What's Goin' On

Well, I suppose there have been a few things happening.
Jonah and I have decided to get out of the house more and be more social. We now try to go to story-time at the library every week. Jonah likes it mostly for following around other kids. We've only been to Parents & Tots Yoga the one time, but we'd really like to go again. Last week we went to playtime at the local Rec Center and that was great. We got to go to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum with Stephanie (Brandon's cousin's wife) and her four kids one day, which was fantastic. We'd love to do that again soon.

Today we are going to Movies on Mondays (MOM) in Sandy with Ashly (Brandon's other cousin's wife) and her two kids. The Megaplex theaters play a movie every Monday around noon with the house lights partially up and the sound a little down. It's $5 for moms and free for kids under five. Today they're playing Horton Hears a Who. Tomorrow is our first playgroup. Jonah and I invited several moms from my ward, my online Park City Moms group, etc. to join us at our house to play. I think it's going to become a weekly thing, though maybe not always at our house. We are supposed to have 8 moms and 13 kids here tomorrow!!!
Other than our adventures, not a lot happening. I picked out family pictures (it was easy cause Jonah was only smiling in one and B and I looked good in it too), so we should have those hung up later this week. Got the brakes on my car replaced. My laptop has died (fortunately we recovered all my pictures first). I've been called to teach in Relief Society (the women's class at church) once every other month and am thrilled about that. My first lesson was last Sunday (on John the Baptist) and it went well.
Jonah now says "night, night" and "light". He blows on things now too. He can stand up without any assistance from a wall or a leg now as well. He still rubs his hair whenever we lay him down to sleep. After I brushed his teeth the other evening he looked it the mirror and did his cheesy super-grin to check out his clean teeth, which totally cracked me up. He points at everything. He has four teeth on top and two on bottom and I suspect he's getting a top and bottom molar on the right side soon.
I am seven months along now and getting a bit uncomfortable. My back and my sciatic nerve have been bugging me the past three days or so. It feels like my little girl is still doing gymnastics in there so she's still got room and yet she's pushing up on my right ribs just like Jonah did, which makes me hurt in various different ways and makes me worry she'll flatten one side of her head and have to wear a helmet too. We still have no idea what to name her and are totally open to your suggestions.
Today we received our first Winder Farms delivery. Milk, bread, butter, cheese, etc. all delivered to a cooler on our doorstep! Wonderful. We are excited to support this local dairy who doesn't use hormones or antibiotics on their dairy cows and to have the convenience of always having basic groceries on-hand (this will be especially useful when the new baby first arrives!).
Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment. Oh, except it snowed all day yesterday and I made pork chops with a ginger-pear topping last night (which I've made once or twice before) which was to-die for. Yum! Email me if you want the recipe.

Mix Up

I used to get Robert Dinero (confused with Al Paccino by many) and Dustin Hoffman confused. After I finally cleared that up in my brain I developed an uncanny knack for figuring out what show I'd seen an actor/actress in before. Today I was watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding (hadn't seen it since it came out and thoroughly enjoyed it) and I was certain that the woman who played Aunt Voula was the same woman who played the Qypsy Queen in The 10th Kingdom (one of my favorite movies). I looked it up on imdb and I was WRONG. Do you see how I could have made the mistake though?

Andrea Martin

Eve Pearce

Happy Easter

Last Saturday's Easter Egg Hunt in Park City.




Yesterday's hunt in Sandy.

Sister Time

I spent all week hanging out with Robin and her family.

You're Missing Out

On March 5th and 7th I posted some really funny (and short) youtube clips on here (Very Politically Incorrect and Better Than Ebert) and I don't think any of you watched them. Shame on you!

An Apple a Day

Yesterday Jonah picked up an apple that his cousin Charlotte had dropped. Being the smart boy that he is, Jonah knew it was not a ball to play with. He bit into it. I took it away, not thinking him capable of eating an apple without it being cut into much smaller pieces but when he managed to swallow his taste of the peel I gave it back to him after washing it.


I think Jonah spent a full hour eating this little apple. He never choked and he ate just about every single bite. It was entertainment as well as an appetizer.



I don't know why this one makes me laugh so.



Cousin Tucker reading to Jonah.



Sharing with cousin Henry aka: little Hank.



Me holding all that was left.

Illegal

I am posting these pictures illegally, they are copyrighted.

I am breaching this copyright because I spent over $600 at this studio and I think that should give me the right to my proofs. My inlaws actually gave me $400 to specifically use this particular photography studio for Jonah's one year portraits. (They turned out fantastic but I'm not convinced I couldn't have spent half as much for something I liked equally well).

Enjoy!


This is the one we ordered a large print of to frame in our front hall.



I ordered a black & white 5x7 of this (and asked them to digitally remove the drool off his bottom lip).


