a little mover and a little artist

This morning Shboogoo and her aunt E wanted to exercise to my DVD instead of watching Enchanted. Meanwhile, I put L on this pink blanket, near the middle of it. If I had a "before" picture, you would see her head on the right side. Within minutes, the sight of her like this made me smile:





One thing Shboogoo did during L's nap was draw. She loves to draw, and still pronounces the word as "baw." This video says it all. The photo shows the finished product.

four months

L's fourth monthday:

at her checkup:

:: growth ::

	Weight	Length	Head
2 weeks	7.28 lbs (16%)	20.47 in (51%)	14.2 in (45%)
2 months	10.45 lbs (39%)	22.48 in (54%)	15.4 in (56%)
4 months	12.21 lbs (19%)	24.45 in (58%)	16.1 in (51%)

She is a really easy and content baby most of the time. She sleeps about 11 hours at night and takes naps. It seems that she cries only when she wants her diaper changed or is very tired . . . or if she's awake and it's been a while since somebody paid attention to her.

Darn, I guess I didn't write down the date, but probably three or four Thursdays ago she rolled over for the first time. (It was after the "three months" post.) She rolls from tummy to back, usually to her left. She has not rolled completely from back to tummy, but when lying on her back she does manage to turn onto her side. When she is lying down she also rotates herself 180 degrees.

She has started to laugh a little -- so adorable! She does it when I tickle her neck with my kisses or occasionally when I play peek-a-boo with her. I need to make a video of this.

She likes to: swing; sit on my lap or stand up on my lap; touch her hands; take a bath; suck on her thumb, fingers, or fist; watch and smile at her big sister.

pretty in pink

the red bell pepper

Based on my photos alone, there are countless moments that I could blog about (if I wanted to . . . and if I had time). Here is one moment. It was last Thursday as Shboogoo and I were eating lunch. I'm happy that she likes some raw vegetables. She uses raw carrots like a spoon for the ranch dressing. But she will eat bell peppers without any dressing.







After those photos her tummy was full and she said, "Mommy, I don't want this pepper any more. Can you eat it?"

Scripture Sunday: life eternal

I absolutely love John 17:3.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

I was recalling that verse recently, and last night I started this blog post. Then in the car today I listened to an old BYU devotional on the radio, and the speaker quoted John 17:3. (J. Reuben Clark Jr. gave this devotional address during the same decade that our house* was built!)

The whole seventeenth chapter of John is a beautiful prayer -- Jesus communicating with His Father. Latter-day Saint scripture (the book of Moses) tells us that God's "work . . . [is] to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Therefore, God's work is to help us know Him and our savior Jesus Christ. I know that as we do our best to follow Christ's example of service and obedience to the commandments, we do know better what He and Heavenly Father are like. I know that God wants to give us eternal life, which is not just living forever; it's the kind of life He lives. I know we cannot fully comprehend it right now. I feel His love for me, and I hope I will live with Him again.


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*Yes, we're buying our first house, and if everything works out we will close this Friday! We're only doing this with D gone because he's seen it several times before, and I am his power of attorney. This was a good opportunity and a good time for us. We had planned on house-hunting less than a year from now anyway. Through the Internet, I showed him lots of pictures of this five-bedroom home. It currently belongs to one of our best friends (and his wife and kids). They may rent it back from us for a few weeks. We love D's parents but are also excited to be in our own place.

an anniversary, a half-iversary, and other thoughts

{I have a talent for remembering dates and numbers related to my life, even the birthdays of people I am not very close to . . .}

Twenty years ago today, my dad baptized me.

Exactly five and a half years ago, I received another ordinance: I became my best friend's wife.

It was also the beginning of October, a year and a half before the wedding, when D came home from his mission. I went to his house with some other friends (I think it was Matt, Josh, Kim, and Bryan) that night. But he did not hug me until the fifth day. (That's okay. Within a month or so we were saying I love yous, and in December people started asking us when we were going to get married.) We still use the car he bought that month.

I watched at least one session of that general conference with him. Listening to general conference this past weekend gave me peace and zeal. We are so blessed to have the holy priesthood and true prophets and apostles.

Now I just remembered that next week it will have been a year since we found out that D was going to be deployed and, the very next day, that I was pregnant. Life is so interesting.