A List for Tuesday

Five Things I Did Today That I Haven't Done in a Long Time

1. Stay up with a crying baby from 2am on (he's sick).
2. Spend hours talking to my cousin Christina.
3. Eat at Fat Jack's (now called Roy's).
4. Walk around Snow College Campus.
5. Eat 7-Layer dip.

Gingerbread Fun

We made gingerbread houses with the Morgan's and then again with the Davis'. Mine did not win any prizes, but I liked the way they turned out. What do you think?

This was my trial run, I ran out of green lifesavers.

Notice Chris's house in the background. His suffered from an "avalanche."

Favorite Picture Friday

Monkey butt!

A List for Tuesday

Five of my Favorite Christmas Pictures of Dutch
(in no particular order)

1. Dutch in his Uncle Joshy outfit

2. Dutch in his Santa suit

3. Dutch in his Santa hat

4. Dutch under the Christmas tree

5. Dutch's first time seeing the Christmas lights turned on

A Christmas First

One of my favorites

Another favorite

Dutchie looks drunk

Today Dutch had a Christmas first. He went and saw Santa Claus! It was really fun! Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit. The half hour in line was not fun. The people behind us who had no concept of personal space were not fun either.

When Dutch sat on Santa's lap he was a little confused, but soon understood that he was supposed to smile and laugh. He was SO happy! Santa kept tickling him and making him laugh and the pictures turned out so cute.

I don't remember ever going to see Santa when I was little, but I am glad that I took Dutch to do it!

Preparing for Christmas

This will be the fifth Christmas that Chris and I have celebrated as a married couple and Dutch's first. I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit because some of my favorite parts of the season are decorating, baking, writing a family newsletter and shopping for gifts; none of which I've been able to do.

Last night I sat very still and watched the fire in the stove downstairs and thought about all of the things that I am so grateful for: I have a husband who is willing to be broke right now so that we can be better prepared for life in the long run (and who is so handsome, to boot!). I have a son who is beautiful, happy, and the most well-behaved baby I've ever heard of. I have a dog who has every reason in the world to be bitter and hate people, but has yet to find a person he doesn't love wholeheartedly. I have in-laws who are willing to let us invade their house so that we can afford to stay for as long as possible. I have family spread through this entire world who I still manage to stay close to.

While I am still having a hard time feeling the Christmas spirit, I am trying to keep that attitude of gratitude in my heart. I wish I had the money to spend on my boys and could buy them everything they want and need, but I can't. I wish for so many things that are impossible, or not possible this year, but I can't dwell on that.

This is the only Christmas I'm going to get this year and I'm not going to waste it by dwelling on the negatives.

Favorite Picture Friday

Sadly, there is no picture for today. My laptop is being weird and won't connect to the internet so I can't upload my new Dutch pictures that are SO cute and Christmas-y. Hopefully I will be able to post some next Friday!

A Fit of Nostalgia

Today Dutch and I went to visit my old co-workers in AOCE at the University of Utah. It's not very often that I wish for things past, but today was one of those times. I worked at the U for over 3 years. I started out the first year Chris and I were married as a data entry clerk and, after a couple of years, was promoted to Program Coordinator. I loved working there. Not just because I loved the work (which I did), but because I had the best co-workers you could ask for. That's a huge part of every job and I became so close to those people they were like family.

As I was talking to them about Dutch and my life in Pittsburgh I got kind of sad. I wanted to stay and answer phones and help with filing and looking over an Exception to Policy form and decide whether to grant the exception or not. I wanted to sit and joke and go around and blow bubbles like I used to do every Friday (known by some people as Bubble Girl). I wanted to stay and stay and stay.

I have had bad jobs and I have had good jobs, but the greatest job I think I will ever have is the one that I had at the U.

Another First

Tonight Dutch went for his first trip to Costco. Apparently this is some sort of Davis boy rite of passage. A very momentous occasion.

A List for Tuesday

3 Careers Chris WILL Allow Dutch to Have:

1. Firefighter
2. Drug-dealer (or pharmacist as some people call them)
3. Cowboy

Trip to Utah: Day Three

We are here! We are here! We are here!

We had great weather the whole way and pulled in to Greg and Kellie's driveway at about 1pm. Dutch was very glad to be able to roll around on the floor for a while instead of being strapped into his car-seat and Bo was beside himself with happiness.

We went to visit both sets of grandparents and Dutch was, of course, a big hit. He's a lot bigger than anyone expected and he's getting bigger every day! A shirt that I bought him just a couple of weeks ago was so tight on him today that it kept pulling up around his man-boobs. Luckily I had a onesie underneath it or he would have been showing a lot of skin!

