At Work and Play

The new toys from Christmas and birthday are definitely helping us get through these cold months when it's not as pleasant to be outside. Above, the ever-popular ball popper toy never gets old for Sasha.

We tested out the new wagon inside for the first few weeks until the snow finally melted this weekend and we were able to go for a stroll outside with it. It is a challenge to keep her seated in it though. She prefers to walk on her own at her own pace, taking time to pick up rocks, touch branches on trees, and pick up dog poop--that's yucky, Sasha!

She was tuning up the wagon wheels with the wrench above and helping me vaccuum later that week. How nice to have some assistance--HA!

These are just some favorites from a few weeks ago. Sasha has taken an interest in using a spoon for its intended purpose rather than a weapon. She usually needs a little help loading it up and still misses the target pretty often, but she's getting better.

On her actual birthday she got a Costco cupcake. She was happy until the musical candle starting playing "Happy Birthday" which immediately induced tears. No se porque.

I flew solo last weekend to Chicago for my annual girls weekend with college friends. Lisa graciiously hosted the six of us at her apartment. We spent many hours catching up over great meals, shopping, and we attended "Wicked" downtown on Saturday night. Great show! It was my first overnight away from Sasha. She and Phil had a wonderful father/daughter bonding weekend. I definitely missed her, but I came back very refreshed from the social interaction with dear friends.

A delicious Indian curry dinner at Lisa's place.

Smoothies and a light impromptu breakfast on Sunday morning.

Tina and Minda at the Frango Cafe in Macy's downtown.

Christmas in Goshen

We had a nice, relaxing Christmas in Goshen after a harrowing flight to South Bend where we had to make an emergency landing due to mechanical problems with the landing gear. Phil and I agree that it was the most scary incident in our adult lives, but luckily Sasha won't remember a thing. We spent the first half of the week with my family and then packed up and moved down the street to Phil's parents house for the second half. For once we felt like we got to spend adequate time with both families. All of our siblings were in town as well which was just great!

Christmas morning at the Smuckers was pure chaos with 3 little ones (all in plaid jammies). No more sitting around and politely watching each other open gifts in turn!

The Yoder family at Sasha's birthday party.

Sasha Walks and Has a Birthday Party

It is with great joy that I announce that Sasha is now officially a toddler in the walking sense and the turned 1 year old sense! A year ago this evening, Sasha became a part of our family and it has been quite a ride. We can't imagine life without our sweet little "Bean" as we call her. We went to back to Indiana for 10 days over Christmas and luckily for the grandparents she started walking there a couple days after Christmas. She is so proud of herself as she waddles all over the house, often babbling or making funny noises with her lips and tongue.

We had a little family birthday party for her while in Goshen and, as I predicted, she devoured her birthday cake without hesitation. Phil and I made a cake in the shape of a monkey (her favorite stuffed animal that she sleeps with) with yellow frosted cake bananas which she promptly grabbed up like she does regular bananas and proceeded to eat one.

She was way into the boxes and wrapping paper this year and now that we're home is really enjoying the nice gifts she received.

First Big Snow

Sasha likes to go to Kidz Zone, this huge indoor playground where kids under 2 get in free amazingly. We've been meeting Leo and his mom there for late afternoon playdates

The week before Christmas we got about 8 inches of snow over a period of 3 days. We took a lot of walks as driving in our current vehicle was nearly impossible because they don't plow at all here on the side streets.

Sasha enjoyed frolicking around in the back yard. After I took her out the first time, she would go to the front door and pound on it, wanting me to take her out again.

December Days

Sasha's latest feat in the kitchen...She likes to "help" unload the dishwasher.

A rare, contemplative moment. She is a very high energy little girl. From the moment she awakes around 7 am, it's go go go. All the activity eventually wears her out though. We are so thankful that she is a good sleeper especially at night. We can't keep her awake past 6:30 pm and she is now sleeping 12+ hours straight. I'm guessing we won't be so lucky with the next one.

One of the failed attempts at a Christmas card photo this weekend...

Reading with Dada. I think she looks so old in this picture.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's house in Albuquerque. Sasha was in a great mood for the cocktail hour before dinner but then crashed in a big way right in time for the meal. Needless to say it was not a very relaxing meal for Phil or I , so I did a Thanksgiving redo meal last night and we savored it leisurely after Sasha went to bed.

This is Sasha's new Downward Dog pose. Do other babies do this? I think it's so funny!

These days we spend no less than a half hour on the stairs every day. It's the one sure way to get her out of a funk and we figure it's good practice if nothing else.

November fun

This is Sasha's "cool face" as Phil dubbed it. She wrinkles up her nose and snorts through it when she is particularly pleased with something.

Still no first steps to report though she zooms around behind her tractor still. Sometimes when she's distracted by something in her hand we can get her to stand on her own for a few seconds, but once she realizes her situation she promptly takes a seat.

A couple of Sundays ago we went on an impromptu hike in Tesuque, the village north of Santa Fe. It followed a little creek up the mountain where if we had kept going for 9 miles we would have come to the Santa Fe Ski Basin. Some mountain bikers passed us coming down from the basin. We can't wait until we can get back into the mountain biking stages of life! Hikes will have to do for now....

Sasha loves emptying her book crate. She loves to have pop-up, texture books read to her but quickly gets restless if we try to sneak in a book with more plot than activities.

We took a low-key vacation the first week of November and explored some parts of Southern New Mexico and Tucson. These photos are out of order, but we ended up the week out in Pennsylvania at Phil's cousin's wedding where we got to spend some quality time with Phil's family. Here is Phil with his brothers Joe and Ben.

We decided to spend a couple of days in total relaxation at a resort just outside of Tucson. It was so nice to just go from the room to the pool then back to the room for naps. This is the slowest tourist season so we had the place almost completely to ourselves. Sasha LOVED the pool as you can see.

We started out the week in Albuquerque with a joint birthday party for Ulises, my brother-in-law, and myself at my sister's apartment in Albuquerque. Phil once again baked a tasty cake--carrot cake this time by my request--with the proper adjustments for high altitude this year.

We spent a night in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico partly because we were curious about the town's unusual name. Turns out the name was changed from Hot Springs back in the 1950s because a local contestant was on the gameshow. We stayed at a motel right on the Rio Grande with 5 different hot springs each at a different temperature.

Halloween and Daily Life

Sasha is one step closer to walking on her own now that she can push this John Deere tractor around. She has definitely suffered a few more head bonks, but I think she would tell you it's worth it.

Romping around in the crib after a nap.

Here she is posing in her costume. It was especially funny to see a little cow pushing the little tractor toy that day! We didn't go trick-or-treating this year, but went down to the plaza with some other moms and babies in costume and had a little parade followed by a picnic. Then we went to Phil's office where she got a lot of attention from the secretaries and nurses.

First day with double piggies--Phil's new favorite hairstyle.