Dang Martha! & Summers still here...

I DVR Martha Stewart everyday. It's true. I really just end up fast forwarding the entire show (she drives me nuts-but the ideas are still great), but every now and then she has something cool on- such as these babies...
Well- let me just say there is a reason the woman has her own show on the Fine Living Network... and that is because it is impossible to recreate what she does! Exhibit A:
After hours of working on these little things, this was my best attempt! I thought it would be cool to have these at Danelle's 1st bday, but I think I'm going to scratch that one... and they taste like a ball of dough. That may be a good thing for some people though.

It's so weird to see everyone post pictures of fall and all the changing leaves. Being in Texas is starting to remind me of growing up in California where the summer seem endless... Danelle is still loving the pool:

She's also enjoying the race track + sideburns (to replace her mullet) + dye died shirts. Niiiice! Long live summer!

Glamour Shots by Deb

Ok, well they're not exactly "glamorous" and Amy did them, not Deb. This was from a couple of months ago-back when Danelle was 5 months old. But of course I'm just now getting around to getting some of the pictures ordered, so here's a sample of some of my favorites. It's a little grainy- the pictures I got printed have texture, and I scanned them in...so they really are better quality than they look. *Note to self: don't try to take pictures in the middle of summer, in the middle of the day, in D.C. where the humidity is pushing 90%

The "tooths"

Any mother that has ever tried to capture a shot of the first tooth will appreciate these pictures. They are still making their way up, but none the less they are here! She's just growing up way to fast ... sniff sniff :( Come to think of it, I sure hope that's not just ONE big tooth...

Everything's Bigger in Texas- Dallas Trip

We took a little trip to Dallas which is 3 hours north east of us. I had no idea just how BIG this city is! The architecture is beautiful downtown, I wish I could have gotten pictures of all the amazing buildings. We ate and shopped at a really neat area called West Village- awesome food, cute stores! We didn't realize that all the hotels would still be so crowded with hurricane refugees up from the coast but everyone we ran into seemed to be in good spirits!
Oh- and as for the "Every thing's bigger in Texas" quote that I had always heard... well it's true! The new Cowboys stadium was ginormous! Not to mention it is the most expensive sports venue ever built! We also happened past the Mary Kay warehouse (they're based out of Dallas) also very big.



And last but not least-

The FATHER OF THE YEAR award goes to....

drum roll please...


We seemed to have a hard time keeping her out of things such as the fireplace, and away from the DVR and TV, so alas... Lane, when asked to "watch" our little girl while I was at the practice for our church primary program came up with this "good" idea. I'll give him credit- it did keep her pretty contained.

But she really NEEDS it !

Ok, I'll admit it. I have the dreaded "First Time Parent-my child NEEDS all that stupid crap stuff" disease. Do you think they have some sort of support group for us? I walk into Babies R Us and the thought comes to my mind- how did I ever survive without this!? The latest gadget- the Teething Feeder! Essentially it's a mesh bag that the kid gets to gum/suck food through that normally would be a choking hazard. She's had stuff like bananas, peaches, grapes, strawberries, carrots... etc. and I don't have to worry about whether or not she'll choke on it. She's at the perfect stage for it since she just popped up 2 tooths!!! (when they're as cute as her's are they are officially "tooths" and not "teeth" :) So I'm sure it feels good on her little gums also.

I guess my only "justification" is that I figure the next couple of kids that come along can use it. But I'm sure by the time that happens, I will have wised up and realized just how ridiculous all this stuff really is and there's just no where to put it all!

Swing Low Sweet Chariot!

Let your eyes feast on this little beauty! Ok well her too, but more specifically the new jogger I got from Lane- the Chariot Cougar! Thanks for the great recommendation Sarah. Of course we could have just gone with your standard baby stroller, but come on- can those other guys convert to: attach to a bike, jog, hike, or cross country ski (which we'll be doing TONS of here in Texas... :) But truth be told, it really came down to the fact that I'm married to an "outdoor fanatic" who doesn't settle for anything but the best when it comes to outdoor equipment. Ehh, so what if we give her the cheap baby food- the kid is rolling in style my friends- and that's what's important in life am I right?!
And yes, that would be a whisk she has there- we like to start em' young... Also, this week we have welcomed Danelle to the dinner table! She's perfecting her "grab and stuff the face" technique quite well. Wonder where she learned that one...Danelle's first pair of cowgirl boots. We didn't want her to feel out of place here in Texas- and what better place to wear them than good ol' church.Goodbye baby weight-(hopefully in time for our Cancun trip...) hello Turkey trot!

