Family Pictures Lessons Learned

Here are somes things I learned after getting our family pictures taken:


You simply can't control the weather (I know. Go figure, right.)

Even though April is spring/summer in St. George, that doesn't mean it is in other places so think twice before you buy short sleeve shirts (especially for your baby).

When praying that your six month old will be good and smile for family pictures, you need to actually specify how MANY smiles you want.

A smiley six month old who is accustomed to warm weather, will NOT smile when taken outside for an extended amount of time in cold, windy weather. (Ok. She did give us a FEW smiles.)

When planning a trip, it is almost impossible to get away at the time set. (Right, Mom...and Dad.)

Driving through Provo at 5 in the evening can take a LONG time...there is such thing as heavy traffic (At least, as far as I am concerned. I am from a small town, you know).

It is possible to console an unhappy baby who wants to get out of the car and put on your make up at the same time.

It is also possible to get dressed in the back seat of the car, while driving down a busy street, and not be seen...at least I hope so.

My 6' 2" husband can also change his clothes in the car. Yes. He is talented. I know.

Did you know that movie theater bathrooms do not have outlets? Well, they don't. So forget the whole blow drying Alayna's wet, curly hair. (Lucky for me, the wind solved the wet problem.) In fact, after being disappointed about the outlet scenario, I got to thinking, what public bathrooms do have outlets?

Being out in the cold (without a jacket), for the first time in almost a year, can make you sick.

Despite all the bumps in the road, we still had a fantastic time getting our pictures taken. (Thanks again, Bethany!)

Truly Talented

A couple of weeks ago, Dan, Alayna and I had our pictures taken by my sister's friend, Bethany. She is truly talented and a complete joy to work with. We absolutely LOVE our pictures! These are just a few. I wanted to post all of them, but instead just visit her wonderful blog.

Just Because...

I can't get enough of her. I sure do love her to pieces!

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall...

Who is the cutest baby of them all?

This morning Alayna noticed her reflection.

Now she has loved to look at "the baby" in the mirror for quite some time now, but I think she may have figured out that "the baby" has something to do with her.

I am saying this because while I was getting ready, Alayna was sitting in her bumbo chair playing when her movement in the mirror caught her eye.

First she just stared at herself like this.

That was done for SEVERAL seconds.

Then she would move as she was watching the reflection. (No picture of this. Sorry.) Then stop. Then move again.

Which would then produce this reaction.

I think she was actually kind of proud of herself. (As if no one else could do this. Ha.)

In case you didn't get the idea, which I am sure you all did, then you can watch this too long (because I don't know how to edit it) video of her staring at herself in the mirror (which I hope she will out grow in her teenage years).

So basically this is for the grandparents or anyone else that is extremely bored, but I had to do my motherly duty of getting this little milestone on tape.

Can you blame me?

Family Firsts

Over the last few weeks Alayna has been able to meet members of Dan's family for the first time.

I think it is safe to say that she LOVED the attention.

Here is Great Grandma Jala and Alayna. She just loved holding Alayna. And of course Alayna didn't mind.

Aunt Karissa and Alayna. This was not their first meeting, but they still enjoyed hanging out together.

Cousins. Dan's oldest brother came to visit us with his family during their spring break. They have four darling, energic boys. Alayna was not so sure what to think of them. At first she was a little territorial, but then quickly started warming up to them.

Here are the two newest additions to Dan's side of the family.

Paxton is only a couple months younger than Alayna and he is almost just as big as her! It was fun to watch them interact.

Trevon is the oldest. He was so cute with Alayna. Always entertaining. Here he is doing just that.

Taylor (the next oldest) loved to talk to Alayna. He would sit and play with her and tell her all kinds of things. Look at how engrossed she is.

Paden. What a little character (and cutie). I had to post this picture because it simply is just too cute.

He loved to get right into Alayna's face and "play". Surprisingly she didn't mind too much.

Here she is about ready to give him a kiss (or eat him).

It was so great to spend time with family!

Pretty please, with a cherry on top

Due the fact that this crazy world we live in is just not perfect...

I have a favor.

If any of you blogging friends have us listed referencing our last name, please change the listing to just our first names (or anything else you would like, just as long as it does not mention our last name).

This will put my mind at ease.

Thanks!

Six Months Old

Half a year. I simply cannot believe it! If you are a mom, you know exactly what I mean when I say that time really does fly. These last six months truly have been the best of our lives. We sure do love this little girl.

Ok. Now I'm done with the mushy stuff.

This is a picture of our sleeping baby. She has now mastered sleeping without the SwaddleMe and pretty much with no trouble at all. It is fun to go in and check on her. We find her in some very interesting positions. She is kind of a crazy sleeper.



Here she is, ready to go to the doctor. (Kind of a weird facial expression, but we were on the go and I didn't have time to get a decent shot.)

She now weighs 14lbs. 2oz (15th percentile) and is 26 inches tall (65 percentile). I think it's safe to say that we have a tall, skinny baby on our hands.


The binky. It has become a new found friend. She has always used it when sleeping, but then did not want anything to do with it at any other time. She would turn her head away to make it harder to put it in her mouth. At church I would always want her to just take it and keep it in, but no luck.

