9 Months Old! What???

Where has time gone? I have a hard time believing that 3 months from now our little "Boo" (as we call her) will be 1 year old. I want her to grow up so slowly and she already isn't listening to me. I guess it's only the start of things to come.

At her doctor visit yesterday she weighed 20.5 lbs and was 28.5 inches long. The doctor said he doesn't usually see a baby with such perfect proportions. That her height is perfect for her weight and vice verse. He said she is the size of a 1 year old now and is growing perfectly. I think she may have some of her dad's height in her which is wonderful! While checking her mouth, nose, eyes and ears the doctor took a second to squeeze her cheeks saying "You can't be that close to those cheeks and not want to give them a squeeze." !!!

Lately Boo will sit on the floor and play with toys for what seems like hours. She is really good to play by herself....as long as some one's laying on the floor not far from her. She loves to be scared (hence the nickname Boo) which gives her brothers and dad tons of enjoyment. I have to close my eyes sometimes as the throwing into the air commences...but she loves it.

One of her favorite past times is sitting outside on the front porch. She watches all the cars go by and claps at everything. Sometimes she even gets her own chair!

Boo is so limber!! She always has her legs in the air and her feet in her mouth. I've tried telling her many times it's not lady-like but once again...the not listening part! I guess if she stays this limber I'll have to sign her up for gymnastics or something!

Her newest thing is trying to stand on her own. She can hold onto furniture and sometimes she lets go-thinking she will just be able to stand on her own. Sometimes she may for a second or two but usually she falls. Which is fine with me...I'm not ready for a walking baby yet! She still doesn't crawl but has figured out how to get around by rolling everywhere. She's pretty quick too! You can't take your eyes off her for a minute.

I know I've said this before but we just love this little girl. Even though she tires us all out she is such a wonderful blessing. She makes our hearts melt every time she sees us and smiles. She loves her family and we love her. This has been such an amazing 9 months. We look forward to all the future adventures!

Spring Break (aka Leah's 1st Vacation)

Last week was spring break for all of our kids. I wanted to do something so the boys wouldn't just be sitting around all week long. But Kim and I couldn't really take off a ton of vacation days. So we decided to take a quick 2 day trip. We decided to go to Lehman Caves, in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. It's about 3 hours from us...not too far but far enough to feel like you went somewhere.

We didn't want to drive the whole way (and we weren't sure how Leah would do in the car), so we decided to stay overnight in Delta (about mid-way between our house and the caves). When we got to Delta we took a little rest and let everyone stretch their legs a bit...

Leah really enjoyed her 1st hotel room. :-)

We had time to spare in Delta and decided to visit the Topaz Japanese Internment Camp (only 15 miles from Delta). Stephan and Nathan had learned about the Japanese Internment camps in history this past year and were interested to see what one looked like. We drove out to the site and were amazed at how little was there. Some cement flooring, some pottery, a few bottles and some markers telling us what housing block we were by. As we were walking around we did stumble onto an old army truck that had fallen apart.

Great photo op!

Even though there isn't much at the actual Topaz site, in Delta they have a really interesting museum with information about the Topaz camp (among other things). One amazing thing they have is an actual "house" from the camp site.

and furniture that would of been inside one of the rooms.

The main part of our trip though was a 60 minute tour of Lehman Caves. We'd all been through Timpanogas Caves but had heard Lehman Caves was better. So we thought we'd check it out.

Leah was having fun just hanging out in the sun.

Inside the cave was just amazing!! None of my pictures do it justice. The colors were amazing,

the formations were strange and breathtaking

Even the door to get in and out was cool looking!

All in all we had a great time touring the caves, walking around a historical site and just hanging out together. Plus now Leah can say she's been out of Utah!

6 Months Old!!!!

I can't believe it's already been half a year. It's amazing how fast time goes by; especially when you want it go slow. Leah's doing wonderful. She's still in the top % for height & weight and going strong. As the doctor told us "She's as big as a nine month old." It's not hard to believe since she's wearing 12 month clothes!

She loves everything right now. . .well expect naps (an apology goes out to her babysitters!)

She loves to chew on everything! You put it in front of her-she'll chew on it!

She loves to hang out in her Exersaucer

and look at books.

