Six

6 Months! Can you believe it? I am sure you probably can, but I am still struggling.

For your reading pleasure, I bring you my list of 6 reasons I love Little A:

1. Your smile. Even on my toughest days, that little turn of your lips makes me melt over and over again.

2. Your constant state of discovery. I know this is common to all your peers, but to be privy to every new look, sound, and movement you make causes me to bubble up with pride and an excitement I can't explain....

3. Your everpresent desire for attention. It reminds me of someone I know...

4. Your blue, blue eyes. They remind me of your father, and I feel like I can see right into you through them.

5. Your snuggles. I don't think I could feel more at peace than when you are snuggled up at my neck or in my arms, awake and studying my face, but totally quiet and calm, needing nothing more than to just be loved.

6. You made me a mother. I find no deeper satisfaction in this life than being your mom. You have helped me gain more patience and find more inner strength than I knew posessed. You have softened and humbled me. You have given me the chance to find my true calling and nature, brought me closer to my Father In Heaven, and filled me with a great desire to be better. You will always be the child that made me a Mother, and for that you will forever have my heart.

Are you out there???

So I have been deeply negligent in my blogging responsibilties. I am quite sure I have lost what little readership I had. But in my defense, our household has been plagued of late with illness, sleepless nights, and the busyness that comes with this time of year. By the time I sit down to the computer, it is usually 11:30 at night and my brain is too hazed to function.

It has been quite a month since my last post, though:

Little A began solid food, threw it up, began again, threw it up, and began again (the joy of orange retching has yet to be something I have found).

She learned to sit up on her own.

(If I take pictures from the front, she gets distracted by the camera and falls over...so most of those shots resemble this:)

I got the tree and decorations up WAY early, anticipating the delay that is Little A...

(Why four you ask?? Because I can't handle the assymetry of having 3 hooks with stockings and 1 without...)

Peter got promoted, works a swing shift and finished classes for the semester. Yeah! I think his finals week was just as stressful for me as my own finals weeks were...I am not sure I can handle three more years of this plus grad school..eek!

My wonderful sleeper (remember 9 pm to 7 am anyone?) also stopped sleeping through the night...more on that later.

Oh, and I got a job doing childcare in my home for a baby a little younger than Little A starting in January.

Overall it has been an eventful, satisfying, and sometimes frustrating several weeks...but I think I am back in the swing! Tune in for "The Tale of Tears" coming soon!

Public Again

Ok...the blog is public once more. I have made things fairly general to keep it a bit more private, but this way people can check it out without having gmail accounts.

Pulling Out The Tricks

Aunt Makenzi (er...cousin?) came to visit me today... I decided to pull out my tricks for the company. Watch me here (^) trying to get a better look at the Wii as Makenzi bowled. I decided to save this move just for her. Mom has been trying to get me to do it for weeks, but I wanted to save it just for Kenz. I think I impressed.




I also decide it is time for a change...no more bottles...I am SO over them.

Happy Halloween

I helped this week with the MASA Halloween Carnival. I helped put together and run a Pumpkin Bowling booth, which was a lot of fun. Little A got all dolled up as a cupcake and joined me for the festivities. Poor Peter had to work :{.

The red thing on her head is a cherry hair clip I made. I'm actually quite proud of it!

First Date

Pete and I went on our FIRST DATE Saturday night!

First date since Little A blessed us with her presence, that is. Who knew the first time you leave your child could be SO difficult. She was in very good hands - there is no question there. And she has been left with Peter and my mother before, but never for very long and never during her night time routine. But she handled the separation like a champ. I, on the other hand, I must have been a basket case because Pete offered (er, threatened) to take me home. I stuck it out though, and ended up thoroughly enjoying the much needed couple-time that Pete and I haven't seen since this side of June.

Nachos + Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist = the best first date ever

Pete and I went on our first date Saturday Night!

