enjoying her backyard...

...but not the biggest fan of the grass. This is the furthest she would venture off the blanket! .... yes that is only a hand in the grass..... And a ball in her hand! She is loving her balls lately!

Growing with the Gilmores - Version 1

I am totally in the process of turning my blog into a scrapbook!

I am using Scrapbook Blogger to make Version 1 - The Pregnacy.

Eeeee! I am so excited! I cant wait to see how it turns out!!

TWINS!!

a problem and a solution

I have written before that I wanted to try to proof read my posts more before sending them out for the whole world to read....



I ... rather my fingers... have a tendency of typing completely different words than I am thinking in my head....



And I am a horrible speller....



So, from here on out, I promise to write my posts... save them, and atleast and hour or two later I will reread them before posting.



If I reread them right now before hitting "publish post" I never can notice my errors... I need to step away and then come back....



So that is what plan.... Lets hope it works!

Its that time of the year again...

Yep, Its back to school time!

I have been out of school for 3 years now, and Brian is going on..... way more... I think atleast..... so it's obviously not us!

Can you guess?

It's Leah!

After putting down half a month's "tuition" when I was 5 months pregnant and saving the first spot available for Leah, so that she can begin her schooling at the age of 8.5 months old.... she is FINALLY starting Goddard on Monday!

I am excited! Can you tell?

I am excited to get her back into daycare, on a routine, and interacting with kids. I didnt by any means not enjoy having Leah with her grandparents for the summer... she was spoiled, she napped, her grandparents got lots of quailty time, and it was very nice on our bank account....

I just think Goddard will be great for Leah! She is at such a great age right now that she is learning SOOOO much! She can wave bye bye (supposably... never to me... I just get crying when its time for me to leave!) she loves to push doors open and closed, her hand eye cordination and fine motor skills are getting better by the day.... I just think the enviorment at Goddard will be really great for her!

Most daycares give you a sheet every day that let you know when your child ate, slept, and had its diaper changed.... When Leah and I visted a few weeks ago, I saw one of these sheets. Their's included what they did that day... the little boy's that I was look at said "Today we worked on saying the word 'dinosaur'" I cannot wait to see what Leah's says!!!!!!

So Monday is Leah's first day of school! (It is called the Goddard SCHOOL and I feel alot better saying she is at school than daycare) Lets hope I am still this positive after dropping her off that morning and paying the bill!

Already helping with the dishes!

Only 158 more days in 2010!

As always... Time is just going at jet speed lately....

In my head I have a running list of things we already have planned to do, what we want to do, and what we need to do! When and where can we fit it all in!?!

Planned:

Aug 7th - Brian's cousin Kaitlin's 21st birthday (FYI Kaitlin, I want to go!! So tell me whats going on!!)
Aug 14th - Tara and baby Jenna's baby shower!
Aug 19th - Leah's 9 month check up (Holy Moly!)
Aug 21st - Miss Anna's wedding shower
Sept 5th - Yours truly's 26th birthday! Always a great day!
Oct 2nd-ish - Baby Jenna is due!!!!!
Oct 16th - Anna and Vince's wedding... finally! They have been together almost as long as Brian and I and we already have been married 2 years with a kid!
Oct 31st - Leah's first Halloween!!
Nov 3rd - Exam.... dun, dun, dunnnnnnn....
Nov 13th - Miss Leah's 1st birthday party!!
Nov 18th - Miss Leah's 1st birthday!!!!!!!!
Nov 25th - Thanksgiving... headed somewhere with my family, location is currently unknown.... probably Memphis
Dec 4th - (date is a guess) headed to Cape for Craig's 30th birthday party. (I miss Cape!)
Dec 25th - Christmas - Duh!

