happy halloween

...from our little ladybug.

audrey's first date

my friend candice and i (and our babies) met for lunch at cafe rio. it was so much fun to catch up on each other's lives and talk about motherhood and memories of college. it was really fun to see her baby too. he is such a happy baby and so cute! it was funny though because when i held him audrey looked up at me with this "hey, you are MY mom, why are you holding another baby" expression. it was pretty funny. they looked so cute next to each other in their carriers. they have the same carrier (just different colors), the same pacifier (again just different colors), the same binky clip (this one is because candice made both of them, she is so talented) and when i pulled out her favorite toy, candice said that her son had the same one AND they are both AJ (audrey jane and adam junior). looks like audrey has a boyfriend, haha.

lunch with ana and a brand new toy

audrey and i have had a lot of fun the past two days meeting my mom downtown for lunch. she is in town for a conference and we have enjoyed having her here! today dave met us too and we had a little party at the olive garden. everyone wanted to hold audrey so we each took a turn.

here are some pictures:

audrey loves being with her ana



mama's pride and joy



definitely a daddy's girl


what a perfect little poser


all tuckered out


after lunch audrey and i ran some errands. we had to pick up a few things at walmart (namely candy for trick-or-treaters and some tights for her since it will be getting cold soon) and when we got home daddy was already here. we decided it was time to pull out audrey's jumperoo. even though it is not new (it was given to us for audrey at our office shower) it is the first time she has been in it. i just had to snap a few shots.

at first she seemed a little apprehensive



she loved and was absolutely mesmerized by the lights


she started smiling and squealing when dave started bouncing it (her feet don't quite reach the floor yet)

two little pumpkins

our little punkin with her halloween pumpkin.

i don't know why she swallowed that fly...

we went to a pumpkin carving party today. it was so much fun. it was such a beautiful day. it was hard to believe that the last saturday in october could be such a warm, sunny day. vickie served such good food. she served eye of newt and little mummies and gumbo that was so good i requested the recipe. audrey carved (with a little help from her dad) her first pumpkin! i can't believe i didn't take a picture of it! shoot! it was fun to dress her in a little halloween outfit. it was a little warm for her so we took her inside for little breaks to feed her and change her and stuff.

we had sodas and wasps were everywhere. there was a wasp circling my drink and dave shooed it away and i thought of the story i had heard years ago about someone's dad drinking a soda and getting stung in the throat by a bee. after dave waved the wasp away i took a swig and knew immediately i had just poured a wasp into my mouth. i spat it out (along with some fresca...everywhere) and screamed...looked down and sure enough it was a wasp. i am so glad it was dead. it was funny that i had just thought of that story of the dad swallowing the bee like moments before. almost like i knew. i guess i am a little psychic. haha.

here are some a couple of pictures of audrey and her grandma vickie:





and here is a picture of the wasp:


i only had my little point and shoot so you can't see the details but here is a picture of a wasp (can't believe it was in my mouth, yuck):

have you ever seen the rain

every day audrey and i have a little music appreciation time. it usually calms her and puts a smile on her face. today i turned on a little CCR and we listened to the same song four times in a row. audrey was riveted and started crying every time it ended. haha, i couldn't stop laughing. i guess for now her favorite music is classic rock. who knew?

three months old

today audrey is three months old. we packed up her stuff and went to visit rachel and jj. we had a good time for the most part. i think little princess is colicky because she is fussy beyond belief at the same time every day...it is not because she is hungry, wet or any reason at all except from around 2 until 5 every afternoon she is almost inconsolable. it comes on so suddenly too. like a jekyll/hyde transformation. where is my audrey? she was here just a second ago. i feel unable to help her and we do a lot of bouncing. poor little thing. anyway, for the most part she had fun. her screaming did wake jj from his nap but he was okay. i made him cake in a mug which is such a fun idea to do for kids and he watched cars so i think (i hope) he had fun.

i pulled out my camera to snap a few shots of the kids since today marks three months of audrey in my world.


don't you love the bow? this is one of the ones i purchased from the quilted bear this week. every time i buy bows they rob me blind but i just can't help myself. i should really learn how to make them myself...




