The Swarrell Life

So, our little Trinity is getting awfully close to walking. In fact, as of tonight she took a couple more steps without assistance. Her favorite move right now is a step and then a lunge towards whatever (or whoever) she is going towards. It's a little dangerous, but I guess that why their bones aren't brittle yet, right? In honor of Trinity's impending bipedal adventure, we took a few videos that show the evolution of her modes of transportation. I didn't use any videos that happened before the crawling phase because it simply wasn't that effective. So we start with crawling: Our next evolutionary turn was the two-handed walk. If this is any sign of what is to come, then we're in trouble. I say that because she leads with her belly. She leans WAY forward when walking with two hands' worth of assistance. Here's the view: Next is the one-handed walk. She can't lean forward as much with only one hand's worth of assistance, so I am hopeful that she...

This year we went to McCall, Idaho to spend Christmas with Autumn's brother Wade and his family. We did the same thing last year and had a great time! Wade's in-laws have a huge shindig every year together and it is a blast to just hang out for a few days. It was pretty cold while we were there, but it was warm by the fire! Here are a few pictures: The best way to meet people is from a friendly lap. Ah, my aunt Amy's will do! I get a great view and get to meet all the interesting people that come by. Oh my, this lady had to kill a black and white tiger to get pants! First real stocking for Trinity, where she once again proved that one-year-olds are more interested in the wrapping than what's inside. Trinity's first snowshoeing trip. Okay, she was in the backpack, but out into the white stuff we went. It was fun and she talked my ear off the whole time. Just like her mother, and I mean that in the best way! While she seemed to enjoy the ride, she also found it altog...

In a previous post, I mentioned that we had Trinity's picture taken with Santa. They took 1 shot. In the digital age where memory cards are a dime a dozen, they took 1 shot. Don't get me started on THAT. But I digress (as I usually do). Trinity was intrigued by the man with a mountain goat hide attached to his face. Why would a grown man do that? I guess I wouldn't smile either. I would be sitting on his lap, staring at the camera with my mouth wide open. Oh, look, my daughter is doing the same thing! See, she's astounded that a man would sit for hours voluntarily wearing animal hair on his face. She confided later that, even though she was calm, the whole episode unnerved her a little. We talked about it later and she is starting to understand the whole "Santa" thing, but still insists that the best part of opening presents is eating the wrapping paper. My wife works at the local hospital and they bring Santa every year for employees and their families. We de...

I get bored pretty easy. I get tired of the same old thing. But I discovered something. I don't get tired of my wife or daughter. Do they get on my nerves sometimes? Sure, but I never get tired of them. We went to Boise last week (or was it the week before?) for follow-up appointments for Trinity. We were there for two days because Trinity was scheduled for a follow-up MRI and they won't see her at the neurologist's office the same day as the MRI. I can see why; she has to be put to sleep for the MRI because it takes over 45 minutes and she has to stay still. Trinity can't stay still for 45 seconds, much less 45 minutes! Here are some photos from the trip: Here's Miss Smiley-Bug waiting for her turn in the MRI machine. She was having fun crawling around and trying to pull on as many dangling cords as possible. She's so much fun to be around. She barely even cried when they put the IV in her arm. She did fight a little, just because she doesn't like being hel...

Autumn has been having a heart flutter lately, so she went to the doctor to see what was the matter. The results gave me a heart flutter: another baby on the way! It's likely only a few weeks into the pregnancy at this point, so we would appreciate your prayers, since about 1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage before the 12th week. Our first inclination is to wait until 12 weeks to tell anyone about it, in case something goes wrong. But after all the support and prayers we received during Trinity's illness, we decided that openness is the best policy. We welcome you on this new journey with us!

'Tis the season to be jolly, although there is a song that someone wrote that says something about a time to cry. It was almost that time, except that I am waaaaay too manly to cry, except at weddings. And that part in the movie "Top Gun" where Goose dies. That gets me every time. But alas, I digress again. Back to the business at hand: celebrations! I know that there hasn't been a ton of writing lately, and I apologize for that. But here are some pictures to let you know what has been happening lately: Here is a celebration (sad) moment: the last bag of breast milk. Congratulations Autumn, we had enough in the freezer to last three months after you stopped breast feeding...wow! Here is Trinity enjoying her last "home-cooked" bottle. It's also a darn cute picture. The kid just kills me with that smile. If Trinity were a wild animal (and she may very well be), then this would be her intimidation move, sort of like a cobra when they puff out their hood. ...

Okay, so it's been about a year since I updated this blog. I would apologize, but I don't imagine anyone is reading anymore. My bad. But on we go with some pictures because it is already too late to be doing this. By the way, the date that the blog says I posted is wrong. I started this two days ago and it's been sitting here waiting patiently for me to get off my tush. As I was saying... Trinity likes to go through things. She wasn't too hot on the little tunnel that the Early Intervention lady brought, but the bench in this picture and our sofa table sure are her playground these days. These are a couple of pictures of Trinity in one of her new holiday dresses. Pretty cute huh? Just try and deny the cuteness! Here we are at the Bulldog football game, where Baker beat last year's 4A State champs! They had no idea what they were getting themselves into! Go Bulldogs! Trinity is in her fan attire, smiling 'cause her cousin is helping his team kick some butt! Here...

To start this post, we have an odd photo. It's a beet. A really big beet. It's almost as big as Trinity's head. I've never seen that before. I pulled it from the garden Saturday. Draw your own conclusions. So today was Trinity's birthday. That's right, it's been one whole year since this little baby came into the world. I always thought that 18 years is a long time to take care of a child (yes I know it often goes longer than that). But in light of the fact that today is my daughter's first birthday, I have to say that 18 years is going to FLY by. This last year has gone by so fast, it makes my head spin to think about it. Autumn spent a TON of time putting together a montage of photos of Trin's first year in a video presentation. There were a few technical difficulties that prevented us from showing it at the birthday party, but I sat with Autumn and watched it this evening. A few things came to me as I watched the last year in photos. The first t...

So there we were, just minding our own business. Then Trinity starts to stand! Okay, so that's not huge news, but she's getting tall! Her last checkup had her at 19lbs 4oz and 28 inches long! She can now stand and reach things that she couldn't a week ago. So it go me thinking about how you go about decorating a house when you have a toddler on the loose. I have a great idea that I'll give away for free: Nerf! It would be awesome to have flower arrangements and decorative bowls that were soft, yet attractive. I'll try and submit prototypes soon for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime, enjoy Trinity climbing on the furniture: Here we see the object of desire. Yes it's the lens cap, and yes, this whole scene was staged just for you. See what we go through for you? By the way, no animals were harmed in the shooting of these photos. Yeah, we're also amazed that she is now officially a monkey baby; climbing on EVERYTHING! I think she even amazes herself! Now T...