sir and goose

yogurt

2012-02-15T15:08:00.002-07:00

want some? I walked in the room right as bingo came on tv and he started clapping and yogurt started spraying all over the sofas. At least he feeds himself.

happenings

2012-02-13T11:07:00.003-07:00

j can't get enough of his red balloon. The last couple of times we've been to the grocery store he's gone crazy saying balloon the whole time b/c the store has been decked out for vday. Mike bought him one when they were there last Thursday. He carries it around with him everywhere. I've been amazed at how long he can hold on to it--through feedings, diaper changes, getting dressed, playing...it never leaves his hand (meaning I always have this balloon in my face).

some vday decor left from our little valentine's party.

J's new trick as of this morning. He can climb on the rocking chair and then transfer to the computer chair to reach the mouse and keyboard.

some things I want to remember…
-Favorite songs right now: itsy bitsy spider, bingo, monkeys jumping on the bed, pat a cake, 5 little ducks, doggy in the window (he does most of the actions and can say some of the words)
-Always folds his little arms for prayers
-Walks like crazy. His favorite is to walk down the sidewalk to the street corner, then he screams while we bring him back to the start and he does it again, and again...
-loves slides and swings
-He's a big help during Sacrament meeting with my new calling as ward organist. I turn the organ off and on probably 5 times during the meeting.
-Loves feeding himself. I'll put the food on the spoon then he'll take it to put it in his mouth. He really likes blueberries and toquitos, cereal, yogurt, waffles, and his jars of baby food.
-Still doesn't cuddle (except for when he's upset) but we love bringing him in bed in the mornings with his bottle to snuggle for a little bit.
-Whenever Mike closes a door in the apartment he waves and says "bye" in this really breathy high pitched voice. It's really the cutest thing.
-Loves balls, cars, and putting stuff in containers. He collects the most random things and we find them all over the house (in the fan, the piano music basket, the printer door, the kitchen drawers, the oven drawer, on his bookshelves...really wherever he happens to be at the time)
-He's obsessed with dogs. can never get enough

growing a baby

2012-02-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

about our week

2012-02-01T14:40:00.001-07:00

morning cartoons (sometimes I forget to button his undershirt) (and sometimes he yells at the tv)

We've been sick around here the last couple of days so I took advantage and made some new pillows. complete with an invisible zipper (done w/o a zipper foot) on the bottom. I think it's faster to sew on a zipper than to try and hand stitch a closure.

there is hope.

2012-01-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out today why it's so important for me to keep going to church, even if it means I'm out in the hallways for 3 hours holding a screaming baby. The last couple days I've noticed J doing this, but today we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and I told him it was time for prayer--he folded his arms and bowed his head. It may have just been for a few seconds, but it was an important moment for me to reinforce the goals I'm trying to achieve as a parent. He is a sweet little boy, even if he did bite me and pull my hair multiple times today.

cookie monster

2012-01-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

Contrary to how it may appear, I really do try not to give J that much sugar--really only in times of desperation (like a meltdown at church). But sometimes its hard to resist the "mmm" when he sees something he wants because he gets so darn excited over it. Notice the out of control post-tub hair in this picture...

AND...He's finally walking! Yesterday (stand up on his own day one) he got up to 11 steps and today he got up to 20! He's completely choosy as to when he stands up, but its really cute when he does. I also noticed tonight that all of his one year old molars are in (thank goodness) and that one of his top eye teeth broke through, making a grand total of 13 teeth on my little monster.

ice cream

2012-01-24T09:32:00.001-07:00

Ice cream is not something that J will share. He won't even accept bites if Mike or I are holding it. It has to be in his little hands, no question or else a huge tantrum erupts. He is finally showing interest in standing independently and will let us hold his hands while he "walks." We are on the path to walking!

'Scuse me dad, can we play?

2012-01-19T09:29:00.003-07:00

Some days Mike stays home to work, and I usually find J in the hallway waiting for Mike to stick his fingers under the door to play.

play time favorites

2012-01-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

We spend a lot of time playing indoors since it's been so cold. The current favorites? mirrors, balls, dogs, and the fire truck from Santa (aka aunt mary).

watching Jeopardy

2012-01-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

a nightly ritual around here.

let's do a little yoga

2012-01-12T13:11:00.003-07:00

{at home}

{at church}

we so did not teach him this.

back to normal life

2012-01-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

After a long 2.5 week vacay in sunny Phoenix, we are back to our quiet lives at home. Some fun updates on Baby J: he's mastered the animal sounds for dog, chicken, and bunny. He's a pro at peek a boo and still claps for himself whenever he performs a trick. He's started dancing to music and loves being outside. Baths last at least 30 min--his favorite tub toy is a plastic cup. He won't eat unless he is also holding a spoon and trying to feed himself--and his food has to be in a dish on his tray (meal times are way messier and way longer). He still has no interest in walking, but every now again we'll catch him standing on his own. He adores the fire truck he got from Santa (pics to come) and we now spend a lot of time pushing him around the apartment. He's really happy and independent until he's not, and then there's a melt down and he bangs his head against whatever happens to be closest. His one year old molars threw us for a loop during Christmas and we had a lot of sleepless nights. He's now back to sleeping, but there's still plenty of teeth waiting their turn to come in. Still no cuddles, but I'm hopeful those will happen at some point in his childhood. He's gotten a ton of haircuts and I'm never quite sure what to do with all his hair (too bad pig tails are out of the question...).

Peekaboo w/ aunt bex

2012-01-03T15:46:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-29T14:21:00.002-07:00

We had a very merry christmas with family and are still soaking up the arizona sun while we can. J loves playing with his older cousins, petting the pig and dog, and playing in the dirt. We've survived a round of teething that kept us up most the night the few nights before Christmas, but that's subsided (hooray) and life's moved on.

Practice for the nativity

2011-12-25T19:58:00.001-07:00

Dear Grandma Hilverda,

2011-12-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Do you remember my friend Jelly Bear? He used to be as big as me! But. not anymore. I'm way bigger and my momma says that I just keep on growing (longer, not wider). I love playing with Jelly and I'm so happy that you got him for me.

Thanks! Love. baby Jack

little 1st birthday party.

2011-12-06T22:40:00.001-07:00

Our party may have been small, and birthday cake may have contained bananas, carrots, zucchini, and raisins, but it was a happy little party nonetheless. We're grateful that Stephen and Jarelle were able to stop by to join in.

{part of the reason we get this face is because I had the flash on}

{our beautiful party guests}

{this horse didn't last long...mike found a better one today...pics to come. its really cute}

we're hoping we continue getting packages in the mail full of toys and books...

happy 1st bday!

...and this little boy turned one.

