Thanksgiving Extravaganza

Since we didn't have our camera at Thanksgiving last week, I will try to show you what it was like without pictures. This year we drove to Rochester, Minnesota to stay with my brother, his wife and three boys. My sister-in-law's sister and family were also visiting from St. Paul. So counting Leah, there were five kids under the age of five. Anytime you bring kids together under one roof, there's gonna be craziness and not a lot of sleeping. But overall, we had a fun time playing with my nephews and hanging out with my brother and his wife. We colored, built forts, told spooky stories and played games with the little ones. They have lived far away from me for the past few years so I enjoyed our time with them.

And I just wanted to give props to my sister-in-law Kristin who made a wonderful Thanksgiving meal despite being nine months pregnant and running a household with three energy-charged boys. I even tasted her sweet potato soufflé (I usually don't eat sweet potatoes) and went back for seconds. Everything she made was delicious including the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and pies. I tried to help out in the kitchen, but she had it covered along with her sister Valerie. We were so stuffed afterwards that we all took long naps and could only handle some pie for dinner. We were truly thankful for such generous family members.

We came back to the Chicago traffic on Saturday night just as the BYU game was winding down. So we had to get updates from Logan's dad. Logan listened to the final minutes on the radio via cell phone. The victory over the Utes was a great ending to a fun-filled Thanksgiving Extravaganza.

Good Batteries=Working Camera

We thought our camera wasn't working so we haven't been able to post any pictures of Leah lately. Well, Logan discovered that the batteries I bought from the Dollar store were the reason the camera was not functioning. I thought anything you buy at the Dollar store should work like any normal product, but I guess I was wrong. We tried new batteries and amazingly our camera does not need to be fixed.

So here's some more shots of adorable Leah. She is growing so much. Logan comes home from school some days and says "she looks older and feels heavier today." She melts our hearts each time she flashes that cute little smile.

Random Saturday Reflection

You'll notice there's no picture accompanying this post. That's because our digital camera decided to stop working today. Logan set out with it to take some pictures for a school project and he took five pictures before it stopped working. How are we supposed to show our friends and family how cute our daughter is when we don't have a working camera? Any suggestions?

For those of you watching college football these days probably watched the "game of the century": Michigan vs. Ohio State. We didn't have any personal affiliation for either team, but Logan had watched Michigan play several games this season and decided to root for them. He asked me which team I wanted to win and I said, "Ohio State, because I like their school colors better than Michigan." That's how much I cared about the match up. I did watch most of it, however, because it was the only way to spend time with Logan today on his day off. But I will admit that both teams were impressive to watch.

He promised me that we could go out for dinner since I had been home all day yesterday and today. We picked a place in Evanston called the Flat Top Grill. I had read several reviews online saying it was a great place to eat stir fry (it's a build-your-own-stir-fry-bowl place). We didn't realize going there would be such an ordeal. We ended up waiting 40 minutes in a cramped waiting area to get a table. Leah was asleep during the whole meal so at least we didn't have to worry about her being upset in her car seat. The food was pretty good and filling, but the restaurant was noisy and really not worth all the time and money. I hope we have better luck next time we splurge.

Editor's note: I really get to see Logan other times than watching football. He will usually go shopping with me on the weekends. I was just giving him a hard time because all he could talk about was watching football on Saturday.

Life in Babyland

As a mother for over two months now, I'm slowly learning the art of multitasking. I'm not quite the expert like my sister-in-law Kristin who has three rambunctious boys and one on the way. Leah's not too hard to handle yet but she doesn't always like being set down. So tonight before Logan came home from school, I decided to put Leah in the Baby Bjorn and cook dinner at the same time.

It worked out pretty well. Leah soon fell asleep, and I was just about to put the meal in the oven to bake when Logan came home. I don't know why I haven't tried this before. I'm learning new things about Leah and myself each day and loving this role as a mother. How can you not enjoy it with an adorable face like this?

This picture was taken right before we left to run errands today. She's my little trooper when it comes to her car seat and riding in the car...thank goodness.

Egg Nog Shakes

One of my favorite holiday treats is Egg Nog. So you better believe I bought a half gallon as soon as I saw it in the store. One thing led to another, and I ended up buying vanilla ice cream and a can of whipped cream. Egg Nog is good enough by itself, but it's simply supreme when made into a shake like the one at left. What's even better is that Hillary doesn't like Egg Nog at all, so I get it all to myself! Oh man, what a wonderful time of year.

A Close Call

Last Sunday we were ready in enough time for church to dress Leah in her cute blessing dress. The last few weeks she has been going in her pajamas.

And as soon as we sat down for sacrament meeting, ironically, she blew out her diaper again. At the beginning of the Primary program Logan leaned over to me and said, "Leah just messed her diaper and I think a little got on my pants." After stressing about what we should do, we decided he would take her to the men's bathroom for some diaper duty.

A friend told us later that day that as soon as he saw Logan get up in the middle of the meeting with Leah, he knew it must have been an emergency.

It was a good thing she was wearing tights or it would have made a huge mess on her pretty dress and Logan's pants. It was a close call, but I'm sure it won't be the last time it happens.

She's one tough cookie

Today we took Leah in for her two-month check up. We had to wake her up to weigh and measure her (with her clothes off). She didn't like it much but didn't cry. She now weighs 13 pounds, 11 ounces and measures at 23 inches long. She is in the 97 percentile for weight and 76 percentile for height. She must be eatin' good! (This picture was taken earlier today before the appointment when I was changing her into her outfit for the day.)

As a part of her checkup, she took five vaccines. She took the first two vaccines by mouth like a pro, sucking it through the nipple of a bottle. Then came the moment I had been dreading all week -- her shots. I elected to hold her arms while both nurses stuck each leg with a needle. Boy, did she cry. But soon she calmed down until her third shot. After another painful cry, I was able to pick her up and soothe her by nursing her. We gave her some drops of Tylenol and she was calm as a clam. She fell asleep on the way home and took a nap when we arrived home. Now if only we could help her not kick her legs and make it hurt worse.

We are very blessed to have such a wonderful, happy daughter. She even wore her BYU socks on game day since the Cougars are playing Wyoming tonight. We couldn't be more proud.

Two months old

I think she was making this face on accident, but it makes for a really cute picture. This one and more have been added to our photo page. She was two months old last Saturday and seems to be growing (chubbier) each week. We just love to pinch her firm, round cheeks and can't wait to find out how much she weighs on Thursday at her appointment.

Funny sleepy noises

Leah was asleep in Logan's arms and started making some really funny noises. So we thought it would make a good video. She was sleeping pretty heavy and we wanted to laugh without waking her up. Make sure you have your volume turned up.

More pics of Leah

As requested from many family members, we have taken more pictures of Leah so everyone can gush over how cute she is. But this time we have included ourselves so that you all won't forget what we look like either. I also wanted to show off Leah's new adorable shirt that says "daddy's lil sparkler." Logan picked it out for her to wear tonight after her bath.

(And I wanted to make sure that everyone didn't think I really looked like a tired mom all the time.)