Going for A Walk

Friday after work it was still really sunny outside so Sadie and I went for a quick walk. Sadie had just gotten her new pair of shoes and was re-learning her balance. Here are some pictures and videos.

Off to a good start

She is telling me which way she wants to go.

We found a dandelion. And instead of blowing it she grabbed it and just let it go from her hand. She was quite concerned when they all blew away. She wasn't expecting that.

I absolutely love this picture of us! It's my new favorite.

Quick disclaimer. During this video Sadie does fall down but she is fine. She tends to get going so fast that her feet can't keep up with her body.

Ultimately it was only about 15-20 minutes at the most but we really had a good time. I've vowed that I'll keep doing this with her in the afternoons until the weather turns again.

Feet Issues Continue!

I don't know if you recall but last year around April, I decided to take Sadie into my foot doctor to have him check her toes out. I was concerned about that and the curvature of her lower leg. Well the past few weeks I've noticed while watching Sadie walk that she is walking on the inside of her feet, and the curvature hasn't gone away. So today I had a follow up appointment on my new orthodics so I took Sadie in with me.

Well come to find out the curve I guess is normal for babies, but we will have to keep an eye on it to make sure that we don't have to put her in braces to train it straight. But the biggest news was I was 100% correct on her walking. She is walking on the inside of her foot. It's calle over pronating. (spelling?) Travis will have more information on it as he is the foot specialist in the family. I also found out that we have her in the wrong shoes. She has to have a more supportive shoe. The shoes she is wearing right now have little to no support. It could be compared to a moccasin. So now we have to find her a more supportive shoe. And she is also going to have orthodics in her shoes as well. They have been ordered today.

The problem is, Sadie's feet are fat on top which makes finding shoes a little more difficult. So I asked my doctor and he suggested Stride rite shoes. Which is what I had in mind to begin with but I wanted to make sure that was what he suggested. They are really good shoes and have a variety of widths that will be able to accommodate her little flinstone feet. So I did some research this morning and YIKES they are spendy but what can you do? Fortunately for us the local store is having a side walk sale starting tomorrow so hopefully we might be able to get some on sale. Keep your fingers crossed. $45 a pair is a little over budget. I don't even spend that much on my shoes (which could be part of my feet problem.)

So for all those who are coupon/sale savvy if you hear of a sale on Stride rite shoes, please let me know. We measured her out and she is between a 5 and a 5.5. So the doctor suggested getting the 5.5 so she would have room to grow.

Pay It Forward

So my friends, Alison Moreno & Gin Olson, are doing this pay it forward thing. This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this will receive a hand made gift from me during this year (because I'm slow?). When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.

This Could Be Sadie

For the record this is not Sadie. But it really could be Sadie as this is what she sounds like most of the time lately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI42LSbwc8E&feature=PlayList&p=1425740C92CF433B&index=19

Calling all Star Wars Fans!

My good friend Shannon and I have a common love of science fiction and especially George Lucas. Well last night at the Oscar's night she showed me this video. I had to post it. I think it's hysterically funny!

The guy is amazingly talented though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs7jAzAQN_4

What a Weekend!

For those who have been paying close attention to my blog, you may have noticed a slight down trodden mood to my postings. Yes this is true. I have been struggling as of late but the sun is starting to peak through the clouds.

Friday was a great day at work. My boss was gone and I didn't have any pressing concerns (which isn't usually the case) so I was able to do mindless scanning most of the day while enjoying clips from one of my most favorite tv shows. The Big Bang Theory. I introduced the show to one of my co-workers and we were laughing most of the afternoon watching clips from the show. If you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend it. It's a funny 30 minute clean comedy. It is about 4 highly intelligent men (Nerds if you will) and 1 highly beautiful neighbor and how they co-exist together. It is quite comical. To top everything off on Friday I was able to go home early since I came in early. So I got to spend more quality time with Sadie and Steve.

