Her new crib

Our little munchkin decided the couch was comfortable enough to snooze on so she snuggled her face right next to the back of it. She always sleeps so well in her car seat when she's bundled so we figured out that she loves to be snuggled close when she's sleeping. She looked so comfy and warm that I didn't want to move her to her crib. Yeah, she pretty much runs our home. I always tiptoe around and speak softly when she's sleeping, and make Logan be quiet as well. I don't mind having to keep quiet if it means I get an hour to myself.

Making our own baby food

It's been three weeks since Leah started eating solid foods, and she's doing really well. You can tell by her chubbiness that she loves to eat. She now eats rice and oatmeal cereal, and we just added potato to her diet today. Logan wanted to make our own baby food using our food processor because he read that it was cheaper and sometimes easier. I was a little skeptical, because it seems much easier to just buy baby food from the store. But he showed me last night that it doesn't have to be hard.

We were already eating potatoes for dinner so he just threw some cooked potatoes into the processor, added breast milk,and put them into small containers to freeze. He said that we could just make a bunch at once and freeze them until we're ready to feed her. I gave her the potato puree today, and she liked it at the beginning. Towards the end, she started spitting it back out and gagging so I figured she was just done with it. Maybe it will take a few more days of feeding her potatoes before she will get used to it.

A Babysitting Weekend

Okay, so it's been a while since we have posted. I know you have long awaited more updates on our wildly interesting lives. Sorry to disappoint you but we haven't had much to report lately. That was until this weekend. We agreed to watch our friends' kids for the weekend: ages 12, 8 and 3. We went from supervising our five-month old who only needs to eat, play, sleep, and to have her diaper changed to a household of kids who all wanted to do different things. And we just so happened to have a big snowstorm Saturday night and all Sunday. That's right, stuck inside.

The three-year-old was the busiest. She wanted to ride her bike back and forth inside the house. Then she wanted to climb on the table and spill her water cup. And if she was quiet in the other room, we had to make sure she wasn't getting into trouble. But the hardest part was sleeping because we had Leah in our room and right next to my side of the bed. She didn't sleep well in the pack-n-play, which meant that I didn't get a good night's rest.

Well, it was a good thing that it was only for two days. When we finally came home, I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. and thankfully, Leah slept through the night. It is nice to just have our quiet little baby at home. I know we won't always have a quiet home but for now, I'm enjoying it. Babysitting has made us appreciate what our parents and all those babysitters did for us. And it makes us think of how we want to raise Leah and our future children.

In all her chubby glory...

Here's our sweet little girl who has somehow turned into Jabba the Hut, Jr. We snapped this shot just before her bath, which was inspired by the photo of our friend's daughter (see the Parmas). You can tell by her face that she's confused at what's going on. She probably doesn't know why her parents are laughing and taking pictures of her. We still need to count her many rolls and post that number, though we may need to hide this information when she becomes a teenager.

Happy Valentine's Snow

This is what it looks like out our front door. You probably can't tell, but it's snowing, and it hasn't stopped since yesterday. I was telling Logan today that I didn't remember it ever snowing this much in back-to-back days in Utah. But he said I just haven't lived there long enough. Well, this is my first year living in Chicago, and I've already experienced enough snow to last me another 10 years.

The worst part about it is I had to find a parking spot on a certain side of the street because the trucks plow on one side at a time. This proved almost impossible as I drove around for 30 minutes and thought I would never find a spot close enough to carry Leah inside. I was also scared that our car would get stuck in the snow piled up on the side of the street.

I finally found a spot near our apartment and carried her inside. As soon as I got inside, I realized that I left my phone in the car. She was awake from her nap at this point, and I prayed that she would be happy in her car seat inside while I ran back through the snow to get my phone. Out of breath from running, I rushed back inside and sure enough, she was fine. I'm so glad she is a patient baby (most of the time).

We were going to celebrate Valentine's Day by going somewhere to eat last night. Today was going to be a little busy because Logan's going with the missionaries for a teaching appointment. As you see from the pictures, we didn't dare venture out last night because of the snow and the 20 mph winds. But the weather won't completely ruin this romantic holiday for us. We just have to be brave and adventurous, and Logan will probably have to drive.

