County Fair!

So this week my Dad is in London on business and my Mom, Sydney and Brenna are all at Girls Camp . So I get to babysit my two youngest sisters, Elise and Brooke, all week! I decided to start the week out with a bang! The Montgomery County Fair in Gaithersburg, MD! We left around 3pm to meet up with Ryan at his work and meet all his coworkers that I've heard so much about. That was fun! Then we set out to the fair. Ryan was going to meet up with us later after work. Nothing screams 'MOM' more than a diaper bag, a stroller, and three little girls traipsing around the county fair and stopping for picnics at the back of my SUV. I officially felt old. But we had a blast! We got to see all the animals and Elise and Brooke were overjoyed at the opportunity to ride some "roller-coasters". Hailey just kind of sat there and took it all in. I think she was overwhelmed a bit. Not to mention she is sill getting over a bit of a cold (the darn thing wont go away!). But we can now say that she has been to her very first carnival/fair! Hurray!

Modesty is Hottesty

So have any of you seen the Modesty is Hottesty video on youtube? It's hilarious! I get a kick out of it every time I watch it! As a member of the church we are encouraged to treat our bodies as sacred and holy gifts from God. As such, we are to dress appropriately and not flaunt too much skin, like cleavage,  stomach, thighs, too much back, and shoulders. By covering ourselves adequately we can invite the spirit of the Lord to be with us and deter the wrong kind of attention from the wrong kind of people. It is a shield and a protection of the gift we've been given and of our individual worth.

So lately I decided to try out some clothing modification. I have two pencil skirts that are just barely long enough- so instead of walking funny and constantly pulling and tugging to make it modest- I decided to add length to them. And this is what I (and my mom) came up with! What do you think??

(pleated edge added)

(pressed pleats- finished product!)

(slight gathering applied to the addition)

Little Miss Diva

(This has been Hailey's newest favorite toy to chew on- a clementine)

(Hailey has a bulletin board in her room covered in hair clips and bows. Fairly often, when she wakes up from her nap, she points to the board and picks out multiple bows for my to put on her hair! It's hilarious!)

(She is an expert stair climber, so to contain her we decided to put up a baby gate... she found a way around that!!! The little stinker got stuck! Hahaha)

I just can't imagine life without my sweet baby girl. But sometimes, I sure wish it was quieter and that there was less chasing going on. Hailey is 10.5 months old. She has been crawling since she was 4.5/5months old. That's five months of crawling lickety split fast all over the place. That's five months of leaving a drool trail everywhere she goes. Five months of tasting and ingesting everything that comes in contact with her tiny pudgy fingers. Just yesterday I saw a bead on the floor and she must have seen it at the same time because we both bolted for it at the same time! She got there first and in the split second before I got to her and my finger in her mouth to catch it- it was already gone!!! Guess I'll be seeing that one again today... yuk! Lately she's been growing some teeth (slowly) and so she's been kind of grumpy and hasn't been sleeping as well as usual (who can blame her!?). It's been kind of hard on me and really testing my patience. The other day was a particularly bad day and my mom was convinced that I didn't like my own daughter anymore. And even though she was joking- I took a good hard look at myself and my attitude. Even though it's hard being mom sometimes- I still love her! I still want her! I still couln't think of anything better than being her mother. So I've been trying to turn over a new leaf full of patience and love. I try to enjoy and cherish the best moments and turn the hard ones into learning and acceptance. So far- it's going well (she even woke me up 3 times last night and I didn't get angry!)! So I've decided today to share some of the fun and memorable moments in the last week that I've had with Hailey! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the moment! 

(This was a new toy from a friend of Ryan's at work- she immediately bonded with it! Can you say whoobaby from whooville?)

(This is what we found after diner and right before bath time. It's kind of hard to see... but this would be Hailey's very first wedgey! She'd been sitting in her highchair during dinner screaming at us- and we couldn't figure out what she wanted- no food, no bottle, etc- Well no wonder! She was uncomfortable!)

(Forgive the lack of swimsuit- she wouldn't hold still long enough for my to put it on her before she wiggled her way to the pool... This is her lounging float! She loved it. Can't you see the relaxation occurring here?) 

My 22nd!

(my new hot glue gun! and basket of crafting things!)

