Little E at 13 Months and her First Up Do!

That's right Little E is 13 Months Old! (a week ago true, but I feel good if I at least take pictures sometime in the month.)


One of the great changes that have taken place is that she now has enough hair to do a true UP DO! That's right ladies and Gentlemen. I did my first ever set of pigtails today and was finally able to use the bows I made for her 6 months ago! Isn't she just the sweetest thing ever? Those pigtails actually look better after church than before. I had to redo them several times and they got better with practice. ;)


Here is a great picture showing how little E feels about grass. Unsure to say the least. She won't leave her blanket if I set her down on the grass and she often refuses to put her feet down when I try to make her feel it bare footed.

What day is it?

So my dear husband has been having a wonderful summer vacation. Life is pretty much normal for me, except that he hasn't been at work, so my schedule has been more difficult to keep track of. I often find myself saying, "what day of the week is it honey?" and he answers, "I don't know, go look at your phone."

Today, we woke up sure that we knew what day of the week it was. We had a leisurely breakfast, listened to a book on tape, and played with Little E. Finally 12:30 comes around. "Guess its time to get ready for church." I say.

Fast forward 30 minutes later. We pull up to an empty parking lot looking stunning in our Sunday best. There is literally 1 car in the parking lot.
"Did you hear anything about a stake conference?" asked my husband.
"nope. It is sunday right?"
"I think so" he says
"look at your watch"
"Yup SA. Thats sunday right"
"No, that's Saturday. Su is sunday.... I think.... I don't know.... What day is today?!"


Fast forward 5 more minutes and we are back home and lounging in our Saturday glory. Maybe I should get a calendar and cross the days off as they come. :)

Little E is standing up so well now! She crawls so fast that I have a hard time catching her, and nothing is safe on any surface within her reach. (which is higher than you might think) She gets to be more and more beautiful all the time (I might be a little biased) and her daddy loves how much she plays with him. Here are a couple of pictures of her in her cute dress standing all by herself barely holding onto a tree for support.

(My guy is such a good photographer! Aren't these pictures great?)

Shadows from the past!

I've been thinking about a post my sister had on her blog a while ago. It was a story about how history repeats it's self. When I was younger my sisters (not understanding the "inner sanctum" status of the toilet) used to make fun of me for singing the Star Wars theme song and pretending I was really in the seat of my very own X-wing Star fighter ridding the galaxy of it's empire scum. They later were shocked to find their sons singing the theme and playing star wars while in their inner sanctums. Personally I feel its just their star wars genes kicking in. This newly discovered gene controls sound effects, natural attraction to light-sabers, and the desire to use the force to squish your teachers head when they are droning on.
I had a few other eccentricities when I was young that my family thought were ...unique. For example I used to put myself down for a nap. I know, every mothers dream right. From the family stories told at get-togethers I would gather up my blankie, inform my mother that it was time for me to " go get happy". As I was carried off to bed I would wave goodbye to my family over my mother or father's shoulder ready and willing to start my nap time adventure (most likely as a Jedi).
I was reminded of that this morning. My 13 month old and I were playing in the front room, when she fixed me with her intense look, the that says, "I am going to tell you something very important so you better listen up" and then she signed night-night (placing her hand on her cheek and tilting her head). I wasn't sure the first time. Then she dropped the look again, this time with a little more urgency, "it is defiantly time for night-night daddy". So I brought to her room to change her diaper. While on the table she signed milk and looked hopefully at me. Lacking the proper equipment to meet her demand I laugh and gave her her "silky" (blankie), turned out the lights and tried to sing her a song. She would not have it. When we got close to the bed she lunged out of my arms toward her crib. It was all I could do to keep from dropping her. Once laid in her bed, she took her silky shoved in her face rolled over and was asleep before I could even leave the room. I had to laugh.This is a girl who takes her nap times seriously! Like father like daughter I guess.

Vacation! or is more work in disguise?

Us at our second chance prop. (doesn't Jenn look great!)




School has been out for three weeks now (I had to look at the calender, I keep forgetting what day it is) and I'm starting to wonder which one is more work, work or vacation. It seems my days start earlier (thanks to a certain little girl who loves her mommy and daddy so much that she needs to be up at the crack of dawn so she can play with them) and the day's work lasts longer! Personally I think I have to applaud you home makers. You have a very tough job out there.
Well we have finally decided on a house, after three years of searching the stars aligned and the perfect home plopped into our laps. And the best part is I get to have a MAN CAVE! A music corner, weapons on the walls, and a place for all of my wooded mask Jen won't let me put up because she is scared of them!
I have to be honest though I think buying our first home has to be one of the most frightening experiences of my life. I've never been good with commitment in the first place, and then sitting down and figuring out all of the bills we are now going to have to pay for the rest of our life, only exacerbates the fear. Thinking back a paper bag would have been nice to have had to keep from hyperventilating. Now that most of the process is almost over with I'm calming down (I still have random freak out's) but we can start planing all the fun things we can do with it!

