cleaning out the garage

Before leaving Franklin, my mom had me go through all of my bins (12+) to reorganize, downsize, and label. I took pictures of the things I wanted to remember but didn't want to keep. Here are a few of those things.

Lamb Care Bear

...with a melted eye.

My Little Pony

I once thought pink hair and mint green were a killer color combo.

Another Example

Troll

I once thought that face was the cutest face I'd ever seen. 

Cabbage Patch Kid

I once wished I looked like this...

 My First Doll

I think she's a girl. The yellow hooded onesie is ambiguous.

 Clay Pizza

Of course. What else would I have made when I could make ANYTHING?

 New Kids on The Block/Fanny Pack

Double cool.

Painted Noodle Frame with Picture of Myself

I went to grade school. What can I say?

 Easter Bunny

My mom put one in our baskets every year. This was my favorite.

A 15-year-old Swedish Fish

Not visible is Casey Walter's 15-year-old spit used as an adhesive to stick the fish to the choir room chalkboard. Why do I have this fish? Missie. Her name's Missie.

stair stepper

This is Max's first attempt at climbing stairs. It was a week after he turned 8 months. Now, two weeks later, he flies up to the top any chance he gets. I have my hands full.

more is more

When I got back from my mission in July 2005, I moved in to a place with random roommates. Christina, Maira, and I hit it off. Christina introduced Maira to her cousin whom she ended up marrying, and Maira introduced me to La Villa where I spent many a meal. We were last all together at Christina's bridal shower three years ago, and since then I got married and we all had kids. We met for dinner last night at La Villa (of course). It was great to catch up. We, who once made prank phone calls together, swapped birth stories (which were traumatic for all of us!) and caught up on each others' lives. Here's to another three years, more kids, and more meals at La Villa.

we can sail, we can sail

While in Franklin, Dad took us boating several times. Both the wind and Max improved with each trip. 

Mom and Dad would drop off me and Max on the shore for a little respite from uncomfortable life vests and sun-in-the-eyes. Max could only take it for so long. We would play in the grass, read, nibble snacks, and watch geese.

I don't know how many times you have to do something before you can call it "tradition," but I'm guessing four trips out of four qualifies. The tradition - stopping at Hughes for ice cream.

These photos are from a disposable camera (that I could take on the boat) that cost me a whopping $15. Luckily, some of my favorite photos are in this bunch.

Max: Part 1

I need to do an update on Max. He’s changed so much this summer, and I can’t seem to keep up with him. Some changes/things I want to remember about Max at 8 months –

-          He has the biggest smile that just lights you up. His crescent shaped, squinty blue eyes twinkle and look directly into yours, and you can’t help but grin back EVERY time. He keeps you happy.

-          He’s curious. We knew he would be into everything even before he could get around by himself; his eyes were always fixed on people and objects, trying to figure them out. Now that he can army crawl (with a bit of a lift…almost there!), I have to keep a close watch on him. He will put anything in his mouth and carry it around, sometimes sticking out through his lips, until I scoop it out with my finger, at which point he cries. He particularly likes paper and will suck on a wad like it’s candy.

-         He likes to carry blocks or puzzle pieces around in one hand while he crawls around.

-         He can climb up the stairs by himself, something he did for the first time a few days ago when it occurred to me that he might want to… and I think he could have done it sooner had I exposed him to them. Just yesterday, he was in the hallway blabbing away when he suddenly was silent. I went to check on him, and Max was a few steps up the stairs. The moment he saw me, his little body tensed with excitement, a cheeky grin on his face.

-         He played peek-a-boo with me the other day, only this time he was the one peeking. He had pulled himself up on the bathtub and was behind the shower curtain. He quickly pulled back the curtain, I gasped, he laughed, and then he did it three more times.

-          He’s loud. He does a fake cry when he’s hungry or tired that can burst your eardrums.

-          He’s noisy. When he’s crawling around, he likes to make a constant, low humming noise. When he’s jumping in his jump-up, he likes to scream. When he’s playing with toys, he blows bubbles through his taut lips.

-          He loves kisses. I do this thing where I gently kiss him three times in a little row near the corner of his eye. He either giggles or smiles with closed eyes.

-          He likes for me to lay down with him to fall asleep for naps or nighttime. This is no problem for me, and it’s one of my favorite things to do with him. We lay on our sides facing each other, his head on my arm. He plays with my hand/fingers until he lets out a certain sigh that signals the final descent into slumber. And that’s my cue.

-          He moves a lot during the night. He’ll turn circles and roll over onto his stomach and back again multiple times a night.

-          Recently, he’s decided he hates to be still during a diaper change. I have to wrestle with him 90% of the time now.

-          Of the things I let him have on a regular basis, he loves yellow and acorn squashes, snow peas, carrots, bananas, apples, grain cereals, and rice snacks. Of the things he’s only tried here or there, he loves ice cream, refried beans, and mashed potatoes. He does NOT like avocados or sweet potatoes; he twitches and gags when eating them. It’s so cute.

-          He has been clapping for months, and he’s a good mimicker and will slap his legs if you slap yours.

