The Ultrasound

So December 1, we had our ultrasound to find out our baby's gender. John was really counting on getting a boy this time, but he didn't get his wish. Of course, he's very excited to have another little girl and it will be perfect for Zora to have a little friend to play with and share her stuff. I'm just happy we won't have to go out and get a whole new wardrobe for our baby. It looks like John is going to have a house full of girls. The due date is April 21st and everything looks good with our baby!

Zora and SANTA CLAUS

December 6, a group of us with our kids went to see Santa Claus. One kid slept through all the excitement, but another little boy who is just shy of 2 years old went before Zora. I thought that would prepare her for what was coming, but the boy wasn't too happy to sit in Santa's lap. So of course, when Zora got her turn, she was even more intimidated. She clung to her daddy and cried so we couldn't get any decent pictures. This is what we came up with...

Halloween Pics-even though they're late!

So I know it's been almost 2 full months since Halloween, but I've been wanting to put up these pictures forever. I have been so busy lately that I haven't had a second to breathe and it was tricky to work on the computer downstairs with Zora. Luckily, I finally got my Christmas present, a laptop, so I can do a lot more on the computer! Yea!
Zora was a little lady bug for Halloween and I was pretty proud of myself because I sewed the whole costume myself! I found that I probably could have saved money by buying a premade costume after all the mess-ups and wrong materials I got, but I think it turned out better than anything we could have afforded at the store.

Happy Birthday! Zora turned 1 today!

To start off the day, John and I surprised Zora by going into her room and singing “Happy Birthday” to her. She was a little overwhelmed, but she enjoyed the attention. Then she opened some presents before John left. After John got home, Zora finished opening her gifts. She got clothes, books, and a toy mobile phone that she couldn’t put down. After gifts she had help blowing out her candle and she loved eating cake for the 1st time, but we didn’t because it was a nutritious cake. John resorted to ice cream. To end the day, Zora danced around the room while John played “Yankee Doodle” on the piano.
Zora and her presents!
Zora with her Disney push car (she got this a little early)
Zora and her first piece of cake!

Not quite a year yet!

Only 1 month until Zora's birthday. She's been pretty busy since she started walking. Here's what she's been up to... She went swimming in our backyard with her Elmo sprinkler.
She loves to climb up and down stairs or play with the kitty.
Here she's eating spaghetti! YUM!
This is explains itself and yes the kitten helped!
Here's her 11 month picture with a bruise. She collided with the sidewalk while trying out her new shoes.

Quick Update!

So John's been very very busy this semester with Medical school. He is currently taking 40 credits and he just took his first batch of tests. Zora is running now and boy is she trouble. We have a lot of fun with her, though! She has a lot of personality and is such a tease. She likes to imitate me by shaking her head when I tell her "no" and waving her finger at me. She is also best buds with our kitten which is way too patient to put up with her. Just today, Zora steamrolled our kitten and the cat just laid there without fussing. They get in a lot of mischielf together, but they sure entertain one another. Zora started off by saying several words, but now the only word that she consistenly says is "key" for kitty. She gets away with a lot more than she should. Her Daddy is a sucker for her. But she loves her Daddy. I don't exist when John's in the room.
The latest news for those who don't know is that I'm expecting again. I'm almost 10 weeks along and we can't wait to find out the gender. John's pretty sure it's a boy. I hope Zora gets a little sister to play with. For a while I was dealing with some pretty miseralbe migraines that wouldn't go away. After a week and a half of not being able to do anything because of the pain, I finally got in to see my doctor (a D.O.-what John is studying) and she did some manipulations on my back and neck and and I was cured. I haven't had a migraine since and I didn't even have to take any medicine. That was a great blessing because it's a lot harder to deal with not feeling well with an active daughter. Zora was so neglected for those few days but we all survived and feeling great now.
For Labor day we went to Ellensbury for our first Rodeo. John and I enjoyed the cow milking competition. I plan to put the video on soon. Then on Saturday, we met Larry D, Dad, and Michelle in Seattle for the BYU vs. Washington game. What a game! That was lots of fun!

10 months old on August 9th

She got the ball at Walmart and has had so much fun with it! Even in the store she couldn't settle down because she was so excited to have a ball. John buys her balls, and Sarah buys her books. I think those might be her favorite two kinds of toys!

