Happy New Years!!! We GLADLY Welcome You 2010!!!

2009 was a year of ups and downs... It brought us the birth of our beautiful daughter, the first grandchild to my parents and the first great granddaughter on my moms side. We have had many successful ward parties put on and cannot forget our ham of a dog Zoe.

With the ups come the downs. Being on the other side of the country and limited in the amount of support and interaction as my amazing aunt passed away from cancer was the hardest and most painful event of them all, the stresses of money is always on the list and missing every single holiday with my family was a strong contender.

The ups make me happy and the downs make me grateful... all in all I am not sad to watch 2009 end and I am gladly welcoming 2010 with open arms!

Olivia's REAL 5 mo. pictures

She has on the oober cute sweater dress her grandma bought her, the leggings her cousin Kori and aunt Debbie bought her and the shoes that I wore when I was a baby... a pretty fitting outfit for the last picture of the year!

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!

Dani

5 Mo Old & Christmas Pictures

Twas the night before Christmas .... and Olivia Mae just turned 5 mo old and needed to have her picture taken. But with a BIG grin like that who could resist!

Oh and yes we intentionally dressed her up as Cindy Loo Whoo... and she makes a good one if you ask me!

Notice the foot trying to escape the nightgown!

She loves it I swear!

BIG smile!

The girls in the house... our dog is such a ham!

Olivia opening presents all on her own... kind of.

Boy someone is happy!!!

All dressed up in one of her Christmas outfits!

Christmas was wonderful... Daddy got to stay home with us instead of having to go into work and we opened lots of presents from all of our family and friends! Hope your Holidays were splendid!! :)

Dani

Genius!!!

Why the HECK did I not think of this?!

With Christmas a few days away...

it is way to late for me to do it this year but next year it is a must!

Fabric Christmas bags... Ok... you are probably thinking what I was thinking when I first read this... ugly pillow cases stuffed with gifts clashing under a beautiful tree... BUT it doesnt have to be that way!


I found this OOBER awesome site that has some OOBER cute ideas... and reusable Christmas bags was one of them.

Here are some reasons I am planning on using Christmas bags for next year:

1. Christmas themed fabric goes on sale for stupid cheap here in about a week and I can get all I want for an absurdly low price.
2. I can wrap a present in 10 seconds flat... tack on 30 additional seconds for a fancy bow.
   
3. If they happen to get dirty... no worries... just wash them!
   
4. MUCH more durable than wrapping paper (I dont know how many times I have accidentally poked a hole in the side or tore a corner of a gift)
5. I will never have to wrap an obnoxiously awkward shaped gift ever again!
6. We are kind of short on traditions here in my house so this one will be a great one to start!!! How fun will it be to be to pull these cute bags out every year with all of my other decorations instead of crinkled wrapping paper that I totally forgot about and will end up tossing in the garbage anyway.

I cannot wait for the sales... yay for never having to wrap a present ever again! WOO HOO!!

Dani

Sporting Some Of Her Winter Wear!!!

Olivia wanted to show off her super cute winter wear to everyone... so enjoy!

My mom bought this outfit for her when she was first born and has been anxious to see her in it for months!

The outcome was well worth the wait for the teddy bear outfit... I personally think she looks like a snowbaby... what do you think?!

Olivia sporting her super fun hat that I bought her a few months ago and now it fits like a glove!

She finally has enough dexterity to hold onto things and play with them or chew on them... what ever works for her.

Olivia enjoying her cool hat and excersaucer!

Well there is my little munchkin in all of her glory! She is a big ball of energy and smiles!

Dani

My Little 4mo Old LivieBug

My Little LivieBug

Olivia turned 4 months about a week or so ago and she has started to do some adorable and amazing things. She now rolls over from front to back and back to front as well as has started to scoot a little, she sits up almost all on her own and now has enough dexterity to hold on to things and with that... she puts everything in her mouth. Olivia started to show signs of teething a few weeks back and although the teeth receded they have started to rise back to the surface and we have a fussy baby again. Without any further adieu here are her 4 month pictures and a few others!

My little blue eyed girl doing what she does best... licking things.

Livie wearing one of the outfits that Grandma Louderback bought for her

Olivia playing in her Excersauser that she LOVES!!

Sunday afternoon nap... she is the happiest baby when she wakes up!

LivieBug Snuggled up in the blanket that Grandma Lapp made for her!

Well that is her in all of her glory! She is a happy baby all around, minus the beginnings of teething. Olivia has been a huge blessing in our lives and warms the hearts of all those that she comes in contact with!

Dani

Craigslisting It Up!

A busy bee I have been lately. Some of what has been keeping me so busy, other than Olivia, is craigslist. I admit here and now... I have a problem... but I can quit whenever I want!! I promise!! haha. No but seriously I can totally quit whenever I want.

Here are a few pictures of some of my finds

My new killer rug that I got for 35 bucks!

This was my first find! An antique mahogany side table for only 35 bucks!

I found this desk and a similar one that I got both for... FREE! Yep! The guy originally wanted 30 bucks for each and I told him I saw the same ones at Wal-Mart for 40 brand new so he gave both of them to me for free!

