Coming Home

I get to go home to Laramie!

This announcement is a little premature since I will not be coming till mid-march, but if you can't tell...

I am EXCITED.

Who would have thought that I would be excited to go to Laramie in the winter time...

Especially when it is in the 70's here.

Nevertheless, I am ecstatic.

Snow, cold, and wind,

Here I come!

Porcelain Doll

Lately, a few people have told us that Alayna looks just like a porcelain doll.

To which, I kindly thank them.

But now I have a question...

Can porcelain dolls throw tantrums?

Well, mine can.

Just recently Alayna has decided that if I do something she does not like, to let me know.

And I mean REALLY let me know.

For instance, she does not like being on her tummy, but it must be done, so I put her on her stomach for tummy time and she proceeds to whine, then cry, then get really mad.

After what seems like eternity, but in reality is only a couple of minutes I turn her back over and give her a toy to attempt to distract her from being upset.

Instead she continues to cry, but more with a whiny attitude to let me know to NEVER do that again.

Sheesh. She is four months old. I wonder what 4 years old will be like.

On second thought, I don't want to know. For now, I will just enjoy the sweet, happy little baby that she is (the majority of the time).

*FYI: I need to clarify. After reading this post, I realized that I kind of made it seem like Alayna throws tantrums all the time. This is not true. Only every now and then.

A Love/Hate Relationship

Can any of you guess what I could possibly have a love/hate relationship with?

I'll give you a hint.

It is what every sane woman has a love/hate relationship with. (At least I think so.)

You guessed it.

Exercise.

Why is it that I love the sense of accomplishment after I have exercised, but HATE actually doing the exercising?

Ok. Maybe hate is too strong of a word.

Dislike. No, dislike isn't strong enough.

Is there a word inbetween dislike and hate?

Anyway. You get the point.

Why am I telling you this, you ask?

Well, despite the fact that exercising is not my favorite thing to do, (Can I tell you how I wish I were one of those people that just loved to go out for a nice run everyday.)

I have made it a goal to exercise every. single. day.

And I am proud to report that I have done just that, since the beginning of December and I actually might be kind of, sort of learning to like it.

But only just a little bit.

You Smell Good

Last night, Dan and I had quite a funny conversation which went as follows:

Setting: Dan and I standing in the kitchen. Me, with a glass of water, Dan with a new trash bag in his hand.

Dan: Ummm. You smell good!

Me: Thanks! Why did you just notice? (I was wondering this since it was 7 o'clock in the evening. I figure if I smell good, wouldn't he have noticed it in the morning when I first sprayed myself with perfume, not ten hours later.)

Dan: I don't know. I just got a whif of the good smell.

Just then, I smelled a pleasant smell also.

Me: I don't think it is me. (Normally when you spray yourself with perfume, you don't smell it on yourself since you become accustomed to it.)

Dan: It has to be you. (As he leans in to sniff my shirt.) Yep. It's you I can smell it on you.

There it was again. I smelled the pleasant scent again.

Me: No. It is not me. I can smell it and I don't have any perfume that smells like that.

Dan: Oh. You know what is weird? I could smell this same smell when I took out the garbage today.

Ding. (Imagine a light bulb going off in my head.)

Me: I know what it is. It's the garbage bag you are holding. (We both proceed to lean over and smell the garbage bag.)

Dan: Yes! You're right! How did you know that?

Me: I remember smelling this same scent the other day when I put a new trash bag in the garbage can and I couldn't figure it out either.

(Remember: Dan was holding the trash bag throughout the entire conversation and when he leaned in to smell my shirt, in came the trash bag with him.)

Dan: I didn't even know they made trash bags that smelled.

Me: Neither did I.


Trash bags that have a pleasant smell.

What a novel idea.

Why did the world not come up with this idea sooner.

Maybe they have, but it has just branched out to the cheap, great-value, Wal-Mart brand

or maybe our noses just weren't paying close attention to the "odor neutralizing scent" as they call it on the box.


And now a thought has come to my mind.

Maybe I should write the trash bag company a letter.

It would go something like this:

Dear Trash Bag Company,

Thank you so much for making your trash bags have a "odor neutralizing scent."

It has most definitely pleased us to know that we no longer have to smell a dirty, smelly garbage smell from time to time, but rather your pleasant smelling scent instead.

But I was wondering if there is a specific name to this scent. I think my husband prefers it to any of my perfume or lotion scents.

If you could let me know that would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Your Faithful Customer

P.S. Thank you for keeping my husband and I entertained for at least a good five minutes.


Ok. So that was a long post about trash bags. If you made it through...congratulations.

Our Little Valentine

Happy late Valentine's Day!

4 Months Old

*Warning. This is one lengthy post, but since it is about Alayna, I'm sure you won't mind.

Another month has flown by which means Alayna is now 4 months.

Time, where did you go?

She had her 4 month check up on Monday. She weighs in at 13 lbs. 3 oz. (50th percentile) and is 24 3/4 inches long (75th percentile). We just knew she had gained a few pounds. It is definitely becoming a workout to carry her in her car seat.

