Family Photos

We had family photos taken back in August. They turned out great! Our friend Melissa McDaniel took them. She loves photography and she is way reasonable when it comes to prices. You can see a few more of our photos from our photo shoot on her blog Melissa McDaniel Photography. There is something sad about taking down the wedding picture off the mantle but also something exciting about putting up family photos!

Lockin' it

Yesterday Lenna and I headed to the locks with our friend Joel and his mommy Melinda. Not only did I learn a new road to get to Papa Johns faster from my house; I got to enjoy the beautiful crisp air of fall. If you don't know what the locks are you can check out the website about it at The My Ballard Website. However as a short recap it is a way to get from the sound into lake union. Also it is a great place to see salmon jumping when the salmon return at the end of the summer. We just missed the busy season for the salmon to return which happens in august, but we were able to see one silver salmon and a bunch of boats.

I think Lenna was more tired than interested in seeing the locks, but I had a good time.Joel and his mom had a good time too.

We didn't see many salmon but we saw a sea lion
On the way home Joel and Lenna held hands. I always think it is so funny when little kids hold hands. Deep down I think Joel was fascinated with the fact that Lenna moved and wanted to catch her...kind of like a game.
On another note of games, yesterday Jared and I went on a very short run, since I am not feeling 100% (I think the cold weather may have given me a minor cold), nonetheless we went running and every time I would get in front of the stroller so that Lenna could see me she would giggle and giggle. It was a big motivating factor to try and run faster then Jared just so I could hear her giggle. There is something about making your own baby laugh that just makes you happy!

Yay for fun adventures and now it is time for a nap!

Fall is definitely in the air

This week seemed to fly by. With Lenna's doctor appointment, a few babysitting adventures to help some of my friends out, and lots of shopping trips; the week has come and gone with a blink. I always feel that the week after vacations I tend to do more shopping then normal. It might be because I have to go grocery shopping, or maybe it is because I am more motivated to just get out of the house; I am not really sure. Regardless after a shopping spree to the grocery store, Costco, Walmart, and then on Amazon I think I might try to only go grocery shopping this coming week, but that probably won't happen since I really do love to shop. But a happy note I got lots of cool things this week like toys for Lenna, food, and my favorite shampoo, Biolage. Hooray for shopping!

Other adventures this week that do not involve shopping include going to the zoo with our friends Abby and Melissa. Which as an added bonus Melissa brought up our family photos which turned out so great! Thanks Melissa for taking them. I printed some of the photos off and got some frames (this was all part of my shopping spree adventures) so now family photos will be going up over our mantle as soon as we get around to finding nails and a hammer. It is sad to take down our wedding photo but time rolls on and I think it is important to have a family photo up =)

After our heat wave of 85 degree weather had passed and the temperature settled at and around high 60's I figured it was time that Lenna could start wearing some of her long sleeved onesies. It is not October yet, but it is close enough in my book to Halloween and I wanted her to wear some of her holiday outfits before she might out grow them! I included multiple pictures because her different faces in each of them make me chuckle.




Thank you to both grandma's for sending her such cute Halloween attire.

Lenna is definitely starting to be more aware of what is going on. She reaches for everything, bounces as much as she can, and when she drops something off her exersaucer she actually tries to look down to find it. She is still rolling around a lot. A funny story about her rolling: the other day I had put her down on the floor and went to the other room to put my contacts in. All of a sudden I started to hear her cry like she was hurt. So I went into the other room where she was and her body was trying to get into the kitchen but her head kept hitting the wall and stopping her from completely rolling over. As I was walking to get her (which isn't far since my house is tiny) she bonked her head like 4 times. You would think that if it hurt you would stop doing it, but nope Lenna was determined to roll into the kitchen. I have a very determined little girl.
Also this week we decided to start making Lenna put herself to sleep even if that means making her cry herself to sleep. It was a great idea. She has slept 2 nights all the way past 6 and today she woke up at 5 but after feeding her slept till 8am! This is a great improvement since starting around 5 months she decided she would wake up at random times and want her binky or want to eat, and it was making me one tired mama. So this means I am getting more sleep and I love sleep!

