Still Pictures Can't Do This Justice

Syrah really found what I was doing funny. This is the first time that she has laughed out loud in response to something other than being tickled. It was so cute that I had to record it for all of you. * Pause web-music before playing video. Go to very bottom of the blog, find music player and click on pause. Now enjoy!

Happy Birthday

Syrah is 6 months today! I can't believe how much she has grown. Before we know it, we will be celebrating her 1st birthday!

* Pause web-music before playing video. Go to very bottom of the blog, find music player and click on pause. Now enjoy!

Bounce Bounce

The video says everything. Enjoy! * Pause web-music before playing video. Go to very bottom of the blog, find music player and click on pause. Now enjoy!

The not so hidden Easter egg hunt!

This was Syrah's first Easter and boy did she like her basket! After letting her play, we did the 1st ever, Wood family tradition ... The Not So Hidden Easter Egg Hunt! She had a lot of fun. See for yourself. * Pause web-music before playing video. Go to very bottom of the blog, find music player and click on pause. Now enjoy!

Syrah Cotton-tail (well, sort of. We call her bunny butt when she wears these PJs).

Baby Blessing

On March 29th, Syrah had her baby blessing. It was very beautiful. We had many Church members come up to Tony and thank him for his blessing; saying that it was very moving and thoughtful. By far, that day was the strongest we have felt the Spirit since getting married. Below is her blessing:

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you with the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold, to present you with this child, to give her a name and blessing. The name which she shall be known upon this earth and upon the records of the church is Syrah Jolene Wood.

Syrah, at this time, we bless you so that you will have a great life upon this earth. That you shall walk upon it with the strength and conviction that Heavenly Father has for you. That you may do so with the spirit that radiates from you, so that everyone that comes is contact with you will feel it.

We bless you with health, and beauty, both inside and outside. We also bless you with the ability to find a husband that is worth of you; so that you can love and cherish that moment with him, and the life that you have together. We bless you with the will and strength to uphold the principles of the gospel and to strive for a temple marriage.

We also pray and bless you that you will have the gift of foresight so that everything that you do before you do it, you know exactly what the choices will be and that you will be happy with the very choices that you make. We bless you with a strong mind and strong spirit. These things we say in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

For those who do not know about our LDS traditions: The ward Bishop invited Tony and those involved to the front of the congregation. All those involved hold the authority through the Priesthood. With Syrah in Tony's arms, the men stood in a circle around her. While Tony named and blessed her, the congregation silently prayed with him. His blessing to Syrah was as the Holy Ghost inspired him.

Most babies are blessed within the first few weeks of being born and blessed on the 1st Sunday of the month. We did not bless Syrah at that time because we were waiting to see if Derek could make it up. Sadly he was unable and then my parent went on vacation for 3 weeks. After that, time went so quickly and we lost track of it.

But what is important is that she has been blessed.

April days!

Well, I think it is about time for an update. Sabrina - I am doing ok. I have now been back at work for 3 months and it is still working out. It has been a challenge being gone from Tony and Syrah for so long, but I try and make the best of the time I have with them before bed. My job itself it good. I could not ask for anything more (except the opportunity to work part-time). I have been accepted into a pretty competitive mentorship program that will last until Sryah's 1st birthday. This program will help give me a deeper look into Costco's operations and give insight into any future career goals/paths I would like to take. My mentor is the Assistant Vice President of in the International Division. I was paired up perfectly with her. I look forward to meeting with her one-on-one to learn about her job and other department functions. The International Division is responsible for starting our warehouses, ordering products, and managing the expatriates in Japan, Korea, England, Mexico, Scotland, Taiwan, Australia. We will have to see where this goes for me. Tony - He has been under a great deal of stress as of late. His job just went through a round of lay-offs in his specific department. Thankfully, he still has his job. We are pretty sure that he is safe, but we never know what can happen in a couple of months or years. Unfortunately, two of the people that were laid off were friends of his. These people helped make work fun for Tony and everyone else and now they are leaving. With all the uncertainty and anxiety in at work, Tony is staying strong. He is the perfect daddy! Tony has been getting the urge to write his book lately. This has been a goal for him since Junior High/High School. Some of the ideas that come from his mind are very captivating. I know that once he gets his book written and possibly published, it will be a great read! I know Syrah will love his bedtime stories as well; Tony really knows how to get the imagination working. Syrah - She has been the one with the most going on! It is amazing how big she is getting. She is almost 6 months now and WOW! She is sitting up so well, eating baby food and being an extremely happy baby. She has started to hold her own bottle and grab the spoon when its dinner time. It is pretty cute because we can tell that she loves doing things with us. She has also become very mobile by rolling all over the place. She doesn't stay in one spot for very long. Below are the photos taken in the past month. She has been busy learning about the world around her! First day she played outside. The weather was perfect!

She loves seeing and touching animals! We thought the bunny was fitting for Easter :)

Syrah is sitting on Great Grandma's lap with her cousin Noah. That day we found out that Amanda is having a baby. Since then, we are excited because she is having a girl! Now Syrah will have someone to grow up with and have a strong friendship with.

FOOD!!!!! She really likes baby oatmeal and other baby foods.

"I knew I had feet!"