pictures from Croatia posted

We recently received a batch of pictures from Emily in Croatia...see them here

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

The Further Adventures of the Girl in the Cute Red Outfit . . .

Joy didn't find this plastic sun very interesting until I put her hand on the ball and showed her she could roll it. Then the light went on, and she suddenly had a new and fascinating game to play for the next ten minutes.

"Um, Daddy, do you know you have a burp cloth on your shoulder?"

Flour Tower

Last night's Family Home Evening activity was . . . Flour Tower!!!

It's a simple game, really. You pack flour into a small glass, invert it onto a plate, place a coin on top, then take turns slicing the flour away until the coin falls.

The catch is that whoever is slicing when the coin falls has to fish it out with their teeth.

Yay! Daddy found the penny!

Mommy also got a chance... :) (PS by Daddy)

April Nature Walk

Joy has graduated to riding frontwards in her Baby Bjorn.

Here are some of the sights she's been seeing lately:

Purple Iris . . .

. . . and its cute little cousin, the Butterfly Iris . . .

. . . Angel's Trumpet . . .

. . . and last but not least, the Bougainvillea in front of our window. I think that's pronounced "boo-gun-VEAL-ee-uh," but "that pretty pink flower over there" works fine, too.

Baby Meets Bulb Syringe

Poor Joy had her first run-in with the common cold yesterday. Colds are bad enough on their own, but they're even worse if you have a rookie mom who always manages to stick the bulb syringe up your nose at the exact moment you turn your head. Ouch!

Fortunately, Joy received a blessing last night and is feeling much better today.

Or at least she was until we broke the news that her 4-month check-up is next week. More immunizations--yay!

The Light Comes On (Again and Again)

Joy is starting to figure out that those hand-things on the ends of her arms are actually useful. When she was in her Jumperoo today, she discovered that if she gave a certain wheel a spin, it made lights and music come on. She did this again and again and again . . .


I couldn't get a good picture of that, but here's Joy giving Mr. Newt a twirl. Notice that she's using her LEFT hand--maybe she's destined to be a southpaw like Daddy.

Joy has also learned to pick up and grip interesting objects.

I appreciate your patience with my maternal obsession over this new hand-usage thing. As a token of my gratitude, here's a picture of Joy just looking cute in her Easter dress.

Aren't they cute?

Anything that Grandpa looks at must be interesting, so I'll look too.

Ever since General Conference, I've been a smiley baby.

That makes two of us that are happy.

Happy Easter

Joy and the Easter Critters wish you a happy holiday.

Joy Toy

Since Joy enjoys standing and kicking a lot these days, we decided to invest in a Jumperoo. The thing has so many bells and whistles it makes my head hurt, but nearly all the reviews I read online were very positive.

Joy finds the lights and music intriguing . . .

. . . but since she hasn't learned to bounce yet the toy doesn't hold her interest for very long.

Makes for good photo ops, though.

February Flowers . . . in April

Joy and I go for walks around South Pas on a regular basis, and sometimes I take my camera along, just for fun.

Here's what was blooming last month (I've, er, been meaning to post these for about six weeks now . . .)

Chinese magnolias, which bloom in winter before their leaves come in. They always seem to hold a promise of approaching spring.

Little camellias . . .

. . . and big camellias. Descanso Gardens in La Canada has the largest camellia collection in North America, and apparently they have a Camellia Festival every winter.

Last but not least, this is some funky orange flower whose name I don't know. Looks like it was drawn by Dr. Seuss, doesn't it? If you look closely, there's a green hummingbird sipping from one of the top flowers. Talk about a lucky shot--he came on the scene just as I was snapping the picture.