Mark & Buffy

Christmas

2012-01-26T10:29:00.005Z

We had a very fun Christmas. Here are some pictures from the big day.

Kathryn wasn't fooled. She wanted her treats from her stocking and she let Mark have the ones from his stocking ... until hers was gone and then she was willing to share what everyone else had!

Kathryn got her own laptop to use - anytime Mark or I are on the computer Kathryn wants to write letters or check her email. We thought this would keep her from interrupting us. It was a good idea anyway!

We also got her a little Kitchen, which she loves to play with. She makes such lovely meals for everyone.

We also have an updated family photo - though Kathryn didn't want it taken, so we'll have to try again another time when she is more cooperative!

Olivia!!!

2011-11-21T22:16:00.003Z

Only 14 days late and Olivia finally joined our family. This is a picture of me just before I went to the hospital. I still need to get an after shot, but that's not so important.

When Kathryn went to the hospital for the first time to see her new sister, we told her that Olivia had brought a special present just for Kathryn. We were worried that Kathryn might be jealous of her new sister.

We needn't have worried!

Kathryn is such a great big sister. She helps change nappies, gives lots of kisses and cuddles, lets us know when Olivia is crying, gives her the dummy, and once when I left the room, I came back to find this:

Kathryn reading a book to Olivia! It was the cutest thing!!!

Halloween

2011-11-21T22:14:00.002Z

We were going to all dress up as pumpkins, but as Olivia failed to arrive on time, we only had a pumpkin princess. She loved going trick-or-treating, until she ran into some people with masks. She was not a fan and she still jumps when the doorbell rings! Poor thing.

The Pumpkin House

2011-10-22T16:18:00.003+01:00

We went last year and Kathryn loved it, so we decided to take Nana and Grandad to it this year.

Here is the 'picture' made this year from the crop of pumpkins/squash. Every year the picture is different and unplanned as they don't know how much of what crop will grow (if that makes sense!).

There was a pretty big pumpkin that Kathryn really enjoyed looking at.

Of course after she saw all the pumpkins, she was more interested in the empty table where she could 'cook dinner' and the rocks on the ground!

Kathryn did grab the camera and took a photo of herself (this was the one that was most clear) and her nana - which I'm sure Nana doesn't want posted!

Brighton Sea Life

2011-10-22T16:14:00.002+01:00

On 17th October we went with Nana and Grandad to Brighton Sea Life Aquarium where Kathryn had a blast. It's been about a year since we've been there and Kathryn had so much fun.

Here is Kathryn and Daddy looking at the first tank of fish.

Kathryn was able to feed the sea turtles and she loved it!

After the Aquarium we walked along the seafront and I couldn't resist taking a photo or two of Kathryn and Daddy.

Kathryn's 2nd Birthday

2011-08-24T21:54:00.004+01:00

Can you believe that Kathryn is 2 years old?! She is growing up so fast. Here are some photos from her birthday.

As Kathryn loves to swim, we got her a new pool (last year's had several holes in it).

Nana and Grand-dad gave Kathryn a Colour Doodle - and she loves it.

She also got a a fun bubble set to play with.

Here's one of all her spoils!

And you can't forget about the birthday cake! Chocolate!!!

Brave Kathryn

2011-08-24T21:37:00.002+01:00

Kathryn loves all animals. I was able to get a video of her feeding the birds at the Wildfowl Trust. They are eating out of her hands!!!

Our Holiday

2011-08-02T19:25:00.008+01:00

We had a great time in California. Now it's the hard part of figuring out which pictures to post! Here is a family photo of us at the Sacramento Zoo:

Kathryn really enjoyed meeting all of her cousins, aunties and uncles, grandparents and great-grandmothers.

Here is one with us enjoying lunch with Great-Grandma Thomas:

Here is Kathryn with Grandma Thomas and Cousin Riley:

Here is her with JP and JR (or is that JR and JP? Haha, I'm just kidding - I can tell them apart):

And she loved helping Grandpa with anything he was doing:

She had fun at Disneyland:

Meeting Pluto:

And she had fun at SeaWorld:

And in Northern California meeting some more cousins:

Yes, that's Abby driving the Quad, pulling Kathryn along

Mark even got in on the fun in the quad

And there's fun playing at Auntie Bethany's family's house - watch for Liam's surprise to everyone!