Brandon's favorite so I ordered him a 5x7 for his office.



Jonah's trademark "oh face".



A good photographer just keeps shooting and ends up with great shots like this.

We ordered my favorite and Brandon's other favorite (different outfit too) in wallets. Some of you will be receiving copies in the mail in the future.

New Toy

Not for Jonah, for Brandon

Last Friday Brandon bought himself a motorcycle. It is street legal but he never goes very far on it. He mostly got it so that he can ride it around up above his dad's cabin when all the snow is gone.

In a twist of fate, Brandon aquired yet another motorcycle yesterday. It is similar to the pictured one, but sits a little higher and is not street legal but is just a dirt bike. It will move up to the cabin permanently and the other one will mostly be for riding to and from work on nice days. The newest bike was a trade. Brandon is doing his assistant's father-in-law's dental work in exchange for the bike (a couple root canals and maybe more). He says the first bike can be mine after the baby comes. Riiiight. He is currently in the garage changing the oil on both bikes, organizing his tools, and just generally tooling around. I bet he feels very manly.

Running Crazy

A couple days ago, Jonah woke up with crazy hair.




He is fast when he has assistance from his walker!

Just in the past few days since we've been home, Jonah has started doing new things:
1- A new smile, slightly devilish looking
2- Monster voice, not just his occassional growl
3- Walking more than crawling
4- Wanting to be held more

Also, about two weeks ago he started touching his or my hair when he's tired and most of the time when I pick him up, he immediately starts caressing my hair. I love it.

I can no longer be in the same room with him while I talk on the phone, he simply won't have it, he throws a fit and is just too loud. He thinks the phone is HIS.

Very Politically Incorrect

Ladies and Gentlemen, Daniel Tosh. So wrong, and yet SO funny. I never have seen someone frown while on a wave runner. (2:50)

Good Food Day

When you walk into my grocery store you practically run into a six foot tall case of doughnuts. I think this is cruel and I have only given in and gotten one once. Monday night while doing my grocery shopping I managed to resist the pastries only to immediately succumb to purchasing an angel food cake. I don't know what came over me, I haven't had one in years and they were my favorite as a kid and I just decided I needed one.
Anyway, yesterday I began my day by making french toast (one of my favorite breakfasts). Jonah had his plain with sliced strawberries on the side and I had mine topped with fresh strawberries and blackberry syrup. Brandon doesn't do breakfast but instead settled for his usual glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast.
Lunch was leftovers; pizza, macaroni, squash, whatever.
Dinner was quite a treat. I decided to try a simmer sauce I found in the International Food Isle. It was Chicken Tikka Masala, which I've tried mediocre premades before and have even had bad luck with at good Indian restaurants but I'm persistent and this time it paid off. The brand is Tiger Tiger and if you see it, snatch it up! I tore up half of a rotisserie chicken and simmered it in with the whole jar of sauce and enjoyed the best Chicken Masala I've had in months! I even got brave an invented a rice dish to go with it instead of just the usual tasty white basmati rice.

Emily's Indian Rice Dish

1 cup basmati rice
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. water
a couple dashes of termeric
3 whole cloves
1 T. butter
a bit of salt

Boil for one minute, simmer covered for 14 minutes. In the last 4 minutes of cooking add one cup of frozen peas. Delish!

And for dessert: angel food cake topped with sweetened strawberries and whipped cream. A day of culinary satisfaction.

Better Than Ebert

Star Wars movie review by a 3 year old. (1:30)

The Past 10 Days

So here's the rundown. Jonah and I left for Arizona on late afternoon on Wednesday the 20th. We got home yesterday morning. It was a great trip. Even on a trip so long I'd wished I'd had more time (to hang out with Lauren, the Jacobsons, the Millers, the Courts, and to meet baby Jordyn).
Jonah did great on the flight over cause I timed it NOT to coincide with a nap. We spend less than an hour showing off his walking skills and his cuteness to the family before putting him to bed. He did awesome sleeping and napping on the trip, not deterrred from his schedule much at all. My friend Arianna mentioned that we are both "Nap Natzis." We are both followers of the philosophies in Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, the best parenting book I've read.
Anyway, Thursday we had a lot of fun, just hanging out with the fam. Jonah got a lot of attention from Nana Colleen, Papa Stan, Aunt Karen
, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Teddy
, Uncle Spencer
, and Aunt Claire .
Thursday Jonah also got to see Aunt Robin, cousin Tucker, cousin Charlotte, and cousin Henry.
Jonah is only six months older than Henry but must outweigh him by quite a bit despite only being about an inch taller. They were very facinated by each other. They spent some time poking and kissing one another.
Jonah loved the dog and two cats that live at my parents house. Darcy, the cocker spaniel, seemed to like him a lot too. It was a great day.
Friday I woke up with Claire's cough and that afternoon Jonah and I got in the car with his Aunt Sarah and her boys; Gabe (14), Chandler (turned 7 on Sunday), and Jackson (5), for a roadtrip to California. My four best girlfriends from college all live in the San Diego area. I haven't seen any of them in 3 years, so Jonah and I went to see them for the weekend while Sarah and her kids went to Disneyland, etc.
We arrived at the Rajaratnam's house at 8:15 (7:15 CA time) that evening and Jonah went straight to bed. I stayed up eating curried chicken homemade by Girrish and talking with Kami. The next day Jonah had fun playing with their son Jared who is only 6 weeks younger than himself
, and her other two boys Noah (3) and Kai (6).
Saturday around noon, Kami and I were joined by our friend Stephanie. We went to lunch and enjoyed some girltime.
Then Jonah, Stephanie, and I drove to Steph's home in Ramona, a darling little town in the hills outside San Diego. We got to hang out with Steph's cute kids; Heath (6), who showed Jonah and I all of his toys, and Olivia (4) who was rather jealous of all the attention Jonah was getting.