Now, she does a lot better job at taking it when she is fussy and can even put it in herself. She doesn't put up near the fight that she used to and I couldn't be happier. What brought about this pleasant change? I think it was the teething process. Let's just cross our fingers that she stays this way for a while.


We have officially started Alayna on rice cereal. I know many babies the same age as her have started eating this long ago, but I have been putting this day off for some time. Mainly because it reminds me how old she is getting and I'll admit it, I am in denial.

Anyway, I think this facial expression says it all. We're working on her actually liking the stuff. (We have made some progress.)

Just over the last few days, Dan and I have really noticed how big she is getting. Not only is she looking older, but she definitely is acting older as well...

She now pushes our hand away when she doesn't like something, wants whatever we have, and thinks she can do everything better (such as putting her binky in her mouth).

It has been so fun to watch her grow and see her little personality develop more and more.

Here are a few pics of our sweet little "Layna".

Sorry. I just had to put the black and white one too. I couldn't choose. I am a sucker for black and white.


(Yes. She is laying on the clothes in the laundry basket. :)

Easter

The Easter Bunny certainly came to our house this year! He left many many fun things for Alayna.

And being the good mother that I am, I wanted to document all that was brought. But Alayna had a different plan in mind...

I neatly arranged all of the gifts and the Easter bucket and was ready to take the picture. I even put Easter eggs in the bucket for an added little touch.

What was I thinking? Brightly colored eggs plus metal bucket with a handle that makes a clanking noise every time it is moved equals complete and utter entertainment for a six month old. I could not get her to leave the eggs in the bucket, let alone give me one smile. Didn't she know I just wanted to document her first Easter ever? Apparently not.

What follows is the sequence of events that took place.

"Let me get a closer look at these eggs."
"Awww. Why did Mom have to take all the eggs out? No matter. I'll just keep playing with this bucket and not pay any attention to her even though she is doing EVERYTHING possible to get me to look at her." (Notice, I did get a somewhat decent picture of the gifts. Just not a picture of a smiling baby with her gifts.)

"Wow. I can even tip it over. And by the way, Mom, I am STILL not going to look at you."

"Ok. I guess since you are trying soooo hard. I will give you a little half smile, but I want the bucket upside down." (At this point, I just took what I could get.)Aunt KaLee let us borrow this bib so we could get a cute first Easter picture. Still no smiling, but a cute picture none-the-less.

What's an Easter without eggs? Here's what she liked best, slobbering all over them.

Alayna in her Easter best. And a little Easter family photo. Happy Easter!

Playin' In the Sun

Today Alayna and I had some fun playing in the sun.

These cute sunglasses from Grandma and Grandpa L. were a MUST today.

And she looks dang cute in them.

Another MUST was the sunscreen that she is now eating.

And what is a day in the park without a little reading? (Don't worry, we have this book practically memorized so we don't even need to read it right side up.)

Thought for the day

*Thanks Aunt Karah for the cute shirt.

Crafting in Laramie

While in Laramie my sister, KaLee, and I had a little crafting session at her house (a couple of times). I have been dying to make some letters for Alayna's room since before she was born* and it was the perfect excuse to have a little one-on-one time with my sis. The creative juices were definitely flowin'. (It helps to have a sister that has that crafty gene so she could give some great tips.) Thanks Ka, I had a blast!

The finished masterpiece!

I just absolutely LOVE how they turned out so I had to give you an up close look at each letter. Enjoy!

*I am glad I held off doing this project 'til after she was born, otherwise there probably would have been a different name on the wall. Thank goodness I resisted the urge to buy before she was here. That could have been a disaster.

I got it!

Here they are.....her teeth. You have to click on this picture and then you will be able to see two little specks of white (You can see one better than the other, but there are two.). Finally. After trying and trying, I got a picture of them by accident.

Alayna with her crazy curly hair and cute teeth.
Some more pics of Miss curly hair. Her hair is getting rather long so I have been trying new styles to replace a trim. I just can't bring myself to cut her hair...yet.

Goodbye SwaddleMe...

It's time for you to leave. Although, you have wrapped yourself around my baby, calmed her when nothing else would, helped her learn how to sleep, provided me with some much needed sanity when I thought there was none....

It really is time for you to go.

Alayna is almost six months old and is ready to sleep like "a big girl".

Don't worry. We will store you in a nice bin until the next little one needs you. A VERY long time from now. We couldn't have done it without you.


As of yesterday we have officially taken the SwaddleMe away. This is a drastic change in our house considering Alayna used it for every nap and bedtime. Pretty much, good sleep did not happen without the SwaddleMe. It was a lifesaver for us, but alas, Alayna is getting too big, too wiggly (she can wiggle her way out of that thing faster than we can put her in it.) and I think just plain ready for a little freedom.

You might ask. How is it going? Really well, considering she has not slept without it since she was just a couple weeks old. Today she took over a 2 hour nap without it!

When I put her in her crib for her first nap without it, she was grinning from ear to ear. She thought it was playtime. I think she is loving the freedom to move and wear herself out.