Need to fit in:

Grants Farm! - Preferably when its a little cooler
The Zoo! - Again, preferably when its a little cooler!
A trip out to Columbia to visit my best friend Ashley's new house! I feel like she has been there for almost a year and I still have not seen it! I am a horrible friend!
Swimming.... preferably like 5 more times before the summer is over! Its depressing how little you get to go swimming once you become an adult... in college, in the summers, I went atlaest 3-4 times a week!
Buy Leah some new car seats - yes this can be done pretty much at any time... but we keep putting it off!
Repainting our house.... Something has come over me and I have the burning desire to repaint/redecorate our whole house! Brian says no... but maybe if I just do it all by myself .... I am just so tired of our boring beige house!!!!!
A winery trip with one of my other favorite friends, Ashley S., and her fiance Greg!
A birthday, wine tasting party, for my birthday!
KC for Labor day weekend? Leah's first roadtrip/vacation, visiting my favorite brother, renissance festival... I think yes....
Pumpkin patch for Leah's first Halloween!
A playdate with Kelly and Olivia
A playdate wtih Sarah and Leah (a highschool friend who also has a little Leah, 6 days older than my little Leah)
Lunch with Ashley S.
Lunch wtih Kate
Really just time to catch up with everyone and everything!

Looking at it all like this, we should definitely be able to do everything... but its so hard when the weekend comes around and we just want to be lazy and play around the house.... I need to just pull out my handy-dandy planner and just start scheduling things!

8 Month Old Adventurer

In the past week, since turning 8 months old, Leah had started to discover the house! There seems to be no stopping her! I love just seeing her little mind work while she figures things out.

Where'd she go!?

She found the bottom portion of the kitchen table... it makes a great drum!
She found the bookshelf and all the fun things on mama's bookshelf

She loves her kitties... but they do not love her as much....

The endtable makes a great tunnel!

And this can me the secret hideout!

No need for help!

She is just like her daddy and knows how to work the stereo system!

The routine is no longer bath, bottle, and bed... its bath.... and "Lets go!!" as she books it out of her room

"I know these knobs do something!"

Bed time and nap time are very difficult all of a sudden! She can be exhausted, we lay her down, slowly back out of her room, close the door, and then we hear laughter, or talking, or whinning... and we open the door to this! I am trying to teach her we cant sleep standing up!

Really, How did my baby get this big!?!

She can also walk now while someone holds her hands.... I am hoping to get this on video soon! Stay tuned!

bed head

I just have to say....

Leah woke up from her nap with the most adorable bed head ever!!!!

I wish her hair was that crazy all the time!!

Sorry.... no pictures...... I really hope it does it again... and again... and again!!

The tricks we play on ourselves

Why do every time I need to study I end up cleaning instead?

But when my goal is to clean, its so hard to get it done....

Well I'm off to clean something!

If she has nightmares, its my fault...

Last Friday night we had family movie night and watched Percy Jackson and the Lightening Theif.

Pretty good movie... way better than we expected, but they could have done it even better.... I am all interested in my greek mythology again.... When a big storm rolled in the other day I actually said "looks like Zues is getting mad!" Anyone know any good books on Greek mythology?

Anywho....

Leah does pretty good when we watch movies... she loves the open space of the basement, loves to pull out all the movies off the shelf, and will sit and pay attention every now and then.

One point where she decided to pay attention was when a creepy bat monster thing came on. It was scary looking even to me!

Brian yells : cover her eyes!

I respond : She's 8 months old! She has no idea what she is looking at!

Oh how we love our proptective daddy! .... but if she ever has nightmares about a creepy flying thing... its all my fault.

Yummy bowl!

Lets slow it down please...