I have lots more photos, but I figured this post is long enough as it is! Thanks for the great time everyone!!!

The Royal Wedding

2011-05-02T15:17:00.007+01:00

On 29th April 2011 Prince William married Catherine Middleton. The first time a 'commoner' married a royal in 350 years. It was a beautiful wedding and a very special day. Here are photos of Kathryn watching the wedding.

Kathryn with Prince William and Prince Harry

Kathryn with Prince Charles and Lady Camilla

Kathryn and Queen Elizabeth

Kathryn and Kate Middleton

Kathryn bored with the wedding

Wedding Vows

An interesting part

Yeah! They're married!

Kathryn with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

It is a day that we can look back on and remember. Well, Mark and I can...and Kathryn will have these photos to remind her that she was there!

Pancake Day - 8 March 2011

2011-05-02T15:07:00.003+01:00

Here are photos of Kathryn enjoying pancake day.

She wasn't too sure about it to begin with, but after her Daddy showed her how yummy pancakes are, she just kept going and going.

I think she'll enjoy this yearly event!

Scripture Stories

2011-03-09T17:39:00.004Z

Suzanne sent me a this photo of JR and JP reading scriptures.

I remember taking this one of Mark and Kathryn reading their scriptures.

It's good to get them started young on reading scriptures. Kathryn loves her Scripture Readers. We are currently reading the Old Testament and she is so good with finding stories. She can find the creation of the animals, Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve's family, Enoch, Noah, Jesus blessing Jacob/Israel, Baby Moses, Moses and the burning bush, 'Old' Moses (when he sees the Promised land before he dies), and Samuel. I love that she loves and knows the scriptures so well and she is only 18 months old!

New table and chair

2011-02-10T21:35:00.005Z

Well, Since we've moved house, Kathryn has had a little booster seat to eat her meals in.

We thought she was getting a bit too big for it as she could put her feet down and push herself over, so we managed to get a new table and chair/highchair for her. She loved 'helping' her Daddy put it together.

The finished product:

High Chair

High Seat

Table and chair

Family Photo

2011-02-10T21:32:00.002Z

It may only happen once a year, so here is our most recent Family photo:

Christmas!

2011-02-10T21:16:00.005Z

Christmas was fun in our house. We had our own place to decorate (and Nana's and Grandad's as they were in the States for Christmas and we used their house for Christmas Dinner) and Kathryn loves the lights and decorations.

But mainly the lights.

She loved opening presents - anyone's presents!

Her new winter coat

Here is her with Grandad and Baby Annabelle - her little baby who goes pretty much everywhere with her.

And of course Christmas isn't Christmas without family. We saw Lauryn and Ryan. You can see that Ryan and Kathryn had fun getting to know each other again.

Here is Christmas dinner with Sister Pilz and Sister Marchioni

Christmas was fun!

We have our computer back!!!

2011-02-09T13:56:00.003Z

After about 16 months of being computer-less, we finally got our computer fixed and we have our own computer now!!! So I can let everyone know what we've been up to!

Well, it was Kathryn's second halloween and she had a lot of fun. It was on a Sunday and so we didn't do any trick or treating, so she didn't get any candy this year, but we did carve a pumpkin!

She was dressed as an angel (we thought we could dress her up in that dress again for Christmas, but she grew too fast!!) and she looked so beautiful.

We even discovered a 'pumpkin house' - in a local village there is a gentleman who grows lots of pumpkins and each year makes a picture with the pumpkins. It was quite interesting and Kathryn enjoyed it.

We've Moved!

2010-10-03T12:13:00.004+01:00

We are now in a house of our own!!!! And Kathryn has her own room, which you can tell she loves as she is now sleeping through the night (most nights!). And the day after we moved in, she started walking! Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures, so I can't show you any. Here is one of Kathryn playing in the cupboards in the living room. She loves hiding in a place just her size!!!

Unfortunately as our computer broke (almost a year ago

now!), and we are no longer with Mark's parents, I don't know when I can post more blogs, so don't worry if you don't hear from us for a while (not that I regularly kept this updated!).

Apple Butter

2010-10-03T11:58:00.005+01:00

Mark's parents have an apple tree in the back yard. To be more specific it is a cooking apple tree, so they cannot just be picked and eaten right away. So I decided that as there were so many apples, I was going to make apple butter. Here's how I did it:

14 apples

4 cups apple juice

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups sugar

First I washed the apples

Then I cored and quartered them

Then I put the apple juice in with the apples and then brought the mixture to a boil and then let it simmer for 30 minutes (stir occasionally to prevent sticking).