Saturday found the three of us off to Costco for shopping. Susan and I were thinking about catching a movie at the dollar theatre but instead we had a great lunch with her daughter Jordan at La Mina. We had a really great time. I enjoyed having some much needed Mommy time. We talked and laughed and ate great food. Later that night I packed Sadie up and we went to Bakersfield College Women's Basketball game. It was their last home game of the season. My friend Paula Dahl is the coach. Sadie loved it. She watched the whole first half of the game. And anytime the cheerleaders cheered she was right there with them. But unfortunately the game didn't start until 7pm so at half time we packed up and headed home. She was ready for bed.

Sunday was even better. We had Stake Conference which was broad casted from Utah. So I left Sadie home with Steve since it was a 2-hour conference. I didn't think she'd last that long nor would I have been able to concentrate on the speakers. The speakers were great and we even got out of there 15 minutes early. Which usually never happens. After Church I went home did some laundry and played with Sadie. Then at 3:30pm I headed over to Susan's (without Sadie) to watch the Oscar's. It was a lot of fun. We used to do it all the time. And it was nice just to visit and relax without chasing Sadie around. My friend Shannon was there and we had a waxing session. She waxed all the ladies faces (who wanted it). And then we sat down with yummy food (Thanks Leeann and Susan) and had our own private session of project runway. HAHAHA! Around 7:45pm I headed home so I could put Sadie down for bed and then watched the rest of the Oscar's in bed.

I have to say it was a really nice and uplifting weekend. I have made it a priority to at least once a month do something just for me. Not with Sadie or Steve. Just have a girls day or something. It has been far too long since I've been able to sit down with friends and enjoy great conversations, share funny stories and just be girls.

Sadie's Valentine's Day Party

I almost forgot to post this. UGH! Ah well here it is. Better late than never right?!
Last Thursday, February 12, 2009, Sadie's daycare celebrated Valentine's Day. Unfortunately it was one of the days that I was really sick and Sadie wasn't feeling 100% either. So she didn't get to stay for the whole party but she went for a few hours and took her Little Einsteins fruit snacks for all her little friends. Here are a few pictures of her with her snacks in the morning.

Doesn't she look cute in that outfit? Thanks Grandma Judy! Unfortunately the pants are now too small but it was a really cute outfit.

Laughing, Waving & Blowing Kisses

So there are a few new things that Sadie is doing. She is laughing. I mean big person laughing and if she gets going hard enough she snorts. Yep just like her Mother. Here are a couple of videos of Steve adn I trying to get her to laugh so she'll snort. It didn't happen but she is still really funny.

We are trying to teach Sadie how to blow kisses. She is so funny when she does this because you'll ask her to blow kisses and she'll stick her pointer finger in her mouth and wait for you to make the sounds. But she won't use her hand or do the motion with her hand. Here's a video of her trying to blow kisses and waving.

My 25 Random Things...

Ok so everyone has been doing this "25 Random Things" list so I thought I would hop on the band wagon! Here we go. Don't say I didn't warn you...



1. I am not a very good morning person. If I could I'd sleep until noon. Unfortunately life has a way of waking me up early.

2. I do not like to have my food touching on my plate. Yes it's a bit extreme and if you ever see me playing with my food I'm probably just rearranging it so it won't touch. HA!

3. I love photography. And if you read my previous post you'll know I'm one step closer to learning more about this subject and hopefully have a great end result with wonderful pictures.

4. My car is a stick shift. Random I know but hey it's in the title. Can you drive a stick shift?

5. I miss the snow. I never really thought I'd say that but after being in Bakersfield for almost 10 years I really am missing the snow.

6. I rock at Guitar Hero. I play bass and I am awesome.

7. I don't cook very often. Why when I have le chef Steve at my house. I do know how to cook but just choose not too.

8. I think I would be really good at Roller Derby and have always wanted to play.

9. I have sung on stage at the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, CA. If you don't know what that is, well it's a restaurant with stage that Buck Owens (legendary country singer) built. They have Karaoke there and I have sang there several times.

