Helaman Halls

My brother Marc started his freshman year at BYU this week. I've been trying to get a hold of him to see how he is doing, ask about his classes and his roommate, etc. Then tonight I realized he is way too busy having a great time meeting the guys on his floor, checking out cute girls and figuring out his way around campus to bother calling his boring old sister back. Seriously, why would he want to talk about it - he's living it up! (Or so I hope, anyway!)

All these thoughts have made me quite nostalgic. I can't believe I was a freshman living in the dorms at BYU 7 years ago! I had a good experience living in the dorms, but the best part was meeting a lot of wonderful girls that I am lucky enough to still call my friends. I don't stay in touch with everyone as much as I wish I did, but if any of you read my blog, this is a shout-out to you. To Hillary, Julia, Suzanne, Michon, Rachel, Amy, Lauren, Emily, Mary, Megan, Sara and many others...Happy 7 years! And I hope you enjoy these pictures as much I have been! :-)

Little Shoes

Natalie wore shoes for the very first time today. She has tiny, tiny feet so the few pairs of shoes she has owned have just never fit her for the correct season. Today I decided to see if her cute summer sandals would fit and they did - finally! They are a 3-6 month size and now that she will be 10 months old in a week they finally stay put on her little feet. I think she looks so cute in them!

9 Months

At 9 months, Natalie...

...likes to read and look at books (and magazines apparently).

...loves to eat. She is a great eater and has eaten everything we have given her so far.

...enjoys relaxing at the pool with her friends.

...likes to stand.

...loves to empty anything that is neatly put away.

...is learning how to ride a horsey.

...is still a little string bean. She weighs 18 pounds, 2 ounces (40th percentile) and is 29 inches long (95th percentile) with a head circumference of 16 3/4 inches (15th percentile).

...gives great cuddles, hugs, laughs, waves, claps, kisses and smiles. We sure love you Natalie!

North Beach

I was thrilled to learn that there is a beach only an hour away from us (I had previously thought the closest beach was three hours away) so Natalie and I went with some friends a few weeks ago and had a great time. Technically, we were at a small stretch of beach in the Chesapeake Bay, not the official Atlantic, but it certainly fulfilled my beach needs - sun, sand and water. Natalie's favorite part was definitely the sand; she loved it so much that she spent a good part of the day trying to eat as much as possible.

Natalie with her friends playing in the sand. A great day had by all!

Everything Else

I just realized I never finished posting everything from San Diego, so here are the rest of the pictures, now almost one month late. It's a long post of pictures, so in case you don't want to scroll through everything, here is one of my favorites right up front...

Sea World

We went to Sea World with the whole family and had a really fun time. Natalie really enjoyed watching the penguins and any other animal/fish that we could get fairly close to. It had been years since I had been to Sea World and my favorite parts were the Shamu show and the shark encounter. I think it is so cool to walk through the tunnel with all the sharks swimming around you.

Padre Game at Petco Park (Natalie's first baseball game!)

The Beach

Bowling

Fourth of July

We spent a fun and relaxing 4th at my Grandpa's house, swimming and barbecuing to our hearts content.

Modeling a new Outfit from Grandma!

Photography Class, Week 1

I am taking a photography class through the Smithsonian Resident Associate program with my friend, Emily, and it is awesome! I am actually learning how to use the camera I got last summer on a setting other than "auto"! So far I have been amazed that I have managed to take photos on the manual setting at all, and some of the pictures have actually turned out really well (or at least I think so)! Here are some of my first week photos...

We took Natalie to park and put her in the swing for the first time - she loved it!