Haaaaaapppy Biiiiiirthday Toooooo MEEEE! ANd many moooooore! Yes- I sing to myself on my birthday :) Who doesn't like to celebrate a little "me" once in awhile?! I like to celebrate by shopping! Ryan thinks that it is lame and boring that all I ever want for gifts is clothes! And then of course he doesn't like to pick clothes out for me (something about no sense of style or opinion)- so I get to go on shopping sprees with my sisters! It's WONDERFUL! So thank you to my wonderful husband and in-laws for the shopping spree! I so appreciate it! And to my parents and sisters- thank you for the gift basket full of crafting supplies! Lately- I've been going on crafting binges! Pinterest is to blame. I will soon be adding photos of some crafts that are still in the making! But I am so excited for my new crafting supplies and can't wait to put them into use!

So, when it comes to birthday cake- I like to get creative. Last year I had an oreo pizza pie for my "cake", the year before that I think I had strawberry shortcake with berries and whipped cream. This year- I went with a good 'ol mississippi mud pie! It's based with an oreo crust, layered with hot fudge and mint moose tracks ice cream and mint cookie crunch ice cream.... oh DIVINE! It was heaven in mint and fudge form! Overall- I'd say it was a spectacular day! Not to mention the extra long nap Hailey took just for me :D

One more thing I'd like to mention about my birthday. Since now I am older and wiser I have gained a little bit of perspective in the last year- I'm talking about giving birth to my daughter who now has a birthday of Sept 21st. She would not have that birthday if I had not carried her for 41weeks, loved her immensely, and given birth to her. So as I have reflected these things I find it only fair and appropriate that I thank my dearest mother for all she has done for me! I thank her for the 42 weeks she carried me, for giving birth to me, for loving me, and for giving me this day as my birth day. I am so grateful to her! Enjoy the box of your favorite cookies! :D

Trying New Things!

So since we've been living with my parents, we're all still trying to adjust a little. I have been trying to find ways to make cooking meals for 8 a little easier on my mom. As a result I cook dinner at least once a week. But I decided to try something a little different this time. It's easier and supposedly cheaper to buy in bulk, prepare meals right away and freeze them. My mom has been shopping once or twice a week, so I decided to go to Costco and Shoppers and bought about $300 worth of food. From there, I spent about 2 hours preparing meals in gallon bags and freezing them! I made Teriyaki Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Hawaiian BBQ Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Honey Garlic Chicken, and Ranch Pork Chops. I made about 10 of these and all of them we can pull out in the afternoon and throw in the crockpot all day! Makes for easy clean up and easy prep for busy nights! We'll see how it goes, But I'm excited to taste them all! Does anyone else have good freezer meal ideas?

New Addition!

So we finally decided to take another big step in our lives. We agreed it was time. I mean, we are done with school. We have a great job and things are going pretty well! So we thought... Why not?! We have room to love another! So we went out and bought our second car! So far, we absolutely love it! It's a brand new 2012 Ford Escape in this lovely red color! This is basically my car to drive around since Ryan takes the corolla to work. I'm loving it so far! I have been making excuses to drive it around. Like take my daughter on a 2 hour road trip down to Harrisonburg to visit my best friend for a couple days! It was great! 

We were feeling crafty and made front door wreaths! We found the idea on pinterest... Which is the love of all crafts and good ideas. It was great to spend time with Anna! Thus is my update on our lives so far.

Hailey's First Fourth!

Hailey is now almost 10 months old! Can you believe it?! I can't. She's getting so big! Not to mention her personality is overflowing with independence and stubborness... I guess she really is my daughter. Lately she's been doing this new laugh that sounds more like a high-pitch hiccup every 1/2 second! It's SOO funny! So the 4th of July came and went! It was Hailey's very first Fourth of July... and I'm sad to say- we didn't even do a single firework! We went to a ward breakfast in the morning (that was fun!). Then we went car shopping. When we came home, unsuccessful, we had some other families from the ward over to swim and BBQ. It was fun! Oh wait.... except for the part where I got thrown into the pool with ALL my clothes on! Sneaky Ryan and sneaky dad! In the evening we decided to have a "Legend of Korra" marathon! Happy freedoms to us! Maybe next year we'll have to bust out the fireworks and sparklers.