2011-12-06T22:13:00.001-07:00

I'm not really sure what to say about this one. Every day is a little bit better than the one before. We laugh a lot, we play copy cat, we read books, we share food, we go shopping, we play at the park, we hang out with dad. There is no question of john of having a personality all his own. It seems like he is either Mr Independence and crawls away from me in stores or wants nothing to do with me at home, or he needs to be held or else life just isn't worth living (this is usually before nap time). He's started to let me cuddle him just a little bit more, but I still sometimes go in at night to rock him while he's asleep. He loves going to sleep and is almost always really happy getting up from a nap. It's fun to see the things he watches...like I handed him my blush brush the other day and he brushed his cheeks with it. I was expecting him to eat it. He hasn't figured out yet that's its okay to just sit still and not do anything for a second. He's a speed crawler. Every night he sleeps curled around his blankie. He loves suckers and fruit leather and yogurt, and we may have started to give him some of our pbj's. He's mastered crawling down stairs and off furniture---its cute to see him turn around and back up. Now I can send him out the front door to play while I stay on the porch to read. He still uses funny hand gestures and noises to express himself (my piano students say he is using "the force"). We love him and we're pretty sure he loves us too. {in the pics his nose has a little scab on it from a tumble he took off a curb the other day...}

little birthday sneak peak

2011-12-06T22:06:00.001-07:00

while I wait for my internet to speed up...

anticipation

2011-12-03T21:49:00.001-07:00

first kid. first birthday. its a pretty big deal.

awww....

2011-12-01T18:19:00.001-07:00

This has got to be one of my favorite things that J does. If you say "awww" he'll lean his head over to his shoulder with this cute little look on his face. Than when he sits back up he claps as we say "yay." so cute. sometimes I think he actually listens and understands what I say. Other times, its like he is on another planet and has no idea who I am (maybe its me on another planet?). Today I found teeth marks on my glue stick and we got poop on our white duvet cover. Maybe not my proudest mothering moments.

a little bit of Christmas

2011-11-28T18:41:00.001-07:00

these little lovelies got a coat of spray paint and were put to good use...

see all that empty space on top of the piano? thats for your christmas cards...

and to finish off the night, a mug of dark chocolate hot cocoa.

Jokes on him

2011-11-25T19:24:00.001-07:00

He doesn't know where this thing has been.

park & turkey day

2011-11-25T16:32:00.001-07:00

We stuck around salt lake for the holiday weekend and spent a long time at sugar house park thanksgiving morning. I love the huge parks right in the middle of salt lake. We were lucky enough to get invited to our friends' parents house for thanksgiving and loved spending time with them--we're so grateful for their generosity.

{totally unsuspecting}

{abject terror}

I think the thing we are most grateful for is the happiness we find in life. In being parents. In being married. In having family and friends. We feel so blessed.

good morning world

2011-11-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

don't you worry. I'm here to watch you today.

Train set

2011-11-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

We found this cute wooden train for J's birthday and couldn't pass it up. (don't worry...his birthday is still more than a week away. there's plenty of time to send gifts...) Since he doesn't know its not his birthday yet, and since both of his parents are awful about giving gifts early, we couldn't pass up pulling it out. He loves pulling the string on the front car and have the car come towards him.

We are taking full advantage of sunny and warm (upper 40's) days here to spend some time at the park. And it's always a bonus for me when there's cool moms there for me to talk with. Maybe some park pics tomorrow?

transition

2011-11-19T08:46:00.001-07:00

we woke up to a world covered in white. I'd forgotten how peaceful that first real snowfall really is.

bedroom love

2011-11-16T18:08:00.001-07:00

{via elements of style}

This room was designed for a teenage girl. How cool! Its such a simple design, but all the pieces pulled together have such a bang. Def. need to keep this in the back of my mind until I have a house to decorate.

thinking about today

2011-11-15T10:42:00.001-07:00

feeling like an old lady because my back hurts so bad sometimes

swimming and running someplace warm

can't believe thanksgiving is a week away...would love to make this but I think my baby is too old for it {via etsy}

Speaking of a baby that's too old

better get a move on christmas decorations and gifts. its going to be here before I know it {ideas found on pinterest...I know I should link to site, but sometimes they're just too hard to find...}

wondering why my baby won't sleep so I can get something done this morning before piano lessons this afternoon.

My ploy worked

2011-11-11T16:38:00.001-07:00

I left a book in the little one's crib hoping he would wake up from his nap and see it. I went in 30 min after I heard him and he was sitting turning pages. perfect babysitter.

5 dollar finds

2011-11-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

I have been looking high and low for months for a shelf to use in the nursery. I finally found it listed on ksl this week for just $5. perfect. There's a couple of cracks that will eventually need fixing, and I may paint it a high gloss white, but for now its filled waiting for a little one to take everything of its shelves. As of now his favorite thing to take down is the books. (see that one little outlet in the picture...it happens to be right next to the crib. it's the only outlet in the entire room. it powers the lamp, computer, noise maker, printer. its an important outlet). I want to paint the mirror a dark brown and replace the orange toy on the bottom shelf with one of the wooden bead toys from ikea.

We got this coffee table more than 2 years ago (also $5). Its been yellow for the last bit and I decided (with mike's consent) that it needed an update. It still needs a 3rd coat of paint. Its definitely bright and a statement piece, but will take a little while for us to get used to the color.

dear Grandma Case,

2011-11-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the cute pants you got me and for my new friend leo the lion. He's great. We bunk together at night. So far he hasn't eaten any of the penguins who also bunk in my crib. Maybe that's because there's also 4 bears in my crib to protect them (my dad likes to make sure I have lots of friends when I sleep at night). It was fun to see you when you came to visit. Since then I've been a happy boy for my mama. Her and I get to hang out during the day and I get to run errands with her. That's all. Bye, see you soon!

Love, Baby John

{perfect cartoon villain..right?}

{perfect pants from grandma...my mom wishes she had some...hint hint}

{the bottom...aka the end.}

the many faces of baby j (eleven months)

2011-11-04T08:59:00.000-06:00

What! Eleven months?? Since when does that sneak up on me. Does that mean my baby will be a year old in a month? I can't even believe it. John is definitely an inquisitive little boy. He like to see what's in the bottom of drawers and boxes (and I can always see where he's been by following the trail he's left in his wake). He likes to stand up on his tiptoes to reach as high as he can (usually for the piano keys). He likes to wave goodbye to the cars and point and shake his head no. I usually distract him with books on the floor in his room. He's started to get shy and will bury his head in my chest if someone he doesn't know smiles at him. Even though he's skinny as a rail, he's gotten to be a good eater. He loves dropping everything over the side of his high chair (and leaning over to look at it) except for his cookies (he holds on to those tight). He's really good in restaurants and likes his carseat 90% of the time. When he gets excited about something (like standing up in the car last night holding onto the steering wheel) his mouth opens and he starts to shake like he can't even stand the suspense. He's my little side kick at home and we spend lots of time talking and playing peek-a-boo. He loves the swings and slides and wants to go over and over again. He still goes back and forth between scooting and crawling and will usually pick the mode of transportation that will get him somewhere the fastest (depending on the surface he's on). He lets me know when he wants to be held (by sitting in front of me flapping his arms...if that doesn't work he just climbs up on my legs and yells). He is a happy little monster.

