Kyler and Jeanette

Let the mess begin!

2012-01-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Calista is ready to eat!

Here, Mom, let me help you.

Yum?

Half birthday..!

2012-01-26T12:08:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it, but it's true. My baby girl is six months - a whole half year! - old. She's growing up way too fast, it's completely surreal. I want her to stay my little baby forever, but grow she must... and some of those side effects of getting older I can't wait for - please, Baby Girl, sleep a nice, solid chunk at night (maybe even the whole time?) again. This month hasn't been the easiest for us. We just got back from Oregon when Calista got pathetically sick. All she wanted to do was sleep, eating wasn't even a big draw for her, which was not like her at all. Thankfully, she's better now and back to being a champion eater, squealer, and smiler.

Pathetic and sick, no? This was actually when she was starting to get better...

Once she got better, she really started to enjoy her Christmas presents, and also started sitting up really well... with some balance assistance.

Playing with the block stacker - she loves it, even if Ikea says it's for 12 months+

She also loves to octopus. It has crinkle legs, legs with rings to suck on, it's soft, and it sings songs if you pull the purple ring!

Can life get any better?

And of course, she still loves to play with the toys she had before.

I entitled the following video "Being Calista" because she's not doing anything special per say, she's just being herself...

and that self is so dang cute!

Really, she'll try and play with just about anything: my cell phone, water bottle, chapstick, books we're reading...

And by "play," I mean "suck on."

Yes, I put a diaper on her head. I also put pants on her head:

Grabbing the toes!

While I would prefer if she was sleeping well, I can't actually get frustrated with her, because then she looks at me with her big eyes,

(like this)

(or like this)

and my heart just melts.

Happy half-birthday, baby girl!

Winning Sucks

2012-01-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

In contrast to a previous post, Calista generally succeeds when she wants to get her pacifier back. Here's proof:

I love how much she is concentrating on the pacifier. Her eyes get so focused... Hee. She makes me laugh.

Big Plane Propeller

2012-01-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

And, one last remnant from our trip to Oregon for the holidays, sung to the tune of "Popcorn Popping," I present:

Big Plane Propeller

I looked out the window and what did I see?

A big plane propeller staring back at me.

This plane has brought me such a nice surprise:

A big plane propeller right before my eyes.

I could take an armful, but that's not wise--

--Unless I want a good pirate disguise!

It isn't really smart, but it's fun to see,

A big plane propeller staring back at me.

Yes, I sung this, or a rough draft of this, to my 5 month old daughter. I'm a good mom.

Happiness and Cheer

2012-01-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Christmas time is here... and this one is baby's first! There is only one of those in a lifetime, you know... so, of course, we took lots of pictures!

Calista is fascinated with the Swedish chimes. Every time she hears them, she turns to look at them and tries to reach for them.

The sound can even make her stop crying when she's being fussy, which is definitely a Christmas bonus!

Christmas morning...

Still sleeping, because she doesn't know what excitement awaits her!

There were plenty of presents to open.

Calista, with a little help, got pretty good at opening them.

I'm not going to detail all that was received, but here are a couple of items:

From Grandma May, we got this stylish carrier. Calista seems to like it, yes?

From her cousin Lily, Calista got MegaBloks, and she loves them!

See?

Okay, maybe I love them. But I'm sure she will someday, too!

All in all, with the travel, the cousins, the presents, and the fun, it was a good first Christmas for The Wee One.

A belated Merry Christmas, everyone!

Two babies and one adorable toddler

2012-01-16T11:20:00.001-07:00

Over the holidays, Calista got to meet her cousins on the May side, Lilia and Ivy. Lilia was intrigued by the two babies ("two Ivy's!" she said once), and seemed more interested in Calista than Ivy. I guess she's around Ivy all the time, so that's old hat.

Two babies!

Staring at Calista and Ivy.

Soft baby cheeks!

Ivy and Calista were fascinated with each other. It was especially fun to put them together and see what they would do. It was pretty even in the mauling/touching.

Ivy touching Calista.

Staring...

And now Calista trying to attack Ivy.

But it's okay, because Ivy had one more attack left in her.

Hair pulling!

Actually, for real, they didn't hurt each other, but either stared and touched or just ignored each other. Very cute, though.

Neither one looking at the camera...

Calista looking at the camera...

Ivy looking at the camera...

Calista looking again, but Ivy's not...

...and they've both lost interest.

Kyler took and narrated this video.

Ivy and Calista together, plus proof Calista rolls over!

Pictures of Lilia:

Washing her hands in preparation of making cookies.

Christmas morning, checking out what's in the stocking.

Pictures of Ivy:

Tummy time!

With Grandpa

With Aunt Loradona

It's convenient Half-Sized Ivy!

Cousins are fun!

Travels and excitements

2012-01-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Oregon for the holidays, which meant several things:

1. Calista took her first plane ride.

2. Calista met her cousins, and my entire family was together for Christmas for the first time in... four years?

3. Calista had her first Christmas.

4. We got to enjoy Oregon by doing things such as going downtown, to the temple, and to the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

This post will talk about numbers 1 and 4 above. Numbers 2 and 3 will each have there own posts. Capisce?

Calista was great for the plane rides, or at least as good as we could possibly expect. She was too intrigued and/or overwhelmed by all the people at the airport to nap, but on the plane she'd calm down a little and would actually sleep, which was nice.

Sleeping plane baby.
She didn't just nap, though. Calista, as always, played the charmer. She had everyone in the rows around us smiling and laughing at her, and she loved it.

Bouncy plane baby!
Thanks for being relatively easy to deal with, baby!

As a whole family, we headed to the coast one day. We didn't actually touch the ocean, because it was cold, wet, and windy, but we did go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and then to eat at Mo's. Tasty, tasty ice cream, cheese, and clam chowder. Can life get better?

At the cheese factory, with the cow/farmer cutouts. What a cute little cow we have, eh?

We went downtown twice, once to visit my dad with the entire family, and once with Calista's namesake.

I love downtown Portland. We went the the Saturday's market, which is always exciting, and we went to Powell's, City of Books. I love bookstores that you legitimately need a map to find your way around. I always have to set a budget before I walk in, and for the first time ever, I didn't even try to go over it! Of course, Kyler said the budget was $50, but not going over it probably had more to do with the diaper blowout we experienced while we were there rather than an inability for us to find more than 50 bucks worth of books.

We also went here:

We stood in line for quite a while, and the doughnuts were good and had funny names, but... not worth the wait. If you want good doughnuts without the hype and wait, go to Donut Day, only a few blocks from where my grandma and grandpa used to live. The owner is super nice, too.

And, yes, Kyler and I went to the temple. That means we officially left Calista with someone who is not her parent for the first time ever, and everyone survived. Calista was a bit of a pill, not wanting to nap, but she had troubles with that, and adjusting to the house, the pack-n-play, everything. That meant sometimes she was so tired she would finally fall asleep like this:

Sitting upright(ish) on the couch with Kyler. She just nodded off.

Until next time...

The Leg Mishap

2012-01-05T21:19:00.001-07:00

I woke up early this morning, hearing my baby screaming. I head into her room, and when she notices me, she stops crying. Then, because I start laughing at what I see, I walk out to get the camera (which makes her begin screaming again). I come back into the room, she calms down a bit, and I quickly snap this picture:

Then I extracted her from her crib, fed her, and put her back to sleep. Silly baby.

Count it higher: up to 5

2011-12-26T12:49:00.004-07:00

Happy Boxing Day!

Another month has come and gone in the life of my baby girl, and she is officially 5 months old! My, how time flies. A year ago, I had barely told my parents I was pregnant, and work still didn't know. Things have definitely changed.

This month has been quite eventful, including her first international plane ride, meeting her two May family cousins, and celebrating her first Christmas (which will be its own post!).

Sleeping in the dark. I was trying not to wake her up with the flash... I just thought her arm up by her mouth was cute.

Alligator attack!

Who won the confrontation here? I still don't know.

And, in this one... I think the shoe might've come out on top?

After all, the shoe is still standing. Calista... is not.

Calista has been experimenting more with her vocal chords, and here is proof that they work:

SQUEAL!

We got a whole bunch of "new" hand-me-downs from my visiting teacher, including this outfit:

Cute, no? And the babe is actually smiling for the camera, not making a weird face! Yay!

Every once in a while, Calgary gets what is called a Chinook, which is a weather pattern full of wind... but it's warm wind! Brings the temperatures up, melts the snow a little, and inspires Calista and I to go for walks.

She still needs to bundle up, but that just means she looks so cute!

Looking up at me to say

a tummy time hello!

Bath time is getting more tolerable, perhaps even... fun?

Well, as long as there is a washcloth on her chest and a rubber duck to eat.

After her baths, we give her a little naked time to dry off. We generally put her on her tummy with her towel.

As you can see, she was more than ready for bed on this particular day. Does she look like a drunk movie star or something?

Calista absolutely loves to stand, although she can't do it by herself yet.

Still, with daddy's help, life is good.

Or, perhaps, with just the ottoman's help...?

Ready to experience the world! And to fall over, very soon after this picture was taken.

When she's not standing, Calista is a little wiggle-wart.

She started out facing the opposite direction, and in the middle of the blanket. And, man, is she proud of herself!

Naptime is getting easier by far, and when she wakes up, Calista is such a happy girl.

I just love it! So much better than right before her naps when she's tired, for sure!

Calista has liked music since she was born, it seems. Sometimes, when she's getting a little fussy, we sit down with her at the keyboard and play and sing. It keeps her from crying for a while, and lately she's been trying her hand at playing herself, with our help, of course.

I think we have a child prodigy on our hands!

She's constantly discovering new things.

This, for example, is her new favorite toy to suck on. It's a cupcake holder I was given at a bridal shower, and it's soft and squishy and blue... just perfect for a baby snack!

Blankets are fun, especially if they are pulled over the face! Yay!

Not looking very happy, but she enjoys the blanket, I promise.

Five months old! What a big girl!

How did this happen again?

2011-12-19T12:26:00.003-07:00

When did I become this girl? The girl who agrees to play her saxophone, alone, in front of people? When did that happen? It took until my senior year to occasionally play solos in jazz band, with the entire band there with me. I haven't done solo/ensemble since eighth grade. I don't enjoy standing in front of people playing, it makes me nervous. When did I become this girl?
Well, what's done is done: I played Silent Night twice within about a week, once in front of 30 or so people, the other in front of a couple hundred people. And I didn't completely stink. And... most importantly, it's over. Unless someone else asks me to play...
Well, let's add one more: Silent Night, accompanied by my husband, in front of technically no one except the camera. And everyone who reads this blog. (I'll be honest, it's not our best effort, but it's what you get when we try to do it quickly, while The Babe is sleeping!)
Enjoy!

