many firsts

Easter was a day of many firsts for our family. It started with our first leak. At about midnight on Easter morn', I decided to take a relaxing bath (no, I didn't wake up in the middle of the night; we had yet to get to bed). Robert was finishing up down stairs before coming up to bed when I heard an "Oh no!". Getting nervous that something had happened to one of my precious desserts for Easter, I yelled down and asked what was wrong. Silence. I continued to question Robert until he simply said "we have a leak". A leak? Like under the sink? The toilet? Where? Silence. "Robert, WHERE is the leak?". "The ceiling". What?! Water was apparently dripping from one of our accent lights over the couch. Water + Electricity = Trouble. Lucky for me, my hubby thinks fast. He moved the couch as soon as he noticed the leak and placed a bucket beneath. The leak slowed to a stop. At this point, I am still in the tub, too terrified to drain the tub to get out. Friends in our ward had a leak from the neighbors above turn into a gaping hole in the ceiling. All I can think is the same thing is going to happen to us. Robert yells up for me to drain the tub. Hesitantly, I pull the plug. Five seconds later, I push it back in. "Is it leaking now?". "Keep draining it!". I pulled the plug again. After five more seconds, I push it back in. "Anything?". "Leigh, you're so silly! Drain the tub". Grr... I pulled the plug and got out. Nothing. No more leaking, even after playing with the upstairs toilet and sinks. Strange. Leaving the bucket, we go to bed. (This part of the story will be finished later...)
As Robert is waking up Joel Easter morning, he notices a tooth. Joel's FIRST tooth. Not only can you feel the tooth, you can now see it too! My baby has an ity bitty tooth! One step closer to eating solids.
Easter dinner with my family was as good as it gets (I have a very interesting family). The food was absolutely delicious. Everyone loved my desserts! I made lemon poppy seed cake and carrot cake cup cakes (and now have breakfast for the next several days). When the feast was over, my husband, cousin, and I enjoyed the competition of an Easter egg hunt. This is no ordinary Easter egg hunt; our hunt gets violent. There are large quantities of money hidden among the eggs. No crappy chocolate. I know I may be 23 (and pregnant), but I will participate in Easter egg hunts until the day I die if I have anything to say about it! In all, I found 57 eggs, beating Robert's 54... but just under my cousin's 60. Dang it.
Once the hunt was over and the family had departed, my mom took Joel swimming. Joel's FIRST swim! He wasn't very happy once he got in the water; Robert and I think that was due to me not being in the water with him (he has gotten VERY clingy). Even with the baby floatie right near me, he still screamed. I will have to toughen up to get in the water soon; it is still a bit cold for me...
When Joel had dried off, taken a good nap, and finished his early-evening bottle, we went over to Robert's parents' house to visit. Unfortunately, they had just finished dinner, so we missed out on a second Easter dinner. Bummer. We did, however, get to enjoy their company for a while before coming home.
On our ride home, Robert and I started talking about what to do about the leak. Robert suggested that I call Dallan (my "sister's" husband and a friend) to see what he could do. I was hesitant about it; he deals with the plumbing of water distillers. I didn't think he would be able to help us. Since it was only 8pm, I figured I would go ahead and try to call him then. I lucked out! He was right down the street and told us he would come right over to check it out. After one glance at the tub upstairs, he identified the problem and showed Robert how to fix it. Presto! Leak = gone! Ha ha! The tub is ancient; it is made out of steel. The overflow drain had become rusted and corroded; so when I filled the tub a tad too high, the extra water leaked out the corroded holes rather than the drain. A little plumber's putty fixed it right away. Ahh...
The final FIRST was when we fed Joel right before bed. Robert moved Joel's hands to where they supported the bottle... and he held it alone! He usually tries to hold it by the nipple as he eats, but this time he held his bottle up (and has been doing so again today)! This gives me more freedom. Finally. I think we shall work on crawling being his next FIRST...

The damage...
Our Family
My desserts
Easter egg hunt!
Joel with his three Easter baskets
Joel would rather snuggle than swim
In the garden
Eating Daddy's new tie
Pictures in his Easter outfit
View more of our Easter pictures HERE

happy half birthday

I'm not one to get overly sentimental about monthly anniversaries or half birthdays or anything, but 6 months is a pretty big milestone for a baby. Unfortunately for Joel, this is a half birthday he would probably rather soon forget. Today was his 6 month check-up with the doctor. More shots. Luckily, the next round wont be for another 6 more months. He handled it like a tough little guy; but hey, who likes a HUGE needle going into their leg? A few tears and a bottle later, he fell asleep, forgetting all that ailed him. Just before the shots, though, was the most painful part of the visit: he had to get his circumcision wound fixed. Without too much detail, skin from the sides had healed around the tip; the doc had to pull (rip) the skin away. I don't think Robert would have been able to handle watching. It was hard enough for me! That procedure right there allowed Joel to display his unnatural strength; both me AND the doc had to hold him down in order to continue. Luckily it was over after four attempts. The hard part is, any time I change his diaper, Joel freaks out and makes it difficult to clean entirely. At least he wont need to have surgery!
Besides the grueling doctor visit, Joel started baby food today! Bananas. I had the camera out, ready for a hilarious reaction. Nothing. No reaction. Maybe I will get one out of him when we try carrots or peaches...
more cute 6 month photos here

nice to meet you!

