Last Day!

It is the last day of 2008. It is also the last day I will be a part of corporate America. I'm just wrapping up a couple things to hopefully make it is easier for my successors, but I'm pretty much all done.
I won't pretend I'm not completely thrilled. It's been a wonderful job, and I have nothing but nice things to say about Omniture. But it's also been a huge source of stress and a huge burden. Lori and I have talked about the pain of being a WAHM (that's Work-At-Home-Mom)- you can' feel like a good employee because you spend too much time focusing on your baby, and you can't feel like a good mommy because you spend too much time focusing on your job. No matter what you do, you fail. "No man can serve two masters" I guess.
It has always been my goal to be a stay-at-home mom. I've never been interested in permanent career life. I've known many admirable women who either by choice or obligation have worked after having kids- my mom was one of them and she did a great job of being both an employee and a mom. But then, I think she likes being busy. She's a very productive woman. I'll admit, I like my life a little slower than that. I get easily overwhelmed.
When I married Kenny, I knew there would be both advantages and disadvantages to being married to a school teacher. The last 2 weeks have been great, I LOVE that he gets to spend holidays and summers with his family. But living off just a school teacher's salary will be difficult- neither of us have any delusions about that. Fortunately for both of us, neither of us are big spenders. I would never have quit until we had proved we could live off of just his salary- my last 6 or so paycheck have gone straight to savings, so we're in decent shape.

So anyways, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and we're very happy (all three of us, and Lucy too). Like, I don't know when I've felt more relieved.
I wonder how long it will be before I stop dreaming about how to track website info using javascript.

P.S. If anyone knows a techy person in Utah valley looking for a job, Omniture is a wonderful place to work!

BTW, I will be mailing away my cell phone back to work this week, so if you have my cell phone number (801-471-4658) you will need to change it to my home number (281-two five one-two four zero seven). You can always call Kenny's cell to get me too (which is t-mobile, if that makes a difference- 801-four seven one-four six five six).

Sub for santa

There have been a LOT of lay-offs in our ward recently and a lot of families are having hard times, financially. So our Relief Society presidency decided to do a Giving Tree/"Sub For Santa"- a tree with ornaments that has the name and christmas wish list for one member of our ward. In the end we had 30 ornaments (for 30 people- 5 families in our ward and 2 large families in a neighboring ward).

I was in charge of making the ornaments and collecting the gifts. People had from December 5th to December 21st to buy the stuff and get it to me.

First, I am amazed that everyone got their gifts back to me by the deadline on Sunday, with no reminders, no phone calls. That alone is a christmas miracle.

Second, the generosity was truly incredible. Our whole house was covered in Christmas presents. Each person on our tree got at least 4-5 gifts, in some cases as many as 15! Skateboards, church suits, DVD players, 100 dollar gift certificates... all for anonymous strangers in need. Even though it was a huge hassle, I'm so glad I was involved and got to see what goes on behind the scenes in our ward at christmas time. It was very touching.

PS I have the most wonderful husband in the world, he helped wrap the presents for 3-4 hours while I went on and off client calls. Hooray for Kenny, Husband to the Relief Society Secretary.

Someday I'll blog for real again

But for now, have more Daniel giggles (this time with video not just audio)


Yeah, sometimes I eat babies. They taste yummy.

Tis the season to be jolly and joyous

Fa la la!


You can't tell me that doofy, goofy grin didn't make you crack a smile:)
And my new siggy for the month:

Things I like

So in the last month, I've found a few new things on the internet that I love enough, I just have to share:

Motionbox.com-
This is actually an old client of mine I had completely forgotten about until recently. It's like youtube- you can upload and share films. But it's better, because you can actually EDIT the film ONLINE. You can even mix them- upload 5 videos and cut out pieces of each and make a new ubervideo, then share it. Since most of my baby videos are long and boring with short spurts of cute, this is a huge bonus. I find it very user-friendly too.