Scandal baby

2011-12-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

I told my sister a while back that Calista has discovered the fact that her clothes have a hem... and that it is easily pulled up to her mouth to suck on. My sister said, get me a picture of that! It sounds cute! Well, Loradona, here are a few pictures:

This shirt is the best toy ever!

Dresses are good, too.

Especially extra-poufy ones!

Lil' Wigglewart

2011-12-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

Lately, when I put Calista down on her playmat on the floor, like this:

Nice and centered in the middle, yes? Anyway, when I put her down to play, I watch her kick her feet out over and over again, until she is more like this:

Because, who needs to be in the middle of the playmat when they can be on the edge, or possibly completely off of it?
Silly little wigglewart.

Juggling babies!

2011-12-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I'm not juggling babies (only one, ha!), but I am teaching a baby to juggle, and she'll be an expert in no time.

Holding the ball steady...

And up to the mouth!

Down again...

And back to the mouth!

Whoops, bye ball!
So, she still has a quite a way to go before she'll be wow-ing crowds, but the potential is undeniable. We have a juggling performer on our hands, people!

Time for solid food?

2011-11-28T11:56:00.003-07:00

Namely... fish!

Calista has started grabbing at just about anything, including my hands while I'm trying to change her diaper. Changing a diaper while a baby is trying to suck on your forearm is not easy, so I gave her a fish to hold on to instead.

Yummy rainbow trout. Who wouldn't want some?

The highlights

2011-11-26T13:47:00.003-07:00

The last month has been an eventful one for Calista, as already mentioned, and now it's official: at four months old, she can roll over, take a bath without completely melting down, smile, laugh, and make really cute/funny facial expressions! She's getting really good at going to sleep on her own, and the last couple of weeks has gone back to sleeping 6-7 hours, then 3-4 more, and then another 2-3 during the night.

She often falls asleep on the way home from church, so we bring her in, unstrap her, and take pictures. What would you do?

Her favorite things to smile at are people. I get a lot of them, but I'm around her most. She will be amused by just about anyone, including her father (of course!), aunt Loradona and Grandma Maria via Skype, Aunt Karina and Uncle Clay, people at church, doctor's offices, grocery stores... The world is just full of funny looking people, I guess.

Laying on my bed while I get dressed.

Happy girl!

And suddenly sad?

She has really started to enjoy toys more, reaching for them and always trying to get them in her mouth.

Yes, her bum is exposed in this picture. She had a slight diaper rash, so we were airing her out. Worked well, and it makes for a cute bum in the background!

Yummy toy!

For my birthday, Kyler bought me a pair of pink Converse All Stars. Why pink, you ask?

This is why.

Calista was given a pair of pink Converse by one of my roommates, Corynne. So, obviously, I had to match!

Baby feet and adult feet! Hers are cuter, I know.

I was cleaning out the diaper bag a little while ago, trading out the backup onesies for outfits that actually fit her now that she's in 3-6 month sizes in just about everything, when I rediscovered her sunglasses, and decided to see what she'd think of them.

She wiggled until they were up out of her eyes, and then all was well.

Who needs sunglasses to actually keep the sun out of their eyes? They make a much cuter accessory.

Doing the hand jive?

In preparation for the day when Calista will start eating food, we decided to eat dinner a couple of times with her in the highchair.

The straps don't even bother me, because...

...as long as I have something to suck on, life is peachy.

Not ready to eat yet, but definitely ready to sit in the chair!

I mentioned to my mother that I didn't have mittens for Calista yet, and in the next package she sent to me, what was included but this:

It's Lampchops!

And the mittens taste good, too, apparently.

All ready to go out in the cold!

Because you can't go wrong with a baby in a towel:

I like the drool coming down from her chin. Trés Chic.

She's also getting pretty good (most of the time) at napping during the day.

After she had been sleeping for a while, I sneaked in to check on her, make sure she was breathing, that kind of thing. She looked so cute I had to take a picture!

Which then woke her up, at least temporarily, just long enough to stretch and arch her back.

Four months old...

...today!

Such the charmer

2011-11-21T11:35:00.001-07:00

The last few days have been filled with new people and places for Calista, or at least people and places that aren't home. I went visiting teaching on Thursday, followed by a doctor's appointment for the babe, then yesterday was church (of course) and dinner at a ward member's house. All in all, rather busy and exciting for an almost 4 month old. And let me tell you... this girl

is quite the charmer.
During visiting teaching, she was fantastic, awake and alert and looking at everyone. "Oooh, her eyes are so big and bright!" Yes, I think she's figuring that out.
At the doctor's office, she sat in the waiting room hamming it up, staring and smiling and wiggling and cooing. "What a beautiful baby! She looks so alert for 3.5 months old!" (Side note: she was 25 inches long, and 13 pounds 14 ounces. Doctor said it was obvious she was healthy and that she was quite strong.)
At church during relief society, she spent the entire time cooing and smiling at the women (and children) across the aisle, and they smiled back, including the little boy six days older than she is. Is it true love? Possibly. I'm holding out judgement though until she's old enough to speak, at least.
And then at dinner... she made the women want another baby (one had a 3.5 year old, the other an almost 3 year old), and even got a compliment on smelling good. That's what happens when she lets us give her a bath...

She is going to have the entire world wrapped around her little finger... and the world will know and love it.

Washcloths are fun

2011-11-14T12:54:00.001-07:00

I am sometimes a cruel mother. I do things like put a washcloth on my child's head and then take pictures. Can you blame me? She's so dang cute!

For a while, she was turning her head so she could see me. Then I moved the washcloth so it didn't obstruct her vision quite as much.

After a while, I took the washcloth off her head altogether and gave it to her.

Yum, tasty washcloth.

Daddy's girl

2011-11-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Calista loves her daddy!

He holds her close so she feels safe.

He plays with her (and doesn't even squish her!)

He helps her to stand.

He lets her nap by his side.

He feeds her when Mommy is otherwise occupied.

He helps her hold on to her pacifier.

He lets her be really, really tall!

He's teaching her to fly.

Up, up, and away!

He dances with her (and Mommy).

Yes, Calista loves her daddy...

Well, most of the time.

Tumbleweed

2011-11-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was quite the momentous one for Calista.

On Saturday, for the first time, she didn't spend the entirety of her bath screaming! Part of it, yes, but not the entire time! Bath time has not been a pleasant experience for us, so we've been doing it as quickly and infrequently as possible. The funny thing is, it's not the nakedness that bothers her, she doesn't mind getting her diaper changed or hanging out without anything on. It's not the temperature of the water that bothers her, we've experimented with warm to slightly warmer to slightly colder, and nothing makes it better. No, it's the actual wetness that bothers her. I took a bath a few weeks ago, and Calista started to fuss and get hungry, so Kyler stripped her down and brought her in to me to eat. While she was eating, she was very careful to keep her feet out of the water, pulling them up whenever they started to slip in again. She is anti-wetness. Well, at least her bath on Saturday wasn't just her screaming the whole time... makes for much happier parents and a cleaner baby.

On Sunday, she did a couple of cool things. First, she rolled over... from tummy to back and from back to tummy. Not consecutively, but in the same day is still pretty cool, huh?

Second, she totally giggled! I thought she might have previously, but now I'm positive. Kyler heard her, too, and he agreed. And what did my darling daughter laugh at? Me. Dancing. There's got to be a joke there, right?

Witching hour is come

2011-11-01T17:17:00.000-06:00

I meant to add these yesterday, and then I threw up 4 times. Some things went on the back burner. Thankfully, Calista was as good as I could possibly expect while I was sick, happy just to chill on her playmat or my chest except when she was hungry. No stressful fussiness, just chill. Thank you, baby.

Now, on to the important things: Halloween pictures of Calista! I'm not sure these need a ton of captions, they speak for themselves!

Skeleton baby!

With Sven!

Sucking on the black cat!

With Daddy at the ward party!

Count them: 1, 2, 3 skeletons with Mommy!

Our "pumpkin."

Happy Halloween, everybody!

Fights of the One Less Travelled

2011-10-27T21:05:00.002-06:00

So, for my Master's thesis, I'm going to be interviewing people. Lots of people. For a long time. This has presented the problem of how on earth I'm going to transcribe dozens of hours of audio into text, so I can then code and work with it in a quasi-scientific fashion. One thing that's clear is that Windows 7 Speech Recognition is not the solution to that problem. It is, however, unendingly hilarious.

This brings me to the first part in our indeterminate-number-of-part series entitled: (Mangled) Poetry Corner, brought to you by Windows 7. In this episode, we bring you Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken, as dictated by me and filtered through the artistic lens of Speech Recognition. First, the original poem:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Epic, is it not? Still, Windows 7 shows Robert how poetry should be done:

Two roads diverged from the deal would
End sorry I could not travel vote
End the one traveler, while nice to a
And more than one as far as I can
Two word Pentium reform

Then took the other, has just as there
And having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wondered where
Well as for that passing their
There were none really about the same

Envelope that morning only way
Believes those that can't run black
Alike at the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leaves on Two-way
I found that I should ever come back

I shall be telling this was assigned
Some were teaches me his hands
Two roads diverged in wood and I
Fights of the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.

Bravo, Windows 7. Bravo.

Wanted: a drunk Laban

2011-10-26T15:53:00.004-06:00

Monday night/Tuesday morning, the baby who has been amazing at sleeping for 6+ hours at a time, thus causing me to only wake up once during the night for the past few weeks, stopped being my angel child.
She went to bed at 9, woke up screaming at 12:30. I fed her and went back to bed. At 3, she woke up again. I know she can last longer than 2.5 hours without eating, so I gave her a pacifier and went back to bed. At 3:30, she's screaming again. I gave her back the pacifier, and stayed on the chair in her room for a few minutes to make sure she's falling asleep. She woke up again at 5, at which point I gave up and fed her. I'm hoping that this will last her until after Kyler's alarm goes off at 7. Yeah... no. She's up at 6:45, and I try to just give her a pacifier... she is not having it. So, I feed her and go back to bed. Around 8, I wake up, convinced I heard her crying, but I don't hear anything for a bit so I begin to wonder if I imagined it. Wait, nope, there it is. I get up and go into her room to discover the reason I didn't hear anything for a bit: Kyler hadn't left yet, so he was trying to quiet her without waking me. Thanks for the effort, but it didn't work. She doesn't want to calm. I feed her, again, and she doesn't seem to want to go back to sleep. Kyler stays for a little while, and we put her on the couch on one end, while I curl up on the other end... and she eventually goes back to sleep for a little while.

