15 Months

Last Friday, Collin had his 15 month checkup and I was quite nervous about it. Earlier in the week I had weighed him on our scale (not terribly accurate, but close enough) and he weighed in at a measley 20 lbs. I was shocked. As I evaluated his skinny arms and roll-less legs it dawned on me that my baby looked like a scrawny street urchin! The doctor was going to kill me! I could swear to her that I feed him all day, but the scale doesn't lie. When he had turned one and was able to drink whole milk, I was counting on that to fatten him up. Well, after weeks of trying to "trick" him into drinking it (flavoring it with chocolate, strawberry, what have you) he finally started liking it! Well right when that happened the runny diapers started.... yes, the big D. So I took away milk and it was back to normal. A few weeks later, I tried again with the same results. So, no milk! And, no fat. :( My mom had had bad luck with soy milk with my brother so I didn't really think of it as a feasible option.

Back to his appointment... he tipped the scale at 21lb 3.8 oz. And I didn't even fill his diaper with water!

That put him at 10% accompanied with kudos from Dr. Bowman! I guess at 1 yr. he was 5% so she was pleased! Ah, relief!

 He was 30 1/4 in. (don't remember %, but it was under 50%)

And his head was 18 1/2 in which was 50%

He got two shots, one in each arm, and went absolutely ballistic. I've never heard him go that long without taking a breath. Then I pulled out the fruit snacks. Tears gone.

So the appt. went alright....

and she didn't even give me a hard time about this unseemly bruise:

Poor child. He had tripped and fallen right on the edge of the coffee table, giving him a nice, long, straight bruise across his cheek (Think Tommy Boy: "Not here, or here so much... but right here.")

We also ventured out to our first ward playgroup activity last week. We went to Spaulding Lake (the rich people's lake out in Clarence) since Natalie's in-laws live there and we could get {clearance} to use the beach. Collin is a scary thing in the water. No inhibitions. He goes as deep as he can and when I have to grab him after he's gone {under} he fights me to go back and do it again. But after a while, he decided to leave the group and hang out behind the garbage can. And that's where he stayed for quite some time. Love his little frog belly in this picture.

One afternoon, when I went to get him from his nap, I found him like this.....

Both his church ties hang from a knob on the rocking chair next to his crib, so apparently he grabbed them off, tried one on, and fell asleep. The other one was lying at his feet.

Must be something about accessories, because he wouldn't stop grabbing at my headband on Sunday.

So I let him try it on. Very dashing.

(If you're wondering what we're doing in the car.... I had just spent all of Sunday School trying to get him to fall asleep in his carseat. It had worked once before. Not this time. After driving up and down the freeway for 15 min., I pulled into the big, extra parking lot behind our building and just drove (or coasted) in circles. I thought for sure the women across the street in their lawn chairs were going to call the cops on the crazy lady driving her car in circles for 20 min. They didn't. Guess it wasn't of too much concern considering what they must usually see in downtown Buffalo.)

Other things Collin has been up to lately....

*He loves to dance. Of course that just means bouncing up and down and kind of grooving his head to the music. Commercial jingles count too. Especially the Marineland one.

*He can point to his nose, hair, ears, and bellybutton when we ask where they are. Still working on eyes.

* I thought he finally figured out some baby {signs}, namely the "more" sign, but now we've realized he just does that sign whenever he wants something. Anything. He sees what he wants and he signs "more". Sigh. At least he definitely knows the {milk} sign. (I just started the Soy Milk and so far it's working!) Also, he points to his nose sometimes, as though it's supposed to mean something. I wonder if he just thinks he can do any sort of hand gesture/pointing at a body part and I'll get him something interesting. Yes, I think that's probably it.

*He could spend hours on the driveway just walking around, picking up balls, then throwing them down, retrieving them, and repeating. He also loves to go to our neighbors driveway and try to join in on the older kids playing basketball. He wants to shoot a big basket so bad. And now that he knows the joys of {outside} he'll regulary find his shoes, take them to me, then walk to the door and whine.

*He still loves to throw everything in the garbage. It's now routine to sift through the recycling before we take it out to retrieve all his balls, animals, and puzzle pieces. Our garbage currently resides on the table. Yuck.

