick recovery, and was happy to make her way up the rest of the aisle in mom's arms. Here are a few pictures from that happy day.
Arianna turned one year old today. Along with this landmark, here are a few more.
A couple of weeks ago she took her first step, then yesterday she was getting more adventuresome in walking around without holding onto the furniture. Today, she amazed us by walking all the way across our living room all by herself. She is truly growing by leaps and bounds, and it is so amazing to watch it all happening!
As far as talking, she says "Mama," "Dada," and "Ball" all the time. We've heard her say "Doggy" and "Kitty" a few times, too. She also likes to dance and bob along to music. She is getting really good at waving hello and goodbye to people, and she claps whenever we say "Yay!" Oh, and the latest is that whenever she gets a minor bonk on the head, she then slaps herself on the the side of her head with her hand and says "Boh" for bonk... she made up that sign all by herself!
This afternoon Arianna and I went birthday shopping, and we got her a lot of the winter clothes she needed. We captured these movies this evening. The first is her walking, and the second is her playing with her new birthday toys. She is such a joy!
Once we returned home from visiting Ben's family in Virginia, our summer vacation continued here in St Louis when my mom--Kay--came out for Labor Day weekend. We crammed in as much fun and grandbaby-bonding time as we could in the 5 days that my mom was in town. Each night Mom was here, she got to read Arianna her bedtime stories, and they both enjoyed that a lot.
The first full day on Mom's trip was spent at the St Louis zoo and visiting the Gateway Arch.
The next day we got an early start and drove to Nauvoo, Illinois to tour the historic town. We took a carriage ride, saw the Nauvoo temple, and toured the old brickyard as well as other restored homes and buildings. Also, while we were in town we visited the local Lands and Records Office, and found where some of my ancestors (through my mom's side) owned property in and around Nauvoo.
Before Mom headed back to California, we were able to take some new family portraits. Here are my favorites...
So that's the latest here in St Louis. Summer is over, and Ben is back at school at Logan College. Arianna and I are getting back into our weekday routine... we usually go on a walk in the mornings when the weather is nice, and we play and run errands in between nap times, and then look forward to when Daddy comes home in the evenings.
We hope you're all doing well. Leave us a comment so we know you're reading. =)
My first semester at Logan Chiropractic College ended in mid-August. Since we moved out here to St Louis the day of my last final in Utah, we never got a summer break or vacation. So an hour after my last final we jumped into the van and headed east to Virginia to see my family for a week and a half.
It was a great getaway. The weather was warm and the pool was great. Arianna played her first pickup game of water basketball and dunked on her old man.
Since we were in the area, we hopped up to Washington DC to see our good friend Lee and see some sights at the National Mall. We had a great visit to the National Archives and saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Magna Carta, and other documents. We also swung by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (of money) and a few other places.
Arianna had a blast on the metro and got a whole bunch of people smiling at her.
The whole trip was a great chance to relax and enjoy time with family. Thanks to everyone we got to spend time with!