Next I put the mixture through a sieve

and then added the sugar and spices

Then I brought the mixture to a boil and then reduced the heat. I left it uncovered and cooked it over a very low heat for about 2 hours.

Then I put the mixture in any jars I had available. See? So easy. I do have to thank Mark and his Mum for watching Kathryn while I did this...I wouldn't have been able to do it otherwise!

We did have some more apples so I made some apple and walnut muffins - with Joel gone, we can have nuts in the food again!!!

Kathryn's 1st Birthday

2010-08-25T20:14:00.004+01:00

Kathryn had a very exciting day on the 24th August. It was her first birthday...ever!!! What a milestone. Okay, so she didn't sleep too well the night before (maybe she was just really excited) and so she had to have two naps on her big day, but she still had a lot of fun. We went to a Garden Centre and saw some animals. She loves animals!

Thank you everyone for all your birthday wishes and presents!

She spent all day opening presents...they just kept coming (one even came after she went to bed for the night!) Man is she spoiled or what?! I think she is set for clothes for the next 6 months (assuming all the 12-18 month clothes last until she is 18 months old!!!!). And she is going to be the best dressed girl in town.

Of course we did have the traditional birthday cake that Kathryn got to have alone. It wasn't a barbie cake like my mom makes (maybe next year), but she enjoyed it so much she had it again the next night.

Sadly it is all gone now.

Though as Kathryn had her own cake, we had to have a cake to help her celebrate...

and there's some of that left ... and it's calling my name!!!

Computers are fun!

2010-08-18T20:48:00.005+01:00

Kathryn loves going on the computer and seeing herself (and her Uncle Joel) on the desktop. But one thing that has been really entertaining is a photo booth application on this computer. Here are some fun shots of her:

Here are some using some great effects:

She really didn't like the x-ray effect

But would have happily stayed watching the fish for a while longer.

Here's hoping you've enjoyed these as much as I have!

Second Coming Talk

2010-08-10T10:00:00.003+01:00

I was asked to give a talk on Sunday about how we can be ready when the Saviour comes - having oil in our lamps. I just thought I would share it. If nothing more to save it somewhere in case I want to refer to it again sometime!!! Hope you enjoy it.

“As Jesus Christ ascended into heaven at the completion of His mortal ministry, two angels declared to His Apostles, ‘This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). Since that time, believers have looked forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.” (www.lds.org - Second Coming of Jesus Christ)

When is the Second Coming?

Though no one knows the exact date of Christ’s return, we have been given many scriptures of when that exciting day will be:

2 Peter 3:10 - The Lord will come as a thief in the night
Revelations 3:11 - I come quickly
D&C 34:7 - the time is soon at hand that I shall come
D&C 36:8 - I will suddenly come to my temple
D&C 64:23 - It is called today until the coming of the Son of Man

So, taking into account that last scripture - Today is Sunday, tomorrow is Monday, Monday is not today so therefore the Saviour will come on Monday!!! Knowing this bit of information, are you prepared to greet the Saviour tomorrow?

When Jesus was still on the earth his disciples asked him about the signs of the Second Coming. After telling them about many of the signs, He also gave them advice about how they could prepare for it. During his explanation he told the parable of the 10 virgins: Matthew 25:1–13

1 ^aThen shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten ^bvirgins, which took their ^clamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all ^aslumbered and ^bslept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the ^abridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their ^alamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps ^aare gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ^aready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was ^bshut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I ^aknow you not.

13 ^aWatch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

What does this tell us about being ready for the Saviour’s return? Well, all 10 virgins were invited to the wedding. They accepted the invitation and were physically gathered for the coming of the bridegroom. They all had their lamps trimmed, lit and ready to greet him on his arrival. But his arrival took longer than anticipated. In fact it said that they fell asleep prior to his arrival!

Who here has ever been to a wedding that started late? (Has anyone ever been to one that started on time?!!!). Have you ever been to one that was so late in starting that you fell asleep prior to one member of the wedding party arriving? My brother in law was 2 hours late for his wedding and I thought that was bad! Anyway I’m veering off topic.