Don't worry, my arm muscles are undoubtedly stronger than they used to be.

She also received her shots yet again, and this was the result of the 5 minute drive home.

One tired baby. The following pictures are evidence of what our sweet little girl has been up to.

Over the last few weeks Alayna has gotten into the routine of "talking" herself to sleep. It seems at least once a day after I lay her down for a nap, she feels she needs to tell herself a good story before she can finally doze off.

It is quite funny to stand outside the door and listen to her ramblings.

There really is no purpose of including this picture, except to see that cute little face and those big, bright eyes.

When visiting family this weekend, everyone seemed to mention how alert she is. I think I have mentioned this before, but here is the proof.

You can't get much more alert than that.

Bumbo chair! We recently have been using this sweet little invention numerous times a day. (Thanks Grandma and Grand Dad!)

Although I think Alayna has yet to decide what she thinks of it, since the ENTIRE time she was in it, she would not crack one single smile.

She may just be in awe at the fact that she is sitting up and can see everything with little effort, which is what this picture suggests.

This picture has captured a reoccurring scene at our house when it comes to Alayna.

If you look closely, you will see a string of slobber hanging out of her mouth.

This is one slobbery child.

Hence the bibs that you see in a few of the pictures.

Last Thursday Alayna mastered something that I have been wanting for a while.

The reach and grab.

Yea! The little things that can bring such joy.

Here you can clearly see a nice reach...

And the grab that goes directly in to the mouth.

In this case she got a bonus...

her finger.

For the record. I am excited that she has gotten this down, but I am also not liking the fact that I am the picker-upper.

(You know, she successfully reaches, grabs, then DROPS, and I pick up. And the whole process begins again.)

Thankfully she is not doing this on purpose now, but I have a feeling that is soon to come.

Darn.

Rings are not the only thing she can reach and grab.

Anything and everything cloth, is also enjoyed by Miss Alayna.

And who doesn't love those big, cheesy grins that melt your heart. As we all

know, she is quite famous for those gigantic smiles...well, at least in our house.

Alayna is also getting more talkative. Her favorite noises to make are a high-pitched squeal (which you will see in the video below),

what we call the "puppy dog whine", which occurs anytime something happens that she doesn't like (ex: being put down, drops a toy, is getting tired, etc.) It pretty much replaces a cry when she is in a good mood. (Unfortunately I do not have documentation of this, but I am working on it.),

And a giggle. She giggled for the first time about a week ago and we now will do just about anything to hear it.

And now the proof.

Grandpa and Alayna

Here are a few darling pictures that my dad was able to capture during our visit.


This is Alayna before Grandpa smiles at her. And Alayna after Grandpa smiles at her.

I think she might be just a little bit excited. I think Alayna associates smiling with opening her mouth as wide as it will go. Silly girl.



And a darling picture of Alayna and Grandpa before church.

We had so much fun spending time with you, Dad, we can't wait to see you next month!

A Precious Moment

This weekend Dan, Alayna, and I went up to Pleasant Grove. My Dad was there so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him as well as my Grammy and my Grandparents. It was such a fun time.


Alayna was loving all the attention and she had a new experience...

Dancing with Grand Dad.


It was so cute to watch them.


Take a look at this precious moment.

Proof that she actually did smile (even though it looks like she is just opening her mouth wide.) while dancing with Grand Dad.

Thanks for being such a 'GREAT' Grand Dad.

More to come on our fun trip.

Hallelujah!

I feel like a new woman.

Well, a more rested one anyway.

Alayna slept for 8 hours straight!

Woohoo!

Thanks Layna!

I was SO excited when I woke up and looked at the clock...

And Dan was even more excited because this meant he wasn't on "Binky patrol".

(When Alayna cries at night, if it has only been a few hours, Dan gets up and puts her binky in.)

Now that we have the daytime napping pretty much mastered, we are working on the nighttime.

Ahh, success.

What a good feeling.

Although, I am sure I will feel even better when I don't have to get up at all.

But for now, once is good with me.

Please don't let me jinx myself by writing this post. I hope this is not a short lived victory.

Get Your Craft On

My sister saw this on a friend's blog and then decided to give it the name Craft It Forward, which I think is perfect. As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted to join. So, is anyone else ready to get their "Craft On"?

Craft It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward". I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the CIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and posted out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is craft it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'CRAFT IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL CRAFT IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Craft It Forward recipients. Come and join me who doesn't love a gift or giving gifts???

One Little Monkey...

sitting on Alayna.

(Well, laying actually, but that just doesn't sound as good.)

I have recently gotten this valentine monkey out of storage

and Alayna has loved playing with him.

And by playing, I mean talking to him and her favorite is to

actually eat him.

She was hugging him quite tight to get him closer to her

mouth, but this video mainly shows her just having a nice

chat with the monkey.

He can't seem to get a single word in edgewise since

Miss Talker pretty much doesn't stop.

In case you were wondering, the gurggling noise at the end of the video is Dan just being wierd.