Tim and I are waiting on Laurel to wake up so I can feed her and we can go on the hunt for cloth diapers. We've been considering using them since before Laurel was born, but we just aren't sure how they'd work and there are so many choices. The good thing is, it looks like several companies have "try it out" programs where you can get lots of different kinds and then return the ones you don't want with a month or so for full refunds. Cloth diapers have come such a long way from the days of rubber pants and safety pins. And I know they are better for babies' behinds and for the environment. The initial investment is high, but in the long run you save so much money over disposables.

If anyone out there has used them before, we'd love to hear your feedback!

Laurel had her four month checkup today (she won't actually be four months until next week, but her doctor is going out of town). She did great and was in a really good mood. She now weighs 14 pounds (75th percentile) and is 23 3/4 inches tall (40th percentile)! The girl can definitely eat ;) This time we gave her Tylenol about an hour before her shots and then as soon as they were over I nursed her. Between those two things she did SO much better this time. She only cried for about 20 seconds and then she dozed off while nursing. In fact, she had a much harder time taking the oral vaccine than the shots. Afterwards Tim and I were even able to go get breakfast at Cracker Barrel and she woke up and was in a good mood then.

She is definitely a morning baby (although she is happy pretty much all the time). The nurses and doctor were just eating her up. Dr. Bischoff kept commenting on how social and happy she seems and that he would take her home in a second. Tim and I were joking that she sets the bar really high for any other future kids we might have and maybe we should quit while we're ahead.

Tim and I went on a walk with Laurel tonight. As usual, I carried her in the Moby Wrap. About halfway through the walk she started fidgeting, so I turned her facing outwards instead of inwards (she has just recently gotten good enough head control to be able to do this.) She was happy, but she couldn't get to her fingers to suck on them. In steps mommy and her thumb to save the day :) It was hilarious, she sucked on my thumb for more than three blocks.
Poor thing has her four month checkup and vaccinations tomorrow - hopefully she will handle them as well this time as she did last time.

Tim and I are so in love with our sweet girl. We usually spend our evenings just playing with her and laughing at all of her silly faces. She is such a sweet, happy baby! Love it!

Here she is getting kisses from Daddy.

And her favorite thing - sitting up or standing up. Now that she is such a "big girl" she doesn't want to be lying down unless she's eating or sleeping!

My sweet little girl has now been on the cover of our local newspaper TWICE since she was born. First she appeared with her father and me:

But now she has struck out on her own and is joining other community members:

I know I am partial, but honestly, could she be any cuter? :)

Tim and I have never been really big spenders, but we've not been really diligent savers either. We have never carried any credit card debt, but we have car loans and students loans that are hanging over our heads. I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover," and I'm so pumped up to get rid of our debt! We know that it'll mean really paying attention to our budget and focusing on knocking out one debt at a time, but like Dave says, "If you live like no one else, later you will live like no one else." If we stick to our plan, we should have our debts paid off in 15 months and our house paid off in four years! Isn't that so exciting?!? We're both ready to take on the culture of debt and win! (haha, yes, I've drank the Kool Aid!)

Oh yea, and I'm very excited to celebrate my very first Mother's Day tomorrow!

Things are so crazy, I've hardly had time to sit down - let alone update this blog. Laurel's doing well, but she's still dealing with congestion from a cold. We had a big weekend - learning to sit in her Bumbo seat, watching the Kentucky Derby, and wearing her Mr. T shirt. I thought I would share some pictures.

Don't you love that she even remembered her big hat for the Derby?