Mint.com-
K, I know it sounds sketchy but hang in there: this is a site where you can view all of your online financial accounts together- and it's free (think quicken, but online and free). So I can see my bank account, mortgage loan, student loan, brokerage account and credit card all in one place. You can have it send weekly emails summarizing ALL your finances together. It even sorts it for you into categories (for instance, groceries vs. utilities vs. entertainment) to make budgeting easier- and it will tell you "you've spent 60% of your monthly allotted budget for groceries" or "you've spent 20 dollars more on utilities this month than last month". It has nifty graphs and charts. You can set up alerts, too (which is really handy)- for instance: send me an email whenever my checking account gets below ___ dollars. It will also notify you of any banking fees that come through. It makes its money by having suggestions/ads on some screen letting you know where you could bank cheaper/with better rates- not intrusive and actually kind of helpful.
Here is where I sound sketchy but I promise it's not: to get it set up, you need only give it your online sign-ins and passwords for your accounts- no account numbers, routing numbers, nothing like that. It uses your sign on information once to find your account, then dumps it once it's established the account (so no, there is no hackable database out there storing ALL my personal sign-in info together). It is read-only- you can't transfer or withdraw money, or even get an account number off of it. It doesn't store any of your personal information- no SSN, no address- so in that way, it's safer than a lot of online banks if someone does happen to get your mint.com logon info. It's been recommended by PC World, PC magazine, it's backed by Verisign and TrustE... so yeah, GREAT free tool.

Gmail-
k, I know this is old news now. But I love the new themes and the options from the labs- I now have a pretty skin, tasks, calendar, news forecast... all on my gmail screen. Very nifty.

ChaCha
"The Human Search Engine". You can text from your phone (242-242- it spells "chacha") any question and a human will receive it and research it for you. For FREE! For instance, while on a long drive, you get in an argument with your husband about the name of an actor in a movie, you can text "who is the guy that plays Smee in Hook?" and some stay-at-home mom or starving college student will look it up for you and text back as soon as they find the answer (almost always within 3 minutes). It's true just texting google can give you an address... but chacha can give you human directions. They make their money by attaching tiny little ads at the end of their responses.
I'm a chacha guide (question answerer), I make a whole 20 cents each time I answer someone's question. General Conference was fun, I got a lot of LDS questions- "Where does Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis's accent come from?" (brazil-born with scottish parents). So next time you have a nagging question but no access to a computer, text Chacha.

Goodreads.com
Great way to keep track of books you've read or want to read, review them, and compare to your friends and see their reviews. If you're on there, find me- just use my gmail address.

Hi there

Not too much to share this week. We are feeling completely better from what I've now concluded was the flu. Works has been overwhelming- I'd say this last month of my life has been perhaps the hardest. Not the worst, just the hardest. I've definitely grown a lot from stretching so much, if that makes sense.
I'm still playing with and LOVE my new camera. Recent pics:


Daniel and Santa Clause at the church Christmas social the other night(I wasn't there to see the santa, I was getting ready to perform O Holy Night in the other room*, but check out our awesome santa). Daniel was exhausted so this was the best we got:


Our christmas tree is up:

From December 2008

Also, tons of videos up on youtube now (mostly for my mother's sake... they aren't anything too exciting, just Daniel being his adorable self).

*which I failed spectacularly, by the way. It was my first time playing harp/singing at the same time. Unfortunately the mic set up wasn't great, the mic was on my right but the sheet music was on the left. I was trying to sing into the mic so I wasn't looking at my music and I lost my spot really bad- had to retry a measure in the middle FOUR times. Eh, well, it was just church, right? I am happy with how my voice sounded at least, even if the performance stank.
I actually had a bunch of people tell me today they liked my imperfect performance, they can tell I'm not without talent and they appreciate that I didn't let it kill the rest of the song. And now a bunch of mommies want me to teach their kids how to harp.