Night at the Track

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

We tagged along for the end of Mike's run last night. We practiced crawling (getting better every day) and watched the sun set.

This is the smile he gives every time he sees Mike.

I love this little boy with all my heart. He makes us so happy. I have the lyrics from a Taylor Swift song stuck in my head every day... "Oh darlin don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up, just stay this little..."

Nursery Love

2011-11-02T20:21:00.002-06:00

{via Marcus Design}

Halloween and hanging out

2011-11-02T13:31:00.001-06:00

trick or treating this year was us walking around the couple block boundary of our ward with our little penguin and stopping in to say hi to a few friends. I've really never been in to Halloween and would be happy if I never had to dress up again, but I'm starting to understand a little bit more the idea that it's a much more fun holiday when you have kids.

balloons were the best treat of the night. these things provide days of entertainment around here.

Morning nap. He'd unplugged his noisemaker and I was shocked he slept for more than 2 hours without it. Lately he's been sleeping on his stomach with his knees curled under and his face buried in his blanket. Today a teddy bear got stuck under him. poor guy.

J got some kind of bug bite under his eye yesterday that eventually just turned into a scab. sad.

John is still getting over a cough and I started getting sick again yesterday so we've been laying low the past few days. Its beautiful out today (42 degrees) so we'll have to go out and play in the sunshine.

heber & an apple tart

2011-10-31T16:21:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we spent a few days in Heber with some friends and family (michael came up on a triple date). We ate a lot, hot tubbed, rode the atv's, relaxed, watched football, and talked late into the night.

Then this morning while I was home unpacking, I got a text from Mike asking if I felt like baking. Turns out he forgot he was supposed to take a "treat to share" to work today for lunch. Luckily, I'd made this apple (or pear) tart with Mary twice in the last 2 weeks and this weekend at the cabin so it was super easy to throw together.

To make it a little more fallish, I sprinkled some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice on top. mmm. I'm excited for baking this fall.

There's trouble brewing...

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-06:00

when all is quiet except for an occasional "mmm" from the kitchen. Maybe he knew he needed some pineapple to help to clear up his cough.

stuck

2011-10-27T17:26:00.001-06:00

There's a 6 inch gap between the screen door and the front door that someone got stuck in the other day (his dad shut him in). Maybe this will become our spot for time outs :)

Last day in phx

2011-10-26T19:02:00.001-06:00

I got to say hi to Carlyn and her beautiful little boy Quinn (and see her awesome new house)

We ate watermelon from Grandma's garden

We played with Mattie (as much as we could before she would run away)

Aunt Bex supervised a tub

and gave a quick piano lesson

and now we're back in the cool fall weather of Utah. Mike didn't wash dishes (no dishwasher), wash clothes (no washer), or go grocery shopping while I was gone so today was a busy day of chores. However, when I left the apartment was completely trashed and Mike was kind enough to clean it up, so I guess I'll call it even.

first time disney

2011-10-25T15:57:00.003-06:00

{picture removed at mike's request}

after mary picked us up and long beach airport we took a quick pit stop by disneyland and had exactly enough time to go on 2.5 rides. It was the perfect as a quick intro visit for baby john. He was estatic over the carousel and kept getting us in trouble on the teacups cuz he was to excited to sit down. And to top it off, me and the boys got escorted through the park by disney police to meet mary at the haunted mansion (they'd closed the park down for trick or treaters).

phoenix update (in pictures)

2011-10-24T16:29:00.002-06:00

time with grandma

puzzles with the cousins

hang out with emily and paul at their cute new house

Haircut in the swing

family pics...

2011-10-22T22:55:00.001-06:00

8 am this morning was the craziness of family pics...13 people 9 kids. way too much fun. Can you tell this little boy likes to be tossed in the air?? It's his "happy place"

we've moved--well, not really, but kind of

2011-10-19T16:10:00.000-06:00

me and the babes have been gone for a week crashing at my sisters. Our days consisted of pool time, beach time, and sewing time.

We've made our way over the desert to phoenix to welcome stephen home from his mission!! family party! Now I just need my husband back. J's been talking to him on the phone at night and gets the biggest smile when he hears his dad's voice. Hurry home sweetie. we miss you.

Last minute projects

2011-10-11T00:40:00.000-06:00

There was a long list of projects to get done today (including laundry at the laundromat with a baby--I don't think this will ever be easy for me) before me and J head out on a 2 week vacation...

Flowers for a friend to wish her a happy 50th bday...

a little piano teaching....

got stuff together for the heart garland I'm going to make Mary make with me...

made and ditched cookies (chocolate white chocolate chip) from the "pumpkin phantom"...

prepared a VT lesson and went on a visit....

Pretended to pack (the nice thing about going to mary's is I could not pack a thing and not even notice)...

made a double batch of butternut squash soup, some for my freezer & some for friends (sage from my herb garden, squash from friend's garden)...

Finally finished my fall wreath (still looks like it needs a little love added)...

and now I'm pooped and so ready for bed.

up the canyon

2011-10-09T18:05:00.002-06:00

how 'bout them apples

2011-10-08T12:57:00.000-06:00

and you know with a 10 month old that these pictures were definitely not posed.

Cocoa time of year

2011-10-06T16:11:00.001-06:00

It's here again. Cocoa, boots, and sweaters season. One of my favorite memories from last winter was sitting on the porch late at night watching snow storms drinking cocoa. And, one of those great things about Utah, is that it usually snows at least 6 months of the year (make lemonade from lemons right??). After driving through snow today, a cocoa purchase at the store was warranted. We love Stephen's mint truffle with hot milk. mmm...I know what we're doing tonight.

wondering how its still raining after 12 hours.

Grouchy Baby

2011-10-05T16:16:00.000-06:00

I have had a grouchy baby on my hands these last few days (the pictures don't show it but right before and right after he was screaming). I guess it comes with the age, but j has been so tough to nap, started biting like crazy, and thinks its funny when I tell him no. My saving grace on days with no naps is knowing that he'll go to bed around 7:30 and sleep uninterrupted until 7 am. I would be a very grumpy mama without that. He also thinks its funny to take his pants off and roll away while getting his diaper changed.

