Bye, bye Binkie

It's getting closer and closer to the baby coming so we thought it was time to do the impossible - take away Leah's pacifiers. It was actually past due because she had to have one in her mouth and one in her hand every time she went to sleep. And we didn't want her to get jealous of the baby having a binkie. It wasn't totally impossible but it has been quite a struggle to get some sleep at night.

Last Saturday Logan had this great idea of taking her to the store with her pacifiers in a ziploc bag and exchanging them for a barbie doll. She is really into the Disney princess girls so she picked out a Beauty and the Beast Barbie doll.
























She was so distracted looking at all the dolls that she had no problem leaving her binkies at the store. (We actually didn't leave them there, but when she wasn't looking we took them with us). She said "bye, bye binkies" and went home as happy as could be.

That afternoon was rough. She didn't take a nap after I tried to get her to for an hour or so. She went to sleep fairly well that night being so tired but woke up unhappy in the middle of the night. The next day was just like the first - no nap and exhausted by bedtime. One of the only ways to get her to sleep was to bring the rocking chair back into her room from the baby's room and rock and sing her to sleep. She just wouldn't stay in her bed to sleep.

But after a couple of days of doing that and fighting her to sleep, especially in the middle of the night, we decided to come up with a different plan. Tonight I spent extra time with her reading books, singing songs, and explaining over and over that I was going to say "night, night" and not come back in.

Well, our plan went fairly well tonight. She cried for a little while but eventually stopped asking for me and went to sleep. I went to check on her about 40 minutes later, and she was in her bed asleep. I hope this means that we're making progress for the future.

I just don't want to be already sleep deprived before our newborn makes his arrival. And let's just pray that he is a much better sleeper than his sister.

Keeping busy at home

Because Logan and I share one car, I have to find creative ways to spend my day at home when he takes the car to work all day. I have come up with a few strategies to help Leah play and not get bored at home (though she usually gets bored with me so we visit the neighbor's kids). Here's what we have been up to. Ever since we started drawing pictures with sidewalk chalk, she can't get enough of it. It first started when our neighbor was outside tracing around her son with the chalk. So she wanted me to do that to her.

Then I began drawing pictures of her favorite things: dogs, cats, mermaids and princesses (she's really into the Disney movies these days). Now she wants to try her hand at drawing and sometimes she doesn't even notice if I'm outside with her or not. I'm grateful for this simple pleasure of chalk that with keep her busy.

Next I have found that Play-Doh works wonders with her while I'm trying to prepare dinner. She will usually want help making certain figures using my cookie cutters. But she will sit and play as long as I'm close by in the kitchen.













Sometimes she just likes to be silly outside and hang on the back of this metal swing in the yard. I sit and swing while she stands on the back and pats my head. Or she wants me to turn around and give her a kiss. These are the little moments that help me get through a long day at home.













Another favorite of hers is arranging bows and brushing my hair. Usually Logan or I will have to help her get the bows in my hair, but she's pretty good at ripping them out. I remember doing this with my mom when I was a little girl. I would try to fit as many bows in her hair as possible. And then I would proudly show my dad what I had done. She is definitely becoming a girly girl.













And last but not least, painting finger nails. Today she saw me taking off the paint on my toe nails, and I asked if she wanted me to paint hers and she said "yeah". So she held each hand very still while I painted her little nails. And then I held her hands still while we sat on the couch and watched a cartoon. I'm glad I bought the 60-second dry polish so it didn't take long before she could start playing again. But she was so excited to show her pretty nails off to Logan and everyone else we saw today. I even painted my finger and toe nails as well to match hers. It's fun having a little girl! (I'm so excited for my sis-in-law to be having a girl after four boys. This is what she has to look forward to)

First Snow of the Year

This Sunday morning we woke up to this picture outside our front door. Can you believe it? Snow already. I don't think I was ready for it.

It was fun to see Leah's surprised face when she looked outside to see the snow. I don't think she really remembers what it was like last year after she turned one. She had barely started walking so when she tried to walk in the snow, it was pretty hard for her. She may enjoy playing outside a little bit more this year. Well, at least our church is across the street so we don't have to go very far.

Conference weekend - Daddy's little helper

I was amazed at all the Conference talks this October. They always inspire and uplift me to be better. I am looking forward to getting them in the Ensign so I can read the ones that I missed while Leah was playing and distracting us. At least she slept through the entire Saturday afternoon session so Logan and I were able to sit together and listen.















During Conference weekend, Logan and his dad prepared and baked tons of food. Logan loves cooking on the weekends when he can be home from work. I enjoy it too because I don't have to worry about the cooking, just the clean up.

Leah loves to be in the kitchen when we're making food, especially sitting up on the counter. Sometimes she can get a little too curious if we don't watch her close enough. Logan had the patience to let her help stir the eggs as he was making a pumpkin bread roll. I thought it was so cute to see them together.


And she thoroughly enjoyed herself. We are hoping she will be a good helper in the kitchen when she gets older.


I was able to finish Breaking Dawn last weekend, and it made me very excited to see the movie. I thought the whole series was so thrilling and easy to read. I know everyone always talks about not wanting to put down the book, but that's really how it is. I'm so glad that the author has received such high prize and such a huge fan base for her books. She deserves it.

Logan and his family also worked on our puzzle during Conference weekend and finally finished the 1,000 piece landscape. It was a little too frustrating for me so I was glad they were able to finish it so we could put it away and have more space in our living room.

The month of September

So I was a big slacker last month for not blogging at all since Leah turned two. It has something to do with my big pregnant belly and the constant need to eat, sleep and read while Leah is napping. I finished reading a book called Dragonfly in Amber (second in the series after Outlander). It is close to 800 pages long and took me forever to read, but I finally finished. Then I immediately started reading Breaking Dawn. I know, I'm a little behind with that one but I'm about halfway done now.

That brings me to finally updating my blog, and it's already October. I'm sure everyone has stopped checking our blog since my lack of updating. So here's what we've been up to this past month:

Leah got her face painted like a cat by a nice lady outside a new grocery store that opened up in Orem. She held very still during the whole process and couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror when we got home.

Leah got her very first haircut. I know I waited a while to do it but Logan and I were both nervous to have it cut. But my friend Amanda did a great job making the bottom even and still keeping a lot of the length on top. I was very pleased with the outcome but Logan still couldn't believe that I got it cut.

My stomach is continuing to grow a rapid rate. I feel like I have a basketball in my belly. This shot was taken at about 29 weeks. I will be 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow. It's going so fast!

Logan went mountain biking up at the Sundance resort trails with his dad and brother Braden. They had a fun boys' day and came back just in time for dinner and to watch Leah so I could enjoy the General Relief Society Broadcast. I'm glad he got to have this time together with just the "boys."

And finally, Leah has become obsessed with watching the Disney princess videos and reading the books including The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Snow White. This means that she is definitely a girl! I allow her to be excited about these because they remind me of when I was a little girl. I loved these movies and still do. My mom even bought her a Cinderella dress for Halloween that Leah wants to wear all the time now. (Notice her crazy after-nap hair and squinty smile.) She is certainly the princess of our house.