Today we took Lenna on her very first trip in the jogging stroller and her first time forward facing too. I am not sure she enjoyed it because she was tense looking like she looks in the picture for the entire 25 minutes she was in it. Oh well, at least Jared and I got some good exercise in right?
On random news I had a Zinnia bloom. We had gotten seeds from Butchart Gardens last year and I forgot to plant them so I figured I would plant them this year. I didn't think anything would grow, but after coming back from Disneyland we had this beautiful pink Zinnia. Moral of the story is it is better to try planting your random seeds than just throwing them away; you never know what will happen.
I have also decorated for Halloween. This is by far my favorite holiday to decorate for. I am not sure why since I don't actually like the color orange, but I make an exception for 6 plus weeks to decorate for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
To end my blog here are some random videos I wanted to share. The first video is of Lenna and her experience with a sippy cup for the first time. I think she likes to play with the sippy cup but she doesn't like water. Hopefully one day she will like water.

This video is of Lenna and family riding the Jungle Cruise ride. Lenna really loved riding all the rides we took her on. She was just so fascinated by everything.

Lastly this video proves how excited Jared was to be at Disneyland. This is a staged video because he started doing this as we were walking into California Adventure and I thought it was so funny I made him do it again so I could capture it on video.

Have a great weekend! Go DAWGS!

6 Months Stats

Lenna had her 6 month check up at the doctor today.


These are her stats

Height : 27 3/4 inches (75%)

Weight: 19 lbs 3 oz (95%)

Head 43 1/2 cm (>>>97% aka off the charts)

Yep that is right, she is a big girl. At least she is a big girl in everything right? When we got home Lenna decided to tell me all about her check up; including how the check up ended which was in a cry. Enjoy!

Disneyland 2009

We took Lenna on her very first trip to Disneyland and we all had a blast! Yes I know Lenna will not remember this trip to Disneyland at all, but truthfully we went because I love Disneyland and want to go every year, so this trip was really for me!

My parents were kind enough to let us tag along with them so that we could enjoy some of the big kid rides while Lenna slept or they played with her. It was great because they got to have some grandparent time and we got to ride some fun rides. Here is my recap

Getting there: We had our friend Tim drop us off at the airport. He arrived early at our house as we were scrambling to finish getting things in order. As we are driving to the airport and about 5-10 miles away from our house I realized I forgot the Bjorn. I am freaking out, but calmly Tim turned around drove us back to our house during rush hour traffic, and we made it to the airport in plenty of time. Thanks for detouring a half hour for us Tim! Lenna didn't really sleep well on the airplane but she didn't fuss either. When we arrived in Long Beach my parents met us with Lenna being wide eyed and excited. She was giggle and laughing. Who knew that 5 hours past your bed time one can be so giddy. It was hilarious to watch. It was also hard to settle her down to sleep but oh well.

Day 1: As we approached the park Lenna was super smiley and giddy once again. We decided to grab her a 1st visit button and then ride the carousel since Dad had been way excited to ride this ride with Lenna for months. Lenna loved it as well, and she actually loved all the rides we took her on.

