Nerdy Dad and Tired Mom

Logan and I walked over to Salvation Army yesterday to pick up some clothing for our Halloween costumes this year. We wanted to dress up for a Halloween party at some friends' house. Most of the adults there were not in costume, only their kids. So we both stood out, but had a lot of fun with it. I'm voting Logan for the funniest costume. (When I looked at this picture for the first time, I couldn't stop laughing).

This look for me is a little exaggerated because I used some makeup around my eyes to look more tired, although there are days when I actually feel like that.

We had a lot of fun dressing up tonight, but we'll probably take these clothes back to Salvation Army tomorrow. (However, I think Logan wants to keep the cardigan).

Leah's first Halloween

Leah couldn't wait to celebrate Halloween this morning that she had me put on her outfit so she could wear it all day. A friend from church gave us this Hungry Caterpillar outfit that says at the bottom, "but (s)he was still hungry," which definitely describes Leah. She will be a sturdy two-month old this week, and we can't believe how fast the time has flown by.

She discovered her hand recently so she has been sucking on it all afternoon. I'm sure this is the beginning of her wanting to put everything in her mouth. And the last picture was taken when she was giving me a bunch of smiles after I changed her diaper, though I have to be pretty quick if I want to capture them on film.













Editor's note: The first picture makes her look bigger than she really is. The camera adds a couple of pounds.

Fourth Outfit of the Day

Disclaimer: If you think poop stories are gross and inappropriate to share, then you better not read the following story and all its messy details.

This morning I changed Leah's pajamas (outfit #1) into a regular outfit for the day (outfit #2) because she spit up right down the front of them. Well, you'll never guess what happened this afternoon.

I thought Leah was having some pretty stinky gas, but it wasn't going away. She was still stinky a couple hours later so I decided to get to the bottom of things. She was smiling up at me on the changing table as usual, and I thought it would be a routine change. And to my dismay, it wasn't just gas.

The poop in her diaper had oozed out down her leg and all over her clothes (probably worse than the last time this happened). So I took off her diaper to clean things up so I could bathe her. After I removed the diaper, of course, she poops some more on the changing table and again on her clothes. So I frantically tried to remove her clothes and get the least amount of poop everywhere.

Then at precisely the moment I finally get her in the sink to bathe her, our landlord comes upstairs to say that they are working on our kitchen pipes and to not use the kitchen sink. So she's sitting there wet and cold from the water I had just poured on her. And at the same time, I thought any second she was going to poop again on everything. Luckily, she didn't and I managed to finish wiping her bum. I put on a new diaper and then some clean clothes (outfit #3 in the picture). And she slept through the entire clean-up process.

After I came home from a baby shower and it was time for bed, Logan discovered another messy diaper that had oozed out on her clothes again. He cleaned her up this time and put outfit #4 on her.

I just thought, "someday I'm going to look back and laugh at this." Needless to say, it's been an eventful day. This is the life of a mom.

First outing in the Bjorn

As part of a school project, Logan needed to take some pictures of Halloween decorations in the nearby neighborhood. So we decided to bust out the Baby Bjorn and go for a walk. Since Logan knows how it works the best, he put Leah right in it. We weren't sure how she would react to it but it turns out, she was so comfy and warm that she fell right to sleep. We weren't sure how it could be comforable sleeping straight up, but babies have the amazing ability to sleep in awkward positions.

So I just had to take a picture of my cute husband and adorable daughter on our walk.

After a diaper change


Here is Leah smiling after a diaper change. We can usually get a smile or two at the changing table. We couldn't decide if she was smiling about BYU beating UNLV 52-7 on Saturday or if it was the diaper change. It was probably about the game. Go Cougs!

Leah working on her smile

Leah has been smiling more and more the past week so we have been keeping the camera out so we could catch it on video. It usually happens after we change her diaper, when we pick her up out of the car seat or after she has just unloaded in her diaper. We get such a kick out her smiles.

Leah's new outfit

This Monday Logan and I drove about an hour north to the Gurnee Mills Mall. It's bigger than a normal mall with several outlet stores in it. We barely had enough time to make it through half the mall before we had to get back in time for Logan's night class in Evanston. We stopped at the Carter's baby clothes outlet store, and I had so much fun looking for clothes for Leah. I have been wanting to get her some long sleeved shirts and pants to wear for the winter. I found this little sweatsuit and just had to show it off.

