March Madness

A few random shots from March that I liked and didn't post...

Cherry Blossom Festival 2008

Yesterday we took Carrie to see the world renowned National Cherry Blossom Festival. It was her first time on a Metro and it was PACKED, and then there were hundreds of thousands of people in DC for the opening of the festival, a kite flying tournament, soccer competitions, rugby games, and a marthon. I've never seen so many people there at one time. The blossoms were in full bloom and looked gorgeous. Calvin missed the whole thing, sleeping in his stroller, but the rest of us had a great time. It was really the perfect year to go.

continued...

Barbie EXTREME

So I mentioned on my Easter post that Lindsey, Ariana, and Carrie spent the weekend playing EXTREME Barbie and they even made a little video of their Barbie mutilation efforts. The girls filmed, edited, and posted the video on YouTube. It turned out surprisingly adorable. I have the best nieces and sister. Good job girls!

Check it out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=73Szhl5jLg4

Spring Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago we took Calvin to Kiddie Kandids to get professional photos for Spring (We couldn't post them before now because they were Easter gifts, and sneaky grandparents would have downloaded them early). Overall it was a bad experience, but we ended up with a couple of good shots. The photographer was horrible. She was rude, dumb, and unprofessional. She kept yanking Calvin's arms to position him, banging on the wooden platform to try and get his attention but it scared him instead, she would sit DOWN on the ground and make noises, and then get mad at him for not looking UP at the camera, and every time he smiled, she didn't take the picture. I'm not sure what she was waiting for on shots, but after 45 minutes of her Calvin had had enough. She was a nightmare.

Luckily for them, they had a good sales girl. She showed me different borders and different options for printing out the few good shots. I guess in the end as long as they make their sale, they don't care that their employees are dreadful. Maybe I'm the sucker since I ended up buying a $120 picture package just so I could have the CD containing 6 digital images. Apparently you can't buy JUST the CD. God bless capitalism. I always appreciate paying a premium for the worst possible service. In the end though, it was about getting some fun shots of Calvin to capture this age, and I think we succeeded in that.

End of an Era

Today I submitted my letter of resignation after almost four years of working with my company. For a lot of people the decision to maintain a career or to be a stay at home mom is a clear-cut, easy decision, but for me it was a rough one. I have invested a life-time in education and worked hard to get to the top of the game in my career. I have had some lucky breaks along the way, but mostly it has been a lot of hard work and emotional investment. I also work with the most amazing people in the whole world. Walking away from that feels like losing a large part of my identity.

But then when I leave for work in the morning and Calvin clings to my neck and gives me one of his big open-mouthed kisses, it breaks my heart to leave him. For a while I have explored the option of doing both, but at the end of the day something's always gotta give, and knowing myself, it would be my family that has to make way. After Andy and I have gone over and over this, I realized that I'm ready for this new adventure. I'm ready to read stories, play with bugs while lying barefoot in the grass, make peanut butter sandwiches, change diapers, and wash dirty faces.

I've come to realize that I'm not wasting my education or losing my edge on the world, I'm just slowing down and enjoying the opportunity to pass it all on to someone who is more curious and eager to learn than any adult I've ever encountered. My manager took it much as I had expected. She said that as a manager she wants to scream and tell me not to go, but as a woman she's thrilled about my choice and excited about the opportunities. She let me know that I was always welcome to come back, or that if I never did, I could always know that I went out while I was on top. I loved being on top of that world, but I feel a sense of excitement (and apprehension) about moving on to bigger and better things in a whole new world.

For better or worse, Calvin, I'm all yours!

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter weekend at Andy's brother Danny and Sister-in-law Annette's home, and we had a fantastic time. We played Rock Band, watched movies, drove scooters and big wheels, played "Extreme Barbie" (where Barbies became involved in dangerous activities, and many were even decapitated), tried out a new church with rapping and live donkeys, ate 10 tons of food, opened presents, colored eggs, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a lot of fun, and we can't thank Danny and Annette enough for their patience and hospitality. It was sad to leave and come back to real life.

Now with that said, please sit back and enjoy the show!

Tagged

So, apparently when you get "Tagged" it means you answer all of the same questions as the person who tagged you. Since my sister thought it was a good idea to tag me on her blog, I will answer her questions. JUST THIS ONCE. I'm supposed to Tag someone else, but I don't really hang with blogging people, so just enjoy this intrusive look into my head.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

• Living in Jerusalem with my family
• Sophomore year of college
• Winter trip to Italy with a group of friends
• My sister Ruthie got married
• Who knows what else? That was so long ago!
  