8 months going on 2 yrs. old...

Danelle has officially entered the "i'm going to get into EVERYTHING" stage. I tried to delay the inevitable as long as I could by not encouraging the crawling (bringing her all her toys etc.) but after our Utah trip she was off and crawling!! Oh how our world has changed! She loves to come to where we are- usually in the kitchen eating I mean cleaning. She also loves finding things she shouldn't have, getting stuck- under the kitchen table, or pulling herself up on something and not being able to get down. She's doing so many cute tricks - i'll have to put some video of it. What a fun stage- but man, everything is happening so fast now!

From Mullet to Mohawk...

Business in front... party in back!



"Hair do you do?" (It's an inside joke from college....) Well Lane has been anxious for me to unveil the beautiful pictures of Foxtail Barley Jr. If you need to know why, click on the italic link. The miracle of genetics has made it possible for our beautiful little girl to posses the same hair as her father when he was a little tike... And yes, that 3rd picture is her NATURAL hair. Out with the mullet, and in with the "hawk". I'm starting to think of some good ideas for Halloween ;)

The Cousins!

Chase and Danelle were so cute together! They mostly just stared at each other and Danelle would steal his toys and smack him on his cute little head. Ava was quite the little entertainer for everyone!

Jack Johnson Concert w/ Sistas

We had so much fun! It was a gorgeous view of the city, and the summer weather was perfect to be sitting outside on the grass!

Visiting Friends

The Aunts & Uncles

Beautiful Moutain Hikes

You can click on the collage to see the individual pictures better...

Jack Johnson Concert!!!!

I'm so freak'n excited to go to the Jack Johnson concert here in Salt Lake with my sisters on Monday the 18th!!! What better way to wind down summer by seeing him in concert at the usana amphitheater which is all outdoors and has a gorgous view of the mountains!? I'm totally curious if anyone else here in Salt Lake is going also- let me know if you are and we can meet up there!

Grandma's Visit

The past two weeks have been wonderful! My mom came in to visit and Danelle has been getting lots of lovin'! I've been able to sleep in like crazy, and get all the unpacking done with! Lane got to go hot air ballooning in Sante Fe (pictures to come) and we also got to get away on a little mini vacation. We went downtown and did some of the sights- one of which included the largest bat colony in North America... fascinating I know! If your curious click here... Other than that, it's been lots of eating out, several trips to our neighborhood pool, movies (Batman), concerts in the park, shopping, and playing with Danelle! Thanks for all the help Mom!!! Now were off to Utah for the next two weeks!!!

Chatter-Box

Before and After...

I'll have to check with my pediatrician, but I'm thinking Popsicles aren't on the baby food lists quite yet... Lane.

Do you think she has a little bit of energy?

Confessions of a Mommy Blogger

So my sister recommended this book for me after I started telling her about all the guilt I was feeling about recently not being able to nurse anymore (just dried up) even though I had envisioned going to a full year. So yesterday being a rainy day- I sat around in PJ's all day and read it. I know, I only have one child to take care of but I could totally relate to what was said in this book. It also made me think of how much I love blogging, but I also need to remind myself to keep everyone else's blogs in perspective. Of course we're going to all rave about the wonderful things going on- no one likes a pessimistic blogger. However it can be really easy to compare ourselves to others who we think have it all together. Now I may not be ready to post pics of me rolling out of bed, or what my house looks like at this very moment, but it just feels good to stop and think for a moment and say- you know what we're all imperfect moms, but we're trying our best.
Truth be told, some days she's in her diaper all day. No hair bow, no bath, no cute outfit or accessories. But then those are the days that I get moments like this video clip... So here's to being a mom!!!!

San Antonio Day Trip

Tuesday we decided to head down to check out San Antonio since it's only an hour away. We went to this place called The River Walk that was really neat and is a pretty popular place to see. There are tons of shops and restaurants along a couple miles of river and we even got to take a boat tour. We decided to wait and do The Alamo next time when it's not so hot!
Nice belly shot huh! She's got abs of steel!
She loved watching the ducks in the river!