She can sit up on her own but not for very long. She talks-a lot. Not that anyone can understand her but boy can she get loud! She talks to mirrors, light fixtures, her hands, her brothers, etc. She also loves to smile and to be pushed around in her stroller. She seems to love being outside; which is good since her parents do too.

We've enjoyed these first six months and can't wait for the fun stuff we know is coming. She's a lot of work but brings so much joy to our family. She's a doll and we love her.

4 Months Old

Our baby girl is 4 months old. It's so amazing how quickly time goes by. It seems like just a few days ago she was this little itty bitty baby who barely fit into her newborn clothes. Today was her 4 month check up. She's gained 3lbs and has grown 1.5 inches. She in the 90% and going strong.

We love her so much! Her personality comes out more and more every day. She smiles all the time; so big her whole face is smiling. I can't seem to get a picture of it though. Once you get the camera out it's all seriousness trying to figure out what that is in your hand.

This is about as close as I've gotten:

She loves to stand up and see what's going on but also loves to lay on a blanket for "floor time." Her little arms and legs get going so much she actually can move herself around a little bit. She also loves to be scared. Crazy kid...she didn't get that from me! Sometimes when you scare her she'll laugh...and I have to say, a baby's laugh is about the cutest sound around.

She can now eat food! YAH!! Well, if you call rice cereal and smashed bananas food. But she seems to like it.

She's growing up so fast. It makes me sad but happy at the same time. I can'twait to see her as she gets bigger and bigger. I can't wait to hear her little voice when she starts talking or watch her walking around.

I take that back, I can wait. I don't want her growing up any faster than she already is.

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus

It's really hard not to think about my grandmother during the Christmas season. Her name was Virginia and Christmas was her favorite time of year.

She made little doll ornaments that were dressed like all different countries and nationalities. I have a box of them that I picked out myself and love. She made snowmen that had cute little green scarves and red hats with a pompom on the top. I have 3 cute ones that I put up each year. She made these black licorice cookies that I couldn't stand but I loved the design on them. She gave me and all of my siblings a different ornament every Christmas. I have a box with all of my angels carefully put away. One day I will share them with my daughter and tell her about her great grandma she never got to meet.

I don't remember having a great relationship with her when I was little. There were a lot of us kids and I think we just over powered her. But as I grew older and was more interested in cooking and crafts and more appreciative of what went into those things, I think my grandmother and I had a better relationship.

I remember my last days with her. She'd succumbed to dementia and was in a care home. I remember taking my boys to see her a week or so before Christmas. We wheeled her out to the front room. There was a big Christmas tree out there and I wanted her to see it. I talked to her about how beautiful the tree was. I told her about all the Christmas decorations I had up in my house that where made by her and how much I loved getting them out every year. I don't know if she could hear me, I don't know if she could understand but if she could, I wanted her to know just how much she was a part of my Christmas.

She passed away on Christmas day which was almost fitting for her. I remember visiting with her just hours before she passed away. I held her hand, stroking it, telling her that she'd put up quite a fight. I kissed her cheek and whispered to her that it was ok for her to go. That we knew she was tired and knew that she wasn't herself anymore. We would miss her greatly, I told her, but knew she was just so very tired. Before I left I gave her another kiss on her cheek, kissed her hand and told her goodbye and Merry Christmas. A few hours later I got the call that she'd passed away.

At her funeral I read a portion from her favorite book "Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus." I kept the book. I love that story.

I miss my grandma. She wasn't just my grandma, she was Christmas to me.

I Love ...

1. Where I live. Where else on your drive to Wal-Mart can you get a fantastic view of the whole valley and the surrounding huge snow capped mountains?

2. Christmas music at Christmas time (notice I said Christmas time; not Halloween or Thanksgiving).

3. Snow when it's new and the sun hits it. It looks like someone scattered glitter all over.

4. That my husband ate my nasty looking 1st try at carrot cake...and actually said it was good!

5. That my boys love their little sister so much. They love to try to get her to smile and they love all the funny faces she makes.

6. When my daughter smiles at me. It just makes my heart want to burst with love.

7. My dishwasher (and no it's not my husband; although I love him too).

8. Getting together with my family. Our conversations are loud and it can get crazy but it's so much fun!

9. Getting into bed after a long day. The weight of the day just falls off my shoulders and I can snuggle into the blankets. (It sounds nice right now even!)