*He's finally loving books! Hooray! Except that is ALL he wants to do. Have me read to him. When will he be able to do that on his own?

*For the past month or two he has been cock-a-doodling at 6am. Sometimes 5:45am. *Groan*. I am not, nor have ever been, a morning person. Lucky for me, Trav is out of school and has been getting up with him most days. Blessings be upon Travis. I've been trying to shorten his morning naps so he doens't sleep as much during the day and therefore (hopefully) longer at night. Not a lot of success from that yet.

For the most part, I'd just describe him as busy, busy, BUSY! But I do love being home with him. Last Saturday I spent the whole day (10am-10:45pm) babysitting that family out in Clarence and I missed Collin so much. It was a good reminder for me to be grateful I get to spend my days with him. There's no job I'd rather have than being home with my baby. Although I don't know if he still qualifies as my {baby}, but I'll still be calling him that until I have another one!

Father's Day Weekend

This year's Father's Day weekend turned out to be extra special because my dad was able to come visit for a day! He has business meetings in NYC occasionally, so this time he extended his stay and flew in to see us Thursday night. I found out a week prior, and hadn't been able to think about much else. You would have thought the president was coming for a visit by the way I was cleaning and stressing! It was his first time to see us so I wanted everything to be perfect. Trav out did himself in the yard too. He must have spent 3-4 hours mowing, edging, and pulling weeds. His plane got in at 7:30pm so we all went to pick him up at the airport. When he got in the car, Collin took a few minutes to eye the stranger. After that, he had no problems with him. I made BBQ Chicken salad for dinner with his own famouse crescent roll recipe. The NBA finals game was on, so we had that on in the background as we talked the night away. 

Not long after we got married, things changed with my dad's job and he took on a new position as the Maxim Petroleum's West Coast President. Since then, he's been working 80 hour weeks and traveling 18 days out of the month. My dad is the hardest worker I know and has always put 100% into his job, but I don't think anyone understands what he's been through the past two years. And with the economy the way it is, the business has been suffering no matter how hard he works. It's sad and frustrating to see all the sacrifices he's making, along with the rest of the family. But that just exemplies how my parents have always been... sacrificing for their family. I guess I mention all that to explain that I haven't been able to talk with my dad in so long. I struggled with feeling guilt over him "wasting" time to see us and happiness over getting to spend even one day with him.

I think my dad has always understood me very well. He's a good listener and can always offer me good advice. As I talked on and on about things going on in my life, I think he could pick up on something I've been worrying about. This probably isn't going to come out right, but I look at my parent's lives and get nervous to follow in their footsteps. All that they've gone without, the sleep lost, the trials they've had. They worry about their kids and stress until their hair goes gray then falls out :) They are always swimming "upstream" as my dad put it. By the world's standards, it's not anything desirable. It looks hard, simply put. And it is hard. I'm afraid I'm more selfish than they are and get scared to have more kids. I want my life to go on seamless and easy without all those rough patches. I didn't necessarily say all this, but essentially I did. Well after listening for a while, he said something that I always want to remember. He said that life isn't about fulfilling your every want, whim, or fantasy, it's about learning to like the things you're supposed to do. It's not always the most easy, fun, or convenient thing to do your church calling, be a parent, or fufill your church responsibilities. But in learning to like those things and find fulfillment in them, you'll have much more happiness than always looking forward to the next vacation, toy to buy, or free time to waste. I think I always knew that deep down, but it was good to be reminded of it. It's really comforting to know that there is a purpose to our lives. We aren't meant to skate by without problems. It's our trials and hard times that define us. It's the sacrifices you make for your family that will bring you that much closer. And if you want to focus on the sacrifices, you can, but I think when I focus on the blessings I'm reminded so much more of how richly I've been blessed.

OK! I wasn't planning on writing all that, but sometimes things just come out! On Friday, Trav finished his last day of school until fall, so we went to the campus and got a tour of the dental school and clinic. It was the first time I've seen his operatory. Pretty cool. At noon, his class had a little picnic out at a field on campus, so we had Wegmans subs and visited with his classmates.