Last night, she started to get fussy early, so we got her all ready for bed, I fed her, and she fell asleep. We put her down, turn on the fan, and shut the door, and hope this is it for a few (maybe 6 or more? Please?) hours. An hour later, she is screaming, and a pacifier is not cutting it. Fine, I pick her up and she seems to want to eat, so I try to do that. She won't stay latched, though! I try both sides, back and forth, and she'll eat for a minute and then start to scream again. I'm singing songs to her, because that's the bedtime routine: sing songs while she nurses in the dark of her room. I sing "Nephi's Courage" because my mom said it was one of her favorite primary songs: "I will go; I will do the things the Lord commands. I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey." I start bawling because I'm trying to do what the Lord commands, I'm trying to raise a family and love my daughter and she won't. Stop. Screaming! Where is this way the Lord provides? Where is my drunk Laban?
And then Kyler comes in. Since Calista's bedtime routine focuses on nursing, he can't help so much generally, at least after she's in her jammies, but he heard me crying and was worried. He takes Calista and goes into the other room with her, trying to get her to calm down as she continues to scream for the next hour. Finally, she is started to get drowsy, so he comes back in and puts her in the crib, and we shut the door and go to bed.
And, apparently, I have my answer: Kyler is my help, Kyler is the way. He is my drunk Laban.

This morning, I'm still exhausted from the last two nights. Calista slept a little better last night, only waking up twice before Kyler brought her in again. Not as good as she had been doing (why is my baby regressing?), but better than the night before. I am still so tired, emotionally more than anything. Then, I lay down on the floor next to my daughter, and she looks over at me and smiles, cooing and babbling away.

And I know I wouldn't trade her for the world, or for all the sleep I could ever want.

Happy Baby+Good Sleeper=Happy Mommy

2011-10-26T13:19:00.000-06:00

The baby girl is three months old today! She is growing up so fast - basically none of the 0-3 month clothes fit anymore, time to store them for the next one!

Calista still loves sucking on her hand and pacifier, and will also grab your finger or a washcloth and bring it to her mouth to suck on if given a chance. She also is still (mostly) enjoying tummy time, though she does get frustrated after a while because she can't see the world, I think. She lasts on her tummy long enough to turn around in a full 360, and she always turns counter-clockwise. I wonder what that means?

She is starting to really sleep for 6 or more hours at a stretch at night (except for last night, but let's not talk about that), which I definitely don't mind. We are still working on getting her to take naps, but if I had to choose, I'd rather have Calista sleep at night than during the day.

Pictures from the last month that haven't been included anywhere else...

She fell asleep on my lap. Isn't it the sweetest picture?

Trying to get a good picture of the "I (heart) Africa" shirt my boss bought her... in Africa.

It's daddy-daughter nap time after General Conference!

Yeah, this sleeper doesn't fit anymore. It's been washed and folded and packed in a bin.

In the swing at the park! She's actually a little bit grumpy and fell asleep on the way home. Like I said, I don't quite have her on a nap schedule.

Leaning over in the bumbo! She still loves to sit in it (well, until she gets grumpy), so I do the dishes or eat dinner with her just chilling in the bumbo. Yay!

I've decided this outfit is going to go in the storage bin, too. The dress especially is so much shorter than it was when she first put it on!

I tried to get a picture of her staring and kicking at the toys, but when I came over, she looked up at me instead. Apparently I'm more interesting that toys that make noises when they move.

Standing up! She'll be walking in no time! Or, ha, not.

Three months old today!

The grand cloth experiment

2011-10-24T13:23:00.002-06:00

Kyler and I decided that if, when we moved to Calgary, we had a washer and dryer, we were going to give cloth diapers a try. We do have a washer and dryer (yay for not using quarters!), so we bought some in a variety of cute colors... and white.

This is what they look like:

They are pocket diapers, so they have a super-absorbent insert. The actual diaper is lined in uber soft fleece, and the outside is water resistant or whatever, so no need for plastic covers. They also have adjustable waist and leg sizes, and snaps for closure, which means I also don't need to worry about poking myself or my wiggly baby when it's changing time.

So far, we are very happy with them, especially at night.

We still use disposables when we're out of town, and they are what we have in the diaper bag for anytime we need them, but we are buying way fewer diapers, which makes us very happy. In the long run, these diapers will be cheaper, which we definitely like. Plus, the idea of all those disposable diapers in a landfill... uck.

Don't tell me I'm crazy or that I'll change my mind. If you think I'm crazy, at least be happy that the "crushed berries" color pictured is cute. I like cloth diapers, and I think that we will stick with them. And, if we don't, I also don't want to hear any "I told you so"s.

Japanese stuffing

2011-10-21T18:41:00.001-06:00

A week ago Monday, it was Canadian Thanksgiving. Why on earth they have it on a Monday, and not a Thursday which basically guarantees Friday off (and thus a four day weekend), I don't know. Crazy Canucks. Not really the point, though, I suppose? P.S.: Blogger says "Canucks" is spelled wrong. Is it not a real word in the Google-universe? Weird. The point is, we went down to Raymond and spent a some time with friends and family, which was nice. Definitely one of the perks to living so close to Kyler's family.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, we spent time with Kyler's friends and also went to the Japanese Gardens in Lethbridge. Kyler's mother had passes, but she wasn't going to use them before they closed for the season, so we decided to walk around. It was beautiful! Not terribly huge, but pretty. There was even a wedding party taking pictures... I'm sure they got some good ones!
Calista had been enjoying the sling-carrier earlier in the day, but she was not liking it while we walked around the gardens. So, we (mostly Kyler) carried her instead and she was much happier.

She and I in front of the pretty waterfall.

Kyler and Calista with the Friendship Bell.

Baby profile with pretty background!

Absolutely beautiful, with all the fall colors! Wow!

Sunday and Monday we spent hanging out with family, and of course, eating really good food, including the best stuffing I've ever had. Maria did a good job!
Two random pictures of those two days:

She is wearing a bow and nothing else! Okay, so she has a diaper and is all wrapped up in a blanket, but still... Funnily enough, the bow didn't actually make it to church... she kept pulling it into her eyes and then getting mad that it was there, so we decided to nix the bow.

Baby toes! Who doesn't love baby toes?

The hazards of headwear

2011-10-19T13:52:00.000-06:00

So, I went in to Calista's room, because I heard her making little noises and decided she was done napping. She wasn't screaming or anything, but definitely not asleep. I walk in to find this:

I started laughing and then I told her, "Sorry, but I have to get a picture of this. I'll be right back." She didn't seem to mind my laughter too much, but I do think she was happy when I finally decided to fix the bow and pick her up.

Not completely crazy

2011-10-17T14:21:00.000-06:00

I have had a couple of interesting dreams lately.

Last night, the dream consisted of me trying to catch a flight... somewhere... and I was running late, and then I found out that my flight had left early, and the incredibly old man at security wouldn't let me through and there was no one to talk to about getting another flight... I was grumpy and stressed, and when I woke up I felt that way for a second, until I realized it wasn't real.

A few days ago, I had a dream that Calista started talking. Not crazy, completely unrealistic talking, though. In my dream, her first word was "hi," followed by "yay," "yeah," and "no." All easy, one syllable words. Maybe it's not a dream, but a premonition... since she still is quite a bit too young to talk. Coo, yes. Squeak, sure. Real words? Not on your life.

The baby girl is not talking yet.

Calista cooing... and so much more!

2011-09-26T11:14:00.004-06:00

Two months ago today, I was in the hospital. It was a long day, and I'm glad it's over - partially because it means I now have a beautiful two month old baby! She has grown so much in the last two months, it's amazing. She is so entertaining and beautiful, and we love her so much. Now, for some pictures of Calista, because I can... and because my mother will love them.

Four weeks old

This is while we were sleeping on an air mattress, while in the process of moving. Not an ideal situation, let me tell you. But, hey, it's a cute sleeping naked baby!

One month old

I feel like this picture deserves a really good caption. Sadly I don't have one. Anyone want to come up with one?

Five weeks old

Kyler and I are still sleeping on the air mattress - actually it's our only piece of furniture, so we're living on it all the time. Isn't this a cute picture of Calista asleep in Kyler's arms?

We have furniture! Calista is asleep in her crib (yes, she's on her tummy. We don't let her sleep that way all the time. Let's move on.) and I thought the angle of her hand was really funny.

Six weeks old

Sadly, this outfit doesn't fit anymore. But she sure was cute in it!

This is her passport photo for the next five years. Sorry, Calista!

Seven weeks old

Ready to go to church! Calista had a bit of a cold, so her eyes are a little red, but I still think she looks adorable.

Tummy time!

The outfit she wore to the US Consulate, to apply to get her passport. The receptionist-type person said Calista looked so cute and that she loves it when people dress up their babies to come visit - it makes the people at the Consulate feel special!

Calista has started grabbing onto things more, like the sides of her changing table or the crib, as above. She also has starting turning, so sometimes when I come in after she's woken up, she's at a 90 degree angle from where we put her down. Silly girl.

She's starting to be able to use the bumbo. She's still a little wobbly, and starts to fall over after a few minutes, be she likes it until then. Plus, she just looks so dang cute in it!

She is starting to notice the things around her more, but she still doesn't really grab at them, unless it's accidental while she's flailing around. Calista enjoys looking at them, though, so we let her have her fun.

Eight weeks old

Kyler got Calista dressed one Saturday, and this is the outfit he picked out. He claims he didn't notice what it said until after he got it out of the dresser, and by then, he didn't want to pick another outfit... too much effort to grab something else out of the dresser!

More fun in the bumbo! This time, I put my gloves on her hands to see what she would do. Nothing really, as it turned out. She didn't really care.

More sleeping baby! How can one go wrong with pictures like this?

2 Months - today!

I asked Kyler what she should wear today, since she was two months old. He said, "Something that says 'I love Mom' or something." All right, whatever you say!

We'll see if this works... this is a video of her today, cooing and kicking and having a good time. Enjoy!

Calista is such a joy to have around, even when she's fussy and crying - which is generally only when she's hungry, dirty, tired, or having a bath, so no complaints there. We love her so much.

Losing sucks

2011-09-19T11:04:00.001-06:00

The other day, Calista was enjoying some tummy time when she lost her pacifier... she's still working on controlling her sucking. Because I'm a mean mommy, I let her struggle trying to get it back.

The blanket when I put her down was flat. She worked and worked, and once even got the pacifier back - and promptly lost it again. Eventually it got pushed (by her) off the blanket where she couldn't pull it closer to her, and she gave up and fell asleep.

I could've given it to her, but it was so fun to watch her struggle and fight for it. Like I said, I'm a mean mommy. Plus, I think it was good for her.

Smile like you mean it

2011-09-16T22:06:00.000-06:00

Calista has started smiling, and I've been working on getting it on camera. She has not always been helpful, however... she'll smile right up until the camera actually takes the picture, and then she'll look something like this instead:

Cute, but not quite a smile. So I keep working on it.