audrey's crying woke jj up from his nap. he was a good sport about it though.


it has been a goal of mine for some time to get a good picture of the two of them together...yeah, didn't happen today as you can see from the following pictures. i can't compete with lightning mcqeen.




even though she is three months now, her 3-6 month clothes still drown her as you can see in this photo. it is a super cute outfit though. thanks Janette!

feeling old

last friday i drove to provo while dave stayed with the babe so i could watch my sister mariah perform in a play. while i was in provo i couldn't help feel old. mariah is in college now. COLLEGE. whoa. this means it has been eleven years since i left home to go to college. can i really be that old? how is that possible? she did a great job and it was fun to see her. since she is in utah now, there are certain things she needs to try you know? i took her to sconecutter. she had never been. you can't be a real utah girl unless you have eaten at sconecutter. it had been years for me but many a late night have i spent at sconecutter...after concerts, late night study sessions, parties, etc. i just had to introduce it to her. mmm, it was good.

today my friend megan tall and i went out to lunch and afterward she accompanied me on my quest to find a christmas present...many a store did we go to, but we still couldn't find the present i was looking for. i wish i could solicit info on said present on this blog but the recipient reads this blog (sometimes) and i don't want to let the cat out of the blog, i mean bag. haha. what a patient friend megan is. audrey has had a rough week. she has gas that is causing her so much pain. we are starting her on a new formula that will (hopefully) help. today was the first time i took her out of her stroller and just held her while we walked around tai pan. she is usually happy as a clam riding in her stroller. poor little thing. megan was so patient with her screaming and still wanted to hang out with us even though audrey was not having an easy time. thanks meg. as we were walking around we ran into a high school friend that lives in wyoming that i haven't seen in eleven years. she was talking about how she just turned thirty last week and then megan started talking about how she will be turning thirty in a few months. THIRTY. i don't relate to that at all.

when i was running errands in provo after sconecutter but before mariah's show on friday i just kept thinking about how long it has been since i lived in provo and how long it has been since i came back from school in virginia. sometimes i think of myself as being around that age. i know i am older than college kids, but i don't think i realized how much older you know? and then today...what were megan and i doing? we were going to home decor and housewares stores with baby in tow. somewhere along my journey through life, i turned into a grown-up. why didn't anyone tell me?

this was my last day working at tom tom music. rachel and eliot came in to visit me and we took some silly pictures. this feels like yesterday. okay, maybe not yesterday but not eight years ago either. where does the time go?

rainy days and mondays

oh, today was a monday. i love weekends. whether we go out or stay in, hang out with friends/family or by ourselves, have exciting dates or deep-cleaning sprees, i just love the weekends. i always struggle on mondays. it is the beginning of a whole week without dave around during the day. i am glad i get to stay home with audrey but sometimes i get lonely and bored. there are days when dave says goodbye in the mornings that i feel a twinge of jealousy that he is going to be surrounded by other adults. today was like that. audrey took a three hour nap and i was going insane. she usually sleeps for about 45 minutes when she naps so i was ready for the day and staring at nothing for a long time. today i refused to turn on the television. there is nothing good on during the day. i think daytime television steals a little bit of your soul each time you watch it. okay, i'm kidding, kind of. seriously though, doesn't it?

anyway, by the time she woke up i was more than ready for an outing. i just needed to get out, to breathe some fresh air. we went to the grocery store and purchased a few things and then we went to the post office to put a few cards in the mail, then headed over to look at some new hair bows for the princess. i can't get enough of them. i literally want to buy every one i see in every color (damn you quilted bear) but i hold strong and only purchase four. then we went to another little shop to look for clothes for her and then we headed home. when we got home i fed audrey a bottle, burped her, changed her and played with her a while and then i put her in her swing. then i looked at the clock. over an hour until dave gets home...seriously?

