Just a Couple of Signs We Have Been on Vacation Too Long

Michael is exhibiting just a few signs that we have been on vacation too long:
- a truely lovely whine
-not sleeping through the night (remember how hard I worked for this)
-refusing yogurt
-general frustration with everyone and everything

I think it might be time to think about heading home.

This lovely video documents his general mood... let's just say I am taking a LOT of deep breaths and counting to 10 today...we woke up 40 minutes ago.

The Swings!

We took Michael to the park a couple of days ago and he loved it! They had baby swings and he was in heaven, we dont have those swings by our house so this was his first time on them. It was so fun to see him so happy. This was the same park I played at as a child so it was fun to share that with him. 

Michael thought that the swings were so funny, he loved to go as high as possible, and he loved it even more when someone would swing with him.

 

Grammy and Uncle Muggle were a little nervous to let him go high, but he convinced them otherwise. He liked to lean forward and try and catch his shadow while swinging. 

Swinging requires an open mouth, you know to yell as loud as possible. 

Going down the slide with Uncle Muggle is sweet!

 Michael and Michael went on the slide, I have taken Michael on the slide at home, but going with Uncle Muggle was just so much more fun! Michael and Michael seem to get along quite well, it might be that Uncle Muggle is so easy going or that Mikey is such a cute guy, either way these guys are pals. Mikey crawls up to Uncle Muggle and lifts up his arms and begs to get picked up.

Cohort Babies

When I was in grad school I was a part of the greatest cohort ever to go through the BYU MPH program, no really, the best. Anyway, many of my cohort buddies have had kids over the past few years, particularly last year. While we were in CA we met up with one of my sweet cohort buddies and her darling little boy, seriously this guy is adorable. It was great for Michael to meet one of the other cohort babies, hopefully some day he can meet some more of these guys. Thanks for putting up with us Lauren!

We took a walk on the beach, it wasnt the warmest day, but a nice break from the Dallas heat!

 Proof that I can go to the ocean without melting

 Michael and Liam, sadly my picture taking skills leave something to be desired.

 Seriously, this little guy is so mellow, so jealous!

Rise and Shout the Cougars are Out!

Michael and I have spent the past week in California visiting my family, all of my siblings are visiting, it is just a bit crowded... but still so fun. 

My mom wanted to take a quick family photo, and my dad, as usual, wanted us to all be in BYU apparel. Since all 4 of us kids have or will attend either BYU or BYU Idaho, we have a wee bit of Cougar pride in our family. We are starting the brain washing for Michael early, this sweet little guy is going to head off to BYU in 17 years... can't wait to drop him at his dorm!

BYU family, see the sweet baby has a shirt too!

 Photogenic... well let's just say none of us knew where to look or are that great at getting our photos taken. But as Brandon says, "at least we grew into our buck teeth". We watched some family videos from 1999 and the combination of beaver teeth, being so skinny, and ill fitting clothing just made us look, well, homeless, but hey, over time we got a bit better.

I love that Mikey is one of the few people looking at the camera in this photo.

 See the controlling older sister taking charge. When we get together, everyone just falls back into the same roles we have always had.

 Go Cougars!

Can you see everyone's personalities in this photo... yeah what you are thinking is correct.

A Night Out on the Town

Last night I went up to see Brian at his "posh" hotel. He was there for a work conference and I was here in CA already so I took a quick (100 mile) drive up the coast to see him. 

His hotel was right on the beach in Rancho Palos Verdes and it was lovely. Let's just say as I was entering the resort I saw a sign that said "second homes from $1.25 million", it was really beautiful, but I dont think we will be moving there anytime soon. 

The hotel overlooked the ocean, I liked that it was on a cliff... not a beach (because that is kinda gross to me). If there had been fewer clouds the resort would have had a great view of Catalina Island. 

A view from on the walk. 

 The hotel, so lovely

 Can you believe it, I actually left Michael for the night! Thanks to my lovely sister in law for picking out an outfit with color in it for me... cant do it every day, but once in awhile it is a good thing.

