5k Walk and Church Busy-ness

On Saturday, my mom, dad, Jared, Annie, and I all participated in a 5k walk/run put together by one of my mom's friends in honor of her late husband.  Jason and Leila came along to support us.  My mom, dad, and I were the walkers who may or may not have "cheated" by skipping over a small leg of the race.  Jared and Annie were good to run for a good portion of it.  It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Based on how dead I was the rest of the day, I'm more than a titch out of shape so it was good for me to get out and moving.

The multitudes...Can you pick out our group?

The Cool Kids

Studly

Finished!

They had several people in costumes wandering around the start/finish line and Jason couldn't resist snapping this picture:

Sunday was busy as we tried to pack in a cousin's missionary farewell, sacrament meeting talks in our ward, and a primary lesson.  Thankfully, the cousin also lives in American Fork so we were able to hop back and forth fairly easily.  Michael is the 5th grandson (6th grandchild) on my dad's side of the family to serve a mission.  He will be serving in the Baltimore Maryland mission for the next 2 years.  I am proud of his choice and know that he will be greatly blessed.

A Return to The Happiest Place on Earth

Last week Leila and I tagged along with my family on their Spring Break trip to Disneyland!  I sure do like having an annual pass and will be sad when the time comes when I won't be making multiple trips to Disneyland each year.  In the meantime, I'm just enjoying myself and making as many memories as possible.  Highlights from this trip included:

Leila--She is so fascinated with people and LOVES being outside.  Needless to say, Disneyland was a perfect combo for her.  When we went into the parks our first evening there, she couldn't whip her head around fast enough to take in all of the sights and sounds.  She also liked squawking at all of the people walking past us which brought a smile to most of their faces.  I also couldn't resist making a little Minnie Mouse sunhat for her (which she refused to keep on for very long...oh well).

My Little Minnie

Leila's "first bath"--While we were at lunch one day, I was talking to my mom about giving Leila a bath when we got back to the hotel.  My mom asked if it was her first bath of the trip, but my sister Ashley momentarily thought she meant her first bath...ever!  This pushed her funny button and she was quickly in tears from laughing so hard.

World of Color Heartache--Okay, I know this sounds odd to be listing under highlights, but let me explain.  Jason wasn't able to come with us since he just started his job and has like zero PTO built up.  This meant that we were apart for the first time since we were married almost three years ago.  I was doing surprisingly well with it all (Disneyland offers plenty of distractions) until we watched World of Color one night.  Ashley and Taylor had just joined us so our party, but not our family, was complete.  A tug of emotions had me missing Jason.  That tug became a tidal wave once the song "So Close" was played during the show.  This is one of "our" songs.  Needless to say, a call home was in order shortly afterwards.  It reminded me just how blessed I am to have such a loving husband.  He even let me go to Disneyland without him!

Enjoying the Storybook Canal with Auntie Annie

Answered prayers--One afternoon Jason's parents came to take Leila for the day so that I could have some "alone" time and they could get their Leila-fix in.  After I finished sending her on her way, I was getting ready to head back into the park when my heart dropped: my annual pass was missing!  I knew that I'd had it when I separated from the group.  In fact, I had made sure of it.  Frantically I began retracing my steps through Downtown Disney, repeatedly.  I struck out.  My dad came to my rescue ready to purchase a replacement pass but thought about checking the Lost and Found first.  Both lines for the Lost and Found and Guest Services were really long, so we split up so as not to waste too much time if it wasn't in the Lost and Found.  I finally made it up to the window and explained what I was looking for.  The lady went to check in the back and I wasn't feeling very hopeful.  Lo and behold, she walked out with my pass and I proceeded to lift my arms up in the air, smack the counter and say, "Thank goodness!"  After over an hour and a half of searching and waiting, I was so incredibly relieved and knew that Heavenly Father had been looking out for me.

Shadow Tag--One night my mom and I were sitting at some tables near the Matterhorn after feeding Leila a late dinner (poor girl had her schedule so out of whack).  I was holding Leila when suddenly she started pawing at the table.  At first I thought she was intrigued by the pattern on the tabletop, but my mom pointed out that she was playing with her shadow!  How fun!

Rainy weather--It doesn't even need to be said that when we go to California, we hope for nice weather, especially when we are going to be outside most of the time. We didn't get nice, sunny weather this trip.  It was a little chilly, especially at night, and rained off and on all week.  They were only able to do fireworks one night while we were there due to high winds.  Thankfully it wasn't pouring enough to make us miserable.  Instead we were able to enjoy low crowds and hot chocolate.

Family--That's what this trip was all about after all.  I got to spend some much needed vacation time with my family.  It was fun to watch my siblings interact with Leila.  Each of them are forming their own type of relationship with her.  And my parents LOVE having a grandkid to spoil at Disneyland (and all the time).  Travelling with a 6 month old isn't easy, but everyone was really patient and helpful.  Thanks guys!

Leila is 6 Months!

 

My baby girl is growing up and I can't believe how quickly the past 6 months have flown by!  Here are her 6 month stats:

Weight: 15.3 pounds 31st percentile (up from the 11th percentile at 5 months--she's chunking up!)
Length: 25.62 inches 33rd percentile (up from the 23rd percentile at 4 months)
Head Circumference: 16.75 inches 56th percentile (up from the 54th percentile at 4 months)

Basically her head is average sized but it is certainly still the biggest part of her.  The rest of her is catching up fast though!  Her hair is finally starting to fill in and her eyes are getting darker.  Other highlights:

She now rolls over both from stomach to back and back to stomach.  She is almost always kicking her feet, especially when she is on her stomach.  She also sits up really well by herself as long as I balance her pretty well to start with.

She isn't as content to just sit and snuggle and constantly wants to go, go, go.  She is very observant of everything around her and loves watching people.  She's got her hands figured out and will reach for and grab anything and everything (especially Auntie Annie's hair).  She has also discovered her toes and loves to suck on them whenever she gets the chance.  She also pulls her socks off on a regular basis.

She is becoming more vocal and makes some funny noises, especially when she gets excited.  She LOVES watching Elmo and it surprises me how much it holds her attention.  She enjoys being outside and likes going for walks now that the weather is starting to warm up.  She has been eating rice cereal for about a month and will be starting other baby foods soon.