I'm famous!

So, just yesterday I was complaining about having nothing to post about besides my daughter, and voila: today, I have something new (and what I think is interesting!) to talk about.

So, I randomly stumbled upon this great blog a week ago or so. It is called Design with Christine (http://www.designwithchristine.com/) and it is done by a gal that graduated from BYU with a degree in interior design. With 11 years experience in her biz, she is willing to answer all kinds of design questions from complete strangers for free. Talk about a deal! I decided it was right up my alley. And so, a few days later, I cleaned my living room and snapped a few pictures. I typed out a very long, laborious email to her (I'm sure she was hating me) asking all kinds of questions about how to make my living room look better and "finished" (you know - the look that you find in magazines and on TV, but never in your own home).

Anyway, I was so excited to get on this morning and see that I made the blog! If you go there, you'll read that she had to split my email up into separate questions (I think I probably asked enough for about 50 posts!) and you will see pictures of my very own living room right there on her blog. I'm sure this isn't as amazing as I think it is, but remember - I'm new to the blogging world, and it's still blowing my baby mind! If you go and read my post, feel free to comment on what you think I can do to make things look better. I want to have a nice house, but I also am thinking ahead to when we will need to sell our house in a couple of years.

bring on the hairbows!

I read other blogs and they've all got witty, intelligent posts about various topics, many of them very interesting. Unfortunately that is not what you will find on our blog. What you will find is lots of pictures - mostly Leah. I guess that works, since she is the main reason why I decided to finally give in to Laura's requests to start a blog. Maybe when I grow up I can think of fun things to write about. Of course, if I ever figured out how to post pictures in the order that I want them to show up here (why can't I get it right?), then maybe I could move up in the world of blogging and talk about something other than my dear Liahona. Oh well - at least she's fun to talk about and photograph. Speaking of Leah, check out that hairbow. I love it!

Is that my imagination, or is she giving us a thumbs up, Jenn?

Leah, where's your flapper dress?

a ladybug named leah

This was Leah's getup on Sunday - and everyone said she looked like a ladybug. My long lost friend Kim gave this dress to Leah (with some cute black tights and a dynamite headband that I forgot to put on her!) and I wondered if it would ever fit her. It's still pretty big, but since the dress is velvet, I figured we'd better put it on her before the south Texas summer starts (like next week!).

a recipe by Becca: Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Yep, that's right - I'm posting a recipe (now I'm really becoming a blogger!). Here's how it goes: to make these beautifully decorated cupcakes, drive to the store and buy the following items: cake mix and a can of frosting. Drive back home and make the cupcakes as directed on the back of the box. Allow to cool and frost with frosting. Sprinkles come next. These can be applied to the cupcakes in any manner that you wish. What a beautiful creation....

I made these for a potluck luncheon for our Relief Society. My friend who arranged it (and knows that I might lack culinary skills) assured me that I could bring whatever I wanted: doughnuts, chips and salsa, subway sandwiches, whatever. I decided to surprise her by baking something. Voila!

our live-in entertainment

Yes, I know that we are those parents that everyone loves to hate. We adore our baby - what can we say? This picture was Michael's clever idea. Leah is not exactly standing on her own yet, despite what it looks like (what am I saying?? It does seem quite obvious that this isn't Leah on her own, but just to clear up any confusion about Leah being so advanced...). Maybe that's why we are so entertained by the image of our baby standing up on her own. Of course, people do this all day everyday, but no one does it quite so cute as Leah does (in my humble opinion, of course).

the star of our show

Some days, it feels like Leah was just born, but as you can see in this video, she's practically a grownupl. I better start "baby-proofing" my house...

christmas dress turned valentine's dress

Michael's mom bought this dress for Leah to wear for Christmas last year. Fortunately, it still fits her, so it has turned into her new Valentine's Day dress. And, yes, that is a very large bow on her head, but I really do like it on her. That's what girls are for...very large hairbows.

star pants

With her handed-down (from cousin Jordan) star pants, Leah is excited to join in this family tradition. Michael loves his own star pants (made by my mom for a big Christmas gift a couple of years ago - we all got them in different colors) and now we can all match.

