Day 134: Things to remember

I don't have my pictures on the computer yet but today Eliza did something that I never want to forget. I threw a wash rag into the tub and then set her in and she landed on top of it. She could see part of the rag and tried to pull it out from under her but she couldn't quite get it. So instead of just switching to another toy, she decided to try and pull it up with her teeth/gums. So down her head went and as her nose hit the water she jerked back with a surprised look on her face! It was so funny. I guess you don't really understand what water is until this happens to you. So cute.

The other thing she did was that she pulled herself to a standing position by grabbing the strap on our ottoman and pulling herself up. I was the surprised one that time. She hasn't done that since but we can tell that crawling is in her near future!

Day 130:

Day 129:

Day 128:

Day 127: New hair

I think this is the first picture of my haircut. It is way cute and I really like it. I look like I'm 12 in this picture though because I didn't have my makeup on yet.

Day 126: Tongue

Ha ha.... Liza's little tongue and fat feet crack me up. She is always smiling so it was funny to see a little tongue. She kinda looks like her Great Grandma Hawley when she's really concentrating!

Day 125: Bath time

How can you not smile when you see this picture????

Day 124: Ashlee's Bridal Shower

Today Eliza and I drove to Yuba City, CA for my college roommate's bridal shower! I was still trying to recover from my sinus infection so on the way down my ears got pretty plugged up.  One ear was plugged for about half of my drive and halfway through the shower if FINALLY popped! I was so relieved. Besides that the shower was fabulous! Our other roommate, Steph, did a great job decorating and we had a lot of fun. Eliza enjoyed the shower too. She slept all the way there (2 1/2 hrs) and all the way home... what a good traveler!

Day 121 - 123: Ummm...nothing at all.

Don't worry, this is supposed to be blank. I think I went on strike for a few days.

Day 120: Investigator

This picture is from yesterday but I have how investigative Eliza is. Her toys are just so interesting...

Day 119: Eliza the family dog?

One of Eliza's favorite things is to play with Ellie (our dog). Today when Eliza was playing with her she grabbed Ellie's bone and, well you can see what she did with it...

Day 118: Sippy Cup

Today we introduced the sippy cup. Eliza seems to like it okay, but I'm not sure if it's because she can chew on it or if she is actually getting something out of it. For some reason this is the only picture I got where Eliza's eyes are open. Hmmm.

Day 107: Gpa's 80th Bday

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear grandpa, happy birthday to you!!

My grandpa's 80th birthday isn't until Monday but we had a big surprise party for him tonight at the Louisiana Jazz Kitchen. There were about 30 people and even though my gramps said he thought something was going on, I think he was totally surprised. My mom had this amazing cake made by Isabelle's Bakery. It looks exactly like my grandpa's flat bottom boat. It was definitely a night to remember.

Day 106: Softball

Today, Eliza, my mom and myself drove to Susanville to watch Kelsey play in two of her last softball games. Eliza had a great time hanging out in her stroller and playing with her toys. In between games Kelsey sat with us for a bit. I got this cute picture of the two of them.

Day 105: What we have to look forward to...

I watched my friend's daughter, Evelynn, today. It's always interesting to watch someone else's child. You never know if they are going to cry the entire time, pull the cherrios out of your cupboard, spill water all over your couch, or just be peaceful and watch Blues Clues.

Well Evelynn was a perfect angel and watched her show, ate her snack and drank her soy milk. Hopefully Eliza will be this good when she is 20 months old!

Day 104: Bow Holder

Do you remember this old thing?

Well it has been turned into this adorable (if I may say so myself) bow holder!

Day 103: Too cute not to share

Day 102: Savannah at 9 Months

Savannah didn't have the best time at the photo shoot so she gets to have a redo when the weather is better. This is one of my favorite pictures though!

Day 101: Beautiful 6 Month Pics

So I kind of took a week off from taking pictures but here are a few of Eliza's 6 month pictures that were taken last month!

Day 100: Ella's 1 Yr Birthday

Today our friend, Ella, had her first birthday party! It was a Hawaiian luau, the food and company were awesome, and we had a FANTASTIC time! Ella's mom, Jenny, made this great video of Ella's first year and I had to admit it brought tears to my eyes. It feels like Ella was born just a few months ago and now she is one. Oh how time flies! Eliza and Ella love to play together even though Ella is about 6 months older. I hope they will continue to be friends. Aren't they so cute?!?!

Day 99: Ward B-ball Tourney

Tonight Matt played in our Ward basketball tournament. Last year his team took second and all of us "fans" had a great time laughing at the players. This year Matt's team didn't do that hott but they sure were tired afterwords. This is a picture of Matt and our friend Dave AFTER the game!