Thanksgiving Break Pictures

Well, we survived. Kenny finally got feeling better yesterday, and I'm pretty sure any residual exhaustion has more to do with Daniel teething than with me being sick.
As discussed in my last post, here's our thanksgiving "Feast"- turkey sandwiches, potato chips, stove top stuffing, hawaiian sweet rolls, grape jello with marshmallows, pumpkin pie, and Martenellis.

Unfortunately, between the two of us we only managed to eat one sandwich, a few bites of stuffing, and some jello. I even managed a few bites of pie before we had to throw it out yesterday. Such a waste.

The good news is Daniel got lots of good Daddy time in over the break. He learned about the nintendo DS:



Played with daddy's face:

Watched daddy play Smash Brothers:

Danced:

And giggled:



and was otherwise stinking cute:

Grateful

The last few days have been some of the longest of my life. Kenny and I have been fighting off either the flu or food poisoning... without going into graphic details, I'll just say we've been sick. Very sick. Combine that with my inability to stay conscious while sick, and it's been an interesting few days (no passing out, fortunately, but only because I spent yesterday morning crawling rather than walking to and from the bathroom, nursery, and bed).
I'm feeling much much better today, just a little weak and empty. Kenny is still actively fighting whatever it is, poor guy. Oddly, this has really put a lot of things into perspective this thanksgiving. Things to be grateful for:

• A wonderful, smiley, and agreeable baby who has needed little to no attention for 2 days, even though he is teething. Honestly, I don't know how I would have gotten through the day if he had been like he was the day before.
• A good ward who helps us out and comes and gives a blessing at a moment's notice.
• The fact that we generally have wonderful health (this is the first time I've thrown up from a stomach bug since 1998)
  
• A kind sister-in-law who forgives us for canceling our thanksgiving plans with her at the last minute.
• With the help of the bug, I'm now the thinnest I've been in probably 2 years- down to 144, just below what I weighed at the end of my first trimester of pregnancy (I lost a lot of weight the 1st tri)
  
• The fact I was feeling well enough last night to finish up the last of the 6 pies I made for church, with one left over for us.
• The fact that neither of us is really bummed about missing out on Turkey. We're actually not big turkey fans.
• The fact my milk supply hasn't disappeared- Daniel still seems to be getting enough.
• A wonderful warm house (even if it is a disaster area at the moment) with a big comfy bath tub.
  

We have a wonderful memory to build this thanksgiving off of: 6 years ago (six!), Kenny and I were the only people left in our dorms over thanksgiving break at BYU- everyone else had gone home. We weren't dating or anything- while Kenny was interested, I was too busy pursuing relationships in all the wrong places. But I invited him over to my dorm for a thanksgiving "feast": turkey sandwiches, potato chips, and martinelli's sparkling cider (the cider is the most important part of thanksgiving for me). We then watched Maverick and played frisbee. It was our second "date" (our first date was to see a jazz band on campus, but apparently I talked about other guys the whole time... apparently that's a turn-off:)).
I think we both could agree that it's one of our best thanksgivings ever. If I had had ANY idea back then how Kenny and I would eventually marry and make a beautiful family together... it's just crazy to think about. How on earth could I have not known that he would be the love of my life? It boggles my mind. So that's my final thing I'm grateful for: my wonderful husband. 6 years later, we're eating turkey sandwiches (well, we will, once kenny's tummy calms down), potato chips and martinelli's, and I couldn't be happier with how things ended up (stomach bugs aside).

Here's a picture from almost exactly 3 years ago, just before kenny went home to CA for thanksgiving. We had been dating for all of 3 weeks and were falling madly in love:

Woohoo, new toy!

As a reward for working so much longer than we planned (more like "something to look forward to so I don't go insane), we've planned on getting me a new camera for a long time. The one I've been using is the one Kenny got for his mission in 2003- it was a dandy camera in it's time, but, well, it just isn't cutting it anymore.
This was taken with old camera, which had serious white balance issues:

And new camera (automatic settings):


We got a panasonic lumix LX3- it's a compact, can't change out lenses (though you can add filters and zoom lenses), it actually fits in my purse or Kenny's pocket... but it has a lot of really fancy options- really anything a beginning photographer could want. It was very highly reviewed everywhere online and is the perfect amount of camera for me. And it was just under the 400 dollar limit I had.

