Field Trip to another blog!

I'm guest posting about co-sleeping today at Always Something to Talk About. Please head over and join the discussion!

New photos

It was time for new photos! We took some to serve as head shots but mostly just for fun! Thanks, Jeanette!

Give a Day, Get a Disney Day

We took the challenge and donated a day of service in exchange for free entrance to Disneyland! We made scrapbooks for a foreign orphanage organized by the HandsOn Network and Utah Charities Co-Op. It was inspiring to see the loooong list of volunteers that were donating goods, services, food, and time for this cool program! Visit this link for your chance to serve and go to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Little Buddies

James and Charlie are becoming quite the pals. Chelsea tends Charlie one day a week while I'm in school at her house and when we arrive, James is usually asleep. Chelsea says that Charlie is usually a little reserved and nervous until James is awake from his nap and then he comes alive! They (of course) take each others' toys, food, blankets and love to grab faces and clothes. It's going to be a process of teaching them how to be gentle with each other. James is still a little smaller than Charlie, so he gets the worst of the mauling. He's always quick to forgive, however.

They love each other!!

Biting, bottles and sleep, oh my!

Here's what's going on around here recently:

Well, the biting is back. Owie. And now it has escalated to where Charlie is no longer nursing much at all. (He'll still nurse at night sometimes if he's sleepy enough to not try to bite me). And he's become mobile enough to get booted out of our bed and into the crib (finally). In just a few days, I've gone from having a co-sleeping, nursing baby to an entirely different one. This baby drinks bottles. And sleeps in his crib (mostly). And is learning to go to sleep on his own. And wants a binkie (sometimes)!

I'm not sure that either of us is ready to wean yet (ideally, I'd like to breastfeed a few more months) so I've been pumping to not lose my supply. I'm hoping that once his other top tooth breaks through (it's so close!) that Charlie will stop biting and we can go back to our happy nursing relationship.

One positive note, Charlie is now taking naps in his crib and slept the other night from 7 pm to midnight in his crib without needing help to get back to sleep (two brief wakings, but he was able to fall back to sleep on his own). The bad side is he wakes at midnight and sometimes takes 2 hours to get back down. I feel like I have a newborn again.

Another negative, the bottles make him gassy. He's not used to them so he has a hard time burping which leads to finally vomiting a whole feeding.

In the meantime, being in the limbo of kind of sleep training and sort of weaning is really strange and difficult. The other night I dealt with making bottles, pumping, projectile vomiting, changing his clothes, changing my clothes, rocking, patting, shushing, administering medicine and laundry. John has been working late nights so I'm going solo, too. Bummer for everyone involved.

We're kind of settling into a new normal (?) but it's been a rough couple of weeks. I have a whole new appreciation for co-sleeping/nursing because I really don't fully wake up while doing that, even though Charlie wasn't sleeping through the night. Doing this bottle feeding/rocking thing in the middle of the night is killer. I've figured out to prepare bottles in the evening so our night wakings are briefer, but I don't know how long we'll last in this current situation.

Charlie does LOVE that bottle, though. He will ask for it by saying "Ba" (but heck, practically everything is "ba" to this kiddo). He's been a little bit more stranger anxious and mommy-oriented, which I attribute to the loss of that nursing time.

We'll see what happens in the next few weeks!

Lucky girl

It must be karma for hosting my own photography giveaway but I won Katie Dudley's photo giveaway on her blog! Lucky me! I think I shall schedule Charlie's one year pictures.

Check her out!

Also, just as a reminder, anyone who commented on my photo giveaway post has the chance to schedule a photo session at a discounted rate! Contact me at getupandplayblog@gmail.com to schedule!

In the Motherhood

I just discovered (via Danielle's guest post on Bloom) the most wonderful advice blog! It's written by the mother of 11 children and she's delightful! It's just what I need to be reading right now as I am (still) learning how to be a mother. I just spent 30 minutes re-reading old posts and each one resonated with me- the focus on confidence in mother's intuition, closeness to the Spirit, positive attitude coupled with practical advice on sleeping, eating, discipline, marriage and more- it's a treasure! One of the best pieces of advice I read was to chuck out the parenting books and turn to the scriptures. Being close to the Spirit of the Lord will bring more insight and answers than any book will! This is speaks directly to my researching tendencies- I love to read and read about parenting!

Check it out!

Sick of being sick

Poor Charlie is recovering from double ear infections and a sinus infection. I'm grateful for antibiotics that can turn this:

into this!