And so she puts her hand in front of her face.

Drunken smiles...

...and half smiles. I gave up trying for the night.

The next day, I wanted to get a picture of her in the outfit my mom bought for her.

She was looking so cute and was in such a good mood, I decided to try getting her to smile again.

I love the one with her hand in motion. She moves so fast she's a blur. It's a bird; it's a plane; it's SuperBaby's hand!

Finally I said to her, "Calista, I just want to get a smile on camera!" The next picture I took:

She just need to be told clearly what the objective was! Once she understood, she cooperated fully. Thanks baby!

How blessed we are

2011-09-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, September 4th, was Calista's blessing. We were so grateful to have so many family members come up for it, they helped make the day very special.

Calista slept through the whole blessing, which was rather convenient for everyone: Kyler didn't have to worry about holding a screaming baby, and the rest of us could actually hear what he was saying.

Here we are outside of the church after the blessing.

This is a better picture of Calista's dress. My mother made it using the material from her wedding dress, including the lace that was handmade by my great-grandmother, Calista's great-great-grandmother! It was the same dress her cousin Lilia was blessed in, and the same one her newest cousin Ivy will be blessed in next month.

After church, we had everyone over to our apartment for a lunch and pictures.

The Rasmussen clan. I would go through and say who all of them are, but man that would take a while.

My parents drove from Oregon to be with us (and for Dad to meet his granddaughter!)

Calista is screaming in this photo. She was hungry, and once we finished taking pictures, she got food and was happy again.

So, in case you can't tell from the two pictures above, we had quite a few people in our apartment! It was standing room only, but we fit everyone.

Carter, our 15-year-old nephew decided he wanted to take a nap. There wasn't any room for him to do so except...

...under the coffee table. He was out of everyone's way, didn't need to fear getting stepped on, and got to take his nap. Everybody wins!

To our new home (and native land)

2011-09-12T09:56:00.003-06:00

So, what has happened since I last blogged?

Oh, that's right - We moved to Canada.
We packed up all of our stuff - thanks to some awesome help, since I'm still not allowed to lift heavy things - and put it all in a big trailer that some one else was going to drive for us, and then left behind our apartment for the open road.
Calista was actually pretty good for the whole packing/cleaning process. She fell asleep during the end of the cleaning.See the completely empty and freshly-vacuumed carpet?A close up of the napping, because moving is hard work!

Once we got everything out and in the car or trailer, we got Calista ready for her first roadtrip.
Car seat? Check. Adorable sunglasses? Check. Pacifier? Check. Calista's right ear? Check - she made certain of the last two!

With our baby ready to roll, we headed out. Traveling with her was really good. I pumped in the car while Kyler was driving, so we could feed her on the run. She slept almost all the time we were moving in the car, waking up to eat when we stopped to eat, too. We made it to the border on the second day, and that is where we begin to find that anything that can go wrong on this trip... will.

First, we didn't have our marriage license. We didn't really think we'd need it. The immigration officer at the border thought differently, and he made me cry talking about, "well, why is it in a moving truck?" and "we need proof you're eligible to apply for permanent residency." Me saying I've already turned in the application apparently didn't matter... except in the end, the lack of a marriage license apparently didn't matter, either. Grumpy Immigration Officer said, rather huffily, to go sit down and he'd do the paperwork, and a few minutes later, lo and behold, there is paperwork stapled into my passport and he sends us over to the counter for declaring our belongings, including the car.

Second, we didn't have our car title with us. We had the most recent registration, but not the title. This immigration officer implies that without the title, we can't bring the car into Canada, so Kyler spends 20 minutes looking in the car while I'm having a bit of an emotional meltdown while holding Calista inside. Finally, Kyler comes back in, sans title, and we ask another immigration officer what we can do. We decide to bring the car in under my visitor's visa, so it doesn't need the title. Once I get permanent residency, then we have to import it. This nice officer clears the rest of our goods and sends us on our way. Whew!

We spend a couple of days in Raymond with Kyler's family, taking car of some business. Like, we want to add me to Kyler's bank account, and also add about five grand of our money into the bank account. We write ourselves a check and go to the bank. Well...

Third thing to go wrong, Kyler's account was inactive. Not too big of a deal, but moderately annoying. They activate it, but then we find (when we go to pay for lunch) that the card still doesn't work. He has to go back the next day and get a new card, as well.

Fourth, there is a 30 day hold on all foreign checks, regardless of amount. Kyler and I are slightly worried about this, since that means we will have no money for a month. Eventually, an old friend of Kyler's from high school, who is the officer or whatever at the bank we are talking to about adding me to the account, initials our check and tells us the bank tellers will deposit it now without a waiting period. And they do! Win!

Fifth, I don't have a form of ID they like to add me to the account, since I'm not Canadian. Eventually we decide a passport works, and we go back to Kyler's parents to get mine. Finally, I am on his account.

Sixth, we want to get Canadian cell phones. Let me tell you, American ones are way better. With Canadian companies, you have to pay extra for call display and voicemail. How ridiculous is that? But that's not the problem we encounter. Through this event, we discover that Kyler... has no Canadian credit. None. This means no cell phone company will give him a contract. Eventually, we work it out to be added to Kyler's sister's family plan, and we are so grateful to her and her husband for helping us figure it out.

Seventh, the truck is supposed to be in Calgary on the Friday. Before they can deliver the truck to our place, we have to clear our goods with customs up there. But before we can clear our goods with customs, we need a form from the truck company, which will then need to be returned to the truck company after customs. The truck isn't supposed to get into Calgary until later afternoon... and customs closes at 4, and of course isn't open on the weekend. So on Friday, we head up, pick up the form from the truck company, and go to our apartment ready to spend 3 nights on our air mattress. What fun.

Eighth, when the truck finally gets here on Monday afternoon, no one is around to help us... Kyler's dad drove up from Raymond and gets here after a bit, so it's just Kyler and him, since I am pretty much useless between the baby that needs attention and the body that is still recovering from said baby. Kyler and his dad are exhausted by the end, but the truck does get emptied.

Ninth, kind of, our casualty list includes two goblets and a bookcase. And lots of dings and scratches on our pantry cupboard, headboard, bookcase, etc. Not too shabby, considering.

Through it all, Kyler and I took the Kurt Vonnegut approach to things:

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.

And, guess what? We survived. We have money in our bank account, cell phones in our hands, stuff in our apartment, and a beautiful baby girl. What more can we ask for?

What Dreams May Come?

2011-08-21T06:28:00.003-06:00

So tonight we're staying in Dillon, Montana, about halfway to Raymond, on the way to our way to what will be our new home in Calgary. The next few weeks\months will be a time of turbulence and anxiety, but this blog post isn't about that. This blog post is about the dream I had last night.

We had made it to Raymond, and had set up Calista in her bassinet in my parents room. Right next to the bassinet, Suki had her dog bowl. Without warning, Calista starts being really fussy, and we can't figure out why. She cries for several minutes and we try everything, but nothing calms her down. It's then that, at one month old mind you, she stands straight up in the bassinet, walks over to the dog bowl, picks it up (which is a feat in itself. In the dream, the dog bowl is bigger than her), and says "It stinks!" and then tosses the bowl away. We are all dumbfounded.

Then I wake up, with Calista between Jeanette and I on our hotel bed, with Calista her non-talking, non-walking newborn self, and I am glad that such antics will be a long time coming.

Vampire Baby strikes!

2011-08-16T08:58:00.007-06:00

Our baby girl is three weeks old today! How time flies... and how much better I feel now than I did 3 weeks ago, even with nighttime feedings and diaper changes.

Calista is seriously the cutest thing ever. We call her all sorts of things that aren't actually her name (who knows when she'll recognize it) including:

Bright Eyes
Baby Girl
Turtle
Salamander
Peanut
Pumpkin
Beautiful
Melon
Doll Face
Vampire Baby

Some pictures of the last couple of weeks...

3 days old:
Tummy time with Daddy. Calista actually loves tummy time, it's kind of strange. But, hey, no complaints from us. She is trying to crawl already, although not experiencing much success - thank goodness! I don't want to have to baby-proof our place just yet!

4 days old:
Ruffle bum! We think she looks really good in this color. Plus the ruffles are just so dang cute!

1 week old:
Still very much in love with her hands, Calista nearly always has them by her face. She loves the flail them around, claw at herself, suck on them... I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since in all her ultrasounds, she had at least one hand by her face, and she was born with her hand there, too.

9 days old:
See? She's enjoying tummy time while sucking on her hands! Can life get any better than this?

2 weeks old:
After a bath, it's a naked baby! See her up on her knees? And even better, see her curly-when-wet hair?

Just hanging out with Daddy. Does she have hair like his, and will it stay that way?

After a nice meal. She is generally an excellent eater, which makes my life so much easier!

15 days old:
I just think Calista is so beautiful. I am so lucky to have her in my life.

3 weeks old (today):
A couple of pictures for Loradona, Jill, Kari, Kristina, and Rachel. I think it's accurate, since they are all absolutely beautiful women.

My mom and sister left yesterday, so now it's just me and the babe during the day. Well, at least until we move... on Saturday. After that, Kyler will be around for a couple of weeks until school begins. I'm looking forward to spending time with him.
I am not looking forward to packing all our belongings up and then driving a thousand miles with a 4-week-old. And then unpacking all our belongings, yikes!

One day at a time... and today, my baby girl is beautiful.

And then there were three...

2011-08-03T10:56:00.004-06:00

On July 26th, 2011 at 11:23 PM (23:23 military time!), Kyler and Jeanette welcomed Calista Elizabeth Rasmussen into the world. She was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long.

Her coming was a long process, and I don't mean 9 months long. I mean I started having contractions every 6-8 minutes around 10 PM July 24th.
By noon the 25th, they were every 3-5 minutes and we decided to go to the hospital.
By 5:30 PM, the hospital had sent us back home, telling us to come back when the contractions hurt more.
By 1 AM the 26th, I decided they hurt more and we went back to the hospital... where they told us to go for a walk.
By 5 AM, the hospital was going to send us home again, just as soon as they had finished monitoring Calista's heart rate (which they had to wake her up to do).
However, by 5:30 AM, my water had broke, and by 6:30 it was confirmed and we were on our way to labor and delivery. Yay!
By 8 AM I had an epidural, though it didn't exactly last as long as would've been preferable.
By 3 PM, they decide to augment my labor with pictocin... and my epidural ran out while the anesthesiologists were in a c-section. I was having contractions every 1.5-2 minutes without any pain relief. It was fun. Kyler and I got to really practice my breathing, and discover that Kyler is a great support. Eventually I get the epidural back and it's all good.See? Pain management exists again, and life is pretty good!

