Rick's Birthday

We had a nice dinner with Rick's family for his birthday. His mom made her traditional Christmas Eve dinner since Rick's brother, Sam, was going into the MTC the next day and was going to miss Christmas Eve. It turned out perfect because the ham with cherry sauce dinner is Rick's favorite meal too!


Rick with Daci and her balloon. When I went to the store to pick up balloons they gave Daci a free white one and she wouldn't let it go the rest of the day!

Rick, Daci and I (and the balloon) before dinner.

Daci all ready to eat....oh yeah and she had to have the balloon nearby so we tied it to her high chair :)

He got a Best Buy gift card from Carly and Micah...his favorite place!

He got a bag full of all his favorite treats from me

I made him his favorite oreo cookies

He got new jeans and a shirt too

Carly made him a nice birthday cake. Of course I didn't get any but I hear it was amazing!

Blowing out his candles

Halloween Fun with the Chicken

Daci was an adorable little chicken for Halloween and Rick and I dressed up as her farmers :) Rick's costume was much more realistic, he worked on a farm last summer so he had the whole watering boots going on and my Grandpa lent him overalls and a real farmer hat. I ended up looking more like a cowgirl, but you get the gist of it right?


Daci LOVED her costume and she LOVED her pumpkin! We had fun taking her around to a few family and friend's houses to show her off. She definitely knew she was cute :)

8 months old and cuter than ever!

Daci turned 8 months on the 21st. I can't believe how time flies! She has been so much fun this month and its hard to believe, but she gets cuter and cuter every day! Some new things about Daci:
1. She stands up to everything! She has taken a few spills but they aren't too bad and she is learning how to get down easier with each new fall :)
2. The other day I went in to get Daci from her crib and she was standing up to the side of it. She had white flaky stuff all over her face and I couldn't figure out what it was, then I looked to the back side of the crib railing and she had gnawed her railing! The white stuff was paint flakes on her face. What a goober!
3. She is never happier than she is when she is on her daddy's shoulders. She absolutely loves to be up high. She either puts her hands in his hair and pulls as hard as she can or, my favorite, she holds on to each ear and wiggles them. So funny!
4. She loves to be outside...as you can see in these pictures. She is very interested in the fall leaves right now.
5. Daci now has two teeth, she got her second one on October 10th.
6. She has the most adorable new trick...she waves at everyone!
7. Her three favorite things are kitties, her pumpkin, and the "big buck" hanging in Grandpa Pedersen's house. Whenever she sees these three things she goes "oh! oh!"
8. She still says "mama" and "mom" but no sign of "dada" yet :) Don't worry, she still loves him as much as me :)
9. She has developed a bit of stranger anxiety. It was cute for the first two days but then it got annoying :) If you want to be her friend, however, either wear a necklace or have strings from a hoodie hanging down and she will love you for life as she slobbers all over your front :)
10. We love our little booger and can't believe how fast she is growing up!


She puts absolutely EVERYTHING in her mouth!

She loves to be outside...can you tell?

Mom and her cute little booger :)

The Punkin' picks her Pumpkin!

Daci picked out her first Halloween pumpkin from Great Grandma and Grandpa's pumpkin patch yesterday. As you can see she is very excited about this big, orange, round thing :)

Daci's First Cold :(

Daci got her first cold this week. It has been so sad to watch her nose drip like a faucet! Wednesday was the first day she was sick but it was just a runny nose (these pics were taken on that day) and that night was definitely the worst. She went to bed with a slightly stuffy nose and woke up a half an hour later with a fever, scared to death and gasping for air! She screamed and screamed for about an hour, which only made things much worse. It was so sad! Rick immediately went to get Tylenol and a humidifier and they did wonders. She is still sick but surprisingly happy. I hope it is over soon!

Seven Months and Growing Too Fast!

I can't believe another month has already passed by! My little Doodle is growing way too fast! A few things about Daci this month:

1. She turned 7 months on September 21
2. She got her first tooth on September 22
3. She hates all the food that most babies are supposed to love (peaches, pears, bananas, applesauce)
4. She loves all the food most babies don't like (carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash)
5. We have decided that she is a lot more Greek than we thought. She LOVES spinach! She can't get enough of it. She actually screams at you if you don't shovel it into her mouth the second she finishes her bite before.
6. She pulls herself up to standing now! She started doing this about two weeks ago. The first time she did it she pulled up to a laundry basket in the family room. It was about to tip but we caught it right before it did.
7. The other morning I put her down for her nap and she was crying so after a few mins I went in to check on her and she was standing up to the side of the crib and half way over the rail! If I had walked in two seconds later she would have fallen right out of her crib!
8. Her mouth is GIGANTIC and she puts everything in it! One time she was crying in her crib so Rick went in to check on her and she had gotten her whole binkie in her mouth! It was the kind with the ring on the front and Rick said when he walked in Daci was screaming and with the whole thing in her mouth except the ring was hanging out. I wish he had gotten a picture but its probably good that he got it out as soon as he could :)
8. She is such a "go-er"! She just wants to be going all the time. It makes for a very exhausted mommy :) We love her to death though and wouldn't have it any other way!

