Lenora Reading

Today while driving to Big Lots this is what I could hear in the backseat. So when I parked I took some video (Cell phone, that's why they are sideways) But it's just too cute!!

  

Garage Bliss

Yesterday we finished the garage..Well almost, we still have to work on the back corner and make storage for tools & a work bench. But we got the shelving up, organized, and everything in it's place. Miss Lenora has a whole shelf just of her stuff, 3 tubs of clothes plus all her other baby stuff. Spoiled baby. =)

For the past 2 months thing's have been so unorganized and chaotic. All our garage stuff was in a BIG pile in the middle of the garage. It was driving me crazy. Martin did a wonderful job sheetrocking, texturing (with help from mike), and painting the garage. It feel's nice to have a finished garage. Plus I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulder's now that the giant pile is no longer in the center of the garage.

And I'm pretty sure we're the only people on the whole street who can get BOTH car's in the garage!

My Name is Lenora & I'm Addicted to Being Silly

Lenora is growing up way to fast! It's hard to imagine that she is already going to be 9 months old. Although we should of known that she was going to be little miss independent. When she was born she would be awake for hours just taking in her environment and looking around, and at 4 months old she could hold her own bottle. She definitely isn't a snuggler which is sad, she also isn't to sassy but she is VERY opinionated! She also is really concerned when people out in public don't pay attention to her, she stares and wiggles until she gets there attention and then she acts all shy and giggly. She know's she cute and she needs to be told she is by EVERYONE! She's "Vain, in a modest way" as Hannah would say.

She recently started walking along the furniture. I hoped I'd have at least 2 months between crawling and this but NOPE, she's determined. She also has quite the library of sound effects.

Her skills include:
-Fake Coughing (thank you Martin for teaching her that)
-Airplane/Car (which she now does while eating, that's always fun)
-Raspberries (farting noises)
-Kisses
-Snorting
-Screaming

She is a very good imitator which could be bad in the future. No more saying "SOB" mommy! Here is a video or two (The sound effects from the background are Martin trying to get her to do them)... And I have NO idea where she learned to say "NO"

This is generally how Lenora acts, so there is never a dull moment with miss Lenora!

Lenora & Her Walker

Today randomly I decided I wanted to go buy Lenora a walker. I knew I wanted one that could transform into something that way we'd get more use out of it. So I found the exact one I wanted on Craigslist for $10 SCORE (I thought) since they are originally $25. So I met the lady in a parking lot so I could look at it...It looked like the child had tooken it offroading into gravel. It was very scratched and the stickers were coming off, not to mention it was filthy. They couldn't of run a wet wipe over it before they showed it to me...really?! Anyway. So we headed off to ToysRus. And what do yah know, they had the same exact one there for $14.99! Definite SCORE! Oh it's the Playskool Step Start Walk & Ride.

She seems to like it, it occasionally rolls away from her and sometimes she falls backwards while holding on to it but were working on that and she's a trooper every time she falls. She seems to stand and hold onto it or just sit on it while its in it's ride on mode. So for now I think she'll stick to crawling along the couch, and we'll get to the walker maybe next week. I don't want to rush her. But here our some photo's...I couldn't just pick one, they were all just hilarious.


 

 

My New Craft Obsession

This is my new obsession... Making Curly hair bows for Lenora. They are so much fun to make and the color combinations are endless. I've even thought of making some team colored ones but we aren't really that into sports. I found the instructions here , but I bought the wrong size ribbon so mine are done with 1/8 inch ribbon.

You Need:

Wooden Dowels 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch (I use a combination of the two) 
Ribbon 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch
Binder Clips or Clothes pins
Hair Clip

Glue Gun

Thread

Wrap the ribbon around the wooden dowels and bake for 20 Minutes at 250 degrees. Cut to desired length and secure the cut pieces of ribbon several times with thread. Super easy.

With  all the one's I've made I used 1/8 inch ribbon except fot the orange one (thats 1/4 inch) And I just attach them to a alligator clip. They look adorable in Lenora's hair with her little pony tail behind it. I just have to distract her with something while I put it in otherwise she'll rip it out.   Next venture is fabric flower hair clips! When I get time.