Dad got lot's of quality time next to Collin in the car! Not all of it completely pleasant. I think he's teething, so he spent lots of time shrieking and throwing whatever we gave him that was meant to pacify him. We also went for a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon and melted in the humidity. Collin also continured his shrieking and throwing his pacifer every 100 yards. One of my favorite moments also happened on our walk. We were approaching a home where they have a screen over the garage because they use the garage as a sunroom/bar lounge, but we had never seen the garage door up until this day. And as we walked closer we could hear the "YMCA" song blasting and an older couple was inside laughing (obviously plastered- at 4 in the afternoon!) The woman's back was to us and she had her hands clasped, above her head as she wiggled and swung her hips suggestively, doing some sort of {worm} move. And they didn't stop when they saw us, I think it just encouraged them more. Hysterical. In two years of living here, we've never seen them do anything like that, but on the day my dad comes, they're putting on a show. He must think we live in some free spirited, hippy neighborhood.  

He treated us to a local restaurant called the Red Pepper, where we saw the Taylors, and learned that the tea they serve isn't the {ok} kind to drink. Since serving his mission in South Korea, my dad can tell which kinds are {Word of Wisdom} worthy and which aren't and I guess this one isn't. In the past I thought it was ok because it tasted like a kind my mom used to make. Whoops. We also learned that Collin LOVES fortune cookies. It was our saving grace for the ride home. Go figure. He prefers bland, hard cookies, to the cinnamon, sugar puffs we were trying to feed him.

Here's Collin getting his bedtime story read to him by Grandpa.

 I drove him to the airport Saturday morning at 5:45am and said goodbye. It wasn't easy. Actually, it was really, really hard. I've missed my dad so much and it was so good to see him. Even though we didn't do anything terribly exciting it was great just to visit and spend time with him. It was more than I could have asked for. 

Later that day, Rachel threw a birthday luncheon for Camille's birthday and it was so amazing, I just had to show pictures.

I did go early to help get everything ready, so maybe that gives me permission to show it off even though it wasn't my party or my ideas. :)

Later that night we went to a BBQ at a park with some friends to celebrate the end of the school year, but Collin wasn't feeling good, so we left early. He had woken up from his afternoon nap with a high fever and was just miserable. Motrin brought it down, but he needed it regularly or else he'd get super hot and just cry and cry. It was so sad. Sunday morning he woke up burning hot and shaking and crying, so I stayed home with him while Trav went to meetings and Sacrament meeting, then we switched so I could go to a meeting and YW, and then stay for Courtney's baptism after church. For the past couple months, we have been taking Courtney and her two sisters to church and mutual. They haven't been consistenly active, but since we've been giving them rides, they've come every week. It's been amazing to me to see how eager they are to come to church when no one is "making" them. They truly love coming. It was really, really special to see Courtney get baptized and made me a bit emotional. Definitely a {pay day} moment.

Travis requested "Cafe Rio" for his Father's Day dinner, so the Shaw's came over to enjoy it with us and Rach brought over her {present} to Doug to share with us. Dessert hamburger and fries. The bun is cupcake and the meat is brownie. The fries are sugar cookies and she even made the containers. It was way too cute. The recipe and templates are on Bakerella if you want to give it a try! I hope all dads had a great Father's Day. I'm certainly grateful for all the {Dads} in my life.

Summer!

The weather is funny out here.... a week of 80 degrees (that's hot by the way) then a week of rain and slight chilliness (at least too chilly to swim) and then humidity that will make you want to peel your clothes off, even in a public place. Don't worry, I haven't given in to that urge yet.

As I scanned the past few weeks of pictures, quite a few swimming ones surfaced. These next few are from when Kennon and Marcus were staying with us. Trav tried to get Collin to float on his back (gotta start young) and he wasn't so excited about it.

But I think this face describes how he usually is in the pool. Lovin'. It. And I love that I feel justified in spending time in the kiddie pool this summer. Not so much last year when I had a 3 month old and it was clearly for me.

Rach also picked up a little wadding pool that the boys enjoyed. I look at this and feel bad for them! Poor things all covered up in shirts, hats, and a thick layer of SPF 50.

I wasn't feeling like "wasting" a swimmers diaper and thought his regular one would suffice for 1/2 hour. That thing swelled up bigger than Texas. I think it was literally stopping the blood flow to his legs. From then on, I just let him go in his birthday suit. A big jump from his previous {Muslim} attire.