So, the virgins fell asleep waiting for the bridegroom to come and when they heard him coming they woke up and trimmed their lamps. Those who were prepared put their spare oil in their lamps and were ready for the bridegroom and those who didn’t have the necessary supply of oil had to go out and buy it and therefore missed the wonderful event as they were not let into the house after they had filled their lamps.

What does this parable have to do with us? Let me point out that this isn’t about believers and non-believers or members of the church and non-members. All 10 virgins were invited to the wedding and accepted the invitation – they had all heard the gospel and were baptized. They all did much of what they were asked to do. They all had lamps that were full of oil. There were 5 of them however, who were labeled ‘wise’. They had not only lamps full of oil, but vessels as well. They had a reserve. These were the people who not only accepted a calling, but magnified it. These were people who sustained their Bishops in not only the policies they agreed with, but the policies they found hard to accept. These were the people who accepted callings and assignments even though they didn’t quite feel capable of them.

In the Joseph Smith Translation of the parable, after the foolish virgins returned from buying oil and knocked on the bridegroom’s door, instead of saying ‘I know you not’ it is translated as “Ye know me not”. This places the responsibility for being prepared in our own shoes. If we are not doing all we can, serving our fellow neighbours, magnifying our callings, keeping all the commandments, then how are we going to know the Saviour when he comes? If we don’t know Him, how can we say we will be ready for His coming?

We need to be as those wise virgins and have our own lamps and vessels full of ‘oil’ so we can be ready when the Saviour comes again.

Why we need our own oil

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “The ten virgins belonged to the kingdom and had every right to the blessings—except that five were not valiant and were not ready when the great day came. They were unprepared through not living all the commandments. They were bitterly disappointed at being shut out from the marriage—as likewise their modern counterparts [members today who are not prepared] will be.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p8)

We each have a responsibility for filling our own lamps and vessels. “The oil of spiritual preparedness cannot be shared.”

Elder Marvin J Ashton said it well when he said, “How can one share the blessings that come through visiting the sick? How can one share in the blessings that come from assisting the widow or the fatherless? How can one share a personal testimony? How can one share the blessings of conference attendance? How can one share the lesson of obedience learned in living the principle of tithing? Certainly each much accumulate this kind of oil for himself.” (A Time of Urgency, Ensign May 1974)

What is the oil that we need?

Rose has just told you about some different types of things that you can do to earn your spiritual oil and fill your lamps and vessels.

(If not some examples are: Keeping the commandments, reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, going to the temple, fasting, family prayer, obedience, paying tithing, keeping pure thoughts, doing your church callings, magnifying your church callings, sharing your testimony, attending all church meetings)

By doing all the things she mentioned you can be ready for the Second Coming.

It is not enough for us to fill our lamps one time. We cannot say, “I did X amount of work in such-a-such calling and now my lamp is full and I do not have to accept a calling I do not want.” Or “I faithfully did my home or visiting teaching for X years and now I am done.” There is no retirement in the church!!!

How many of us have made a 72 hour pack and then left it for a few years thinking it would still be there and ready when an emergency occurred. Did you then go back to it and find that the clothes you put in it don’t fit anymore? The food was out of date? Whether we like it or not we are constantly changing...unfortunately sometimes we grow physically rather than spiritually!

So how can we keep oil in our lamps?

Each of us is always using the spiritual oil in our lamps whether we realise it or not. Trials and challenges attack us on a daily basis and so our oil is depleting constantly. If we are not consistently filling it up again as well as creating a reserve for ourselves, then when a spiritual emergency comes along - or better yet when the Saviour comes again - we will find we just don’t have enough of what it takes.

President Kimball taught, “In our lives the oil of preparedness is accumulated drop by drop in righteous living. Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, … control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions, marriage in the covenant for eternity—these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.” (Faith Precedes the Miracle p256)

In order to procure the spiritual oil necessary to prepare us for eternity, we need to set our lives in order. “This means a searching of our souls, an admittance of wrongdoing, and repentance where needed. It means keeping all of God’s commandments. It means loving our neighbor. It means living an exemplary life. It means being good husbands and wives. It means teaching and training our children in the ways of righteousness. It means being honest in all our doings, in business and at home. It means spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the peoples of the world.” (To Make a People Prepared for the Second Coming, Elder Delbert L Stapley, Ensign Nov. 1975)

Referring again to the scriptures I read at the start of my talk, D&C 36:8 states that the Lord “will suddenly come to (His) temple.” This states exactly where the Saviour will come (when he comes tomorrow!). We need to do our best to be there as often as we can so that when he does arrive, we can know that we are ready and worthy to be there with him.