10. I love music and have a large varied collection. Ranging from Classical to Hip Hop and everything in between.

11. I am a Cowboys Football fan. And yes I actually watch football.

12. I am not a very good housekeeper. I try but fall short. I'm getting better I think but it's still a HUGE challenge for me.

13. Sadie and I eat breakfast (during the week) in bed. That's right. We eat and get ready in my big bed while watching Playhouse Disney.

14. I am a shopaholic. And I try not to go shopping unless Steve is with me so he can help keep me in check. I have gotten alot better, but I still have my binge days.

15. I do not like feet. (Except for Sadie's or any babies really) It freaks me out to touch them or have them touch me. I have only had 3 pedicures in my life for this very reason.

16. I have a hard time relaxing. I will find myself holding a specific posture and realize I am completely tense for no reason and then have to try and relax. I have only ever had on massage before and it took me 45 mins out of an hour to finally relax. But then I hurt for like a week after so I haven't had another one since.

17. I collect movies. I won't say just how many movies I have, but I could probably put Blockbuster out of business.

18. I have a hard time reading. I tend to mix things up when I read. But when I find a book that is easy to read I obsess until I've read the entire thing and any sequels.

19.I have not dyed my hair in almost 3 years. And yes I have snow white hairs showing through.

20. I love to tickle Sadie until she snorts. She gets that from me. I snort when I am laughing really hard.

21. I constantly play with my fingernails. I can't stand to have anything underneath the nail and I'm always picking at them.

22. I could be a beach bum. Seriously, if I could I'd live in a shack on the beach. Nothing would make me happier, except that Steve and Sadie were with me of course.

23. I am good with numbers. I tend to recall numbers very easily and do bookkeeping really well.

24. I'm a bit of a control nut. I like to be in control of my situations and love to plan parties or events and see them come to life.

25. I love Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I love that there is a plan and that He has put the people in my life that He has.

Exciting News...

Let me first start off by saying in these hard economic times my heart has been heavy with thoughts of how I can actually accomplish staying home with Sadie full time. I have been borderline obessing about this subject for the past few weeks, ok months. I have been praying and asking for guidance on how I can accomplish this and if this is HIS plan for us.

So you know when you ask for a sign, or for guidance in this instance, you sometimes are taken aback with how HIS message gets to us. This case is no different. Like I mentioned I have been constantly praying for help in this area. Well after a really long day at work I was checking my mail and a lady that works in one of the buildings that I managed pulled up to check her mail. We got to talking and neither one of us realized we lived so close to eachother. Well I still have a Creative Memories sticker on my car from when I was doing consultant work. She asked for my business card and I explained that I was no longer a consultant but I still have lots of supplies. Then I started to explain that I have mainly gone digital. We discussed that further and while we were talking it was a like a light bulb went off in my brain. This is the opportunity I have been looking for.

So I have decided to start a side business. I am going to be helping others get their pictures scanned and archived. This way they have a back up digital copy as well as more options for family history or scrapbooking (those are the same in my book. Any scrapbooking is really family history). So I am going to start with the suitcase full of pictures from my Grandparents. I have a few other ideas on other services I can provide along these lines as well. I've talked it over with Steve and we both feel it's something I can do on the side and earn a little extra income as well as possibly turning into a full/part time job down the road.

I am super excited. I know that my love for photography and family history will help others and in turn will help me and my family for hopefully achieving just enough income to help me stay home with Sadie. Along with this new venture I am also finally a Notary Public. So I will be advertising my services as well. So between these two ventures I should be able to earn enough (eventually) to stay home.

Steve has gotten me a really nice scanner for our Anniversary present which will help bring a better quality to my scans. Another investment Steve and I made was this digital SLR Nikon D40 camera. I am so excited about this camera. I have even enrolled in a photography class so I can learn more about lighting and shutter speeds and so on. This has always been a passion of mine and I am so happy that I'm able to pursue it. I'm hoping that I will be able to incorporate my knowledge and skills in this area with the new business. Here is a picture of my camera. We got a really good deal at Circuit City since they are going out of business. It came with a great lens and I'm hoping to get a couple more down the road.