10. A cup of hot cocoa. I've meet very few flavors I didn't like.

There are so many more things I could name but at the moment love #6 is calling for me.

T-Shirt Fun

I just wanted to share a couple of my new favorite t-shirts.

This is one my daughter is wearing right now:

And this is my next purchase for her:

It's always nice to have a sense of humor.

The Final Countdown...

Tomorrow I go back to work. I've been off since Leah was born 8 1/2 weeks ago. I know it's part time so I'll still be home a few days-but it's back to work. And at the end of the year I go back full time. That's only 5 weeks away. The last 8 weeks have flown by so 5 won't take long at all.

I really don't want to go back. I mean I really like the people I work with. I like the income my job brings us. We couldn't make it without it. But being home has been amazing. Spending time with my new daughter, with my sons when they come home from school, with my husband when he comes home from work (or stays home to help me out when I'm not feeling well)...all of that has been amazing. And that changes tomorrow. Well tomorrow my husband is off so Leah will stay with him. Next week she starts staying with family.

I should be happy that she gets to stay with family while we work. I should be happy that daycare isn't a part of the equation like it was with my other two kids. I should be happy that family members were able to watch her. I should be happy I have a job.

I am happy for all of those things. I'm very grateful for everything working out the way it has. But I'm still sad. Sad that I may miss her first laugh, her first steps, her first word. Sad that I won't be able to hold her as much as I'd like and look into her sweet little face whenever I want.

Being a mom is hard sometimes...but it's also amazing and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Just when you think you have it all planned out...

I'm a planner. I love thinking of the future and planning out in my head exactly how my life is going to go. Now I've been alive long enough to know that doesn't really work, but have planned long enough to know it sometimes helps. So I plan.

One of the things I do the most with planning is making lists. Like timetables of what we're doing and how it should go. When I'm going on a trip I'll get a piece of paper and plan the trip out...down to the hour or even minute. I'll look up maps on-line or anything I need to get the information to help me plan. Then I'll list it on my paper in detail. Like I said, I know it doesn't always happen exactly how I'd like it to. Sometimes it turns out better, sometimes not so well. I understand that. It's the list making, the planning, the feeling in control, that I love the most.

Throughout my life I've done this. Felt like this. And throughout my life I've been gently reminded that no matter how much I plan, how many times I make my lists, no matter how much I want to feel like I'm in control of everything-I'm not.

The end of 2009 I was thinking about my future. Trying to plan it again. I was a year & a half away from being 40, five years away from all of our children graduating, a few years later-grandchildren (fun but can be sent home), then "Kim and I time" to hike, travel & take pictures, then retirement...aaahhhh it all sounded so nice.

And once again that gentle reminder. In February of this year I found out I was pregnant and everything changed. My plans went up in smoke, my lists become unusable, my life was altered. That news was very life changing. It took a while to pull myself back together and get back on track with life.

Now as I sit here typing I can see my little baby daughter sleeping. She is amazing. She is beautiful. She is my little gift from God. She is my reminder that even though I think I know what's best for my future there's someone else who knows what I need better than I do.

And I'm glad...
because I can't imagine life without her.

Stop and smell the flowers

This last weekend I planted flowers in the front yard with my hubby. It was a gorgeous day to work in the yard (minus the wind). You know those days where the weather is not too hot but not too cold. Where the sky is a deep blue and the clouds are bright white. Where the air smells like cut grass and flowers. That was Saturday.

I love working in the yard. You wouldn't know it by my black thumb, but I really do. And when I say I have a black thumb I mean it. Ask my husband or family. If you want a plant killed give me a call. Overwater...underwater...doesn't matter I'll finish it off for you. I once killed a cactus plant. Let me tell you that took effort.

My mom is an amazing gardener. Whatever she touches grows, even if it's not supposed to. Her flower garden is always beautiful and full of life. I love her talent. It must kill her to have a daughter that has the touch of death with plants. lol

Luckily I married a man who also loves to work in the yard. And on top of that he's good at keeping plants alive. Wow what a guy!! Even before we were married he was trying to turn my black thumb green. He'd come by and say "Your plants look like they're dying." I'd look out my window and what do you know, they did look a little sad. "When was the last time you watered them?" he'd ask. If I had to think too hard it usually meant it'd been awhile. He'd just shake his head and get the hose out. He's very patient and I love him for that.

