Californian Halloween

This year we used Halloween as an excuse to spend a week vacation in Ca. My mom hadn't seen Lyra yet and I really didn't want her to have to wait all the way until Christmas, so we planned a very fun trip. Ryan even went backpacking for a few days. Lisa loved playing with her cousins and spending so much time with family. We even got to take her to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm--I loved that place when I was a kid! She was terrified of the goats until she saw the other kids using a brush on them. Then she was all about getting those goats. Cade made sure we got out of the corn maze alive and then we went back to the Fieth home for carving pumpkins. On Halloween Night, Lisa was a garden fairy princess. I didn't get very many pictures that night...I was too busy trying to throw together last minute costumes for me and Ryan. We dressed up as a girl scout and boy scout. Too bad I didn't get any pictures of Ryan in Aunt Lisa's hot pink pants. They matched my cool hair. Lisa had fun trick-or-treating first with Grandpa Lee and then with Cade and Cameron. After trick-or-treating, Ryan and I went to a PETS show in Sacramento and had a lot of fun dancing and even singing along a bit. I don't get to see many of Derek and Alison's shows so I was glad we got to go. While we were in Ca we also got to visit with Grammie and have a nice dinner at Davin and Tara's. Grandma Marje and Grandpa Joe came over to mom and dad's and it was so sweet...Lisa just jumped up into Grandma Marje's lap and started playing with her. And Grandma Marje just played right along.
I included a few pictures of Ryan's backpacking trip in the Big Sur area. A lot of the trail went right along the coast with a great view of the ocean. I was so jealous! But it's still a little early to be leaving Lyra for more than one night. We are thinking about another trip to Ca. in the spring so that we can finally go backpacking together again.

\

It's a wrap!

Yesterday I got a package in the mail and in it was my new favorite baby accessory. 5 yards of knit fabric! No, really--It's a wrap that Natalie serged up for me and I LOVE it! I am always trying to nurse or just hold Lyra and do several other things at once and the wrap totally makes it easier. She just snuggles up in there and falls right asleep. And she's so close to my body I don't worry about bumping her little head into things.

Fingers,Toes and other general cuteness

For some reason I thought I wouldn't be quite as picture happy this time around since Lyra is our second baby, but I was mistaken. I'm constantly running to grab the camera! Drives Ryan a little crazy, but he's a good sport. And of course, Lisa has never been this excited to be in a picture, but any time I go to get one of Lyra, Lisa's head is popping into the frame. She really is in love with her little sister. We try not to be too controlling about her touching and hugging Lyra and just to teach her how to be gentle. She's a good big sister. With Lisa I didn't make a point of getting a picture to show how tiny her little fingers and toes were, so I wanted to be sure I did this time. Lisa did not want to be left out, so we photographed hers, too. I forget how small she still is until I see pictures like this!
At preschool the kids take turns bringing this stuffed dog home for the weekend and then they have to write in a journal what they did with Goldie. Lisa wanted to go up to the gardens on BYU-I campus and take pictures so we brought Goldie along.

Preschool

Lisa has now been going to preschool for a month at Kinder-Ready Kids Preschool. The Preschool is in Miss Kari's basement at her house. She has it set up like a little classroom. How she fits 15 kids in there is a mystery to me, but I guess they are little bodies. Ryan and I decided it would be a good idea for her to be around more kids her age and have the structure that preschool would provide. And thanks to Marmee contributing to the cost (a very reasonable 65.00/month!) we haven't had to worry about making that work. It is not too far from our apartment so sometimes she will ride her bike, but mostly we still use the stroller cause it's easier for me with Lyra. Although Lisa has had some unwilling days, she has mostly enjoyed the experience. Her teachers are great and she seems to get along with the other kids. It was only one week after she'd started school that I had Lyra and that made it a little hard for her. She didn't want to leave mom and her new little sister. One day when I went to drop her off she got real teary-eyed and turned to me and said, "I told you I didn't want to go." It threw me off guard because usually she is saying,"Bye mom! See you later!" But one of her teachers came and held her and I asked if she'd be ok and she said yes, so I left. (Had to get out of there before I started crying myself! One of those post baby delivery emotional moments)When I came back to get her she was skipping all around and seemed to be fine. Since then there have been only a few protests about going and a well-placed bribe usually takes care of that. I know eventually we'll want her to be happy about going just because it's fun, but for now...a few little bribes can't hurt too much.
It really has been a good experience so far. I love that she has a place to go be around other kids a few times a week. She is learning how a classroom runs and what will be expected of her in school. And she is singing new songs ALL the time. I LOVE it! She has such a memory for those things. The other day she came home and recited (with minimal help from dad) "I'm Being Eaten by a Boa Constrictor." She also loves "Slippery fish" and "I was Skipping Home from School." On her second day they had a birthday party for all the kids with birthdays that week and she got a birthday crown with candy taped all over it. She was very excited. Yay for preschool!

Funny things she says

I just want to write this down before I forget...a few days ago when Lisa came home from a trip to Yellowstone with Ryan, Grandpa and Aunt Aimee she sat down on the couch to hold Lyra and proceeded to tell us that Lyra had been "having a party in the uterus". Tee-hee...she sure makes us laugh.

While I'm on the subject of funny things she says, I might as well include this one: While driving home from going out to lunch, Gramommy and Grandpa were speaking in code (spelling so Lisa wouldn't know they were talking about going to the park) so Lisa started spelling too, telling them that she was going to the B-A-R. Gramommy and Grandpa had a good laugh about that one. I think they had just passed the library and she saw those letters. Funny girl.