Fall is here!

Fall is here alright! This is my favorite season but yet sadly seems like one of the shortest. Life continues to keep us hopping here at the Stewart home. I took a few weeks off this past summer to soak up some time with Capri. We had fun exploring a few new venues. We got out and walked a bit, played at the park, visited the zoo, played at the lake and otherwise enjoyed some inside play and snuggle time. We had a few weddings between the end of August and the middle of October of which one involved the "L2 5k" (L2 = Lysandra & Luke) race the day before the wedding. Ryan, Capri and I all participated in the event. Capri even decided to run/walk part of it on the way back! We went to the pumpkin patch for the first time with Capri a couple weekends ago and picked out a pumpkin for the porch. She seemed to enjoy walking around in the patch and taking photos with her friend Kennedy and their pumpkins.

We just returned from a trip to New Orleans for her uncle Jarrett and aunt Misha's wedding. It was a fun trip and a really nice wedding. The wedding was Capri's debut as a flower girl. She did great. The boys (Misha's nephews) put teddy grahams in their pockets just in case she decided not to cooperate down the aisle but she did! She was quite the little entertainer that evening. She started the dancing, tired herself out after a bit, so she decided to put her blanket down in the middle of the dance floor and lay down for a minute or two. Just when Ryan was heading over to peel her off the floor, she popped her head up and it started bobbing to the music. Slowly she sat up and then got back up on her feet and kept on dancing. She had quite a crowd circled around her just watching for a good 10 minutes or so...and it was at that moment we realized she seemed to enjoy the audience.

I must say I was a little anxious prior to the trip given the flight times with Capri. It was a long day on the way there and a longer day on the way back (first flight 1.5 hrs and the second 5 hrs) and I'm pleased to announce it was a success! Capri was just about as close to an angel baby as you could get on the flights.

Just in the last week, Capri has been saying so many more words, mimicking us so much and her little personality is coming alive like crazy. Ryan and I are laughing several times a day because she just cracks us up with her little voice, words, and we are always amazed at how much she understands. We are truly lucky to have this little character in our lives.

A little break from dancing...

Pre-wedding - getting ready with the girls.Tracking down a frog before the wedding Where did my belly button go?Here it is!
Here is my pick!
Official participant at the L2 5k!

How about now...can you hear me?

Summer picnic in the park with the cousins

Here is "bug" in Grandma's VW bug.

Fun in the sun at the lake

So Many Changes!

Well hello again! It has been quite sometime since I've been here updating. Capri's new level of acitivity is keeping us on our toes and then of course we always seem to stay busier than busy can be especially with summer here. The past couple months have brought about all kinds of new changes with Capri. She keeps us smiling and laughing!

Here are some of her newer things: at the beginning of June she took her first official consecutive steps. She has taken her time getting her balance and confidence to just take off as speed crawling has been the preferred method of travel. With time she is been walking more and more. Over the weekend of July 18th she started walking beyond just between two people and started to explore. She is fully walking now and cruising all over the place even more so in the past couple days. She is chatting, giggling and showing us more of her little personality, which has been really fun. She has been doing the hand motions to patty cake since about May/June, she gives hugs and kisses (mostly when greeting her friend, Sophie at school), she blows kisses with a very verbal "Bah" sound. She LOVES dancing, moving her hips, shoulders and bobbing her head to the music occasionally. We have little dance parties in the car if I sense she is getting tired of being in her carseat. I'll turn the music on and she'll just get her shoulders going while seatbelted in. It's pretty entertaining! Capri is showing us where her nose, eyes, hair and belly button are. She will repeat what we say on occasion. She loves Boone and refers to him as "Boo" and "B" and we can't leave the house or come back into the house without giving "Boo" a treat so needless to say, he is quite happy about this new routine too. Her other words are Momma and Dadda, Pri (pretty), Pish (fish), Doddy (doggie) and for most other items, she points and loudly verbalizes "ooh ooh," which means she wants to see or touch something...pretty much right now! Her favorite foods are blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, yogurt and bananas. She likes most things so far except she doesn't have much interest in potatoes. She is using both hands with forks and spoons to feed herself. She is getting so big!

Goofy girl

I have a couple videos below, you'll want to scroll to the bottom of the page and pause the background music so you can hear the sound on the video. The first video has a bit of a slow start but it is Capri dancing and the second video is of her little giggle when Ryan was tickling her the other night. :-)

Happy Birthday Capri & Claire!