So anyway, my yard has beautiful, vibrant flowers in the flower beds and they look great. They're perennials too, so as long as I don't kill them or the deer don't eat them they'll be beautiful year after year. What an amazing thought!

Here I go again...

Isn't that the name of a Whitesnake song? You know the rock band from the 80's?? I think I had their album (yes I said album, I'm just that old).

Anyway, back to the reason for my post. So I'm doing it again. Starting all over. Again. What is it you ask? That dreadful thing that most women complain about their whole lives........Losing Weight.

In your early 20's if you want to lose weight you can stop eating for a few days and lose what you need. At my age it takes a ton of work. It means watching what I eat, how much I eat, when I eat, and making sure I exercise on top of that. By exercising I don't mean a nice walk around the block once a week. I mean getting up early, every day of the week, and sweating like a pig!

I'm not asking to get down to what I was in high school. That's just not realistic. But I do want to be healthy again. My cholesterol is 243. That's not a good number no matter how you look at it. I want to be able to jog a mile without feeling like I'm going to be sick & die after the first few steps. Actually I take that back...at this point I'd just like to be able to jog.


So why is it that I keep gaining the weight back you ask? It's easy; I love food. I think about food all the time. I think today about what I'm going to eat tomorrow. I always have food on my mind. Am I always hungry? Nope. I just love food. It makes me happy. It makes me feel good. I Love Food.

The last few years I've really noticed that my weight effects more than my physical health. It effects my mental health as well. When I'm overweight I have a harder time being happy. When I'm losing weight my moods are better. And when I'm close to the weight I want to be it's terrific! I could be in the best mood and then catch a glance of myself in the mirror and I'm depressed for days. Everything I do, everything I feel is related to how I look and what I weigh. I know it's not healthy and I know people say to love the body you're in no matter what....I just can't.

It's a good thing I don't have daughters! I'd mess them up for life!

So that's my rant. My thoughts for the day. Time to run. If I don't start my exercising now I'll never make it back in time for dessert.

How am I thankful...let me count the ways

Lately I've really been thinking about the things I'm thankful for. Tis the season I guess. Also, it's been an exceptionally hard last few weeks at work. My job...I'm a paralegal for attorneys who's clients are abused or neglected children. I've been there three years now and love it. The people are great. They're really trying to make a difference in these children's lives. Anyway, usually I can leave my job at the office when I go home, but some days it's not that easy. These last few weeks I have been taking my work home with me.

Another reason is I'm a closet reader of the cjane and nie nie blogs. I try to keep track of what's happening at least once a week and always come out feeling uplifted. I can sit forever reading about their lives before and after the accident. That is one amazing family! They have a love for life and a spirituality that I find awe inspiring.


So it got me thinking...about all the things I'm thankful for in my life. Of course my health, my employment, my "grown-up house" as my kids call it (if it means anything they called my other house the "hobbit house"!), my extended family, my new "in-law" family, and so many other things.

But below are a few of my most favorite things!

My youngest...my bookworm/author/comedian and he still gives hugs!

My oldest...my videogame-aholic, who isn't too cool to make cookies with his good 'ole mom now and again!

My youngest step-son...quite the athlete, and always has a smile on his face! (Except in this pic!)

My oldest step-son...he could easily be playing for the Utah Symphony..yes he's that good!

And the love of my life...isn't he handsome!
I just love him so much! He is my best friend.

So when I look at my life and what I have, I realize I am truly blessed.

When did bodily functions become funny???

I'm just wondering, am I out of touch? Am I not as fun as the next guy? Do I not have a sense of humor?

Then how come I'm the only one in my house that thinks a joke just isn't a joke or a story just isn't a story without some mention of a bodily function in it??? I don't get why the word "fart" is an instant reason to laugh. I mean really.

Maybe I am losing it. Maybe I don't have a sense of humor. Maybe it's me.

Or maybe it's who I live with. . .two 14 yr olds, a 12 yr old, an 11 yr old and a 42 yr old.....All boys!

What's in a name?

I read Potty Mouth's blog about her name and it made me start thinking about names. My blog name has to do with one of my favorite hobbies...photography. But throughout the years I've always been interested in names.