By 8 PM, I am fully dilated and effaced, and the doctors decide it's time for me to push, which I do, with all the energy and effort I have... for 3.5 hours. During which my epidural runs out again, not that I have the strength to care; my entire focus is on pushing. Kyler said the longest sentence I utter in these 3.5 hours is "Even if I take a break, my body will just want to push."
By 10:30 PM, doctors are starting to offer options like vacuum and forceps. I desperately want to be done, but I look at Kyler and he says, with love and confidence in his eyes, "Just two more pushes. You can do it." Two pushes later, he says "Just one more! Try just one more!" And I do. And she's still not out. And I accuse Kyler of lying. But the doctors are now convinced I can do this, even though I'm doubting it more and more.
As I mentioned before, by 11: 23 PM, she is finally out. I am exhausted, more tired than I have ever been before in my life. I pushed with everything I had, all the physical and mental strength I could summon, and I had absolutely nothing left.
But I had my baby girl.
All goopy and cold, so the nurses covered us up with blankets.

Naked on the table to get measured. She's grimacing, annoyed by the camera interfering in her personal space.

We came home on July 28th, my actual due date.
We're getting ready to leave the hospital, and we are both dressed in our civvies.

At home, asleep in the bassinet.

And, of course...
Spending quality time with her daddy.

Our little baby girl is absolutely adorable, and I'll post more pictures soon.

Bullwinkle would make a good baby

2011-07-16T19:00:00.006-06:00

The other day, I was in an elevator at work when a patient asked me when I was due.
Me: "In about two weeks." (July 28th, in case anyone forgot).
Patient: "I hope you don't give birth to a moose!"
Me: "Uh, yeah, I hope not."
Patient: "My niece just had a baby, and it was over eight pounds!"
Me: "Well, I was 9 pounds, 8 ounces when I was born."
Patient: looks me up and down and gestures with her finger, "Yeah, but you look like your body could handle it!"
Me: "Maybe, we'll see!" and I got off the elevator, thank goodness.

I'm not all offended, because it's too much effort, but I'm kind of thinking that somehow, telling me I could handle giving birth to a moose is a bit of an insult. Are you calling me fat?

I'm not nesting, just making messes.

2011-07-02T10:53:00.003-06:00

Today, I...

Took Kyler to work
Went grocery shopping
Ran the dishwasher
Made two pans of enchiladas
Made two pans of lasagna
Made the apparently now-traditional Canada Day "trifle"
Cleaned the kitchen
Ran the dishwasher (again)
Took out the trash

...all before noon.

I think it's time to sit down for a while.

Preparations and celebrations

2011-06-28T20:27:00.006-06:00

According to blogger, this is the 100th post for this blog. Pretty amazing, eh? I thought I'd do something pretty spectacular for this, but then I realized I have nothing spectacular going on...
Except preparing to have a baby, move to a different city/country, leave my job, Kyler starting grad school... yeah, not too much going on.

So, we're preparing to have a baby. This means we are doing stuff like going to a birthing class. We learned some interesting breathing techniques, where exactly I should go if I think I'm in labor, and men help with the childbirth process in some cultures:(Click on it to make it bigger if you can't read it.) Yeah, isn't that just awesome? I suppose the man would be able to be very empathetic in that case...

We also are doing things like buying carseats, seeing how the hospital won't let you bring your baby home without one.
I decided to try and practice buckling up a baby, so I asked Fluff for some assistance.
She sat down in the seat willingly enough, but once she realized I was strapping her in and pretending she was a baby, she threatened to flush me to Siberia. I decided that might not be best for me or my unborn child, so I found another, more willing, test subject:Sven!Doesn't he look so good in the car seat? Since he did, I decided to use him for a couple more practice runs...Sven makes a very pretty little girl, doesn't he?

As far as the leaving of the job, moving, and Kyler starting grad school.......... we still don't have a place to live. Some people don't know what will be available come the end of August/beginning of September ("August is so far away!"), don't want to rent to use if they can't meet us first, or would want to rent to us, loves babies, but says their basement apartment is too cold and not sunny enough ("I'm not sure if you know this, but Canada is colder than the US.")
Yeah, we're really successful.

Happy 100th post, everyone.

I love weddings! Drinks all around!

2011-06-18T17:37:00.009-06:00

Last weekend, one of Kyler's former roommates and good friends got married. He came to our wedding, so we figured it to be only fair that we go to his.

The ceremony itself was good, and Blake and Hailey looked lovely. See? Here they are coming out of the temple. Blake's making sure the door doesn't shut on her dress.

Here's a better one of the gorgeous couple:Don't they look happy?

We also got some pictures of Kyler and I outside the temple.This one might count as a belly picture?

What Blake may or may not realize, and should be eternally grateful for, is what Kyler and I did (or rather, did not do, or allow anyone else to do) to his car.
At the reception, one of our other good friends, a groomsman, approached Kyler, the groomsman's wife, Maria, and I and informed us that something needed to be done about Blake's car. So, the three of us left (leaving the groomsman behind to go about his duties) and headed out to get decorations. Upon returning to the reception, Maria and I were bold: we asked Blake for his keys. He was hesitant, but the second the keys were in grabbing distance, I pounced and quickly walked away.
We decorated his car, being relatively nice, and were joined by some other people. This is the point where Blake should thank me: I locked his car back up nice and tight, and I said "NO" very strongly. First, I said NO putting oreos on the car, for two reasons: it ruins the paint job, and is a waste of good oreos! Second, a random guy passing by (he was holding a present, but none of us have the slightest idea who he was) came over and wanted to help. Then he started trying to mess with the wiper blades. NO, I said. "But it's really easy to fix." NO, I said. "But you just snap them back on." NO, I said. And he backed away. Don't mess with the wiper blades, man! If you take them off, but they don't realize it and try to use them... it can scratch the windshield. So not cool.
I'm pretty sure a couple of people thought I was insane with my very adament NOs, but you don't argue with a pregnant woman glaring at you like I can glare. Not a wise idea. The end result of the car. (Hopefully) no permanent damage, just good fun. And a box of tic tacs.

Yay for weddings and tic tacs. Who needs anything more?

I love seeing family!

2011-06-18T15:15:00.005-06:00

About a week after Kyler's birthday, my sister-in-law Jill and niece Lilia came out to Salt Lake, so my family decided to come, too! What this means is I finally got to meet this little girl:
My brother surprised us all by coming along, too! So, it was the first time I'd had my whole family together in over two years!

Kyler also enjoyed playing with Lilia.Seriously, she's giving him blocks to add to his masterpiece.

Because Jill is also pregnant, our family made us pose together. This means that there is officially a "belly" picture of me on this blog.
Of course, this was when I was about 29 weeks or so, and now I'm 34, so things have changed a little, but still...

Highlights of their visit (from my I-had-to-work-the-whole-time perspective):
We got a family picture!
It's everyone, even Grandma!

We celebrated Lilia and Loradona's birthday!This is Cliff reading Lilia one of her birthday presents. She was mesmerized.

I took advantage of my family being in town and had a baby shower!My wonderful friend Liz organized if for me, and made the cake! She's fantastic!

Loradona and I helped by making these:Baby Cake Pops. We stayed up late finishing them, and our judgement of what was appropriate to say may have diminished slightly, but... at least it makes for a good story.
The baby shower was a success, regardless of any unintentional baby-killing jokes, and I appreciate everyone who came!

The low-light of the trip:
My mom broke her arm. Pretty sweet, huh? Yeah, I don't think she thought so, but at least now it seems to be healing great. Interestingly, this happened on Friday the 13th. Maybe it is bad luck after all...

On the next episode of blogging by Jeanette: a wedding!

Who needs McDonalds?

2011-06-18T14:59:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a little while since I updated, mostly because Kyler reformatted to laptop and I was too lazy to reinstall the picture downloading stuff, but since that excuse is pathetic at best... let's just move on to the first of the bite-sized chunks.

Kyler went and had a birthday! I know, it's shocking, but this kind of thing seems to happen every year... so we celebrated it.
We went to tasty Tucano's, where Kyler did not actually eat himself sick, surprisingly. Then we went to the movies and I got to oogle Chris Hemsworth while Kyler got to enjoy a super hero/comic book movie. For the record, Thor is a fun movie and we enjoyed it.
The most important part of his birthday? His present. Kyler told me he wanted a toaster that cooks eggs. That's right, he wanted something because of an internet meme. But, I humor him, and so he got his toaster. And, oh yes, he's enjoyed it so far:The breakfast of champions!

Cereal and adrenaline

2011-04-24T14:16:00.002-06:00

The other night, I had a dream. I was at my parents' house, and they had gone to bed. Before I was going to go to bed, I first wanted a bowl of Cocoa Roos. Yum! So, I assembled the necessary items when Loradona comes into the kitchen. I'd thought she was already asleep, but apparently she wasn't, and she also had a bowl of Cocoa Roos. Then it was bed time, so we went about the normal things we have to do before bed in my parents' house: start the dishwasher, turn off lights, lock the doors. I go out to the garage because the light is on out there, and I see that the big garage door is open, too! Whoever drove in last was a slacker and forgot to shut it, I guess. So I push the button to shut it when I see something moving in the corner: a man! Tall, skinny, he had white/gray long-ish hair on the sides of his head, the top was bald, and he had a beard. And a really creepy smile on his face. Loudly, I say "Get out of here." He starts to move towards the big door, but it's closing. So I stop it closing and repeat, even louder, "Get out of here right now!" However, he turns towards me, creepy grin getting bigger, and begins to walk towards me...
Which is when I woke up. My heart was racing and my breathing was so fast. I think the adrenaline in my body woke up Melon, because she started moving a little, too. I got up to go to the bathroom, hoping a little time would calm myself. However, when I got back to bed and closed my eyes, the only thing I could see was his face, smiling at me and coming closer. I seriously cannot get back to sleep. Then I remember that Loradona had been in the dream earlier, eating Cocoa Roos. I decided to change my dream. In the amended version, Loradona (who had been in the front room locking the door) hears me talking to the man. At first she thinks it just a stray cat or something, but when I say it again (and probably sound a little panicked), she comes out to the garage to investigate. Creepy Man scampers when he sees the two of us, and I'm able to go back sleep.
So, Loradona, thanks for being there to scare Creepy Man away and to eat Cocoa Roos, even if it's all just in my head.

Incidentally, the day after I had this dream, we went grocery shopping, and I bought Cocoa Roos.

Perchance to sleep(walk)

2011-04-14T18:09:00.001-06:00

Imagine you are sleeping peacefully when suddenly your husband flings the covers off (of him and you) and sits up in bed. You pull the covers back up, but he gets out of bed and goes into the front room. Thinking about how odd that was, you fall back asleep... and wake up when your husband returns and says, "I thought someone had booby-trapped the bed."
This is the story of my night last night. That's right, folks, Kyler was sleeping-walking again! Apparently our bed was booby-trapped, hence why he flung off the covers. And since he couldn't fix the booby-trap, he left the bed (abandoning me to the evil bed of death) and went out into the front room. There he woke up a little freaked out by the booby-trapping incident and subsequently stayed out there until he calmed down, of course giving me enough time to fall back asleep so he could wake me up again upon his return.
He also started snoring while he was falling back asleep. The bum.

