Date Night

Dating your husband is the best!! Josh and I got to go out on Thursday night while some of our good friends watched Anna. It was very nice to spend some quality time together. Since it was such a nice night out, we went for a bike ride in Forest Park. The sky was all lit up with beautiful pinks and blues and purples. There were huge clouds everywhere and a great breeze in the air. We couldn't have picked a better night.

The landscape in Forest Park is out of this world. You might not be able to tell but there is a beautiful waterfall behind Josh.

So, this isn't a fabulous picture of me but check out the scenery. There are huge trees lining the path. It's so green and lush. We were in heaven just looking at everything.

Take a look at this beautiful sunset.

This is Ted Drewes. It's very famous here in St. Louis and has even been on the FOOD NETWORK. I thought that was pretty cool. They sell frozen custard, and I admit, it was delicious.

mMm

It was a great night!

Silly Girl

Anna has just started making the craziest faces. She's recently learned the art of screaming, which we think is just adorable. She jets out her lower gums and makes the cutest sound. It's so fun that her personality is beginning to develop.

Nauvoo!

This weekend we went to Nauvoo. It was so much fun! We had never been to the pageant before and it exceeded our expectations. We also got to see a show called High Hopes and Riverboats put on by the performing missionaries. The weather was perfect. We were so worried because the A/C in our car went out, but we were blessed with cool weather!

We went to Carthage Jail first.




This is at the Smith Family Cemetery. Joseph's home is in the background and his grave is the stone in the middle behind the beautiful girls.

We ate at a buffet at the Hotel Nauvoo. It was INCREDIBLE! Anna sat in the high chair for the first time and loved it.

She couldn't get enough to eat!

Poor Anna didn't get enough naps in during the day. She was totally pooped by the end of the day.

Here are my beautiful girls in front of the Nauvoo temple getting ready to go to the pageant.

The pageant was incredible. We were very impressed and recommend it to everyone!

Happy 4th!!

Happy late Independence Day! We had a great 4th! We began our morning making crepes, flag-style. It was really fun and they were delicious. We think this just might have to become a Lee family tradition. It rained all morning so we couldn't go out until the afternoon. We headed down to a city festival/fair, but it looked pretty terrible, so we ended up going to Forest Park. Forest Park is one of the largest parks, or maybe the number one largest, in the nation. It's even bigger than Central Park. As we walked around, we wondered how much it cost for the upkeep because it is perfectly landscaped and absolutely beautiful. They show free Broadway plays there, and it's actually the touring broadway company! Josh and I are planning on going in a few weeks when my mom comes so she can watch Anna. We're really excited. We went and looked at the outdoor theater and it was awesome.

Here's a very patriotic arch. This is a very St. Louis thing to do. :-)

Behind us is the art museum. It's absolutely HUGE. We're excited to go because it's free admission and they have awesome art there, so we've heard. The grounds were incredible.

We thought this was the outdoor theater but it is actually just a pavillion. We hiked all of these stairs then were surprised to only find a bathroom. However, an interesting note is that this pavillion was the head place when the World Fair was held here. Cool huh?

Anna wanted to dip her toes in the water.

Say cheese!!

We had some of our friends over to go swimming and everytime Anna got close to little Lucas, she tried to eat his float. He didn't like that too much, but we had fun nonetheless.

The day we found out that I was pregnant, we went shopping of course! This is the very first outfit we ever bought for our little angel. She is finally old enough to fit in it, and she looked really beautiful that day. We couldn't really get her to smile for the pictures so this is the best we got.

Anna helped me do the laundry on Saturday night. We had a great time together.

Proud Parents

Anna is learning to sit up by herself. It's a big moment for a first time parent, trust me. Check it out!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to everyone! I love any holiday but especially those ones where you get to celebrate the people that you love. Josh is a wonderful dad, and I'm glad that today got to be all about him. We started out with a little breakfast in bed. Then, Anna and I gave him our presents. We bought him a DVD stand that he's been wanting and some yummy munchies for movie nights. For dinner, we made him a special dinner with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. It was a great day. I'm so grateful for Josh. He does so much for our family. He is a wonderful father to Anna. He really treats his girls right, always putting us first in his life. He's super helpful and very supportive of all I do. He always plays with Anna and helps her to learn just what she needs to know. I know I can always put my trust in him. I feel very blessed to have him as my husband. Anna and I both love him so much and are so grateful that he's ours.

Above is a picture of our yummy dinner. Below is a picture of his new DVD case. Yeah for Father's Day.

I am also really grateful for my dad. He is so wonderful to our family. He showers us with love and support. Josh and I are both constantly amazed with the goodness he shows to us. I don't think I could have even dreamed of a better dad to help me along the way. I may be moved out, married, and have started my own family, but I know that he will always be my dad and will always be there for me. I love you dad.
I also have a great father-in-law. From the first time I met him, he's been so nice to me. I can see a lot of love in his heart for his family. He's kind-hearted and fun loving. You can just expect a good time when you're with him. Josh and I are just so happy to have these wonderful dads in our lives. Happy Father's Day!

Post 100!! Yeah!!!

Welcome to our 100th post. Yeah!!! We bought Anna a bike seat so she can enjoy the fresh air with us. We took her on her very first spin yesterday. It was short lived but very fun. We're looking forward to some cooler weather so we can go on longer bike rides together. Doesn't she look darling? So, we've been feeding Anna rice cereal everyday, and she's really getting pretty good at not making a mess. She understands that you have to open your mouth to get the food in, not grab it and smear it all over your face. It's been a work in progress, and she's doing great. However, she has yet to learn that her bumbo is not edible. Half of her feeding time is spent trying to pry her off of her seat so we can feed her. It's pretty hilarious.

We've been teaching her to sleep through the night. Um, can you say miracle? Life is great! The first night she cried for 30 minutes, the second night 15, then 6, then 4. Now she only cries for like a minute and is fast asleep. It's great! She goes to bed at 7:45 and wakes up a little before 7. It's really nice not to walk her for AT LEAST 10 minutes and then still wake up every 3-4 hours to feed her. I feel like we have a whole new life. I always tell brand new moms that their time will come and they'll love it. She's been really good at naps too. She usually takes two 2-hour naps. Josh and I love our evenings together. I was really dreading doing this because I didn't want her to cry, but it wasn't so bad. It was TOTALLY worth it!

OK, so craigslist has definitely been our best friend!! Moving to a furniture-less apartment on a college budget can be challenging without craigslist. However, with the internet, you can find just about anything. We've gotten some AMAZING deals. St. Louis has a great craigslist. My all time favorite piece that we purchased is this dining room table. I LOVE it! It was the most expensive thing we bought but definitely worth every penny. It was still relatively cheap too. It's very heavy duty and looks great in our dining room. It sure beats our last table that had a leg that would fall off if you even looked at it wrong.

It came with 6 chairs too which is great for company. What do you think?