Charlie's First Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. In our family, we have a tradition of making it a family day. My Grandma Bonnie used to buy little presents for her kids and my mom always made us little valentines and got us gifts, too. I love that spin, it's much more fun to celebrate it as a family holiday than a romantic one!

We were pretty low-key this year because we're still getting over being sick. Charlie opened his valentine gift- new books- almost completely by himself. He's getting so big.

Could I love this little guy any more? What a cherub.

Daddy (check out that beard and the new spectacles!) and Che

Mommy and her little valentine

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Hilarious. Oh, so worth watching. Thanks, Andrea!

Cutest Baby!

Recognize anyone?



Let's take a closer look:



It's baby Charlie! Thanks to your votes, Charlie won second place in his age group in the Utah Baby Guide cutest baby contest. (February issue, page 53)

Photo Shoot Winners!!!

Photo from a few summers ago, just because I like it :)

I am excited to announce these! We've been hit by another bug here (winter, GO AWAY!) so I apologize for being a few days late.

I was so excited about all of these possible photo shoots and I couldn't possibly choose on my own. I turned to Random.org to choose for me.

Alrighty... here we go.

The first shoot goes to:
Comment #24- Heather!




Photo shoot #2:
Comment #24- Sjaanie!




Photo shoot #3:
Comment #7 - Cotter (who technically isn't a SLCer but is here often enough visiting that I included her. Plus, she's my pal.)




Because Lyndsay technically wasn't eligible, I decided to give away one more shoot.

Bonus shoot goes to:
Comment #6 Bart and Michelle!


Congrats, you guys! Please email me at getupandplayblog@gmail.com to schedule your shoot!

Thanks everyone for playing along! I really appreciated feeling validated in my new effort! As my thank you to you, anyone who commented on this post can schedule a mini-session for 30% off- only $35.00!!

Missing the twins

Tuesday we sent Mom and Aunt Barbara off to the United Arab Emirates. Mom is returning to her home and husband and Aunt Barb is off to have an adventure! Today is their birthday (they're twins, you know) and we wanted to wish them a very Happy Birthday! We love you and miss you already!

Charlie and Auntie Barb

Charlie and his Grandma (I think he tries to say Grandma and it comes out BaBa)

Grandma left a kiss on Charlie's cheek to remember her by

PS- Don't forget to enter the photography giveaway!

Charlie Bit Me

This little guy's got some sharp chompers and more on the way. This has caused some painful biting situations! After the yelping (me), crying (Che), and bleeding (me again) was over, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself thinking of this YouTube video. I know how this kid feels. (Except times it by ten for nipple involvement.) My favorite part is around the 40 second mark when the baby Charlie laughs. Priceless.

Making it Happen! (Giveaway!)

So, the problem with posting your New! Life! Ambitions! on your blog for all the world dozens of people to read is that you are now forced into action. Your adoring fans are going to ask you how things are going. There's some accountability there. Which is good. It is great, actually, because I'm the kind of person that sometimes needs a kick in the pants to get going sometimes.

I registered for a blogging conference, which was scary but feels good. And now for phase two of my plan. I have realized that more than anything, I need to feel like I am credible. That I am being taken seriously. To feel that way, I need to gain confidence in my photography skills and portfolio.

This is where you come in.

I am giving away *THREE free photo sessions. (I am still learning as a photographer, but I am confidant enough to know that I have some worthwhile skills and that this giveaway will be desirable to some of you (hopefully at least five!))

You may enter TWICE.

First, leave a comment on this blog telling me what or who you'd like to have photographed. Your family? Your kids? Your amazing quilt collection? Your dog? (Please include your name and email address).

Second, post about this giveaway on your blog, on your Facebook page, or on your Twitter account and leave me a link to it.

You have until Sunday, February 7th at 11:59 p.m. to enter.

*Photo session is for 45 minutes, one location, up to six people. Salt Lake City area only. Davis county and Utah county eligible with a $15.00 travel fee. I will provide you with a disc of edited images (minimum 20) to use as you wish.

Good luck!!

Cousins!

Following my Bliss

So, do you ever feel discouraged because you aren't the best at something? I often find myself not wanting to pursue something because I am not ever going to live up to the ideal I see in my head, or on the page in front of me, or (especially) on someone's blog. Which is silly, I know, but I still feel like my efforts aren't going to be validated or valued because they aren't good enough. Or maybe not as good as they could be. This is my fear. My other fear, which is very much related, is that I won't be taken seriously. My hobbies and dreams are not unique and in the last few years, they have become so commonplace as to almost become cliche. I don't want to be cliche or common. (Who does???)