Kyler wasn't the only one trying to interfere with my sleep last night: as I was trying to fall asleep, lying on my right side, little Melon kept kicking me on that right side. The movement continued pretty consistently for a few minutes, making it difficult to fall asleep, so I decided to roll over and lie on my left side. Maybe I was "squishing" her, and that's why Melon was moving so much. Yeah, apparently not, since almost as soon as I turned over, she started kicking me on that side, instead.
Silly girl. At least it doesn't hurt (yet?).

May you live in exciting times

2011-03-30T21:15:00.001-06:00

My father apparently said at the beginning of March that is was going to be an exciting month for our family: my brother was going to find out what he is doing and where he is going post-Japan (this summer), my brother and sister-in-law were going to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, Kyler and I were going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, and Kyler and I were going to decide where we are going to be and what we will be doing this fall. Exciting!
But, exciting times are both a blessing and a curse.

Of course, we did find out we are having a girl, and we couldn't be more thrilled (although we would've been happy with a boy, too). Jill also finally got her ultrasound the other day, and she and my brother are having a girl, as well! We are going to have three little girl cousins in my side of the family, two of them (due) within a week or so of each other. Very exciting, and very good news!

My brother also found out (probably) what he is doing post-Japan... but because of the earthquakes and tsunamis (I'm sure you all heard of that), Jill has officially left Japan, most probably permanently, and is in Atlanta. I'm glad she and Lilia are safe, but I know it was hard and a bit of a disappointment to leave the way they did. My brother is still in Japan, and I could not be more proud of him. As is mentioned in this article about the ship he is on, he and his shipmates are dropping off supplies, including their own clothes and blankets.
Exciting times in Japan, but not really of the good kind.

Kyler and I were a little disappointed to hear that some of the schools we really wanted to go to in the fall rejected him... but we did get good news, too.So people did like Kyler, and his dreams of going to grad school can be fulfilled. However... it will be expensive, tedious, and frustrating not only moving, not only moving with a one-month-old, but moving to a different country (home for Kyler!) requiring him to probably give up his residency here in the States, and requiring me to get residency in Canada... not an easy or simple process. Oh, nor is it cheap. Moving, residency, and Calgary in general... not cheap.
Moving to Calgary is more difficult for me than for Kyler, obviously. But at least we will be relatively close to family, close enough to maybe actually be a good aunt and uncle to our nieces and nephews...

I realize in comparison to some other things, this month of excitement hasn't been that bad. But it has still felt very emotionally trying and draining.
One of the biggest blessings I've really come to appreciate the last few weeks is Kyler's seemingly unending patience, love, and support of me. Kyler and I are in this together, and I am so grateful for all he does.

Happiness is... breakfast.

2011-03-19T11:22:00.002-06:00

So, last Saturday, when we were planning meals for the coming week, Kyler and I decided we want to have breakfast-for-dinner one of the nights. "Kyler," I say to him, "do you want pancakes, french toast, waffles, breakfast burritos, breakfast casserole, or something else?" He pauses, thinking, and then answers, "All of them!" So, we decided to have breakfast every day this last week for dinner... and it was fantastic! I think my personal favorite were the waffles, because we bought fresh strawberries to put on them. YUM.
What you should learn from reading this: Kyler is a genius, and breakfast is tasty!

Any other theme meal ideas that would be fun?

Roll Call!

2011-03-15T19:39:00.001-06:00

So, it's official. The following schools have offered Kyler a spot in their programs this fall:

Once Kyler and I have decided for sure where we are going to move in August (with an approximately one-month-old baby, are we insane?), we will let everyone know.

Me, I was hoping for a lizard.

2011-03-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

We had our ultrasound, and the results are in...

Melon appears to be healthy. Two arms, two legs, a nice four-chambered heart, kidneys, bladder, spine, nose, eyes... all sorts of goodness in baby form.

Oh, what? Did you want to hear if Melon is a she-Melon or a he-Melon? Well... how about I let the Tillamook Cheese Factory announce it for me?

If anyone actually wants to buy us this one piece... Go here. It'd be awesome. I wouldn't say no to the blue one, either.

Bienvenido a Miami!

2011-03-05T13:10:00.003-07:00

Welcome to Miami, everyone! I know, I know, it's been basically a full month since Kyler and I went to Miami, but it takes a lot of effort to organize all my pictures! Give me a little bit of a break...

So, for those of you that don't know, this:

is why we went to Miami. Kyler's grandfather! I had never met him, and Kyler hadn't seen him in ten years. Definitely time to take a trip out to Florida. We went at this exact time because of this:

Kyler's brother and his whole family were coming out to Miami at the same time. Once we decided to join them, so did Kyler's mom and aunt (though I have no pictures to prove it, sorry).

Of course, this didn't hurt, either:

Instead of being in Utah for the first week in February, we were on Miami beach (the pictures above and below are at sunrise). So much warmer!

See the shorts and the short sleeves? Yeah, no complaints here.

This is the hotel we stayed at. It was cheap, but clean and close to the beach and grandpa's condo.

Plus, every morning, we ate the continental breakfast out on the balcony in front. So nice.

We spent most of our time at grandpa's condo, and the pool at grandpa's condo, or at the beach.

This is the view from the balcony of the condo. Not too shabby, eh?

The girls loved the pool, and we had to convince them to go to the beach, too. Here are some nice pool and beach shots:

Ivory and Lily in the pool, either not looking at us, or squinting in the sun. Oh well. They're still cute.

Bryce poolside. He liked the water, and quickly learned to splash... and that he didn't like the water quite as much when it was in his eyes.

Me, poolside, eating a kiwi! I'm at the stage of pregnancy (and life in general...) that I need to eat every couple of hours. I ate a lot of kiwi in Miami... and I loved it!

Just hanging out for a bit in the hot tube: Ivory, Bryce, me, Lily, and Rachel.

And, for good measure, a "belly" picture of me, in my swimsuit no less. This is at 15 weeks... yeah, not really much going on. Sorry.

I really like this picture of me on the beach. It's right after Kyler and I ate breakfast one morning, so my hair is still a little wet from the shower and I'm squinting... but I like it. Plus, the beach was beautiful.

We made sand castles with the girls.

When Kyler and I left the beach for the afternoon, we left Lily in charge of this set. She put a little while shell on the top of every single castle tower. Lily was a good one to leave in charge.

I made a sand angel.

Honestly, it was Lily's idea. Not quite a distinct as a snow angel, but still fun. And yes, I got sand in the pockets of my pants.

We also buried Scarlett in the sand!

Just beginning the process, Ivory and I are working on her knees at this point... though she kept wiggling them free.

The finished product! Doesn't Scarlett look cute as a disembodied head?

We also took a whole bunch of family pictures, like the of all of us up there, and like these ones.

The chitlins. Scarlett was being a bit of a brat and didn't want to join us (hence why she doesn't have a solo shot below) but oh well. Here we have Lily, Ivory, Bryce, and Scarlett.

Kyler and me.

Rachel and Kirk.

Kirk and Bryce. Bryce looks kind of funny, but Kirk looks good, and what else do you expect from a seven-month-old anyway?

Lily being silly.

Ivory in her new dress, cooperating quite well.

Kyler in a tree, because why not?

Lily cooperating slightly better later that night, showing me her creation, Mr. Quackers.

We also went around Miami and saw random things, like this:

Good to know that there is somewhere to go to wait for a bus during a hurricane.

Kyler and I ate here. We couldn't pass up a place that had Cuban and Thai, now could we?

Rachel, a very tall man, and Ivory. I think they line up rather well.

One of the last things we did was go to the zoo. How much more Miami can you get than pink flamingos?

The girls really wanted to go see this guy:

It's Diego, Dora the Explorer's cousin! They were very excited.

I wanted to go and see this guy:

Because, you know, I am in Florida!

Since we saw both, everyone was happy.

Pretty tiger.

Reminds me so much of my own cats! Except much, much bigger!

Ahhh! The snake is going to eat Ivory, Scarlett, Kyler and Lily! Oh noes!

With the snake man. He let us actually touch (pet?) the snake!

The mommy rhino and the baby rhino! Yeah, my baby had better not be that big!

Lily, Ivory and Scarlett on the fake rhino. The mean adults in the group wouldn't let them climb on top of the real rhino. Sounds like the girls are being mistreated for sure, aren't they?

These pictures are kind of funny. Lily kept picking up leaves and giving them to the rest of us to carry, so all the girls have leaves in their hands. The little monkeys must've thought the leaves were food.

They came over to the window, trying to get at the leaves! Lily, Ivory and Scarlett thought it was so fun! Well, so did the rest of us, except Bryce. He was taking a nap.

Ivory and the elephant. They are her favorite animal.

A very slow, very large, tortoise that Kyler took a picture of.

The girls weren't being so good at posing in front of the giraffe.

At least, not in a group.

Lily did much better when her uncle Kyler took her picture without everyone else getting in the way.

On top of the water buffalo. The girls begged me to join them, so I did. What can I say? I'm a sucker who likes to see cute pictures of herself.

And, last but not least,

Kyler in an elephant behind.

That's all, folks! That's it for the Miami pictures! We had a ton of fun and enjoyed the family, sun, and warmth... though we all got sick after Kyler and I left. Such is life.

How do I love thee?

2011-02-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite garbage can ever.
Shall I extol its virtues to you?

It is located indoors, away from the snow, rain, wind, and cold.
It is a full-sized garbage can, not a tiny half one, so you don't need to crouch down to aim properly.
It has its opening at the top, not at the sides. Again, this makes it so much easier to aim.
It is emptied every night, so when I get to it, at 6:30 AM, there is nearly nothing in it, making it clean and not stinky.
It is available when I need it most.

The reason I'm extolling the virtues of a garbage can? It is one of my new favorite friends. I heart morning sickness.

Actually, I have been feeling better lately, but I still felt this garbage can deserved its moment in the spotlight.

I love watermelon!

2011-02-15T20:03:00.004-07:00

My mother always told me that if I swallowed watermelon seeds, I would grow a watermelon in my stomach. Well, Mom, you were right: I officially am growing a Little Melon, estimated time of arrival July 28th.

Here comes the sun!

