Happy Birthday to me ;)

Hello everyone, I just wanted to have a blog shoutout to my wonderful family who put together an amazing birthday for me. I didn't expect anything and I got more than I ever could have dreamed! I felt so special and loved. My sister gave me a pedicure, my husband gave me a new phone, new pjs, new shoes and more, my mom gave me a cute reusable grocery bag (I've been major in to recycling and the environment lately) and some fun dairy-free goodies (I've been eating dairy and meat very sparingly in the last month or so), my brother got me some new earrings, my dad got me some gift certificates, and my boss got me an adorable basket of goodies and one of the nicest cards I've ever gotten (she is the BEST boss in the whole world). I got to go out to dinner and a movie on my birthday day and got to swim every day! It was a wonderful weekend!

I am 24!

It's weird to think I will be 25 next year but I am excited!

Thanks to everyone for making my bday wonderful!!

June and more!

Wow, how time is flying by! Our little girl is 8 months old now and growing up too quickly for me! No, she doesn't crawl yet...not even army crawl. In fact, usually on her tummy there is quite a protest!! I am not sure what to do about it except make her do it and then she still understands how to flip over to her back when she's 'had enough'. On the positive note she sits up really well, and can stand up when standing with her back against something. So maybe she will be one of the ones who just skips the crawling phase?? Or she is just a late bloomer...we still love our little chunky monkey :)

This was no 'professional photo shoot' but it was fun to get another picture of her in her tutu. She loves it more and more as time goes on and looks cuter and cuter in it.

In the 'almost crawling position'

Her 4th of the July 'kini

We took her swimming for the first time and she loved it! It was no surprise since I've been bathing with her since she was a month old and filling the water high enough to where she can (with assistance) 'swim' around. So the pool was just a big bath tub to her. The only problem was that she likes to dip her head down and try and lap up the water like a puppy. She does this in the bath too, I'm not sure why. It might be because I started 'cup training' her in the bath because there was no mess involved :) So now she realizes the water in the cup is like the water surrounding her and she wants a drink!

The cousins came in to town and her and Greyson look much closer to the same age now!! They were both so distracted this was the only pic we got of them looking in the same direction :)

In front of the penguins at her first trip to the zoo!! It was so fun and she did so well!

It's Father's Day so I thought I would include some recent pictures of Melody with her daddy, who she loves and frequently calls out for. When he's not in the room she'll look around and yell "DAAADDAAA!!"

Kisses!!

At the zoo! I love this picture :)

I had to show off her finally growing hair. I love her little 'faux hawk'. It's proof she has hair!!!

We have a busy month ahead...literally every weekend we are busy doing something. We have nana's camp, 4th of july, family reunions, and more :-S Craziness!!

And I am turning 24 next weekend...weird :)

May was great!

Alright, so it's time for another blog post! I'm not getting lazy, just busy as of late! The eating clean is still going well. I've dropped 8 lbs so far which is unfortunately just a dent in the 25 (yes, I said it) I gained after HAVING the baby. No one tells you that you are going to gain weight after the baby. Because for most people it doesn't happen. I can't help feeling like I deserve it for not gaining any pregnancy weight. I even breastfed and still didn't lose weight. But then again I had the appetite of a large buffalo (and now sadly look like one...lol)

But hopefully this eating clean thing will help! I am trying to limit dairy and meat until my birthday to see if that helps too.

So this past month we had a wonderful time! May was indeed a good month!

We took a few cute family pictures. I am trying not to repost our facebook ones!

We were all smiling in this one but Melody's red eyes are scary!! lol

I thought I'd share a unique idea for the brave...if you want some decoration books, use old journals! I think they are cute and I journaled through 4 books my senior year of high school. Just make sure you don't make it a public statement as I am doing so that other sneak a peek at your journals!! lol I need to get back in to it...I did so well back then!

I've had this mirror since Mel was 3 months but she is just starting to really enjoy it. Ah, the days when you really had no clue who was staring back at you ;)

Another favorite toy for her is her baby piano (crossing my fingers!!). It's always good to have some toys available for tummy time since she isn't a huge fan :( Hopefully SOME DAY she will crawl. But I am not that sad that she isn't...I can set her in one place and she usually stays within a couple inches of that spot :) Happiness..

We did the deal on krazy coupon lady for the dining out coupons. This one was to Donnie Mac's trailer park cuisine!! Haha. I only wish we could have sat in the car. The food was decent, nothing to be completely blown away by. I got a black bean burger with all the fixings.

this is us in our booth (that rolled). For a more romantic dinner, I like to sit side by side and cuddle :)

Jelly bean upon waking. We've fought the swaddle battle now for a while and now we've won. She will be swaddled and sleep longer for naps! Hooray for 3 1.5-2 hour naps a day AND sleeping 11 hours a night. Life is good! :)

Trying to get her to practice picking up crackers and feeding herself. I tried whole wheat but since she can't do it anyway these will work for now! :) Plus I have yet to master a melt-in-your-mouth cracker suitable for babies...Looking for recipes...

We got our high chair from a consignment store here in Meridian. Love shopping consignment!! The only way to go!

Last but not least a picture of the Sugarland concert. I loved it and now have been trying to play some country on the guitar. The problem is that I don't have a country style voice so it sounds a bit different. Oh well :)

Have a wonderful week!