me and my bumbo

We got Leah's bumbo chair out this week to use during her rice cereal meals. People comment all the time how much their kids loved their bumbo chairs. Leah seemed to do alright, although she did have rice cereal everywhere...

leah-burrito

Note to new moms: the best way to get your baby to sleep for long periods of time (at least at our house) is to wrap them up as tightly as possible before putting them to bed. Before Leah was born, I read all about this technique in the book, "The Happiest Baby on the Block". While the author of this book recommends swaddling babies until they are at least 3 months old, we have continued to do it simply because it works. Leah knows that when "the straight-jacket" comes out it's time for bed. I'm pretty sure we'll still be doing it when she's 15. I better get some bigger blankets.

hey - where'd you get that dress?

Last week, Leah and I went outlet shopping with "the Jenn's" in San Marcos. I was so excited to go that I completely forgot to pack an extra outfit for Leah in case she had a problem with her diaper. So, of course at store #2 on our outlet tour, I discovered Leah had made quite a mess of herself and her clothes. In my efforts to change her, I made a mess of her, her blanket, Jenn's van seat, and I even got myself dirty. What a disaster! And with no clothes to change her into, I sheepishly went back to the store and told Jenn that Leah was naked. Of course, I wrapped her in a couple of blankets (not the dirty one!) and put her in her carseat. I was pretty nervous when one of the ladies who was shopping at the same store came over to admire her. I just kept thinking, "Leah, please don't raise your arms up so this lady can see that you're naked." She didn't, but it was pretty funny when she did a few minutes later and Jenn and I got to see all bare chest. Carters was our next stop and I bought Leah this cute dress. I even used the counter at Carters to lay a blanket down and get her dressed. Good as new...

what a hoot

I can't believe how entertained we are by Leah. I guess you never really know how much you're going to LOVE your baby until they are here with you. Leah started giggling a few weeks back and ever since, we've been on this never-ending quest to get her to laugh anytime we could. I've found that right before bedtime she gets pretty slaphappy and is much more likely to do it. Here's a video that I was so excited to take tonight before bed. And don't worry - the creepy guy singing in the background is just Michael. He'll do anything to get her to giggle.

daddy and the monkey jams

Leah got these cute pj's from Melanie and her boys (with a matching hat and blanket). Aren't they adorable - pink with brown monkeys. I think they are Michael's favorites. Here are a couple of photos showing Michael's childcare skills. Leah loves watching the x-box.

muscle confusion

So, speaking of infomercials (who doesn't LOVE infomercials?) Jenn (the greatest friend in the world, and the saving grace of Corpus Christi, TX) and I decided to try out P90X. We had both seen it on TV and were hooked within mere minutes. P90X is a series of 13 dvds that get you looking hot in 90 days (we'll be the judge of that!). It's all based on the principle of "muscle confusion" (doesn't that sound good?? you can understand why we're so hooked!). We started on Monday, and I must say these workouts are exhausting!! These are photos of both of us following our workout Tuesday morning. Notice the trademark "X" we are making with our arms - it's all for inspiration.

We're so tired!

big bad rice-eater

Leah has just started eating rice cereal. When I first gave it to her, she seemed a little confused about what to do with the cereal and her tongue, but now she's pretty good at it. Thank goodness - I first decided to give her solids after she stopped sleeping through the night. Since she'd been doing it since about 2 months of age, I'm a bit spoiled and just couldn't take getting up in the middle of the night! The cereal has helped a bit (depends on the night??), but it is fun to see her grow bigger.

Leah in Emily's dress

On Sunday, I dressed Leah in her cousin, Emily's blessing dress. Funny that Leah is nearly 5 months old, and she can still fit into it. Both of Leah's cousins, Emily and Jordan were blessed in this dress. She looked really cute.

Leah's sunhat

Just snapped some photos of Leah in her sunhat. We went for a walk, and I wanted to make sure she didn't get any sun in her eyes. I must admit it looks a little goofy (and if the hat were green, I might think she was part of the infantry...), but the hat only cost $0.47 at The Children's Place outlet. It did the job, anyway