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!

I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See...

... construction workers cooking with microwaves on our lawn. 3 microwaves I might add, as if 1 or 2 is simply not enough! They are building the house right next door to us. I'm so excited about all this going on during the next few months!!!! p.s. i'm the new primary music leader in church...

"But Mom, the dog ate them..."

Sure Danelle. Just because your an only child (for now) doesn't mean you can blame your missing toys on "the dog". Or wait a second... did our dog just poop a red and white stripped fish!? Yes as a matter of fact he did. 1 down, 9 more missing finger puppets to go. This folks is why I do not let the dog stay in the house, 90 degrees or not... The dog can't be trusted... Apparently when I let him in the house for a few minutes while our sprinklers were being installed Monday, they disappeared. I'm thinkin' we'll just get some more at our IKEA. (These were the famous puppets from the previous laughing post... ) Such a terrible way for a puppet to go. But honestly whose dog eats 10 puppets!?!

It's her world... we're just living in it

Man this girl has us wrapped around her little finger! But when you look as cute as her, how can you not! Lane loves to get her going with her cute laugh- she loves to squeal. I'm a little nervous about what the next couple of years hold for us....
ps. How do parents live without Netflix!? We just joined up (finally) and it has become our new "date night" .