A sweet night out on the town. Okay in fairness we didnt really do much, we went to a delicious dinner with Brian's work conference and watched swamp people, but we didnt worry about cheerios, or naps, or bedtime, and when I got home from the night my clothes were still clean! 

We had such a fun night , but I was so happy to get home and see Michael (I loved seeing Brian, but remember the guilt part, Brian is 28 and can handle a night or two without me). Thanks to Grammy and Auntie Em for watching Mikey for the night, now I can at least say that we have had one night apart!

Guilt

This is the look of guilt...not fun, guilt (well maybe a little bit of fun too, although I do look like i am getting a shot or some other unpleasant procedure).

I left Mikey alone for the first time today. I have left him for a few hours in the past, but this is the first time I will be leaving him overnight. Can you tell that I am a first time mom? It is only 6:20 and I am already worried about the overnight part. In fairness I left him at 11am so it has been awhile already. I thought of all kinds of excuses why not to leave: still nursing, he needs his antibiotics, he might be scared, 100 miles is far, etc, but in the end Brian, my mom, and my sister kindly pushed me out the door, and here I am. Why you might ask would I leave him... well a few reasons, #1 Brian is also in CA for a work retreat, it just so happens that our trips overlapped. And the work retreat is at a posh (been waiting to use that word) resort on the beach, really it is lovely. Since the resort is only 100 miles (exactly) from my parent's driveway we thought this might be a good time to try out being apart for the night. #2 I am never going to have this many babysitters at once. I just called (for what is probably the 15th time) to check in and Mikey was getting a bath, there were three people supervising. He had the week to get to know them so he wouldnt be scared when I left, when else I am I going to get that. #3 I hear a little distance is good, well let's just say I am at the lovely hotel feeling awfully guilty, but it is so nice to see Brian and not be covered in cheerios and worried about bedtime, dinner, crying, toys, and naps. Speaking of naps, we took one, a blissfully uninterrupted nap... oh naps, how I have missed you.

So I am feeling so guilty, but this could be good. He is turning 1, nursing is going to come to an end, and if nothing else, it is nice to take an uninterrupted nap, a shower without worrying about what he has gotten into, and get dressed and know that you arent going to end up with a smashed cheerio, snot, or some other lovely goop all over you before you even get to where you are going.

Oh Mikey I hope you are so good and sleep well tonight! We miss you tons and tons already!

A Special Kind of Torture...

I feel like there is a special kind of torture for mothers... teething. I think this was devised to test a mother's patience to the limit, I love my sweet little son, but teething... well teething gets me every time. It is torturous because there is NOTHING you as the mother can do to make it better, sure there is children's tylenol (which I think is just purple corn syrup) and there are teething rings, and a few other options, but really the solution is just to wait it out. In the meantime the baby is miserable, they don't want to eat, play or be put down, in Michael's case he rejects real food in favor of nursing... all the time. I just feel bad for the little guy, just awful, powerless, and like an awful mom because I can't make it better. So there is the part where you are powerless and then there is the part where you have had enough, you know what I mean, even the best moms have those moments that require counting to ten, a quick prayer, a deep breath, and remembering to "keep calm and carry on". Yes, I think teething is a special torture reserved for mothers. But on a lighter note, even with this special kind of torture there are great moments in motherhood too, some that make the teething totally worth it, like when you get the munchkin out of their crib in the morning and they are thrilled to see you, or when you can see them learning, or when they learn to connect and communicate with you, or when they start to learn independence and explore their world, so many good moments, I guess I can deal with the teething.

