new

So, as most of you all know, we have a NEW president. I am excited (and I don't care whether or not you are)! But that is not the "new" I am talking about. Nope. Our new is BETTER!
First, I have a NEW calling and can finally talk about it since I am now sustained. Drum roll, please..... I am the new Primary Secretary! I LOVE my calling; I am so happy to be back in Primary! My wards is awesome; the kids are awesome.
Second, Baby has "learned" to make a new noise. It sounds almost like a laugh sometimes. I am not quite sure how he does it, but it is hilarious. Take a look below! There is also a video of him trying to whack his bottle. The poor little guy is concentrating so hard but can't seem to hit it. Among his new sound is another new "trick"; Joel loves to grab my face (on purpose) or phone if I am talking to someone (just ask Robert; Baby hung up on him). While I miss my ity bity baby, I love the personality he is taking on!
PS, At 3 months, he weighs just under 18 lbs. He is almost 3 times as big as Kit and Kristi's little Annelise (as you can clearly see in the photo)!

beans beans the musical fruit

No, I don't have gas.. Yes, I DO have beans. POUNDS of beans. Out my ears... That would make an amusing picture... Here's the story:
MONDAY: I decide to soak and bake beans for soup and whatnot. A lot of my friends are having babies and I figure a nice bean soup would be helpful to overwhelmed new parents. I began searching for the perfect recipe (which I later discard for a creation of my own concoction).
TUESDAY: I pull out my beans. All six bags; black beans, pinto beans, black eyed peas, split peas, navy beans, and kidney beans. I thought myself a genius for wanting to soak them all at once and get them out of the way. I proceed to pour the beans (as you can see below, in an obsessive compulsive manner) into the pot. When I finish separating the beans (yes, I am a freak), I add water. I add just over an inch of water above the level of the beans.
TUESDAY 20 MIN. LATER: I check on how the beans are soaking (you know, since soaking beans need to be checked often). I am a little surprised to see that the level of the beans had risen to the top of the water, but I figure that they wouldn't rise much more.
TUESDAY 20 MORE MIN. LATER: The beans are towering over the pot, threatening to spill over. Panicking, I race around the house, looking for something to move the massive heap of beans into. I don't have a pot or pan or container BIG enough to hold the continuously expanding beans. While running around, I nearly stumble over Baby's laundry basket (with laundry that still needs to be done). Viola! With Joel's clothes now scattering the floor, I go back into the kitchen to dump the beans into the plastic tub; they filled the tub about a fourth of the way. I don't even bother trying to make the beans pretty. I add more water and leave them overnight.
WEDNESDAY: It's afternoon. I'm not very inspired, but the beans DO need to be taken care of. They now fill the tub about half of the way. The water is nearly gone; so low that you can only see it when you dig into the beans. I begin the process of rinsing the beans. I placed 3 cups of beans in a pot on the stove; I placed 3 more cups of beans in the crock pot. I cut up bacon, ham, carrots, celery, and onion. Divide between the pots. Add seasonings and garlic. Resume rinsing the remainder of beans. I may attempt to cook all the beans that I can, but lose interest quickly. Instead, I rinse and bag the rest of the beans. I fill 2 gallon size bags and 3 quart size bags. I lose probably another cup or two to the drain and the floor.
WEDNESDAY EVENING: The bean soup on the stove doesn't turn out as well as the bean soup in the crock pot. Who cares. By this point, it is amazing that I even EAT the beans. Though the beans weren't 100% cooked, the soup still tastes pretty good.
FRIDAY: My friend Kristi (the one who the crock pot bean soup is for) calls and tells me that she wants me to make more soup for her parents. Surprisingly, I am thrilled to make the soup (I want to get rid of the beans).
SATURDAY: I know that I need to make the soup on Monday and am dreading it. I hate BEANS!


