Saturday, October 31, 2009

Wow That's Embarrassing

Thought I would compile a list of my most embarrassing moments...


Peeing my pants coming home from Kindergarten. I used to have a real issue with public bathrooms, so I would try to avoid peeing at school.

Jenny Sampson telling me I smelled like pooh in the 2nd grade. We are best friends now - crazy!

Getting made fun of CONSTANTLY for being Mormon. My personal favorite: "How many wives is your husband gonna have?" - Never got old guys...

Lee Smith told me he didn't want to be "with" me (we were in like, 6th grade) because my clothes weren't cool enough.

Everytime someone told me the word "gullible" was written on the wall - and I looked.

Being chosen to be a "student director" for our town children's play. Basically this meant you were too horrible to act .... in a CHILDREN's play! I told them I had a modeling job (which I didn't) and I wouldn't have time anyway.

The time Brian Murphy asked me if I got hit by the ugly stick.

I wrote a speech for the DARE program (everyone in my class wrote one, and the best speech would be chosen for the DARE concert night), and I chose most of my words from the dictionary. I honestly thought the longer the word, the better the speech. I couldn't even pronounce half of them ..it was awful. Even more awful - I really thought I'd win!

One year at camp, my friend and I wanted to lay out and get some rays. Afterward, when we were at the cafeteria for dinner, I realized we'd been laying out in front of the windows. We must have looked like such hussies laying out in front of the entire camp!

The night before graduation, I tripped and fell INTO our glass coffee table. I just kind of stayed there, because I remembered this lady I knew who said she had to get stitches in her butt because of glass. Turns out my butt was fine, but my arm wasn't. The next day, everyone kept asking about my arm, and I had to say that I tripped in my own house. Dumb story. Eventually I just started to sensationalize it by making up stories.

My friend Andrea and I were constantly making "your mama" jokes. I decided to do that to someone in one of my classes - unfortunately his response was, "My mom's dead." Turns out she really was.

Falling UP the stairs working at SkyWest - while holding two cups of crushed ice. The ice went everywhere and my shoes fell down the stairs. I had to get up, gather myself, and find my shoes.

While working one day, I was walking up the stairs and noticed something felt funny. All of a sudden, I realized I had underwear stuck in my pants, and they were about to come out of my pant leg. I ended up limping all the way to my desk!

Biffing it in Wal-Mart with Petra, who then pointed and laughed. I was holding chips, which somehow ended up underneath me. I ended up buying them because I felt bad for crushing them.

So I went out with this guy named Luke a couple times, but turns out he was really creepy, so I just started ignoring his phone calls. Well, one day I decided to call my COUSIN Luke, but actually ended up calling creepy Luke - one of the most awkward conversations.

Biffing it in Safeway after Ethan was born. Probably the most embarrassing fall because everyone wanted to know if I was ok. I would much rather people point and laugh!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Our First Date

Ethan is now 5 1/2 months old... and we decided it was time to get out. Billy and I tried going out for our anniversary June 21st but it just turned into an emotional disaster, so I was hoping this date would be better - and it was!

We dropped Ethan off at a close friend's house (thank you Lexie!) and met some friends at Red Robin. I wanted their bottomless fries so bad, and they did NOT disappoint! Here is the run down of our night...

Billy and I arrived at Red Robin early, so we put our names on the list and headed to target. Of course we ended up in the baby section. It took me about a 1/2 hour to stop feeling guilty...

Billy and I with our empty fry plates - Billy was so happy to be out alone! It was a great night of bonding with my hubby, but it was nice to go home with Ethan at the end of the night.

Ethan's First Haircut

Ethan doesn't have near as much hair as when he was born, but he has lots of hairs that never fell out - which looks really weird against the new hairs that have grown in. So...we decided our shaggy little boy needed a haircut. After both fighting over the scissors (b/c we both wanted to cut his hair), we decided to take turns. Turns out it's MUCH harder than it looks! Maybe we will cut it when he's sleeping next time...

You like the kiddy scissors we used?

There's my man looking nice and sharp! - And a little upset about being held down..

DIY Pumpkin

I have never decorated for the holidays before this year. But I decided last week that I wanted to start making our apartment look more like a home (it's about time). So I went on the internet looking for DIY ideas - because we definitely cannot afford anything more than that! This is a pumpkin I painted that sits just outside our door. I'm super jazzed about it!

