In Good Company

As fortune would have it, within weeks of Joy's arrival many of our friends had new additions to their families, as well. Here are some pictures of Joy meeting potential playmates this past week:
Kimberly's former BYU roommate Cathy Schaller, pictured here with Gwynneth who was born in November.

Elizabeth Cullimore and Debbie Couts, our friends from church who stopped by while they and their babies were out for a walk. Elizabeth's daughter Sophie was born a few weeks before Joy, and Debbie's son Matthew arrived about a week after Joy did.

Joy is pictured here with Ian, the son of Michelle Lee, a member of Kimberly's spinning guild (Kimberly owns a spinning wheel). Though they arrived only a day apart, Ian is a lot bigger because he is techinically a month older - Joy was two weeks early, and Ian was two weeks late.

Isn't that precious?

Grandparents are almost as cute as their grandkids. . . .

Almost.

Action Shot

Joy looks forward to making snow angels in Arrowhead next winter.

Baby and Photo Op Were All Wet

It's funny how we let some things intimidate us. For example, I was scared of baking with yeast for the longest time. Don't know why I was so afraid of 'em - goodness knows I'm a lot bigger than they are. But I digress.

For several weeks, I've been illogically intimidated by our daughter's baby tub. That's right, a tub. I'd been giving Joy sponge baths just fine, and though technically we could have graduated to the tub weeks ago, it just seemed like there were too many things to do (decided where to put it, track down the baby soap, read up on baby bathing beforehand, etc.), and I didn't feel like dealing with it. However, since I'll need to transition from sponge baths sometime before she goes to college, I decided tonight might as well be the night.

I am happy to report that both bather and bathee came through the experience just fine. Joy seemed pretty content the entire time, and I didn't do too badly, either. Afterward, as I reflected on this major milestone in our lives, I decided we ought to take a commemorative photo of the event. Refilling the bathtub seemed a bit much, so we wrapped our cheerful little baby in her towel again for the picture. Unfortunately, . . .
Joy didn't think the idea was so hot. In fact, she told us that having a damp towel on her head was downright chilly.

Recognizing the futility of opposing the iron will of a one-month-old, we cut the photo session short and removed the towel (note the ruffly sleeve - Joy still had her sleeper on underneath) . . .

. . . whereupon Baby calmed right down. You'll notice the princess pictures all over her sleeper. Yeah, we know who's in charge here, and it ain't the big people. Maybe I was right to be scared of those little yeast.

Snide comments aside, you've got to admit that's a cute face. Is she getting big or what?

Happy baby

Joy smiles for us on a regular basis, but because her smiles are so short, it's difficult to get one on camera and have it look good. We got this picture today after taking a series of about 40 pictures (our camera has a burst mode which allows us to capture lots of photos quickly).

She is the cutest baby ever!!

(click the photo to download & print)

Happy Holiday

Joy wants to wish everyone a happy Martin Luther King Day!

We tried to explain that she was dressed for the wrong holiday . . .
. . . but really, how DOES one dress for Martin Luther King Day, anyway? Whatever.

Archery update

Here's the latest from the archery world for Phillip: since the last archery post, in which we posted pictures of me, Kimberly and Joy at the archery range, I've been back to the range a number of times, learned some things, and had a great deal of fun (I was there when the Rose Bowl game started not more than a mile or two north of the range).

For example, one thing thing that I've learned is that the range is much larger than I initially thought.

This picture is a satellite image of the range where we shoot (compliments of Google maps). Running down the center of the picture is the drainage canal that runs through the Arroyo Seco, and to the right of it is the parking area. On the left side of the image is a row of five or six blobs that are casting shadows behind them. Those are the hay bales where Kimberly and I had shot previously. However, on one of my trips there, another archer informed me that there were a whole bunch more targets farther down the arroyo, with varying shot lengths up to 80 yards.

I decided to find out what these other targets looked like, and boy, did I find that the range is large! In the following image (again, courtesy of Google maps), the original set of bales is near the top of the picture, and the network of lines all along the left of the drainage are the paths to the rest of the bales - some 25-30 targets total.


Since making that discovery, I've been back to the range once or twice. I've gotten my sights better adjusted, and started to get a nice grouping of arrows, at least from 20 yards. Something that's very satisfying is to shoot from 60 or 80 yards, watch the arrow arc through the air, and then hear the "thunk" as it hits the target. I'm going to have to keep doing this!