Adventures In Eating!

We are approaching the big 6 month mark and have been experimenting with food.  She has been so much fun lately!  She has been doing pretty good with solids and we are excited to continue to try new things.  So far, she has mastered rice cereal, apples and peas.  Next on the docket...pears.  I home-made some baby food and she loves it! 

Who's daughter is this?? Note the bib with the truck and big tires. :)

Apples!

Peas make me so happy!

Punkin!

A big Thank You to Uncle Ben for enriching our lives by introducing us to this amazing video.  If you are a dog person you will love and completely understand this video.  If not, you will still love this video.  It is just so true :) 


Ultimate Dog Tease



Well Hello!

Hi Friends,
Long time no talk.
Update:  We are doing fabulous!  Leah is a growing machine.  She is super happy and healthy and we could not ask for more.  She is now 5 months old and sitting up like a big girl.  It was just in the last couple of days that we realized what a big girl she is getting to be.  We joke about it all of the time that she is growing her very own neck now :)  It's funny how we consider this a big deal...but we hold on to the small things in our hearts as we go through this journey.  We will always remember the day we saw her neck appear and not just a bunch of double chins on top of her chest.  She is growing into her own person already and showing her little personality quirks.  She is such a sweetie.  We are so pleased with her pleasant disposition and continuous good mood.  She is really making this parent thing a whole lot of fun!

3 months

4 months

5 months



Perfect.

I don't care how big the dirty laundry piles are, how much dog hair is on the floor, or how many dirty dishes are in the sink...

I don't care if I didn't get the chance to paint my nails, pluck my eyebrows, or workout tonight...

However, I DID get a chance to feed my baby, change my baby, bathe and dress my baby, and share many smiles with my baby.  I DID get time to cuddle, snuggle, and love up this baby.  There is nothing like the sight and the feeling of my sleeping child in my arms to help me forget about all of the things I did not get to tonight. 

Life is too short to worry about all of that piddly crap.  The dishes and laundry are not going anywhere and will still be there when we finally get to them.  I am so thankful for my perfect little life and my perfect little family.  I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my family and friends.  I am far from starving and am nice and cool and comfy in my air conditioned house.

By the way, have I mentioned that our little peanut is perfect?  Who knew that those normally appalling bodily functions could be so darn cute!?  Of course, everybody's baby is perfect and the cutest baby in the whole world, according to their parents.  No matter how tired I am or which wee hour of the night it is, she is always looking up at us from her crib with a perfectly giant smile and a perfectly squirmy little body.  It is enough to make the sleep from my tired eyes automatically disappear. 

We just love this little gal...more than words can say.

Believe in Yourself

Set your standards high

You deserve the best.

Try for what you want

And never settle for less.

Believe in yourself

No matter what you choose.

Keep a winning attitude

And you can never lose.

Think about your destination

But don't worry if you stray

Because the most important thing

Is what you've learned along the way.

Take all that you've become

To be all that you can be.

Soar above the clouds

And let your dreams set you free.

-Jillian K. Hunt

3 months old!

Little Baby Leah is no longer a newborn and is officially an infant.  So they say.  She is doing great and we are all loving life!  She is sleeping well and is quite the sweetheart.  It's a good thing we really like her daycare because it would be a lot harder for me to leave her everyday.  I hold on to every last snuggle that I can. She is always so pleasant and is such a happy baby.  But, growing waaaay too fast. 

She seems to be developing well and meeting her milestones.  She is very aware and responsive and seems to recognize her Mommy and Daddy :)  She practices her tummy time and rolls from her back to her side.  She gets pretty excited to reach out and grab things...Mommy's hair being one of her favorites.  She follows things with her eyes and has a lot of cute little noises and giggles.  She seems to be showing some early signs of teething which makes me a little nervous.  I just don't want her to be uncomforable :(  She is drooling a lot more and now wants her thumb to chew on instead of suck.  She likes to stick her entire fist in her mouth and when we pull one fist down out of her mouth the other one goes up and in automatically.  She tries to put anything that she can grab or that is close to her in her mouth.  She has two bumps in her upper gum that I can see that those teeth are heading down.  So, before they start being immensly bothersome I am wondering about your experiences with teething solutions.  Teething rings, frozen teething rings, Orajel, Tylenol, teething tablets...???

This video is from my phone from a few weeks ago...she was talking a lot more before I pointed the camera at her, of course. You might have to scroll down to the music player and pause it so that you can hear her voice.  Her cute little voice :)

Busy.

Sorry friends, we've been busy.  I think about updating my blog all of the time but...thinking about doing and actually doing are very different things. 

We've been having a very busy, but very fun, summer.  It seems like we are always on the run or heading out of town.  As soon as I get all of the bags unpacked from one weekend we are packing again for the next.  We have been lots of fun running around with our Little Leah.  She is such a good traveler and we hope she stays this way!  We think that her being so young makes her the easiest traveler that she'll ever be because right now she just sleeps in the car and doesn't require entertainment.  I'm sure we'll be in the market for one of those portable DVD players in no time. 

We had Leah's baptism last weekend and had a great time!  It was great to recieve so much support from our families and members of the church.  It is so refreshing to see so many people, even strangers, showing so much love and support for our child.

We just got back today from our mini vacay.  Sam and I have been going to Rock Fest together for 9 years now.  This is a tradition that we'd love to hold on to even if we can't share it with our children.  We left on Thursday and took Leah to Nana and Papa's house.  The 3 of them had a GREAT time together.  I left Rock Fest Saturday to spend time at N & P's and returned Sunday-Monday.  We always have a blast and create such fun memories.

My parents have already called to say they miss Leah and want her back.  It's times like these where living in different states gets difficult.  But, we will just have to get together more often. :)

Leah update:  She's doing very well and is a very happy baby.  She is almost always content and smiling.  She is sleeping very well.  On a typical night she will go to bed around 7 and gets up once in the night.  Then she sleeps until about 6 in the morning.  We worked hard to get her to a good sleep schedule and she has responded very well so we hope she keeps up the good work! She is "talking" a lot and we are having so much fun with her.  She is making this whole "being a parent" thing SO rewarding.  Love her!

P.S.  I will add some pictures later when my internet isn't being so slow.  And I just want to go to bed.