The Kiddies

The other day I signed up on a nanny website to earn some extra money by nannying part-time. I haven't gotten any bites on my profile just yet, but I figured I wanted to practice hanging out with children and having fun with them! Melody was kind enough to lend me her girls for the afternoon so we decided to do fingerpainting!

Adia and Leila right before we began to paint. Let me just say, I had NO idea how messy this could get!

The girls after they got done painting. Although they painted a bajillion papers, I let them take home just one to the their mommy. They were so proud of their artwork!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Sign Language

So I got a sign language video for Ethan and it came in the mail. I was so excited to pop it in and start learning with Ethan! Actually, I was the ONLY one who was excited to watch it - Ethan just kind of sat there bored, UNTIL I caught him laughing at a cute little handicapped child on the screen. Looks like he and I have some work to do!


Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ethan and his Betrothed

The following video is of Ethan and Brizzy. Brizzy's mom, Lexi, and I have decided the two are going to get married someday. So I've started to compile videos and pictures for their wedding video! Enjoy! This one is of Ethan trying to hold her hand..



Religious Freedom

POLITICAL ALERT! If you are easily offended by politics or certain conservative views, this post is NOT for you!


My husband told me today about this amazing talk he read by Dallin H. Oaks given yesterday at BYU-Idaho. Billy definitely has a man-crush on Oaks - apparently he was a very prominent lawyer set to become a US supreme court justice before being asked to be an Apostle. Several of his papers and opinions are well-published and well-known throughout the attorney world.

Yesterday, President Oaks spoke about Proposition 8, and exactly what it means for religious freedom. While stating our church would never want to deny gay couples civil rights, he did speak about an agenda this movement has sparked - one where religions would not have a right to deny gay couples full fellowship or freedom to be married in their churches or temples.

What I love about his talk is that his argument is so well documented and cited! It is a very intelligent argument for why our church spoke out against Proposition 8. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

August Photoshoot

So we had a photoshoot back in August with Kristen Beaty Photography. I know it's a little late, but here are some of my favorites!










Ethan obviously wasn't feeling it, but they still turned out well! Can't wait 'til our next photoshoot next spring.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Teeth!

Did I mention my little man has teeth? He started teething back in August - and I thought I was going crazy - babies aren't supposed to get teeth that early! Sure enough, I started to see these two tiny teeth pop through his gums. One thing I know for sure - teething is the absolute worst! For both mom and baby. Neither one of us got sleep for about two weeks. Definitely not looking forward to more teeth.. it is so depressing that he still has an entire mouthful of teeth ahead of him!

However....they are so adorable!

He's had his teeth since September, but this is the first photo I've been able to capture of them. He is very stubborn about letting people see his teeth!

The Pumpkin Patch

So this weekend was one of those weekends where I demanded to do something out of the ordinary! Most of the time, Billy and I just like to take it easy and not do much when he has days off, but I desperately needed to get out of the house! We decided to go to Heiser Farms' Pumpkin Patch up in Dayton (just about 10 minutes away).

It was Ethan's first trip to a pumpkin patch and I was super excited! Turns out I was way more excited than he was.. which will be evident in the pictures included in this post. I realized this trip was definitely more for me than it was for him!

Here is a rundown of our day...

Picture as a pumpkin.. I could NOT get him to look at me for the picture. He was much more interested in other things. What those things were I don't know, but they must have been very important!
Billy and I being scary scarecrows. I think we did a pretty good job of scaring all the crows away...

A picture of just a small section of the pumpkin patch. It was SO HUGE! We spent plenty of time looking for just the right pumpkin. It was a lot more fun than I expected. I could have done without all the bugs though..

We had to wake Ethan up for this picture, so he wasn't too happy at first. Then he realized the straw was fun to play with, so it wasn't so bad.

Ethan awkwardly grinning.. he was ready to be done way before we were!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

What Matters Most

Several weekends ago in church, the subject of family was brought up - shocker! What was said was extremely thought-provoking. It was mentioned that our family is our most prized possession; as such, we should TREAT them like our most prized possession.