"More holiness give me, More strivings within, More patience in suff’ring... More purpose in prayer"

*As I use this blog as a personal journal, I feel it is appropriate to include a post about my testimony. This is a long post and focused on my personal experiences and testimony

As a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“Mormon”) I have heard about prayer my whole life. I learned to pray at home, prayed in primary, learned songs about prayer at church, participated in family prayer, and understood that prayer was the way that we as mortals could communicate with our Father in Heaven. But it wasn’t until I was older that I really gained a testimony of the power of prayer. As we approach Michael’s 1^st birthday I have been taking some time to reflect on my experiences over the past year. While many of the experiences have been focused on learning the practical skills necessary to care for a baby, there have been other experiences that have led me to examine my own faith and beliefs, and have given me the opportunity to strengthen my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and more specifically my testimony of prayer.

As a child, when we discussed prayer in church I always imagined it as a physical conversation between a father and his child. I have a great dad, and the image I had of my Heavenly Father was a father with the patience and intense love for his children that my dad had, but more... hard to explain.

 As a teenager, this idea of a father/daughter conversation was something that I really appreciated, when I had rough times I would pray and know that like my dad, my Heavenly Father would listen and provide comfort in times of need. It also comforted me, that like my dad, my Heavenly Father often knew how I was feeling and what I needed before I asked for it, and that by asking I was allowing them the opportunity to help and bless me. This testimony of prayer was one of the things that sustained and boosted testimony through my teens.

As I entered college my testimony increased. Going to BYU wasn’t a decision I made lightly, despite what it may have seemed at the time. The year before I went to college I prayed daily to know where I should apply, where I should go, and what I should study. As I went through the application process I never felt good about going to BYU, I never had the confirmation that I felt I needed to go there. So I planned to go to school in California. I had a major picked, a university selected, financial aid, and a roommate, and then the letter came from BYU. When it came I still didn’t feel that Provo was the place for me, but I continued to pray, at this point pleading to know where I should go (this was late March). My parents decided that a trip to Provo was what I needed so we packed up the car and headed out. I know this will sound cheesy and even unbelievable, but that first time as we stepped onto campus I knew that BYU was where I was meant to go. I remember standing on the sidewalk in front of the ASB looking out towards the HFAC and library and having a feeling of peace and belonging and a strong feeling that this is where I was meant to be, and I remember thinking that my prayers had been answered, think of it as a “this is the place” moment.

Throughout my experience at BYU there were many times when I prayed to know what to do with my life, if I should marry the irritating RM from Brigham city, and what in the heck I should study. As those pieces began to fall into place and we left Provo, I was continually grateful that I had the opportunity to seek guidance and direction from someone who could see the big picture and who would only lead me in the right direction.

When I found out that I was pregnant with Michael I knew that I needed to strengthen my testimony, specifically my testimony of prayer. As my pregnancy progressed, I was again reminded what a blessing prayer is in our lives. I prayed daily (well more than that), that Michael would be healthy, I am a bit of a paranoid person, but beyond that before Michael, I had been pregnant once and miscarried fairly early on. I prayed for peace with the outcome of the pregnancy and for ability to accept Heavenly Father’s will for this sweet little baby. Time and time again, I felt nothing but peace, and gratitude that my Heavenly Father would remember me even in my times of paranoia. I also prayed that I would know and love this little baby before he was born, and that I would remember that while he was my child, he was also a child of God.  As I was in labor with Michael I remember silently praying that things would go well, that he would be healthy, and that I would have the strength to continue (it was a long long labor), and that I would know and love him when I finally met him. Well, all was well, and by the end of the experience my testimony of prayer had increased 10 fold. When Michael was born, I was grateful that he was healthy, but also grateful, that I felt like I knew him when I met him. I cant say I immediately felt like he was mine, but I immediately felt love for him and felt like I was meeting someone I had known for ages instead of just a tiny baby.