For those who have temple recommends, you know we are asked the worthiness questions every 2 years when we renew our recommend. Would we take more thought to our worthiness or spiritual preparedness if we, like the youth, are asked those thought provoking questions every time we went to the temple?

Elder Lynn G Robbins of the seventy said, “In Biblical times constant effort was needed to ensure that an adequate amount of oil was maintained in lamps. In our day we must exert constant effort to remain temple worthy. In the parable the virgins were not able to enter the door without oil. In our day neither can we enter the door of the temple without a recommend.” (Oil in Our Lamps, Elder Lynn G Robbins, Ensign June 2007)

Keeping all this in mind, how can we be ready when the Saviour comes? D&C 33:17-18 says it perfectly - - “Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom - For behold verily, verily I say until you, that I come quickly. Even so. Amen.”

I testify to you that if you do these things, you will be ready for the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour. And I say these things in His name. Amen.

The Footnotes didn't transfer over so hopefully I gave recognition to all the quotes I used!!!

Our Adventure with Flat Cindy

2010-07-26T10:52:00.004+01:00

The day Flat Cindy arrived we went up to the temple so she could see the London Temple. It's about a 45 minute drive, so we don't go up there very often with Kathryn (I think this may have been her first trip as well). Anyway, we got to the temple and I looked for Flat Cindy, but she wasn't in the car!!! It turns out she was waiting patiently at home with the camera on the counter!!!! Shame on you Flat Cindy - no companion with you!!!

The next day was a Stake Picnic, so we all went and had a nice time. Kathryn took very good care of being Flat Cindy's Companion.

On Sunday we went to church where Flat Cindy was there to watch me being released from my Primary calling and be sustained as the Ward Compassionate Service Leader. It's a big calling in this ward (lots of elderly people who don't drive) and a calling I'm not too sure about what to do. So it will be interesting to learn about everyone.

On Monday we went into town - on the seafront there was a carnival set up, so we had to take pictures there!

Tuesday Flat Cindy went with us to Myrtle Campbell's house.

She is a sister who is going on a mission in September and we are going to 'rent' her house while she is away (she's going quite far...the London Temple Mission). On the way to her house Cindy and Kathryn fell asleep, so I had to take a picture!!!

On Thursday Mark's parents got new couches so we all had fun playing in the big boxes (by 'we', I mean I had fun and dragged Cindy and Kathryn along with me!).

We did a bit of shopping and Kathryn and Cindy played in one of the musical toy cars outside of the shop.

We also went to the seafront where Kathryn and I put our feet in the water. Kathryn wasn't too sure about it at first but then she loved it! I'm going to have to start taking her swimming or something.

Mark took this last photo to prove that there are sandy beaches over here!!!

4th of July

2010-07-07T20:51:00.006+01:00

Happy 4th of July!!!! We had a BBQ on the 3rd and had a few friends over:

It was a really nice evening and Kathryn loved having all the attention. I was sharing my food with her (or really her food with me) and then Kathryn decided she could pick up and eat a hamburger herself!!! It was the cutest thing ever!!!

And yes, I did make my traditional US Flag Cake. There's less and less that survives each year. I don't know if that's a good thing or not...it means that I don't get as much later on!

We had a fun evening and must have worn Kathryn out because she went straight to sleep as soon as she was put in her bed!!! I really need to have more of these evenings - or I would do if it didn't wear me out as well!

Catch up

2010-07-07T11:43:00.010+01:00

I can't believe it is July already! And I didn't post any pictures in June...shame on me. How are you supposed to see how much Kathryn is growing if you can't see pictures!?!

Kathryn loves sharing I caught her and her Daddy sharing chocolate (don't ask how I could tell Kathryn had some):

I had to run and get the camera. Kathryn decided she wanted to see what pictures I had taken so she worked her way over to me.

We went to Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Kathryn will sit in our backyard and watch for birds for 3-5 minutes at a time -- sitting quietly on my lap and staring at the sky, watching for any bird. Often she will see them before I do. She is quite a tracker!!!

So we went to where there were a lot of birds and she had a wonderful time!!!