5 things on my to do list:

• Renew my Passport
• Finish decorating the nursery
• Organize my work inbox (I have 3582 emails - I haven't organized it since leaving on maternity leave 5 months ago)
• Put up baseboards in the kitchen
• Mop the Floor

5 snacks I enjoy:

• Brownies
• Strawberry-Banana-Pineapple Smoothies
• Carrie's Concoctions
• Fondue
• Sorbet
  

5 places I've lived:

• Jersualem (Study abroad)
• Berlin (Mission)
• Northern VA (Home for the last 3.5 years)
• Provo/Orem, UT (Home in my heart)

5 things I would do if I became a Billionaire:

• Pay off our house
• Pay off my parent's/siblings/in-laws homes
• Donate to Charity
• Andy and I would quit our jobs and write the novels we always talk about writing
• TRAVEL

5 bad habits:

• Eating too much sugar
• Putting off exercising until tomorrow
• Procrastinating
• Being negative
• Road Rage (I learned it from Andy)
  

5 jobs I've had:

• Cook/Waitress - Ricardo's Mexican Restaurant
• Media Lab Expert - BYU McKay Building
• Deli Isle Stocker - Macey's Sack-N'-Save
• Certification Database Peon and Manager - Novell, Inc.
• Admin, PM, Account Manager - SBS

5 things people don't know about me:

• I ran track in high school and won several meets for the 1600, 400, and 4X400. Running was my thing since the rest of my family was amazing at sports and I was just okay.
• I wish I had been brave enough to try dancing as a child. I always envy dancers. As an adult I have taken clogging, salsa, belly dancing, and ballroom. I wish I had gotten an earlier start.
• The best pet I ever had was a huge iguana named Ike. I would let him run around my bedroom, and sometimes the whole house. He would climb the bricks on the fireplace and hang from the top of the wall. When I let him play in the grass, he would sometimes escape through the gaps in the chain link, and I still can't figure out how he fit. He was the best pet ever. Just recently my mom told me that she thought he was skeevy and hated when I let him run around the house because they are such big carriers of salmonilla. I cried for a week when we died.
• I would give anything to have a small cute face with high cheekbones so that I could have a pixie haircut and dark brown hair.
• I'm terrified of heights. Even step ladders make me very nervous.

Happy Birthday Mariah!

Mariah is the very best kind of sister. She is laid-back and mellow. We have only ever had one fight in our lives - and that was a stupid one over armpits. She would do anything for anyone and is sweet and kind. She also has a naughty side that is hilarious. I miss her a lot and wish I lived closer to her. I feel very grateful that she is my sister. Plus, she is hot, so whenever we used to hang out, guys would totally check us out. Happy Birthday, Riah!

Funny Boy

Calvin has started doing this funny thing with his lips. He does it ALL the time and it makes me laugh. See the video below and turn up the sound.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My family has just enough Irish in us that we were required to sing Irish ballads every time we visited grandma, we get teary-eyed at the sound of bagpipes, and Conan O'Brien's visits to the homeland make for mandatory t.v. viewing. It's kind of a fun heritage because there is so much Irish national pride, and we are happy to take part in a small piece of that.

Growing up my mom would celebrate St. Patrick's Day with meals of Irish Stews and green Kool-aid. She encouraged Leprechaun hunts and we received prizes if we spotted one. Needless to say, it's one of my favorite holidays.

Today Carrie and I did our best to celebrate. We dyed dinner green and made our own Shamrock Shakes. We dressed up in green, but Calvin was just a wee bit small to be sending outside to look for leprechauns. We had a good time though and appreciated once again how much our sweet mother has always done to make our holidays magical.

We couldn't dye Calvin's sweet potatoes green. He didn't even eat them - just blew bubbles and made a mess.
It looks nasty, I realize, but it tasted good. We had green rice, green southwest chicken, green beans, and a green peppermint shake with a dollop of hot fudge sauce.
Carrie and Calvin looking great in green.
More cute Carrie and Calvin.
Carrie pretending to like my cooking.

He's Sitting!

Tonight as I was playing with Calvin, he was sitting against my legs playing with some toys for several minutes before I realized he was sitting up on his own. I pulled back to see how long he could stay up by himself, and with absolutely no help he stayed up for 11 minutes! After that, he was a pro. He was sitting up on his own playing with toys and was even able to catch himself when he lost his balance. Eventually he got tired of sitting up and toppled over, but it was amazing. Until this morning he hadn't shown any inclination to balance on his own, and then all of a sudden this evening he acts like he has been doing it for weeks. We are so proud of him!