Anyway, we made it! Everyone is happy and safe and we can't wait to start the vacation!

(And Jules, we'll be here for an undecided amount of time. I don't start school until January 9th, so we'll leave sometime before then!)

Trip to Utah: Day Two

Dutch woke us up at 4am this morning (5am Pennsylvania time). Neither of us could get back to sleep so we figured that we might as well get ready and go. The trip went really quickly. We actually traveled about 3 1/2 hours further than we had planned because everything went so well. Instead of spending the night in Nebraska we were able to make it to Laramie, Wyoming.

Tomorrow we'll get to Utah and it might even still be light out when we get there! Nothing much else to write about, today was uneventful--in a good way!

Trip to Utah: Day One

We got off to a later start than we had anticipated, but luckily we gained an hour by the time we stopped tonight in Davenport, Iowa.

Bo, as always, thought he was going to get left behind so he made sure to stay underfoot to remind us not to leave him. It makes me so sad that he has all of those abandonment issues--how could you leave a dog like Bo behind? No matter how many times we told him we wouldn't leave him he could not be convinced. Until, that is, he smelled his ball in Chris's bag and smelled his food box being packed. Then he knew he was coming and could not be convinced to stay inside until we were ready to go. He sat in the car for about half an hour and I couldn't coax him back inside, no matter how cold it was!

I'm getting a cold, which is not fun, but I made sure to bring a box of tissues so I'm good to go!

Dutchie did surprisingly well. He didn't sleep too much, so hopefully he will be able to sleep well tonight. He got some good naps, but none were too long. Here's a video of Dutch's first night in a hotel room!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Favorite Picture Friday

Bo the Wonder Dog
I love how his tail is just a blur!

Dutch and Rice Cereal

I forget if I blogged about this already, but Dutch is eating cereal. It's still sort of a process because he REALLY loves to blow raspberries while he's being fed, so it takes some time. At first he would spit out every other bite, but now he eats like a champ (and I mean that literally, a World-Class Food-Eating Champ, complete with encouraging coach saying "Just one more bite!"). It's kind of sad realizing how big he's getting. He is still refusing to roll over front to back (he's done it before, but won't anymore), but he loves to roll over back to front. Then he cries because he wants to be on his back again, so I flip him over and it begins again.

We leave for a Utah Christmas on Saturday morning. It's going to be a three day drive and I'm hoping that Dutch, Bo, and Chris all behave themselves. They all get a little antsy when they've been in the car too long and I'm hoping that I don't have to kill one of them. In the meantime I am packing and looking forward to spending some time with Chris. It's been a while since we've been able to spend quality time together.

Sitting Up Like A Big Boy

A List for Tuesday

Three Careers that Chris Doesn't Want Dutch to Have:

1. Firework salesman (because he would have to work on his birthday)
2. Pimp
3. Ninja

My Five Year Goal

They always say that you should have goals. A short-term goal (like a week or a month or whatever), a medium-term goal (like a year), and a long-term goal (like five or ten years). So I came up with one for me:

I am going to grow my hair out until Dutch's 5th birthday and then donate my hair to Locks of Love. Why? Because I haven't grown my hair out in a really long time and I think it would be fun to see if I can make it work. Wish me luck!

Thank You Very Much!

Dutch got a bath tonight and then he and watched Scrooge with Albert Finney while Pam took a nap. He loves it just like Grandma Kellie.

P.S. Do you like his towel? His Uncle Matty gave it to him. It has his name on it and a dog. It's so cute!

A Shoulder to Gnaw On

Dutchie has sort of given up snuggling against me when I hold him. It breaks my heart. The other day, however, he started cuddling me again! I was so excited until I put him down. Turns out he wasn't cuddling me, he was chewing on me! I am his new favorite chew toy, apparently. Now every time I hold him he gums my shoulder. Chris thinks it's hilarious, of course, because I've always been a biter and turn-about is fair play.

Teething baby is so not fun.

Favorite Picture Friday

I just love this picture. That was such a wonderful day!

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Happy 5-Month Birthday to Dutch!

My favorite Christmas song, for those of you who want to know, is "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas." It makes me laugh and smile and I like to sing along really loud when it comes on the radio. Chris tolerates this remarkably and even downloaded the song so I could play it on my ipod.

Anyway, this got me to thinking about Dutch's stuffed animals. He has a lot of weird ones. He has a groundhog (we do live in Pennsylvania), a manatee, a platypus, and his favorite is his lion. He doesn't have a hippo though. That seems very sad to me because when I sing my Christmas song he has no idea what a hippopotamus is and that must make the song very confusing.