So now I'm trying my hand at photography. I've taken a billion pictures since the camera came on Friday- I'm literally bouncing around the house, quite giddy aabout it. Some favorites from the weekend:





It also records video, so when Daniel finally performs his crawl for me I can show it to the rest of the world.

I know what to get him for christmas!

So I was trying to nurse Daniel but he kept contorting and grabbing for the bag of Malt-o-meal Mini Spooners (read: Frosted Shredded Wheat), so I gave up and set him down, all frustrated. But on the floor, he was still reaching for the bag. Like, I was worried he would hurt himself trying to get to it up on my desk. So I sealed it up and handed it to him.

10 minutes later...


Ten more minutes...

Another ten minutes...



Honestly, it's like the best, most fascinating toy ever. He's been playing with it for 40 minutes now, no breaks, and still enjoying himself.
Enough so I couldn't get him to smile for the camera until he'd VERY THOROUGHLY investigated every inch of the bag- he refused to be distracted until just now:


Screw the gloworm, blocks, bouncy chair... I'm getting my son some malt-o-meal for christmas!

The big news

So, it's official: I'll be done working by the end of the year! When I originally got pregnant, the goal was to be done working shortly after the baby came. Then we decided to buy a house and move to Texas, so those plans got drawn out. Then it turns out Texas has AWFUL health benefits for teachers, so my dream of being a stay-at-home-mom got pushed back a little further. It didn't seem like we'd ever make it. I wasn't lying when I told folks at Omniture that as far as I knew, I was working indefinitely. It's been really hard. Like, soul-suckingly hard.
But we've scrimped and saved and proven we can live on a school teacher's salary. We have 4 months living expenses in savings. I've found a third party for health insurance (and we'll be paying a third of what we'd pay Kenny's school district- yay for ehealthinsurance.com!). I have every conceivable expense budgeted between now and December 2009, plus a huge buffer for unforeseen expenses, without dipping into savings.

So I let my boss know today that despite all of their flexibility and kindness, it's time for me to "just" be a mommy. It was hard, I got a little emotional, I really don't want to seem ungrateful for all he's done. I figured he must have known on some level this day would come- it just came sooner for us than I expected. He was more surprised than I thought he would be.
I know I shouldn't feel guilty for wanting to take care of my family, but Omniture has been a wonderful place to work and I do feel indebted to them for all of their flexibility- especially since in August they practically created a position specifically for me so that I could still use all my omni-knowledge and not have to worry about Daniel crying into client phone calls any. But still, 40 hours is 40 hours, and there just isn't enough time in the day for that AND mommying.

While I understand I've been VERY blessed that Omniture let me work remotely from Texas, then work from bed while on bedrest, then work with a little baby... there is a reason people don't bring babies to work. Working 40 hours a week while keeping a 2-7 month old happy and staying sane isn't easy. Kenny has been his wonderful helpful self with no complaints, doing the dishes and most of the cooking and excusing my messy desk and generally unshowered (and often un-fully-clothed) state, but the whole mess has given me a nervous twitch. I WANT to cook, to clean, to have time to do the laundry. I WANT nothing more than for Kenny to come home to a warm dinner and a clean home (or at least a cleaner home). Then he'll have time to focus on grading and lesson plans and I'll have time to be productive around the house and maybe even have hobbies again someday. I have two chapters of a novel that have been sitting on my computer since 2005, and a dozen more chapters in my head, plus my poor harp sits lonely and ignored, I haven't done any gardening at our home yet... so many things I want to do. I know there's no way I'll get to all of those things because the thing at the top of my list is being with Daniel:
Never again having to listen to him scream in the other room for over an hour because I'm on a call with a client and can't help him. Never having to set him on the floor and essentially ignore him for 6 hours because I'm troubleshooting javascript for someone. Never again typing an important email, while nursing, while sitting on a conference call, while IMing, all at the same time...