2011-01-30T16:42:00.003-07:00

We are going to be leaving for Miami in just a couple of days, and I'm excited. I get to meet Kyler's grandfather (Kyler hasn't even seen him in 10 years), I get to see Kyler's mom, brother, sister-in-law, 3 cute nieces and 1 little nephew...
But partially, I'm excited because the lowest of the low temperatures that are on the forecast for Miami are a good 15-20 degrees warmer than the highest of the highs for here in Utah. Oh, warmth and sun, capris, flip flops, and sunscreen! I've missed you!
Now, come this summer, I'll be wanting the sun to go away. But right now... yay Miami!

To sleep, perchance to dream. Aye, there's the rub!

2011-01-19T19:11:00.008-07:00

I've been having some strange dreams lately. Some have been humorous, other disturbing. And, since I'm sure you're all curious, following is a nice sampling:

Dream 1:
I was kind of using wood slats in a staircase (apparently in my parents' house) as monkey bars, but then my father's fingers got caught, so he pulled out all the slats while I was still hanging there, and then my mother was mad that my father was destroying the staircase and I was wondering how I'd get to my bedroom and go to bed (since apparently I sleep upstairs). I was kind of freaking out about being able to go to bed, actually, and my mom was freaking out about him pulling out slats, so I feel kind of bad for dream Dad. In Kyler's words, he was getting it on both ends. Definitely not fair.

Dream 2:
I was miscarrying. I guess I went into labor and gave birth to an incredibly premature/stillborn baby, so all it was were little bits of bone and tissue on the floor. I (in the dream) was kind of freaking out, and I decided, somehow, that it would be better if I put the baby back in. So, I picked up the bone and tissue pieces and tried to put them back into my uterus, but when I stood up, they just fell out.
When I woke up, I was really, really unnerved. The dream messed with my head and emotions for a while afterward, and I made Kyler come and hold me. He didn’t complain about it and just sat next to me and let me cling and freak out all I wanted.
This, by the way, is not my way of announcing anything other than the fact that my subconscious is psychotic.

Dream 3:
I was being chased by a psychotic guy, and one of my co-workers (a phlebotomist named Adrianne) was helping me escape on the psycho guy's John Deer tractor. We had a problem, though, in the fact that deer (real ones, with antlers) kept trying to hit us. One of the deer actually did run into us, and we totaled the tractor. So Adrianne went home, trying to distract the psycho guy, and I quietly, quietly, quietly went hiding into the shadows. Psycho guy did follow Adrianne, and he was using some kind of suped-up mega powerful vacuum cleaner to try and attack her, but she stabbed it with a knife and the vacuum burst into flame and Psycho guy got freaked out and left. And then Adrianne called me and told me it was okay, I could stop running/hiding and come home.

Dream 4:
I convinced Flame (my cat that we got when I was in first grade) to leave my house and walk across the street and go into the neighbor's house by feeding her ranch flavored Sunchips. I wonder if these even exist, but Kyler says they have to, because there's ranch flavored everything. For those of you who knew Flame, you'd probably agree that this is the most realistic of these dreams.

Yeah, let's end these on the happy, or at least humorous, note. And dream on, my beloved blogger fans.

...and a Happy New Year

2011-01-05T14:26:00.006-07:00

Merry Christmas, everyone. Okay, so it's a little late, but who would actually post about Christmas early and/or on time? You have to enjoy it while you can, right?

Kyler and I stayed in Utah, all alone, which meant we had to get a Christmas tree. Once all the presents were put under the tree, it looked very festive. See?
It almost felt like we were home. Almost, but not quite. Helping it to almost feel like home were these:
My great-grandmother's cinnamon ring roll. Yum, yum, yum. Who doesn't like pictures of food that you can't eat? Here's another one!We made four different 8-inch pizzas. As you can see, we have a dessert pizza, breakfast pizza, pesto pizza, and regular, tasty pepperoni pizza. We decided that this may or may not be a new tradition for Christmas night dinner. At least if we aren't going to either of our homes.

After Christmas, we were lucky enough to have Kyler's sister and her family come to visit us. They stayed a couple of days, and it was a ton of fun.
Brooklyn had to be pulled away from our computer and World of Warcraft, but we made her take a step away from time to time.
One of the places we took everyone was the Bean Museum. The girls liked it, but were completely insane and running around everywhere. Difficult to take good pictures, so here are the two we've got:
Brooklyn and Paige with the nativity the museum had set up. I'm not entirely sure these girls are very good at taking pictures, so we stopped posing them and just went with it.See, this one is much better of Katelyn and Paige.

After the Museum, we went bowling. We got to use bumpers, and I love them. It helps me not stink so bad.
Paige also got to use one of those metal ball lead things, and Kristina helped her with it.Good job, Paige!
Brooklyn didn't use it, she just used the bumpers like the rest of use adults.
And Katelyn... well...She just wandered around attempting to get into trouble. Good thing we had 4 adults around to watch her.

And the results are in!Look who got second place: that's right, ME! Oh yeah, I broke 100, and it was awesome.

We also basically convinced Russ to get a Wii Fit (my Christmas present!) because of this:
Look at Paige, sitting so still! She loved the Meditating Game, which has her sit as still as she can for as long as she can. Paige was actually pretty good.

So, that was basically Christmas. New Year's was fun, too: we didn't want to go outside because it was cold so instead we watched the original Star Wars Trilogy in a marathon. We're geeks.

Also, I haven't been to work in the last few days because I have some sort of "acute illness." It's not strep throat, but it's something making my throat unhappy. Oh well, such is life. I'll probably go to work tomorrow. Probably.

Tasty, tasty fudge money

2010-12-14T18:27:00.004-07:00

This last Saturday was a fun day. It started with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, had the temple in the middle, and ended with Kyler's work Christmas party.
The party had amazing food, salmon and roast beast and chicken, the best green beans ever, very tasty dessert, and fun entertainment. The best part was probably when they gave every employee a sealed box that contained fudge and an unknown amount of cash, in denominations between $20 and $200. They had the employees pass the fudge money right and left and all around until you didn't know where the box you were originally given is anymore. Once the head honcho people gave the word, everyone opened their box. Kyler found... a crisp Benjamin! Apparently, they gave everyone the same amount of cash, so all the passing was silly and pointless and fun.

I want my work to throw a company party. I want my work to give me a $100 bill. Actually, no. I just want to actually get a raise. Cost of living raise, a raise for having worked here nearly two years, a raise of any kind over my starting wage... I want a raise from my company.

When the dream becomes reality

2010-11-13T21:35:00.004-07:00

The other day, I had a dream...

Dream World:
All the details are a bit fuzzy now, but I had seen all my friends and family members, everyone I loved, brutally killed right before me (think Hunger Games), and it was all my fault. They had been killed to show me a lesson or something. So, I'm kneeling on the ground, weeping at the sight of their lifeless bodies. Sobbing and sobbing until I can't even breathe anymore and I start to gasp for breath in between each heave.

Real World:
I wake up terrified, partially because I haven't shaken the feeling of the dream yet, and partially because the reason I woke up is that, like in the dream, I'm gasping for breath. Kyler wakes up, too, and asks if I'm okay. After a few seconds, I calm down enough to kind of mumble something that assures him I'm still breathing. I don't remember this part, but Kyler informed me that not only am I gasping, but tears are also streaming down my face.

Needless to say, it took a while for me to fully break out of that dream and back into reality. And it still kind of freaks me out.

Interestingly, my sobs and gasps also made it into Kyler's dreams before he woke up: he dreamed he was watching a woman die and gasp for breath. How sinister our dreams were that night.

The Wonderful World of...

2010-11-03T19:24:00.016-06:00

DISNEY!

So, we went to Disneyland. And, uh, whatever it's called, California-land or something. And, we have proof, in picture form. Lots of proof, but I'm trying to only put ones I like and/or have some emotional value to them.

I was walking down the street, from our hotel to Disneyland one morning, when I looked down and saw this:
Walt Disney's Star! I had to take a picture, because I'm a dork.

We also had to get our picture next to all the classics.Like outside the train station next to the giant floral Mickey.

And, since it's Halloween time...
In front of the giant Mickey Pumpkin.

Kyler graciously allowed me to take a picture with Cap'n Jack Sparrow.Not quite as attractive when two dimensional, let me tell you.

We went on this cool riverboat:Isn't it pretty?

There is also this AWESOME pirate/Tom Sawyer island that doesn't have "rides" or whatever, but you can just run around and climb up tree houses (see below)
Or walk on really cool bridges
Or get a little chummy with a skull or two.Really, did anyone expect me to do any different?
Seriously, the island was so cool. Definitely the place to hang out when your children are tired of waiting in lines for all the rides... which we actually didn't do too much. It was kind of overcast and threatening to rain in the morning of both days, so fewer people at the park! Woohoo!

I got eaten by a whale...

And we saw Darth Vader!
The little kid "Jedis" in the crowd got to fight him with their "lightsabers." Hilarious.

We also, how random is this, ran into Steph, Kyler's former girlfriend, so we hung out with her for part of the afternoon.She got a higher score than Kyler! Good job, Steph!

My favorite thing in Disneyland ended up being Big Thunder Railroad or whatever it's called... but not necessarily for the reasons you think.
It is a really fun ride, but on the second morning, while Kyler and I were riding it.......it suddenly stopped! (These pictures were taken after it stopped. In the first, the nice lady a little in front of us told us to look scared.)Long story short, on a different "train," barely out of the station, someone had stood up, so they stopped the ride. They couldn't just start it back up, though, for whatever (probably legal) reason, so they came out, let us out, and we got to walk around in the ride to get out!It was way cool, and let see what was behind the scenes a little, and let us take pictures that never would have worked before.

Also, Kyler likes Mr. Toad.And his wild ride.

And Dad, this one is for you...
Everytime I see a cannon anywhere, I think of you!

Lego Woody at the Lego Store

And now, onto California Adventure place!We thought the little kids playing on the letters was a nice touch.

Note: this is not the REAL Golden Gate Bridge. Sorry to anyone who thought it was.

There is a really cool "ride" that has airplane pictures all over the walls of the line area, including this one:Recognize it? It's the Spruce Goose! The airplane ride also reminded me of Cliffy because they showed this huge Navy ship with jets on it... and helicopters! One of them was flying, and I told Kyler, "my brother's flying that one!" Kyler said, "Yes, I'm sure he is." I think he was just humoring me.

Kyler and the Walking Stick.
Quite the resemblance, eh?

Our favorite ride in California was the Grizzly Bear Run or whatever. See the grizzly bear?
It's a ride that takes you through white water rapids. Little man-made ones, but still way fun. Kyler and I got SOAKED. Well, here and at Splash Mountain, too. My bag was literally dripping. Good thing our camera case protected the camera. We did ruin a few maps of the parks and had to get new ones, though.

The last thing we did was go to World of Colors, this water/light (and a little fire!) show.
Very pretty.

