Just in Case You Were Wondering

I do intend to blog again in this lifetime. A heap of posts and pictures chronicling our entire summer is on its way--brace yourself for the bombardment. But in the meantime, here is a little glimpse at what's been keeping me away from this darn thing.

Jared started Dental School! How does this occupy my time? you ask. Well, there was this White Coat Ceremony event I attended as the supportive wife. There's been dutch oven socials and boating activities to attend, new Facebook groups to join. Seriously. It's hard work.

Party planning up the wazoo. More on this later. In fact, a whole new blog on this to come later. For now I'll just say I'm taking my craft addiction to a whole new level. Hopefully a profitable new level. Stay tuned! 

And of course, this lovable rascal. He seriously became a little person this summer! Obsessed with the outdoors, water, dancing, stairs, running away from his parents, and eating, eating, eating. I'm so happy to spend my days with Granty J. 

May 24

It's about to start raining again, and I'm okay with that.

You may not remember, but on this very day last year it was not raining, but SNOWING. I remember it clearly because my feet were too fat to fit into any of my shoes and I had to wear flip flops in that wet, cold snow. To go prepare emergency sub plans at school, no less. While having contractions every 5 minutes or so. I pretty much HATED the snow that day. And I pretty strongly disliked this state where it is capable of snowing on May 24. I'm sorry, but it's true, and I can't deny it. Jared drove me to the hospital that snowy May morning where I was promptly admitted to one of only two remaining delivery rooms. It was only 10:00 am. The nurses said they had never seen the delivery rooms fill up that fast. You see, apparently something about the low pressure a sudden snowstorm creates can put women into labor. I still don't know what any of that means, but the nurses said it was true. They said so, and I tell you those rooms were full of babies making their way into the world in a hurry. One of those babies was mine. A whole month early.

By the end of that snowy May day one year ago, I heard the sweet, tiny cry of my very own son for the very first time. I held him in my arms, and I held him close.  I stared into his precious tiny face and marveled at every single finger and toe of his 5 lb 4 oz body. I kissed the perfect, soft cheek of this creature that belonged to me. I memorized everything I could about my perfect baby boy and kept his picture in my mind all night as I lay in bed. Long disappeared from my mind were my swollen feet, or my lesson plans, or the snowy weather. The snowy weather that those nurses said brought babies.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes good things DO come from stormy May days. Sometimes, even great things come from them.

   

Spring Photo Shoot

Saw the adorable pictures Suzana took of Lyndsey's fam, and had to get in on that action. Thank you. We are so happy with how these turned out, and so in love with our little boy.

Ode to a 10-month Old

To the most trouble-making, mischief-seeking, 

fastest-crawling baby in the world--

I love you. 

Your obsession with broccoli cheddar soup.

The way you fake laugh whenever we start laughing.

The way you crawl around the entire room

knocking down the block towers I build

one-by-one.

How you are FINALLY starting 

to rest your head on my chest.

Your single dimple.

True, we need to hold your ankles constantly while

you're in our bed because you're obsessed with trying to dive

off the edge.

True, you scream and cry and act like you can't get down 

when you stand up in your crib.

And it's true that you say "da-da" ALL DAY LONG 

and have yet to utter a single "ma."

But you are the cutest little bundle of ten-month perfection 

there has ever been.

10 Miles

Can't believe I ran 10 miles today and actually lived to blog about it. Talk about a major milestone for me. Not only did I not die, I didn't faint, fall, walk, or have an accident. Thank goodness for gas stations with potties and Gatorade, or else today's adventure might not have ended so pretty. I finished in about 1 hour and 50 minutes including my potty/drink time, which I was pretty pleased with. As I drove around late last night calculating my route, I cringed at how much distance 10 miles actually covers. 10 miles! Only 6 weeks and 3.1 miles to go before the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. Just FYI- the rest of my plans today include mostly eating and sleeping.

