Freya at 11 months

Freya had a very busy month! She travelled with me to Salt Lake City the first weekend of June so I could attend the wedding of Lauren Merkley and Grant Gordon. It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad to be able celebrate with them. I stayed with Aunt Renee and she and Grandma Hyer tended Freya while I was at the wedding. I was a little nervous about leaving Freya from 3pm till past her bedtime because I hadn’t ever skipped nursing her before bedtime. There was nothing to worry about however because Freya was perfectly content with Aunt Renee and Grandma. When Renee picked us up at the airport Freya let her hold her immediately and she was just as friendly with Grandma. She showed off her skills cruising around the furniture and Grandma told me they were going to teach her to walk while I was gone. They didn’t quite meet that deadline but perhaps all the attention helped because Freya took her first steps before even hitting 11 months! Freya and I were only in SLC for two and a half days but we were able to see lots of family thanks to everyone accommodating our tight schedule. In addition to seeing Renee and Grandma we also saw Natalie and Grady, Mimi, Courtney, I saw Bryan’s aunts Claudia and Becky (Freya was napping), Leslie, Cy and Bronwynne, Camille and Elise, and Melanie and Brandon and their kids. No minute went wasted! We spent every meal with family and on our last morning my friend Shuri drove up from Provo so I could see her girls and she could meet Freya. It meant so much to me that everyone was so willing to jump though hoops to see us. On June 19th Freya stood up near the kitchen table and held herself steady for a few seconds. It was the first time she didn’t just fall right back down and I was looking right at her marveling at how steady she was. I called Bryan to come see how well she was standing and just as he (and Norah and Alice too) came into view she took four quick steps over to me. We were all clapping and cheering for her and she was obviously proud of herself. She didn’t try to walk again for several days but by the end of the month she was taking steps every day.

Other random things about Freya from this month: She LOVES watermelon. And peaches. Her sisters pick her up and carry her around like a doll. Freya doesn’t seem to mind at all when Norah does it but is terrified when Alice approaches her. She is now sleeping in the same room with her sisters. She seems to like the arrangement and the first time we put her in her new little ikea crib at the foot of Alice’s bed she laughed and clapped her hands.