Jumping on the trampoline

Our neighbors own a trampoline in the backyard that we share, and Leah loves to jump on it. When it's warm outside we usually go jump on it at least a couple times a day. Our neighbor's little boys have lots of balls that roll around when we jump on the trampoline, and Leah loves to watch the balls bounce. She also loves to run around in circles.

Her hair and my hair both get static in it, but hers look especially funny because it's so short (as you can see in the picture).

Marshall, the three-year-old living upstairs, always knocks to our door to see if we want to come outside and jump with him. I think he prefers to jump with me more than with Leah. We're so glad that we found a great place to live with a huge backyard for Leah to play in.

Hoppy Easter!

We all had a great Easter weekend. Leah did a Easter egg hunt on Saturday while Logan's parents and his sister Kelcy were visiting. We had to point out where the eggs were hidden but as soon as she spotted them, she opened them and immediately ate what was inside. Yesterday Logan and I gave talks in sacrament, and we barely finished preparing our talks just before church started. But we both felt they went well, and everyone will know who we are now in the ward. Leah also did well in nursery. My neighbor from upstairs filled in to be the nursery teacher so I think Leah felt a little more comfortable knowing her.

Leah loves wearing the Easter dress that my mom bought for her when they were visiting at the beginning of March. And when it was time for her to take it off and take a bath last night she didn't want to take it off. She just kept crying and saying "Nana, Nana". She remembers that Nana bought the dress for her so she refers to the dress as Nana.

We also had Kelcy and Logan's brother Braden and his wife Haley over for Sunday Easter dinner. It was the first time that Logan cooked a ham but it turned out to be really good. Logan's aunt Helen told him how to cook it in the crock pot so it's extra juicy and shredded. Now we have tons of leftovers to use for ham sandwiches, breakfast burritos, potato and ham casserole, etc. If you have any ideas about how to use our leftover shredded ham, please leave me a comment.

Out at the ranch

Last Saturday my friend Amanda asked me to come help her clean up her barn. I met her in our previous ward, and she and I have been playing basketball together. She leases a small plot of land in Provo right up against the mountain. In her barn she has three horses of her own, and one other horse that belongs to a friend. I'd never really shoveled horse manure in a barn before, so it was quite an experience. It took me a while to find grubby enough clothes that I didn't mind get dirty, and I had to bundle up because we've were having snow flurries that day. It also took a while to get used to the smell but once we got into the groove, the shoveling went by pretty fast as Amanda told me the unique histories of each horse and how she came to own them. I could tell she really loves caring for them.

While we were working, I had a strong urge to use the bathroom. I asked her if there were any bathrooms around. She said there was an outhouse I could use but she didn't know if it had any toilet paper. It turned out that there was toilet paper in a plastic Ziploc bag in there. I couldn't believe I was brave enough to go in there, but I really had to use the bathroom.

After we got done shoveling and cleaning up the barn, she saddled two horses to ride. By then the snow was coming down in huge flakes. I usually don't really like the snow but in this situation, it was really pretty up in the mountains. I hadn't ridden a horse since I was in college so it took me a while to feel comfortable. We were followed the road along side the mountain, and I tried to keep my eyes focuses on the road and not the fact that we were up so high. The horse I was riding was very gentle and followed my commands so that made me feel better. And Amanda and I just kept talking during the ride so I didn't have much time to feel scared.

I felt so accomplished and proud after our outing, but I was pretty tired by the time I got home. I had my share of shoveling horse poop, but maybe I'll go again another time when the weather gets warmer.

Another allergic reaction

I originally thought that Leah was just allergic to tree nuts and not peanuts, but she had another allergic episode today involving peanut butter. So I guess we'll have to steer clear of all kinds of nuts. Some people grow out of the allergy. But I don't ever want to have another reaction, so we'll have to read all the labels from now on.

Dyneuxmite's Grand Re-Opening

For those of you who faithfully check Logan's blog or every once in a while, you might have noticed that his site was having some technical difficulties last week. After a week of waiting to see if the site was going to work again, Logan found out that all of his blog files were deleted on his Yahoo "database," and he had to rebuild his site from scratch. He has taken the time to start his blog up again and will be having a Grand Re-Opening of Dyneuxmite next Monday. Make sure to download the Grand Re-Opening flier that includes a coupon for his blog.