I have nothing negative to say about Omniture. Anyone looking for a job in Orem, UT who knows anything about web analytics or behavioral targeting, I can give you the hookups:). It's a fun place to work and the people are some of the nicest and smartest I've ever met. Especially after the horror that was my job at Heritage Web Solutions, it was SO nice to work for a company with products I am sincerely proud of. I've learned so much there (I wonder how long it will be before I stop interrupting the plot of my dreams because I have to figure out how to track my progress through the dream with javascript- seriously, it happens like once a week).

So, come December 31st, I am a full-time stay-at-home mom. Honestly, I feel like the biggest burden has been lifted from my shoulders. We are so blessed!

Here's Daniel in a too-large-but-still-cute coat expressing his joy:

From November 2008

Bound to make you smile

Whether you hate or love our new president-elect, this might put a smile on your face (you gotta watch at least a little past the first 25 seconds or so, that's when it gets good. Don't worry, it's not political at all, just funny):


You've been Barack-rolled:)

And if that failed to make you smile, here's Daniel and the return of the giggles!:

Things I've done

I've seen this on a few blogs and decided to steal it, as well. Here is a list of things to do in your lifetime (bolded are the ones I've done):
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Random Sad Story, we can help

So Margie had posted about a friend's baby on her blog, and I feel I need to do the same to spread the word about poor sweet baby Mia. From Mia's blog:
Baby Mia was born with a severe congenital heart defect and is in need of a new heart. The McDonalds have a job and insurance but after heart operations, and then a heart transplant, additional operations plus all the doctors and medicine and hospital time that this will require... it would financially destroy the best of us.
These are the kind of people that would never ask for help like this. That is why we are stepping in to ask on their behalf. This is what we propose: Donate a few dollars. Donate ONE dollar. It doesn't seem like much, but if you give one and then forward this on to others who donate one; well, one turns into a miracle. If you can afford to give more, please give what you can. Then, send this link to everyone you know and encourage them to make a donation and send it on to people they know. Ask yourself, "What is a heart worth, what is a life worth?"

Also, there is a quilt giveaway- you get an entry for spreading the word and more entries if you donate money. I'm not a spammy type, you won't ever find an email from me in your inbox asking you to "pass along", but this story touched me and I can't imagine what the family is going through. So please take a moment to consider helping this family out.

I... got tagged

Lori tagged me, so here goes:

I am - the luckiest girl in the world. Honestly, things just go well for me whether or not I merit it. I have no doubt I have one powerful guardian angel.

I want - to make the people around me happy, comfortable and loved.

I have - spent WAY too much time on the internet the last few weeks

I wish - there were more hours in the day

I dislike - Loud sounds and crowded hallways

I fear - being an annoyance to those around me

I hear - blessed silence. Daniel is sleeping, Lucy is sleeping, and the pesky chimney birds are quiet for once.

I search - for new ways to make Daniel smile every day

I wonder - how to make Kenny's students let him be the great teacher that he is. How do you teach someone who doesn't want to learn?

I always - go to bed before 10 pm these days. How lame are we?

I usually - make the bed just after I brush my teeth. That way, if the bed's not made, I know I haven't brushed my teeth either.

I am not - a self-confident person.

I dance - lamely. 'nough said.

I sing - all the time. "Baby Daniel, you're the one... you make ___ time so much fun!"

I never - go a day without saying and/or hearing "I love you" at least 20 times.

I rarely - do the dishes anymore. I just can't handle the floaties in the sink.

I cry - more often than I should but less than I used to.

I am not always - the most motivated person.;)

I lose - a year off my life for each month I continue working and being a mommy

I'm confused - about who to want as the next president. I really don't like either of them (though I did vote)

I need - more than 3 showers a week!

I should - do about 4 loads of laundry today and clean all the bathrooms

I dream - of writing a novel in the next year or so.

