Big girl toy

Aunt Susan, and Cousins Tyler, and Christine brought this super fun toy with them from California.  They drove out over Christmas to meet the new baby.  Laughing, they told me how this toy continued to play songs and make noise while in the box deep in the trunk of their car over the 10 hours.  Recently, I decided that Chesney was ready to play with the console part.  We put the whole thing together so we could see it.  She reached out for the new game, and wanted to sit on it.  She can't quite touch the floor, so we are close beside her.  I did notice this thing does not have an off button.  And out of the blue, it will start singing, buzzing and beeping.  It nearly scared the britches off of Oakley the other day.  It is really fun and will soon be a favorite.

Some good, some bad, some you just need to spit out

Doctor Dave recommended we start introducing solids.  He pretty much left the field open.  I decided to begin with sweet potatoes (exhibit 1) the first night.  What a hit!  Chesney thought they were wonderful.  Well, night one and night two.  By night three they were no longer considered yummy.  In fact night 4 the hatch was closed, sealed, and the tears flowed.  Mommy's little sunshine was not going to eat the orange stuff.

 We tried green beans for the next 4 nights, and those were pretty tasty.  And, Peas are yummers too.  Carrots, not so much.  We curbed those this week, and will try to introduce those down the road. 

I decided to pick a sweet fruit that all babies were sure to love.  It was time to try the banana.  By the way, Wes HATES bananas.  Once, when we were at the grocery store I put a bunch into the basket.  As we walked down the cereal isle, I noticed someone had left bananas on the shelf...odd.  Putting two and two together, those were my bananas sitting next to the Raisin Brand.  Well, daddy's girl is following suit.  The banana ordeal was awful.  Mommy needed a bib after Chesney blew the bananas across the kitchen.  Solids are fun!

Family Hollow

Wes spent the last week in Switzerland on a business trip.  He had a wonderful time touring Luzern and neighboring areas.  Montana Sports wined and dinned the boys with amazing food, and private hotel rooms overlooking the lake. 

The girls let daddy lounge around his first day home.  But come Sunday, we were all itching for an outing.  Chesney and I decided to take him on the Dutch Hollow hike.  Although, we did agree to buy him lunch afterwards.  Once again, it was a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed the hike.

Dutch Hollow Hike

 A few weeks ago, Wes and I decided it was time to buy a bigger baby pack.  We will be spending the summer in Utah this year, and have hopes to get out on the hiking trails.  Chesney was starting to outgrow the Baby Bjorn, and I was eager to use my REI coupon.  My neighbor Tina has a new baby boy named Miles, who was born 6 weeks after Chesney.  We have been doing a lot of walks together, using our strollers and our new back packs.  As you can see, both babies are still a little small in their new packs, especially when they fall asleep.

The babies loved the hike, and so did their mommies. Carma, Tina's black lab, and Oakley both carried their own water and treats in their packs.  We all have a little winter weight to work off. What a beautiful day in the Wasatch Mountains.

First Bite

The last few nights, Chesney has joined us at the dinner table, practicing sitting in her highchair.  Usually, she spends her time tossing measuring cups and rattles onto the floor hoping to get a giggle outta mommy and daddy.  Yesterday, she couldn't stop watching us eat.  She was mimicking chewing by moving her tongue.  Daddy decided she's ready to try it herself.  We unpacked a purple baby bowl and a super cute spoon.  Added 1 tsp of rice cereal and 3 tsp of mommy milk. And, within a couple of tries...success! We will probably wait another week or so, until Dr. Dave gives us the 6 month go ahead, but little does he know...we're already pros.

Father's Blessing

Easter Sunday was a special day for us.  Chesney was honored with a Father's Blessing given by her  Grandpa Jack Sorensen, and attended by her Great Grandpa Wes Dana, and Great Uncle Gene Dana.  Later in the afternoon, a close friend came to Tara's home to take family pictures with the two new baby girls. 

New cousin, new adventure!

 The news came that our newest cousin had finally arrived.  So, as soon as we could sneak away, we packed up and headed to Boise, Idaho.  It was a long drive, and mommy didn't know how to pack for our first outing.  Daddy was such a sport, he just kept loading and loading all the things mommy was sure we'd need.  Good thing daddy drives a full size Chevy Silverado.  Baby girl was such a good girl, nothing to it.  She's such a ham, loves to be held by anyone, and content reading her book in the back seat. Our first six hour drive went really well. In fact, a day after arriving back in Utah, we turned around and drove to Arizona for a week.

We arrived Easter weekend in Boise, to meet the new Kishpaugh family.  Pictured is Tara, who is Wes' sister, her husband Derek, baby Mia Leila, and the chunky monkey in the middle is Chesney.  She was fascinated with her new cousin. It was especially wonderful to meet up with the rest of Wes' family while we were there.