Summer fun and a 6 month birthday

Summer is coming to a end but we've had some fun. Mother came for a visit which was blast. She stayed for three days and it went by incredibly fast. It was so nice to have her here. She fed Susie her first fruit, bananas, which was a hit of course. We went shopping, ate salsa, swam, saw The Help, and had pajama parties of course.

Paul had a week off from school and we tried to take advantage of that. We went to the Arizona Science Center which we thought would be pretty cool and it far exceeded our expectations! It was awesome! They had exhibits on building, the brain, the body, weather, natural disasters, and the sun. There were so many interactive exhibits and we learned a lot. We also went to Arizona Mills which is a HUGE mall with lots of outlet stores (if only we had money to spend!!) and visited the SeaLife Aquarium. That was a really fun day. We explored the aquarium and then walked around the mall for awhile.

Susanna turned 6 months old on Sunday. My little girl! Here are some of the things she likes to do:

-She can roll over both ways.

-She loves to grab at anything and everything, including the sacrament trays...

-She loves when I sing to her-- all smiles.

-She enjoys laying under her mobile and grabbing things.

-She laughs her head off when we all dance together. There isn't anything much cuter than a baby's giggles!

-When we read library books together she just wants to slap her hands on the books.

-When she gets something in her little hands she usually follows the same pattern... 1. shake it up and down, 2. bang it against something like the floor or the counter, 3. suck on it, 4. throw it away and look for something else to grab.

I think she is teething because she is normally a great napper and she hasn't been taking her naps lately... The pediatrician said he can feel some teeth coming in. I can't feel anything! But boy has she been fussy!

Sometimes I get caught up in comparing her with other babies. I hate worrying that she isn't on track but it can be hard not to. Right now I'm working with her on sitting up, waving goodbye, and am trying to introduce a few signs. Being a first time mom, it's difficult to know if she is behind or not. I just want to do what's best for her.

Susanna is the light of my life. Being a mom makes me the happiest person! I thank Heavenly Father every day that I have Susanna in my life. She is my little sunshine.

6 month stats:

Weight: 6th percentile

Height: 80th percentile

Head Circumference: 15th percentile

What's New

Still hoping for cooler weather! Sometimes I just can't believe so many people live here. Maybe it's something you get used to. I go jogging with a girl in my ward in the morning and I've comeclose to passing out twice! And we go at 7am! They say I'll love it in the winter.. we'll see...

Other than that we are enjoying life. I think everyone has those moments when they sit back and feel contented with life.. like "hey, life is pretty darn good!" I've had moments like that before in life (usually when surrounded by family) however since having Susanna, the feeling has intensified. Sometimes when we are together, the three of us, I feel so overwhelmingly blessed for my family.

We are making a few friends, slowly but surely. Which is a relief because it's great to have them! Paul has made friends from school and we've hung out with their families a few times. I've made friends from our ward and here and there. I have a card making date with some other "Midwestern Wives" this week, which will be fun. Now that I'm home it's fun to try and be crafty. I'm even working on a pillow and two cushions for our wicker rocking chair!

Paul is teaching Sunday School in our ward and I just got called as the YW secretary, which I'm very excited for. Hopefully I can get to know all of the YW in our ward soon. What am I looking forward to the most?... Girls Camp baby!!!

We also finally bought Susanna a high chair. We were feeding her in her bouncer but it was getting everywhere and we'd like that bouncer to stay somewhat nice for the children to come, so we bought a high chair. The first time Susie sat it in she loved it! She was all smiles. It works so much better. She likes to sit and watch me make dinner or do dishes.

I'll tell ya, those cheeks are just begging to be kissed!

Summer Update

It's been HOT.... but's it's been a great summer so far. Starting over in a new place together as a family has been exciting. I feel very grateful to have Paul as my partner and lucky to get to spend every day with my sweet, smiley, Susanna (who is currently napping... what a good girl).

We celebrated the 4th with some friends Paul made at school. We went swimming and barbecued, then got together in downtown Phoenix later on for the firework show. It was stifling, even at 11pm, but the fireworks were amazing! And Susie did so well! She didn't hardly cry and watched the fireworks with awe. She was zonked out on the way home.

Susanna has had some major developments in her little baby life. She started eating solid foods and is now an expert roller over-er. :) We flip out and cheer every time she does it so it's her favorite thing to do. She has started giving kisses, and I love it despite the slobber. She has tried rice cereal (this was first), carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and peas, the latter being her least favorite as you can probably surmise from the picture!

Little Sis/Aunt Livy came for a great ten day visit. We had a blast! Among other things, we went to the zoo, which was a big mistake. We were pretty much the only ones there (most of the animals were even absent) and as soon as we had been there 10 minutes we realized why. It was terribly hot! I wonder where they take the animals when it's "too hot to be on exhibit." I think it's a pretty cool zoo though and we are looking forward to going back in cooler weather. We stayed a whole hour... and almost melted.

Paul and I also celebrated our three year anniversary. Olivia took way to many pictures of us throughout her entire visit, this day in particular. I think I have a least of dozen pictures of the roses Paul bought me, alone. Olivia offered to babysit so we could go on a date (I think the third one we've had out of the house since Susanna was born!). We went to the Macaroni Grill and saw the new Harry Potter movie, which of course didn't disappoint !

Three years and getting better everyday.