By the way, my website Simple by Design is nearly completed (I still need to figure out pricing and ordering). The banner under my header is linked to the webpage. Take a look! If you see anything that you would be interested in me making for you or want to leave a review, send me a message at simplebyleigh[AT]gmail[DOT]com (I didn't link it or write @ or . because I don't want spam mail!) We can discuss prices (I am currently pricing low since I am just starting up).

day of babies

Today has been a great day! I have been able to visit a lot of close friends/"family". To start off the day, Robert played racquetball with his brother, Jess. When he got home, Baby was in such a happy mood. He was smiling and talking for us like crazy. Jokingly, Robert put his ASU hat on Joel. Freakin' cute! I couldn't resist a picture.
Upon finishing a gift, I went to my "sister" Bobbi's baby shower. Even though it is her fourth, a girl in her ward insisted on a shower since it has been six years since she had her last girl. I got a great shot with Bobbi from my shower, so I had to get another shot with her at her shower. Her little one, Cyrena, should be here in about a week and a half.
After the baby shower, I headed to my parents' house to drop Joel off while I visited with friends across-the-street. My friends Kit and Kristi had their baby girl three nights ago. Annelise was born on Jan. 7th at 10:33pm. She weighed 6lbs 2oz! TINY! I can't get over how small she is! For you girls reading this, look at your palm. Your palm is BIGGER than her entire head (I swear it). SO SMALL. But then again, I birthed a hippo, so anything would look ridiculously small compared to him. But Annelise is perfect, healthy, and beautiful. She looks like Kit, for those of you who know them. I am so happy for them.
Today has been a great day.

Future Sun DevilBobbi (Cyrena in belly), Leigh, & JoelKristi with her new babyMe holding TINY baby Annelise!

family photos

So! As I promised, here are some of my favorite family photos (egPhotography). I am VERY happy with how they turned out! I also took a couple pictures of Christmas crafts (upon putting them away). I am contemplating starting a "business" for custom crafts... We'll see how is goes.
By the way, I have only posted a handful of pictures; there are many more in the album (linked above).

Yay for Christmas crafts!
Two of our three trees (yes, Baby had his own tree)
Now for the AMAZING family photos:

christmas past

So much for posting more frequently... I apologize; I got sick Christmas evening and have been wiped out since. I am still sick, but I am finally free of Christmas crafts and obligations. For once, I may finally have some time for my self (as the baby wakes up from his nap and starts crying)... So maybe not.
For me, the holidays were stressful; I took on too many projects. Luckily, I was able to finish all my crafts in time. My projects included decorating wood letters, scrap booking calendars, and baking Christmas goodies. With one exception, all turned out great! Christmas was good to us this year.
On Christmas Eve, we went to Robert's parents' house for dinner (delicious) and caroling. We also opened gifts from Robert's sister, Sarah, and her family. She made me a gorgeous jewelry set. Her husband made Robert a nice wooden pen. Afterward, we went to my parents' house to open our gifts. The best gift, a 32" HDTV. It is amazing! We had previously been watching TV on an old 17" pathetic TV (seriously, it had no outlets for DVD or VCR players. lame). I got some more nice jewelry and Robert some little tools. Baby got a lot of books and toys.
Robert and I woke up at 6:15 Christmas morning to share our gifts. Robert gave me a gift card to Scrapbooks ETC (and later an ASU sweater at his parents' house). He also "gave me" the chance for professional family photos (which I will post when we received the cd). I gave him a new watch, a nice shirt, and "The Dark Knight". We gave baby some rattle/teething toys, a plush blanket, Wall-E, and a floor play mat (which he loves).
Christmas morning was spent eating omelets and opening more gifts at Robert's parents' house. My FAVORITE Christmas gift came from Robert's parents; we received the book "Christmas Jars" and a jar with $50 in quarters (no, the quarters were not my favorite part of the gift). We were given a couple more books (one was for Joel) and some food storage cans. Baby got a cute hoodie towel, as well. Our gift to Robert's parents was a calendar with each of their grandchildren representing a different month. Unfortunately, in my last-minute, crazed state of mind, I placed a wrong name on one of the pages. Mom didn't even catch it; one of my sis-in-laws caught the "typo". Luckily, the misspell was fixed by the next day.
When we got home mid-morning, I continued working on family Christmas gifts while baking a red velvet cake. Um, yes. I take on too much. We left for my grandma's house at about 2:30 (during the ridiculous storm). Dinner was delicious and enjoyed by all. Well, all except for my cousin who spent the entire time on the phone with her missionary. Baby got a bunch of great gifts including some much needed clothes (he is almost 3 months, but fitting into size 6 mo). We got a vacuum (sorta random), small knick knacks, and money. We gave my grandma, grandpa, and parents calendars with month-specific pictures of Joel (my parents' calendar had the most detail).
Christmas evening was spent with my best friend Jodi, whom I love. I am so excited; she is expecting in August. I am going to have to find some way to fly out to Texas and be with her when the time comes...
I hope all of you had a great holiday! I look forward to a new year.