Although we did lose Flipper. Now for those who don't know Flipper - he is a gift that was given to us by someone in the Relief Society when Kathryn was born (we were given a basket of goodies from RS), and Kathryn LOVES him. This is what he looks like (Kathryn is 5 months old in this photo!):

She was very distraught when we couldn't find him. I phoned the WWT the day after our visit and he was in the Lost and Found, so disaster averted!!

Kathryn is a big reader now.

Well, she loves to have stories read to her. And any book is fair game. She will find a book and bring it to her victim - I mean who ever she wants to read to her - and she will turn the pages of the book. It is so cute!!!

Well, Kathryn has woken from her nap, so I'll end there.

Amberly Working Museum

2010-05-24T11:13:00.010+01:00

Last Thursday (20 May) we took a trip to the Amberly Working Museum. We almost went with Buffy's parents when they were over here but we never got around to it. This is a place we will visit again the next time anyone visits us from the States. It was so interesting. The first place we went into was an old time printing press.
We have a friend from church who volunteers there and guess who we saw when we went in? That's right John Wallis. And here I thought he only worked there on alternate Tuesdays! We had a nice chat with him and then went on our way.
We went into the audio/visual building next and saw old radios and TVs. It looked like how I picture Radioshack would have looked like back in the day (had it existed of course).
We then saw woodworkers next and in one of the sheds where they were making brooms, we saw this sign:
We almost bought a broom, but didn't want to carry it around all day so we didn't. . . We can take orders for next time though!!! We went into where they had some old tools and saw this sewing machine. It made me think of the one that we had in our house when we were growing up...We thought Mom might enjoy seeing it.

After that we went on a train to the other end of the Museum.

Kathryn wasn't too sure about it to start off with, but Daddy was holding her tight and so she was fine to look around.

Our last photo is of Kathryn talking on the phone. It was just too cute!!!

We all had a great time and would be happy to visit it again.

Bignor Roman Villa

2010-05-20T20:15:00.003+01:00

Last week we went to Bignor Roman Villa. It was about a 25 minute drive and Kathryn did really well. That's no surprise though as Kathryn loves driving (hates the traffic, though!) and usually does well in the car. It was really interesting walking around the villa. I love how they had underfloor heating way back in the day. When we're rich that's what I'm having!!!

Little Vampire

2010-05-18T11:59:00.002+01:00

Okay, I really meant to post this picture when we took it (as she now has a few more teeth), but for a while, this is what Kathryn looked like with her top teeth...is it a wonder why I called her my little Vampire? I think she gets it from her father's side of the family!!!!

Brighton Sea Life

2010-05-17T21:33:00.007+01:00

While Mark is looking for a job and we are all home together we have been trying to find different things to do together to get us out of the house. Mainly we have been taking walks on the seafront, walking around town or visiting garden centres. We had a buy one get one free entry ticket to the Sea Life Aquarium in Brighton so we decided we would have a look around and thought that Kathryn would enjoy it as she likes looking at the animals in the Garden Centres. As we went into the Aquarium Kathryn seemed interested until we put her closer to the glass ...
She was fine until the fish came up to the glass. Then her legs went straight and she would not get any closer to the glass...
Once she figured out that the fish could not swim through the glass she was much better and enjoyed touching the glass. All the animals seemed to like her as when she would get near the glass they would swim up to her! Even the big sea turtles in the big aquarium came up to get air near Kathryn (and ignored the people on the 'glass bottom boat')!

Okay, so the turtles are swimming away from Kathryn in this photo, but the other one that shows her surrounded by turtles isn't very flattering to Mark (as if Mark couldn't be flattering...he's so hott!)
As you can tell Kathryn is having a blast! I had fun too as it was a fun day out.

Easter

2010-04-11T21:10:00.006+01:00

Isn't Easter so much fun? Well, I think it is. Kathryn didn't quite understand all the fuss, but I'm sure that will change next year when she knows a bit more what chocolate is!!!! Here are some photos of the Egg Hunt
And here are her spoils (and then some!):

Another Haircut

2010-04-11T21:05:00.005+01:00

Okay, so this one was really a haircut as we chopped a lot off!!! Here is Kathryn's before shot:

And Her after shot:

At least she looks happy. This means that all of the beautiful dark hair she was born with is now gone. But I don't have to worry about her hair getting in her face anymore. And in this picture you can see her two teeth!!!