Day 98: Another Diaper Cake

For the baby shower I am helping with I made this cute diaper cake. This time I actually built the cake and then decorated it. Check out the last one I made here.

Day 97: Baby Talk

Day 96: Crafting

On Saturday I am helping with a baby shower for my friend Susan. She is having twins, a boy and a girl, and we couldn't be more excited for them. For the "take home" gift, Lisa (she is a Stampin' Up Girl) and I made these awesome notepads. I found the idea on a website and then Lisa did most of the designing but they turned out so cute!

Day 95: Balloon Flower

Tonight we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and there was a clown there. He asked if Eliza wanted a balloon animal and I asked for a flower. Eliza wasn't too sure about it at first but afterword she wanted to EAT it of course!

Day 94: Easter Day

There isn't a thing cuter than this!

Day 93: My new camera

That's right we finally got me a new point and shoot camera. After quite a bit of research I got the new Fujifilm JV100. It is quite a good camera and has a lot of different options. It even detects when people blink and will take the picture when the subject smiles. It also has this cool mode where it will take one picture in natural light and then one with the flash and then you can choose which one you like better.  Kinda neat!

Day 92: Tug-of-War

Dogs don't only play tug-of-war with adults.... at least not our dog!

It is so fun to watch these two play together.

Day 91: Returning Home

Today my brother came home. He had been in Baghdad for a year and had been in Seattle, where he is stationed, for about 2 weeks but then he got to come home. Lets just say it was quite the homecoming, even the news was there. My dad got this awesome sign made for free and it hung in their front yard while Casey was home. We sure are proud of him and are glad that he is in the states.

Day 90: Personal Progress Challenge

Our Beehive class has decided to challenge each other to get some Personal Progress experiences done. We have split up into two teams and will compete for whoever can get the most done by June 1st. Each value experience is worth a point and a value project is worth 3 points. We haven't decided what the loser has to do for the winning team... but I'm sure it will be good! I bought this book to see if it could help my team get a little more motivated. Hopefully we'll win!

Day 89: Relief Society Service Auction

Tonight we had our Relief Society Birthday Party & Service Auction. I was asked to be the auctioneer and was quite nervous. I don't know how to perform the little bidding song but I tried my best. I wish I would have worn a Vanna White dress and put a "Bump-It" in my hair to make it a little more DRAMATIC!  A few funny things were said and a good time was had by all. I must have been pretty entertaining because no one got up and left in the middle of it and no one threw tomatoes at me (which doesn't mean they didn't want to but at least they didn't!) I was saving up all of my points to bid on a cake by my Visiting Teacher Shelly Taylor.. She went to culinary school and was offering a $75 celebration cake! But I was outbid by 20+ points and went home without a cake, but totally got this centerpiece! (Which I think is absolutely adorable and such a cute idea! Yes, those are rice krispy treats flowers!)

Day 88: What a happy girl you have...

When most people see Eliza they tell me what a HAPPY baby I have. Some people act like I never would have known that my baby was a happy baby until they told me... and I just smile and nod (or say thank you!) But the thing is they are TOTALLY right! Eliza is almost always smiling and always happy. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect baby!

Day 87: Stinker Face

Eliza and Savannah got their 6 and 9 month pictures taken... well Eliza did and Savannah cried the ENTIRE time! This picture was on the way home and I think it sums up how Savannah acted during her session... like a STINKER!

Day 86: Our little burrito...

enough said.

Day 85: Coupons

I don't shop with coupons. I just don't. I don't have anything against them I just don't use them. Since we have a baby now and coupons are growing on trees (like we all wish money would do) I have decided to be selective and try a few. Now I've noticed that some coupons are just a scam. Like buy two boxes of rice cereal and save $.55. Well when your kid doesn't even like rice cereal why would you buy two boxes just to save $.55 when you could not buy any and save $4.00? Exactly. There are a few that are totally worth remembering to take them out of your wallet and insert them into the checker's hand though... like $4.00 off a box of wipes and a box of diapers from Costco. Can you even IMAGINE!?!?! When it is that good of a coupon you buy twice as much as you usually would, and that gets you here....

Day 84: Bathtime is so much fun...

Eliza loves bath time. She can now sit up on her own in the bath and loves to play with the water cup. Sometimes I want to jump in the bath with her and play with all the fun stuff. Oh to be a kid again!

Day 83: Teething Toys

This activity mat has been quite a life saver at times. As most of you know I work 20 hours a week and 10 of which I work from home. Working from home is AWESOME don't get me wrong but it is so hard when your sink is full of dishes, your husband is out of clean work shirts, your bathrooms are a total mess and your adorable 6 month old wants to play (or eat!).  This mat makes it more bearable though! Eliza can play all by herself for quite a while. I love the different toys that it came with plus you can attach your own. The mirror is one of her favorite things too... I think she got that from her mom though!