We took her on Snow White, Pinocchio, It's a Small World, Pirates, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonder Land, The Ferris Wheel, Buzz Light Year, the Train, the Jungle Cruise Ride, and maybe others that I can't remember. She just loved them.
The next day Day 2: before we headed to the park we took Lenna swimming at the pool. She wasn't thrilled at all to put her swimsuit on but she liked bouncing in the water. I had to show her how to splash but she just wasn't all that excited to splash she just wanted to be bounced.
Every day it got hotter and hotter. We lathered Lenna up in sunscreen even on her hair so she looked really greasy and hot every day but she never complained. I am glad not to have to lather sunscreen on her hair/head every day. Jared and I got to ride some fun rides everyday like Screamin' the roller coaster where we sat in the front or Indiana Jones where I got to drive the car, or the Thunder Mountain Railroad where we sat in the back. I guess I had incredible luck in getting to sit where I wanted to on rides.
Also Jared and I road Autotophia together. Want to read a joke? Here is goes "What do you call a car that can fly?....An Auto Pilot" This ride was fun because of all the silly road signs.
After that to cool off we got ice cream sandwiches. My ice cream sandwich stuck to my teeth and I looked liked I had bad dental hygiene. It was silly. We also watched some Jedi training which you can see us staring at in the bottom right picture. After cooling off we headed to California Adventure and went to Animation. I think Animation is one of my new favorite attraction. You can learn how to draw Disney characters or figure out which Disney character you are, or talk to Crush from Nemo. If you are wondering what Disney characters Jared and I are; I am Ursula, and Jared is Shere Khan. We are bad guys because our answer was the later to this question: do you like to eat lunch with nice people or eat nice people for lunch?
Later that afternoon we rode the Lily Belle train car around the park. This train car was made for Walt Disney's wife hence it is called the Lily Belle. It has the only remaining piece of carpet from the bolt that was bought to carpet the family's apartment in the park. It also had a picture of Lily and Walt which you hardly ever see.
The last day (day 3) and our final day we decided we had to meet Mickey and Minnie. So we headed to Toon Town to Mickey and Minnie's houses. Minnie played with Lenna's ears, and we explored Minnie's house.
Then we headed to see Mickey.
After all that excitement we went to California Adventure to see the musical Aladdin. I think one of the coolest things about Disney is that it gives children the opportunity to see musicals/plays at a young age so they can be exposed to it early. While my parents waited in line for the Aladdin doors to open Jared and I took a quick trip to the Tower of Terror. The best part about going during off season is there is hardly any lines!
By the end of the trip Lenna was pretty tuckered out. She slept well on the airplane ride home, said good bye to grandma and grandpa and is now settling back to normal life.
Lenna did so well and had so much fun on vacation I keep telling Jared that we should just move to Disneyland! I don't think he agrees, but it was great to have a wonderfully behaved Lenna for a few days! I hope Lenna keeps loving Disneyland and I hope to go again next September!

Sneak Peak And Of Lot Of Firsts

Many of you know that we went to Disneyland this last week. Right now I am too tired to blog all about it, but I do however want to share the details in my next post, so that in the future I can remember all of the little things. (Isn't that a part of blogging...it is like having a journal-ish right?) Okay on to what matters, pictures!

This week was a lot of firsts for Lenna. It was Lenna's very first airplane ride.
It was Lenna's very first time at Disneyland. Here is a picture of us getting her a "1st Visit" button. Lenna was all smiles as we were walking to the park. She was truly just the happiest little girl ever! Doesn't she look so giddy in Grandma princess' arms? Lenna knew something magically exciting was happening! It was Lenna's first time to ride rides. Dad took her on lots and lots. And she liked them all she didn't ever really fuss during any of them.We took her swimming in a real pool for the first time. Isn't her swim suit the cutest!Lenna held her own bottle. Not for more than like a minute but she knows how to hold it and how to get it in and out of her mouth. This is exciting news! But she hasn't understood that you have to tilt it a certain way to get the formula down to the bottom, I had to help her with that.It was Lenna's first time to meet Mickey!
You might be wondering how Lenna did. Well the answer to this is this she did wonderfully! I was pleasantly suprised that she slept through everything! And was just so happy to have fun things to see people to smile at and rides to ride. I wish I could go to Disneyland all the time!Come back later on to see more fun pictures and more details if you wish! Have a Magical Day!