Last Friday, after getting home from a fun, but scorching outside birthday party, I peeled off Collin's clothes to let him cool off. I often distract him with TV while changing his diaper and when I was done, he kept his pose.. glued to his Kidsongs. It was just too cute not to take a picture.

Also, as a side note, since the book is in the picture.... I finished, The Help, and thoroughly enjoyed it! It's from the perspective of maids living in Jackson, Missippi in the 60's. Racism is alive and well there, and quite honestly it opened my eyes to segregation that I thought was extinct 100 years ago. It's a page turner. Which was good since I only had 7 days to read it and it's a lengthy one! I highly recommend it!

Ok, I followed this kid around, taking at least 20 pictures, trying to capture {the look} and this still doesn't do it justice! He had on some older, and smaller, Sunday pants that just hugged his little tushie. He looked like he had on {skinny} pants, which I thought made him look {emo} for the day. Even the mom of the kid I tutor, commented on them! So funny. And squeezable.

Badminton is back! Anyone care to play a game, just come on over! Another perk to summer!

Then, I somehow convinced the girls to play a game of Kan Jam! I'm always the only lame-o wife that wants to get in on this. I may have some converts. Keepin' my fingers crossed!

Collin and his shenanigans....

These are the French doors going into the office. I keep a rubber band around the handles to try to keep Collin out (it doens't work). But it does hold a cell phone quite nicely.

Many times when I'm trying to get something done (or can't put down a book), I'll hear Collin in the other room and know he's getting into something. But even though I know I'll have to clean up a mess later, or dig in the trash to find whatever "treasure" he's thrown away, for the moment I'm just happy he's busy and not whining at my feet (gosh, that sounds a lot more awful in writing than it did in my head). Well, after one particular moment of "peace", this is what I found awaiting me in the kitchen. His face. Oh that stinker. Another one of my {my child will never do something like that} statements to eat. Sunflower seeds, anyone?

Me in Three's Tag

My friend Rach tagged me in a ..... well, tag. I haven't done one in a while, so I was excited! It goes in three's.....

3 names I go by:

Steph

Babe

Step-on-me

3 Jobs I have had:

Doctor's office receptionist

5th grade teacher

Tutor

3 Places I've lived:

Mesa, AZ

Laei, HI

Provo, UT

3 Favorite Drinks:

Pepsi (don't tell my bishop)

Pina Colada

Carribean Passion Jamba

3 Favorite Movies:

While You Were Sleeping

Count of Monte Cristo

My Wedding Video :)

3 Places I've Been:

Hawaii

NYC
The grocery store

3 Places I'd Like to Visit:

Paris

Disneyworld- including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! Yes! DYING to go.

South Korea (maybe)

3 Favorite Foods:

Sonoran Enchiladas

Cafe Rio

Midnight Truffle Blizzard
Mashed Potatoes
Chips and Salsa
Cereal (Rasin Nut Bran)
The edges of brownies- ok all brownies
{Was that more than three?)

3 Makeup Products I Can't Live Without:

I like makeup but I'm not a brand snob. . .
Mary Kay mascara (one month used) is nice
that's all

3 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

Visiting family in July (way way too excited for that)
Laying on the beach in Cali in August
Obama not being president

If you would like to do this (ya know you do!).. then TAG, you're it!

Book Review Time!

It's been a while since I've posted about the latest books I've read (I know... you've noticed) so I thought I'd do a little catch up on the ones I remembered! Stay with me, cuz I need your opinion at the end!

Months ago I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and LOVED IT! It's not a genre I typically like (juvenile/fantasty/action), so I was surprised how much I got into it.... but really, how could you not?! It's about a girl who lives in a country where the government is in complete control and forces each village to sacrifice a girl and boy each year to compete in the Hunger Games. Basically they're thrown into a controlled environment where they must kill every other person to win and stay alive. If they win, they also guarantee enough food for their village for the next year. Sounds gruesome, and it kind of is, but trust me, you won't put it down!

I also read Glenn Beck's Common Sense, the case against an out of control government. It's a short read and to the point. I agreed with everything in it. He really doesn't take party sides in this one and relates current politics with Thomas Paine's view of government. I lent my copy out, but I think it's already time to read it again!

