But if he gets too enthusiastic about it and you aren't prepared, his hug feels more like a head butt to the face. :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Charlie gives hugs
Charlie's hugs are very sweet and as Aunt Barb informs me, in the style of the Dalai Lama.
But if he gets too enthusiastic about it and you aren't prepared, his hug feels more like a head butt to the face. :)
But if he gets too enthusiastic about it and you aren't prepared, his hug feels more like a head butt to the face. :)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Poem in Your Pocket Day
This month is National Poetry Month and today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. This semester I took a poetry class at the U and it has been the best class I have ever taken! My professor, Dr. Janet Kaufman, is a talented teacher and our class was full of collaborative and interesting people. We had such a great dynamic community. I'm really sad it's over and I will miss it! This is my last English class and it's been such a joyful experience!!
I have always loved poetry but I've really discovered how much it fits in my everyday life. Although I know poetry intimidates many people, it can actually be so much more accessible than other types of literature.
I could share dozens of poems with you that touched me this semester, but I've chosen just one of my very favorites.
“The Summer Day”
by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
our class at Red Butte Garden (my teacher is in the bottom left corner)
I have always loved poetry but I've really discovered how much it fits in my everyday life. Although I know poetry intimidates many people, it can actually be so much more accessible than other types of literature.
I could share dozens of poems with you that touched me this semester, but I've chosen just one of my very favorites.
“The Summer Day”
by Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Fictionist music video
This is the music video for Blue-Eyed Universe by Fictionist. I actually know these guys and they still continually impress me with their talent- check 'em out on their website and live in Salt Lake City on June 11th!
Blue-eyed Universe from Fictionist on Vimeo.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Charlie's 1st Birthday party
We had a family birthday party to celebrate Charlie's 1st birthday! It meant so much to us to have all of our family there. All of our siblings and their spouses, Sam, Lily, and James and both sets of grandparents (including Grandma and Grandpa S via Skype!) We, of course, had to make it a ball party!
the birthday boy
Thanks everyone for coming and for the thoughtful gifts (lots of balls and new toys- Charlie was in heaven). A special thanks to Cat for helping with the decor and food and Chelsea who brought homemade lemonade and hand sewed Charlie his very own birthday banner!
The invitation
the birthday boy
Bakerella's recipe for cake balls- thanks to Cat who stayed up until 1 am making these with me
post-birthday cake
post-birthday cake
all the food we served was round to compliment the ball theme- meatballs, rolls, grapes, apples, oranges,
cheese ball and crackers
cheese ball and crackers
Thanks everyone for coming and for the thoughtful gifts (lots of balls and new toys- Charlie was in heaven). A special thanks to Cat for helping with the decor and food and Chelsea who brought homemade lemonade and hand sewed Charlie his very own birthday banner!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sam & Tristan engagement photos
Ah, love is in the air! I love spring for so many reasons but one is that it means wedding season is upon us!
Thanks Sam and Tristan for letting me spend an afternoon with you!
Thanks Sam and Tristan for letting me spend an afternoon with you!
Like Father, Like Son
Charlie might look more like me but his interests are right in line with his dad's!
This is the crib that Grandma T used for all of her kids, John included. Charlie was enthralled by the decorative "balls". John remembers playing with them (they move) as a child, too.
Both Charlie and Daddy like to rest on the couch- Charlie takes it to the next level, drinking a bottle and twirling Dad's eyebrows
Charlie is fascinated by mechanical things, just like his dad. He loves the stool at the doctor's office because it rolls and swivels.
Charlie (like Daddy) loves the Wii- he "helped" a lot during Uncle Richard's visit. Richard used some of his leisure vacation time to beat Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.
He "helps" Sam play, too.
But Daddy's most favorite thing in the world are Apple products. Check out the joy on Charlie's face as he's playing with that MacBook box!
This is the crib that Grandma T used for all of her kids, John included. Charlie was enthralled by the decorative "balls". John remembers playing with them (they move) as a child, too.
Both Charlie and Daddy like to rest on the couch- Charlie takes it to the next level, drinking a bottle and twirling Dad's eyebrows
Charlie is fascinated by mechanical things, just like his dad. He loves the stool at the doctor's office because it rolls and swivels.
Charlie (like Daddy) loves the Wii- he "helped" a lot during Uncle Richard's visit. Richard used some of his leisure vacation time to beat Super Mario Brothers on the Wii.
He "helps" Sam play, too.
But Daddy's most favorite thing in the world are Apple products. Check out the joy on Charlie's face as he's playing with that MacBook box!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Charlie- 12 months old
I'm a month behind on blogging- today Charlie is actually 13 months. Oh well, it's busy around our place recently!
I received the photos from Katie Dudley and I'm still just totally in love with them. Charlie was being pretty serious for her, but I think she captured that side of his personality perfectly. Grandma T says when Charlie acts like this she's reminded of John at that age- they called him The Judge because he wouldn't smile for anyone but his mom.
My favorite one!
Right before Charlie's first birthday he got his first big scrape. He fell off the bed (luckily, not a far fall) onto his nose and forehead, getting a scraped nose and goose egg. The wound healed very quickly but his nose is still a little red. Most of the pictures from his 12th month have that little scraped up nose- he looks like a little tough guy. (In fact, Katie did us a favor and edited his little nose so it looked healed!)
Charlie spoke his first sentence on his birthday. He looked at me and said, "Ba, uh-oh." (Translation: Ball, uh-oh.) I was on Skype with my parents so I had witnesses! He kept saying it and then he took his silver ball and pushed it under the armoire and looked at me expectantly. I finally went over and looked underneath it where his blue ball was stuck! He was trying to tell me that his blue ball was stuck and when silly mommy didn't get it, he illustrated with his silver ball! (These are the moments that make me think my baby is a genius.)