Steph's hubbie, Nick, took us all out for Mexican food for dinner. I was feeling rather miserably sick by this time and had no appetite (even for authentic Mexican!). That evening Stephanie and I went to visit our other BYU-H girlfriend, Arianna. We had a funtastic time hanging out and chatting with her!
Sunday morning Jonah and I went over to the Jacobson's house. We had a great time catching up, playing, and chatting for an hour or so before I was rendered unable to stay awake due to my illness.
Jonah and I napped and immediately upon waking had to leave for the train station. We took a fun 2.5 hour train ride up to meet Sarah and kids north of LA. After gassing up and dinner at In and Out Burger we headed back to AZ. Car rides while pregnant are FAR more uncomfortable than not, especially when fighting a nasty cold.
Monday I spent a lot of the day resting and feeling miserable while Jonah charmed the family. Tuesday Jonah came down with a fever and diarehea. He was still sweet as can be. I got a massage and we spent the night at Aunt Robin and Uncle Trent's new house. We had fun hanging with the kids and hot-tubbing with Tucker (under 100 degrees for pregnancy). Wednesday we had a picnic at the park and Jonah really enjoyed the swings. That evening we went to Uncle Adam and Aunt Michelle's house and got to spend some time with Jonah's cousins Kaleb (6), Ethan (5), and Moqui (2). Jonah loved Michelle and Adam!
I had to wipe poor Jo's nose about every 5 minutes all day.
Wednesday night Robin organized a girl's night out for me. My sisters Robin and Karen and SIL Michelle were all there, as well as my cousin Jill and friend Mel. We had a great time talking and laughing. I really enjoyed Gecko Grill's green salsa, fish tacos, and friend icecream. I enjoyed the company even more though.

Friday we missed our flight home due to a wreck on the 202 that caused horrendous traffic but we enjoyed great naps and another nice evening with the family instead.
It is nice to be home in our own beds. We have both been snotting and coughing a lot yesterday and today and I hope that means the end of this dreadful cold is near and not that we are having a relapse from the change in altitude. I came home after the first hour of church today and had a glorious two hour nap.
Jonah has been walking like a champ all day today, he's glad to be back with daddy and all his own stuff and lots of room for walking!

All Growed Uped

Ever since Saturday Jonah has been letting go of whatever he's holding onto (legs, toys, couches, tables, walls, etc.), steadying himself and taking steps with no prompting from anyone. He is very proud of himself. I'm surprised at his independence and excited to see him that much closer to being a real walker. He is so cute! Still haven't managed to catch steps on video.
Off to Arizona today to visit the fam!

I recommend...

going to the theater and seeing The Spiderwick Chronicles. Lots of fun! Brandon and I had never seen a preview for it, we've never read the books, but "my" reviewers liked it and we had a vague idea what it was about. We saw it on Valentine's evening at one of the two single-screen theaters in town and we were pleasantly surprised just how much we liked it.

Clubbing

Book clubbing, that is. I have joined a local book club. We had our first meeting on Tuesday evening. There were eight of us there. We met at The Hub, a local diner owned by one of the club members. It is a great group of women, most of whom live in my neighborhood:) I had cherry pie a la mode while discussing Funny in Farsi, January's light read. It was an extremely funny memoir about a woman who moved to the USA from Iran during elementary school in the late 70s. Good cultural insights here and there but mostly just great stories about a quirky immigrant family.

I am looking forward to next month's read, The Omnivore's Dilema.