Two months ago I read the Glass Castle for book club. I can't say enough good things about this book. It was CRAZY interesting. It is a memoir written by a woman who was raised unconventially (to say the least) by parents who had less common sense that anyone I've ever heard of. She and her siblings lived in unspeakable conditions and battled hunger, deprivation, and neglect of the worst kind. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish, since children going through that sort of abuse is often too painful to read, but her writing doesn't beg for sympathy or pity, she's merely telling her story. And her story is too fascinating to put down. Certainly by the end (what am I saying... even after the first chapter!) you feel like any {bad childhood memory} just melts in comparison. I would consider this a MUST READ!

Last month for book club we read the Gurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I've heard this is a popular and well liked book, but I kind of had a hard time with it. It's written in old fashioned language (which I found charming... if you could only talk like that now!) and is told in letters only. I would call it a {La La} book. It was dreamy and light and when it was over I could have just shrugged my shoulders. The author is a good story teller, but I never felt so captured by it that I couldn't put it down. I guess I liked it, but not enough to recommend it really, or ever read it again.

I also tried reading The Book Thief and got about 250 pages in and just couldn't read another word. I was so bored. It was so wordy. What I mean is, I felt like I spent hours of my life reading and yet could have summarized it thus far in two sentences. The author has a really strange, unique way of writing that didn't appeal to me. And yet again, I've heard wonderful things about this book and know people that loved it. It leaves me wondering what is wrong with me. Oh well.

Another one I couldn't finish was Niagara, power, beauty and lies. It was chosen for book club and is about Niagara Falls and the region, but is written in a slighty {conspiracy theory} sort of way. I didn't get past page 50. It was like pulling teeth.

And now for the part where I'd be interested in your opinion.... the book chosen for this month is The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama. In all complete honesty, I wanted to gag. Everything inside me wants nothing to do with this book! I for sure wouldn't buy it.... there is no way I'd want to support it or the author, but I knew the library would have it. And then I thought, well, I can't debate it if I haven't read it. So I decided I'd at least give it a try. No sense in being so hard headed. But when I pulled it off the shelf at the library I was suddenly overcome by this embarrassed and ashamed panic knowing that I'd have to go check it out!! Then, I noticed the book next to it.... The Audacity of Deceit, Barack Obama's War on American Values. Ha! I snatched it gleefully. Yin and Yang. My soul was at ease :) But now I'm thinking.... do I really want to go to this discussion? I love, love, love bookclub and it is made up of women in my ward (however is NOT a "Relief Society Book Club"). Our discussions always get controversial and sometimes heated, even when the book for the month doesn't warrant it! I get super passionate about politics and I'm just afraid that I'll say or do something that I regret. Even if I believe in what I'm saying, I don't know if it's worth possibly burning bridges with women I usually get along with fine and enjoy visiting with. I know book club is meant for books that you want to discuss, but I think this one might be going too far. I mean, if I picked an uber conservative book (heaven forbid even a Glenn Beck book), I know eyes would be rolling and scoffing would be heard all around. I don't know why it's so politically incorrect anymore to be conservative when being liberal is the new {in}. I'm feeling like politics would be best left out of a church dominated book club. What to do?

As a side note, I also checked out The Help, by Kathryn Stockett and am super excited to get into it! I've heard amazing things all around about this book and think I'll probably pick it the next time I host book club!

Last Week...

We endured raucious noise as the city tore up our neighbors yard....

(this lasted ALL week btw. I was in the kitchen at one point when the counter tops started vibrating as the house shook. Mary Poppins anyone?)

....Collin enjoyed his new {Lazy Boy chair}

(I pull out the old carrier occasionally when carpooling with Rach and Collin thinks it's a smashing hit to play on..... one afternoon I walked in to him getting comfortable on it to watch Baby Sign Time. Of course he had snacks. Like momma, like son.)

.....we had a fun afternoon watching the Ivster!...