He always makes a face like he's confused, and I know it can't be my singing. Right?

Funny Mr. Bo-Bo

Okay so last night I did something that I am paying for today--I lost track of the time writing. At 2am I looked at the clock and yipped. Then I hurried to finish the scene I was working on and was under the covers by 2:30. Dutchie woke up at 6:30, but was asleep again by about 7. Then he woke up for good at about 9 and I put him in his boppy next to me on the bed and tried to convince him to go back to sleep. Here's the funny part:

Bo doesn't like things covering him up usually. He gets really annoyed when Chris throws the blankets over him, gets up, turns around 3 times and lays back down. I don't know what was going on with him this morning but he stuck his paws and his head under the blankets to get to sleep. Just his paws and head. I noticed it when he started snoring. I went to grab the camera but, of course, Bo heard me and thought, "Someone's walking around? Quick! I must follow them!" So I didn't get a picture of it. Reading this back it's probably one of those you-had-to-be-there type of things, but I don't care. I'm posting it anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Look at the Camera

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A List for Tuesday

Five Things You Might Not Know About Dutch

1. Winking makes him laugh (especially if you wink one eye at a time really fast)
2. He sleeps with his arm splayed out to the sides
3. He has now mastered the back to belly roll, even though YESTERDAY was the first time he had done it!
4. He doesn't understand why I try to feed him rice cereal when formula is so much faster
5. He "talks" ALL THE TIME! I had to take him out of Sunday School because he was being so loud, almost had to take him out of the movie at the museum, and 9 times out of 10 I wake up to him babbling to himself instead of crying. Very vocal baby!

Don't miss the video of him below (and thanks to Morgan who inadvertently led me to the perfect place to put my videos)

Rock'em Sock'em Robots

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Heidi!

You might be getting older, but you're not getting more mature!

Asleep

Favorite Picture Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a really great Thanksgiving today. Dutch was happy and laughing almost the whole day. My mom made a great feast and even Bo got to have turkey, potatoes, and stuffing! We all went around saying what we were thankful for and we were all most thankful for our families. I'm lucky to have a beautiful healthy little boy and a wonderful husband. Not to mention my in-laws, mom and dad, sisters, nieces, nephews, dogs, etc. There's nothing else in the world that I need! Pictures of Dutch's Thanksgiving coming soon!

Pics

A List for Tuesday

Five More Things I'm Thankful For

1. Ibuprofen
2. Sweaters
3. Windshield wipers (or wish-woppers)
4. Washer and dryer
5. My laptop

Poor Baby

Dutchie has not been feeling well for a few days. On Friday he was running a small fever so I called the pediatrician and he suggested he might be teething. He's been warm and flushed off and on for the past few days and a little more fussy than he normally is. I've been giving him some Tylenol when it gets really bad, but today I'm going to go find the teething tablets that two of my sisters suggested.

Dutch's Ga-Ga and PopPop are visiting right now. He loves them both very much and laughs and laughs and laughs. You can tell he's not feeling very well though because sometimes his laugh will become a whimper. I'll post some pictures from their visit and from Dutch's first Thanksgiving soon!

Favorite Picture Friday

The screensaver on our computer just shows a constant slideshow of all our pictures. This one came up and I thought it was such a beautiful picture. It's my brother-in-law Brandon and my niece Evie on the day of her blessing.

About My Husband

What is your husband's name? Chris
How long have you been married? 5 years
How long did you date? We were married 9 months to the day after our first date.
How old is he? 27
Who eats more sweets? Him. I have to hide Oreos to get any! Except when he's watching what he eats, then me.
Who said "I love you first"? Me.
Who is taller? Chris, unless I wear a certain pair of heels, then me, barely.
Who is smarter? We are equal smart which is why we get along so well. We both have dumb moments though.
Who can sing the best? Me, but only because Chris doesn't try.
Who does the laundry? We learned early on that we both had to do our own laundry.
Who pays the bills? Him. I tried to do it early in the marriage, but he took over out of need to control something (he's never been able to control me).
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Chris
Who mows the lawn? Chris
Who cooks dinner? Sort of me. But Chris can cook a pizza like nobody's business!
Who drives? Mostly Chris.
Who kissed who first? We kissed each other.
Who's the first to admit they are wrong? This is a long complicated process that usually requires me to use my mad debate skills.
Who asked who out first? Chris.
Who wears the pants? Me, but I let Chris borrow them every once in a while. Just kidding, we are in an equal partnership.