The author says, if we are what we eat, then Americans are corn. (I would have guessed wheat or sugar or beef).
But until I pick that one up, I'm reading the one my dad sent me for Christmas. I want to finish it in the next couple days so I can lend it to my dad when I go to Arizona next week. He is a big fan of the author's blog, Evangelicals for Mitt.

Lotions & Creams?

I need some cream for my stretching belly. Any suggestions? I know nothing really prevents stretch marks but I just want something to give me lots of moisture, ease the stretching, prevent the itching. You know. The stuff I used last pregnancy was really good but I hated the smell.
Also, Jonah is about out of his pink baby lotion. Does anyone have something they love to slather on their baby any better? Let me know.

Just for fun.

Busy, Busy

It began last Thursday. We had a wedding reception to attend. Brandon's cousin Ben got married and we went. It was snowy that night and Brandon and Alan didn't have to work on Friday so we had a sleepover with Alan and Katie. Friday morning I did a Costco run with Alan to get a couple things for Jonah's party. Then I went and filled our gas tank up, got a couple things at the craft store, and went to the bank. After some lunch we headed home. Jonah and I had to head straight from home to his one year check up at the Pediatrician. He is average weight, large head, and is very short for his age. He is in good health, has had several diet restrictions lifted now that he's one and got three shots. After the doctor I had to do a major grocery run. Right after that I had girl's movie night in at Adina's, my next-door neighbor. We watched The Wedding Date. Although I was entertained, I certainly would NOT recommend it.
Saturday I baked a cake, made frosting, made sauce for meatballs, and cooked chicken that required basting and turning every five minutes for 45 minutes. I cleaned the house, took care of Jonah, got myself ready, etc. before entertaining 13 people at our house.
Sunday, fortunately was a nice, lazy day. It was snowing too much to go to church and other than keep Jonah happy, sweep, and do dishes, I managed to be pretty lazy all day.
Monday: tired, no recollection of anything important.
Tuesday: Jonah's first real haircut. Not willing to attempt cutting it myself on the day of his one year pictures I had my neighbor, Bobbi Jo, with an in-home salon cut it. She was amazingly patient with an extremely wiggly child. He looks quite handsome.
While eating cake leftovers together in the afternoon, Brandon said to me, "This is the best cake I've ever had. I will never again be convinced that cake from a mix is just as good. Cake mixes must be the reason why people used to love cake but don't really like it anymore." That was the most enthusiastic review I can recall ever having about my baking. I wish I'd made that cake a day before Jonah's party cause I swear it was twice as good as leftovers.
After Jo's afteroon nap we drove to Salt Lake for his photo session. Linda met us there to assist and to bring him another outfit to wear. She and Alan gave us money for Christmas to go to the best photo studio in Salt Lake to have his one-year portrait done. He did three different poses, settings, and outfits and was very cooperative. The photographer and assistant were great and Jonah was cracking them up, especially with his new "oh" face. I'm sure we got some fantastic shots.
On the way home I picked up some chicken tikka masala and some aloo gobi from the Bombay House for dinner. I haven't had Indian food since we moved to Utah and it was good (though Ajanta in OKC is still better). Jonah took an uncharacteristic cat nap on the way home.
Let Jonah cry it out when he woke up at his usual 4:30 am snacktime.
Wednesday: made the mistake of waiting until the day of to get a babysitter for that evening. I called the three babysitters I know, two had church activities and the other one was also unavailable. Called two other women for babysitter recommendations. The three girls they recommended were all also busy (drill practice, etc.). Called three adults I know that I thought might do it, none of them were available. Called the first girl back to ask her for a recommendation and she said she'd decided not to go to her church activity afterall and her mom wasn't making her. Hallejulia!
Drove to SLC with Brandon and met up with Andy, Brandon M., Alan, Linda, and Katie at Bangkok Thai for some excellent dinner. Then went to Hale Theatre to see Lend Me a Tenor, a very funny musical that got better and better as it went along. Brandon's cousin Margo had a very fun part in it.
Jonah slept thru the night but woke up at 6:15.
Today I haven't accomplished much other than going to the post office and picking up some milk. Brandon didn't have to work in Salt Lake today because they didn't schedule him anything since it's snowing so much. We are bowing out on Katie's violin concert tonight to stay home.
Although I didn't vote for him I was sad to see Mitt Romney step out of the presidential race today. I fear what our choices may be next fall.

"It's a Major Award"

Nancy Face awarded this to me. I am so flattered.
I would like to pass this award along to people I feel are very positive and are not stingy with passing along their love (not just in blog comments, but those help). Thus I give this award back to Nancy and also to Michelle, Lauren, Gina, Macey, Tori, Lisa, my MIL Lisa, and the other Lisa, MIL2 Linda, Stephanie, Abbie, Skye, Stephanie M., Annie, Lacey, my mom, and Kayelyn.

Jonah "Walks"

(0:43)