After shopping we found a Red Robin on the way back and had to stop. We have been missing it. And of course I had to order the Chicken Teriyaki burger (A juicy chicken breast with sweet teriyaki sauce, grilled pineapple, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes & mayo) with a strawberry lemonade. It was muy delicioso!

Missing the wide open spaces

On Saturday Logan and I drove southeast across the border to Valparaiso, Indiana to visit Logan's cousin Michelle, her husband Matt and darling son James. They recently moved there so Matt could attend law school at Valparaiso University. As we hit the Indiana border just outside of the Chicago area, we noticed all the wide open space along the highway. We also noticed the changing colors of the trees and laid-back feel of the towns. The roads were wide, the traffic was bearable, and you could actually drive more than 40 mph. The area made us both miss our homes in Texas and Utah, and we longed to be living somewhere away from the overcrowded hustle and bustle of Evanston and Chicago.

We also passed a long stretch of restaurants, shopping centers, and stores including a Red Robin restaurant (my favorite) and Abuelo's Mexican Food Embassy (the one place we have to eat every time we're in Texas). The only Red Robin we had seen so far in the Chicago area was in Naperville and an hour away from us. We were surprised to see Abuelo's too, because we thought it was only in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We wanted to move to Indiana just so we could go to both restaurants.

Michelle and Matt were generous enough to share pizza and a homemade cake with us. James provided us with entertainment the whole time as he was playing with their cell phones and trying to poke and pat Leah. He also tried to unlock the bookshelf with Michelle's keys. We walked the two blocks to the school and then up the street to see the huge Lutheran church affliated with the school. The sun was setting by the time we reached the church, and the temperature was dropping as we realized it was six o'clock and we should probably head back to their home. We had so much fun chatting with them that we forgot to check the time. We headed back to our humble abode just in time for Logan to watch the end of the Auburn-Florida game.

Logan's note: We'll be driving there again soon to eat at Abuelo's.

I wish I was still pregnant...

I thought I'd never say this, but I wish I was still pregnant. I know you're asking yourselves, why on earth would she wish that? She was so uncomfortable and complained about it constantly. Well, I wish I was still pregnant for the mere fact that having a baby roasting in your stomach makes you extremely warm. And during the Chicago winters having an internal furnace would really come in handy, especially today. We saw our first Chicago snow flurries today and it's only October 12. The temperature is a record low for Chicago at this time of year - 40 degrees being the high and 33 being the low. Does that mean that it's going to be an extra cold and dreary winter? I hope not. I can't wait to visit Texas for our Christmas break.

Bath time

Leah has so much fun at bath time that we have to show off how cute she is. She just sits quietly and looks at us wondering why we are rubbing soap all over. And I'm sure she enjoys not wearing a diaper (I would really look forward to getting it off if I had to wear one every day). This was last night before bed. She was so snuggly afterwards that both daddy and daughter fell asleep together.

The Apple Festival

Last weekend we decided to be adventurous once again and headed up to Long Grove for the Apple Festival. At a recommendation from Logan's aunt Helen, we had previously driven there to see the rows of antique houses made into shops selling crafts, baked goods, candy, popcorn, ice cream, antiques, fine furniture and a bunch of other random household items. The Apple Festival was just another reason for us to hop into our lovely Elantra and experience the scenic suburbs of Chicago. Along the way, we saw trees turning the beautiful autumn colors and smelled the wonderfully fresh aroma of fall.

The Apple Festival brought many vendors to Long Grove selling apples, of course, in all variations: bags of apples, apple cider, apple pie, caramel and other dipped apples, apple cider donuts and many more. Logan and I knew we had to bring some home with us - it was just a matter of deciding what looked the most delicious. I walked past the booths of shish-kabobs, ribs, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and turkey legs and almost forgot about the apple delights we had come to see. I soon snapped out of it and we narrowed down our favorites to apple cider, a small caramel apple pie, apple cider donuts and a variety bag of apples.

Leah had so much fun at the Apple Festival that she snoozed all the way back home.

I used a loofah

Using a loofah is the least manly way to wash off in the shower. I usually lather my skin with a chunk of soap and my bare hands. But when my wife came home with a new body wash she said would make your skin elastic, I had to see if she was right. The stuff has "elastin" in it, and I woke up with visions of becoming Elasti-Girl or Stretch Armstrong. But don't believe it. Caveat emptor. Elastin does NOT turn your skin into elastic. And now I have to admit to having used a loofah.