I hated the first day of school; the calling of the roll. Yuck! I always knew when they were at my name. The look of confusion. The sounding it out under their breath. Geez!! You'd think it wouldn't be that hard. Yes it's spelled different but come on. Lesleigh...Vivian Leigh...Raleigh...Lesleigh. You wouldn't believe the strange variations of my name I've heard. Some I can't even make come out of my mouth and others I don't remember. A few of the most notable ones..."Les-lay" "Lis-lay" "Les-ele" and my favorite "Lisa" !!!! I know, it doesn't even look like my name. But you wouldn't believe how many times I was called that. Amazing.

I have a niece who's name is Elleigh (pronounced El-lee). My sister said she's heard so many variations on the name already. The most common one...Elijah. Go figure. She thinks it's just laziness. They look at the first few letters and guess the rest.

My husband hates his name. His name is Kim. He hates it. He said he was teased quite often growing up kids and siblings (shame on you!). It even took him a bit to tell me his name when we first met (if you don't know how we met that sentence may sound strange...but that's another post!). To me he's Kim...the man I love. I can't picture him with any other name.

But names....you see everything now a days from classic to popular to "totally made this up myself when the birth certificate was in front of me" names. The office I work in deals with children and let me tell you I think I've seen them all! I mean some names are so "What??" that if I put them in this blog and they were your neighbor or your child's friend or a relative you'd instantly know who I was talking about. It's crazy!

Now I'm not talking bad about any one's name so don't get angry and think I'm dis-ing on your kids "unusual" name. I think names are cool. One of my favorite parts about being pregnant was coming up with names. Most of mine were shot down by my ex...but it was still fun.

Some names I think "Whoa" and some I think "Nice." Usually what I think is "How would that look on the top of a resume?"

You Got a Trophy for What???

I'm sitting here watching my boys go through the toys they got from their dad. He usually buys them the world and then sends it home (on the plane) stuffed in their duffel bags. This year one of the presents for my youngest was called "Speed Stackers." Have you heard of it? And if you have did you know you could get a trophy or award for stacking cups? I mean really, isn't that what the guys on the street corner do in big cities like New York? There's usually money involved with them. Do I really want my son learning about something that guys on the streets of NYC do?

It even came with a DVD to show you how to do it and what to do. And the person who shows you how....A 16 year old girl who's actually won trophy's and medals for Speed Stacking. I'm sitting here watching this amazed. It talks about how speed stacking can teach you hand-eye co-ordination and how to be more ambidextrous....Do I really want my 9 year olds dream in life to be a champion Speed Stacker?!

But all I can think about is those guys on the streets of New York. I'm picturing my sweet faced, lovable youngest child 10 years from now, in dirty clothes, standing on the streets of NYC with a cardboard box in front of him, yelling to people as they pass by "I bet you don't think I can stack these cups in 3 different pyramids in 10 seconds. Bet you ten bucks. Come on. It's only ten bucks!"

Usually it's the video games their dad sends home with them that I shake my head about...Or the hundreds of dollars spent by someone who whines all year about having absolutely NO money...Or the Lego projects that I know I'm going to have to help put together (not him)...But this time it's the cups. Oh I'm sorry, my mistake, the Speed Stackers.

Oh, how sweet, now both of my boys are practicing Speed Stacking. "Maybe," they say behind me as I type "One I'll be the Champion!"

It's enough to make a mother proud.

Christmas...Buh Humbug!

Ok, I have to say I am a total Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I won't even listen to Christmas music until December 1st-and even that's pushing it. I hate going out into all the crowds and I HATE how commerical it's become.

You wouldn't have known it a few years ago. When I was first married my house looked like Christmas threw up in it! I had decorations everywhere! I mean I had lights all over inside and out. I had garlands, I had Christmas villages, I had stockings hung with care. You name it, it screamed Christmas, I had it.

Now pretty much all I do is get a tree (real of course-that's where I draw the line), string a few strands of lights on it and add a couple ornaments. That's about it. I haven't even dug out my kids stockings yet! I'm thinking of actually using their regular socks this year. I wonder if they would notice? I mean as long as there is something in it does it really matter to kids?

Don't get me wrong,I'm not a total Scrooge. I do love buying things for people I know. I love getting things that I know my kids will love. I love seeing their faces on Christmas morning. All of that is great.

I just think every year the commercialized side of it gets worse and worse and we tend to forget more and more "the reason for the season."

Or it may just be that I'm a grump.