She's sitting up...almost

Hazel is now rolling over all the time from her belly to her back. She holds her upper body up pretty well and my neighbor let me borrow this little seat for babies (I forget what they're called) and they're amazing! Hazel sat up in it just fine and hung out on the washer while I did dishes. What a great invention. (so you get a sneak peak at my kitchen that we're painting--well you can see the tape on the windows at least. I'm not showing anything until we've made more progress!)

Happy Halloween!

The Field Mouse, and the Fairy
Bradley as a mime!
And here's Little Bunny Foo Foo
By this point, her little nose was almost rubbed off
I don't know if she was mad that we were leaving or if it was her hat that was wrinkling her brow.

Happy Halloween to all! This Halloween has been the best we've had in a long time just because we got to dress Hazel up as a little bunny and she's not old enough yet to protest. So, this year Hazel was Little Bunny Foo Foo, David was a field mouse, and I was the fairy (don't you remember Little Bunny Foo Foo hopping through the forest? My mom has me singing it on tape when I was four years old). Our little bunny lasted for about 30 minutes until she rubbed her nose off and passed out in her car seat. She woke up as we left and gave us some cute smiles. Some of the pics are from the Phipps family party, and the rest (with Hazel dressed up) are from our ward party.

It's fall and it's so beautiful! I love this weather and happy time of year.

Janelle

The joy of our lives

Hazel turned four months old on October 1st! She can now hold her head up very well when she's on her tummy, and today she rolled over onto her back for the first time! She smiles, giggles, whines, and is starting to reach for her toys. I love her more than words. That's the update!

The Phipps

A Trip to L.A.

Grandpa George, Grandma Carmen, Dad, Hazel and Janelle

I love this lady!!

On the 30th of September, my great uncle Raiford passed away after 98 years of life. He was a great man and leader of the Dorsey family. It's interesting, he was the oldest of the Dorsey children (I believe seven survived out of thirteen) and the only one still living besides my grandfather, George, who is the youngest! Raiford helped build the city of Montrose, CA as the owner of "Dorsey's" a popular department store years ago. He had many life-long friends who attended the funeral held on Thursday, including the man who was the voice of Donald Duck for twenty years! I was lucky enough to be there and celebrate Raifords long and wonderful life.

It was also a great chance for Hazel to meet her great grandparents on the Dorsey side: George and Carmen. She warmed up to Grandma right away (who wouldn't?) who held her often while I tried to capture each moment and movement in a picture. We walked to dinner at a nearby restaurant, played a mean game of hearts, and enjoyed our memories of Raiford. It was a great trip.

Martin's Cove

Time to catch up! We've slipped behind in our family updates. In the middle of September, David received a new calling: he was called to be our stake's Trek Boss for the youth's trek at Martin's Cove next summer! I couldn't think of a more perfect calling for my husband. He already works with the youth of our ward as their Sunday School teacher (we have so few youth that they are all combined into one class) and now he gets to plan one of the most spiritual and FUN events that the youth get to participate in next year. We are thrilled for this great opportunity and immense responsibility.

So, he was called on a wednesday and we were encouraged to attend a training seminar at Martin's Cove that weekend! So we packed our clothes and sleeping bags and headed off to Wyoming for our first real "trek" and camping trip with Hazel. Needless to say, it was an testimony-building experience. To walk where the Martin handcart company walked; where they lost so much and yet we were there to gain so much from that event. What a legacy of faith they have left for us!

Everyone kept asking us if Hazel was a "real baby." That totally confused me until someone told me that a lot of people will come to Martin's Cove and re-enact the trek with baby dolls, etc. That made more sense. Yes, she is real and she did great. David had her in our little "baby pack" on his chest the entire walk. I was the only one who really struggled because of the outhouses that lined the walk. Anyone who really knows me knows that I'd rather sprain my ankle than enter an outhouse. Seeing how that will be my only option then entire week at trek next summer, I'd better start praying now for a timely sprain, or some kind of plumbing miracle to occur at Martin's Cove providing flushing toilets by August!

We had an amazing trip and recommend it to everyone.

We walked most of the way with the Phillips from our stake (here's a great shot from the back!)