Life is crazy right now…. In every aspect….
I feel like I am running around with my head cut off, with 800 things to-do, and never able to “clear the table”.
Work – Ridiculous! I feel like I can’t get thru my to-do list… I get to cross one thing off each day but 10 more get added! My desk is a crazy mess of papers that I just want to get cleared!!!!!!! This is the complete opposite of my job a year ago… Be careful what you wish for right? My problem arises when I am doing the job of someone that is higher than me, and getting paid more than me… and I am sitting here with just a “hey thanks!”
Studying – Yeah… Im already behind! Imagine that!? This past weekend, I was in such a hurry to leave work (I left 30 minutes late because I had to finish something….) that I thought I left my study stuff at work… I did not study a single minute all weekend! …. Yes, everything was online and I could have very easily done so… but I didn’t have a calculator (this is what I kept telling myself)… Monday I get to work and think “Oh where’s my stuff!?” Yeah… it was in my purse all along! Oops! Thank goodness I am still on track for the study schedule for my class! Im just behind on my own personal goals…. Which is worse?
The house – I would love a day off (and then the energy) to give it a good cleaning…. But I will retreat back to what everyone keeps telling me “you have a baby, who cares!”
Leah – Teething. Strong separation anxiety going on at the moment. Little adventurer. Loves anything that she is not supposed to have and throws a nice tantrum as soon as you take it away. Loves any sized ball and loves to watch Mommy and Daddy throw them back and forth. (I bet Brian and I break something by throwing balls in the house way before Leah ever does!) She tries to have a conversation with you, especially at night when she is supposed to be going to bed, she is starting to use different tones to her voice and she gives you this look like “why are you not talking back to me?” … Overall, she is just pretty much AWESOME right now, but a total handful!
Brian – He is out of town again… which means one tired mama! I cannot sleep without him home… Im exhausted and just want my husband back.
Although I constantly feel like I have 800 things going on, I feel like we are at a really good place right now. I absolutely love our family times together; just the three of us hanging out… it just feels like everything is perfect and how it should be. Why can’t this be the only thing we have to do??

Looks like it will be a pants day!

Leah's crawling escapades seems to be a little rough on her knees. They have been rubbed BRIGHT RED!

In an effort to give her legs a little break... we put her in pants last night... and jeans today ( FYI she looks SOOOOOOO FREAKING CUTE IN HER JEANS!)

It will be in the upper 90's today.... and Leah will be in pants....

Are we cruel parents, or helpful parents?!

She does not have too many pairs of pants at the moment that fit her... so it definitely will not be any everyday occurance... but it should help right!?

CHOKING!

Thats right.... we had a near choking episode... .

Brian was BBQing/talking to me, I was playing on the computer, and Leah was doing her thing in the family room.... (all are within 10 feet of eachother)

The next thing we know we hear Leah start to win and a gagging noise....

Tears are rolling down her cheeks... she kept making that face like she was trying to get something out of her throat... she would cry a little and gag some more...

I took her... threw her over my arm and started smaking her back.

I kept remembering how my mom would tell the story of my brother choking on a TV nob and my mom said she just beat it out of him...

Brian just kept saying "Should I call an ambulance!? Should we take her to the ER!?"

I knew she wasnt in serious threat... as long as she was crying and not turning colors we were "ok" ... but Leah was definitely not happy....

Eventually she "threw up"........ a price of paper!

Paper!? Where she got it... we have no idea! .... but she did try to eat it...

No more unsupervised crawling around....

Just wehn we thought everyhting on the floor was OK for her...its not! She can pull things out of no where too!

Scary.... but lesson learned...

We NEED to do this!

The more I look at the picture, the more it reminds me of our family room... and how AWESOME this would look in ours!

We have had this completely blank wall forever! We (really I mean I) have not done anything with it because 1. I feel like it needs something BIG because I have small things on all the other walls, 2. I dont really want to pay the price for something BIG that I dont LOVE, and 3. Brian has a weird thing with things being center and with the vaulted ceiling I know he will be a pain in the a**. But looking at these pictures it makes me realize even more that we NEED something!

I think the white wall will open it up, brighten it up, and match the trim, breakfast room, and kitchen.

I just need to convince Brian! He refused to even come over and look at the picture.... he will be getting the blog emailed to him tomorrow....

I think it will add value to the house too... when we try to sell it and they take a picture of the family room, wont that wall look WAY better than it does in the pictures above?

I got a backsplash for christmas once... I think I am going to work on this being my birthday present!!

Now lets all harass Brian and tell him how awesome it would look!!!!!

Right? Ok... now I need reassurance that it will in deed look good......

if only I was talented...

and Brian would let me do anything I wanted to the house......

I would want to add this "board and batner" to our house!

I have no idea where it could go in our house..... if we had a dining room it would totally be done there..... but its sooooo pretty! And totally my style!

Oh the dreams for another house........ in Fenton!

Resolutions Revisited...