I love - my husband more than anything in the world.


K, so I'm now tagging Margie and Trina (seems like Lori already tagged everyone in my family). Just take the same prompts and fill-in-the-blank.

And because all posts need a picture- here's Daniel in a cute outfit from my mom:

From November 2008

Halloween!

Here's my sweet little man as a penguin:

From October 08

From October 08

I had bought black tights to cover the legs, but didn't have the heart to make him wear them. Trunk-or-treating at church was a lot of fun.
Before going trunk-or-treating, Kenny held a mariokart tournament at school with his students. I got to participate, it was a lot of fun. Kenny of course won (how embarrassing would it be to lose to your math teacher?)

I also created a new siggy for my pregnancy.org board:

More cute bath pictures here.

Tag, we're it

It would appear Daniel got tagged by Margie

Five things you may not know about Daniel:

From October 08

1) His hair is coming out to be the color that mine currently is- light brown with a little red. This is surprising, since I was a blond kid and Kenny had platinum hair as a kid.

2) He's one average sized baby. At his 6 month appt on Monday, he was 17.2 pounds and 25 inches long- 50th percentile for weight, height AND head size. At least he's proportionate

3) He still wakes up every morning at 5:30 am for a quick feeding. And if he happens to sleep in a little, my body wakes me up anyways.

4) He always sneezes when sunshine hits him.

5) He has a happy noise. I wish I could describe it. He's done it since he was 2 months or so. It sounds almost like a sneeze that doesn't involve the nose, if that makes sense. He makes that sound when we come get him from a nap and he's excited to see us, or when the dog comes and says hi, or when we do something funny that makes him happy.

Random post- Best Gifts ever

As christmas comes up, I've been thinking lots about gifts I've gotten over the years. Here are my favorite gifts ever:

If it counts as a gift, my engagement/wedding ring:

From Random Stuff

From Wedding

It's two seperate bands that kind of weave together, with the bottom band alternating between diamonds and saphires. Kenny and I found it together at Delusso's in provo (now out of business I think). Though we chose it together, Kenny surprised me by adding in the sapphires in the wedding band. It isn't the hugest diamond, but it suits me so perfectly. I can't picture a ring that is more "me". And of course, I love the significance of it:).

"My" concert harp:

From Young and Cute

This is an OLD picture (I think it's from my senior year of high school). This was a gift from both my parents and my Grandma Lola (who passed away in... 2003, I think). Concert harps are very expensive and I didn't think I'd ever get one, so I'd have to be content with my silly little folk harp which can really only play folk music. We searched a long time and even temporarily bought a few only to return them/sell them back. It's largely my fault, I didn't practice as much as I should and it would be hard to commit to such an expensive instrument when your punk teenager won't buckle down and practice.
Anyways, my senior year my mom found this beautiful french camac harp and combined funds with my grandma, herself a former concert violinist, and surprised me with this harp. I was so happy I literally cried.
The harp still lives at home in Washington with my parents, as a 6-foot, 90 lb, many-thousand-dollar instrument is just not very transportable and hardly suiting for the college lifestyle. I really hope now that we've settled down I can prove I deserve the harp again by practicing with my piddly little folk harp and maybe getting to the point I can give lessons.

Random gifts from Lori:

From Random Stuff

My sister Lori is the best gift-giver I know. She may not give you a gift for every occasion, but if she sees something that really suits you, she'll buy it, even if there is no real holiday or if it's more expensive than the standard gift. For instance, this bookend/sculpture of Rodin's "The Thinker" (it's one of a pair). She bought this for me sometime in High School at the beginning of my book obsession, I think as an early birthday present. I'm pretty sure it cost her 80 bucks or so from Barnes and Noble- that's a lot for a high school sibling gift:). Anyways, it's still one of my favorite things and I really appreciate her thoughtfulness. How she knew that eventually Rodin would be my favorite sculptor, I have no idea. Years later, I'd get to see the real "the Thinker" in person at my favorite Paris museum at Rodin's old house. Another good example of Lori's skill at gift giving: Kenny's "Retired Mario" gnome. Really, she had no reason to buy/paint this other than it was a perfect gift:

