Happy Mardi Gras!

I hope your Mardi Gras was as wild as mine!

Crazy From Cabin Fever

Since it's so cold around here, we have to constantly try to find ways to keep entertained without going outside. Here are a few of them:

1. Elmo. Like every little kid, Zola seems to have a thing for the ticklish red monster with the weird voice. She loves her polka-dotted Elmo dress, and it's good for 15-20 demonstrations per day of where Elmo is and where the dots are.




2. When Zola wants to get away, she retires to her "Fortress of Solitude" in the front room. Here, she's saying hello to any unsuspecting passers-by. The Fortress is also quite handy for puppet shows.



3. Zola loves to color. We like to think it's because her namesake, Jana's Aunt Zola, is an accomplished artist. Or, it might just be because coloring is pretty fun.




3b. Unfortunately, sometimes Zola likes to color on the walls. Genius Jana saw this coming and insisted we use washable crayons. Genius.

Zola didn't seem to realize that coloring on the walls is a bad idea. On the bright side, though, she didn't get angry when we so cavalierly washed away her artwork. In all, the crisis ended well.




4. Crazy glasses always crack me up too.




5. Zola is now a pet owner. Since Zola doesn't know many words or how to name things, we decided to go ahead and name her fish. His name is "New World Bistro," or "Beast" for short. We think it's a nice homage to a local restaurant which most locals think we used as inspiration for Zola's name. At least it's a really nice, fancy restaurant.



6. Like we did all summer and fall, we still play "ball," but now we have to play indoors (lame).



7. Zola loves puzzles. This one is pretty tricky. Even I have trouble telling the oval from the circle. But I've watched Zola do it now about 2,382 times, so I think I have the hang of it.
[In deference to you, the viewer, the following video has been edited for length.]




8. We eat. Sometimes Zola insists on having silverware in her hand just like her parents do, but she hasn't quite figured out what it's for. I think it might be a show of baby-bravado, as if to say, "I don't even need this fork, but I can hold it while I eat just the same." Babies are such show-offs.

This video might be a little more boring than the others, but there's some backstory to both parts (it's been spliced). The first section shows Zola's first encounter eating cold cereal with milk, in a bowl, holding (but not using) a spoon. The second part I filmed last week out of sheer amazement as she polished off four (that's right, four) scrambled eggs all by herself. She literally ate both her own and Jana's breakfast.




9. And Sometimes we even do a little cooking.




Our Cabin Fever is getting pretty bad. I hope we can hold out until Spring.

Christmas Pictures

For our first leg of the journey we spent a few days in DC hanging out with Zola's missionary Grandparents. Grandpa was teaching her how to keep the books.














Zola LOVES reading stories with Grandma. Grandma LOVES telling everyone how cute Zola is and how she looks just like her. She really does though.














After DC we went to Utah where we had a fantastic Christmas. Zola loved her school bus. She wanted to play with it all the time.

And I mean all the time.















Zola has begun the Rigby tradition of sharing food from others' plates. Mimi didn't seem to mind. I think it is because of moments like this that Zola can now say "Mimi" and point to her in a picture.















The Kamas pool was our favorite. I know the picture is blurry, but that is the only way to portray the excitement of the ride.















We are so happy the Dottl's were able to join us!















Zola loved feeding the horses and mooing at the cows...














and playing hide and seek in the barn.















We love Park City!















Dave and Zola, back at home, showing their Utah pride. I think Dave and Zola still look a lot alike too.

Dear Dorii

Just in case you thought I forgot about the pacifier..... (Click here for the back-story.)
Are you missing anything of your own?



That's right, I stole it. Your children may never understand Christmas or ever see Santa again without this precious book. Want it back?

Fun at the Park

Most people around here agree that fall is the best time of year. Beautiful colors, nice weather, and lots of football are a few of the highlights. Since we only have a few weeks left until the darkness of winter descends, we thought we should post some photos of Zola at the park so we can remember what it's like to play outside.


"Can someone give me a push?"



I don't know what these are, but Zola loves to play with them. They bounce.




Action clip of Zola going down the slide - feet first. It was a big day for her.







So many choices . . .




We all love the red slide. It's brightly colored, gives a fast ride, and is less crowded than the spiral slide.





Plus, there's always the side-benefit of static electricity.




I told you the fall colors are beautiful. Can you find Zola? (Click on the photo to enlarge.)










Even mice like the Fall. The pretty red leaf she's holding is from the tree in our front yard.

Eek! It's a mouse!

Zola was a mouse for Halloween this year. I wish I could say it was the result of careful planning and research, but it really boiled down to finding a costume that would fit her. We were lucky to find this adorable mouse costume at Target. The costume is almost as cute from behind.




Zola had more fun dressing up than some of her classmates did. Here at Zola's school we had a little parade with the other "Diving Dolphins." The little girl in pink (an octopus) was really upset for most of the time. I told her parents that an octopus lives in water.









After the little parade, we took the mouse costume off (since it was so hot) and had our Halloween snacks. Unfortunately for Zola, she doesn't like sugar cookies. I've never seen such a disgruntled look from a kid holding a cookie. "Nemo" gladly ate Zola's cookie.



After the school party, it was time to hit the town with some of our close friends.

Here we are with Rhett and Kim.






This is Zola's first trick-or-treat. Luckily, it was treats all around.



After our looting spree, we headed back to the safe-house to tally up the haul. Zola likes to take candy out of, and then put the candy back into the her little yellow carrier.




A couple of days later, Zola's still playing with her candy.



Such a great Halloween!

My New Favorite Outfit

Since Zola has come into my life I have found a new love for the color pink, an unexpected consequence of having a lovely little girl. I'm still not loving lace or puffy sleeves but I do love her in pink. My new phone is a testament to this new change.









However, this is my new favorite of Zola's outfits. Not just because it says, "Mom rocks" in tattoo style, but because it looks so great with her Converse.