My morning

Good morning Mom! It's such a beautiful day and I'm such a happy girl.
What do you mean, it's not time to play?
Okay, I'm all dressed for church.
Now can I play with the camera?

Bop It!

I just thought this was too cute... I found this keychain Bop It and decided it was just the right size for Leesi. So funny.

Food Network Obsession

Okay, so now that we live on campus we have cable tv. It's the first time in my life I've had cable... but sadly, we don't get the Food Network (or HGTV). When we were in Portland staying with Wanda over the summer I LOVED watching the Food Network. I found that it inspired me to want to cook good food. Now that I'm back at home in my own kitchen I'm trying to keep that inspiration alive. I checked out a Food Network cookbook we have in the library and found a recipe for Bow Ties with Pesto, Feta & Cherry Tomatoes. So we tried it the other day. And I must say, it was quite yummy. Here's a picture of how it turned out.

If you want to try it click here for the recipe. (Yep, Click right on the word "here")

Grosgrain Blog 2

So one of the things I don't like about my current blog template is that links don't appear to be links... unless your mouse is right over them. So in the post below you need to click on the word "here" to go to the Grosgrain Blog site. It should work just fine for you. I'm definitely going to be changing my template soon.

Grosgrain Blog

I found this site the other day... and just had to post a link to it. It's a mom who sews the cutest little outfits for her girls and then gives them away. She gives them away in drawings off her blog each week. So check it out here

Fussy baby - fussy mom

Wow... I know I haven't posted many pictures of Elisa lately... sorry. It's just that she's been so fussy. Sometimes she won't let me set her down even for a moment without tears of protest. First I thought it was because she had a little cold; then I thought it was because she was teething; now I've given up on hypothesizing and just decided to call it a phase. Each month I've been trying to take a picture of her laying on a plain background... just to show how she's growing and what she looks like each month. I tried to take her 8 month picture a couple weeks ago and this is what I got...

She was saying, "MOM, WHY ARE YOU LAYING ME DOWN? I DON'T LIKE IT! I DON'T LIKE IT! PICK ME UP, MOM. I NEED YOU! PLEEEEEEEEEEASE PICK ME UP!"

I told Greg that those were actually perfect 8 month pictures... because they show exactly what she's like right now. He just laughed. I guess he thought I was joking. I sometimes get really frustrated by her neediness and her crying. But as I've thought about it, I've decided to enjoy even this fussy/needy period. After all, everything goes by so quickly with kids... I better cherish these moments when she desperately "needs" me. She'll certainly outgrow her need for mom at some point... and that will be a very sad day.

Anyway, I did finally get one picture that is passable. Her eyes are a little red, but other than that it's okay.

Aw, what a cutie! She's doing so much more than she was doing even last month. She crawls now, although she still doesn't go very fast or seem very interested in crawling. What she really loves to do is pull herself to standing and play standing up. This can be a real problem in the bathtub... which doesn't provide the most traction. Just last night she tried to stand, slipped, and ended up with a faceful of water.

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

So I have a new favorite series right now: the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In the books you follow Mma Ramotswe as she sets up and runs her own detective agency. It is different than a regular mystery genre book in that the main point of the story is not necessarily the cases that she is solving. Instead you are just following along her day to day life and the lives of the other characters in the books. It takes place in Botswana and the author, having lived in Africa for some time, has an air of credibility. They are not necessarily "page-turner/can't put them down books"; they are just wholesome and sweet with characters that grow along with the series. It took me a little while to get into the first book... but once I did, I couldn't stop. I'd highly recommend them. Also, I listened to some of these books on audio and the reader is phenomenal... I'd highly recommend that also.

Summer Vacation Memories

Here are some of my favorite pictures from over the summer...

Elisa outdoors

Here's some fun pictures from our little outside playtime today. It was pretty hot. So we didn't stay outside long. But Leesi seems to especially enjoy the grass.

Home Again

Well, we're back in Arkansas. We got back late last night. I had mixed feelings as we drove back onto campus. This is not quite home yet, but Portland is no longer home either. Hmmm.

We had a great summer...

Elisa gained about half a pound and became so much more mobile. She rolls around and can even propel herself forward a little bit now. She had a great time with Grammy and Grams (Greg's mom and grandma), Grandpa and Grandma (my parents), and of course with Uncle John and Aunt Kristine.

That brings me to my next point: My brother got married! John and Kristine had a beautiful wedding in a rose garden overlooking the beautiful Puget Sound. I am so excited for them as they start their lives together.

It would take so long to tell about all that happened this summer. But I'll post some pictures soon. Also, I promised my mom I'd post the video of Elisa creeping. So that's coming too! Greg kept more up to date over the summer with happenings and pictures, so you can always check out his blog to read more (click here).