From June 08

K, I actually finished this post but as I think of it I have to come back and add one more:

From Baby Shower

My baby shower. My sister in law Candace was such a doll and gave me a baby shower while I was on bedrest and even made this adorable diaper cake. I know she put a lot of work into it, and I will always be so grateful that I got a shower with my first baby. They've done a lot for us but this takes the cake. I also appreciate all the near-strangers from church who came even though I didn't know them. It was really touching to feel so loved.

I'm sure there are many other gifts I should talk about, but these stand out and have a lot of meaning to me.

And since, as previously stated, I can't post anymore without a picture of Daniel, here is him in a new little sailor outfit my mom sent us. Kenny says I could only let him wear it once (he seems to think poor Daniel was quite embarrassed by it):

From October 08	From October 08

6 months!

My little baby had his half-a-birthday yesterday! I can't believe it's been six months!

My little man now rolls both ways, sits without any support, stands, sucks on his feet, says "mommommommommommom", eats real food... he's so grown up! It's been fun looking through his old pictures and seeing the little changes in his face.



I know it's so cliche to get teary-eyed and mumble about "my little baby is so grown up" but really, it does me get teary-eyed. He's growing so fast! He's such a smiley little boy- even if his smiles are a little doofy sometimes, I wouldn't have him any other way, because you can't help but smile along with him.

These 6 months have been hard, I won't lie. I've never been so tired. I'm only just now to the point that I consider myself fully healed from labor (you don't want the details). Even though I am now 7 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, I own about 4 shirts that fit right (not counting my frumpy work t-shirts) and I'll admit that I still wear my maternity jeans. I've lost probably two thirds of my hair down the shower drain as my hormone levels go back to normal (fortunately I had more than enough to begin with). I have stretch marks on my chest and the silly linea negre line on my belly won't go away. My right arm has become significantly beefier than my left (if "beefy" is an adjective that could ever be applied to me) because I tend to hold him in my right. I've changed probably 1000 diapers by now and spent about 400 hours breastfeeding. I've been pooped on, peed on, barfed on, sucked on, and bitten on a daily basis.

And it has all been SO WORTH IT. I already can't imagine living without him. Our family feels whole and he's brought so much love into our home. I can't wait to see him grow up but at the same time I already miss my tiny little man who did nothing but sleep:).
Daniel, thanks for a wonderful 6 months!

It's all happening at the zoo

We finally got to the zoo today! They had a halloween thing going on, called "Zoo boo" where little kids could come dressed up and they had halloweeny things every where. It was as fun to see the costumes as it was to see the animals.
Daniel didn't have a costume, per se, though we like to say he went dressed as bumblebee mario:

From October 08

Actually, that's one of the cute new (to us) outfits we got from Kevin and Candace. And that picture was pretty indicative of how much Daniel enjoyed the zoo: he slept through most of it:)
We did get a couple pictures of me with an awake Daniel at the elephants- one of the few pictures in the last few months of him and me together. I'm not feeling my most glamorous these days and am a bit camera shy, but Daniel's cuteness makes up for it:

From October 08

Aside from kids in costumes, the zoo really wasn't all that different, other than some animals had jack-o-lanterns to play with (though now looking at this pic, it looks like the giraffe has a jack-o-lantern for a head):

From October 08

The Houston zoo is alright, though in my mind nothing compares to the Portland zoo. We do think it's a step up from the Hogle Zoo in SLC though. Someday we'll move back up to the NW and have Portland Zoo memberships.
We're excited for halloween! My mom sent this adorable halloween outfit:

From October 08

Our ward is having a trunk-or-treat at the church so we'll actually have reason to dress up. I have no idea what I'll be, though Daniel will be a penguin (see previous post) and Kenny will probably be Dr. Mario again. Let me know if you have any good ideas for what I can be.