The Barker Blogger: 2011

I know, I know, I am terrible at Blogging. It has been so long since I posted that the website has all changed! Yikes. Anyway, here is a quick update on what we have been up to...

Elli is a riot. Her personality is so funny. She loves to be silly and make us laugh. She loves to be chased around the house and scared/surprised. She does not like to have dirty hands - we have to wipe frequently when eating. She LOVES the dog and climbs on him constantly. She has learned the work "no" and likes to use it when she gets into trouble. She is super ticklish and so fun to play with!

14 Months

19 Months

18 months

We spent a lot of time at Grandma Paula's house in her swimming pool and eating yummy snacks. Elli is quite the swimmer. She likes to go off the slide into the pool by herself (we catch her at the bottom of course). She is in lessons still once a week and seems to enjoy them. At least she is not crying the whole time any more!

We made it to the Hogle Zoo a few times this summer. Her favorite were the reptiles and the birds (I think because you could see them up close)

Hogle Zoo

She likes to get all our hats out of the dresser and try them on. She gets a lot of things out of a lot of places all day long, actually :)

Early morning - bad hair day! She sleeps great and hardly ever cries at night. She has had all of her baby teeth for about 3 months now which has been nice. One less thing to deal with!

We went for lots of walks this summer on the trail just below our house.

She learned what a popsicle was and now asks for one whenever we open the freezer. This is all of her cousins from the Hansen side (and Papa of course). She loves to play with her cousins.

At Willow Creek pool with Nanee eating her apple. She likes to hold the whole thing and if I let her she will even eat the stem and core. Funny kiddo.

She loves Suka. And he tolerates her. I think he will have more fun when she is bigger. Anytime he gets too excited around her he knocks her over and then she cries. So he ends up just lying down a lot and she crawls all over him. I am happy we have a dog for her, even though he is a lot of extra work.

She got a new slide which stays in the middle of our family room. It has been the best investment...EVER!!

16 months

Mom bought finger paints and thought it would be an "easy" activity - ya right. It ended up everywhere outside and all over me and elli. Even Suka had some paint on him. She ended up painting her feet and hands more than the paper. But it was fun. (notice the apple in hand - always)

Siena's 8th Birthday party - Harry Potter themed.

On a walk this fall. The leaves have been gorgeous. This picture doesn't quite capture it. We have sure enjoyed our nice views from our home and the trail below.

Elli's new thing - she says "cheese" whenever I take her picture. Pretty cute.

A new haircut. I was getting grief from everyone that her hair was always in her face (seemed like she never had a clip in it when others were around) So I decided to cut her some bangs - my hairstylist did it. Her hair just grows straight forward and straight all over. There is no curl and no parting. But I like the new bangs. She looks so much older to me! And even more like Alex when he was her age.

We went to Red Butte Garden After Dark for a Halloween activity. She even wore her costume for a bit. It is so cute on her! She loves owls (of course, they are everywhere in her room still so I am excited). It got pretty cold fast and as we were heading back to the exit, she asked for her "Ginkie" and them immediately followed it with "Car" - I didn't think she said car at first but she said it again 2 other times. Obviously she was ready to go :)

News for Alex - He was previously promoted to be the West manager for Teva Pharmaceuticals and then after managing only a year, he was again promoted to a new role where he contracts with large corporations like IHC, Medicaid/Medicare and Kaiser. He covers a large part of the Western US and still travels a lot. But it seems like less than before. He is enjoying the new challenge.

News for Andrea - I am starting a new position - I will be working at the VA here in salt lake as a PA in Internal Medicine. I am quite nervous but really excited to use all of the knowledge I gained in PA school. I will still be able to have a half day orthopedic specialty clinic where I will see patients for injections so that will be fun. And a nice break for my brain. I am sure it will not be easy - our vets are typically very sick and have a lot to deal with. But it will be good in the long run - Elli will have preschool/daycare on site with me and my schedule will be very flexible for when I want to see patients. But I will miss my current places of work..

Sorry ---- After thought of some photos. I tried to move them up but it proved too difficult :)