6 Months Old

Baby Lenna turned 6 months old today! Since she has figured out how to roll both directions she has seemed to be a much happier kid. I think I have a very strong willed child that when she can't figure something out or doesn't get her way she let's you know about it. Recently as she plays her bib gets moved around so it more looks like a cape then a bib. Thus we this happens we have started to call her 'Super Lenna.' Personally I think her face in this photo is just saying "Really mom another picture?"
She really loves her phone and today she chomped away on it and anything that she could get into her mouth; this includes her hands...I don't know how she doesn't chomp off a finger!Also today I decided since she was a whole 1/2 of year old that I should snag a few photos. I think her recliner is pretty awesome hopefully when she gets older she will like to sit in it!Then for my down time during Lenna's nap time I just goofed off on GIMP. You can see my goofing off photos below.
Happy 6 months my baby girl! You are growing up so fast that soon I won't be able to call you my baby girl (sigh).

Zoo appreciation Day

Saturday we went to the zoo for the members appreciation day. It was pretty fun to just do a quick stop. They had booths set up and even a person dressed up like a penguin. Lenna seemed to not really care about the penguin so maybe she won't get freaked out by the characters at Disneyland.Below is a video of Lenna chillin' out to the music at the zoo. She seemed to just really like to chew on her binky holder.


Other than the zoo we watched football, did church things, and I went to my old roommates Kari's baby shower it was a quick weekend but a good one. Have a great week everyone!

Exciting happenings

I feel like I haven't blogged for a while, but it has just been a couple days. I guess with a baby things change rapidly! So prepare yourself this is a long post. Lenna is still trying lots of new foods. Here is a picture of her trying pears. I don't think she really cares for pears. I still think her favorite food is sweet potatoes. But I am just trying different foods out every few days, so she can see what the world has to offer.
When it comes to eating I think Lenna is not super excited about it unless she can feed herself. Here is a video of her helping me. It is kind of nerve racking for me to just give her the spoon with colorful food on it. As you can probably tell with my hand always close by, but she eats more of the food when she can do it herself. I also want to state it is not the best camera angle but it is hard to get a video and feed her so you get what you get.

I have been busy fretting and coming up with a packing list for Disneyland. I don't know why but I feel like some how I am going to forget something I need for Lenna. I am trying to keep things at a minimum of stuff but wow kids just need a lot of gear! After diapers and wipe and bottles and clothes and blankets I am not sure where I am going to pack stuff for me! Oh well I will figure it out and it is going to be so much fun to go to the happiest place on earth! Here is the head band she will mostly wear while we are in the park. It is just so cute! I love Minnie!It was labor day so that means dad had an extra day at home. It ended up being a really busy day. Dad read some books to Lenna. Dad really loves reading to her.We took a ferry ride over to Kingston from Edmonds to get crepes. The crepe place was so yummy. I already want to go back. I am also grateful I didn't know about this place when I was pregnant with Lenna because I craved crepes and we would be riding the ferry a lot if I had known about this place.

We went on the ferry ride with the Hungerfords. Their kids love Lenna and I think Lenna loves them back. Her is little Joshie hold Lenna's hand. It is just adorable. It was also a very fun trip/adventure.

After eating yummy crepes Jared, Lenna and I ran to REI to go get our newest toy that I call Bobinna, or bobby for short. Lenna did surprisingly well as we shopped for this stroller since she hadn't really napped all day. The idea for a jogging stroller came from me starting to like running more and more. So I figured I can justify this spending spree because one day we will probably have another kid and for the time being we can let Lenna put her toys in the extra seat. We truthfully haven't actually tried the stroller yet because Lenna can't know about sitting forward in a stroller till after Disneyland. I know once she sits forward and can see more things she won't ever go back to sitting in her car seat on the stroller. So bobbina will have to wait till after Disneyland and then the possibilities of walks and runs are endless! In short I am thrilled with my new toy!Speaking of car seats and preparing Lenna for Disneyland we have put Lenna to sleep in her car seat like every other day since Saturday. She actual falls asleep and stays asleep in it. This give me high hope that Disneyland will fair okay. We first tried this method of sleep at the BYU football game party we were at. As a side note congrats to BYU for the good football rating and win. It was a good game. Then on labor day we went to Auburn to visit our friends the McDaniels and it was late when we went home so Lenna had to sleep in the car seat. Lastly yesterday we did the car seat sleep method so we could drop Lenna off at a friends house so Jared and I could go on a date. We went to see the musical Wicked for my 2nd time and Jared's 3rd time. We love this musical and it is just fun to go to shows. Plus fun to go on dates!