Baseball Boy

Today was warm enough to try out this adorable outfit we received from Auntie Rebekah. His noggin is a bit too big for the hat, but the outfit fits smashingly. It's a perfect combination really, since we are looking for him to have a big brain and an athletic body. It's too cute. Thanks Bek!

Calendar Worthy They Are Not

I have this friend who does close-ups on her baby that look amazing. Somehow she is very artsy and her kid always looks like he's straight out of an Anne Geddes calendar (or better. I'm not a huge AG fan). I took a stab at it, but mine don't come anywhere close to hers. Oh well, he's a cute kid nonetheless. I'll just keep practicing and looking to Holly for inspiration.

(I love his funky little eyebrows and ultra-long lashes)

Rock Band

I would venture to say that Rock Band is one of the best inventions of all time. And now that we own a Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, an X-box, a Game Cube, a Wii, and a PS3 I would say that I am a semi-reliable expert in this area. I'm not a gamer at all as Andy will tell you. I don't hate games, I'd just usually rather be doing other things. Rock Band, however, is fantastic. You set up your own band members - we are Max, Emmy, and Ginger. Max is ultra sexy with a tight white wife-beater stretched over his massive biceps and spikey white hair towering over his perfectly chiseled facial features, while I opted for a denim mini-skirt and bright green dreds.

But the fun really gets started when your band goes on tour. We try to mix things up from time to time, but ultimately we each know our place: Andy on drums, Carrie on guitar, and I happen to be the lead singer. The best part is I couldn't carry a tune if my life depended on it, but I can get a perfect score just by staying with the rhythm and being able to read. I suck on the instruments. We have only had it for about a week, and we essentially neglect the boy when we play, but it is a lot more fun than any of us could have imagined. I highly recommend trying it out. Come to our place if you'd like - we totally need a bass player.

Carrie jamming hardcore, multi-tasking with our own little groupie.

Andy is our bad-A drummer. They say all girls are into musicians and rockers, but this is the first time I've been into that. He's honestly kind of sexy when he gets his groove on.

BLOG

Andy: I hate the word "blog". It sounds like something a caveman would call a handy rock for bashing in deer skulls.

I love my husband.

Calvin, He is a Changin'

****** 1 Month Old ******

******4 Months Old ******

I got this idea off of the Martha Stewart Show (back when I was on maternity leave and had lots of tv viewing time on my hands) where you buy a 12 month onesie, and then take a picture of your baby every month in the same onesie so that you can watch how much they grow over their first year. Last night I was organizing some pictures and was amazed at how much Calvin has grown. I can't believe how much four months will do for a kid.

Spring Has Sprung...

I was so happy this week to turn into our driveway and see that we had our first flowers of the season popping up all over the yard. I love flowers, Easter, and rain showers. I love everything about spring. Welcome, long lost Friend!

My First Passport

Today we went to get pictures for passports so that we can get Calvin one in case we go to Australia, and so that Carrie and I could get renewals for Israel and Australia. We waited patiently in line at Costco, and right when it was our turn, Calvin did a big chunky spit-up all over himself, me, and the floor. Maybe he was nervous. They ended up re-taking the picture five times because he was looking everywhere but at the camera. This is what we finally ended up with. These shots made me laugh. He looks like a hardened criminal, just daring immigration officials to mess with him. I hope they let us keep him.

Museum of Natural History

We had Carrie make a list of things she wanted to do while she was living out here, and today we finally crossed off the first (and smallest) item on the list. We went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Traffic was bad, it was raining, the parking meter would only register a nickel for every 3 minutes (that's a LOT of nickels for 2 hours), and a street vendor and a trombone player were having a cussing match, but once we got there it was a lot of fun. I learn something new everytime I go there, and I think Carrie had a great time.

Carrie getting trampled by a 12-ton elephant.

Mr. Elephant's leg bone.

Mamas and their baby pouches.

A Good Night's Sleep

Last night when we put Calvin in his bed, he didn't even cry, he went straight to sleep. He slept from 10:30 - 4:30, and then after I fed him, he went to sleep until 8:00am. It was like a dream come true. The doctor said not to feed him AT ALL during the night because he needs to learn to eat a lot at bedtime and a lot for breakfast instead, but I think that's just mean. Why would you go from feeding a kid every 2-3 hours, and then force him to go 7 or so hours without eating?

The first week of crib training was one of the very worst of my life. I hate listening to him scream, knowing that I could just pick him up and make it better. But then today for naps he was great and then when we put him in his crib tonight, he went to sleep in 3 minutes. He's really gotten the hang of this bedtime thing. He seems to be happier and more talkative lately, so I can only assume that having him on a schedule is working miracles.