My newest niece: Taylor Kelly Payne
6lbs 8oz
19 3/4" long (For those of you who know Lisa, her blog has finally been updated)

one more video

Okay, disregard this post, but check the one below. For those of you who already viewed my new post, check again under videos. I forgot to post the funniest one. :)

goodbye march, hello april!

So... my lack of blogging lately bothers me. Not that I've ever been one to blog consistently. My lack of a computer makes it difficult (not that I don't use Robert's computer almost everyday)... I guess I just figured that I know how frustrated I get when others don't update their blog; I'm guilty of the same crime. So I thought I would make up for it by posting our favorite March photos and videos (which I may not attempt again until I have MY computer... it takes too long using Robert's computer without any of my software).

Photos:
March began with Joel and I going with my mom and her friend to the "Hippie Gypsy" store down by ASU. No, neither my mom nor I am hippie; my mom's friend Linda is the hippie.
Kicking it in our cool shades.
Even at a young age, he has very particular tastes.
Stocking up
So cute, what else is there to say?
Sitting by himself (he has been doing it for a couple weeks now)
Happy FREAKIN' Easter.
Baby Shower for Lisa and baby Taylor! (I was in charge of all these goodies!)

The baby maker

The headband I made for a diaper cake(To his father's disapproval, my son makes a lovely model)

Joel... the nut

Our Ward's Primary Bulletin Board that I made(ps. It is all HAND MADE from paper. No cut-outs or decals or kits here!)click either picture for better detail

Two fondant cakes I've made recentlyThe red one is our Primary birthday cake.The white and black is one I made for my mom's 50th birthday
Videos:

Everyone loves a laughing baby. I guess that is why we love Joel so much!

He was angry one day, so I put him in the swing so he could learn to deal with it. Within a few minutes of me putting him down, this is what I looked over and saw...My favorite part is how he kicks his feet to propel himself upward...
This video is freakin' hilarious. Robert and I couldn't stop laughing...(notice how Joel listens to my voice but ignores Robert's)
The final video (but a favorite)You may have heard me or Robert talk about it; you may have read us blog about it; now you can finally SEE it for yourselves. Turn your head to the left when you view this video.(it is meant to be viewed as a vertical video rather than horizontal)Enjoy! :)Who knew cats could climb up two-story walls?!

procrastinating

I should finish cleaning my house right now, but I have been finding things to do to delay. Robert did not get the new position, but is content where he is. It would have been TOO much stress for him if he had. Besides, school next semester works better this way. He now has a plan and direction; he would like to be a criminal investigator for the IRS or the like. He thinks it is best of both world: part cop, part accountant.
Joel has finally slowed down with his seemingly permanent growth spurt. He is about 28" long and weighs around 20lbs. If you aren't familiar with averages or whatnot for babies, he is the size of your average 1 year old... at 5 months. Unfortunately, the poor baby has a staph infection on a not-so-pleasant area. It is so sad. Thank goodness for medicine!
My body is slowly progress to the not-quite-sure-if-she's-preggo stage. Looking at me, you might either think I'm 3 months pregnant... or that my stomach is 3 lbs heavier. Other than fainting once (yeah, it was stupid and all my fault), I feel GREAT! Better than the last pregnancy, which was pretty dang easy.
I will upload pictures later, after I finish cleaning. My lazy-time is over for now...

ugh

I know how incredibly concerned everyone is about my computer (well, my pictures, anyway). I regret to inform you that there is a 99% chance that they are gone for good. It looks like the hard drive is what crashed, so... bye bye pictures. Fortunately, I have saved about 1,000 from online. Unfortunately, that means I am losing 11,000. Ugh.
Joel is becoming more fun each day! He flirts with the ladies like it's no body's business! He's an avid thumb sucker and loves to touch EVERYTHING. He started rolling over... and then stopped. He enjoys "talking" and "walking". He is also teething, which isn't so lovely.
I am doing great; I hardly even know I'm pregnant. I haven't really been nauseous or anything. I think it is because I am so distracted by Joel that I don't have time to think about myself. The only reason I "feel" pregnant is my cravings. Nothing too strong yet, but I try to get spicy or sour foods as often as I can.
Robert is diong well. He is still working full time and going to school full time. No rest for him. He may get a new position soon; we'll have to see how it goes.