Recap of Events

The reason we haven't updated our blog for so long is because we've been packing, moving, visiting family, unpacking, and attending family reunions. I'm sorry its taken so long. For those who don't know. John has started Medical School and we're in Yakima, Washington. Zora had a lot of fun seeing everyone at the family get togethers, but unfortunately we forgot the camera for most of the activities. Here's what we do have...

These are of John and Zora swimming in the pool in Stockton, CA before we moved:


This is our new friend we made at Grandpa Dickinson's home. John's dad insisted that we get a picture before we left so he could prove how rad he is! Zora loved Jar Jar. She smiled at him all the time when we walked in the room, but it scared John and I most of the time.

Here's John and Zora at their first official minor league baseball game. The Yakima Bears played against the Boise Hawks. We got free tickets from John's medical school. We didn't stay the whole time because Zora was a handful.

These are pretty self explanatory. Zora loves rasberries!!!



This is a sad picture of Zora's huge bruise on her forehead after falling and smacking her head on the edge of the dresser. I felt so bad for her.
This second photo is the only one I have gotten so far that shows her two bottom teeth.

All of a sudden she started walking all over the place!

July 13th was a Big Day!

To start off, Zora had been up a lot during the night and I was about to take her in to see the doctor. That's when John informed me that her second bottom tooth had come in. No wonder she had been crying so much.

Then after church, we noticed that she was standing up a lot better on her own so we tried to get her to walk to her Daddy, but she fell down. Later, A.J. bribed her with his phone to walk and she took her first 2 steps before falling. Since that she has been getting braver and taking a few more steps. Here's a video a little later in the day. She was pretty worn out, so it's not her best walking.


Peter, Cilla, their kids, Heidi, & Lucy also came over to visit. The adults started playing a game and forgot to check on the kids for a while. This is what we discovered a while later...


That's shaving cream and gel that Eden and Dallin sprayed all over the bathtub. I'm disappointed that they didn't invite me. It looked like a lot of fun. And luckily it didn't get anywhere else!

Check out our talented family!

Our Accomplishments

So John had a few rough days of Pest Control, but he's picking it up again! Our summer goal was for John to sell 320 contracts. We're about 40 away from reaching that and then we'll be moving to Washington the last week and a half of July. So to keep myself busy, I (Sarah) sewed a little dress for Zora. Other than a pair of basic PJ pants I made for John, this is my first real sewing I've attempted without the help of someone else. I was pretty proud of myself. Zora is seen in the pictures modeling the outfit.

9 Months Old-3/4 of the way there!

Zora is 9 months now but still not walking unless she has something to hold on to. She finally got her first tooth on the lower right of her gums on July 7th and we can see the one next to it about to come through. We recently adopted a stray cat that comes to visit in the evenings. Zora can't get enough of the cat, but the cat does everything it can to stay away from Zora. The only way we got this picture was by locking the cat in the same room with Zora. It wasn't very happy with us afterwards!

Peter and Cilla came to visit for Emily Kate's birthday party and all the kids went swimming. Zora loves water! She is definitely a Dickinson!

These pictures are a little old. I finally got around to posting them. Here's Zora at about 8.5 months.Emily Kate Bankhead's cat came for a visit. Zora didn't mind sharing her bed. The cat really like Zora. This was about 8 months old.

Zora's pet...

Due to several requests, we finally have another video with Zora and our wandering adopted cat. Zora loves it so much that she screams because she's so happy to see the cat. Unfortunately, the cat doesn't feel the same way about Zora. I can see how Zora may seem a little scary with such a loud voice.

In Batman's Memory

We had a small funeral for Batman last night at 7pm June 26th. There was only a small number of people that could make it (2 to be exact-Zora was grounded from coming out in the smoky air), but despite the small turn out, we know he was well loved by all who came to know him. He was a loyal pet, except for the times he tried to run away. At least he always returned! He left his mark on our hearts and also on our carpet. Good bye Batman! See you in Heaven!

A Sad Day!

It's a really sad day for us! I woke up to feed Zora breakfast after John went to work and I decided to check on Batman because I hadn't heard him for a while. His food hadn't been touched that I gave him 2 days ago. I realized that he had passed away. We at least know that he's not in pain anymore. He was growing very old, and I had started to wonder if he had gone blind from the way he stumbled to find the food and water. We had been very concerned for him, but we didn't know what to do. I'm just happy he's in a peaceful place now! We're really going to miss you a lot Batman. You were a great family member and entertainment in our lives!