For the most part she is a REALLY happy baby!


This is typical Daci fashion. As soon as she gets anything in her hands she opens her mouth as big as she can and tries to stick it in there :) As I was looking closer I saw that her new tooth (that actually popped through the day I took this pic) is showing!

One morning I went into check on her and she had snuggled herself into the corner of the crib and was all tucked in comfy and warm under her blanket. I thought it was adorable!

Here is Daci eating her pureed spinach

See, she loves it! Crazy girl :)

Rick's New Adventure!

Rick and our brother-in-law, Micah, have recently started a graphic design business called Greek Fire Media. They were both doing freelance work on their own so they decided to combine forces and start their own company. Some of his work is posted on his graphics and design blog page.

Daci's Six Month Photo Shoot

Daci turned six months on August 21st. I saw this CUTE dress the day before and new I had to have it for her six month photo shoot :) My mom, the wonderful photographer that she is, took these adorable pictures of Daci. She was in a more serious, pensive mood when we were taking them so we only got a few with smiles but I really love the ones without smiles too :)

Happy B-day Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday! I was going to put how old she is but I thought she might be mad. But I'll tell you its somewhere between 44 and 42. So here is to wishing you a happy birthday mom. Thanks for everything you do for Dawson, Tannon, Easton, and me. You are a great mom and grandma. We love you very much.

A month of "firsts"

Daci turned 6 months old on August 21st! She has had a lot of "firsts" this month.


She went to her "first" football game on August 21st and loved it. She watched her Uncle Tannon play quarterback in Lone Peak's first game of the season. These are pictures of her at the game on her dad's shoulders and after the game with me.


She held her bottle and fed herself for the "first" time right around the 1st of August. She is so cute when she holds her bottle! The only problem is she wants to play at the same time as eat so she will roll over onto her tummy and try to drink her bottle at the same time...doesn't work so well :)


She went over the 50th percentile in weight for the "first" time at her doctors appointment on the 21st. She used to be in the 50th percentile for weight and now she is in the 73rd percentile! What a chunker! She is also in the 90th percentile for height. Are you surprised with her gene pool though? I'm sure not :)



She started scooting around for the "first" time on August 17th and now we can't take our eyes off of her for two seconds! She scoots for everything she can't have and won't go for the stuff that she can :)



She started eating solids for the "first" time on August the 19th. We started her on bananas and she loved them. Then the doctor told me to make sure I give her lots of vegetables along with the bananas so that she doesn't just prefer the sweet fruits. We have given her squash, which she liked okay and then we gave her sweet potatoes yesterday. She LOVES the sweet potatoes :) The night before I started her on solids I gave her some juice out of a grape to see what her reaction was. It was pretty hilarious and we thought we should share it.

3 Yr Anniversary

It was our third year anniversary on the 11th of August! Rick works for JetBlue now so we get to fly for free! We decided to fly to San Diego for just an overnight trip. It was a blast! We didn't rent a car so we walked everywhere. We checked into our fun hotel and then walked 1.5 miles down to the boardwalk. We saw a WWII aircraft carrier in the harbor and a lot of fun artwork. Then, we ate fresh seafood right on the water at the Fish Market! The next day we walked 2 miles to a diner that was on Food Network's Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives. It was a great meal and we even got a picture next to Guy Fiori's autograph! It was so much fun to get away for our anniversary and have a little alone time. I can't believe it has been 3 years!

Rick in front of the aircraft carrier


Us in front of a Bob Hope and Veteran memorial.


Rick and his clam chowder!

Amazing Fish Tacos!


Art along the boardwalk

Me at Hob Nob Hill next to Guy's autograph!

We did a lot of shopping. Rick bought me a very cute outfit at Nordstrom for my anniversary gift.

Me in front of The Keating Hotel where we stayed! Sorry the pic is a little washed out :)