I just reread thru my new years post...
I am a bit depressed to say that I have not done very many of these at all!! ....

1. Life is definitely still stressful.... definitely better than when she was a newborn, but is a new kind of stress now...
2. Still not working as an actuary.... I cant even talk about this one... GRRR is all I can say... and then maybe tears....
3. Passing 2 exams... Yep.. this one wont be happening... already failed one....
4. I was doing awesome at taking my lunch to work... I sucked for a bit... but now I am getting better again.
5. Saving more money for a new car... in the process.... Thanks only to my husband! ha!
6. Losing all my baby weight! I did that.... but now I havent weighted myself in a few months and I am sure I have gained a little..... blah!
7. More weekend trips... we did go to KC! Thats about it.... but I am proud to say that we visit the park alot on the weekends... we have good family time in our own city...
8. Monthly dates.... uhhhh we just went on one, but it had been a while.... we need to give this a try again... its just hard to be away from Leah all week and then want to give her up for a long period of time on the weekend as well...

OK... I am depressed now... I need to think of some new ones for the rest of the year.....

If I could have 1 wish....

Among other things.....(who really ONLY has 1 wish)

I wish I was crafty!

I have been thinking about Leah's 1st birthday party..... yes, she will only be 8 months, but I am a busy woman, I have 300 hrs of studying to accomplish, I need to start thinking!

I really want to make a birthday banner like this..... it looks easy enough right!?

and I want to make some of these to hang.... the website says they are super easy.....

And then there is this... it also seems simple enough... really I love wreaths on the door! I need way more! Now will I actually make any of them is the question....

Anyone want to help out? I will hire crafty people!

And no one say "what about your mom?" There is a big difference between crafty and artistic... my mom couldnt make a craft if it saved her life!

But really.... who wants to help!?

It has begun...

Its that time again.... time to study!
I really need to stay on track!
My study schedule is made.... 304 planned hours by Nov. 3rd.
Thats 6 hrs a week at work.... lunch and breaktimes.... with the ability to go out at lunch once a week so that I dont go crazy! (This also helps me not spend money!)
7 hrs a week at home studying thru the month of August.
9 hrs a week at home studying in the month of September.
Then bummed up to 13-15 hrs in October and 20 hrs for the last week or two before the test!
I can do it! I just need to be disiplined.....
Studying before blogging..... and before being lazy....

Who's baby is she!?

Everyone always says she looks alot like Brian..... But I can see some of her in me as well... I am probably over a year old here, but I have seen this face on Leah....

Here I think we are closer in age....

And now heres the offspring....

What do you think?!?

Maybe just a perfect mix!

Getting so big!

And at 3 am she yelled for me to come get her.... and she was sitting up in bed!  It was almost shocking to see!! 

More Gilmore-isms....

Gilmore-isms because we are not all about Leah today.... although it really seems like my life revolves around her!

• Leah's 3rd tooth FINALLY broke through the skin!!!!!!!! I say finally because I have seen these top 2 middle teeth in her gums for amount 6 weeks now! I am sure the other one will be coming thru any day as well! I welcome them because Leah has been sleeping HORRIBLY the past few days, a bit crabby, and trying to bite everything and everyone!
• Leah discovered the fireplace this morning! I saw her do the "OHH whats that!?" and then headed straight to the mesh "fence" that hangs down... Our fireplace is pretty flesh to the floor, so very accessible for her to climb into... it has never been used, so its clean... but definitely NO place for a baby!!! Any ideas to keep her out!? I know there are little fence things, but I dont think they get attached to anything so I think that would just be more of something to catch her attention and then pull down. Maybe we need to put the class doors on it? We might be visiting Lowes this weekend...
• Its the end of another quarter... and to my nerdy, but adorable, husband, that meant reviewing our finances. He created a new budget for us last night... one I am totally OK with... and it is planned out so that we are saving to buy me a new car next year!! Whoohoo! Mini Van here I come!!
• This weekend is date night for Brian and I!!! We are off to see Eclipse, and then dinner at PF Changs! I cannot wait!!! We havent even been to the movies since.... Avatar!? And that was in January!