A Step Toward Eternity

Today was a very special day for our family.

(Elder Steele, Papa, Sean, and Elder Cox)

My sister's boyfriend Sean was baptized this afternoon. From the moment I met him months ago, I thought he seemed like he was already a member of the Church. We've been really excited to watch him embrace the Gospel, and we look forward to seeing the joy and inspiration it will continue to bring to his life.

Congratulations, Sean!

If Mom Likes It, It Must Be Good

I've been trying to fit some yoga into my week lately--'cuz what mom doesn't need more tranquility and flexibility, right?

Joy has decided that yoga is cool.

Sometimes she's even content to watch the video without doing the moves.

Here's Modified Downward-Facing Dog Pose.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Daniel shares my affinity for cooling racks. (Time to childproof that cupboard.)

Maternal Instinct

Joy's really into mothering her doll these days, possibly because she spends most of her time hanging around another mom (i.e. yours truly). I suppose if she hung out with a cowboy she'd be lassoing and branding her teddy bears instead.

Anyway, back to the mothering thing.

Joy loves to put her baby to bed (on a comfy mattress of giant Legos), . . .

. . . brush his teeth (with genuine brush), . . .

. . . and occasionally wear him in a sling like Mama wears Daniel.

Incidentally, I recently sold my Baby Bjorn and a few other dust-collecting items on Craig's List, and bought an Ergo baby carrier. It places Daniel's (prodigious) weight on my hips rather than my shoulders and upper back, so I can carry him longer and more comfortably. He also has an easier time napping in it at church. I'll still keep the Maya Wrap for when our future babies are newborns, but once they grow big enough to make my shoulder sore they'll be graduating to the Ergo.

Simple Pleasures at the Arboretum

The L.A. Arboretum offers free admission on the third Tuesday of each month, so we decided to pay a visit and take a walk around the lake.

Joy admired the blooming trumpet tree.

One of these things is not like the others . . .

Joy's favorite part of the excursion was throwing lots of leaves in the lake (she could have done that all day).

Daniel just liked crawling around and picking up sticks. Happiness is in the little things. :)

Two Daniels

The latest storm left a bit of snow in the local mountains , so we decided to head up to Papa's cabin to throw a few snowballs around.

Here's Papa making a snowman. Joy fully intended to help, but since that snow stuff is cold she opted to just practice her Vulcan greetings instead ("Live long and prosper, Papa.").

The snowman was kinda short, so Joy dubbed it "Daniel."

Meanwhile, the real Daniel was inside enjoying the stairs and central heating.

Bear Round-up

Daniel's first year has flown by. It seems an age ago that Joy handed her favorite bear to her new little brother who sat virtually inert in his rocker. Now he's crawling, standing, and smiling whole lot. We love you, Little Man!

First Day

One Month Old

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Four Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Seven Months Old

Eight Months Old

Nine Months Old

Ten Months Old

Eleven Months Old

And . . .

One Year Old!

Our Jolly Good Fellow

We celebrated Daniel's first birthday today!

Joy was super excited for the party. :)

Here's Daniel reading a story with Grandma.

Here's Joy reading a story with TWO Grandmas. I guess that's a perk of being the big sister.

Daniel and his fan club. We love you, man!

The Science Center

This weekend we took a family outing to the California Science Center.

Here Phillip and Joy use a bit of leverage to pick up a pickup.

This thing takes the can-string-can concept to a whole new level.

A big chick checking out some little chicks.

And of course, it's hard to visit any museum without at least pressing your nose against the gift shop window.

I never managed to build anything interesting with Legos and such, but I bet my favorite engineer could create something fabulous with these things.

Huntington

I can't give my kids the world . . .

. . . but I can give them a play date with it at Huntington Gardens.

Joy was particularly attracted to the magnetic sculpture.

If Aesop's tortoise moved this slow, I don't know how he ever beat that hare.

Daniel would have beaten him, hands down.