My new oober heavy mirror for only 10 dollars! I also picked up the ACE personal training book for only 8 dollars... awesome deal for sure!

One of my new side tables...

The other new side table (this one is a little nicked up but I am planning on fixing that) and I picked both up for FREE!!! The lady we picked these end tables up from also has the matching entertainment center and is offering it to us for 50... pretty darn good deal!

My other first find my in need of TLC solid oak desk! The broken hinge is kind of a blessing in disguise seeing as how are printer will not fit inside of the space intended for it so we are planning on turning the drop down into a drawer. Not bad for a free desk!

My lovely Ryan picked this Thomasville china cabinet out and asked if it could be his Christmas present... well that was easy! We took this whole wall unit home for only 175 and something similar retails for 1800-2000 so ... my bargain shopping was have rubbed off apparently!

Well those are my Craigslist finds up to date... It has been a huge blessing to receive all of these things that other wise we wouldn't be able to afford! Come things need a good cleaning, some need a little furniture polish and others need a little bit more TLC but all of the items we have picked up have been solid construction pieces! YAY!

Have you found anything good on Craigslist?!

Danielle

Finding Joy In The Simple Things...

DeLiCioUsNEsS !!!

Finding joy in the simple things... Like Cake Batter Cookies!!! Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmmmmm...

I LOVE cake batter cookies for two reasons... they are delicous of course and because the are absurdly easy!

This time around I made Funfettie cookies... no decoration needed for these bad boys because the sprinkles are already in the mix!

Here is the recipe if you would like to whip up a batch in... less that 20 min!


1 box of your FAVE cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 c oil

1 Tbs rounded scoop for each cookie is plenty. preheat oven to 350 and bake for about 8 to 10 min.

Enjoy!!!
D

Roll Call!!!

So... lately I have been wondering who really reads my blog. I never really know who all has visited my blog unless they leave a comment which a few people here and there do but not all that often. So I am borrowing an idea from my good friend Emily and doing a Roll Call!


I would really love to see who all visits my blog!

Leave me a comment

Tell me who you are, where you are from, how often you visit my blog and any suggestions you might have! I dont bite... I promise lol. I am pretty excited to see who all visits my blog!

Danielle

Leelou Swag Give Away

I Love a good give away... I rarely win but it is so much fun the anticipation of it all! Here is a link for her first give away item. Check it out and let me know what you think! :)

Leelou Swag Favorite Things Give Away

Well in preparation for Christmas here is a list of a few of MY favorite things!


1. Bumbo Baby Seat- Pretty much the most amazing invention since sliced bread!!! Olivia can sit up and help me cook, watch me fold laundry... just hang out... it is great!

2.Munchkins Jelly Bean Sling carrier- Takes "Attachment Parenting" to a whole new level! It is wonderful to be able to take care your baby AND fold the clothes, do the dishes, clean the house, vacuum the carpet... the list goes on! It is wonderful because it is maneuverable ... carries in the front, side or back.

3.Editor Pant from Express- AH-mazing! This pant fits just about anyone like a glove! Glorious!

4. The new Blastoff Network - So awesome to be able to fully customize your own homepage...everything from what games you want to play, your background, the news you want to hear about and ... what stores you want to shop at! I already have a 20 dollar check in the mail for all the cash back rewards just for last month! WOO HOO!

5.Mekenna Jewelry Armoire by Pottery Barn- Organization is kind of a minor obsession of mine... this jewelry box has tons of storage and organization perfect for the little things that glitter!



6. Nikon D3000 - "Incredibly easy, incredibly fast"... I would love to have this camera to catch all of those fun moments in life! :)




So what are some of the things that are on your Favorite Things list?!

Dani

Full of Firsts...

Shots & Whole Foods...

Well lately we have been making some progress... Olivia just had her 2 month check up that had been pushed back about a month and a half. We were out of town when she turned 2 months and when we got back into town I made her appointment then found out the next day that our insurance didn't process right and she wasn't fully covered... so we had to wait.

With Livie up to date on her shots it was time to conquer solid foods. She just didn't seem content with her bottle so I ran to the store and bought a small can of Single Grain Rice Cereal with DHA ... mixed it with formula and then came the mess... oh and it was a mess!!!

She didnt even know what was coming... but look how cute she is! Her out fit is from Grandma Louderback and her blanket is from Grandma Trish...

She was pretty upset after her shots and with a hello kitty bandaid on one leg and a barbie one on the other. She took it like a champ!

Very soon after her shots she fell asleep in her swing while holding her bottle... with assistance that is.

Daddy was very eager to feed Olivia! He had just come home from work and offered to be the first one to feed her! :) We put her in her bumbo she was good to go!

She was much more accepting of the cereal when it was on her fingers instead of the spoon!

Mmm Mmm Mmmmm....

I think she got her eating habits from her mother... haha

Yes... she even got cereal on her tiny little feet... she went strait to her bath after all of this was done.

HI GRANDPA! HI GRANDMA!
Wanna hug?!

D