FARGO VISIT!! :) :)

Ember and I had the absolute JOY of getting to fly to North Dakota and see Uncle Chris, Aunt Ally, and Cousin Ryken. Here is a brief overview of our splendid trip!

<MONDAY>

We arrived Monday night! Ryken gave us a very warm welcoming and then him and Ember got right to playing!

<TUESDAY>

We started the day off with a nice, rather warm, walk to the Farmer's Market along the Red River.

We went to the very crowded splash pad. Ryken LOVED it but Ember was a little scared of the splashing and the running kids.

Then, we got a Jolly Rancher Popsicle (YUM YUM) and hung out in the shade for a little while! 

And the fun did not stop during the day - BATH TIME at night!

<WEDNESDAY>

After a little morning play time...

... the babies were ready for their photo shoot! Megan did a GREAT job at capturing our adorable little children.

That night we got to go and see the Brucks NEW home being built.Then, MORE play time! And Ember got some Uncle Chris time too which she enjoyed! :)

<THURSDAY>

We had a stupendous time at the Red River Zoo looking at the animals and playing on the carousel. 

Had to end with some Dippin Dots

<FRIDAY>

Last day :( 

Cousin hugs!

And Ember being a BIG girl sitting in the airport holding our boarding pass!

SO THANKFUL THAT WE WERE ABLE TO VISIT! I FELT SO BLESSED TO SPEND SO MUCH TIME WITH MY BEST GIRL FRIEND AND SISTER ALLY AND HER PRECIOUS SON! CAN'T WAIT TO MEET THE NEW LITTLE BABY BRUCKS IN A MATTER OF MONTHS!

More Friends!

Dustin's friend from 1st grade, Matt Harper, and his wife Amanda and their little girl Hadley were back from Japan to visit for the summer. (They are teaching on a military base in Japan) Hadley is about a month and a half younger than Ember and darling! The two girls loved visiting! And we loved visiting with their parents as well.

Then, before we flew out for North Dakota, we got to see our good friends Steph and her little cutie pie Jace! So great to see them again! 

Finally, Alli Hughes and her fiance came into town for a quick visit! We had a make your own pizza bar for dinner and had a great time catching up!

It is always so WONDERFUL to see old friends and meet new baby friends! 

Climb to Conquer Cancer Weekend

Both of Dustin's brothers came up to Flagstaff for the Climb to Conquer Cancer up the San Francisco Peaks and also for the post wedding celebration for Hope and Jared's wedding.

Here is the crew that climbed the mountain (Dustin was kind enough to stay home with the little girl)

There were almost 4000 people that participated

Here is the girls up at the top! (Alyssa, Doreen, Me, Kiley, Hope)

We had great Mexican food at the Evans house with all the family in town over! Here is the new groom with Ember

The next day we met the family at the park for breakfast and we all took turns swinging! Ember was obviously more interested in watching her cousin Corbin!

Grandparent Visit :)

Grandma and Grandpa Flin came for a visit this weekend! 

Ember LOVED playing with them on the king size bed!

We went and got some frozen yogurt at Cultured!

We had a wonderful time with them and are excited for next time!

9 Months Old

Ember is officially 75% of the way to 1 year old. My, oh my! And the changing just keeps happening. She has broadened what she can pull up on. She will pull herself up on the coffee table, entertainment center, her bouncer, her bookshelf in her room, the fireplace, and us! She started taking a few steps while holding on to things and you can tell she is beginning to want to stand without holding on to anything. She can stand by herself for about 2-3 seconds and then she is down. Another one of her favorite things is to grab things and carry them around. She loves carrying around Polly Pocket dolls at Mima and Pappy's, socks and shoes at our house, and the poles from her pack and play in her closet. She has also expanded the noises that she can make. She has learned how to make the "m" sound and can now say "mamamama." She is getting really good at imitating sounds we make. She loves to blow raspberries and spit, and she still likes to smack her lips together and make a popping noise. She also has discovered her tongue and will stick it out and move it all around often. Oh, and the variety of faces that she makes. Some days she will show me all her "tricks" while I am trying to feed her. Speaking of food - she has yet again added more flavors such as: pears, applesauce, carrots, and peaches. She likes all of these! She also has been introduced to Happy Baby Organic puffs, banana flavor. It is amazing how quickly she went from using her whole fist to pick the puffs up to using her fingers. Her coordination is growing by leaps and bounds. Some more of Ember's firsts this month where her first 4th of July and her first parade on the 4th. She got to hang out with mommy and daddy in the lazy river in Phx on High Altitude Personal Training's employee getaway to the Hilton Squaw Peak. Ember passed her first swim lesson class. Ember and I joined Aleecia and Addilyn Mews for a two week parent/tot swim lesson. There were parts that Ember squealed with delight during (kicking, singing songs, reaching for toys) and parts that she cried during (working on climbing out, floating on her back). But I could tell that throughout the class, Ember got much more comfortable with the water and it was so much fun to do it with friends. Ember got to use her new swimming skills in the ocean when we went to Mexico for a whole week vacation. I cannot explain how much Ember loved crawling around in the sand....and eating it. She splashed around and found sea shells, rocks, clam holes, and seaweed  - and of course tried to eat all of it. She founded her first "dance" by rocking back and forth violently on all fours to the music. She also climbed two stairs by herself. Ember and mommy's friends Miss Amber and Harper came and visited for a few days and the girls had fun playing. Ember also got to meet her daddy's good friends the Harper's and their little baby girl Hadley (7 month). She loves "singing" at church. When everyone is singing, she will start cooing and when we stop... she will stop too. She is such a good little girl and I cannot go anywhere without multiple people stopping me to say how cute and happy she is! We know that we are incredibly blessed with such a mild-tempered, cheerful 9 month old baby girl.