Other news. I made Lenna a new head band. I went fabric shopping to get stuff for my dress and found spandex on sale! I think the head band is way cute! I am probably biased since I made it. Last of the very exciting news is Lenna has decided she can roll both directions!!! My babe is funny because once she has figured something out she just keeps doing it over and over and over again. Hence I can get videos of it for you all. She still only rolls one way in both directions so she doesn't actually go anywhere but back and forth but soon she will be moving all over the place! I am not sure I am ready but it is good to see her progressing!


The weekend is almost here and it is suppose to be sunny up here. Yay! Have a good rest of your week everyone!

Success!

Success can be defined by many things but for me success this week has been defined by making it to the weekend in one piece! I would like to make a quick comment on my last post and say you really should be friends with old people they are nice and very knowledgeable. I have many friends that are 60 or older that I adore.

Okay onto what has happened in the last few days. Lenna has started to make a new noise. It is much more pleasant to the ears over her really high pitched squeal. For your listening pleasure here is a video.



Here is a video of her really talking to me. She makes me laugh!


Lenna is starting to be able to sit up on her very own. It is only for a few seconds; max is maybe like 30 seconds, but she can do it!But after a little while she does lose her balanceThen she face plants it. She doesn't seem to mind that she faces plants it because she doesn't cry about it.But I think she likes sitting up more then having her face in the cushions of the couch.We tried sweet potatoes yesterday. (Thanks everyone for the suggestions!) She wasn't very sure but she ate them and she hasn't been overly fussy so I think I will count them as more successful than the green beans. I also called my doctor about the spitting up to see about maybe some antacid medicine. I would like to quote the nurse "You have as we call it a happy spitter." Yep she seriously told me that. But since Lenna isn't upset at all by her massive amounts of spitting, and because she is gaining weight (oh another quote from the nurse "We know she is gaining weight 5lbs in 2 months is a good amount") the nurse basically said I have to just kind of live with it until it stops. The paper she mailed me says it should stop or seriously slow down by 7 months and had other tricks that I have tried with no success to help slow the spit up. Which sadly for me means really gross colored spit up as she eats food that has color (eewww). Oh well I guess life could be worse right?Other exciting things is it is football season! YAY!!!! I love fall purely for the football season! College football is both Jared and my favorite sport to watch on TV. Though I don't really like saying goodbye to summer and I don't really want the rainy season to begin I am excited to watch football! I also want to thank Megan again for the awesome Udub onesies she gave Lenna. She is ready to root for the dawgs. No one gave us BYU gear so until that happens Lenna will just be dressed every Saturday to root for the huskies...that doesn't bother me ;)I finally completed one of my projects. Which is a good thing since I plan to use it for our Disneyland trip which is rapidly approaching. I have worked on building airplanes and know that things get pretty beat up on airplane travels. So I decided since I really want to use Lenna's car seat as long as possible and possibly for another Lundell kid in the future of unknown time I would make the car seat a bag/cover so when we gate check it we don't have to take her bundle me off or worry about it getting too dinged up! So here is a picture of the final product. I would like to thank my mom for cutting out and sending me the CARSEAT letters. With that we are going to watch football today and just have a relaxing labor day weekend! I hope you all have a great 3 day weekend too.