Five months old

Leah turned five months last Sunday and has completed one week of eating rice cereal once a day. She is such a big girl when she sits up in her high chair. We love to sit her there sometimes while we are eating dinner, and she just stares at us the whole time. She continues to makes us laugh with her bright smile and funny mannerisms. For example, she has the most smiles after she wakes up from a nap, and when we blow a little bit towards her face, she acts like she is trying to breathe in the air.

Just within the last two days she has also let out some more giggles. Logan found her neck and shoulder area to be ticklish so we often try to make her laugh that way. I got her to laugh tonight after her bath by turning away and then jumping out at her. She also finds some things funny when we're least expecting it or not even trying to make her laugh.

First encounter with Rice Cereal

This is the first time we fed rice cereal to Leah. She seemed to enjoy it because she kept leaning for more. You can tell that she likes to explore and learn about this new substance by moving her tongue around. A lot of it spilled over on to her chin, which makes her face all sticky and gooey by the time she is done eating. It's been almost one week since she first tried it, and she hasn't rejected it yet. It's the beginning of a new chapter in her new life: eating from a spoon.

You can hear the clanging of our radiators in the background. If you think that's loud, just imagine them coming on when you're trying to sleep at night.

Reading the newspaper -- already

That's right, little Leah already knows how to read at a fourth-grade level. But she doesn't always know how to turn the pages very well. See for yourself.

Those days are over

As Leah hit her five month mark this week, I reflected on our lives as parents and realized how fast my baby has grown from that eight-and-a-half-pound newborn to a full-fledged infant nearing 20 pounds.

I knew before I had her that she would grow, but as large a pregnant woman, I only focused on the uncertainties that surround the birth. I spent more time trying to be a good pregnant woman and preparing myself for labor than I did reading about raising a child. There are more and more things to worry about now -- introducing solid foods, sleeping through the night, interacting with others, crawling, walking -- than I ever imagined.

You all know that Leah was the perfect newborn: sleeping all the time, barely making a peep, good eater, and happy as can be. Now that she is a vocal five-month-old requiring more of my time and attention, I realize those days are over. And I know what all those seasoned readers are saying to themselves, "Honey, it only gets worse." But the more I think about it, the more I am grateful and privileged to help this beautiful child develop into a smart, strong and capable young woman someday.

Logan says: "Awwwwwwww."

Trying to stay warm

We have to find ways to amuse Leah inside our cozy apartment because we are experiencing an arctic blast, or at least it feels like it to us. By cozy, I mean super small, cramped, and way overpriced, but we'll only have to live here five more months. We bounce her on our laps, sing, play peek-a-boo, and make funny faces.

(I noticed two days after writing this post that Leah was not dressed very warm in the picture which might make some of you skeptical about our parental abilities. But I can assure you that this photo was taken after she messed her diaper and her clothes so we had to change her. She happened to be wearing only a onesie in this picture.)

When we're talking to Leah face-to-face, she often will try to grab our mouths and pull on our lips and teeth. Here's an example while Logan was playing with her on the couch. She will also open her mouth wide and come straight towards your face like she wants to give you a kiss. She hasn't learned to close her lips yet so you come away with a nice, big slobbery kiss.
I was playing peek-a-boo with Leah and put this cloth on her head. It looked like she was wearing a bonnet or something. Now that she's five months old, she stretches her arms out wide and grabs for anything within sight. She also puts her arms out wanting me to pick her up.

Here's a picture I found from Christmas that I didn't realize we had. It was a great shot of her smiling so big. She will usually smile this big when we come to get her in the morning or after a nap, any time she knows you are about to pick her up.

She takes after her parents

Leah has seen us use these remotes so much that she now reaches for them if they are close by. Or maybe she's fascinated with buttons or wants to play with this contraption she sees Mom and Dad using. Either way this picture was funny enough to share and shows her chubby profile.

Aaahh...a good night's sleep

Hooray for Leah!! She slept all the way through the night. She has slept for long hours before, but last night she slept for a record 10 hours straight. Of course, there were two small awakenings when her pacifier fell out but she went right back to sleep. I certainly enjoyed the rest, especially because the night before she woke up three times (she was off her schedule because we were out late helping friends move and hosting our home-teachers).

We hope this pattern continues in the future. So far it's been a cycle where she will sleep well for two or three nights and then have another bad night. I've been reading some "Getting your child to sleep through the night" books that are hopefully helping us to establish good sleep habits for her.