Smiley Baby

The best thing in the world is a 2 month old baby. Why, you ask? Because they smile at you.



And here are some pictures from July 4th camping outside Showlow.

Yes, we bought a 4 wheeler. This is Eric's summer treat.

Ellie's Blessing

I will attempt to make some calls, but I'm hoping word of mouth and internet information will help. Baby Ellie will be blessed this Sunday at 12:30 pm at the church on Southern in between Crismon and Signal Butte. We'll serve lunch afterward. If you aren't going out of town, please join us.

And here are a few of my favorites from Leah's photo shoot. I actually like all of them. I just had the time to download these. What talent she has.

Blondes Have More Fun

Those of you who have known me longer than 2 years know that I am not, in fact, a red head. Through a few exciting dye jobs, my hair has consistently turned red. Something about my undertones and what not. Either way, I told my cousin that I was ready to be blonde. And here it is. It's rather intense. My natural hair color is a very light brown/blonde color, so this isn't quite natural looking, but I think I like it. I mean, I know I like it, but I'm wondering if I should use a toner to blend the look a little bit. I can decide. Eric likes it, so that's a good thing.



In baby news, we tried out the pool. Ellie wasn't quite sure what to make of the sensation. She likes bath time, but I think this water was still kind of cool for her liking.


I have also truly enjoyed my baby sling. We've gone for walks, done housework, gardened and snuggled the whole time. What a great invention.

She's a pretty easy- going baby, but she screams when she's in the car seat. I don't know what to make of it. Sometimes she sleeps, but if not, she's unhappy when strapped in. Is it hot? Is it uncomfortable? All I know is that when she is out of the seat, the crying stops.

And she's getting so big. I have to strech the newborn onesies to fit her. The 0-3 are still a bit big, but I can't believe it. She's six weeks old. Time sure flies by.

Summer Reading

I'm still learning how to handle this motherhood thing, but I think I'm starting to get the swing of things. My child is already 5 weeks old. That makes me rather sad. I'm 1/3 of the way through the 0-3 stage. But my sister-in-law has the best attitude. Whatever stage your child is in, that's the best. Everything has its ups and downs, so savor the ups.

Either way, I'm learning how to still be myself even though my responsibilities have changed. I feel like my summer is 1/3 of the way through and I haven't accomplished anything besides keep myself and my child clean and fed. Well, thanks to the baby sling, I've been able to keep up with my garden. Thanks to friends and Eric, I've been able to make some goals and do some writing. And thanks to nursing, I've been reading up a storm. Every time Ellie settles down to eat, I grab a book and I'm content to let her suck all day long. In the last month I've read 3 books. Two are adolescent and the third is actually an adult novel. Thanks to Lindsay I do actually read books that aren't geared for teenagers. But being so hormonal, I could only handle teenage problems until now. And I still cried in each of the books. Better to cry there than for no reason at all. I recommend all of them. You have Jodi Picoult and Mike Lupica at their best. And "How to steal a Dog" was just cute. I read that in a day, I think.

And the usual updates: the garden is thriving beautifully. And with this mild weather, my tomatoes aren't cooking on the vine, so that's great news. And baby Ellie is as beautiful as ever. Explain this to me- when she naps all day, she sleeps longer at night. When she's up all day, she still wakes up every 2 hours at night. Has that happened to anyone else?

Full Time Job

Between a newborn, a garden, and 2 dogs (I'm watching my sister's while she is out of town) I'm pretty busy. And sheesh, keeping myself showered and fed is work as well. But my sleep is improving. I moved Baby Ellie to her crib the last two nights and I'm happy. I sleep much better when she is just down the hall instead of right next to me. With this improved sleep, my spirits are high and so is my energy. Too bad Eric has come down with a cold. I hate summer colds.

But without too much begging, is there anyone who wants some fresh, home-grown zucchini? And pretty soon here I will be up to my elbows in tomatoes! Remember that baby tomato from a few months ago? I'm going to be picking it tomorrow. It's huge! So neighbors, friends, family- please don't go to the store for lettuce, tomatoes, or zucchini. Just visit me before dinner time and I'll hand over the produce. I picked three more today! But I'm having a blast. I love gardening! But on a sadder note, the orange tree has been chewed down yet again. I don't know if it was Bella or Aida, so I don't know who to punish, but there's still a tiny leaf so it might recover again. I'm naming that tree Lazarus.

Just some cuteness:

And a 4 generation picture. I know I'm not a real Wach- but this is where that dark hair comes from.

Beautiful Family

Many of you know I'm just a little obsessed with my husband. I happen to think he's the most handsome man in the world. Literally. Movie stars, book heros- they got nothing on my man. It's no surprise that I'm equally obsessed with his daughter. Well, our incredible, talented friend is a professional photographer and took a family photo shoot for us. I will be making extra large prints of these soon. If you're thus inclinded, check out a few of the favorites.

Leahdavisphotography.blogspot.com.

The Wach's will never be able to repay the Davis's but we'll try. Thank you Leah for sharing your talents.

Sun Baby

Poor Ellie had to have blood drawn twice to make sure her jaundice was clearing up. I decided to let her soak up some rays in the beautiful desert sunshine. The sun glasses were one of the only things I purchased in preparation for baby. I was hunting through the Walgreens bargain bin and pulled out these little sun glasses and got three swift kicks to the belly. Oh, did you want these, baby? For $1.75 we can do that. And I'm so glad because she's used them already. And as far as I can tell, she seems to be doing very well in the yellow department. There's a bit left in her eyes, but other than that, she looks good. I'm glad that my siblings and I had jaundice and turned out okay. She should be just fine.


And few of the proud grandparents. Think Dad loves his grandbaby?

And this pic was a favorite on Facebook, so I thought I might throw it in as well. She's abnormally beautiful. But so is her dad. Sigh.