Happy Father's Day!

Who's Daddy is this? Does anyone claim him? Yep, thats right! It's John. He wanted hair for Father's Day so that's what he got! I hope he enjoys it while it lasts!

We're pretty proud of John right now. He sold over 100 contracts in the month of May and beat all the other salesmen in the company. In addition, his team is number 1 for sales too. Not too shabby! So for Father's Day, Zora and I wanted to do something a little different. So many people give and recieve cards, but what do you do with them afterwards. I decided to customize a card for John and make it a little more special using Hallmark's online designs. Here's what we came up with and yes, he is a RAD DAD!:



John loved his Father's Day Card!

And this is a video of Zora playing with her Daddy!

Our Little Scare!

So we had a little scare this week! On Tuesday, June 10th, around noon, I got a text from a friend in our ward who said she was thinking of us 3 with the fire. She asked us if we were o.k. I had no idea what she was talking about until I turned on the T.V. to hear there was a fire that had burned several homes on Quail Lakes Drive (one block away). We were separated by the lake, but it still felt a little too close to home. Weather is crazy these days!

Eight Months Old

Only 4 months until Zora's 1 year old. She is such a flirt and always trying to get someone's attention. She finally started saying "Dada" this week just in time for Father's Day. She's crawling all over the place and loves to throw papers, books, and magazines on the floor for entertainment. We sure love her and have so much fun with her cute playful personality.
She did a funny thing on Sunday while she was eating some grape juice jigglers. I placed 3 on her tray in front of her and instead of swallowing one at a time, she shoved one in right after another, until her cheeks were stuffed full. I included a picture with her mouth full.

I also included a picture of her on Monday for her 8 months photo. She loves to pull herself up on her table and talk to herself in the mirror.


This week Zora stood up for the first time without help for about 10 seconds. This photo is proof of that.

2 heimlichs in 1 week!

So I knew that marrying John would be an adventure, but now I have a daughter that has all John's genes and boy is she keeping me on my toes. Now that she's crawling, she gets into everything. Just last week she was the easiest baby to watch and now I'm constantly cleaning up after her and hiding things that I don't want her to destroy. I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this for at least a few more months! Also because she loves to pull herself up by the coffee table, the T.V. stand, the chairs, the kitchen table, our computer desk, her crib, etc., she has taken several falls and bonks on the head. That doesn't stop her, but she's starting to look like she got in a fight with all her bruises. And yes, like all toddlers, she puts everything in her mouth, and I'm constanly pulling things out of her mouth that she's found on the floor. This morning, though, she had something in her mouth and she started to gag and then rasp. John tried to get it out with his finger, but couldn't and she started choking. I grabbed her and turned her upside down and whacked her back twice. Out flew a penney she'd found on the ground. Oops! Its time to deep clean. Two days ago, she also choked on a baby cookie she was sucking on and I had to do the heimlich again. Needless to say, I have had my heart racing several times this week with Zora. I'm just glad I knew what to do in a case like this. I can't imagine what fun she'll be when she's actually walking. Oh yah, I included a short video of her walking using her pushtoy.

100 Degrees!

Yep, it's May and already 100 degrees here in Stockton, California. John's been working very hard and doing very well selling. I'm very impressed with him because he's had really bad allergies this year, the weather is very hot in this area, and his Pest Control boss has made life very difficult for him. Despite all that, he's stuck it out and had some amazing sale days. I included some snapshots of our family out enjoying the 100 degree weather. I also included some pics and a video of feeding the ducks which were actually in April.

Stephanie Meyers

So just so there isn't any confusion, I want to clarify my relation to Stephanie Meyers. She isn't my cousin; she is my dad's 1st or 2nd cousin (I'm not really sure) and I have not actually met her myself, although my aunt has. For those of you that don't know, Stephanie Meyers is the Best Selling author of the Twilight Series. She has just come out with another book called The Host which has a different plot, but I hear it's just as good. She also has a movie coming out in December. I know a lot of you have read and enjoyed her books so I included the link under randomness to her official website. If you haven't read them, you're missing out.