Well, I think we can confirm: SJ is an Anderson! She sprouted her first two teeth this month! This means there is some hope that she won't have the same teeth woes that the Laytons do. It may be too soon to make the call, but at least so far, so good.
Hayden and I celebrated our first birthdays as parents this month! And we spent both of our birthdays enjoying the great outdoors in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Here's SJ hanging out with her cousins Linus and Kirby around the campfire:
For my birthday, we hiked Lake Blanch with SJ on our backs. Last summer, we did this hike when I was just about 10 weeks pregnant, and BOY was I sick. Needless to say, I felt far less nauseated with her on the outside of my body, although the hike was TOUGH! I forgot how steep it is, and trading off packing an 18-pound baby was no joke.
At one point on the way up, SJ lost it and really needed to eat, so I ended up taking off my shirt and walking up the steep rocks while breastfeeding. Pretty bad-A if I do say so myself.
Grandpa Steve also had a birthday this month. He turned 50! And we celebrated by renting a cabin in Duck Creek and just chillllin. SJ wore Grandpa Steve's glasses in celebration.
Have I mentioned how much this baby loves guitars and ukuleles? Any time Hayden is playing the uke or one of her uncles is playing guitar, she either goes into a trance or tries her very hardest to get her hands on the instrument. Do we have a musical prodigy on our hands or what?
Remember when SJ met Rookie for the first time when she was like six weeks old? Well, here are the little friends, back together again as big(ger) girls! Rookie has surpassed SJ in the chubby department (yay Rookie!) but, just like their fathers, SJ has some significant height on Rookie. Watching little babies interact is one of my favorite things! I can't wait to see these two become friends!
And speaking of friends, we got the college gang all together for the first time (including Lisa) and it is SO SURREAL to see where we all are now as opposed to five years ago when we were starting our last year rooming together. Here's Lilli and Eli, Lisa and Clara, Madi and Juniper, and me and SJ (who is also, obviously, the most photogenic:).
We're so lucky to live so close to such beautiful mountains! We've been able to spend a good amount of time this summer hiking and enjoying the canyons that are a short drive from our home. We visited the Albion Basin with the Swoggers and Mimi and G-g-Pa. It was unbelievable!
SJ discovered her new favorite word: mamamamama. (Big score for me because I thought babies usually learn "dada" first!). She wanted to tell the whole world about it so she was yelling, "MAMAMAMA!" the whole way up the hike to Cecret Lake.
I told Asher this should DEFINITELY be his Mutual profile pic. Who wouldn't swipe right on this redhead and his adorable niece??
This month, we took Sara Jane to Lagoon! Let's just say...she was a lot easier to handle when she was a three-month-old at Disneyland last March. We had to do a lot of back and forth, taking her to our "spot" in the grass so she could crawl around a bit and not just sit in her stroller all day. But, she did love the Ferris wheel!
Sorry, I just can't get enough of these pics.
And here's SJ with her Auntie Syd. Syd and Mckay LOVE this baby. I'm thinking they won't be able to resist having one of their own for much longer...
One Sunday afternoon, I took a nap next to this sweet baby, and my heart was SO FULL looking at this beautiful little girl. Those lips! Those eyelashes! Those cheeks! How did we get so lucky to have such a precious little baby join our family?? She can be a stinker, but she can also be the sweetest darn thing.