As Michael has grown (and boy has he), I have continued to pray daily for guidance on how raise, guide, and teach him, and to remember what a great blessing it is for me to be his mother. I feel like the past years and faith promoting experiences have been so that when given the opportunity I would have the ability to teach another (Michael) the gospel. Raising Michael (yes even in this short time) has given me the opportunity to pray for patience, understanding, and guidance. But more than anything, having Michael has taught me about the great love that Heavenly Father has for His children. As I have prayed to remember daily that his is a child of God, and that my time with him is a privilege, I have gained insight as how to raise him and have had the ability to see what great potential he has. If I as a mortal can feel so much love for my sweet little son, I can only imagine how much our Heavenly Father loves us as His children. Having Michael has also taught me how much Heavenly Father wants us to ask Him for help. As Michael’s communication skills have started to develop I have been so happy when he has been able to ask me for what he needs, our Heavenly Father feels the same way, He wants us to communicate with him, and prayer is how we are able to do that. In addition to teaching me more about prayer, having Michael has taught me about the Atonement. Now I cannot imagine life without my son, I cannot imagine giving him up, or knowingly allow him to be hurt or suffer, I could not fathom a parent’s love until I was one, but Heavenly Father allowed his son to suffer tremendous pain and be sacrificed so that we could be saved. This truly is the best gift we have been given, how wonderful this gift is! 

So on this lovely Sunday evening, this is my testimony: I know that Heavenly Father lives, loves us, and is mindful of His children and their needs. I know He listens to our prayers, even if we are praying not to go crazy because there are smashed blueberries on the floor… again, and I know He answers prayers, even if the answer isn’t what we were hoping for or on our timetable. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and through the Atonement we can repent and return to live with our Heavenly Father again. I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth and I know that the Book of Mormon is true and was written for us! I know that as we strive to live the teachings of the gospel we can lead happy purpose driven lives and return to to live with our Heavenly Father again. 

11 Months

 My sweet Mr. Michael is almost 1, yesterday marked 11 months since he joined our family, I cannot believe that he is so big so fast! I thought it was time to document his 11 months because before we know it he will be off to kindergarten, then off to BYU, and then back from his mission! Ok I might be getting ahead of myself, but still time is going so fast, what happened to that little dude we brought home less than one year ago!

Ok what is Mr. Michael like today?

-he is BUSY! while he isnt walking yet, he has started "cruising" and he is an expert crawler- to say he is fast is an understatement. He is into everything, and loving every minute of it! We have a joke that he thinks to himself, "what is the craziest thing I can do?" and then does that.

-he still loves baths, i think this is going to be a lifelong thing (or at least I hope so). In addition to baths, he adores the swimming pool. He cries when it is time to go and is not detered when the water is a little bit chily. We got him a life vest (because I am a paranoid mother) because he likes to dunk his face, really no fear.

-he has started to try cow's milk (just a sip or two) and he isnt a fan. I would guess that would change because he loves yogurt, cheese, ice cream, cottage cheese, and pudding (although he rarely gets ice cream or pudding). For now he looks at me like "mom, milk doenst come from the fridge and it certainly isnt supposed to be cold".

-he sleeps though the night! I havent blogged about this for fear I would jinx things (if you had been woken up in the middle of the night for 10 months you would be cautious too). It was rough going at first but I think at this point it is a habit, trust me I am still doing a happy dance about this, every morning that I wake up before him is a wonderful wonderful day!

-Michael is a tummy sleeper, since I am a tummy sleeper I totally approve, but this kid will not sleep on his back anymore. Sometimes he sleeps in a kneeling with his bum in the air, whatever works I guess


-naps are still a struggle, but dont worry I am starting to win more often. Sometimes he plays in his crib, drops the blankets out and stands up for the whole time, and sometimes he gives in and gets a few winks in.

-he still LOVES books, he loves the ones that have something to touch, and continues to think that turning the pages is one of the great pleasures in life.

-he loves people food, baby food is mostly a thing of the past at our house, his few teeth have been put to good use. He will take baby food when it is the only option, but as soon as someone else has something else he is done with it.

- he babbles all day long every day, his aunt diana says he sounds like a little alien, whatever the sound is i think he is adorable.

-he loves to give kisses (when he wants to), he doesnt understand exactly how to do it so usually you end up with a face full of drool, but the idea that he is learning that is a sign of affection is adorable.