A Year Ago Today

It was exactly one year ago today that I learned that my belly had become the Dutch oven. Of course at the time I thought it was Ivy Mae incubating in there, but I'm sure she'll come along soon enough. I read an old journal entry I wrote about it and I was so excited and enthusiastic. Nothing had happened yet to make me feel bad at all. I hadn't had any morning sickness yet. I hadn't yet gone to the doctor who asked me if I had gotten pregnant "on purpose" because I was "only" 24. That day was very near perfect.

Today was very near perfect too. Dutch was a happy guy the whole day long and fell right to sleep when we put him in his crib. There was no crying or fussiness, he just smiled and laughed and fell asleep. I'm such a lucky mama.

A List for Tuesday

Five More Things I'm Thankful For

1. Heaters
2. Hot chocolate (Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate is the best, but I also like homemade by my Mama)
3. Pens, but not just any pens, my favorite type of pen. This is a very specific pen. The Pilot Precise Grip in blue ink with an extra fine point. This pen comes in a 3-pack and is getting harder and harder to find. I love this pen.
4. Books
5. The internet, my laptop, and Microsoft Word

Walking in a Winter Wonderland (Dangit!)

I don't know how many of you know this about me, but I hate snow. It all goes back to a time when Hayden and I were on our way to school and my car hit a patch of ice and spun around, scaring both of us to death, but leaving us unharmed. Since then snow and I have had a very bad relationship. Anyway, it's snowing today. This is both good and bad. Good because it waited until November to come and bad because, well, it's snowing!

When I went out to run errands today Dutchie got to wear his snowsuit for the first time. At first I freaked out when I put it on him because I thought he had outgrown it before he even got to wear it! Turns out the little stinker had moved his feet so he was pushing on the knees making it seem shorter than it was. He looks so cute and as soon as he wakes up from his nap I'll take some pictures of him wearing it.

In other news, Dutch is going to get spoiled spoiled spoiled this Christmas. And I'm not talking about Chris and me. He is already receiving presents from his surrogate aunts and uncles. The funniest being from his Auntie Shelley who sent him a HUGE box from Barnes & Noble filled with five wrapped packages. I guess that's what happens when you're the first non-nephew, everyone spoils you.

Yes Sir, That's My Baby

A couple of pictures of Dutch in his "Grandpa Greg Bouncy Chair." Called such because it was paid for by a gift card from Grandpa Greg.

Lion Love

I got a couple of pictures of Dutch loving on the lion that Auntie Clarissa gave him. The mane makes crunchy noises and he likes it.

Favorite Picture Friday

This is Carianne with Anneke on her lap. I love the way Nikki Sue is playing with Carianne's hair. It makes me laugh.

Tagged by Nan

My sister Carianne "tagged" me, so I thought I would do it.

1 minute ago I was sneaking out of the bedroom so Dutch would stay asleep.

1 day ago I was debating whether to start dinner or wait until Chris got home.

1 week ago I was probably driving the car somewhere (I only have a car every other week, so I make the most of it when I have it)

1 month ago I was working to finish my last submission for the semester and had a terrible terrible cold.

1 year ago I had just found out I was pregnant and was packing to move to PA!

3 years ago I was working at the University of Utah's Independent Study office (the best job ever!) and finishing my Bachelor's.

5 years ago Chris and I had been married about a month and a half and I was working at Shred-Pro (the worst job ever that I swear took years off of my life) trying to figure out if I wanted to go back to school or not.

7 years ago I was in my first semester at Snow College and had just been in my first theatre production there.

10 years ago I was a sophomore in high school. I was a homely little thing and in a couple of months would turn 16. I was also in love with my best friend who would wait until I was dating someone else to tell me that he had a crush on me. Boys.

My Own Little Groucho

Dutch has incredibly expressive eyebrows. Strange, but true. He gives so much expression through just a raising or lowering of his little eyebrows. It's so funny and I wish I could get some video of it, but alas, he's self-conscious in front of the camera. So unlike his mother.

A List for Tuesday

Five More Things I'm Thankful For

1. Petfinder.com; it's a website that list local shelter animals in your area. It's how we found Bo and I love to go on and look to see if our next dog is available yet. So far s/he isn't.
2. The news; I like to watch the news to learn more about Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. I think Dutchie likes it for the vibrant colors.
3. Scissors; how many of you think about how convenient these are?
4. Dreams; I've been having a lot lately and I like to think about them after I break up (not to mention some story ideas have come through dreams).
5. Omi; my great-grandmother passed away 14 years ago on Friday and I still miss her. I'm starting to write a book about her life in hopes of honoring her.