i was chatting with a friend today through facebook. we are both moms to new babies and learning the ropes. it was interesting because i think moms that work are (at least sometimes) jealous of stay at home moms because they are home with their babies but it has been interesting to me because i find myself a little jealous (sometimes) of working moms. it has been an adjustment for me since i quit my job to learn my new role. i am a mother and i love it. the title of mother doesn't encompass all that i am though. what about all the other things i am? i am glad i am home with audrey. i know this time of her being small is limited and i cherish the little coos and squeaks she makes when she smiles up at me. i can't imagine how hard it would be to drop audrey off to someone else and not be able to love her and cuddle with her thoughout the day. today was just a long day and i am glad tomorrow is tuesday.

boss's day

yesterday was national boss's day. i thought i would write a little tribute to my new boss.




she is tough, but fair. she does not let me nap on the job, but I guess most bosses don’t allow that. she does not give me an hour for lunch but allows for mini-breaks throughout the day. i work long hours and am constantly cleaning up her messes...but paid generously in snuggles and smiles and i have never loved any job more.

i read on the internet that the proper observation of this day is as follows:

"National Boss's Day is usually celebrated by presenting one's boss with a small gift or greeting card, by putting in an honest day's work, apologizing for any pending lawsuits or HR complaints. It is also customary to treat one's boss with kindness, very similar to a birthday, only with better presents."

audrey didn't get any presents yesterday, but i did put in an honest day's work and i apologized for her tummy complaints (no pending lawsuits that i know of) and i treated her with the utmost kindness. this post will have to serve as my greeting card to her.

if you are a fan of deep thoughts, here is a great one by jack handey:

“If you go to a costume party at your boss's house, wouldn't you think a good costume would be to dress up like the boss's wife? Trust me, it's not.”

haha.

twelve weeks and today's events...

wow, audrey is twelve weeks today. i can hear her right now, she is talking to her dad...she is really into babbling and laughing lately. it is so cute. she is very dramatic. when she is done drinking her bottle she gets this grimace on her face and sticks out her tongue forcing the bottle out of her mouth like it is just disgusting even though just seconds before she was drinking it contently. everyone is always telling us how beautiful she is. a waitress last week (not our waitress, just a waitress in the restaurant) told me she had never seen a more beautiful baby and of course i have to agree. people also tell me frequently that she is smart. she is constantly observing everything around her. i am so happy to be her mom. here are a few snapshots of her today:







last night our princess slept twelve hours straight. it was amazing. i can't say enough good things about that miracle blanket. we put her to bed just before seven last night and she slept until quarter to seven this morning. i can't say enough good things about that miracle blanket. it may be that she is just getting older and sleeping for longer periods at a time too...today audrey and i headed out to the library. i don't have a county library card, just a city library card so i went to get myself signed up and to pick up a few books i have been wanting to read. next, we went to the grocery store to pick up some formula and some juice. i was really missing dave today and felt lonely for him. i was so glad when he came home from work and i got a hug and some adult conversation...AND these beautiful roses he brought home for me.

we went on a family outing to run some errands and on the way home we saw all this black smoke and dave said, "a car must be on fire" and sure enough when we got close enough it was a maroon VW bug that was blazing. i reached for my phone and i hadn't brought it so dave grabbed his. unfortunately the cop on the scene backed his car up and blocked our view until the light turned green and we were passing it so this is the best shot we could get.

when we got home, we opened our mail. look at this cute outfit that my friend katie sent for little audrey. thanks katie. it is so cute.


it was a very full day and i am hoping audrey sleeps like she did last night.

a thanksgiving dinner (kind of)

last night dave and i were out and about and decided to pick up dinner on the way home. we went to arctic circle...with sweet potato fries and pumpkin pie milkshakes, it was almost like thanksgiving dinner. it made me excited for thanksgiving. the pumpkin pie shake was delicious, the sweet potato fries not so much...

gender stereotyping

my sister rachel told me her husband had started reading "the female brain" and i found this interesting because dave read this (or parts of this) book when i was pregnant. i read a few chapters as well and found it interesting but also found it interesting that when she reinforced each stereotype she did not note exceptions to that stereotype.

i have thought about gender role stereotyping a lot the last few days. i am definitely setting audrey up to be a girly girl. everything she owns is pink (with a few yellow and purple exceptions) and we even call her "princess" as a nickname. i don't know that she will like pink when she is older or if she will be a little princess or if she will be a tomboy, but for now she is immersed in all things girl.

in "the female brain" the author, Louann Brizendine starts the book off by telling the story of a patient who gave her little girl a toy truck instead of a doll. one day she walked in on her daughter rocking the truck and saying, "don't worry, little truckie, everything will be all right."