First one since Little A blessed us with her presence, that is. It was very hard to leave her, even though I know she was in very good hands. I just never thought that I would have such a difficult time the first time I left her. She has been left with both Peter and my mother, but never for very long, and never during her nighttime routine. This was a real moment of separation. And she handled herself like a champ. I, on the other hand, I must have been a bit of a basket case because at one point Pete offered to take me home. But eventually I calmed down and was able to enjoy some much needed couple-time with my wonderful husband, eating nachos and laughing our way through Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Food For Thought

I found this quote while perusing various blogs, and I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I think it completely encompasses what I want to to become as a mother and a woman.

"Too frequently, women underestimate their influence for good. Well could you follow the formula given by the Lord: 'Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God' (D&C 88:119). In such a house will be found happy, smiling children who have been taught, by precept and example, the truth. In a Latter-day Saint home, children are not simply tolerated, but welcomed; not commanded, but encouraged; not driven, but guided; not neglected, but loved."Thomas S. Monson,, "The Spirit of Relief Society, Ensign," May 1992, 101-102

I want to improve.

Sew Domestic

Okay...so I've been feeling rather crafty lately, and have been in search of a way to make some extra money. I have some things I have been working on and I personally like them better than many of the similiar commercial items that are out there. What do you think? Would people actually pay for this stuff?

Binky Clips


Reversible Magnetic Bibs


Crib Sized Quilts

(The light blue around this quilt is actually the backing, and I will be using the red fabric that is in it as the binding.)

Followers

Mainly out of curiosity, I have added a followers gadget. If you read the blog, add yourself to the followers listing!! It will post your profile picture under the word "Followers".

Oh! What A Beautiful Morning!

This morning I woke up to this...

and this...


What a beautiful life!

Out In The Country

Sorry for the delay in posting, Little A and I have been on a bit of a vacation for the past 6 days. We (and by we I mean my parents and I) took her on her first airplane ride/vacation back here to Southern Illinois. She did excellent on the airplane and the 3 hour drive to my Aunt Linda's. She is quite the jetsetter and I would not hesitate to take her on another trip. Last night she slept from 7:30 pm until 8:30am this morning, with a 6:00am snack. Incredible!

This is Little A with her Great Grandma, whom she was named for.

We have been busy seeing family and taking a final look at my late Grandpa's farm before it is sold at auction at the end of October. Growing up, I came back here just about every summer for vacation to this farm country where my parents were raised, bouncing from Great Grandma's to Grandpa Tommy's and all the different Aunts and Uncles' homes. It was truly idealic. I don't think I really realized that until this trip. Life is certainly slower paced here and being back here now that I am a little older has certainly made me appreciate my roots a little more. Everything is very different. It has been ten years since I have spent any real time back here, and I regret that.

My Grandpa Tommy passed away exactly one week before Little A was born. It never sunk in that he was gone until yesterday. We drove unto his property and his truck was parked in the drive. I walked into the house and was immediately struck with the nostalgia of it all. His coats were hanging in the entry and his boots were sitting there. As I walked into the kitchen, I half expected him to come walking in to greet me. When he didn't, it finally hit me. He is really gone. I felt the sadness all around me. A lot of that was a feeling of regret that Little A would never get to experience the same memories I did as a little girl, and that Peter did not get to see it before it is sold.

It is amazing to drive around and see the combines harvesting the corn in all the fields and to smell the dust from the corn husks on the air. There are crickets all around your feet and rows of corns and beans for miles upon miles. I took this picture just past my Aunt Linda's. I was able to stand in the middle of the road for as long as I needed without worry of a car passing.

Little A 1, Camping 0

You would think two people who met while camping and who spent the majority of their early times together in the wilderness would be a little more outdoorsy than we are. We attempted our first camping trip since Little A was born (and since we've been married for that matter) last weekend. It was the ward campout up the local canyon, a grand total of ten minutes from our home. Peter spent the majority of the evening putting up the Springbar and inflating the mattress. Little A was doing great and loving the campfire. We finally got her to sleep after nursing in some awkward positions at about 10 pm. All would have been fine had I not attempted to move around on the mattress. I woke Little A and on came the screams.

