Teething and Standing Up

Since Amora was about 4 months, people have been thinking that Amora could be teething. She has always loved to put everything in her mouth and gnaw on it. She cut her first tooth last week (7 months). She did such a good job even though she was in a lot of pain. We have now achieved another important milestone. It's funny how every little thing becomes so important when you have a baby. Sometimes I just stare at my baby girl and think of how blessed I am. Being a parent is the best thing in the world.

Now for a few super cute pictures. This is Amora trapped in the office. She hates not being able to go wherever she wants.


She eventually got her way. Here she is "jail-breaking" out of the office. Note how happy she is to be doing so.


Amora loves doing things that big people get to do. Here she is in the front seat of the car. She's just hanging out like she gets to sit there all the time.


We went to Art on the Green in CDA this weekend and Amora's grandma and grandpa were suckered into buying a ceramic ornament with Amora's hand imprint. Here she is getting the imprint in the clay. She did much better than I thought she would (the lady only had to do it once).


And this is her daddy's all time favorite picture ever. Amora has now decided that crawling is not enough. She's ready to stand too. She can pull herself up in her crib and on coffee tables. This is what I get to see everytime I get her up from a nap (or when she refuses to nap). Could it get any cuter?

She Crawls!

Amora just started crawling before she hit 7 months. She will only make the effort if she really wants a toy. She'll crawl as little as possible, then reach for the toy. It's pretty stinking cute. Here's a little video (unfortunately a little choppy). Notice her act of satisfaction in the end. I love my baby girl. :)

Cross Country Move and 4th of July

On June 23rd, Amora and I flew out of Birmingham to move back to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. After losing my job and not having any other prospects, we concluded that this was a good opportunity to move closer to family. Luckily, Adam's parents have allowed us to live with them in their beautiful home. Adam and his brother took the three day drive a couple of days later. Here's Adam and Amora on the morning of the flight (she was pretty tired):


One of the first things we did when we got to CDA was visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Hart. Amora was a little more interested in her grandma's necklace than meeting more family, but it was still a nice visit.


For the weekend of the 4th, we spent a day at the lake. Amora didn't seem to mind the cold water.


We spent another day playing Bocce with the family. It's one of the few times Adam actually gets competitive. :)


Later that day, we hung out at the lake and waited for the fireworks.


All-American girl


Amora with her great-aunt Laurie


Amora with her daddy



Family picture

Always a good eater

Adventures in June

We bought Amora a pool toy so she can get used to the water. We put her in the toy after we eased her into the pool. She absolutely loves it. She kicks her little legs and tries to swim all by herself. She was smiling in every picture we took.


Amora and I went to Oregon to visit family later in the month of June. She was a little shy at first with all of the family but got a lot more comfortable later in the trip. She got to play with her cousin Billy.


She also met her other cousins. She really has a gift for getting attention. :)


We toured Salem and had a nice day at the park.


We also went to Medford and spent time with my mom and brother Jeremy. We took a miserable 4 hour road trip to get there (Amora hates the car), but had a great time once we got there.


Amora went in a big tub for the first time and loved splashing around and playing with toys.


It was a great trip. We were happy to have spent time with all of my family. Can't wait to see you all next trip!

Beach Trip

We took a trip to the beach last week. Amora hates riding in the car, but we got one happy shot at the beginning of the trip.


She was very intrigued by the sand and had a lot of fun playing in it.


When she's really excited, she rotates her ankles. She was constantly rotating her ankles in the sand. And baby feet are just so cute!


You can't see her face too well, but she did not like the water. She was mad at me for trying to get her to play in it.


We went to a fun little Cajun restaurant on the beach. It was super cute and Amora loved playing with the crackers.


But she is my daughter and loves to shop. We don't have to plan extravagant vacations, all we have to do is take her shopping and she'll be a happy little girl. She loves making friends. She'll look at someone and half smile. If they look back, she'll give them a big smile. If they don't look, she frowns a bit and searches for a new friend. It's so fun watching her grow.


Update on our situation: we haven't been able to find jobs in Alabama, so we decided that we are going to move closer to family. We leave for Coeur d' Alene at the end of the month. We're excited for this change and ready to see what the future holds for our little family. Wish us luck!

Sad News

I thought that I had it made by choosing a career that is needed no matter how the economy looks: teaching. There are always going to be kids who need to know about the things I teach (especially sex, drugs, and obesity). Apparently I thought wrong. The school I teach (or taught) at decided to cut the health department by half. Sadly, I was the half that got cut. I believe this is because the other half was tenured and I was not. They have assured me that it has nothing to do with my teaching. Either way, as of last Friday, I am unemployed. Because of this unfortunate turn of events we won't be buying a house anytime soon. Our dreams of home ownership are on the back burner. There is exactly one health teaching opening in the area that I am applying for. If I get the job, we will stay in Auburn indefinitely. If I don't get the job, we will move back west and live with my very generous in-laws in Coeur d' Alene. Both options have their pros and cons, but we're optimistic that we will end up in the right place for us. God hasn't let us down yet, and we're sure He won't do so now.

I had my birthday last week and Adam and Amora took me to a steakhouse. It was nice going out as a family. It wasn't my favorite restaurant, but we still had fun.


On another note, I have a really cute child. She's now five months. I swear she gets cuter and more perfect everyday. Everything is worth it because of her and my awesome husband.

I normally don't take pictures of her sleeping because I enjoy being productive during that time, but she was so cute I had to test my luck.

Amora tried rice cereal for the first time last week. She's a woman who likes to be in charge. She takes her spoon and tries to feed herself.

She also is getting really good at sitting up by herself. This is one of my favorites. It's like she's saying "Ta Da!"

And I love her focused face. There could be a huge storm in the background and she wouldn't even notice. I think she may have her daddy's selective hearing.

Cindy's wedding and more

Last weekend we had a lot of fun seeing all of the family for Cindy's wedding. Amora did okay on the plane and for the trip, but she was a little fussy with her nap schedule off. The wedding and reception were beautiful. Cindy looked great. They went to Mexico on their honeymoon and (as far as we know) didn't get Swine Flu. All in all, it was a success.

Here's my beautiful sister coming out of the temple with her new husband. They are so cute together!

Us waiting outside the temple for pictures. Amora was ready for a nap by then.

Amora met her cousin Billy for the first time. They were instant friends. We didn't even pose them.

The Loumeau's joined us and we hung out the day after the wedding. They sure do love little Amora.

Another cute thing: Amora is really starting to like books. She likes to talk to the books. Maybe she thinks they'll talk back.

Even though it's hard leaving my little girl so I can go to work, I've found it to be very rewarding. Our last unit was on human sexuality. For their unit project, I have my students write a paper about their goals for sex and what they learned over the unit. I love reading these papers because some of them have changed their goals after the unit. It makes me feel like I'm fulfilling one of my callings in life. Also, I had the sweetest student last semester who came and visited me with a Mother's Day cake because it's my first Mother's Day. Isn't that nice?

But the weather's warming up and I am itching to go outside and play with my family. Two more weeks until summer vacation! We don't have too much planned except Amora and I will take a trip to Oregon next month. I'm also determined to take a trip to the beach. I'm normally too cheap to take vacations (hotel, food, gas: it adds up). But hopefully we can save a bit and have a nice weekend trip later in the summer.

So much to look forward to. Update on the house: nothing. We are hoping to close the 29th of this month and put our notice for our apartment to move out on the 31st, but we're not sure if it'll work out on that timetable. Anyone willing to house a homeless family? We'll just have to wait and see how this all unfolds.