Britax Boulevard & A Jeep

We got Lenora's new carseat today (Britax Boulevard 70 CS), and after she tested it out she took a nap so I was able to begin installing it right away. While looking for a carseat I searched all over the Internet for a picture of a Recaro or Britax carseat in the back of a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee- Why? Because the backseat of a jeep is weird, the seats are some what narrow and the headrests do not raise up or come off.

Installation: Britax installation instruction video
The carseat fits perfectly in the center of the jeep. Putting it on the sides while it's reclined to the 45 degree angle would almost be impossible unless the driver or passenger were really short. But the middle is the safest anyway. The latch system is really easy to use and I really like how it's attached to the steel bars (one of there safety features) We did end up having to roll up her non-slip carseat pad (from her other seat) and position it under the front of the base so that the carseat would be level.  After installing the carseat once I just didn't feel that it was in there secure enough. And I was certain we didn't have a floor anchor for the Versa Tether Anchor strap (another Britax saftey feature-strap on back) but after watching the installation video at britax.com (Which I should of done to begin with) I realized that it isn't attached to a special floor anchor but rather to the bottom of the passenger seat. So after figuring that out I was able to sleep soundly. Will have to do one last final tweak when I am able to get on flat ground just to make sure its exactly level.



Overall I am very pleased with the carseat and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new seat. It has wonderful safety features and some very nice convenience features, such as the cover comes off for washing without having to remove any of the straps. Its also very cozy for Lenora. So far she seems to like it, and now I don't have to carry around her Chicco carseat anymore! She's growing up way to fast!

Britax has a great video on the Britax Boulevard 70 CS here.

Pumpkin Patch

 

Today we took Lenora to the Pumpkin Patch at Country Mercantile in Pasco. It was a nice 70 degree afternoon. This is the first time I myself had ever been to a pumpkin patch, and all I wanted pumpkins for was for the front porch (decorative). 

Well it was $6.50 a person to get in (Lenora was free) and there weren't many people in the actual pumpkin patch, most people were on the climbing hay bales or eating food. They were giving tractor rides out to the pumpkin patch and the tractors were full of people, but I have NO idea where the tractor was taking them all because it seemed like we had the whole field of pumpkins to ourselves. Oh well. Me, Martin & Lenora walked all over to find the perfect 3 pumpkins- A tall orange one, a small white one, and we even found a warty orange/green one. They look great on the front porch! And Lenora had a good time so that's all that mattered. No Corn Maze for us though, I'd probably panic, and Meghan isn't here to smack me!

Then we came home and made onion rings. They were amazing! From the new ABC show 'The Chew'. We needed Meghan to help us eat them. (Can you tell I miss you Meghan!)

Lenora can Crawl & I'm a Nervouse Wreck!

I suppose a post about Lenora crawling is the best way to start my blog. That and because Meghan has been hounding me to do it! Darn FB drama!

The day Lenora turned 8 months old she decided crawling on her tummy wasn't for her anymore...she lifted up and magically started crawling on all fours with an occasional stop to do this weird sort of bridge thing on her tippy toes. She was so proud of herself. Even if she falls she gets right back up. She's learned to say "OW" so we hear that a lot, and "UH OH."

Since Lenora has started crawling she has decided to be my little human vacuum. On three separate occasions she has found a peanut (thankfully she's not allergic), she found a piece of corn tortilla under the table, and today she was pulling pieces out of the carpet and putting them in her mouth. Luckily I was able to pull them out of her mouth before she swallowed them. I'm a nervous wreck! So we've bought a new vacuum in hopes that it will pick everything up so Lenora doesn't have too.

She has also learned how to pull herself up on the couch & chair which is fine but she likes to dance and dancing/standing Lenora isn't a good combination. We've learned that if she isn't hurt to not make a big deal, we laugh and say "oh your fine." We still haven't baby proofed the whole house yet because I didn't think it would come upon us so suddenly. Our fireplace & TV stand are now blocked with a body pillow, a throw pillow, and a folded up quilt, Oh and a burp rag covering the radio buttons so she can't turn it on! She loves her country music.

So for now I'll just keep running after her, although she thinks its a game when we chase after her. I'll survive...until she learns to walk.