Today we made our way downtown to meet up with Mike for lunch. The new City Creek mall food court is in the basement of his building. Also today, our landlords turned the radiators on. Yes, it really is cold enough for heaters. Crazy how fast summer has gone.

sewing: Yellow striped dress

2011-10-04T22:06:00.001-06:00

Dresses make getting dressed a thousand times easier. There's no trying to match a skirt and top. no worrying the top is dirty, and it feels a little more put together and feminine. There's definitely more of these in my future (even if bekah said it makes my hips look big...at least I got mary's stamp of approval)

hi dad

2011-10-04T12:24:00.000-06:00

I hope its okay that I'm playing with your stuff while you're gone. I really like it. Mom's getting me dressed so we can come down and get you! Bye Dad! See you soon!

Love, Jam

stair master

2011-10-03T14:48:00.000-06:00

(aka pictures for mike while he's out of town)

we can climb stairs no problem, just don't ask this kid to crawl for real. Going on 2 months of army crawling. At this point I'm just expecting emma to teach him when we're in phx later this month.

within 30 seconds

2011-10-02T18:51:00.000-06:00

we go from the happiest baby to the saddest baby

*j is looking at mike in all pictures above. he obviously did something bad...

sewing: rosette throw pillows

2011-09-30T18:58:00.001-06:00

super easy to make! and linen fabric works really well for this kind of pillow. I just sewed long strips of fabric together and threw in a little fold in the fabric ever 1 or 2 inches until I had enough length to fill in my flower. then I took a kitchen bowl with a circle the diameter I wanted and traced it onto one side of my pillow. Then, just sewed it on having the outside circle following the traced circle. The hardest part for me is the center because you have to turn so sharply, but on this pillow it turned out perfect. Just need to hand sew the far edge and trim some of the frayed edges.

demolition the graham cracker pie crust...

2011-09-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

the end

Our Morning

2011-09-28T11:33:00.000-06:00

7:00 Wake up (same time every day--give or take 15 min--we've stopped using alarm clocks)

7:03 Give dad a good morning pat on the head

7:05-7:45 Nurse and cuddle in bed

7:45-8:00 Lay and sit on the window sill watching the cars go by while playing with a car and empty water bottle...we also watch for garbage trucks and buses...

8:15 Leave with dad in stroller to walk down to einstein while mom goes on a run then meets them there

8:30 Walk with dad part way to work

9:00 Get home, eat breakfast

9:30 Down for morning nap

{he got this from the hospital as a prize after getting his blood drawn last month}

Trouble (with a capital T)

2011-09-24T13:45:00.000-06:00

This little boy gets more efficient about finding trouble every day. He has his "spots" around the apartment that he goes to play. A couple of them he knows he's not supposed to so he crawls there looking over his shoulder at us until we say no and start to walk towards him, then he takes off and goes as quick as he can. I love that he's quick to laugh and he makes a really cute smacking noise with his lips when he wants to nurse. It melts my heart. If he's holding something he really wants (crackers, teething biscuits, computer cords) he very careful to pass it between his hands without dropping it and he makes it tough to take things away from him (he'll cover it with one and and push you away with the other, and he'll yell at you). These last couple of days I've gotten a couple of cuddles out of him and I love it!

Coincidence? Maybe...

2011-09-24T13:32:00.001-06:00

Z Gallery picture (as shown in real simple this month): $70

Solar Pillow - Thistle
$69.95

Homemade via Joanns: $10

I bought this fabric in May and never got around to making the pillow UNTIL last night while mike was out of town (Havasupai) and I was flipping through real simple and saw my pillow. talk about motivation. It was on the sofa within an hour. I really like how z gallerie has the center medallion offset, but I just didn't have enough fabric to do that. bummer.

Post Tub Mohawk

2011-09-23T23:06:00.000-06:00

maybe it's time for a haircut? I don't know, you decide....

9 months

2011-09-05T17:50:00.001-06:00

To celebrate his 9 month birthday, John successfully completed a new trick--standing up in his crib! He's pretty pleased with himself and it still surprises me when I walk in to get him from a nap and he's standing looking at the door. He loves playing the piano with his feet and army crawling over to the electrical cords. He is finally starting to nurse again (we had a rough couple of weeks) and I'm hoping this will help with some weight gain. I've made one of the big mothering mistakes and he has a favorite blanket--its a afghan that a friend knitted for him. I know its going to make traveling such a pain, but it melts my heart to see him bury his face in his blanket. It's been really nice since we have baby sitters so often that they have something to use to comfort him. He loves to laugh, knows who his parents are, but is still okay for the most part being held by someone else. He sleeps 11ish hours at night and naps for 4-5 hours during the day (we love his 2 long naps). If I'm lucky I can get him to cuddle for about 3 seconds. Teeth 5 & 6 will be shortly making their appearance. He no longer bites me while nursing but now tries to bite my face and fingers.

His 9 month stats (and to be fair these were taken 6 days before he turned 9 months)
Weight: 16 lbs 11 oz (4%)
Height: 29.25 in (84%)
Tall and skinny---just like his uncles :)

We got to go down to provo yesterday for Michael's setting apart for his first calling at BYU! Exciting! He came up for a Labor Day bbq with some friends today and I feel spoiled having him so close by. I feel like he's the poster boy for a BYU freshman.

Just love me

2011-09-01T17:43:00.002-06:00

i know i do.

8 months

2011-08-14T14:57:00.001-06:00

{last day in oregon}

No one told me how much fun babies get as they get older. I've always been worried about the age from 8 months to a year when kids are mobile and opinionated but can't talk or reason...but I'm starting to find out babies get easier and way more fun as they grow up! While in OR, john got his first bath in a bathtub (usually its in our kitchen sink) and loved it--his favorite was the water coming out of the faucet. He's started army crawling but he has to be pretty motivated by a toy or food to get him to go very far. There's no question he knows who his mom and dad are...it doesn't take very long for him to look around the room and realize we're gone before he starts crying. He's still happiest outside and loves eating grass. He's very determined and will do all in his power to reach for or turn to look at something. His top two teeth are getting bigger and his bites get harder. He's still skinny as a whip and some days has no interest in food. He loves looking in mirrors and being put in front of a fan.