I Heart Valentine's Day

I love everything about Valentine's Day. The color pink, candy, crafts . . . What could be better? I knew it was going to be a fun Valentine's this year when my friend Lyndsey announced that she would be hosting a handmade Valentine Swap through her stationery blog. That got my craft juices flowing. Here's how the Valentine Swap all went down:

I made the following handcrafted little number to send out to a few cyber-friends that Lyndsey hooked me up with.

You can't really tell from the picture, but each letter was machine sewn onto its square with either pink or bright blue thread. This was my first go at sewing paper and I quite got addicted to it. Can't you just imagine all the cute possibilities of colored thread?!

And these were the adorable handmade gems that arrived in my mail box!

From top to bottom, Sarah from Things are Better With a Parrott, Jamie from My Lazy Apples, and Lindsey from la Georgia Paperie. Check them out--they are legit craft people.

I absolutely loved getting these! It is so fun to see others' talents and ideas, and it was so fun to get mail from all over the country! Thank you, ladies for your adorable handmade items, and thanks, Lynds for setting this up!

With the inspiration of the Swap still fresh, I sewed up a couple more cards and sent them to my sisters.

I recently caught wind of the fact that my sister-in-law is collecting owls. Incidentally, I just happen to be in the business of sewing owls right now since that is the nursery theme my expectant sister has chosen. Sooooo, I whipped up this little pink plush as another valentine goody for her and shipped that off.

And finally, this is the present I made for my valentine. I call it a "man bouquet." Full of all the manly treats he loves, but that are a little bit gross to me. (The slogan of David's Sunflower Seeds is "Eat. Spit. Be Happy.") He took it to work where he can spit and chew his little heart out.

While baby Grant would enjoy nothing better than a crafty little paper project to chew on for his first Valentine's Day, he got a book instead. This cute one.

Jared and I celebrated with massages and dinner on Saturday, and then he came home yesterday with roses, a sweet card, and chocolate covered cinnamon bears (my ultimate weakness). It was fabulous. Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day of love and treats, too!

From the Mouth of a Babe

Sunday was ward conference. The good news was that our sacrament meeting was our only meeting for the day. The bad news was that it lasted twenty minutes longer than normal. Under childless circumstances this would have been all good, but with a wee babe whose activities must be varied every 30 seconds, the extra time did not go unnoticed, nor did it pass without consequences. Parents can only do so much entertaining with a cardboard book and a plastic giraffe, and Grant eventually had enough. If he were to describe the events of that sacrament meeting in his own words, I'd imagine they would be something like these:

I've been sitting quietly awake in my car seat for at least ten minutes. I think I'll come out now [whine and grunt and arch back]. Thanks for the toy giraffe, Dad; I looove the taste of plastic.  I wonder what will happen if I drop this on the ground [drops to the ground]. Cool, mom picks it up and gives it back to me. I wonder if she'll pick it up if I drop it again. Yep. And what about one more time? Yep. Well, I'm bored of that game. What I'm really desperate to do is gnaw on that green book Mom and Dad are holding. Mom gives me another book, but it's not the big green one, and all I want is the big green one. Oh well, I guess I'll suck on it for a minute. [Yawn, whine, grunt] Tired of this book, tired of this giraffe, tired of smiling adorably at all these people sitting around me. Dad, kindly take me out of here [Dad and I walk toward the door]. Wait . . . Not so fast . . . Hair!  Gray, curly, bushy . . . Don't mind if I do! [Insert fingers faster than the blink of an eye and grab an entire baby fistful. And not let go.] Dad's still moving, but I'm not letting go of this lusciousness! [Seconds later . . .] Dad finally caught on and has loosened my grip. Don't worry, everyone sitting behind us is laughing, and the lady's hair isn't a wig or anything. The disheveled clump remains erect, but no permanent damage done. The moral of the story: Sundays are long for babies. If you make them longer, there's no telling what we might do.

-G.J. Error