Me and Joel at Desert Botanical Gardens(they have an awesome glass exhibit!)

photographs

What is a picture worth? A thousand words? How about 12,000 pictures? Would they be worth 12 million words? How about a lifetime of memories? Well, that is what I am about to lose...
It started on Friday. Baby was having a HORRIBLE day. I was trying to get work done on the computer, but he wouldn't have it. I gently placed the laptop on the couch so I could pick up Joel. The moment I stood up, the laptop tumbled to the ground, breaking my thumb drive. I wouldn't have been so upset if I didn't have every Primary document (nearly 100 pages of revised documents) saved on the thumb drive. Luckily, Robert and I were total MacGyvers and disassembled the thumb drive to get to the motherboard. After some tilting and jilting, we were able to con the computer into thinking the thumb drive was attached. I quickly copy and pasted the precious files to Robert's laptop. One problem solved.
Backtrack to my computer. Later, after the drop-incident, I decided to clean off some files and programs from my laptop; I had unnecessary items taking up space. I only deleted items I knew and never used. After the clean-up, the computer began giving all sorts of error signals. I brought it to my dad, who has been able to save every other computer that I have caused to crash. No use, the computer wouldn't even load the start page. Two hours into trying every imaginable thing, the computer finally turns on and the desktop is accessible. At this point, I am repeating "I don't care what happens to the computer, but PLEASE, save the pictures". My dad hooks a hard drive up to my computer and begins transferring 21G of photos. He told me it would take a couple hours, to go home, and call in the morning. Well, this morning I called. The computer crashed in the middle of the night. None of the files transferred over to the hard drive. He is unable to turn the computer on after hours of fiddling with it.
There is a good chance that every picture I have ever taken is gone. I never made a back up; I had been meaning to transfer unused pictures onto DVDs. It is too late. The only photos I have as of right now are the photos I downloaded from my 80+ albums on Picasa Web Albums. I can't describe how bad this sucks. If I could change things, I would rather lose all the documents from my thumb drive. Those can be re-typed. My pictures, those can never be replaced. Take a lesson from me; if you have hundreds or thousands of once-in-a-lifetime photos saved on your computer, MAKE A BACKUP...

bags and cats

Well, the cat is out of the bag... and I am mostly to blame. You guessed it, we're expecting number two! Yes, this was planned. No, we didn't think I would get pregnant again the instant we started trying. Yes, we are crazy. No, we aren't upset. I am almost 6 weeks, so it is still a little early to tell the WORLD (I had a miscarriage about this early on the first time I got preggers). But it already got out enough that I felt that I should be the one to let friends know. Besides, I am getting too excited to hold it in! My due date is the same day that Joel was due: October 5th. If we are lucky, our babies will be a year apart. It shall be fun (tiring, but fun)!

two weeks

I have been crazy busy with my new calling, Baby, and other babies (showers, births, and whatnot). But there have been some blog-worthy events...
First, Bobbi had her baby! Yay! Cyrena Diane was born Jan. 21st at 9:06pm and weighed 7lbs, 15oz. Bobbi's smallest baby thusfar, but her worst labor. I visited the next day; it is so hard to remember Joel being so small (granted, he was never that small, but that young)! She is beautiful.
Second, we purchased a froggie cool mist humidifier for Baby's room. Great Buy. It has helped his skin SO much (he has eczema. lovely). Besides the fact that it helps, it is freaking cute!
Third, my close friend Gina came over one day to visit before work. I miss being in school with her, but I am grateful I graduated all the same. She visited me in the hospital the day after I had Joel. I just had to snap a shot of her holding him again. Um... what swallowed my baby?
Fourth, I went to my friend Erica's baby shower; she is due at the end of this month. It is so crazy! A bunch of my friends have been or will be giving birth within a 2 month period. I feel left out (not really)! Though she is close to her due date, she doesn't look ridiculously big... mainly because her little one has dropped already. Good luck Erica!
Fifth (almost done, I promise), Robert had the opportunity to sing the national anthem with two friends: Rick H. and Jeremy L. They sang twice at an AML cancer benefit, LONDON'S RUN & RIDE. There was a half marathon and a horseback riding event. They did a great job.
Sixth (and last, I swear), Robert and & I were greeted Sunday morning with a rude awakening; someone smashed two florecent light bulbs (the long skinny ones) against the hood of Robert's truck. People are so stupid. Glass covered the hood, windshield, and top of Robert's truck. Though the broken glass came off easily, there was some permanent damage where the imacts were. Freaking MORONS. Blah. But there is not much we can do about it, so whatever.

Holding CyrenaAwesome froggie humidifierGina with Joel at birth and at 4 months

Amanda, Me, Joel, Erica, Tiffany, & Kristi
(Yes, I am short)Robert, Rick, & Jeremy at LONDON'S RUN & RIDEGlow stick baby!Robert's poor truck (click to enlarge)