Out of fear that everyone in the ward would hate us, we grabbed the diaper bag, our inconsolable child and the car keys and headed home at around 11. She realized she had won and coo'd and smiled the entire way home. She continued this behavior until she finally gave up at midnight, content to be at home in her crib. She then offered us some mercy by sleeping straight through to 7 am without so much as a peep, for the first time ever. We then headed back to the camp to retrieve our things and have breakfast. Peter spent the majority of the morning taking down the Springbar and deflating the mattress. Let's just suffice it to say, we don't see a whole lot of camping in our near future.

A's Room

I am so excited! We aren't allowed to paint or wallpaper any part of our townhome, so I have been looking for a way to make Little A's nursery a little more exciting. Well, yesterday while purusing Target, I found these darling removable decals. It took me about an hour to put them up and I think they look awesome. And the best part is that Little A loves them. She grinned and coo'd from her bouncy seat as she watched them go up. I just about had to cover her eyes while I was nursing her because she kept craning her head back to look at the wall.

Pure Craziness!

Little A has been screaming lately...a lot. Well, a lot forher - she really is a very pleasant baby most the time. I cut out dairy and chocolate, thinking they were irritating her system and causing colic, started dressing her warmer, thinking that the cooler weather is getting to my summer baby, and kept the gas drops and gripe water stocked up and ready. For the life of us, we couldn't figure out what changed in the last week or two to cause all this upset.

...And then we saw it! While enjoying a nice leisurely visit to our little local zoo Monday with her Aunts Suzie and Aubrey and cousin Devin, Little A decided to open her mouth and smile just right. Suzie caught it at the same time I did, and we were both little bit unsure if we had really seen what we thought we saw. But a double take confirmed it...a tooth. My two and half month old baby is sprouting a tooth! Whether or not it will come to stay, we don't know. But I think I have found the source of the drool, stuffy nose, and the random pain-filled shrieks that come from no where. Don't believe me? Check this out for yourself!

Back To School

Peter has headed back to school...in the cyber sense of the word. All of his classes this semester are online. Only 3-4 more years to go. I am very jealous and have decided I would like to go back and get a Second Bachelor's or a Master's degree while we are up here. It will likely be an English - Technical Writing degree. We will see if I am actually able to make it work.

We hit the campus Monday to get his books and some school gear for each of us. It was insane! It is amazing to watch how this small quiet town transforms when 15-20,000 20somethings converge onto it. I have never been here early enough in the summer to notice the change that occurs when school starts. The amazing thing to me is how well the regular citizens of this little town handle the transition. Everyone is still more polite than anywhere else I have ever been, even when the lines are ridiculously long and traffic is horrible.

Poor Thing!

My little girl is growing up! We went to her 2 month check up and she is as healthy and happy as can be...or should I say "was". She had to get her immunization shots and now my happy girl is not to thrilled with the cruel world around her. She took them surprising well...only a little squeal and no crying really, but I think she was more than a little ticked.

New Beginnings

Well, I obviously got off to a miserable start with this whole blog thing, but seeing as how life has afforded me an abundance of new beginnings as of late, I have decided to try again! I will do my best to update this little area of mine at least weekly so as not to waste any of your time in looking!

I also decided to change the blog name. In viewing all the many blogs I have happened to discover out there, I have realized that it was seriously lacking in the creativity department. So let me explain the new title: Peter and I met in 1999 (9 years ago this past July - holy cow!) while on staff at a boy scout camp called Camp Frontier. Pete spent 4 summers on staff, and I lasted somewhere around 6 or 7. Many of our best friends have come from our summers at Frontier, including each other. So I have often felt that as we move forward in our lives and away from our summers at camp, we have not left Frontier - we have only entered new versions of it.