That is all.
Well, we did return home, Kyler got sick (from BlizzCon or Disneyland, whichever) and then got me sick.
The end.

Chilvary is not dead!

2010-10-31T10:24:00.011-06:00

Jeez, Mom, it's all about the bite-sized chunks! Also, t his post covers two days, and this post the next two days, meaning I've written about four days so far, not just one.
Also, I'm sick. Take pity on me.

So, after BlizzCon, we went to the beach and Medieval Times. See? Beach.
We played around in the sand and struck poses for each other. Well, that or we just took pictures while the other one wasn't paying attention.The beach was way fun. We got rather wet, but the weather was beautiful and we didn't mind at all. After taking all the awesome beach pictures, we got a little cheesy and took a picture of our shadows in the water.
Isn't it cute? The shadows are holding hands!
Then we wandered around town a bit and stumbled across a red phone booth! Loradona, this one is for you!
But where is the phone?
We went to lunch in the town at a place called The Greeter's Corner.This is a picture of the greeter. Apparently, this Scandinavian man would stand on the side walk and wave and say hi to everyone that drove by. He did it for, like, 33 years or something. Too bad his statue didn't have a thumb.

Now, Medieval Times... Kyler is rather intimidating. This suit of armor is shaking in his boots.Do you think I could win in an arm-wrestling competition?
While we were there, we got to meet "royalty."This is Kyler and me with the King of the Castle!
For those of you who don't know, they randomly divide the audience at Medieval Times into color groups, based on your crown - we're green! That color is the color of the knight you support... and hope manages to kill everyone else!The green knight and squire. Our knight almost won but, really, he's destined to lose. Go to see it and you'll figure out why. Plus you'll get a lot of tasty food.

Now, patiently wait for the next (and final?) installment of our trip: Disneyland!

Geek-Con 2010!

2010-10-30T15:02:00.009-06:00

This is the second post about our trip... post #1 is here.This is the reason primary reason we went to California. So that Kyler could revel in all that is geeky. BlizzCon 2010.
Of course, Kyler wasn't the only geek there:
What a huge crowd of people, all waiting to enter the Anaheim Convention Center. Some of them were dressed up, because there was a costume contest.
This girl actually got proposed to on stage at the costume contest! Cool, eh?

I'm bored waiting to get in, so I made Kyler take my picture.
It's me with my name tag and schedule of events. Sweet action, eh?

Once we got inside, we posed for pictures with all the cool statues.
Villains and heroes alike, we didn't discriminate when it came to picture-taking. And there was a photo booth, so we decided to take advantage of it.
Too bad the lady didn't tell us we were off-center. Thanks, lady.

We stood in line to play a game that isn't publicly available yet. Look at the bank of computer they had!
We look way cool when our pictures get taken without our knowledge, don't we?

Lest you think we were anti-social, Kyler met some people he'd been playing with. They are real people after all!
L-R: iHealer (Matt), Lucedordai (Rich), and Kyler (Gloredhel). A whole group of geeks!

At the end of BlizzCon, there was a concert. Anyone want to guess who performed?
Someone inappropriate...Tenacious D! And, yes, they are dirty.

There were lots of game developers and people talking about the games and things, but that would be boring to rehash, so just know that they were there. And Kyler loved it!

What a dichotomy!

2010-10-30T14:21:00.005-06:00

So how about we skip all the excuses about why I haven't blogged lately (hey, make Kyler blog, why don't you? Give me a break!), and just go straight into what we just did... go to California! Why? Well, the primary reason is because Kyler is a geek. But we'll get to that in a bit.

First, we headed out after work and drove to Vegas. Cutting the trip in half was way less stressful. On our way, the entire drive from Cedar City to... somewhere in Nevada, it was all lightning and exciting. Seriously, like, 200 miles of lightning. Made for some pretty nighttime driving.
We got to Vegas, wandered around a bit, and decided Las Vegas is trashy, gaudy, and not really the city of my dreams. As I'm sure everyone knows, you can gamble everywhere in Vegas, literally. Even our hotel:
That's right, Super 8/Casino. Because who wouldn't want to come to the Super 8 to gamble?

This picture is really just here so you can mock the spelling.
Ready, set, go! Mock "whith" me!

Kyler is shocked by the sign. It was indeed a Wild Wednesday, after all.

The next morning, we hastily left Vegas to head to California. We happened to stop for breakfast in a town that also sported the World's Tallest Thermometer.
I'm trying to be as tall as the thermometer, but it's really not working.

The first real place we went was the LA temple. Dedicated in 1956, it's huge. This is the picture we took from the car as we approached.
Kyler and I both took pictures with the spire, and also got one of the Sister Missionaries to take our picture with the Christus statue at the Visitor's Center.Do you see the background? It's the ocean! How cool is that?

After we went to the temple, we headed to the motel in Anaheim that would be our home for the next 6 nights, and waited in line for our entry tickets to the primary reason we went on vacation... but I think that will wait for next time. Keep up the suspense and all that, right?

Kind of like Popcorn, but way deadlier

2010-08-05T19:08:00.004-06:00

Happy August, everyone! August means:

Kyler and I will celebrate our 3rd anniversary! And, for the first time ever, we have real plans. We're going to stay the night at a bed and breakfast in Salt Lake and eat tasty dinner and have fun.
It's been nearly a month since my mother came to visit, and I haven't posted about it yet. Ooops.
My soccer games start again. I'm both looking forward to and dreading them. I love to play, but it was kind of nice to have relaxing Saturdays that didn't require us to go anywhere if we didn't want to.
We moved and have officially had the keys to our new apartment for one week. Our new place has central air conditioning, but it appears are cell phones are incredibly stupid anywhere are the premises.

Sorry, I don't have pictures of the new place or all of the ones from when Mom visited, but I do have a few:
View of the temple from the top of the church office building, I think. Mom and I went all over Temple Square, touring where we could (and, uh, where we couldn't) and feeling all tourist-y. It was fun.

Utah State Capitol building, also from the top of the Church Office Building.

Mom and I at the top of the church office building.

Mom and I also had a sewing lesson. I bought a sewing machine a few months ago, so we attempted to make use of it. The results as follows:
I made the skirt (with Mom's help). What do you think? Justify my vanity and flatter me, please.

Also, yesterday morning, I looked out the window and what did I see?
Lightning flashing near the apricot tree.
Summer has brought me such a nice surprise:
Lightning flashing right before my eyes....
Seriously, it was so loud. It invaded my dreams before it finally woke me up. (In the dream, the lightning was somehow and indicator for the number of children you were going to have. Katrina and I decided Liz was going to have seven children, including a set of triplets.)
I loved the fact that it was stormy and raining, even if tons of people at work were glaring at the windows all day... I was happy!

2010-07-16T22:26:00.002-06:00

I do not believe that it should be 80 degrees outside at ten o'clock at night. I think we should ban such time/temperature combinations. All in favor, say "aye." Any oppose, say "nay." Seems like the "ayes" have it!

Cute farmer boys and soccer

2010-07-06T18:19:00.008-06:00

I love my family, and I miss my family, a lot. So, getting to see my parents, sister, grandma, aunts, and cousin for a family reunion was great. It was the Butikofer family reunion: my Grandmother and her brothers, in other words. Aren't they cute:
I think they are adorable. My grandma is now the only girl, surrounded by boys. They are still quite protective of her.
See her lovely family? Don't we all look nice?The family reunion was nice, partially because my mother brought me plants. She brought my some mother hens and chicks, and a clover plant that is from my mom's clover (which came from her grandmother) and my grandma's clover (which came from her mother). In other words, this is a combined clover that came from 2 of my great grandmothers! And I haven't killed it yet, see:
First sprout of the new plant. It's so exciting!

I got to spend time with my family, but Kyler hasn't, so I tried to help him celebrate Canada Day. We ate poutine, drank Canada Dry, and I made him a cake:It's kind of, sort of, looks nothing like a maple leaf, but it certainly tasted good, so that's what counts, right?

And, in celebration of Canada Day, Independence Day, and the World Cup (the latter being the most important, probably), we went to a Real Salt Lake game! They kind of sort of slaughtered their opponents 5-0, and we got to see a member of the US national team play and score, although he was probably a little tired. I give you a yellow card.So does Kyler. Too bad he can't ever look angry, even when he tries.

I'm obsessed with the World Cup. I'll abstain for everyone else's sanity's sake, but I'm obsessed. What will I do to feed my addiction once it's over? Will I experience a World Cup hangover/crash?

And, my mommy is coming to visit TODAY!

Writing to reach you

2010-06-19T21:02:00.008-06:00

These first two pictures are for my mother:
They are from the BYU ball, way back in April. Ooops.

Also way back forever ago, Kyler turned 25. Does turning 25 mean you have to start acting like an adult? Or is that 30? 40? 50? 100? I'm hoping for the latter, myself.

This is the cake I made him, completely from scratch. My aunt sent me the pecans from Texas, and boy were they good.

For Memorial Day, Liz, Jake, Kyler and I went up the canyon for a picnic and hike. We ended up not going quite so far up as we initially planned because... it was snowing. But we found a warmer (lower in elevation) place for the picnic.

We found a cave, too, but since we didn't have flashlights on us, the exploration ended here. Pity.

Kyler and I by the stream. Nice cold water.

Also, I'm a good tissue TA. Still. Even though I'm not actually TAing anymore (sad!). The reason I say I'm still a good TA is this:
We have been doing some experimentation/quality control with our staining procedure, and so we've accumulated three different procedures and we decided to test which one was the best stain. This meant we had to have slides to stain. We could have made our own, but we had some random slides on hand that were made at an affiliated company in error, so why not use them? However, we didn't know what tissue was on these slides. After I finished the staining and everything, I decided to try my expert hand at identifying the tissue. And by expert, I really mean novice. So, I inspect the slides I stained... and I reach my conclusion. It was based on the epithelium I saw (stratified squamous) and the glandular tissue (sebaceous glands and a few that looked like sweat glands), mostly. My conclusion: skin. Thin skin, more specifically, in case you cared.
So, I tried to see if I could figure out what it was for real, see if I was right. I asked around and got my answer: skin! You heard me, I was correct! I feel so successful!
Being a TA during your undergrad kind of means nothing... I need to be a certified pathologist to be taken seriously.

Two more things. First, soccer. World Cup is great, I'm mildly obbessed. I'm currently adding up points and saying things like "well, if Uruguay and Mexico tie, then France can't go on, even if they win" and "if Algeria beats the US and Slovenia beats England, those two teams will go on." Stuff like that. Also, I had to buy new soccer cleats, and I'm still a little in mourning. It all happened because I actually played midfield for one half of a game. After that, the Diadoras just weren't the same. And.... my soccer team has officially won a game! Yay

Second, I am so glad that we have the Pope and the Vatican to tell us this.