First Haircut and 2 teeth

2010-03-26T10:35:00.005Z

Kathryn's hair was driving her mummy crazy as it was always in her eyes. So She has now had a haircut. Here is her before photo (the one we've done for her passport...yes we are in the process of getting her a passport!):
And here is the one after we cut it. As it is still growing out, I wasn't sure where her part is going to end up, so right now it is a side part:
And on the 6th March Kathryn's first tooth came through. She now has two teeth!
She's growing up so fast!!!!

Uncle Joel's Gone!!!

2010-03-11T17:40:00.005Z

On 19th February Joel entered the MTC. He is now a missionary serving in the Mighty SEM (Scotland Edinburgh Mission), the best mission in the world . . . but we're not biased at all! So we all took a trip up to Preston to see him off at the MTC.

Somehow, I think Kathryn really understood what was going on because she kept going back to Joel for more good-bye kisses.
With other news, our computer is again not working (hence the lack of posts) and we are not happy!
Kathryn has now learned to scream whenever she doesn't get her way or when she's not doing what she wants to do... all fun things to deal with. She also wants to eat whatever anyone is eating...especially chocolate. Though she won't share that. Otherwise she is really good with sharing everything.

Weaning

2010-01-27T19:40:00.004Z

Kathryn is now 5 months old and is very interested in watching everything that goes into her mummy's mouth. She has also started reaching for cups/glasses that have any liquid in them. So, she now has her own sippy cup and we have started weaning her. Here's a picture of her eating for the first time.

The first day she was very interested in feeding herself. We had an extra spoon for her to hold on to and play with, but she's no dummy, she knew which spoon had food on it!!!

The Dancing Critic

2009-12-23T12:30:00.003Z

So as we were watching Strictly Come Dancing (England's version of Dancing with the Stars), Kathryn just kept talking when the couples would come on and dance. We have a feeling that she is going to be a dancing critic...

...But who can blame her? Check out these dance moves!

And Here's where she says why she's better:

No Computer, No fun

2009-12-23T12:05:00.012Z

Okay, so we haven't posted in a while as we haven't had our own computer...it is out of action still!!! That's two months now! Hopefully it will be fixed shortly. Two months in the life of a baby is quite a long time...

Just before thanksgiving we noticed two white things on Kathryn's bottom gums...and she started crying a lot and drooling a lot, and started putting everything she can into her mouth. Luckily they still haven't pocked their way through yet, but they are getting close.
She has also had her first Thanksgiving! Unfortunately I was so busy preparing everything, that I didn't realise I hadn't taken a picture of it until it was almost cleaned up...good thing for leftovers!!!
And we have found out she loves watching sports like her daddy...football is her favourite. She will quite happily sit beside daddy and watch it with him.
We've also started putting her in the bathtub as she was not enjoying bathing at the sink. She loves splashing around!!!On her daddy's birthday Kathryn got to open a present as well. She is so eager to stand on her own that she had to have this toy...and she couldn't wait until Christmas! The first time she was in it she moved herself from the piano to the microphone and started singing...she's not even 4 months old yet! How clever is she?!

And last but not least, the day of Daddy's birthday she saw her first snowfall...and she was so fascinated by it.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-09T20:10:00.006Z

It was Kathryn's first halloween and this year the ward decided to throw a halloween party! We thought there would be some really cute costumes for Kathryn to wear so were quite excited to go shopping. We went at the beginning of October and she was well on her way of growing out of the 0-3 month age group clothing, so we had to find something in the 3-6 month size. Well, this is the outfit that we thought would work the best. Doesn't she look adorable?

Last week (she was 10 weeks old) I took her to get weighed and she is now 14 pounds 5 ounces and 61cm. She has grown 1cm a week since she was born! Everyone she meets (or who sees her) comments on her hair and how beautiful she is, but hey, look at who her parents are!

Who does Kathryn look like?

2009-10-27T21:02:00.002Z

We are trying to figure out who Kathryn looks like most:
Here's the most recent picture of Kathryn:Here is Buffy as a baby:
And Here is Mark as a baby:

Another New Outfit

2009-10-27T11:51:00.007Z

Kathryn is going to be the best dressed girl ever! We recently recieved a package from Uncle Tim and Auntie Tara with this cute outfit in:

As you can see she loves it!!! I just want to mention that it is an outfit for 3-6 month olds and she was only a day shy of being 2 months old in the picture!!!