And please leave comments for him to boost his confidence after losing all of his content to a computer malfunction (a.k.a. bad customer service). He was pretty depressed about the whole thing.

No nuts, please

We found out last week that Leah has a food allergy with tree nuts which include cashews, walnuts, almonds, etc. We gave her part of a cashew, and soon after we realized that her face was breaking out in hives and was red and puffy all over. She was rubbing her eyes in the bath tub and crying the whole time. We could also tell her lip was a little swollen, which means that her mouth was probably swollen too.

After calling the doctor's office, we realized she was in no immediate danger because her breathing was fine and the hives were starting to go away. And then just before bed, she threw up while she was sitting on my lap. I guess that was her body's way of getting rid of it. Poor girl. She went to sleep fine and slept throughout the night so we were glad about that. We just had to check during the night to make sure she was breathing fine. I found out the next day that Logan's dad has the same allergy with tree nuts.

She's 18 months!

I can't believe it. Our little girl has hit the 18-month mark of her life. This is huge. She's not a baby anymore - she is now the official age for nursery at church even though she hasn't wanted to stay in there the past two weeks. She is halfway to her second birthday.

I took Leah into her 18-month checkup with the doctor and here are her measurements:

Weight: 27 lbs. 9 oz (87 %)
Height: 34 inches (97%)

I couldn't believe that her height was a higher percentage than her weight. Usually it's the other way around. But I guess she's just grown a lot and thinned out more.

Here are some things she likes and dislikes:

L IKES: balls, stuffed animals, dogs, cats, swinging, playing outside, her binkie (she only gets it at night), reading books, playing on our bed in the pillows, dipping chicken nuggets in ketchup for lunch, running around the house, grabbing our hands and taking us where she wants to go and wrestling with mom

DISLIKES: getting into her car seat, she doesn't always like to sit in her booster chair, when we say no to watching her favorite video (Milo and Otis)

Starting her own fashion line

Leah has come up with some crazy outfits lately, and we had to be quick with the camera to capture her. She is pretty creative with the different pieces, and we think she might need to start her own fashion line for toddlers.

You decide for yourself.



This last picture is the day I wanted Leah's hair to be super cute in pig tails and ribbons. But unfortunately, she had the ribbons out after only five minutes in the car and the rubber bands were out soon after. She is getting better about letting me do her hair but I think she gets tired of the rubber bands pulling on her hair. I really wish she would keep them in because she looks so cute.

Happy Sunday

I has some left-over frosting from Logan's brother's birthday so last week I baked a cake so we could use up the rest of the frosting. I wanted to decorate the cake but all I could come up with was "Happy Sunday". I guess I was celebrating the fact that Leah wasn't sick anymore, and Sunday is a great day for worshiping, resting, spending time together, and planning the coming week.

When I woke up today, I didn't feel like celebrating. I have been battling a sore throat and ongoing headache the past two days, and this morning all I wanted to do was sleep in. Logan soon realized this and woke up with Leah and tried to keep her quiet around the house so I could sleep. It felt wonderful to not wake up and start rushing around like we usually do during the week. This helped my day go a lot smoother and be more relaxing. I guess it's another Happy Sunday.

Yea for Babysitters!

Tonight Logan and I attended a Murder Mystery Dinner at our new ward, and Logan's sister Kelcy watched Leah for us. It was fun to go to an official ward party and feel more involved in the ward. And we knew that Leah was in good hands back at home. We sat by some younger couples that we met at another small activity, and we had a lot of fun trying to figure out the murder mystery together.

I don't know if you have ever participated in one of these, but we solved the mystery pretty quickly. The murder mystery was patterned after the story in the Book of Mormon (and for those of you not part of the LDS faith, here is a brief explanation of the Book of Mormon). Our table soon realized that the names and the story line were very similar to the story in Helaman 9. So after the second round of clues, we looked up the chapter in the Book of Mormon and soon discovered who was the murderer in the story.

It was a fun night to talk more with people we met at church and have a couple of hours without Leah. Yea for babysitters!