* * *

I was at lunch with two delightful friends (Mel and Carolyn) whom I don't see often enough. We were reconnecting and reminiscing, telling funny stories and catching up. The lunch was winding down and I was beginning to feel the tug to get back to my baby when Mel asked me a question that pierced right to my heart and made it crack wide open. "Barbie," she said, (she calls me Barbie as only a very select and elect few do), "What do you want to be when you grow up?" What surprised me most was not what I said but how easily it came forth, as if I'd been waiting for someone to ask me that very question.

* * *

I spent my early twenties (*gulp*) pursuing interests that brought me measures of happiness for a season. I tried lots of different jobs in different fields. I slowly kept working on my degree, changing my major once. I was in a process of elimination- learning what I liked and disliked about myself, my work, my hobbies and changing as I learned. I worked on my relationships with John, with myself, with my family, with God.

Now that I am in my late twenties (*double gulp*) and have become a mother, I feel like my time is so much more valuable. It is not mine alone anymore. The things I choose to invest time in often mean time away from my family, so they had better be worth it to me!

* * *

The question was still hanging in the air when I answered Mel.

"I want to be a mom and have a million kids. I want to be home when my kids get home from school. I want their friends to want to hang out at my house. I want to feed everyone."

That part was easy to admit. I am a motherer and my friends know that about me. The next part was scarier to say out loud.

"And I want to be a photographer. And a blogger. Like, a professional blogger."

Even in my safe little circle of friends who have known me since I was an awkward, loud thirteen-year-old, I was afraid to hear their response. There it is again, that fear. My beautiful, talented, smart, accomplished friends were nothing but encouraging which gave me a glimmer of courage.

Enough courage to write this post. Enough courage to register for my first blogging conference.

Charlie- 10 months

Wow, Charlie boy, you are growing and changing so much every day! You are getting really good at standing up- I've even caught you standing without holding onto anything a few times! You can cruise along furniture superbly but sometimes you forget how to sit down again and have to call out for some help. You still love balls, music, water, pots and pans, peekaboo, chase, brooms, showers, and baths. The first thing you say to me in the morning when you wake up is "Ba!" You love the vacuum, even when it isn't on you will crawl right to it and want to touch every (dirty) part of it. You have started to screech and scream when you don't get your way which we don't particularly enjoy.

We've had a rough winter- several colds, croup, and stomach flu. You are sick again right now with a cold but you still try so hard to be pleasant. You really wail when I wipe your booger-y nose, though- sorry about that, buddy.

This past month you started biting me while nursing which led to some yelling out in pain (on my part) and tears (on your part). One time you even drew blood! After researching in the Nursing Mother's Handbook, I determined you probably were feeling some teething pain and were biting me to try to alleviate it. Upon investigation, I saw two GIGANTIC bulges on your upper gum where your front teeth are coming in. We were more diligent with the Baby Orajel and let you bite on other things. One of your top teeth finally broke through, so that helps, too. You are still trying to break that other top tooth, so I've been pumping and you've been having bottles until you are less bite-y.

Here's some other fun things you like to do:

You love to vacuum with Daddy

Crawling in your tunnel from IKEA

Playing the drums- still a favorite activity. Daddy bought you some "kid sticks" that are smaller and lightweight and you LOVE them.

You love this bucket, and all of the mops and brooms. You'll push them around or crawl with them in your hands. Grandma stepped it up and gave you a ride IN the bucket. Good times.



We love you, little man!

Happy 4 years!

Tomorrow is our fourth anniversary! We have now officially been married longer than we dated. :)




I love this good man and I have loved seeing him as a father this year. It's no wonder than one of Charlie's first and favorite words is "Dad."

Here's some of our "greatest hits":

-Our healthy, beautiful, life-altering, joy-filled, sweet, funny baby boy

-Great concerts, including Coldplay, Muse, Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Keane, The Police, and Sarah McLaughlin

(Coldplay, 2008)



-Memorable trips to London; Austin, Texas, New York City; Philadelphia; Chicago; Las Vegas; Disneyland; Sun Valley, Idaho; and Moab, Utah

(London, 2006)



-Dozens of birthday dinners (including family members)

(here we are on my 21st birthday)

-8 Halloweens

(as trailer trash in 2003)

-Hundreds of dates

(all dressed up for U of U Homecoming 2003)

-and 5 bands, 2 campaigns, 2 legislative sessions, 3 cars, 7 moves, 13 jobs, 6.5 years serving in Primary, 2 nephews and 1 niece

It's been a great life so far and I'm looking forward to a whole lifetime more! Love you, Johnny!!