Sailing On

I've had this song running through my head off and on for many weeks now. I loved Saturday's Warrior when I was a kid. I've fallen back in love with this song. It seems to well describe my life right now. And it also reminds me of some of the best things my dad ever did for me. Happy memories :)

Barnyard Boo!

Our first year going to Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point. We loved it! It was perfect for little kids, they had all the normal stuff that the farm there usually has, but also a bunch of fun little games for the kids to play to earn treats, right up our alley! We went with our friends, the Wilburs, then afterwards went to their house for some yummy taco soup and pumpkin carving. It was tons of fun and nice to have something to do to keep my mind off of Erik being out of town.

Hula-hooping is hard.

Katy and Julian. It was a cold evening. Actually, that night ended up being the first freeze (that I am aware of) of the season.

Yep. Cold.

Face Painting! These are supposed to be spooky eyes ha ha ha. It's what Noelle picked!

Riding Tater the horse. Noelle is in LOVE with horses right now. She asks to go to the farm and ride one every day :)

They're Married!!

My dear twin sister Krysta is finally married! And she couldn't have picked a better guy! Heber and Krysta Tapia were married on Oct. 7 in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. And everything was perfect, except for the weather. But really, you can't have EVERYTHING be perfect on your wedding day.
Their reception was so much fun, good food, family and friends, and good music and dancing! It was a party! We were all so happy for this exciting day, and I am so happy to get to share the joys of marriage with my sister now ha ha.

The happy couple

Noelle and Addie dancing. Noelle literally danced all night. If we ever took her away from the dance floor she would say "Let me dance!." At about midnight she finally laid down on the floor and said "I'm tired."

The 3 Gau nieces with their Tia Krysta

Felicidades to the Happy Couple :D

5 Months Down!

This baby girl just keeps growing, and keeps lighting up our lives! She is our sweet, smiley girl, we love her so much! With every month that passes I just become ever more grateful to be her mother. What a blessing our little Soleil is!
I realized that I forgot to put up her 4 month stats, so those first. At her 4-month checkup she weighed 14 lbs. 9 oz, which put her in about the 75% for weight, and she was 24 in long which put her about 90% for height. We love our chunky girl!
Soleil is so bright and sunny, she just has an openness about her, she is always alert and interested in what you are doing. She will smile at anyone and just instantly melt their heart, people always want to hold her :)
She is so close to being able to sit on her own, and she loves it. Every time I lay her down she tries to curl herself up into a sitting position, you can practically hear her saying "no, no I'm so tired of looking at the ceiling!" She is also now quite adept at rolling from her tummy to her back; no more tummy time for this girlie.
Our little ladybug is getting better at sleeping at night. She still wakes up twice, during her night, to eat. But it is on a pretty consistent schedule. But I am very excited to start her on solid foods tomorrow and see how that helps at night :)
Things we love about our Ladybug:

• Of course, her ready smile and cute, cute, CUTE laughter!
• She grabs EVERYTHING that comes within her reach and tastes it. Funny now, but I'm sure I won't love it as much when she can move around.
• Today she figured out how to say "ba-ba-ba" and didn't stop saying it until I put her to sleep :) She would just talk to me like she had finally figured it out and had so much to tell me!
• She loves to lay on my chest and roll off while I catch her.
  
• She loves when I pretend to eat her belly and toes hee hee.
• She still loves to hold my hand in the car.
• She is willing to rock from side to side on her back like nobody's business, and loves to reach far up over her head to look at and get things, but she will NOT stay on her tummy.
• She is absolutely engaging. Her little hazel eyes captivate you and her bright happy smile thrills you.
• When she is just chillin she blows bubbles, razzberries, and makes a little "pfff" sound. She also makes that sound when she is sizing something up. It is one of my favorite things she does.
  

My girlies reading in bed :)

Love that hair! She is too cute :D she had a piggy tail in the day before and this is what it looked like after sleeping on it all night.

I was loving the wedding. She wasn't :)

Havin' A Sleepover With Anya!

This weekend we had my niece Anya over to stay Sunday night so my brother and his wife could have a nice night to themselves :) These girls have so much fun together, it was such a blast! Anya is only 9 months younger than Noelle; it is fun to see a friendship blooming that will last forever.

Soleil Turns 4 Months

And she is still just as happy and smiley as ever! How we love our baby girl! She is just a joy to have around, and I love being a mommy to my two sweet girlies. Soleil is growing just like a healthy baby should, and making progress in the sleep department, although she's still not quite where I would like her to be. She usually wakes up to eat twice during the time that I am asleep. But that's much better than 3 or 4 times! She is doing great with tummy time; even though she still hates it, she can hold her head up well and even push up on her arms. she rolls from side to side on her back, it is exciting to see her get closer to rolling all the way over.

She is so good at grabbing things! She is lightning fast and is great at putting everything in her mouth. Though this toy just happened to be lined up perfectly, no grabbing effort required :)

She is getting stronger and stronger and will be able to sit unsupported soon. She so much prefers to be able to be up and looking about at the world. When she accomplishes sitting life will be much more entertaining for her I think!

Love that hair! She looks like she belongs in the cast of Jersey Shore heh heh.

Things we love about Soleil:

• Her beautiful smile :) She is so happy and smiles all the time!
• Her cute cute little sounds and noises. We love to hear her "talk"
• She loves to watch Noelle play
• She loves to watch Mommy cook
• Her favorite way to sleep is snuggled up next to her Daddy
• How her little legs just kick all the time...
• ...Unless she is bringing her feet up and grabbing her toes, which happens a lot too!
• How she "grumbles" when she is getting tired, bored, or upset. It is just too cute.
• She always wants to hold my hand when we are in the car. It's a bit of a stretch, but we work it out :)
• She loves to be (gently) tossed all about and bounced all around.
  
• How much joy and happiness she brings to our little family!
  

A video of our girlies. If you aren't family, this will prob be a bit lengthy, but I love it :) (For fun, reference back to the "Noelle 'talks'" post in May, 2009. They are almost exactly the same age)