The tree I decorated for my parentsThe wood letter craft I did for Jodi's giftA photo I took and Photo shopped for JodiMy red velvet cake!Yummy!Baby's First ChristmasWall-E, Baby's new favorite movieTowel head!GorgeousThe best giftI love you Jodi!Mom Root's calendarMy mom's calendar

freedom

This past week has been crazy! I thought being out of school meant more time for me; I was wrong. I have been busy preparing for graduation and the holidays.
Yesterday I received quite a pleasant surprise. Robert was on ASU's website all day, checking grades. I got a call at about 10am from him, telling me that two of my four grades were A's (I already knew that the other two grades were A's). Curious, I asked what my GPA was. The two A's (which I thought would be B's) were enough to bump me from Magna Cum Laude to Summa Cum Laude! I had played the GPA game during the summer to see what I would need to reach Summa. I thought it was just out of reach, but apparently not! My final cumulative GPA upon graduation was a 3.82, this semester's GPA was a 4.08. Um... holy cow.
I didn't go to ASU's HUGE graduation ceremony... asking my family to go twice (with an often-screaming baby) was too much to ask. Instead, I elected for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Convocation ceremony (Convocation is where they actually call your name individually). Graduates had to meet at 7:15am outside of the Wells Fargo Arena... FREEZING! I found my little group of Geography graduates (there were 13 of us in all) and waited for the ceremony to begin. It was crazy hearing Pomp and Circumstance, knowing that I was graduating from Arizona State University. My friends Cody, Krysten, and I all had nervous jitters. The speakers were well-versed; we even had a guest appearance by someone famous (see the graduation pictures). Hearing my name read has to be one of the greatest feelings I have ever felt; I accomplished something of magnitude (not that giving birth was not of magnitude, this was just a little less physically painful). Unfortunately, the Dean of the college asked us not to throw our mortarboards (lame).
After the ceremony was over, I ran into my uncle and birth-mother on my way to find my family. I had NO idea that they were planning to attend the ceremony; I was pleasantly surprised (yet again... Summa Cum Laude was the first pleasant surprise). We found my family and did the picture-taking thing. After my family had congradulated me, Robert and I (with Baby, of course) headed to the Geography Graduates Party.
Now that the day is coming to a close, I am contemplating what to do next. I am really interested in the Masters program, but we need to get Robert through his Bachelors degree first. For now I am content with being a mommy.
Since it has been a while, I have a bunch of photos. I have a lot of random photos. Enjoy! I will post again soon (hopefully)!

Krysten, me, and Cody.
I graduated!
Thanks for everything Dad, especially believing in me.
I couldn't have done it without your support either, Babes.
We did it!
Baby rocking the ASU onesie.
Celebrating my birthday (Dec. 16th)
Lifting my head.My new favorite thing to do!Such a sad face!Doesn't look so bad from above......Doesn't look so GOOD from the side...Huh?!
Baby talking to one of his bears...

done!

