I Recommend...

Ooh! Ooh! I want to play this game! I recommend...

Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese with Wheat Thins.

Singing songs and dancing with your baby, using beaters as your microphones.

Taking bubble baths.

Finding and using a good baby-sitter once a week.

Wearing fuzzy boots in the snow (quite stylish and quite practical).

Finding a girlfriend to share your daily frustrations and woes with (in moderation). Your husband will listen to it all when he finally gets home at the end of his long day, but that doesn't mean he wants to!

Attending fine arts and cultural events. The free ones (like the BYU MOA) and are awesome, but I also recommend spending money to get to a traveling Broadway show every year or so.

Drinking lots of water.

Saying "I love you" a lot. It's empowering to say it, and it feels just as great to hear it.

Cleaning out your fridge and taking stock of your pantry before going grocery shopping.

Having (nice) inside jokes with those you love to joke with.

Saying no when you need to say no.

Getting your own checking account, so you don't have to explain why those hot boots actually were a finacial emergency. Even if it's only $10 a month... President Hinckley and his wife did it and we do too.

Using this to rinse your dishes- it keeps your hands out of the water!

Taking time for yourself- even if it's at 6:00 in the morning- getting away when you need to get away. It really does make everything better.

Wearing silky pj's to bed, and then going to bed when you're tired (no matter what the clock says!).

Leaving comments on blogs that you read... including this one!

Happy Days Are Here Again

It seems we have reached the end of the gloomy tunnel of despair that has clouded our days, and we are on to happier times! No more of this:


But lots of this:

and a little of this:
(Bad mommy moment, I know, but just look at how happy she is! And I've licked the beater approximately 4,236 times in my life, and it hasn't killed me yet.)


And a ton of this:

Luckily, we've been able to ward off cabin fever with trips to BYU, the mall, and the Dollar Store- Leah loved that one the most!

Leah has an appointment with the orthopedic doctor on Friday, and hopefully her "bracelet" will be coming off then. She seems to have recovered very quickly, and I'm ready for regularly scheduled baths again!

And in other big girl news, Leah is 100% weaned! I, of course, am a little teary-eyed about it (just a little), but she's made it clear that she's ready to move on, so here we go!

President Hinckley

We were so shocked to hear that President Hinckley passed away last night. I think we all thought he would just live on forever. He was "our prophet"- through high school, college, marriage, and babies. It is hard to remember the church without him and his cane-waving at the head of it. But, we know he is happiest now that he is together again with his sweet wife, Marjorie. We love you, President Hinckley. We will always remember all you did for us and try to live up to all you expected of us.

Man, I feel like a woman!

It is amazing the difference a few hours can make. Mommies Night Out was a great success, and although I forgot my camera, I think those who attended are feeling something like this tonight. It is so nice to remember that you are actually capable of having adult conversation that doesn't revolve around diaper contents and sleeping battles (entirely!). Check out Megan Tea's (not to be confused with Megan Nelson) blog in upcoming weeks for details about February's mini-vacation!

Shhh... Baby Sleeping

I thought I'd make list of things I'm grateful for this morning.

1. I'm grateful that Leah went to bed at 6:30 last night, and slept well through the night, even though at some point she threw up ALL OVER herself, her crib, and her jammies. I'm also grateful that her cast was spared, considering that it has started emitting it's own fungal stench.

2. I'm grateful that I had just enough quarters to get said stinky clothes and bed linens into the wash first thing.

3. I'm SO grateful that I have MNO (Mommies Night Out) to look forward to tonight- I'm earning it!

4. I'm grateful I have my own mommy to call at times like this.

5. I'm especially grateful that I have such a wonderful and caring husband, who knows when it's time drop his other responsibilities (all 346 of them!) and take care of his family. When I got out of the shower this morning, I found this:

So I guess I don't have much to complain about after all!

This season's must NOT have toy

Jason and I decided that for Leah's first Christmas, we would only buy her a few toys and leave all of the spoiling to the grandparents. But, I saw this Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Puppy and had to get him. Now that he's been with us for a few weeks, I just wanted to share a "buyers beware".

First of all, this puppy is extremely sensitive, and is always looking for an excuse to spout off one of his demands (Hug me!) or to scare me with his creepy afterhours observations (Peekaboo! I see you!). Jason gets home at night later than I'd prefer- I won't share specifics for any "blerkers" that might be reading this- but the last thing I need to hear in the dark of the night is "Got your nose!" He does sing a lot of cute songs and rhymes, but his buttons are so sensitve, that he can't get through one without jumping to the next. So, trying to play with him sounds something like this- "This little puppy went to- A B C D E F- I love you- Head, shoulders, knees, and- Red ear- Got my toes!" Then, after discarding him in frustration, and just when you think you've put the beast to rest, he shouts out one last-ditch effort to get your attention (Let's play!).

I really don't think Leah is learning anything by playing with him but how to develop ADD at an early age , so for now, he has been shelved. Just thought I'd share.

Desperately Seeking Chocolate!