First HighChair

2011-08-14T14:05:00.001-06:00

2011 Hilverda Family Reunion

2011-08-07T15:39:00.000-06:00

{cousin time}

{ride up to the tree fort}

{tractor rides}

{note: llama in the background}

{campfire & smores}

{first long army crawl to get the pineapple}

{sweeping the barn roof}

catching up

2011-08-01T09:15:00.000-06:00

the last few weeks have flown by and I feel like the end of summer is having a "snowballing effect" with everything left to fit in! Some happenings...
-Lots of summer bbq's on the porch with friends and family
-Lots of walks and pool days
-Had a British friend from Mike's mission stay with us pioneer day weekend (hike, temple square, music and the spoken word, pioneer day parade, paintballing, bocce ball)
-Visit from Mike's sister and company (headed to a cabin in heber to hang out and play games--first time meeting the baby--pictures to come)
-Ran my first 10k with phil & nanci
-Lots of work and job applications
-Mike's been having me watch the old james bond movies (sean connery editions)
-Lots of summer fruit and pies
-John is a pro at army crawling! loves sharing my yogurt with me & is the proud owner of 2 new top teeth! We didn't realize until these teeth broke through how grumpy he has been. All of a sudden he is super giggly and super content. Life is better for everyone (except me who he still loves to bite) since the teeth have made their appearance

Still to come:
-Week trip to Oregon
-Visit from Mike's parents
-Our friend's wedding
-Michael coming up to college! (with my mom and bex in tow)
-piano recital for my students

waiting for mom to get ready for church

2011-07-25T20:31:00.000-06:00

"first thing"

2011-07-21T19:44:00.002-06:00

with Mike still looking for a job and me not wanting to go back to work full time (I started 3 days a week this week) we've been trying to cut costs where we can. But, that hasn't stopped us from talking about future purchases. It just means that each time one of us starts talking about buying something (anything from $5 to a new car), it gets added to our mental "first thing we're going to get when Mike gets a job." You would not even believe how long this list has gotten and all the random things included. Mike said tonight it's a good thing we haven't been keeping track of it because both of us have forgotten all the items we've added. Instead we just add new things every day :)

flowers help to feminize the antlers a little bit...maybe?

My child looks a little bit homeless (but really cute in his new h&m t-shirt) when I got home from work. Food up his nose, grass up his bum. I gave him a carrot to chew on to help with his teething pain right before I nursed him. REALLY bad idea---once he started nursing he thought I was the carrot for most of it.

New tricks: starting to "rock" on all fours and "rolls" around like crazy. Soon to be immobile no longer.

saturday morning toys

2011-07-16T08:54:00.001-06:00

while mom puts away the 5 loads of laundry she washed yesterday (almost 2 weeks worth). Talk about avoiding the laundromat for as long as you can.

little herb garden

2011-07-15T13:22:00.000-06:00

Our tomato plant is definitely at the point of needing the wire to hold it up. AND as shown below, the first little tomato has started to grow! this whole gardening thing brings pretty quick results.

Mary inspired me when I was at her house to start my own little herb garden. I can't believe how fast its grown and I love having fresh herbs sitting out my front door. Last night I made pasta and it made such a difference in taste to add a little fresh oregano. We got some dollar scrap plywood at home depot, had them cut it to size, and mike nailed it together. We started spray painting it white. ran out of paint, and now it has a whitewashed appearance. I think I decided yesterday to paint it a light cement gray so it will blend in better with the porch. We have one spot left to plant something else...any suggestions?

oregano, sage, thyme, basil, chive

Our new tricks...when john is sitting on the floor upset and I reach my hands to him, he grabs them and pulls them back under his armpits meaning I"m supposed to pick him up. If he's happy and I put my hands out towards him, he grabs on and pulls himself up to a standing position. He loves standing up.

happy friday.

Nifty 50

2011-07-13T14:16:00.000-06:00

I've started taking pics with Mike's 50 mm (nifty 50 lens) and have loved how they've turned out. The pictures above were in really bad lighting, but they're still clear and the color is mostly good. I just wish you could hear the giggle that went along with those smiles.

Last Sunday had a drizzly cloudy afternoon so we went on a walk during our "bewitching hour" (6-7 pm). We meandered through the cemetery, counted snails on the sidewalk, and the best part of all--we found 3 HUGE cherry trees across the street from our church building that were completely ripe and completely unclaimed. I still need to go back with a sack and a step ladder.

how we sleep

2011-07-13T13:41:00.000-06:00

taken with flash...he doesnt sleep with the lights on...

This is john sound asleep for the night. It looks more like he passed out drunk with the water bottle in his hand.

caught in the act

2011-07-09T22:23:00.002-06:00

of destroying mom's magazine. We've started into teething part 2: the upper front teeth, and I can't wait for them to break through so I can have my happy baby back. As of now, we give him anything that will make him happy. Note his little tongue poking through in the pictures below--its always out while he's concentrating. It doesn't have quite the "lizard look" it used to have, but you can still see the little indent right in front. Still no crawling but he's started to scoot backwards, and when he really wants to move forward John will bury his face into the ground, scootch his knees up underneath him, and scoot forward.

I finished John's silhouette that was supposed to go on the piano, but Mike scooped it up and it landed on his bed side table.

Blueberries were on super sale at Sunflower Market this week and I have gone crazy buying them! I've made a couple of blueberry pies (mmm, (Mary's recipe)) and have been having them for breakfast every morning. Fresh Utah produce has been a little slow this year with the late winter, so I've gotten a little antsy waiting for berries, peaches, and summer veggies from the farmer's and roadside markets.

7 months + july 4th

2011-07-04T21:59:00.000-06:00

...and this little monster turned 7 months old today! We feel so fortunate to have been blessed with such a happy, healthy little boy. Neither Mike or I can get enough of him. He loves to smile and laugh and loves being tickled (or at least we assume as much, he doesn't cry when we tickle him). He and I still get in food fights, but now that he has teeth our fights usually end with, "don't bite mama." Basically, he usually wins. He loves sitting out in the grass watching people and cars (I think this has become Mike's saving grace for his days home with the baby). When people walk by John will usually "screech" at them, and then smile when they smile back. His favorite toys are definitely our trash--paper. empty water bottle, wrappers, magazines--no need to spend money on toys for this kid. Fairly often I'll catch him just staring at Mike with a half smile on his face, just waiting for his dad to look at him and smile (in most of the pics below he's looking at Mike). There is no question that he loves his dad. His tongue still has a little bit of a tongue tie, but it stretched out a lot since his bottom teeth came in. No signs of crawling yet, but he seems to be able to get places by rolling and rotating on his stomach. Church keeps getting harder with him, but thankfully there's always people willing to help. He doesn't seem to have any "stranger danger," but will just touch someones face when they hold him before reaching for their glasses or necklace. We've been a little bummed so far this summer that his bed time is so early (its still light outside), making it so we can only go to our summer concerts if we get a sitter. He is doing well with solid food and will usually make it through at least 2 jars of food a day (favorites being pears and carrots). He does fine being fed by a spoon, but I get frustrated when he decides to suck on his wrist when his mouth is covered. Its a messy affair (as expected).

in short, we love him, and he obviously loves us!

Our activities for the fourth have been a little bit limited. We went to the ward breakfast this morning, then Mike went to help a friend build a deck. We went over to said friends house for dinner tonight and are so grateful we have "family" to celebrate holidays with. Our fireworks show tonight was the "boston pops"on CBS :) Maybe next year we'll be able to go somewhere??