(Ivy's parents were frantically packing last week, so we had a great time watching her for a few hours. She kinda had me wishin' for a girl next. She was so easy going. Would just sit on my lap and look at a book. Almost no fussing or screaming. Of course she's crying in this pic, but I had to add it because of the guilty look Collin is giving me. I didn't see him do anything to her, but maybe he screamed and it scared her. Such a guilty face!)

.... I finished up some artsy farsy flowers...

(We had a R.S. night making flowers so I got to add to my repetoire! :) I made the headband for a friend's birthday and we'll see if anything ever gets done with the other ones!)

.... and Collin officially wore me out on Sunday!

I usually get a reprieve during the third hour in Young Womens, but not for the past couple weeks. Trav got one of those callings that people give you condolences for, so he's now a busy man at church. I didn't think our lives would really change that much, but in the first week alone, he had 2 meetings, helped 2 families move, went to the hospital to give a blessing, drove someone to the airport, and cleaned the church when a couple of the scheduled guys didn't show up. It's definitely good to serve, and I'm glad he has this opportunity, it's just an adjustment. And it puts me in awe of the wives and families of bishops, stake presidents and so on. My dad was put in a bishobric at 26 and my mom jokingly said she hasn't seen him since. It's a good thing the church is true! :)

So back to Sundays... luckily, Rach is the librarian, so the library has become a haven at church. He has 3 1/2 more months til nursery and it couldn't come any sooner! He is busy, busy, BUSY! Oh, and walking now. He took his first steps over a month ago, but he took it slow learning to walk. Now, he's officially a {toddler}. :)

Memorial Weekend

Yea for Crescent and telling us all about the Hot Air Ballon Festival at Letchworth Park this past weekend! It was fun to get out of the house and be with friends. It's just over an hour drive (much longer if you get lost...much like last time) and we enjoyed great weather! It's known as the Grand Canyon of the East and is quite a sight.

What a cheeser we have.

We drove to some lookout points and checked out the falls....

Collin was much more interested in Gavin's toy than being in his own stroller...

Then we parked and set up camp on the huge field where the balloons were supposed to take off at 6pm. Unfortunately it was too windy for them then, so we had time to kill.....

Trav and Doug revisited their gymnastic days...

The kids got reacquainted....

Collin was lovin' the ladies, and they were lovin' him!

Collin got hugs...

Dog pile! So cute.

Finally at 7:30pm we got lucky and they started blowing up and taking off! There was supposedly 34 balloons scheduled to fly.

Picture overload, I know. Curse digital cameras and their nearly unlimited space.

On Monday we got to have a couple of our friends' kids while they flew to Wisconsin to look at a dental practice. They have 5 kids and we got the oldest (Kennon,12) and youngest (Marcus, 2). We went to the mall or a bit, then I took Kennon to see Alice in Wonderland while Trav wrangled Marcus down for a nap. What a guy. Then we had fun taking a dip in our pool! Marcus was looking forward to it all day. Collin was super hesitant, but once he got in, we literally had a BALL. That kid loves swimming. We went to the Shaws BBQ that night and I even got parental permission for Kennon to join us in watching the Bachelorette later that night. I feel kind of bad for {corrupting} her. I'm pretty sure she thought we were all idiots for watching it anyway. It is a lame show for sure. I should probably get a life. The next morning I got lost trying to get Kennon to school (at least she made it on time!) Hooray for GPS. What did people do before them?! Marcus and I sang songs the whole way home. He has an amazing vocabulary. Whenever there was a pause though, he reverted to singing "I am, I am! I am, I am!" to some weird melody. I couldn't figure it out. He's really pretty cute. When he's restrained. I kid, I kid. He wasn't bad at all, just very busy. And by far the most entertaining moment was when he realized he had to go #2 and started frantically opening all the doors near the bathroom, searching for the right one. By the time the unders came off, he had streaked the briefs and the prairie dog was visible. He jumped on the toilet, smearing the seat and in his hurry, forgot to aim #1, spraying the wall and floor. Awesome. I gently reminded him to point {it} down next time, and bless his heart, for the rest of the day, whenever he had to go potty, he repeatedly told me, "I point it down, point it down". Yes Marcus, thank you. Trav said his favorite part by far, (as he listened from the living room) was me asking Marcus, "Can you bend over any farther, so I can get all the poop out of your bum?" I'm so excited for potty training Collin. :)