A unique form of locomotion

A: Everett's new form of locomotion goes like this: he starts from a sitting position and then leans forward until he is on his belly/hands/knees and then sits himself up again in a new spot. In this video, he decides to just stay on his belly/side for a short break before sitting himself up again. That's my favorite part. Just before the beginning of this clip, he had been on his bottom. 

When he doesn't fall all the way forward after reaching for something, he pulls himself back to sitting with his prize. Like in this video: 

We had been playing together with items made from different materials to compare them to each other, but Everett cared more about what the items were used for:

UT wedding, reunion

 Utah

A: Everett, my mom, and I headed off to Utah on the night of June 20th. We drove through the night, slept for a few hours at a well-lit rest area and got in with an hour to spare before my friend Anne's wedding in the Bountiful, UT Temple. The ceremony was sweet and happy. I couldn't stop smiling. The rest of the day was lovely. Spending time with these ladies is too much fun, I miss them. They brighten the world. The four going on missions soon are going to be some of the best sister missionaries ever.






We also attended a reunion for my mom's mom's side of the family. I think it is awesome when families stay connected that way. It gives a sense of belonging. Even when I don't know all of these people's names or how I'm related to them, it's just neat to see what can happen starting back with my great grandparents. To see where we come from and to have a group of people who care about and support you even when they don't know you very well.

And I got to meet baby Owen! He is a doll. He was asleep most of the time I saw him, but he is even precious when he sleeps, making little sighs. It was interesting to see how much Everett has developed. To think of Elise and Tessa and where Everett is headed. Owen is sooo cute and little and cuddly and it's like 'Oh I want one of those' and I got to spend quite a bit of time with Tessa who is so smart and fun. But you know, I'll hopefully have another littler one in a while and that will be wonderful and Everett will eventually walk and talk and that will be an enjoyable adventure. But I am happy with where he is at. I get excited with the little advancements he makes. I can see how close he is to crawling, and I will provide opportunities and support as he learns to do that, but it's okay that he's not there yet.


Oh yeah and Owen and Tessa have parents, I wasn't there just to see the kids. It was nice hanging out with Brandon at the reunion, Calista at a playgroup, both out to dinner, Jacob and Susan as we helped them move into their new beautiful gigantic home with its huge yard, and all of them as we played games with Andrew and Heather too. I have awesome brothers. I love them.

Note: All pictures in this post have been taken from people's facebook pictures because we were without a camera for a couple of months. We have one now though! 

Videos of Scooting, Playing

Scooting backwards

Playing with Uncle Michael

Talking and Laughing while Playing

Notice he is on his tummy and doesn't mind. This is new. Axel had to show him.

CA trip to see Shannon and Axel

D: I was put in charge of filling everyone in on a weekend trip we took to San Jose back in May. Naturally, that means the post will be published now. Originally, our plan was to meet up with my family in Sacramento on the Saturday so that we could see Shannon and Axel. They were in town taking care of my mother, who was fresh off surgery replacing the wiring on her pacemaker. I got a call on that Friday telling me that Dad, Mom, and Shannon were sick with the stomach flu, so they would not be able to make it to lunch the next day. Sensing a need, Alicia and I decided to pack up right then (it was 6pm Friday night, mind you) and drive to San Jose. It turned out to be a wonderful weekend. Alicia, Everett, and I did NOT get sick while we were there. Everett and Axel had way too much fun together, and the grandparents had way too much fun with them. My dad was better by time we got there, so he played with Everett to his heart's content. Like so:

Before this visit, Axel refused to sit up. When he saw Everett doing it, though, he was willing to give it a go.

Shannon and Mom still weren't feeling particularly good, so we offered to take Axel with us on our Cheesecake Factory outing (the one we had planned on in the first place). We were a wee bit cramped, but Axel made it easy for us by falling asleep as the food started to arrive. Alicia did actually manage to get a picture of Aerin's face, but she decided to leave it off and stay on Aerin's good side.

Cousin pictures!!

A: This next video is of Everett making a funny sound just before bedtime the first night.

Movement, high fives, Rodeo, pictures

Everett scooted backwards 6 feet! He might have scooted further had he not come across a Cheerio to play with.
Everett recently learned how to roll from back to belly! However, he seems to have forgotten how to roll the other way. It's kind of funny. Now he ends up on his tummy during many activities, even during a diaper change!

and while sleeping,

and playing.

Giving high fives!

Dallin and Everett each attended their first rodeo on June 26th at the Reno Rodeo. Dallin said it was "not the drunken fest" he had expected.
Some things to enjoy at rodeos: the sequins and fringe of rodeo queens, the baby, normal, and giant-decked-out-trick horses, the names of cowboys and livestock
Examples of names from our night at the rodeo:
Cowboys: Rowdy, Casey, Rusty, Cotton, Winn, Levi, Clint, Sterling, Dakota, Clay, Ty, Gypsy (cowgirl).
horses: Desperado, Pucker Up, Basket Case, Blossom, Poker Face
sheep: Stubby, Cracker Jack, Cotton Candy, Tabasco
bulls: May Day, Super Bull
The pictures are from after the rodeo was over, and Everett's asleep, sorry.

He's under the blanket. 

His rodeo outfit. "Little Buckaroo"

 

This is of Everett playing with his blocks.

Everett had a 6 month photo shoot. He was super smiley and adorable. Here's a link to the pictures of him on the photographer's blog:

http://itsyphotography.blogspot.com/2013/07/baby-everett-san-jose-baby-photographer.html

This next link is to Everett's cousin Axel's pictures done around the same time.
http://itsyphotography.blogspot.com/2013/06/baby-axel-san-jose-baby-photographer.html