Flashback: Six Flags Turnaround 08/06

2011-07-04T12:21:00.000-06:00

This trip is one of my favorite memories. Phil had just gotten back from his mission, and he and I were getting ready to head to byu, Stephen had his permit (and I think I remember him driving in LA traffic), and mickey was along for the ride :) We left Phoenix on a Friday afternoon, drove to cali, got in late, and ended up at the grossest motel 6 outside LA (we thought we were going to get mugged while we were paying for our room). We got to the park when it opened, went straight over to buy our fast passes, and spent the rest of the day sprinting from ride to ride (case's do amusement parks the right way). We spent most of the day jumping lines, cutting lines, and entering lines from the exit to maximize our time there. For lunch we went out to the car, ate pb&j's and mapped out the afternoon (see phil in photo below looking at map). We left to drive home when the park closed and got home in the middle of the night.

It was a blast. (and stephen and michael look so little!)

Memory Park + Crafts

2011-06-30T10:58:00.001-06:00

{before bex left for the airport}

For Bekah's last night in town we walked to Sunflower Market to get stuff to grill (again, we're on a grilling kick).

On the menu:

Skewers (chicken, pineapple + red onion + bell pepper)

Blue Sky root beer (the kind my mom bought us growing up)

chips + carrots (shown below)

Raspberry sorbet w/ fresh mango + gingersnaps

{carrot in one hand and chips in the other}

{walk up city creek}

And of course our crafts---I've been wanting to make these for so long! We've been talking about silhouettes for at least a year (I need to finish one for me, Mike's turned out pretty cool though). And I bought the canvas for the painting in April but just hadn't gotten around to it. It was perfect having Bekah here to have someone to prod me along and help with the projects. She was in charge of color placement and mixing. It's great having creative sisters to do things like this with!

{mike is having a hard time with the girly colors...he wasn't home to approve colors beforehand}

ha. I bite you mama

2011-06-29T13:41:00.000-06:00

{what he thinks every time I feed him}

bbq

2011-06-28T13:07:00.002-06:00

we got mike a little weber grill for father's day and all of a sudden the possibilities for summer grilling are endless. Sunday night we had a bbq and bocce ball with some family.

On the menu:

pink lemonade

grilled corn

hot dogs

fruit salad

homemade peach pie

cousin caroline

cousins

Baby Travel Tips

2011-06-27T16:42:00.001-06:00

(figured I would jot these down while they're fresh in my mind for future reference)

Long Drives:
- Don't plan on having any time to sleep/read. If you manage to squeeze in some time, consider it a big blessing
- Don't get mad when you get peed/pooed on while changing the baby's diaper in the back seat
- Don't plan on baby taking long naps, cat naps will suffice
- If you stop for gas right after the baby falls asleep, they will wake up
- Don't underestimate the power of funny noises, faces and toys
- Baby wipes

Planes:
- Keep the baby on their same schedule (don't try to skip a nap to make them more tired for the flight)
- Be in "game on" mode until the plane takes off and pull out whatever toys/snacks/blankets they need. At that point the baby will sleep until you land
- Plan on nursing during taxi and takeoff. Its a great distraction until they fall asleep
- Avoid layovers at all costs
- Be really nice to the people in the seat next to you
- Baby wipes

Beach Camping/Boating:
- Shade, sunscreen, hat, shirt. Avoid heat exhaustion
- Make sure your baby is sleeping through the night before you go
- Practice wearing the life jacket before the trip
- Don't try to plan naps, they'll just happen naturally
- Lots of water--either in a bottle or poured on their head
- Baby wipes

Traveling with a baby is exhausting and requires a lot of energy, flexibility and "stuff" (toys, diapers, change of clothes, baby food, bottles, blankets...a never ending list). I think I've adopted Mary's parenting philosophy--I still want to have a life and have a good time while having kids. It just means more work and more planning, and taking advantage of opportunities when they come up.

lake powell 2011 (here's to hoping there's a 2012)

2011-06-26T21:58:00.002-06:00

Lake Powell was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. Beach camping with a 6 month old in the heat--no shade because there's no trees and too much wind to keep a shade structure up--is tough, real tough, but we got through it and had a blast along the way. Our saving grace was long boat rides were he would crash in our arms and sleep until we stopped. I was a maniac with sunscreen for all of us and we all had hats and t-shirts on for most of the trip (and I still managed to get burned).

The water temp was perfect and the water rose about a foot a day while we were there. John LOVED splashing in the water (which was the perfect way to cool him down and keep him occupied and out of the sandstorms). We camped at Padre Bay and had perfect water in the mornings for wakeboarding.

On our way back to the marina on the last day we stopped at a crazy steep sand dune for all the boys (and some of the girls) to run down

The ever hated life vest. I would hate it too if it was choking me like that. The first time we put it on him was as we were getting on the boat the first day. Big mistake--I should have started prepping for that at least 2 days in advance. By the end it wasn't such a fight, and since he fell asleep so fast in the boat anyway it wasn't a huge deal.

The set-up behind mike wasn't our camp--it was our neighbors who were super prepared for beach camping. They kept coming over asking if we were okay because we looked so hodge podge in our set up...and they kept bringing up the fact that we had a baby at our camp. The white cooler was a small piece of heaven--full of ice cold water bottles. There really was nothing better.

Our tommy bahama beach umbrella. It was awesome in the mornings because there wasn't any wind to blow it into the lake.

Putting the baby to bed in the tent. Unusually happy to be sleeping on the hard surface. Note the sleep sheep in the pouch behind him. It's a life saver--a battery powered noisemaker. We had a little bit of trouble getting him to go to sleep, but once he was done he was out for the night.

We loved the group of people we were there with--most of them we hadn't met before. It was a good experience, even if we were eyeing the neighboring house boats with a bit of jealousy. Maybe we'll get a house boat next year?? That would be awesome... More pictures to come from our hike to rainbow bridge.

a little motivation...

2011-06-22T18:12:00.002-06:00

...you just need it now and then.

I'm not sure why, but I've gotten to the point where I really don't like running errands. Maybe its because we live just east of downtown, and most the places I need to go are over on the west side? Or maybe its because salt lake has a streetlight ever block that is usually red when you get there? Thankfully the baby is usually an angel while we're out (and he's big enough to sit in the front of grocery cart!)

My errand list today: wal-mart, costco, the gateway, library, whole foods, bank (and Mike went to the grocery store and post office for me).

Errands not accomplished: laundromat. today would have been such a nice day to have a washer and dryer.

I'm so ready to leave the city behind for a few days...Lake Powell here we come!

evening walk.

2011-06-20T20:09:00.005-06:00

likes baby prison. maybe we should keep him there

such a ham

note: matching hair color & matching open mouths (maybe talking to eachother?)

flowers stolen on said walk

I can't believe tomorrow is already summer solstice. Summer is just starting! We can't already be half way through.
A little laugh for the political junkies...click here.
For some incredible 3 ingredient summer recipes (a.maz.ing desserts) check out this months real simple magazine.

