Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. We finally convinced our friends Russ and Katie to come visit all the way from Elko. After delays from the "blizzard" in northern Utah, they made it to see Escalante for the first time. And thanks to Russ, we were able to taste goose, duck and chukar for the first time. We wanted to show them Willis Creek, and we made it despite the muddy road, only to find the trail would be too icy to hike with a baby. So instead, we went to Bryce Canyon and, being good tourists, got out at all the viewpoints.
The person taking this picture obviously didn't realize Bryan was holding another family member.

Ada instantly fell in love with her new friends, and was sad to see them go. Fortunately, they loved the place so much, they are already planning a backpacking trip in the spring!

Five months is fun!

Ada is now five months old and charging ahead. We have no idea what she'll spring on us next. Stacy and I also feel like we have grown a lot. With the holidays coming around again it is interesting to think back on the past year and on how much has happened. Although winter usually brings inconveniences with the weather (2 degree low this morning) and anxiety over work and finances (and a lack of both), I am excited because we have Ada to keep us company and in good spirits. Here are a few photos to show how it works:

Stoked to be at Obachan and Ojichan's

Yeah - piggyback with mom!

Knitting time = nap time

She was pretty impressed by Mom and Dad's big hats

Bundled up for a walk to the post office

Showing Dad good nap taking form

Good night kisses or a little confused?

Wildlife Photography

We finally got some pictures of Ada's teeth!

This, of course was after many more like these:

New Fun

She discovered she could do this this morning, and (besides a nap) hasn't stopped since. Seriously.

I realize this doesn't sound quite as loud as it does in real life. To put it into perspective- Bryan was working all day outside, and he said it sounded like I was torturing her.

Ada's first tooth poked through yesterday. How do we switch to slow motion????

Just Because

Halloween

It's starting to get colder here, so Ada has to get bundled up for walks around town now.
We spent some time watching the rain.
We got dressed up for Ada's first Halloween party. I went as Rosie the Riveter,
Ada was a monkey and Bryan was Sarah Palin after being attacked by a grizzly bear
Ada was excited to be getting ready for a party, but she quickly got overwhelmed by the dim lights and strange looking people and spent the rest of the time like this: It was a good Halloween.

Four months!

Ada has now passed the four month mark and has learned more tricks than your average labrador. Her control over her little 13 lb. body becomes more refined everyday. She loves to stand up straight -with a little help from mom.

She can also sit up on her own, but again with some help from the folks and by using her arms as little kickstands (once she moves at all she rolls over like a ball).

She does much better when she's playing in her bebe-pod. This also allows her some boxing practice. Her roundhouse is getting good, but the jabs are still a little wild.

Luckily, Ada hasn't gotten tired of our teeny house yet. She gets several hours of tummy time everyday now because she rolls over to play a lot. She'll hang in her crib, on the bed, in her various chairs and on the floor. The floor also allows her to better check out her surroundings via rolling (she's going both ways now) and looking around. She's like a little periscope.

Her ongoing discoveries aren't limited to her surroundings. While she has used her tongue since day one for nursing, it's amazing ability to interact with her upper lip was just recently discovered.

And as always there is patch time, reading time and nap time, sometimes all at once. The patch therapy is going pretty good. She seems more comfortable with it everyday and here ability to see us, objects and her surroundings with her contact seems almost normal. We have another round with the docs in a couple of weeks. Halloween post coming soon!

Vegas, baby

OK, so it's not the most glamorous place for a first vacation with Ada (out of the womb), but we had a great time. And we got to 1. Go to Trader Joes for our bi-annual grocery binge and 2. Take Ada to her very first swimming pool!
Toni had a nice timeshare off of the strip where it was a lot less chaotic. Here she is holding Ada (who is very excited to go swimming)..
In these photos, she may not look like she was enjoying it, but she was just fascinated with the light reflections on the bottom of the pool.We did visit the strip once to do some shopping and show Ada the sights- we figured the craziness of Vegas would be great patch time for her.

We saw fish
and flowers (the Bellagio had an orchid display)
and reminisced about the time when we said we would never be 'those parents' who pushed a stroller around the Las Vegas strip.

Then and Now

Visits from Family

The Higbee (and Trowbridge) family finally made to Escalante. And in perfect time- it had rained over 4 inches in the previous 3 or 4 days. We had a good time making big meals, showing them around and just hanging out.

Quality reading time
With two babies, it was hard coordinating nap times and feeding times with actually getting outside, but we were at least able to show them Devil's Garden.
But most importantly, Ada was able to hang out with her extended family.It was good to have them here for a few days. Thanks Obachan, Ojichan, Carol, Mike and Ellie!

And Ada didn't only get to see the Higbee side. A couple of days later, Grandma was able to come down for a night (with Grandpa poking his head in briefly before and after a scout trip). She was generous enough to watch Ada for a few hours so I could take my first real hike in about... 10 months. And I think Ada was excited to spend time with someone other than Mom.

We are lucky to have such great family.

