All Scowls...

This weekend I babysat an 18 mos old boy from the ward Friday to Saturday... Of course, like any girl, she went through a phase of flirting with him and laughed every time he tripped and everything he did, but most of the time Katherine did NOT like it! She did not sharing her mom or her toys or her books, would not sleep if she knew I was out there with him and, consequently, she learned how to scowl... She made this face constantly all weekend to everyone- playing with my visiting teacher's daughters, to the family we ALWAYS sit with during sacrament meeting, to the other kids she played with in the nursery while I was at choir. In one day she managed to flip her reputation from "easy going" to "Scrunchy Face!"
She is mastering the pout - lower lip hanging, droopy eyes, furrowed eyebrows... It's gotta be genetic! Of course, she did have another reason to pout this week... One morning 4:30am I decided to let her cry a little to see if she would go back to sleep and by the time I went to the bathroom, she was howling... I found her on the floor 4 ft away from her crib!!! She took a nose dive over the guardrail we forgot to put up and a big bruise on her forehead... Yeah, I feel guilty for neglect, but she has never fallen out again!
Would you EVER have thought in a million years that I would have a baby with THESE blue eyes???
Check out the teeth! You can see the bottom four, but the four top have also finally broken through! So glad we're done with the fussiness and the runny noses, but she has started to bite and gnaw on me... Is this normal?? Also, she has started to gasp just to do it because she can... weird.


She almost scowls on cue...

Some of Katherine's favorite activities are flipping through books and eating, but playing with cell phones trump them all. She has managed to call Nana, Papa, and Grandma, turn off and on the phone, create contacts, and erase some... All while I am supervising and trying to stay on top of the end button!

Our biggest news is that she stood unassisted for over 10 seconds today! Won't be long....

On another note, Mom and I went to the Relief Society broadcast together Saturday night. It was very inspiring. I loved hearing President Uchtdorf's message on developing our skills to create and show compassion. Now motivated, I have set the goal to learn how to be useful and play the organ and learn how to accompany on the piano. I found a friend in my new ward who is going to mentor me. I have followed through on my goal to read the Sunday school lessons 4 weeks in a row. Almost everyday I listen to Glen Beck on the radio to stay informed. I want to stay optimistic about the economy and the election, but when it comes down to it, I know it is just going to get worse. Everyday I am grateful that we sold our house last June and got our finances in order. It is a miracle!

Geoff has attended Young Men's once as the new Duty to God goals specialist and got to box with the Priests. He said it was fun. He has been busy at work and still liking it. He is learning a Wheezer song on guitar and is sounding GREAT. Once again, I came to him with some gospel questions and he was able to pull out references for me to read.

Thank you to everyone keeping Aunt Rhonda in your prayers. I am told that during our fast, her fever reduced to 99 degrees. She is doing better in an induced coma and working through congestive heart failure. Everyone is more optimistic.

We love you. Thanks for keeping up and in touch with us!
Amanda