Thanksgiving at the Carlsbad Beach

Before we gorged ourselves on a delicious Turkey Dinner, Erin, Tobin and Suzanna headed for a walk at Tamarack Beach in Carlsbad. It was great fun!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving was an awesome day. Suzanna had several bites of turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin pie. All sorts of delicious treats that Grandma Sue cooked up. The marshmallows that Grandma Sue put on top of the sweet potatoes caught on fire in the oven. Somehow it gave the dish an amazing flavor!

Suzanna has picked up her pace and can now run sort of. She has begun a few more bable languages that we still cannot understand but she is more passionate about what she is saying. She uses a few sign language signals for us: specifically more, milk and sleep. We are happy that we can communicate with her. She's a joy!

Sarah's Baby Shower

Now that I can no longer hide it, it was time to have a baby shower for Harrison Hughes. Hosted by Grandama Sue, Gma Chris and Paula, it was a great treat and lots of fun with brisket, quinoa, delicious chicken soup and yummy cake. It was certainly an excellent party and we are very thankful for all of the gifts Harrison received. Paula was the host of many games including guess how big Sarah is around the waist. Everyone had to estimate my girth with a piece of yarn and scissors. Tobin won but was disqualified because he has insider information. So cousin Chanel took home the prize!

At the Shower were Sarah's friends from law school:
Brandy her husband Periklis
Lisa, Erin and Paula

Sydney & Cari, mother and daughter, friends from Cardiff By the Sea

Uncle Steven and Aunt Kay Lynn

Great-Grandpa Lee

Grandparents Susan & Randy, Chris & Dave

Uncle Ryan Hughes and Uncle Scott Hughes

Cousin Justin and wife Chanel

Suzanna Walks!

Suzanna had a whole lot of "firsts" in October. I will add pictures later this week. But so I don't forget...Suzanna caught her first cold on Halloween. Her eyes were red and she was coughing so I figured I wouldn't drag her out in the Moo Cow costume Grandma Sue got for her. It's just as well, I don't need the chocolate at this point.

Her other first was a scrape and a bruise. Both healed up fine but were probably a result of her first month of walking! So far not too many accidents. She took her first few steps with Grandpa Randy and then followed up with six or so later on. We will have to post video of it soon. We also have video of her crawling.

She has a whole lot of teeth now. Four on the top and four on the bottom. She is still as jolly as ever. She likes oatmeal for breakfast with toast, bananas. Other favorite foods are apples, broccoli, peas, carrots, chicken and quinoa.

She said pig for the first time today. She can say cat, dog, dada, nana (meaning Grandma, Suzanna or Banana), and the phrase "oh yea." She can also stack three blocks. That is a summary of her skills at the moment. I'll add more if I think of them. She does like to pick up everything and pretend it's a phone. I'll have to post that video up soon. I'm hoping that is not because her mommy is on the phone all the time. Thanks for catching up! Pictures to come.

Suzanna's First Birthday

Suzanna's birthday party was hosted by Grandma Susan and Grandpa Randy at their house in Oceanside. She's been such an amazing part of our lives and is such a source of happiness and sunshine.

Grandma Sue made Birthday Custard which everyone enjoyed Mommy and Suzanna had some without the Sherry. Grandpa Randy got Suzanna and rocking Tiger for her birthday and Gma and Gpa got her a huge bag of blocks. A great time was had by all. Suzanna started crawling a week before. She has four teeth, her two top teeth haven't come through all the way but they sure are part of her smile.

At the party were: All grandparents, Colton & Daniel visiting from BC, Uncle Steve and Aunt Kay Lynn, Uncle Ryan and Uncle Scott, Great-Grandpoppy Lee and Mom and Dad.

Suzanna: A Whole Year Passed By

Here are Suz's feet moments after she was born.

And here they are a year later. It's hard to believe that Suzanna has been in our lives for more than a year. One of these days she'll be using these feet for walking. But it took her almost a year to crawl, so walking may be a few more months away.

She will stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything. She is in to everything. We have officially childproofed our house which includes putting a gate up in the kitchen which she wasn't too happy about. Despite that, we still let her get in there and the office once and a while to tear things up a bit. She loves exploring: pulling toilet paper off the roll, pulling pots and pans out of drawers, and generally putting all foreign objects into her mouth that she can find.

Her favorite toys are her piano, we can tell her to go play a song and she'll crawl over and start playing a tune. She loves stories and playing with her farm. At Grandma & Grandpa's house she likes to rock on her Tiger and play outside smelling the flowers. We've scaled back on the daily baby Einstein video a bit, so that's always a treat when we turn it on. She is just the joy of our lives.



 
Here's a picture of Suzanna one year ago almost to the day. What a whole lot of difference 12 months makes. From the moment we met her, she's been such a delightful, happy spirit. I know I'm getting all sentimental here. But I'm allowed because I'm a mommy.

Oh Canada

Graduation! May 17, 2008

So the Thomas Jefferson School of Law 2008 graduation celebration came and went and now I am slaving away studying for the bar. Law school was quite grueling. And so is bar study. It is pretty much the most challenging thing I've ever done. I know I am so fortunate to have such amazing support around me. Tobin is working just as hard as I am. We know that sacrifice means success. I am praying that I pass the first time so I can spend more time with my darling family.

9 months old: Finally Baptized

So here's the latest update....these pictures were actually taken on May 18, almost a month later...here they are. So many people came out for Suzanna's baptism. It is amazing that there is so much love for her and around her. We are all so very blessed to be a part of her life. She has a shining, happy, glowing spirit. What a character she is. She knows the word cat and dog and can sort of say them. She can clap her hands on command. She can say "dada" and "nana" and almost today is working on "Gggra-ma". She still loves the bouncing chair and can crawl backwards and in a circle but has not figured out how to go forward yet. According to the pediatrician, at her 9 month check up, she needs to hurry up and crawl. But I am certain that she will do it when she's darn good and ready and it will be grand. Just like when she learned to sit up. It took her awhile, but when she did it was splendid and still is.

She loves books. Favorite foods are watermelon and bananas and chicken soup. She is all worn out of the Applesauce blueberry mixture that she had fallen in love with last month. Oops.
Godfather Christopher Pryor (from Hawaii) and Godmother (cousin) Jessica Kutzler (from Pennsylvania)


Great Auntie Bonnie
G-ma Looking Super Pretty

Officially 8 months old

Tobin & Sarah & Suzanna headed down to La Jolla a few weeks ago and got a chance to watch the seals at seal beach. Then we had dinner at Carl Strauss. No weight watcher friendly food there....oh well. Suzanna enjoyed chewing on the coasters.

Happy Birthday Grandma Sue!

Grandma Sue celebrated her birthday on April 6, 2008. We all had a great time at brunch at the Longboarder's cafe (pictured with Grandpa Randy). Suzanna was a hit in her princess buttercup dress! Suzanna is almost 8 months old here!! G-ma Chris and Grandma Sue are the same age, but that is classifed. The other pic is the "O-side jumper" where Suzanna loves to jump while at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Randy's house.

Happy Easter!

Suzanna managed to keep this dress pretty white all day. We had a great Easter at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Randy's house.

March 08: 7 months! Pizza

Suzanna is sitting up on her own. This means bathtime is much more fun. She's also been eating baby cookies and some bread. Although we might just ditch this because she's already choked twice. Very scary. Luckily Grandma Sue and G-ma are skilled at the Heimlich maneuver.


March was also a first time for pizza, much to G-pa's delight and influence.