He's surprised us with a few more words, very sporadically. He's said the following at least once and is getting really close to being able to say them more regularly: more, outside, James, Sam, Grandma, Cat and hot. His solid words are: ball (bao), hi, mama, dada, uh-oh, ohh, and bottle (ba). He's getting better at doing "tricks", too. He can do "so big" when I ask how big is Charlie and mimic an elephant when I ask him what an elephant says.
He's getting so close to walking! He loves to push things around the house walking behind them- chairs, the big yoga ball, laundry baskets, and the little walker toy at Grandma T's house. He can stand for several seconds at a time and even pick things up off the floor and then stand back up without falling!
Concentrating hard on pushing the chairs around
His stats at his one year appointment:
weight- 25.5 lbs (81st percentile)
height- 32.25 inches (96th percentile)
head circumference- 18.9 inches (87th percentile)
He's still a big loveable lug!
I received the photos from Katie Dudley and I'm still just totally in love with them. Charlie was being pretty serious for her, but I think she captured that side of his personality perfectly. Grandma T says when Charlie acts like this she's reminded of John at that age- they called him The Judge because he wouldn't smile for anyone but his mom.
My favorite one!
We got one smiling photo and I love it- it's just so Charlie!
Right before Charlie's first birthday he got his first big scrape. He fell off the bed (luckily, not a far fall) onto his nose and forehead, getting a scraped nose and goose egg. The wound healed very quickly but his nose is still a little red. Most of the pictures from his 12th month have that little scraped up nose- he looks like a little tough guy. (In fact, Katie did us a favor and edited his little nose so it looked healed!)
Charlie spoke his first sentence on his birthday. He looked at me and said, "Ba, uh-oh." (Translation: Ball, uh-oh.) I was on Skype with my parents so I had witnesses! He kept saying it and then he took his silver ball and pushed it under the armoire and looked at me expectantly. I finally went over and looked underneath it where his blue ball was stuck! He was trying to tell me that his blue ball was stuck and when silly mommy didn't get it, he illustrated with his silver ball! (These are the moments that make me think my baby is a genius.)
He's surprised us with a few more words, very sporadically. He's said the following at least once and is getting really close to being able to say them more regularly: more, outside, James, Sam, Grandma, Cat and hot. His solid words are: ball (bao), hi, mama, dada, uh-oh, ohh, and bottle (ba). He's getting better at doing "tricks", too. He can do "so big" when I ask how big is Charlie and mimic an elephant when I ask him what an elephant says.
He's getting so close to walking! He loves to push things around the house walking behind them- chairs, the big yoga ball, laundry baskets, and the little walker toy at Grandma T's house. He can stand for several seconds at a time and even pick things up off the floor and then stand back up without falling!
Concentrating hard on pushing the chairs around
His stats at his one year appointment:
weight- 25.5 lbs (81st percentile)
height- 32.25 inches (96th percentile)
head circumference- 18.9 inches (87th percentile)
He's still a big loveable lug!
Catherine's Maternity Photos
My beautiful sister is going to be a mother to a baby girl this summer. I was so lucky to have her visit for six weeks (!) recently and I miss her like crazy already. While she was here, I had to take some maternity photos of her. She's just stunning! Thanks for being my model and more importantly, my sister. Love you, Cat!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Someday, (hopefully soon) I will...
... update my blog with fun pictures and stories.
... socialize with friends.
... plant my vegetable garden and weed the front yard.
... start training for the pioneer trek in July.
... clean (really clean) my house.
... go on a date with my husband.
... help my sister-in-law recover from surgery and help my other sister-in-law when her kitchen floods.
... take Charlie on fun outings.
... take photographs.
... visit friends who have new babies (hello, Allison, Amy, Catherine, and so many more!)
... go grocery shopping and cook dinner.
... READ! Oh, how I miss reading!
Of course, first I must get through finals week (a total misnomer, by the way. It lasts much longer than a week!!) Wish me luck and enjoy the beautiful Spring for me!
... socialize with friends.
... plant my vegetable garden and weed the front yard.
... start training for the pioneer trek in July.
... clean (really clean) my house.
... go on a date with my husband.
... help my sister-in-law recover from surgery and help my other sister-in-law when her kitchen floods.
... take Charlie on fun outings.
... take photographs.
... visit friends who have new babies (hello, Allison, Amy, Catherine, and so many more!)
... go grocery shopping and cook dinner.
... READ! Oh, how I miss reading!
Of course, first I must get through finals week (a total misnomer, by the way. It lasts much longer than a week!!) Wish me luck and enjoy the beautiful Spring for me!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Charlie videos (12 months old)
Charlie had some great visitors right around his birthday- first Grandpa Mark and Catherine arrived, then Grandpa left and Richard came! Charlie had so much fun playing with Cat and Richard- one day we went shopping at the outlets and while Cat and I shopped, Richard went walking around with Charlie in the backpack. Fun was had by all!
It was so cute to see Richard and Cat interact with Charlie- they are going to be such great parents to their little girl (due in about 2 months!)
It was so cute to see Richard and Cat interact with Charlie- they are going to be such great parents to their little girl (due in about 2 months!)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Catherine's baby shower
I hosted a baby shower for Catherine (and my cousin, Sara) while she was in town. It was great to catch up with everyone! I left my camera at Grandma T's house so all I had was my iPhone to document it- too bad. But you get the idea and the moments were captured.
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