Just Released

2011-06-20T13:15:00.000-06:00

Since finding out last week I was getting released I've had this song running through my head--its the Young Women's theme song for the year. Its been so cool to be apart of a worldwide program that is so uplifting--that teaches us to be happy by living the standards of the church. I've loved working with the girls--learning from them on Sundays and hanging out on Wednesday nights. Mutual usually wasn't the easiest part of my week (both when I was pregnant and working or with having a baby who needed to go to bed during mutual) but it was one of my best mood boosters. 100% of the time I would leave mutual a whole lot happier than I was when I got there. I'm grateful for the chance I had to serve, but now I'm started to dread returning to Relief Society! It's been a while since I've been there. I guess it's time to grow up again and leave Young Women's behind for a while.

ps. John slept 11.5 hours last night. awesome. For some reason he seems to sleep longer on mornings when I have to get up early for work. Then, when I am hoping to sleep in, he usually wakes up around 6:15. Maybe Mike slips him something?

Date Night

2011-06-18T09:58:00.000-06:00

Last night we went to a friend's 50th surprise birthday party, to the movies, and to gourmandise for dessert--all without a little monster tagging along. Yay for babysitters! {we were supposed to go to the temple but left the party too late....so now we're looking forward to bex being in town to watch him while we go :)} Growing up I knew date night was important, but I didn't grasp the full importance until now. John is really good when we're out somewhere, but it was so nice last night to be out just the two of us. I haven't been to a movie theatre since he was born (mostly because of poor planning on my part)--and we haven't been out together past 8 pm (other than some bocce ball in the median out front) very often in the last couple of months (since moving his bed time so early).

Yesterday, after his 2 week post-surgery check up, Mike went paintballing. I guess now's the time to stop feeling bad for him recovering from surgery?? And me and the babes went up to Steiner's pool to lay out and swim a little. He had his first couple bites of fruit leather and loved it. I got to meet up with some friends that have all moved away in the past year Thursday night and Friday morning--so fun to see them!

pea face

2011-06-12T17:55:00.003-06:00

we started into solids this weekend and so far so good. John LOVES rice cereal, and is doing fairly well with peas (even though he makes a face and acts like he is going to gag, he keeps it down).

Here dad, let me help

In other news we are both on the mend and feeling sooo much better. The kitchen is almost clean for the first time in 2 weeks. I've never missed having a dishwasher more. Neither of us have felt like washing dishes, making meals, or grocery shopping, meaning lots of cereal bowls and sandwiches.

I finished the chronicles of narnia series for the first time last week and cant figure out why it took me 23 years to read. I loved it! I love the children's charm that CS Lewis weaves through his writing. I loved the symbolism and the characters.

I went to the jcrew outlet yesterday with a friend and wish I had a 4 year old girl!! So many cute clothes.

I'm loving the beautiful weather. It feels like I'm just waking up from a long winter. I am so ready for running outside, going to parks, and laying out by the pool.

John had his first "spill" (falling off the bed onto the wood floor) and recovered just fine. As Mike puts it--the first scratch on your sports car hurts the worst but its bound to happen sometime.

Oh yeah...6 month stats. weight 15 lbs 8 oz (15%) length 28 in (95%). At this rate he'll be long and skinny like my brothers in no time.

piano lessons

2011-06-10T11:37:00.001-06:00

All of the kids in my family were lucky enough to be forced into piano starting in first grade and ending either at 16, when you could play all the hymns, or until you left for college. And we all took lessons from "the Babe." Me and my sisters have all taught piano lessons (bex starting the youngest at 11)--I've taught for a good part of the last 10 years. It's been the perfect job for me and allowed me to have a flexible work schedule in high school and during parts of college. I'm teaching 3 sisters now who are so talkative and fun to teach. Hopefully once I stop working I'll be able to take on more students.

In an effort to make me play the piano more, Mike made sure I got 10 new piano books for my birthday. Its been great having so many choices to play from, but its super frustrating how much of my skill I've lost from not practicing consistently the last 4 years. Time to get back at it--and maybe I'll be able to get back to the level I was at in high school.

the piano we've been babysitting

piano knobs

6 month update

2011-06-05T15:43:00.001-06:00

These past 6 months have come and gone so quick. John's favorite toys include: the remote, a cell phone, chapstick/mascara, books (or whatever we happen to be reading), and my necklaces. He is sleeping on his back at night (that took a while--he would roll from his stomach and then wouldn't be able to fall asleep). He can roll from his back to his stomach but still hasn't been able to get that stomach up off the ground to start crawling. One of his nicknames is MLM--my little monster. He's started sticking his tongue out just a bit when he's concentrating and sometimes when mike gets him giggling hard he'll bury his face in my neck. Almost always his fussiness is solved by laying him down for a nap and he'll usually only take a pacifier when he's going to sleep. He likes looking out the window, being outside and I've never had a problem buckling him in his car seat. He can sit for long periods of time if we sit him up. We are so blessed to be able to call him ours. (6 month stats to come this week)

Post Op

2011-06-02T17:35:00.000-06:00

Mike is resting comfortably after hernia surgery this morning. He is relatively mobile and happy to have the surgery behind. He said he loves that its only a 2 minute time period from the start of the surgery until you wake up in recovery--that the anesthesia helps to fast forward time. (note the stack of movies--looks like he'll be plenty entertained).

phx final

2011-06-02T17:30:00.001-06:00

John spent a lot of time outside on the tramp... (seen here in the act of rolling)...

... and got his first taste of pineapple --boy oh boy did he like that, Mike couldn't get it away from him. He also is loving puffed rice cereal. He learned to roll from back to front while we were there. AND he was lucky enough to have his aunt volunteer right away for every diaper change (uncle michael wasn't quite as kind).

Here the boys are playing the same computer game--just not against eachother (I think Mike was afraid of losing)--does this count as quality time together?? We got to see my grandparents and david and cami and kids.

We had a good drive home Monday and I got to work all day Tuesday with the beginnings of the flu (I think most of that has passed now).

Graduation & bday party

2011-06-02T17:17:00.001-06:00

We got to be home for Michael's graduation! Both he and my mom spoke at graduation and they both did awesome. We're excited for Michael to be done with the busiest year of his life (he pulled a Hermoine and had stugo and ap calc the same period) and to have him up here for school next year at BYU.

I also helped plan bekah's 12th bday party with all her little girl friends. On the list of activities: water fight, make your own pizza, volleyball, make you own headband, cupcakes, movie on the trampoline, and smores (dad and I would make them and take them to the girls). On Sunday john and I went to YW's for bekah's first week there.

and Michael and I were lucky enough to spend an hour saturday in my parents huge garden fertilizing 127 tomato plants. it is unbelievable the amount of tomatoes they have

fun in phoenix.