I just had to post that I am DONE with school! Well, I still have a final, but even if I flunk that I will still graduate! I can't believe I am finished with college; I never thought I would graduate.
Joel is two months old today. I would say that I can't believe it, but I can. He is two months old, 25 inches long, and 15 pounds. Yes, my child is gigantic (I am the one who has to carry the little hippo around). He has been in size 3 diapers for over 2 weeks; he just hit size 6-9 months in clothes. It is a bit ridiculous. Thank you to everyone who gave me cute little clothes. Unfortunately he can no longer wear them, which makes me extremely sad.
I will post pictures and such later... I have a sleeping (snoring) baby on my lap at the moment.

butt-load of pictures!

I am no longer making excuses for not posting; I have a baby, I'm a full-time student, and it is the start of the holidays. Okay, NOW no more excuses. For now, I will not be doing the "weekly updates" for Joel (and me & Robert), at least not until school is out and the holidays are over. I will post when I can... which may mean a day in between posts or two weeks in between posts. But since I haven't kept up with posting, I have a butt-load (seriously, a TON) of pictures to share.
The first few are some pictures we took while waiting for a recception to begin. They are the first "family photos" that we have taken - "family photos" being photos with all three of us in it.

These next pictures are some shots I took at the temple for my ASU graduation announcements. For those of you who think it is silly that I am going to the graduation ceremony (well convocation, anyway), tough. I have more than earned the right to walk with all that I have accomplished. How many LDS girls do you know that have graduated from a major university? Not many. How many LDS girls do you know that have graduated from a major university with a baby? Even fewer. How many LDS girls do you know that have graduated from a major university with a baby who was born during midterms (and the proud mom still graduating Magna Cum Laude AND maintaining a 4.0 GPA for the semster)? Maybe like two. December 19th is MY day.
The following set of pictures are all of the cooking creations I have undertaken the last week. The first is the yummy birthday dinner I made for Robert on Monday (the 24th). The second is the chocolate frosting that I made a mess of in the microwave (a reminder that hazmat should be on-call when I am in the kitchen). The third is the non gluten-free, Funfetti cake I made for Robert. The fourth is the awesomely delicious gluten-free pumpkin cake I made for Thanksgiving. The fifth and final is the scrumptious gluten-free apple pie (with crust leaves) that I also made for Thanksgiving. I have met my monthly quota for cooking; too bad tomorrow is a new month...

A generation picture from Thanksgiving follows. From left to right in the photo are: Robert, Robert (Joel), Jess, and Jess (Barry) Root. One of the neat things about having a son was being able to have a picture like this where everyone has the same last name. PS... Robert's grandpa will be 100 and freakin' 2 in two weeks. crazy.

On Thanksgiving, Robert was finally able to eat his cake. We didn't have twenty four candles on hand, so I arranged the candles in the shape of the number 24. The smoke from the candles looks awesome (please excuse my husband; he is like a four-year old sometimes)!

We went to Temple Lights the night the lights were turned on (by Brooke White, all you American Idol fans). Baby didn't care too much for the lights; he wanted to eat the entire time.

Finally (yes, there is an end to this picture madness), below are pictures from my friend Jason's reception. He married a cutie! It was random, one day he couldn't talk to a girl to save his life and then (magically) the next day he was engaged. I love how life can throw you in a different direction in a matter of moments.

Speaking of different directions, Joel has been sleeping in his own room for the past week. Yay! He adapted to the change by sleeping longer through the night; mommy and daddy now get about 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night.
Besides a week filled with school and weddings and birthdays and family and food and holidays (Black Friday counts as its own holiday, right?!), this week has been just another week. Hopefully I will get time this upcoming week for Christmas crafts (oh yes, there will be pictures)! I will leave you with one last glimpse at our life... enjoy this video (this song may be permanently stuck in my head).