I found this story fascinating. Though this isn't hard proof that the girl's brain was wired for nurturing as she could have been shaped by other influences, it supports the author's idea that "there is no unisex brain."

I think about my childhood. i remember dressing up in my mom's slips with my sister and walking up and down the sidewalk humming the tune to "here comes the bride" and hours and hours of playing barbies. i also remember dancing around the room to showtunes like "annie" and "west side story" endless times. i liked cabbage patch dolls and my sister collected porcelain dolls.

my older brother was sandwiched between two older sisters and two younger sisters and flexed his muscles in every picture taken of him for the better part of a decade. his favorite movies were the rocky and rambo movies and he played with GI Joes and transformers. these are the movies and toys he liked despite having sisters singing showtunes and playing with dolls constantly. though this is how my brother was, there are boys out there that play with dolls because they look up to there big sisters and think that is cool. i don't think it is "against their nature" to be nurturing too. it is pretty fun to see how gentle and loving my little nephew is with baby audrey, he sings to her and cuddles up with a blanket while he "reads" to her, this is the same nephew that loves to crash his cars off his toy chest...

it was interesting to read the about the differences in the male and female brain. i just wish that she would have recognized that there are exceptions to each stereotype. she did say that child development was both nurture and nature but each of her examples were based only on gender stereotypes.

it was interesting, just not interesting enough for me to finish. it just seemed to be written from too narrow a point of view for me.

ten years ago

I was tagged by Brooke. Here's how it works:

Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

i have done this tag before, but since it has been over a year, here goes:

10 years ago I was:
1. 19 years old
2. Working at TomTom CDs
3. Taking classes at SLCC
4. Driving my first honda civic
5. reconnecting with high school friends

5 things on today’s to do list:
1. Pick up Audrey's pictures
2. Lunch with Rachel and JJ
3. Go to Target
4. Make dinner
5. Meet with realtor

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. granola bars
2. apples with caramel dip
3. string cheese
4. dreyers fruit bars
5. dried mango

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. Pay off house
2. Start a trust fund for Audrey
3. Go on vacation with Dave
4. Go back to school
5. Buy Dave a black prius

5 places I have lived:
1. Draper, Utah
2. Buena Vista, VA
3. Seattle, WA
4. Oceanside, CA
5. Fairfax, VA

5 jobs I have had:
1. snelgroves ice cream
2. raging waters
3. tomtom cd exchange
4. media research center
5. fidelity investments

The rules say I have to tag 5 people. Michaela, Mariah, Janette, Christy, Jessica... YOU'RE IT!

eleven weeks ago...

not only was a baby born, but a mother also.

"miracle" blanket

so dave ordered this miracle blanket (that is the actual name of the blanket) last week and it arrived yesterday. it is almost like a baby straitjacket, it has extra fabric to secure the arms against the body before you swaddle them up. though she doesn't like being swaddled much anymore, she stayed asleep ALL NIGHT! yes, all night. i couldn't believe it. she didn't wake up even one time throughout the night. i thought a six hour stretch was great but this...wow. she slept from 8:30pm until 5:00am. this is a miracle blanket, indeed.

so sad

here is a picture of audrey on her tummy. oh, she hates this. and bathtime. she hates tummy time and bath time. i feel like the meanest mom in the world when we give her a bath because she screams bloody murder and it takes a long time in my arms before she calms down. when we got her pictures taken we told the photographer that she does not like being on her tummy. even though she didn't freak out like she usually does, you can see how unhappy she is...when you look at this picture, don't you just want to scoop her up and give her some love?

vice presidential debate '08

just a couple of pictures of dad and audrey watching the debate because it was too cute not to capture on film.