2011-05-27T00:31:00.001-06:00

Paintball practice, laying in the grass, picking food from the garden, planning parties, shopping at last chance (heaven on earth), graduation, making headbands & pillows (pics to come), seeing family, teething & pink eye baby, hernia husband, awesome aunt bex, double date to pinnacle peak patio, ticket to ride, homemade salsa with fresh ingredients from the garden, sunshine, rollerblading with bex to school.....more to come.

a week of firsts

2011-05-23T21:25:00.001-06:00

This has been a big week for baby john john. This has been his first time....
-Going down a slide
-Going in a pool (and a hot tub)
-getting dunked
-Wearing a speedo (and a bonnet)
-eating prunes (which caused the first stinky diaper)
-sitting in grass
-having a 5 year old babysitter
-seeing a snake
-having a friendship bracelet (with his cousins)
-sitting in an umbrella stroller
-going on an airplane
-drinking water from a straw
-being held by a 2 year old
-getting a tooth!!
-biting someone (aunt Mary)
-going to daycare (at the gym)
-being away from his dad

We had so much fun with mary and her family. As noted by the list above, this was a big week for us. I'm sure if we would have stayed a few more days we could have added first steps and first words to the list.

First Flight

2011-05-18T16:06:00.000-06:00

John and I flew to San Diego today and Mike is in the middle of his drive to Phoenix. Here's how my morning went--

Get dropped off on the curb--rolling suitcase, baby in bjorn, and diaper bag 50 min before my flight. Head to security--get to skip the long line because I have a baby. Head over to the scanners, take shoes off, take baby off, bags in bins. Get to go through basic metal detector and not have to have the full body scanner fight. While putting shoes/baby back on my suitcase gets searched (probably because the extra bottles I put in there). Thankfully I threw a pair of underwear on top to make the guy's search interesting. Head to gate (stop by the bathroom on the way). Get to gate, baby super fussy (not a good start to a 3 hour flight). Pull him out of bjorn, try to play with him, realize I lost my boarding pass. Throw baby back in the bjorn and run (luggage in tow) back to the bathroom forever away and find boarding pass sitting on the counter. Back to gate, change diaper on leather chairs, head over to family boarding. Give him my boarding pass, start towards the plane, get called back only to find I need a baby boarding pass--go to get that only to find I need proof of baby birthdate (which I don't have). Get a lecture and the pass, back to the gate get on the plane (sat next to an old lady who was just visiting her 6 month old great nephew (perfect)). John is still fussy. Nurse him as we take off, falls asleep--sleeps the whole flight. Land in Vegas, he wakes up happy and smiles at all the people around us. Repeat for flight to San Diego--nurse, sleep, wake up happy.

All in all things went WAY better than expected. Don't know how mom's do this when there's more than one monster.

A little risque?

2011-05-16T09:18:00.000-06:00

Not if you know that he was wearing his diaper the whole time :) Work for me today and tomorrow, than on to San Diego and Phoenix to hopefully shed my pale white skin!

happy graduation

2011-05-13T14:02:00.002-06:00

Mike did it! He completed three years of law school and walked today. I think I may be more relieved than he is. I'm so proud of him and am excited to see what he does next. We've made some good friends along the way and have been blessed with jobs, health, a baby, and a wonderful place & area to live. Mike's mom was able to come this weekend to join in the festivities and Mike is a happy guy to have her here. Looking back I'd be happy to do it all over again--these 3 years have defined our marriage and solidified our friendship. Now, on to the next part of our lives.

staging

2011-05-13T13:14:00.001-06:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T18:51:00.001-06:00

Mothers are a special gift sent
from God above,
They bless us with their nurturing,
And fill us with their love.

They pick us up when we are down,
And when we're sad they know,
They're always there to lend a hand,
And guide us as we go.

And mothers are like special jewels
that can't be bought or sold...
A mother's love's more precious
than the rarest gem or gold.

Yes, mothers are a special gift sent
from God above,
And we'll be blessed forever with
their never ending love!

Faye Kilday 1996

afternoon chat

2011-05-06T08:00:00.006-06:00

4:23 PM Mike: I put the baby for sale on ksl. I want to try and recover our cost so I listed him at 13,000 obo.

me: any calls? I hope you posted a cute picture

4:24 PM Mike: I put one of him where he looks pretty innocent and added (baby clothes not included).

4:26 PM me: we can at least give them the poop stained clothes. Give our new baby a chance at clean clothes

4:27 PM Mike: shoot. I forgot to mention "will consider trades." Although I think we could use at least a few months to recover before we jump into another baby no matter how good of a trade up.

4:28 PM me: did you include a list of tricks? rolls over, drools, smiles, laughs, loves playing hide a go seek, likes elephants and turtles

just writing that list made me sad to think about not having him anymore

I'm getting teary eyed

4:29 PM Mike: He is real quiet right now because he knows he is in trouble.

me: has he gone to sleep since I left?

4:30 PM Mike: no. tried for two hours with no success. Trust me he has tears now if he didn't before.

me: sad
I'm still working part time 15ish hours a week and Mike is at home with the baby. So far its been the perfect arrangement--I get a few hours away to hang out with my coworkers and get dressed up in something other than my juicy sweats. and Mike gets some quality time playing stay at home dad. The convo (gchat) above shows an especially tough afternoon. The good news is that we decided to keep the baby. 5 months old!

Why suck on your thumb?

2011-05-05T14:43:00.001-06:00

When you can suck on a toe instead.

First Sitter

2011-05-01T12:57:00.001-06:00

John had his first non-family sitter last night so that we could go to the temple and boy oh boy was that tough to do. Mike was the one stressing about it earlier in the day, but when it came time to leave I was the one out of sorts. When we got home he was sleeping like a baby. The girl babysitting said she felt like he knew we weren't there (and was a grouch because of it)--already at this age they know that?? I'm happy to have gotten over this hurdle, and its nice to know he'll be well taken care of when we go to the opera later this month.

Only 2 more weeks until Mike's graduation!! And then what? (you may ask...) Well, we have no idea. For now I'll just continue to work a bit to keep our insurance until Mike secures something. Until then, we are enjoying this time we have to be together so much.

sleep & water

2011-04-28T21:46:00.001-06:00

at the risk of sounding preachy, I love sleep and water. 2 amazing, free, things that Americans really don't appreciate or get enough of. I think one of my favorite things in life is crawling under the covers at the end of the day and falling asleep. Its even better when I know I've gone to bed early enough to get 9 hours of sleep before the monster wakes up. heaven. And really, not enough can be said about water. I can't imagine living a life where soda (whether regular or diet) became my go to. I like that mike and I only order water to drink when we are at a restaurant. Not only is it incredibly cheaper, but I'm someone that would rather eat my calories than drink them.

enough on that--check out this cute kid

and I'm pretty sure I "NEED" that deeply madly in love print via madebygirl found here. I love it!!