First day of Fall

For the first day of fall we decided to drive the Alpine Loop.  I'd never been all the way through and it was BEAUTIFUL.  I was a little worried that it would be too early, but the trees put on a pretty good show.

We stopped by the river and let Caroline get her toes wet. It was a little cold though.

I also learned that if you're experiencing any sort of pregnancy nausea- it may be better not to drive the alpine loop... it was still beautiful, but the road seemed really long.

WICKED!

Back in August Jared and I were able to go see Wicked at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake.  I'd "seen" it before- meaning I was in the same building but so far from the stage that it was hard to tell what was going on- but this time I actually "saw" it.  Jared and I both loved it!

Caroline at 15 months

Caroline's stats from her 15 month appointment:

Weight: 18 lbs 12 1/2 oz (15 %) (Wahoo! We're movin' up!)

Height: 29 1/4 in (11 %)

Head: 18 in (51%) 

~Caroline is an awesome sleeper and will often sleep for about 12 hours at night and still takes two naps during the day.
~She has taken a few steps but only when she wants to.
~She now has 3 teeth and a fourth just broke through.
~She is really into being flipped upside down.
~She is much more aware of how toys work lately- like she used to try to stand toys up on their heads but now she makes sure they're standing right side up. She is also getting better with her shape sorter and doesn't always pull the lid off to get the shapes inside.
~She LOVES Baby Einstein sign language. Usually if the tv is on it will only hold her attention for a couple of minutes max- but she will watch the whole 26 minute sign language show if I let her. She's really been making connections with the signs and it's so fun to watch her learn.
~Caroline loves to be outside and makes a break for any open door. She also still likes to eat dirt- but I think it's getting a little better.
~She would climb stairs all day long if we had them. She loves to slide down stairs on her tummy and crawl back up. Then repeat.
~She will eat most anything except bananas and she really likes green beans. Of course she also really likes ice cream but who can blame her? She will also occasionally eat a jar of baby food but absolutely prefers table food.
~Caroline has gotten into chasing and being chased lately and it's thinks it's great fun.
~She seems to speak her own language. She will sort of say mama,  dada, and bird, but aside from that we get a whole lot of gibberish.
~She is a great imitator she'll even fold her arms for prayer for about 2 seconds.

Other cute pictures from this month:

Caroline and Cosmo at BYU

Dirty bum.

Playing in the dirt is serious business...

We've got pigtails!!!

Home Improvements

We've been working on the yard lately and now have beautiful green wispy baby grass coming up in our front yard and working sprinklers!
With everything torn up we decided that now would be a good time to put in a sidewalk in the backyard- it should be much friendlier in the winter and when it's raining.  I have gotten tired of cleaning muddy and dusty footprints off of my floor and I'm really hoping this helps!

Caroline was pretty happy to watch from inside for a surprisingly long time.

I think the stripes will fade.  Jared think's it's because he only wet his broom every other swipe when he was putting the texture in.

Goooooo Cougars!!!

Jared got invited to go with some of his buddies to the BYU v. Houston game.  I told him he couldn't go if I couldn't.  Okay, I might have said that... but what really happened was that one of the guys couldn't go and so I got to go!  Yipee!!  Caroline stayed with Gma and Gpa Ridges and we had a fun time at the game.  It really is fun to go and be part of the atmosphere, but I also appreciate being able to sit on the comfy couch and hear what the officials are saying. Going to one game a season is just about perfect. :)

The game was on September 11th and they had some really cool memorial things at the beginning and in between the first and second quarter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNSJXgOANGY

We were sitting in one of the "L's"

Squaw Peak

Jared had never been to Squaw Peak.  We were already in Provo so we headed up and the timing was PERFECT!  The sun was just barely starting to set when we pulled into the parking area.  It was a little chilly but a beautiful view.

Elder Shields

We were able to enjoy having my nephew, Derek, stay with us for about a week before he went in the MTC.  We did a little shopping and Derek really wanted to go backpacking.  I'd been planning on going but thought better of it since all I really felt like doing at 7(ish) weeks pregnant was sleeping on the couch. So, Caroline and I stayed home while the boys hiked Maple Mountain which is just south of Springville and very visible from our house. Jared called me the next morning and said, "Can you see us?!?"  So I got the binoculars (and was in a bathrobe since I was about to step in the shower when he called)  and was out in the backyard looking at the mountain- I can only imagine what the neighbors were thinking- and after much scrutiny I was able to make out the waving arms of my husband on top of mountain.
I was very glad to hear that neither one of them got eaten by a bear- or elk- or moose- or whatever was making very loud breathing sounds around Jared's tent.  It was apparently a pretty tough hike and it was cool for Derek to be able to see almost the whole Provo mission from the top of the mountain.

Old man ridges couldn't handle his pack- or was just being really dramatic.  

Derek's cool hammock set-up.

The camping spot.

Utah County

Jared at the summit.

Derek at the summit.