Day 82: Daddy - Daughter Pic

Matt is so cute with Eliza sometimes. He loves to come at her slow with his mouth open and hands up like paws with a scary look on his face. As he approaches Eliza her mouth gets so big and giggles every once in a while. I was a little nervous about Matt in the beginning. He has always been more than wonderful with his nieces and nephews and I didn't expect anything less from him with his own daughter. Once she was home Matt didn't act the same way I thought he would. Even his mom asked me if he was okay and why he didn't want to hold her that much. As she has gotten older I'm glad his feelings (whatever they may have been) and mindset have changed and now they have so much fun together. This is a cute daddy - daughter pic of them:

Day 81: A tooth!

I don't know if you can see it but there's a tooth in there. Eliza has been rather sick with a cold but on Sunday Matt stuck his finger in her mouth and discovered a TOOTH! It's on the bottom left there and is getting sharper by the day. We were giving her Tylenol and it seems to help. She is also waking up once a night because her nose is stuffy or her tooth hurts or she is hungry. Hope it doesn't last too long!

Day 80: Walking the dog

Who says a 6 month old can't walk a dog?!?!!?
Today after church we went for a little walk, including Ellie. Our walk reminded me of the ones we started taking a couple of weeks before Eliza's arrival. Matt and I would talk about what it would be like to have a child, and about work, church and friends. It was such a nice way to unwind and spend time together. Now as we take walks we aren't just three anymore, we are four and it is even better than I imagined.

Day 79: Daddy's smilie girl

Day 78: Drying out

Bath time is a lot of fun but it's always weird when you are ready to get your kid out of the bath. You can't really pick up your child while holding the towel and get the right end over her head without getting any part of the towel soaking wet. It may not be a challenge for you but it definitely is for me.  The solutions. Put the towel on the not-so-clean rug and wrap your baby up. May not be the cleanest alternative but at least it works! ha ha.

Day 77: Playing with Pinky

 

Matt's dad bought Ellie this pink elephant last time he was here to visit. Since then we have named the stuffed toy "Pinky" and it has become Ellie's ULTIMATE and MOST FAVORITE toy. She carries Pinky in her mouth like it is her most prized possession. Today Miss Eliza was playing with Pinky and Ellie thought it was quite interesting (as you can tell!)

Day 76: Loves the Napkin

One of Eliza's new favorite things is the napkin holder on the table and the napkins. She just can't get enough napkin if you know what I mean!

Day 75: Silly Girl

With a face like this, you know she must be up to something!

Day 74: Toesies

Day 73: Eliza LOVES Grandpa Keeler

Isn't this picture so adorable?!?! Grandpa Keeler doesn't hold the little ones very often but I'm sure glad he held Eliza. She loves Grandpa already!

Day 72: (Great) Grandma & Grandpa Barlow

Today we celebrated Grandma Barlow's 88th birthday! We had such a fun time with all of the family (about 80 people were able to come).

These two people are quite amazing! They have over 100 posterity and our family just keeps growing. Just to give you an idea... all of their children have been sealed to their eternal companions, all of their grandchildren are endowed and 24 of them have also been sealed to their eternal companions. Our nephew Logan was their 100th grandchild and he is almost six... so who knows where Eliza falls. They are such great examples and continue to amaze us. They hold quite a legacy...

and still love each other! (So cute!)

Day 71: Cousins

Noah is such a cutie! We got in to St. George quite late after my friend Heidi drove us up from Vegas and Noah was so mad. Amberly told him that he could see us on Thursday night but since we weren't there and it was bedtime he didn't get to. The next morning he came over and we weren't up yet so he was sad once again but later in the day he was able to see Eliza.
When he came over to Grandma's I was changing Eliza in our room and Mia told Noah that he couldn't come into the room because Eliza was naked. Later that day Mia proceeded to take off all of her clothes because her underwear were on inside out in front of us girls! So funny.

Anyway, after we changed Eliza Noah got to hold her and he was as happy as a clam. Later in the weekend Jaxon said to me, "You have the most adorable little girl in the entire world!" What cute cousins Eliza has!

Day 70: Eliza's first flight

Today we left for St. George to visit Matt's family! It is Eliza's first time going to St. George and first time flying. I was a little nervous especially about the pressure being too much for her ears, but everything went great!

People at the airport were so nice and so helpful. It's hard enough to get yourself through airport security and to the gate... let a lone adding a diaper bag, baby food and milk, a baby and a stroller! Yikes! Another passenger helped me put down my stroller while I held Eliza and we got through security just fine on the way there. I nursed Eliza as the plane took off and she slept the ENTIRE trip!

What can I say... Eliza is about the BEST baby EVER!