Our little E is now cruising. Since she is so amazingly long that means that not only are coffee tables and low surface with in her reach but counter tops and higher book shelves are now subject to her tormenting. I am amazed at how one day they move at a snails pace and the next it's all you can do to keep up with them.
I have to say that parenthood certainly keeps you on your toes.






Little E sure loves her grandpa!

It's the End of the World as We Know it, and I Feel Fine!

That's right, our world is ending/changing in several ways and I am just fine!

Way #1
Little E has a brand new top tooth (left one, as of this morning). All I can say is OUCH!

Way #2
While she still doesn't crawl with her belly off of the ground, Little E is able to sit up all by herself (as of April 18th) and can now pull herself up to furniture (as of May 7th). This means that our safe haven of a coffee table is no longer able to hold all of the dangerous and precious objects that is once could.

Way #3
My loving husband discussed with me the fact that Little E will soon be 1 year old and was still waking up twice a night to nurse. We did some research to confirm that she was definitely capable of going all night without having to eat. So the night of the 6th we decided to let her cry instead of going in to feed her unless it was after 4 in the morning (only wanting to get rid of one feeding at a time). She cried for about an hour and a half on and off at 12:30 and then slept until 4:30. The next night she slept until 6:40 straight, no crying, and then got up for the day! Wohoo! I felt like a new woman! No more night time zombie walks to her bedroom every 4 hours! Thank you loving husband for making me do what I didn't think I could!

Here are a few pictures of our life lately.

Little E in her most recent preferred sleeping position. Note that the silky must be under her face for her to be completely comfortable.

Little E figured out how to do lip gloss in the car one day. Isn't she pretty?

First Easter with Grandma Phyllis. More pictures of Easter will follow. But I promised to read to my husband if he cleaned the kitchen, and my word is my bond! Adios!

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned...

That is the phrase I have decided to keep in mind lately so that we can hopefully buy a house at some point in our lives. :)

So this week I wanted to make lots of delicious, healthy, and inexpensive meals. I spent all day Monday looking through cookbooks, and picking out recipes that I had never tried before but looked delicious.

Monday night: Time for a shopping trip. This meant an hour of scrounging through the store with a tired husband and child trying to find ingredients that I have never used before and therefore cannot locate. Finally we are done and in the checkout line.

"Your card has been declined" says the kindly lady behind the register.
"huh" I say. "K, can you try it again?"
"it isn't working"
"K, umm... Uh... Ummm... can you save the reciept and let me try to fix it?"
"sure just go to the help desk check out afterward."

At this moment Little E and my husband both begin to lose their happy. He took her out to the car and I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get money out of my savings through the atm machine only to be told that I was an "unauthorized access" for my account. I finally got my mom to transfer money over from our savings account to our checking that I had so wisely decided we wouldn't need this month when we got paid. I was trying to keep in mind that "a penny saved is a penny earned." But I forgot that you can only save money if you don't try to spend it... :)

Finally we get home and I cook a delicious meal. It was a 20 minute meal out of my betty crocker cook book.

"I have all kinds of delicious foods for you this week" I tell my loving husband.
"Great, I'm looking forward to it." He says with a smile.
"I am mostly cooking out of this new fancy cookbook. I hope you like the recipes. They look great in the pictures." I tell him. (how was I to know that great looks don't always coincide with great flavor?)

Tuesday: I cook a meal out of my more fancy cookbook.
"I think this is pretty good." lies my sweet husband, "But probably more of a side than a main meal." I say. (it was ok... but I was disappointed in it. We both filled up on snacks after dinner.)

Wednesday: I spend all day slaving away on a fancy soup from the same cook book.
It was gross... Its still siting on the stove waiting to be thrown away.

Thursday:
I want to eat out!
If my pattern keeps up tonight's meal will be totally inedible.
How is it that the weeks you put in actual effort to save money and make good foods you end up flat broke and eating stuff that you can barely force down? :)

So here is a plea to all the wonderful women that make up my family and friends. Please save me by sending me your favorite cheap, healthy, easy, and actually edible recipes so that I can continue my efforts without so much disappointment and drama.
Thanks!

LDS Temples Video

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