Great Grandma Baynes

2009-10-27T11:42:00.006Z

Great-Grandma Baynes (Granny) came down for a visit to see us. Well, it was really to meet Kathryn. And as you can see they were both over the moon to meet each other.

Unfortunately it wasn't Kathryn's best week as we found out she has Colic! No fair. She tries so hard to be a happy girl, but just can't handle the pain she is in. She does try though - between bouts of pain she smiles away. She is such a beautiful girl!

Here is one of her and Uncle Joel watching TV.

She recently was in the room when Kung-fu Panda was on...well, I was changing her nappy and during the fighting scenes she was kicking her legs like crazy! Maybe she wants to learn Kung-fu (or maybe she enjoyed not having a nappy on!).

The Gospel Truth!

2009-10-21T19:51:00.005+01:00

Kathryn has found her voice, and boy does she love to use it. Too bad we can't understand her!!! I wonder what she would tell us if we could. I never realised how much babies watch your mouth to learn how to form the words. We will be sitting talking to her and I realise that she is looking at my mouth and not my eyes! Plus she is learning to copy the pitch of our voices as well. A few times when Mark has had to run off to meetings (or out of the room), he looks at Kathryn and says, "love you", and she will copy the pitch with her ga-gas and/or a-gous!
Here is one of her talking to me...until she realises that there is a camera on her (she has always been shy with pictures).

Here's one of her talking to her Daddy:

Our Li'l Smiler

2009-10-07T22:12:00.007+01:00

The smile that has everyone hypnotised.

Kathryn with Daddy under her spell.

Kathryn just after a bath with curly hair!

Kathryn is now 6 weeks old! My how the time flies by. She started smiling at just under 4 weeks (the real smiles, not the windy ones) and has everyone under her spell. We went to her 6 week doctor's appointment and were told that she is doing very well and is a strong, healthy baby. The next day we went and had her weighed and measured. She is now 12 pounds 7 ounces and already growing out of the 0-3month sized clothes.

Sewing

2009-10-03T13:51:00.008+01:00

My mom is so good with the sewing machine. She made some of our clothes growing up and even the bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding (and there were a lot of bridesmaids!!). Anyway whenever some one has a baby she makes some beautiful receiving blankets and matching burping cloths. So while she was over here visiting Kathryn (and Mark and I), I had her show me how to make them. This is my attempt. I made a blanket, 4 burp clothes and a wash cloth. Not exactly in baby material, but at least it's girly!

Family Photo

2009-09-29T11:20:00.006+01:00

Neither Mark nor I are very photogenic people, but with our beautiful new addition to the family we thought it would be nice to have an updated family photo (our last one was from 2 1/2 years ago!). What a good looking family we are (and humble too!)!!!

Buffy's Parents

2009-09-11T18:15:00.007+01:00

Buffy's Mom and Dad have been visiting with us for a few weeks, getting to know the baby and, if there is any time left, talking to us a little bit.

Here in they are with a very pregnant Buffy during their tour of Arundel Castle in Sussex. It was a really enjoyable day and we can heartily recommend it as a tourist destination or a family day out. Once upon a time someone told us that it is a nice enough castle but not worth the entrance fee and so, even though it's less than 10 miles from our door, we have never visited in the five years we have lived here. We loved it and would go again. The pictures are both in the gardens of the castle and show one of the churches that backs onto the grounds.

We will get some more baby pictures up soon but until then...

Our New Baby / Our New Blog

2009-09-06T21:00:00.007+01:00

As our family has grown by 50% in the last two weeks, we thought we would start a blog to keep everyone in the loop with what is happening with the Baynes Family. I have no idea whether we will be good bloggers or whether this will end up being the first and last entry we ever post.

As you can see we have been blessed with a beautiful daughter. Kathryn Baynes was born at 5.09pm on 24th August at Worthing Hospital, she weighed in at 9lbs 5oz and was 21.5" tall. This picture was taken on the Ward the morning after and she is just sleeping on her mummy - isn't she a natural?

Currently Kathryn is being doted on by her four grandparents and always has her choice of warm body to sleep on. She is really well behaved and overall Buffy and I have been surprised at the amount of sleep we have been getting - who knew that four hours a night would seem so wonderful?