Adventures in Leahland

Here are some funny pictures we took of Leah lately. She is learning new things all the time but also getting more and more opinionated about what she wants to do. She makes her wishes known and wants to do certain things all by herself like putting on her shoes or opening some string cheese. So I'm trying to learn to help her out only when she needs me and let her try to do things by herself.

Here are some shots in our everyday life together. She makes me laugh all the time with the faces she pulls. And she always wants to try on clothing items and change her outfits (she's a true girl). You can see how she is wearing one of my t-shirts. She already loves to play dress up.

Happy Birthday Dad (Papa)

Today is my dad's birthday so I got a little video of Leah saying "Papa". It's so cute! She likes for me and Logan to draw pictures of people and animals so the other day she requested Papa and Nana. She doesn't always say what I want her to say on cue but this time she delivers.

I'm so grateful for a wonderful, loving dad who has always supported me in everything I have done. He always bought me and my sister stuffed animals when we were young and always came home from work with some exotic animal that we didn't have yet. I knew that he was always thinking of us during his busy days at work. He was always there cheering me on when I was playing sports and has taught me everything I know related to sports. When he and my mom came to visit in March, they even came to my Church Regional basketball tournament and cheered for me the whole time. I couldn't help but play my heart out for him. Thanks dad for everything you do for me and our family. You're a great example! Hope you enjoy this video!

"Baby, baby"

I found Leah's two baby dolls in her closet the other day (when the weather was yucky, and we were stuck inside) and brought them out for her to play with them. She loved playing with them before, but this time she acted like she just saw them for the first time. She didn't stop playing with them the whole day. And she also started saying "baby," which is another word to add to her increasing vocabulary. When she saw a baby before, she would just make a sad, whiny face because she knew babies cry. She actually has a baby doll that makes crying noises. But now she can actually say the word baby so she walks around a lot of the day saying it over and over. She has also picked out some of her books about babies and carried them around as her favorite ones.

I can already see a difference in her interests as a girl compared to other boys I've seen who would have nothing to do with a baby doll. Maybe it's girls' natural instinct to nurture and care for others. I'm not saying that some boys have this innate sense of nurturing too. I just think that girls usually show it at a younger age.

Another thing she likes to do is wear dresses. She likes to pick them out of her closet and try to put them on herself. I hope this doesn't mean she's going to be a clothes horse when she gets older.

Here's a video of her saying baby today while reading her baby book.

Weird Weather

I know there are other parts of the country that are experiencing worse weather that we are (Chicago, IL and Rochester, MN come to mind), but I just wanted to mention the weird day we had on Monday. We woke up that morning to find some cloudy weather, but nothing too scary. Then by 10 a.m. it was haling which soon turned into snow. I'm talking huge flakes coming down. Then by the afternoon everything had melted, and the sun was out and shining.

I thought this was how the rest of the day was going to be, but I was so wrong. By later that evening, the snow flurries had returned, and everything outside was covered again with snow. Usually when I storm comes through you usually have the same weather throughout the day. Not Monday. It was a total flip-flop.

Conference Weekend

I know I'm a little late in posting about General Conference, but I didn't want to forget it all together. It was amazing! We drove up to Logan's parents' house on Saturday during the morning session and listened to it in the car. We were then able to get Leah to take a nap around noon, and Logan and I had tickets for the afternoon session. Logan's brother gave us tickets because he was singing in the BYU combined choir that afternoon. Even though we were up in the balcony, it was still amazing to be in the Conference Center as a couple. I was able to focus more on each talk without Leah around to distract me. Another great thing about the weekend was that Logan's family was there play with Leah so I could pay more attention to their talks which can be hard to do with little kids.

I tried to pick a favorite talk out of the whole conference, and it was hard to do. One that stood out to me was the talk given by Gerald R. Lund about opening our heart to the spirit and assessing the motives of our heart. He said that we are the gatekeepers of our hearts, and we are the ones that choose what enters it. He also talked about the consequences of a hardened heart, which aren't things that I would like to happen to me. I know that when we are more in tune with the spirit and allow our hearts and minds to be open, we can truly be inspired in every aspect of our lives.

I know after hearing Conference I really want to take more inventory of my life and see where I can make changes. I'm so glad we also had a chance to participate in the Solemn Assembly and sustain President Thomas S. Monson. I know my testimony was strengthened by hearing his words and feeling that he has been called of God to be our prophet.

What did you think of it?