Forward Motion...

So it isn't exactly crawling yet, but she can make forward progress.

Libby...Standing?

It is true! If we help her get to a standing position, she can hold onto something and keep standing...for awhile. (see picture #2 to see why we stand behind her at all times :)

The Hand of the Lord

In the October Conference, President Eyring gave a talk called "Oh Remember" about how we should remember and write down the ways in which we see the Lord working in our lives. Yesterday in Relief Society we had a lesson about the talk, and I realized that my blog has been that for me in many ways. As I watch for the growth and fun things that Libby does to record for our friends and familiy, I see the Lord blessing us daily through our beautiful daughter. I also see him as I look back over the rough times we had as she learned to eat. I am so thankful to be a mother and to know that the Lord loves me and my little family. He is constantly with us--with all of us.

Childproof?

Well, it turns out the childproof locks only work when you remember to secure them. Otherwise they turn into teething toys. (BTW, the naked pictures are due to the fact that the rash has made a comeback.)

Peek-a-Boo!

Libby started playing peek-a-boo today with Daddy. I grabbed the camera and got the tail end, when she was getting less excited about it, but she really was putting the towel over her head and then peeking out with a big smile.

Libby Meets the Grass

It was a warm and beautiful day in Seattle (who knew that could happen--I had already forgotten!) So I took Libby in the backyard after our run so she could experience the texture of grass. She seemed to be a big fan--and luckily she kept the binkie in so I didn't have to worry about seeing grass in the next diaper :)

Libby Eats a Carrot

Or more appropriately stated, Libby enjoys the feel of a cool carrot in her mouth :)

Cheerio!

I have been trying to get Libby to eat Cheerios. She is so funny. She tries to spit them back out when I put them in her mouth directly. When I put them on the table in front of her seat she tries to pick them up and drop them on the floor. It seems food is the only thing that she doesn't try to put directly in her mouth.

Vintage Dress

This is Libby in a dress that I think was made for me? Not sure, can't remember. Guess my mom will have to post a comment so you can all find out :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa Kelly!

WAHOO!

Tim Hester 1st Place
Matt Jensen 5th place. Also check out the shiner on the 6th place kid...quite possibly Matt's handywork.

Tonight Shorewood had its first wrestling state champion! Tim Hester took 1st at 189 lbs. Matt Jensen also took 5th. Two state placers. Wow. Libby and I guess it has been worth sharing Derek's time :) Today Libby stayed with Priscilla. Being a wrestling spectator is not for the faint hearted, the impatient, or anyone under the age of about 8.
Also, I think I mentioned that Derek won Middle School Coach of the year for our district, but he also won Regional Middle School Coach of the year :)

Naked Baby Time

To help aid the healing of the rash, Libby is spending 1/2 of her waking time naked these days. It is so funny. She loves it. I hope she gets over that before she gets much older :)

Libby's Love?

So the boys are just competing for Libby's love. At the child care at the gym, one of the girls who works there has a son named Noah who just turned 4. He told his mom he is going to marry Libby. Today when I came in between classes to check on her, he was sitting there playing with her--pushing a button on his shoe so it would sing her songs. So cute! I even saw him hug her last week. So, that is your Valentine's Day love story.

Check out Libby...

Click on the Merkley blog--I don't know if it will work because it is password protected, but hopefully it will if you enter through my blog. Lisa took video of Libby learning to jump in a bouncer with her boys as instructors. So funny.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For those who don't know, Valentine's is one of my favorite holidays. I love to make Valentines. I got burnt out this year after the first 4 though (grandparents and great grandparents get priority.) So everyone else gets the love through the blog. :)

Other good news, the rash seems to be going away--much more slowly than other rashes she has had, but any progress is good!

Oh Libby!

So she has MAJOR diaper rash right now. This picture shows how we can tell when she has a wet diaper--she won't put her legs down. Also, you can see her holding up her bottle. She can pretty much feed herself these days. Crazy! Now if it would stop shooting out the other end, we could get the diaper rash to go AWAY!

Libby and Mommy

I rarely get pictures of me with Libby, since usually I am holding the camera, but Derek was home to catch a rare snuggly moment.

Ora-gel Magic

So if you have ever tried to apply ora-gel for teething pain, you know it is easy to miss those little gums. This picture shows the result of when I got her lip instead. She just kept licking and licking--totally confused.

YIIIKESSSS!!

So just now I was taking a nice warm shower after a run in the cold Seattle rain. I had Libby playing outside the shower. She moved out of my line of sight, and I heard her clunking things around. I congratulated myself on having remembered to put the child locks on the cupboards. But, when I exited the shower, what did I behold? BUT MY LIBBY MUNCHING ON THE BATHROOM GARBAGE! She had managed to overturn the can and was rummaging through and chowing down. Luckily she favored the toiletpaper bag over the USED RAZOR that was in there. (Bob Saget would be proud) I did not run for the camera and take a picture of this. I hurriedly rescued my Libby from the used Q-tips and TP scraps. Seriously, there were 2 used razors in the garbage. Wow. Being a mom is a constant learning process.
Lesson: Libby is bright enough to tip over the garbage in the bathroom. Put can under sink.

Zipper Fetish?

Libby loves to lick zippers. I was trying to put her to sleep when she saw my zipper and it was all over.

Lovin Life

I love life as a mommy. It is crazy how a few weeks ago I had massive numbers of new developments to write about, and the past few, things have slowed down. She is still almost crawling, nibbling at solids, and just being her adorable self. Anyway, this is a sample of what it sounds like to live with Libby right now....
da da da da DA DA da da....ma ma ma MA...da da da da DA DA DA DA DA..ma...ma...cough cough, rasberry, rasberry...
and the occasional hi sound.

Libby's Secret Hideout

Okay, so actually it is the laundry basket, but she loved poking her head inside.

Also, here is our lifeline. Teething medicines. Yikes.

Libby's Eating Habits

I love these shots of her eating various things. I should have waited one more day because I could have gotten some great footage of her eating Derek's leg hair--she is all about her mouth. Especially right now because over night on Saturday she turned into a TEETHING MONSTER. Yikes. Still no sign of a tooth, so I guess we might be in it for the long haul. She has all the classic symptoms, grumpiness, pink cheeks, rubbing her mouth, crying, not wanting to eat...you know, the fun stuff.

Congrats Coach Norton!

The district wrestling tournament was this weekend. Libby got to enjoy her first whole day tournament. She did a pretty good job--we had to go out for a drive to get her to take a nap, but other than that, she was great. Shorewood ended up with a 1st place, 3rd place, and 3 7th placers. So, off to disticts for Matt, and Tim.

At this tournament they also announce the coaches of the year.

Coach Derek Norton was awarded the Mid-level coach of the year for his work at Einstein Middle School. Hooray! Libby was obviously very impressed with him.

Libby Examines Libby

She loves looking at herself in the mirror.