More holiday updates :)

I have let myself get really behind in posting again. We'll see how far I get today. As I already mentioned, we spent a lot of time with family this holiday season, which was great. Neal's brother, Kevin, came home from his mission December 30 and Lydia and I met him for the first time. We weren't able to go to the airport but met up with the whole family that evening for dinner at Olive Garden. Afterwards we went to Temple Square to enjoy the lights. It was a wonderful evening and it was so good to finally meet Kevin. It was also a really warm (well, for the wintertime) night and was much nicer to be out looking at the lights than when we had gone with my family.

Neal and I at Temple Square

We were able to spend more time with my family as well. My sister, Christine, and her family flew in from Alaska the beginning of January. Melissa and her girls were still visiting from Hawaii and my parents drove down from Idaho again. We had quite a few fun get togethers while they were all visiting. Unfortunately I forgot my camera most of the time, and didn't take many pictures when I did have it. We had some family dinners, a birthday party for my niece (which was awesome! Thanks Sara!), went to the new children's section in the church museum, visited, and more! My parents even watched the kids and babies while Christine, Melissa, Jen, and I went to the Provo Temple. I love spending time with family and it was so good to see Melissa and Christine again. We had all of the family here except my brother Cliff and his family.

I did get a better picture of the girls again : Lydia, Kaitlyn, and Sadie

Oatmeal Cereal!

Leaning forward so she can get closer to the food.

Lydia has been trying to eat our food for quite a while now. Everytime she sees us eating something, she looks at us, licks her lips, and starts chewing. She also grabs at our plates and food, just trying to get some into her mouth. Everything about her actions seem to say, "Where is my food? I need some of that too!" Last Monday (January 2) we finally went to the store and bought some oatmeal baby cereal and some rubber tip spoons. She loved it! She couldn't get enough and kept leaning towards us so she could be closer to the food.

Hey, I'm not done eating yet, where is my food?

The video clip I wanted still won't upload. This video was a few minutes into eating already, but she is still loving it!

Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and were able to spend lots of time with our families. I am really not in a blogging mood, but I would like to get some Christmas memories recorded. This will probably be a very long post, so grab a snack and get comfortable. :)

My sister, Melissa (and her three daughters), flew in from Hawaii December 23rd. It was really fun to see them again and meet Kaitlyn (her youngest, who is just 2 weeks older than Lydia). My parents drove down and all of my siblings who live close were able to get together. We went to Temple square to see all the Christmas lights, but didn't stay very long as it was FREEZING outside! Afterwards we went to my sister Rhonda's home for dinner and visiting.

The morning of the 24th we had a Swalberg family party where we had lunch (pizza and soup), visited, played basketball, and had a white elephant gift exchange. Around 1 pm we headed down to Provo where Jen and Jeff (my sister) were blessing their daughter, Sadie. My parents and a few of my siblings were also able to be there and we enjoyed more time with family. Melissa, Jen, and I are the youngest 3 in the family, and we all had baby girls within 3 months of each other this year. We tried to get some pictures of Kaitlyn, Lydia, and Sadie together but they were all hungry and not being very cooperative. Hopefully we can get some better ones next time we are all together. :)

Sadie, Kaitlyn, and Lydia

Lydia and I, Sadie and Jen, Kaitlyn and Melissa

We ended the day with driving up to Neal's parents home in Bountiful. We had a wonderful dinner and family devotional, where we watched movie clips about the Nativity and the Christmas story (the new ones on lds.org) , shared testimonies, and sang songs. It was a great end to a great day.

As Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we decided to wait until after church to open presents. Sacrament meeting was great, though it was strange to go home afterwards and not have the other meetings. It was Lydia's first Christmas and she loved all the attention she got as well as some fun toys to play with, but she really wasn't into much yet this year. She did enjoy pulling off some wrapping paper, but that's about it. I'm sure next year she will have more fun and understand more of what is happening.

Lydia and the Christmas Lights

I saw a picture the other day where a baby was holding a string of christmas lights. It was really cute so I thought I would try it with Lydia for some fun christmas pictures. Sadly, it didn't work very well. It would probably work better if she could sit up by herself. Still, we did get some cute ones and it was fun (until Lydia decieded she'd had enough).

Gingerbread house

I recently made a gingerbread house for a local competition (at Maceys grocery store). It took me longer than I expected (mostly during Lydia's nap time) but was pretty fun to do. I have done basic gingerbread houses before (ok- basically putting some candy on and calling it good) with my family, but this one was a bit more detailed than that. My sister, Rhonda, helped me with the design and it was nice to be able to call her up when I had questions. For my first gingerbread house, I thought it turned out pretty well.

Side view

Back view

Other side view

Airplane rides, hanging out, and storytime.

It is so fun to watch Lydia grow and develop at each new stage. She is starting to be a lot more interactive and able to do more things, not to mention getting cuter and cuter each day! She is usually a very happy and smiley baby and we love to hear her giggle and babble. We love each minute spent with her and just can't ever seem to get enough!

Lydia loves her airplane rides, whether we just lift her up in the air, or if we put her on our legs and give her rides that way. This is a pretty typical face she makes- very happy with her mouth wide open.

Hanging out with Dad is another favorite for her. It is so fun to see them together and Neal is so cute with her. She has started babbling a lot more and will sit (or stand) and just talk to us for a while. We love it!


About a month ago, she also started grabbing at things and holding onto them for a while. She still can't hold onto them very long (unless of course it is my hair or earrings) but she is getting better and better.

Although she is still really young and isn't always in the mood to sit and read, there are a couple of books that Lydia loves to look at and have us tell her about the pictures. Hopefully as she gets older she will enjoy reading more and more.

Thanksgiving and Family Pictures

Well, I think it is past time to put up a new post. :) Life is still great and has been busy this last month. Of course Thanksgiving was wonderful. This year we spent it with Neal's family, as we had been up to Rexburg with my parents the week before. We drove up to Bountiful early Thursday morning where Neal was able to play some "Turkey bowl" football with friends while Lydia and I visited with family and helped rake leaves in the yard. It was a bit chilly but otherwise a perfect day to be outside.

Lydia playing in the leaves at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

In the early afternoon, Stephanie was kind enough to drive down to Salt Lake with us and take our family pictures on temple square. Lydia wasn't so sure what to think and wasn't very cooperative, but it was a beautiful day and we did get some ok pictures with her looking. We next drove to a chapel in Salt Lake where we met up with more extended family ( the Johnsons) for Thanksgiving dinner.After dinner there was lots of visiting and some fun games of basketball (which I did actually join in for a while), before driving back up to Bountiful. The fun continued as the Swalbergs came to visit and play games. It really was a great day with great food and great company. I am so thankful for our wonderful family, both on Neal's side and on my side!