It has already been 1 year! Hard to believe. Capri turned 1 on Mother's Day (May 9th) this year and Claire turns 1 today (May 18th)! We celebrated their 1st birthdays together in Omak with family! It was an entertaining afternoon and evening between the two girls and Corbin & Camden. The girls were each given a cupcake and while Capri ate hers slowly bite by bite, cousin Claire got right down to business. They were too cute! The rest of the afternoon consisted of opening gifts and playing. They were also lucky enough to get rides on Claire's new toy (with wheels) being pushed by Corbin & Camden on what was called the "freeway" (aka: the loop around the couches and through the kitchen). It seemed like there were cruising at about 60 MPH...eek! No injuries, no falls = success! Phew! All in all it was a fun and successful 1st Birthday Party! We had about 25 family members in attendance including grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins! It was fun!

Birthday Pictures!

Birthday determination

Pre-party play
Pep talk before the main event


and...GO!

Capri

Claire wins!
Opening gifts
Capri loves her baby

Start your engines for a trip on the "freeway"

Grandma w/ Claire & Capri

Ryan & Capri

Corbin & Camden playing before bedtime

Closet update - 1 year later (wow!)

Lysandra & Luke said if I posted a picture of their gift that they

would pay for Capri's college!

Isn't that so nice of them?

But then Butch on the tricycle saw the husky business...

and proceeded to try to run over it...can you believe that?

but then Butch decided to be friendly since the offer was so generous!

Mexico trip for Mommy & Daddy!

At the end of last month, Ryan and I decided to book a somewhat last minute trip to Mexico with friends...without Capri! This was the first time we left Capri for more than one night. We left on Sunday morning and returned late Thursday night so this length of time away was a big step for us! We had a great time, laying in the sun by the pool, sipping on fruity beverages, eating loads of nachos and doing nearly nothing for 5 days! Meanwhile, Capri was at home with Grandma & Grandpa Stewart showing them the ropes of her "vacation routine." We are now certain that she knows how to work the system. She has a pretty predictable routine at home with Ryan and I but apparently when the cat is away, the mouse will play! It sounds like they had a lot of fun. We had a great time but missed Capri terribly and were glad to be back home!

New Capri Pics

This week Capri will be 11 months! She is crawling now at high speeds and pulling up to stand. She is able to stand by herself for short moments before she realizes she is doing it and decides to sit. I am attaching some pictures that our friend Aileen (Baby Dream Photography) took of Capri last month. :-)

Valentine's Day & this weekend (felt like spring)!

Last weekend (Valentine's weekend), Ryan, Capri and I headed to Chelan for a couple nights for a little getaway! It was great to skip town for a couple days and just relax outside of our normal routine. :-)

This past weekend we celebrated my 29th birthday...again (hehehe)! This was my first birthday with Capri (well outside the womb that is), which was pretty exciting. I couldn't have asked for nicer weather all weekend. It really felt like spring was here! The sun was shining, clear skies and nearly 60 degrees both days! Saturday I spent some girl time with a dear friend doing a little shopping and enjoying the weather. Sunday, Ryan, Capri & I went to breakfast, ran a few errands, TOOK THE BOAT FOR A CRUISE ON THE LAKE (that deserved to be in all caps given that its February and it was a perfect day for little outing), and then we ended the day with a group of friends who brought dinner and cake over to the house...it was a fun filled weekend!

Here are some pictures from last weekend and this weekend (in random order).

We took Boone so he could swim and Ryan gave him a "lake

bath" while we were out (Capri is observing)

It was so sunny we both needed our shades! ;-)

It could almost look like a summer picture

Preparing for the sunny day!

I keep catching just the right lighting to get Capri's reflection.

Capri is 9 months!

Tomorrow is Capri's 9 month birthday already! She is growing like a weed! We just had her 9 month check-up this morning and it went well. She is 20lbs, 27.75 inches tall and her head is tracking steadily in the 90th percentile! We like to think she is just really smart. Hehe! Since Christmas, Capri has been crawling, pulling up and taking a step or two holding onto the edge of the furniture. Needless to say, we are now on our toes a bit more these days! She is also becoming much more vocal as well and her volume has elevated significantly. All in all, she is perfectly healthy and happy and for that we are thankful! Here are some of the latest photos of her. I've also included some from her 9 month photo session this past weekend (note the pink & red with hearts...for the upcoming Valentine's Day). ;-)

9 month photos

Kissing the glass

Capri & her brother Boone after a game of tug of war

Mischievous Coug!

Go Cougs!

Capri likes to help with Laundry

Capri with her new wheels

Capri's new high chair

Capri's dog pose (yoga move)

Capri's new look she gives us - so hard not to give in...