A Momentous Occasion

I was going through Dutch's clothes and putting away all of the ones that are too small. He has officially grown out of all of his Newborn-sized pants! Because he has no butt at all he's been able to wear his pants for a lot longer. Yesterday I put the last pair of NB pants away and now he's in 0-3 month pants. That was the exciting news for yesterday.

In other news, Dutch is drooling buckets lately and I'm beginning to think he might be teething. He loves to gnaw on anything near his mouth, mostly his hands. He hasn't been angry or irritable at all, so maybe he's not teething. It's hard to tell when you have such a happy kid!

Dutch Laughing

Because we couldn't get the video of Dutch laughing to load on this blog I put it on Youtube. Here is the link. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuiWxn2sqdQ

Tagged By Anna

Here is the 6th picture in my 6th folder. It's of me with my great-grandmother Omi. She was my best friend while she was alive and is now (I'm pretty sure) my guardian angel. She is hands down the most amazing woman I've ever known.

Seeing Red

I am 99% sure that Dutch is going to take after his Daddy, Grandma Kellie and Great-Grandpa Morgan by being a red-head. His hair is growing in again and in the sunlight it's golden-red. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will continue to grow in red.

Today Dutch blew his first raspberry! He's been trying for the last few days to do it, which was hilarious. His little tongue sticking out and the concentration on his face. But today he did it! He seemed pleasantly surprised by it and hurried to do it again.

Such a cutie.

I'm Sorry, What Did You Say?

The last time I checked I was allowed to vote for whomever I felt was the best candidate. Just because I didn't use the same criteria as you does not mean that my vote is wrong or that I am somehow an inferior person.

I have been a Democrat since my sophomore year of high school. I chose Barack Obama as my candidate the very first time I heard him speak. I think that he is going to do more for this country than a President has in a long time. He will have to reverse all of George Bush's marvelous work, of course, but I think he's up for it. He is an amazing man with an amazing mind.

If you don't like that, I'm sorry for you.

I Voted For Barack Obama

...and I'm glad that he won.

A List for Tuesday

Because this is November I decided that every Tuesday List will be 5 Things That I'm Thankful For:

1. The right to vote and all the women who fought so I could have it.
2. Baby aspirin so that Dutchie doesn't hurt so much after his vaccines.
3. Libraries, so I can read books that would be too expensive to buy or are out of print.
4. Vinegar, because it's supposed to eliminate stink smells in baby clothes (we'll see).
5. A video camera that can capture all of the fun moments with my baby (now if only stupid Blogger would work so I can upload them).


Bonus List: 5 Things That We Learned At Dutch's 4-Month Appointment

1. Dutch weighs 15 lbs 7 oz, is 25 1/2 inches long, and has a head circumference of 41.5 cm.
2. He eats more than most babies his age by about 12 ounces a day.
3. If we want to start feeding him cereal in the near future we can (but he's not ready yet because his tongue thrust is still really strong).
4. We need to buy a humidifier (especially when we go visit Grandma and Grandpa in Utah).
5. He makes the saddest face in the whole world when he has to get shots.

Frustrated

I've been trying for the last couple of days to post an adorable video of Dutch talking and laughing. For some stupid reason it won't post. I'll keep trying though.

Today Dutch and I went with some other moms and their kids to the zoo. We heard the lion roar--TWICE. Once on the way in and once on the way out. It was so cool! The second time he was just yawning and it was still so loud. I wonder what it would be like to have a voice that carried like that.

In a few hours Dutch will have his 4-month check-up. I am sad that he might have to get shots again, but excited to see how much he weighs now. I'll post his new stats tomorrow on his 4-month birthday. Can you believe that it's already been 4 months? But then again, can you believe it's only been 4 months?

Happy Birthday Cat!

Today is my friend Catherine's birthday. Cat and I met on Halloween in our American Sign Language class. She was dressed as Mary Poppins (the white dress with the red sash that she wears when they jump into the chalk drawing) and I knew that she was my kind of girl. Julie, Cat, and I have all been really good friends ever since then and I miss our monthly Girl Lunches. Cat is so amazing, she ties my Aunt Marianne for best seamstress in the world, she's going to be a fabulous nurse, and she really helped me through it when Coco died. I love you so much Cat and wish I could take you to Su Casa today. Happy birthday!

Favorite Picture Friday

Tinkerbell

Lucille Ball

Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

Marilyn Monroe (that's my hair, not a wig)

These are some of my favorite Halloween costumes over the years. And Cheerleader Heather, just for good measure. Happy Halloween!