-          He still dances any time he hears music or a rhythmic sound. I was reading Dr. Seuss’s Foot Book a couple of days ago, and he started getting jiggy with it. Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah…

-          His hair can look any shade from white to red depending on his clothing and the light.

      While in his jump-up, he will jump for awhile and then let his head and arms fall forward. He'll watch the ground as he spins circles on his big toes.

-          He stretches the necks of his shirts from all his belly-dragging.

-          He sleeps through the night now. He’ll go to bed between 9 and 10pm and wake up between 6 and 7am for a bottle. After the bottle, he’ll sleep another hour or so. It’s divine.

-          He likes to be thrown up in the air, tickled, scared, nibbled, and wrestled. It takes a lot to phase him.

hot dogs and hair cuts

Mom, Max, and I went on a little trip to Knox to visit a bakery that my Aunt Chris likes. We got some cherry filled cookies and a chocolate whoopie pie. We also went to one of the better antique stores I've been to (admittedly I've been to maybe 20), and while we didn't buy anything, I found a vintage Valentine's Day card that I'm going to recreate for Nate next year. On our way home, we stopped at a little hot dog stand. A man in his mid-70's waited on us. He didn't take cards, so he said to me, "I'll tell you what - you go ahead and order your product, and the next time you pass by here, just bring some cash then." WHAT?! I couldn't believe the sweetness of this man. This is 2012, and he was trusting a stranger to uphold the honor system! We left and got money at an ATM and then returned to buy more food than we wanted just because... 

On a side-note, you might notice in the picture that Max's hair is shorter. He had his second hair cut. Nate and his mom cut Max's hair the first time, so it's kinda fitting that my mom and I did this one. So if Max grows up and sees photos of his baby hair and hates it, we can blame it on the Grandmas.

my boys

I've been thinking a lot about these last 8 months since Max was born. Max has never slept in his own crib and has spent as much time with his grandparents and brothers- and sisters-in-law as he has spent with his own dad. But he's social and adapts well to change and can eat and sleep whenever and wherever I need him to... which makes him near perfect, if you ask me.

Max is such a happy and pleasant kid. He even tries to make me laugh. Tonight as we were winding down, he was on his back next to me on the bed, holding my hand with an iron grip and pulling my finger into his mouth so that he could bite down as hard as he could. I would laugh through the pain (yes, the pain that two tiny, sharp teeth can inflict), and Max would light up and giggle. Repeat. We did this for a few minutes before I finally got him to rest his head on my arm and close his eyes. He loves kisses, so I kissed his cheek, trailing up around his eye to his forehead and back down again. And like his dad, he loves when I delicately swirl my fingers around his face as he drifts off to sleep. I have my tricks, and I often wonder if they will work on our next baby.

I'll be heading out to Utah in a week or so. I'm excited to go through boxes of my things and organize them into a place we can call home. It's going to feel like Christmas. I'm so excited that I daydream about it while Max plays with toys and blows spit bubbles. But mostly, even more than setting up a home again, I'm excited to be together as a family who is no longer in transition.

A shout out to Nate for working so hard to make all of our wildest dreams come true.

marriage, that blessed arrangement, that dream within a dream

"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." - Gordon B. Hinckley

the last days in Nazareth

One crazy night, I took Max to see a double feature at the drive-in with Lori, Maddie, Logan, and their family friends (the son was in my Primary class at church). We saw Brave and Madagascar 3 while Lori and I pounded a bucket of popcorn. Max fell asleep during Brave and didn't wake up until we got home sometime after midnight.  

The Vogts invited us over to celebrate Tanya's birthday by eating a variety of sausages and Bratwurst (Tanya's husband is German). We also had a cabbage salsa that Lori and I recreated at home a couple of days later. They are generous and hilarious, and they LOVE Max. Tanya came and took Max one day while Nate was studying for the bar "so he could have some peace and quiet." Good people.

Nate and I celebrated our two-year anniversary on July 17th. I presented Nate with a box of dark chocolate caramels as our treat for that week (we were being good then), and we opted to stay in and watch a movie. 

Max... This kid is a handful. He is all boy and all over the place. He never lays still during a diaper change, and he recently figured out how to army crawl with his head off the ground.

He also puts everything in his mouth.

You'll notice Max's bracelet in that last picture. Sandra made it for him at Girls' Camp, and he had it on for probably a month before we took it off.

While Nate was taking the bar in Philly and New Jersey, I was helping Liz with her new baby in Vegas and Max was chilling with the Dunfords in Nazareth. We reunited for a few glorious days with NO STUDYING and then said goodbye to the Dunfords... until November when Julie marries Zach!

then fix it, dear henry

a day with the dunford ladies

Julie had her bridal photos done a couple of weeks ago, and she wanted to make a day of it. Kaylee, Sandra, Maddie, Lori, and I all went with her and were rewarded with Five Guys. Worth it. While Julie tilted her head this way and stuck out her bum that way, Sandra, Max, and I took a tour of the grounds of the giant home (somehow connected to Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future... but I could be making that up. I have the worst memory for stuff like that. Stuff like that = facts).