How many of us sometimes treat our friends with more kindness than the people we live with? Or our parents and siblings? I definitely have this problem - so quick to snap at Billy, when I would never be that way with a friend. I decided that day that I wanted to change the way I treat my family. I have in no way been perfect since then - but I can say that our lives are better and happier since making that resolution.

I still can't figure out how to attach Youtube videos, but here is a link to President Monson's talk on what matters most:

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

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." - Thomas S. Monson

Conference Weekend

Growing up, Conference Weekend was synonymous for torture. 8 grueling hours of absolute boredom! I was always warned well in advance of this awful time because my mom would always get so excited and exclaim how much she LOVED it! I just thought she was crazy - not that the feeling was new, as I felt that way most of the time. As I have grown older (and much wiser, of course) I have begun to appreciate the calm and simplicity of Conference weekend. To be able to sit back with my little family and listen to uplifting talks is a joy - one I know my kids will loath soon enough :) ...and so the cycle continues.

Here are some images from our enjoyable weekend...

This is what happens when I get antsy...


Amazing waffles! - although I don't like to mix food, Billy thoroughly enjoyed it..

And Ethan was SUPER excited. Don't judge the outfit - Billy dressed him!

Monday, October 5, 2009

First Steps in the Ocean

Several weeks ago, I looked online and saw that it was supposed to be gorgeous in Lincoln City. For those of you who are not familiar with Oregon, a gorgeous day on the coast does not come everyday. Billy and I called some of our friends and hopped in the car to enjoy a wonderful day at the coast.

Our cute little family enjoying some rays.

The amazing view!

Ethan decided to nap a little. All the people and noise tuckered him out.

Ethan next to his girlfriend, Sophie Walters. They are only two days apart in age, but he seriously looks like he could eat her for breakfast!

Billy playing some football with our friends. Thanks for coming Eric and Jennifer, it was a blast with you guys!

Ethan cuddling up. He's still kind of scared of the wind, but it's not as bad as it was, so I guess that means we're making progress!

Ethan's first steps in the ocean. No, he didn't particularly like it, but it was a big moment!

Sweet Potatoes

So I have heard numerous times about how girls learn faster than boys, and I truly believe that statement! I started feeding Ethan baby food when he turned four months old and it took him THREE WEEKS to figure out how the spoon worked! Here is video of him eating for the first time:



My Little Talker

At Ethan's two-month appointment, my doctor commented that Ethan was the most talkative baby he'd encountered (of course what he's TRYING to say is that Ethan is the smartest 2-month old on the planet, but I knew what he meant). I snapped a video of Ethan talking to his imaginary friend. Sorry about the weird angle, but if I don't hide the camera he acts really weird!



He Rolled Over!!!

He rolled over tonight! So for quite some time I've been a little worried about my little guy. As a mother it is so hard not to compare you child to everyone else, but SERIOUSLY, all the babies I know have been rolling over for a LONG TIME already! And what was more troubling than him not rolling over was the fact that he didn't seem to care. So....yesterday I started putting his toys out of reach so he'd at least have to work a little if he wanted to play with them. Looks like it paid off! I'm so proud of my little man!

Included are pictures of him right after it happened...



He doesn't look very surprised or happy, so I'm not sure if he really knows how huge rolling over is!

His Nakedness

So I'm not sure if you have realized, but we were bless with a very CHUNKY baby boy! I figured these pictures would really show off his chunkiness/rolls. He is our little Michelin man!


Here he is checking out Daddy's shirt. He gets mesmerized very easily by patterns. Just today we got sidetracked while eating baby food because he got distracted by the pattern on his bib!

Ethan likes being photographed from his right side best.

Does this diaper make me look fat?

Water

Ethan loves water! I discovered this while playing with him in the bathtub. He has now learned how to scoop it into his mouth - he does it practically the whole time he's in the water now.


Play Group


Ok, so I apologize for the tons of post that come after this, but I am playing catch up for the last month of laziness! I want to make my blog into a scrapbook, so I want to make sure to include everything that's happened the past little while.

For the past month I've been going to play group every Wednesday at 2 and it has been a much-needed hour of girl-time! I love my husband very much, but don't know what I'd do without women to talk with!

This picture is of little Sophie and Brizzy "playing" together. Ok, so we may force our babies to do so, but soon enough they will play on their own!