Time Flies

We have been busy! If being busy means changing diapers, feeding, reading books, taking walks, feeding, watching Ada roll over, giving kisses, feeding, spending all extra moments trying to see that toothless grin...
Yes, this had pretty much turned into an Ada blog. But that's what life turns into in the first few months of parenthood, right? Or first 18 years, according to some people. But things are good. Bryan and I have both been working (me, only one or two days a week) and we've had some good study Ada time when we're not. She's just over 3 months now, and it seems like she discovers something new every day. A few days ago she started playing with her feet, and now she is starting to have full conversations with her toys.
And that's what we've been up to.

We turn our backs for one minute

For the record, she also gave me her first real laugh 2 nights ago when I gave her a raspberry on the side of her belly. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't get a second one. Any day now...

The New Chair

We were excited to order the Bebe Pod chair for Ada. For now, it will help strengthen her neck and eventually she will be able to hang out in it while I'm moving around the kitchen. It also comes with a tray (and cool attachable toy!) so she'll also be able to use it as a high chair at some point. We've been practicing with it for just a few minutes each day. So far she's not that impressed with the toy, but I think she's figured out that it puts her in the perfect position to practice her new favorite activity:
Licking her clothing. Lately, if she's been wearing anything remotely loose, her hands are pulling it up and her tongue is out every few seconds. She actually cried when I pulled a onesie tight and out of reach. I guess it's probably adding a little fiber to her diet?

Party Time

Bryan's gone for a week to the backcountry so Ada and I are going to party. Just kidding. We'll see if we can make it. We're going to miss him.

I hate thinking of titles for these posts

We are finally back from a long "weekend". We left last Friday to begin our adventures (and doctors appointments). Warning: All of this is horribly under-represented by photos. We had 3 cameras with us, but I'm not sure we got a single one.
We headed up to my grandparents cabin at Bear Lake. I used to spend at least a few weekends there every summer as a kid, but haven't been back for 5 years- and Bryan and Ada had never been there. We got to spend some good relaxation time with Obachan and Ojichan and Carol, Mike and Ellie. It's hard to believe that Ellie is only 6 months older than Ada- their development is in such different stages right now. But soon, we're sure, they will be enjoying each others company and playing together like old friends. We attempted to go swimming in the lake, but instead got sandblasted and only stayed a few minutes. Luckily we were still able to get raspberry shakes.
After spending the night at Bear Lake - in which Ada slept 6 hours in a row!!!- we headed back through Logan to see our old college friends Trish and Bentley. We haven't seen them since our wedding, but it didn't seem like that long. They are always entertaining and it was nice to catch up. It's nice to know that you have friends that, no matter how long it's been, you can always pick up where you left off.
On the way back to South Jordan, we were able to see the Hansen side of the family, but Ada was finally in such a bad mood from being dragged around in the car, we couldn't stay long. She had a hard time adjusting to all the new surroundings she was thrown in this trip. She is a very tolerant girl.
The rest of the trip consisted of errand-running and 3 doctors appointments. Ada received her first set of immunizations, which she dealt with very well. The nurses were well-practiced, and gave her 2 shots at the same time and a 3rd in the instant after. Ada screamed for a few seconds, then pretty much passed out. She also did well at her eye appointments and everything is looking great. While we were waiting to check in to our contact lens appointment, I heard a girls voice behind us saying "Mom! I just saw a baby with the same patch I used to wear!" We ended up talking to this girl and her mom, finding out that this 6 year old also had a unilateral cataract found when she was 5 days old. Like Ada, she had her lens removed at 5 weeks and had been wearing contacts and patches since. This was so exciting for us! Knowing that it is a relatively rare condition, we haven't been surprised that there isn't a lot of information or advice to be found. We've searched online, only to find a random post on a forum or blog so I couldn't believe that we were face to face with a girl who had gone through exactly what Ada will be going through. It was such a relief to find out that what we are doing with Ada is likely going to work! We didn't know if it was appropriate to ask for their phone number or not, so we didn't, but I regret it. Throughout the day, we thought of hundreds of questions we wanted to ask them. Regardless, it was so great getting advice and reassurance from people who knew what we were dealing with.
Anyway, we are home now. And we don't have to leave for two months! Ada is growing up fast. She's "talking" more, smiling more and getting more personality every day. We'll put up some pictures soon.

Someone Turns 2 Months Old Today!!!

Everyone is getting older...

The past couple of weeks have been fun. We are still traveling, but less than before and to more enjoyable places, and everyone is happier about that. Our world continues to become more interesting as Ada's world expands. We had a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa and she had many new experiences, like chillin' at the lake with grandma.

She was also very impressed by grandpa's mandolin skills (or was it that big white mustache)?

And here is one more for Grandma and Grandpa. This is Ada in one of my old onesies and a groovy pair of booties that Stacy made her. It has been interesting seeing how everyone's taste do and don't reflect on how we choose to style Ada. It is fun to have her be so colorful and vibrant and eclectic while my wardrobe (which I like) is so drab.

Here she is sporting her best sweatpants. Sometimes she looks very funny and Yoda-like from behind.

Learning bottle feeding continues to be challenge. Don't be fooled by Ada's cool demeanor in this photo - she is not impressed.

Hanging out in the yard with mom is much more relaxing.....

I stole a little attention from her on my birthday. I am now a geezer (by my standards) at 30.

After a busy day full of new adventures a bath is often in order.

OK, now go to sleep. Please.