Daddy and Me...

Sofia, I hope that one day you will look at these pictures and have some understanding of how much your Dad adores you.

These were from July when my brother Dave, his wife Krystal and thier kids came down for the weekend to Utah. It was fun to see all the kids together and we had a great time on Temple Square and up at the Hansen's house.

We went out to watch the annual 4th of July parade that conveniently goes right in front of our apartments. Sofia roasted (poor kid!) as it was sooo hot even at 10AM. She was a good sport though and donned her patriotic Red, White and Blue respectively.

Baby in the Balloons

Aunt Liane took these at my Birthday BBQ this summer. I just loved the way they turned out. Thanks Aunt Liane!

England and Scotland

These two were bonus places to visit on our way back. Since we traveled on skymiles, we had the option of one layover on the way home. When I got Dad's (Gpa Pederson) choice of England secured for a few days his next request was, "Now let's see how much it would be to go to Ireland or Scotland." Well Scotland was half the price during the timeframe we wanted so to Scotland it was. We had a great tim visiting the castles and I had fun learning to drive on the wrong side of the road. I had a few mishaps along the way and I could see Grandpa's white knuckles from my rear view mirror, but I was able to cross another thing off my wishlist! We were able to stay at the temple in London and save quite a few pounds that way. The temple grounds were beautiful and Artyom had his first experience on a double decker bus while we took a tour of the city.

Antalya, Turkey

Next we went to Turkey for 5 days. It was actually for work, but it we managed to get some fun in there as well. We literally went from snow and cold, hovering at about 40 degrees to sun, warmth and 80 degrees. It was crazy.
Sofia had her first dip in the very chilly Meditteranean and did not like it one bit. She also had some great one-on-one time with Grandpa Pederson while Artyom and I were earning a living. Which, I heard was an experience in itself. The employees at the all inclusive hotel we stayed adored Sofia and every time we entered a room you would hear at least 3-5 of the employees almost "singing" her name, "So-fia!" "So-fia!" she was definitely a hit.

Trip to the Motherland

So I found this memory card the other day and went to get a CD because I could not remember what was on it. Well over 550 pictures later, I discovered it was our whirlwind 3 week trip to Russia, Turkey, England and Scotland with Grandpa Pederson. So here are a few from that trip. There are from Russia with Artyom's parents and his sister and her family. Artyom's Dad RARELY put Sofia down. He fell in love with her the second he held her. Notice how many layers of clothes she is wearing. It was so cold and snowing in MAY!

Love at first... "sight"

This was the first time that Artyom's Dad got to "see" Sofia. I say "see" because his Dad is legally blind but that did not stop him from saying how beautiful she was. Sofia had been crying up until we walked in the door and he demanded to see her. She literally stopped crying and just stared up at her Grandpa Martushev. It was a pretty special moment.

BATH TIME!

Artyom made me promise I would not show any "skin" in her pictures. She loves this towel and I had to act quick to get a few fresh from the bath. I love the way babies smell right out of the bath with some lotion and powder on. So CLEAN and FRESH! Too bad it does not last too long...

Happy Halloween!

Check out our little Chinese Family! I could not believe I got Artyom to dress up this year...It had to be the sword he got to carry.

Sofia had so much fun trick or treating- Artyom kept on saying "Trikle treat." It was a first for both of them. It took Sofia a minute to get used to all the costumes, but she got the candy part! Now the only question is...what can I con Artyom into being next year?!

Grandpa Demars Cabin

We finally made it!! I have been bugging Artyom to get to go up to Grandpa's Cabin and we finally made it up for a night. It was so nice. Paul and Liane joined us and we just visited and kept plenty of logs on the fire. Liane took some cute family pics of us the morning we left.

Brit's wedding

An old roommate of mine got married and asked if I would take some pic of her reception. I took a few cute ones of Sofia and Artyom and that is why I included. She had the most beautiful flowers- all fall colors. It was a long day for Sofia, but she did great. Notice the dress and hat outfit? Artyom kept on calling her his "little Nostradamis". I thought she looked adorable.

The pic with the statue made Artyom and I laugh the whole way home. She would run around and always come back to that same statue, stand in front of it hit it and just say "HI!" over and over again...much to her disappointment he never did answer her back.

The Pumpkin Patch

Since Sofia was only a few weeks old last Halloween, this has been a fun one for her. We went to a Pumpkin Patch and got a few pictures of her there. Unfortunately, the sun kept on getting in her eyes (which she was not happy about) and we had to leave soon after.



Then we went to Gardner Village where they had witches everywhere and the best fudge you could ever eat. She was not sure about all the witches and scary Halloween things, but she was a trooper and had a good time I think.

Sofia's turns 1

Since Sofia is born in the month of October I have become obsessed with everything Fall. I was not all that into it before, but the month that your kids are born (moms out there, you can agree with me) you seem to focus alot more on that month.

So here are a few from her First Birthday. I though she would go head first into the cake my Aunt made for her, but she was very ladylike and only daintily (sp?) ate at it. Still cute though. I cant belive I had a first birthday party for MY child. It was so special. Thank you to all the family that helped make it a wonderful day.

I had to show this one with our Sofia and her FANGS! I seriously don't know why these decided to grow in first, but I did get one good pic that showed them in their full beauty. What a cutie..fangs or no fangs.