-he can crawl over and climb up into your lap when he "needs" some cuddles. this is great unless you are trying to do something that you cant hold him while doing.

-he loves to pull everything out of the cabinet and rub metal against the tile floor, it makes an awful sound but he loves it.

-he is getting his top two teeth. He already has the bottom two, but the tops are comping in, he will be thrilled to take a bite out of everything.

-he still thinks "a told b" is so funny

-he loves little cars and since his cousins were here he understands how to roll them on the floor.

-he loves music, not NPR, but we'll work on it.

-he loves spicy foods, he likes things spicier than Brian does, doesnt seem to phase him in the least

-he still loves yogurt, there are few foods that he likes more. He also loves refried beans and rice, let's just say finding something for him to eat at Chiloso (a mexican(ish) place we love) is not a problem, getting something to eat after he finds out that you have his favorite food is however.

-Michael is a daredevil, he loves to fall back, attempt to jump out of our arms, or find any elevated surface to "leap" off of. I dont know how to cure him of this, but I see a visit to the ER for stitches sometime in his childhood.

The Relatives Came: Part 4

I dont think I got all the photos from Diana of the trip, but here are just a few more to document that everyone actually stayed until Wednesday. 

We had some tasty dinners while everyone was here. The credit should all go to Diana, she planned the dinners, directed us what to buy, and then cooked. Who could ask for a better sister  in law and house guest, seriously awesome. We didnt take a photo of our yummy texas bbq with ribs and some other yummy fixins' so we will have to imagine that burger night was really that. The kids actually ate hamburgers, their parents said this is unusual, I say blame it on the heat, humidity, and swimming, after a day in the sun even the most stubborn eaters need a good dinner. 

Jared was determined to find some yummy places to eat while he was here, and  have to say thanks, because we found two that I want to visit again. The first place was Boots Burger and it was great, but I think the next was even better (even though I only had the leftovers). He found a hole in the wall pizza place called "Good Fellas" out by our house and let's just say their pizza was tasty- yummy thin crust and great fresh toppings, and their garlic bread with marinara sauce was a favorite, we will be going back. Jared thought this pizza slice was so funny, apparently they didnt cut it right since the slice was as big as his face. 

We did swim the last few days, but I guess I didnt get photos of that. The kids also had plenty of time to play, which meant that Michael had plenty of time to get used to kids playing with his toys, taking his toys, and playing rough. All this "trauma" was great for him, let's face it, he is an only child that is cuddled quite a bit, a little roughhousing is good for him. He was pretty patient the first few days, but by Sunday he was tired of getting crushed, pushed, and smothered. Let's just say that despite his obvious frustration and impatience by the end, he was missing these little guys when they went home. He did learn a few lessons by the end, and I have to admit I saw him crawl over Ben more than once, oh not to be the smallest one! Lucky for him, Ben is used to this and just laughed at him. We will have to go visit again soon, before too long they better watch out he might just be bigger than them!

See what I mean, crushed! We did save him, and in all honestly he was laughing in this picture. 

We made one final stop at Chiloso before they left (literally on the way to the airport). I think we have two more Chiloso converts, sadly they cant actually eat it, but dont worry we will eat enough for them. I let Michael try my food (which in fairness was pretty spicy) and he loved his, he ended up eating 2/3 of it (over 2 days). I guess it is safe to say that all that Chiloso I ate while I was pregnant didnt deter him from spicy(ish) Tex Mex. 

Here's where the story gets good, remember how it was sunny in the Chiloso photo? well that changed... fast. Everything was peachy when "the relatives" left us. They left early, had everything, and knew how to get where they were going... but then they got a flat tire in their rental car, couldnt change the tire because it was too dangerous, ran across the road to catch a cab (with luggage and 4 kids under 8) and abandoned the rental car, and then got delayed and stuck on the tarmac for MULTIPLE hours because of an awful awful storm. Yeah... pretty much it was the trip home from you know where, but they are really really patient and easy going people and have 4 AWESOME kids so things went ok, let's just say there might have been a few dozen prayers offered during their trip home. 