Here are some pictures of my favorite subject: Sadie. I was playing around with the camera and here are some shots I got.

This is Daisy. Steve took this picture

Sadie was really loving on her baby doll this weekend. She was dancing around with it by her feet so I got a couple of pictures of her and her baby.

P.S. I almost forgot...if you have any ideas of a name for my new business, let me know. I'm looking for some names.

Our Tales of Woe...

Weekend before last Steve was sick with a nasty flu bug. So needless to say this week I caught it. Luckily Sadie was really only down for one day, but it hit Steve and I really hard. We are all now back up and running.

We spent most of the weekend relaxing and getting our energy back. We went about doing this by playing Guitar Hero. That's right we got sucked in just like everyone else. I never really thought I'd get into it, but man did we have fun this weekend. We were even treated to our own dancers in the form of Sadie and her baby doll (who was upside down most of the time).

Not much else is new around here except we are actually getting moisture here in Bakersfield. It's badly needed so I'm not complaining. You can even see snow "in them thar hills".

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Just remember to say I love you often! Not just on a Holiday. You never know who may need to hear the words.

Finally!!!

So I've finally had a chance to scan our sillohuettes from Disneyland. I think they turned out really well. Once again the artist was amazing. I also got my CD from Disney Photopass. There are a lot of pictures so I'm going to make a slide show and post it for you all to enjoy!

Sadie's New Hair "Do"

So we decided to try a new hair "do". It's really cute but Sadie's hair is still too baby fine. Here are some random pictures of her "do" in her outfit that Auntie Dawni gave her for her birthday. She looked so adorable.

Oh and a Big Shout out to Aaron Fauke!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON! HAVE A GREAT DAY!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

My Baby Girl is One Year Old!

Some of you will be getting these cards. Unfortunately the coupon I had was only for 12 free cards. But I wanted to show it off because they turned out stinkin' cute!

There were a few other pictures I really wanted to get but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be able to get a couple more for her room. I really loved these two though and I hope you do too.

12 things I love about Sadie
1. I love that everytime you pick her up she snuggles and pats your back.
2. I love that she is so easy going.
3. I love that she will dance to any type of music at any time and any place.
4. I love that she talks to herself in the mirror.
5. I love that she is not afraid of dogs. She will literally grab their face and kiss them herself.
6. I love that she wakes up in the morning and just plays in her crib until I get her.
7. I love that she will sit in my lap and watch pooh bear and Darby.
8. I love that she will grab a book and make you read stories.
9. I love that she is starting to learn an inside voice (Finally).
10. I love that she loves to look at pictures of herself and will laugh and laugh.
11. I love that she doesn't stop moving from when she wakes up until she falls asleep.
12. I love that she is so happy to see me when I get home from a really long day and all she wants to do is love on me.

I meant to do this list a couple of weeks ago but just didn't have the time. It's wrong I know but at least I have it down now.

Super Bowl XLIII - Tampa Bay, Florida

Arizona Cardnials vs. Pittsburg Steelers

For the record this picture is mainly to document the bruise on her eye from the big fall on Friday. But doesn't she look like Steve in the picture.

Anyhoo. We started off the afternoon over at the Kirklins house. Alas Sadie was not up for all the people so we left after the beautiful performance of Jennifer Hudson who sang the National Anthem. Then we headed home. Also these pictures were later in the afternoon. I had to take Sadie's football pj's off cuz it was just too hot.

Sadie saving some O's for later. If you look closely enough you will see three o's all lined up in a column inside her shirt.
Sadie kicking it with Rufus watching the game.

Yes she actually watches football. But she is more interested in the commercials with all the great music so she can dance. (Favorite commercial: Geicko with the music "Somebody's Watching Me")

Practicing her hiking the football. She was looking at herself in the mirror talking herself through it apparently.

We had a great afternoon. Alas the Steelers won although it was pretty close there at the end. Now we have to wait until September for next season.