Derek the movie star

Derek was asked to be in a short video to help recruit new high school leaders for the youth ministry at church. Here is the end result - it kind of has a bit of the "Die Hard" feel to it :)

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Bando!

Expressions in overalls!

2 Months already!!

Derek, Dutch and I have all successfully made it through Della's first month. Each day she is getting more and more interactive and she has started being a little bit more vocal in addition to her crying. She has a little bit of cooing going on and I think that any day now, she will begin to laugh out loud. Right now though, when she finds something funny, she justs opens her mouth up really wide with a big smile. She is so happy after she eats her breakfast in the morning and she just loves to watch mommy and daddy make faces at her - she thinks it is so funny!

On Thursday, August 5, Della got her 2 month immunization shots. I had never really heard her "pain cry" and so it sure broke my heart when I heard it come on her first shot - I wasn't expecting to cry but I took longer to calm down than she did. (Thanks for all those self-soothing techniques you taught me when I was little Mom!)

We all just got back from a big trip to Idaho to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. In all, there were 64 relatives that came for this and we did our annual camping trip at Anderson Ranch Reservoir while we were there. It was so much fun seeing everybody and Della even got to meet Aunt Julia, Baby Korbin and the rest of the Hyinks for the first time. Bentley just loved putting his forehead right on Della's and talking to her in his baby voice (ie. really high pitched squeals that I'm sure she was thrilled to hear :)

On this trip, Della got to spend time in the cabin with Korbin who is the first person she has met that is smaller than she is but I am sure they both will grow very quickly. The drive to and from Idaho went very smoothly. Della was alert most of the time and really liked watching Dutch who was in the back-back.

Next Tuesday is my official first day back at work after my maternity leave. I am feeling very bittersweet about this as I think Della will really enjoy her daycare and will eventually make some very close childhood friends there but I am sure going to miss being around her all the time. It is really amazing at how quickly and deeply you fall in love with such a tiny person!

The plan for now is that Derek will take her to daycare in the mornings around 8:30 or 9 while I go into work at 7:30 and then since I'll be going in to work early, I will pick her up around 4 or 4:30. I am looking forward to getting to have my special time with her in the evenings and I am really excited to see how the Daddy time goes in the mornings. Derek's favorite outfits for her are the ones that have sayings such as "Daddy's little cutie" or "I love Daddy" etc. but this morning he was commenting how he really likes the color purple on her.

That is the most recent happenings in Grass Valley... thanks for such a wonderful time in Idaho Pake and Beppe - we miss you already :)

6 Weeks Old!

Della turned 6 weeks old on the same day her mommy (me) turned 25 years old! She is starting to be a very social baby and is starting to smile responsively to us making faces at her or tickling her lips or toes. She loves tummy time and is trying really hard to rollover. Her thighs and little arms are starting to get a little bit of chub which is about the cutest thing in the world. Della loves to stare at bright lights and especially likes looking outside through open blinds (the lines provide a great contrast). Last night, Della had her first night at a baby-sitter. My good friend Melody agreed to watch her for the evening while Derek and I went to our Exchange meeting for a brief period, then out to dinner and finally to see the newest Twilight movie, Eclipse. We both enjoyed our night out and we are going to try our hardest to schedule at least one date night per month. Melody and her daughter-in-law, Sarah both had fun with Della and they said she did great with them and gave them a few smiles also. It sure is amazing the lengths people go to in order to get a wide mouthed, gummy grin from a baby.

Della has also started to come to the realization that she has hands of her own and they have even served as a pacifier when she can't quite get hers back in her mouth.

She is beginning to reach some exciting milestones and the past two nights she slept for 7 hours straight! Now if only I can figure out how to get to bed at 9 when she goes to bed - haha!

Every day I find new things about Mommy-hood that I enjoy. My maternity leave will end in about 2 weeks so I am trying to cherish each moment I have remaining.

All in all, Della has developed so mcuh in 6 weeks and we are looking forward to all the new things she learns everyday!

Della and Dutch

The experience of adding a new member of the family has so far been good for Dutch. He usually ignores Della for the most part except for when she cries. He really is good about letting Mom and Dad know that she is upset and he will run up to her room (or wherever she is crying) and whimper until one of us goes and checks on her. I am not sure if he is annoyed by the cry or just making sure we hear it. So far though, he is very good with Della and sniffs her head when we are holding her or when she is in her bouncy seat. He has not shown any signs of jealousy towards her and I think it will be really fun to see the two of them interact as she gets older. I am pretty sure that he is going to love it when she starts on solid foods in her high chair. If she is anything like normal babies, a good portion of her food will end up on the floor which will be the end of our No Human Food for the dog rule. Oh well. As soon as Della can start sitting up on her own, we are going to get a saddle for Dutch so she can have doggie rides!

Della's 1st month

Well, so far, parenting has been challenging but now we know it is going to be totally worth all the late and broke-up nights. We are learning to translate Della's language which of course consists of crying with a little bit of grunting and cooing mixed in. She is growing so fast and is almost up to 10 pounds! I did a mini photo shoot for her 1 month photos with one of her chic outfits from Linda Butler.

In other news... Our house painting is almost complete. We think it looks pretty good (at least from the street now). There is some cutting in and second coats left to do but it should be all ready when Louis and Shannon & boys come next weekend. Let me know what you think!

More to come :)

Sharon