I'm a Big Girl Now!

Well, a lot has been going on lately. I finished up the school year at the end of May and Laurel and I have been enjoying just staying home and getting back into a routine.

It is crazy all the things that she has been doing the last few weeks. She is growing up so fast (I know everyone says that, but it is true!). Here are a few of the things that make her a big girl now...

She Loves to Play With Mommy and Daddy!

Laurel Can Roll Over!

Look at Her Go!

Laurel Loves Stuffed Animals and Holds One All Day!

She Has Discovered Her Hands and Sucks on Her Fingers All Day!

(Yum! Tasty!)

She Sleeps However She Pleases!

(I bought her a wedge so she can sleep on her side b/c of her flat spot, but she you can see she uses it like a nut!)

Laurel Loves to Stand!

She Will Stand All Day if You Hold Her Hands!

She Can Sit Up!

(well, with the help of Bumbo)

Laurel Loves to Read!

(not really, but she loves to look at pictures and turn pages)

She Can Laugh!

(she will laugh until she gets the hiccups)

Laurel Loves to Play With Her Toys!

She Keeps a Toy Cutched in Her Hands All Day!

Her New Trick is to Pull Out Paci

(too bad she hasn't mastered putting in back in yet!)

Laurel Can Sit in Her High Chair!

(she likes to watch Mommy make dinner)

And Finally...

Laurel is Eating Solids!

Firsts, First, and More Firsts!

Laurel is going to be four months old tomorrow. My how the time flies! I’ve been keeping a calendar of all her firsts – 1st smile, 1st time she rolled over, 1st time she laughed, 1st time she reached for a toy, etc., but I never thought I would already be adding her first marriage proposals to that list.

My good friend Catherine has two little boys who absolutely love Laurel. Drew is five and Aaron is three (she has two darling girls too but they don’t equate in this story).

The other day Catherine called me and said, “You will not believe what the boys were fighting over today at lunch.”

I was all like, “WHAT, tell me!”

This is how the conversation went:

Drew: “No you aren’t, I am!”

Aaron: “No, you can’t because I am!”

And on and on…and on.

Catherine finally asked them what was up and they said they were fighting over who could marry Laurel Catherine (this is what they have called her from the day she was born – I don’t know why since we have never called her this). While I would LOVE to be related to this wonderful family I think it might be a little early for marriage proposals!

Here is Drew with Laurel

(Laurel looks a little unsure, but look at that smile from Drew!)

Here are some other little tidbits from Drew who claims he WILL be the one to marry her (not that brother of his!).

“You know what I love, besides Laurel Catherine?” (Overheard by the 1st counselor in Primary)

“I have a girlfriend who is a baby” (I wonder who he meant???)

“She can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.” (He said this to me one night when we were getting ready to leave and he wanted Laurel to stay. I told him she couldn’t sleep at his house because they didn’t have a bed for her.)

“I think she is crying because she wants me.” (Said to me one day when Laurel was crying. Drew will think up any excuse to let me hold her.)

“Let me hold her during the scary part.” (Said while we were watching Harry Potter, see above about wanting to hold Laurel.)

There are MANY more, but you get the picture. I think it is cute, but I’m getting a little worried. The other day I went to pick up Laurel (Catherine is watching her until school gets out) and Drew was making faces at her and being silly, trying to get her to smile. You should have seen Laurel’s smile! She was grinning at him like there was no tomorrow.

All right now Laurel, I don’t want to have to add first flirting to the list!

Laurel Meets her Cousin!

We were so excited to have my brother, Bobby, his wife, Brandi, and their 5-month old daughter, Ariana, come to visit us all the way from Utah. Laurel and Ari had so much fun playing together (well, not really; they mostly just looked at each other!). Ari is such a sweetie and she is soooo much fun to play with. I wish we all lived closer together so the cousins could grow up together, but I guess we will just have to go on vacation to see each other (that doesn't sound too bad to me!).

I didn't get too many pictures from their visit, because we were too busy having fun and living in the moment, but I did manage to get a couple cute shots!

Look at Ari's cute smile! Brandi's is pretty cute too!

Here's Ari checking out Laurel :)
The Doss Family - Aren't they cute!
Bobby and Candace with Laurel and Ariana

Ari after her bath - what a cutie pie!

This may be why Bobby lost to me in Mario Cart ;)

What a big girl, eating solids!

I'm so glad that my brother and his family was able to visit and I hope to see them again soon!

Laurel's 3 Month Pictures

I took Laurel to get her three month pictures on Thursday. Now that she is smiling, I wanted to get some pictures of her with her sweet grin. Unfortunately, she would not smile unless I sang some of her favorite songs, so I had to sing the entire photo shoot. That poor photographer! I have the worst voice but Laurel seems to love it. Here are a few of the best ones...

I can hold my head up!

Look at that smile!

I love this one, she looks so happy.
This is the first picture where I think she looks like me when I was a baby.

She kept putting her hands in her mouth the whole time!
She looks so content here.

We will take pictures again at six months. I can't believe how much she has changed in the last three months! It seems like it has gone by so fast too! She will be all grown up before I know it!

The Cost of Having a Baby

Doctor/Medical Bills - $4,000

Room Remodeling/Decorating - $600

Breast Pump - $300

Car seat/ Stroller Combo - $100

Your Baby’s Smile - Priceless

Baby Blessing with Friends and Family

I'm going to try my hand at blogging. Now that I have a baby and family & friends all over the place, it is a great way to stay in touch. I'm not sure how often I will be able to update since Laurel keeps me pretty busy. I also have to go back to school on April 28th and finish up the school year. I don't know how I am going to make it for a whole month without being with Laurel every second! But, like Matt says, it is just one month! My good friend is going to watch her since there is no way I could put her in daycare!

We have been pretty busy lately. Last weekend Laurel was blessed in our church. My husband, Matt, gave her a blessing. He was really nervous but he blessed her to be strong and to get an education and to always do what is right. Our family and friends were able to be there, which was great. The family that attended was her grandpa Doss, grandpa and grandma Ellis, Aunt Beth, Uncle Josh, Uncle Russel, Aunt Melinda, and her cousins Sarah, Ethan, Anna, and Jacob. Russel and Melinda traveled 6 hours with four kids to be there! Thanks guys! My best friend Tiffany and her husband Dan were also able to attend, which was so special. They had to drive back to Ohio right after the blessing so I'm so happy they could be there! It is so great to have such wonderful family and friends.

Tiffany & Dan

Laurel with her cousins