Thanks for coming guys, we miss you already!!!!!!!!

Before the Relatives Came

Before the relatives came (so this post should have actually come first, but I was lazy), Poppy came to visit us. Since he was here over memorial day weekend we had a flag in the yard, and since he loves flags we had to take a few photos of Mikey and Poppy and the flag. Sadly I didnt take any good photos, but we'll see him soon and try again. 

Poppy laughed a lot at Mikey pointing to the flag, this picture is blurry so it's hard to get the full effect. 

 Mikey was a little bit nervous about the flag at first

 but then he decided that since Poppy was ok with it he could be too.

 Mikey is a fan of Poppy, not like the warm up to him kind of fan, the right off the bat kind of friends fan. Mikey has been a fan of Poppy since day 1, well to be exact, day 3 but who's counting. Poppy was the only one who could get him to sleep at first, now he sleeps on his own, but he still loves Poppy (dont worry he loves Grammy too, but she wasnt here).

 Laughing at Poppy, secretly saying to himself, "who is this crazy guy?"

 What did I tell you, loves him.

 No really

 Auntie Em is dying of jealousy at this point, but no worries, there will be an entire summer of her and  Mikey, she will be his favorite.

The Relatives Came: Part 3 (Michael's first 1st birthday party)

We needed a good cousin photo so we thought what would be better than a red quilt, a fence, and some Texas tshirts. Getting the kids to cooperate was a little bit tough, but hey you work with what you have.

Because Michael is turning 1 next month and his cousins wont be here, his lovely Aunt Diana decided we needed to have a party early. Since this is my first child and I am not a party person I didnt know what to do, but with a little bit of coaching I caught on. We decided to make a sandbox cake, because Michael loves his sandbox, and the idea of a chocolate cake, pudding, and mint cookie trifle sounded good to the grownups.

Look at that adorable cake! We made "mini" cakes for the cousins, and cakes without "sand" (crushed vanilla wafers) for the grown ups. We had to add in a few grasshopper cookies because like his dad and other members of his dad's family, Michael is a huge fan of chocolate and mint (yeah this wasnt his first taste of sugar, although it isnt like he has had much)

He was confused at first.

He wanted the little rake, because he loves sand toys

the candle confused him.

He loved the fork

and the singing. Jake helped him blow out the candle

Then it was time to go for it, but he was confused.

still unsure about what to do, he has lived in my clean house too long.

finally going for it.

still a little bit apprehensive

pulling out the candle

more interested in the candle than the cake, but in fairness he didnt know there was a tasty treat beneath the "sand".

I stuck his hand in, he was nervous about the mess.

He tried a cookie and then he was on board, because he loves those cookies

going for more

A thunderstorm started to develop while we were having a party. We were getting nervous (though not as nervous as we were when the storm developed the day everyone flew home).

I gave him a bite, you know to encourage him to dig in.

He got the message, those his dexterity with the dork is somewhat limited.

confused again, turning 1 is hard business.

"hey look I'm 1!"

Yay for turning 1, yeah I know which finger that is, you try and get him to use another one.

Another tasty bite

The cousins liked their treats too

Yeah even jake

Finally making a mess of things

he did fling that at someone

a bite in the mouth, yay!

look at this messy dude!

Al liked her's too. Al is getting so big, I cant even believe it, I remember going to her 1 year old party

Yeah we are shocked his is almost 1!

No just kidding we are happy about it

Sweet guy

love the smile with just the two teeth. Fyi the top teeth are coming in now.

Happy (early) Birthday sweet Mike.

let's just say after this rake was cleaned and put in the sandbox he tried to do the same thing with it, apparently to Michael, sand and chocolate taste similar.

For those grandparents and Aunt to missed this event, dont worry there is a video that will be posted, plus he isnt actually 1 yet, we'll have another party.