I don't know about you, but I am SO in need of a Mommies Night Out. So, the decision has been made- Mommies Night Out will be held at TGI Fridays this Thursday. Meet at my house at 7:30 and we can try this or this

and definitely this

Mmmm... chocolate... You don't have to be a mommy yet to join us, but remember- no babies allowed!

A long day

I guess it seemed like I was bragging that the only issues we have to deal with around our house lately are sleeping, teething, weaning, walking and talking. Today we can add a fractured wrist to the list.

Leah is non-stop lately. She is always on the go, which is great, but brings with it a LOT of bumps and bruises. Yesterday we were sitting on the couch and she scooted right off the edge. I grabbed for her so she wouldn't hit her head on the coffee table, but she still started howling, and didn't stop for 45 minutes, except for a brief respite while eating Jello (her new favorite snack). We put her to bed at 6:15, and she slept for 12 hours, then woke up and started howling again. She wouldn't put any weight on her left arm, so we decided we'd better take her to the doctors, just in case. Three trips in the car, two visits to the pediatrician, one set of X-rays and a cast later, we are all home and headed to bed. Leah has been a trooper, but the next few weeks will be a challenge, I'm sure.

Hot pink casts need to be accessorized with hot pink nail polish- Leah picked it out herself.

Toddlin' Around

Yesterday we went to the Bean Museum at BYU and Leah was walking all over the place! Most of her excursions end the way it did in this video.

Now entering the world of video...

For every picture we have of Leah, there is a 5 minute video clip to go along with it. We thought we'd start sharing some here.

This is from the Denver Children's Museum- home of the BEST toddler playplace ever. Leah especially loved going down the slide.

Tripple Whammy

We are going through the wringer around our house this week. Teething, weaning, and getting back on our pre-holiday sleep schedule have made this week a non-stop adventure.

First- teething. Leah has had her front two bottom teeth for a few months now, and we have been diligently watching the top gums for any sign of pearly whites. The other day I was checking out her bottom teeth and- whats that?- another tooth?! I hadn't even noticed it! Three on the bottom and none on top seemed unusual, and I guess her little mouth agreed. This morning we found not one, but two teeth popping out on the top! What a brave little girl- Leah hasn't even seemed to mind. (Plus, she LOVES infant Tylenol, so she is more than happy right now, since I'm keeping her on a steady drip, just in case.)

Second- weaning. What more can I say? She's ready, I'm ready, we're all ready, so here we go! I'm not doing cold turkey, but I think by the end of the month, we'll be just about there. It's hard to believe my little girl who also LOVED nursing is all grown up! She is really losing interest and patience with nursing, and I guess I'm going to go along with it.

Third- sleeping. This is the first time I can actually say that I am proud of Leah's sleeping habits! We got into some bad habits over the holidays (anything to get her to sleep!) but now we are back on schedule and everyone is much happier. Yay for that!

And a few extras- Leah is fully mobile now. She has been toying with walking for about a month and a half, but she is off and running now. She's still fairly cautious, which I'm grateful for, but she can keep up with me all over the house. It is so much fun.

Leah is also a little chatterbox. I made a list of her words last night, and we're up to about 15 so far. Among the favorites are "panda" (all wild animals), "hat", "ball", "gee" (gimme that!), "bubbles", and "purple". She's also starting to string words together, like "bye-bye dad". She doesn't say "no" yet, but judging by the unnatural body contortions she throws herself into when she doesn't want to eat her veggies, I think she's got the general idea of the word.

"No veggies for me, Mom!"

Our favorite time of day- "bubbles!"

And since Leah gets all the attention, I'll throw in a picture of Jason and I from days of yore, just so people know what her parents look like.

Ski Weekend

We spent this weekend in Idaho/Wyoming, skiing, snowboarding, and sledding. Our whole family was there, which means that we finally got to meet baby Claire! Here are the three girl cousins, hanging out in the ski lodge while the grown-ups were on the slopes.

Leah looking very lady-like...
Check out the snow fort the guys built!

Leah especially loved all the attention she got from her cousins, and loved sledding with Sarah.

Happy First Birthday Leah!

We have been celebrating Leah's birthday every chance we could get over the past few weeks! We had three great parties-

Three tasty cakes...

a lot of fun presents...

and lots of fun with family and friends!

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Leah's birthday! We love seeing how many people love her- we are blessed to have such great family and friends.

Mommies Night Out!

Hello Provo Moms! We had a great Mommies Night Out in November, and if you're like me, you're really looking forward to the next one! It will be

Thursday, January 24th at 7:30 pm!

We'll meet at my place and then head out- I haven't decided if we should find another great restaurant and stuff ourselves with tasty desserts or really treat ourselves and get pedicures! Any votes? More details to come!

Top Ten Christmas Vacation Moments

10. Decorating Christmas cookies.

9. Leah helping Grandma play Christmas carols.

8. Great Christmas presents (thanks again, everyone!).

7. Hearing Leah say "Wow!" after opening each gift.

6. A great nativity.

5. Leah sleeping in on Christmas morning.

4. A white Christmas! We made snow angels.

3. A trip to the awesome Denver Children's Museum.

2. Visiting lots of family.

1. Heading home again.