Tuesday, December 4, 2012

7 months!!!
























Bonus shot - mechanic hands!

Well finally - FINALLY - my computer's wi-fi worked long enough for me to upload these dang things.  I've been trying since forever when James actually turned 7 months old.  Can we take a moment to shake our heads at newfangled technology that will just never ever work right uphill both ways in the snow all year long?  And how. 

But it's neither here nor there since uploaded they are and God is good and let's move on and talk about my baby.

This month James Wade is just a bigger, shaggier, louder, stronger, rounder, more mobile version of his younger selves.  He still looks like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and he still likes to eat his feet (just from a different angle).  He still holds my hands when he breastfeeds/cuddles/pretty much anything else.  In his short 7 1/2 months of life he already knows that fingers make the best teething toys, shoes are the best distraction in the world (unless it's sacrament meeting and then up is down and the universe doesn't play by normal rules), and family spitting parties first thing in the morning when we're all still in bed are the like the bee's knees, only far more exciting.  Seriously, you haven't lived until you've experienced an early morning family spitting party.  James can teach you how to do it: with your tongue out, it's the only way.

James Wade enjoys: rolling ALL over the living room floor, holding his breath until he squeaks, having his feet and armpits tickled, cheerios, laying down during baths and kicking his feet so mom gets all wet, smiling at whoever sits behind us in church, crying when there's too many people around, crying when anyone wearing a hat or a beard are around, and getting himself into all manner of strange positions during naps.

James Wade hates: putting his arms into sleeves, not being allowed to chew on diapers, not being allowed to chew on highchair strap buckles during lunch, being cold after baths, having to fall asleep by himself about every 3rd nap, and hitting his head on hard things.

He usually sleeps through the night right after I say he doesn't, and stops right after I say he does.  He thinks mom is WAY funnier than dad (citation needed).  He has two whole teeth.  He eats all manner of fruits and vegetables, and his first Thanksgiving was a success because he and Mashed Potatoes met and are friends.  He can make your heart melt right out of your chest if he falls asleep on you, and I recommend letting him suck on your face when the mood strikes him because the window of it being cute and not creepy for someone to suck on your face is extremely narrow.

As for me, I'm getting much better at not crying when he outgrows a clothing size, or when I look at his newborn pictures.  Actually, his newborn pictures are even sweeter now that I know something of his personality.  Being a mom feels like slowly opening a really fantastic present - so slow that I still don't know what it all is yet.  It's also a little like being in a horror movie, because of all the fear and worrying I have to force myself to not indulge.  I mean, you don't realize how thin a barrier bedroom walls are between the safety of your home and the evilness of the outside world until your most precious thing is sleeping all the way in the next room.  I mean, I know the whole world isn't evil and that it's just a mom thing to worry, but I've never felt so very vulnerable before.  Being a mom is the very definition of taking the bad with the good.

So anyway.  That's the boy this month.  I apologize for not being a better blogger and actually writing more posts.  I actually think of things that I want to write about all the time, but it always seems that when I do have a moment there's always something else I'd rather do instead, even if it's just be on the couch and do nothing.  Can I get an amen for doing nothing!  I'm still planning a blog design overhaul (Rachael, I'm a bad client) and my hope is that maybe a well-designed space will make me want to use it more.  It's a nice theory, anyway.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Important! Something cute.

ATTENTION EVERYONE.

We went the mall yesterday, my little dude and I, to buy some warmer shoes for his feet.  Instead, the shoe place wasn't there anymore and we spent 3 hours walking around not really finding anything to buy.  Okay, we found lots of things to buy but actually bought very few of them.  And normally my mall trips don't last 3 hours but in my defense James fell asleep halfway through and it would have just been downright mean of me to wake him up to put him in the car, right?  Anyway, we were dog tired after all that.  But before we got tired, James got a new hat.


And now you know what I wanted to tell you.

Friday, November 9, 2012

An open letter to people with short-term memories

Dear residents of Utah,

It's that time of year again.  You know - the scary time.  The time when up is down and left and right and nothing makes sense anymore.

You know what I'm talking about.  The time when it starts to snow again.

As a resident of Utah myself, I want you to know that I understand you.  Your fears are valid, and I want you to know that I'm there for you.  I know how frightening it can be to deal with something you've dealt with before; even many, many times before.   Even every single year that you've lived in Utah.  I know how the blissful heat of summer can seem to stretch on forever and ever into Eternity, and make it seem like it never snows here, like snow is just a long-forgotten horror that exists only in our grandparents' nightmares. Even though Salt Lake City, where you probably live, is at an elevation of over 4000 feet and is the gateway to numerous renowned ski resorts and has earned the reputation "Greatest Snow on Earth."  I'm here to remind you today that despite all that, it does, in fact, snow here.  Please, remember to breathe.  It's going to be okay.

To help you manage this confusing time, here are a few reminders about how to handle the Evil snow:

1. Wear More Clothes

Snow is cold.  Winter is cold.  You may have heard the phrase "bundle up"; I implore you to do so, for your own protection.  Because if you complain about being cold in a t-shirt and jeans, someone is going to beat you up.

2. Drive Slower (and turn your galdurned lights on)

Don't you just love car accidents?  The smell of broken glass in your eyeballs; the big fat stacks of money waving you goodbye; recklessly endangering the lives of innocent people...  Wait, you don't love that?  Then why in the HOLY NAME OF HAN SOLO would you not think to slow down and drive more carefully?  Also, if it is currently overcast and snowing/raining, turn your headlights on.  Yes, even if it's 2:00 in the afternoon, because contrary to popular stupid opinion, the use of headlights is not time-restricted; it is condition-based.  Nothing bad will come of making yourself more visible to other people in inclement weather, unless you consider "being safe" bad.  In which case, go to jail, right now.

3. Drink Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is extremely comforting and warms you from the inside, so it should be your best friend in times like these.

4. Have Fun!

One way to get rid of fears is to face them - so get out there in that snow!  Run around in it; it probably won't hurt you, and you might even have some fun.  Are you a scientist?  Then observe the snow; experiment with it.  Try moving through it in different ways, and observe how the physics of objects in snow differ from that of objects on dry ground.  You may learn something!  Believe it or not, but entire industries are made from people having fun in the snow.  And very large groups of people are never wrong.  So be brave.  Embrace your terror and turn that frown upside down.

I hope this mini-guide has been helpful.  I have only your best interests at heart.  And on that note, maybe you could print this out and keep it around for next year when Winter inevitably rolls around once more, and then maybe we won't have to go through all this again.

Have a super snow-filled day!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Fish Lake, Utah

We have a group of friends that come over on Sundays to play nerdy DnD-type games with us, and one of those friends has a family that has a cabin.  And this weekend all those things converged, and we like that.

So we drove down to central Utah to have an Epic Weekend of Nerdiness in a beautiful ol' rustic cabin in the woods.


 Rollin' my dice and feedin' my baby.  Like I do.

 The view from the front porch.

 Jessica helping me get James strapped in for our woodland walk.
(Jesse, Spencer, and Nate in the background, with Tony behind the camera, makes for the whole group.)

 At Penny Rock, with Spencer's excellent hiking attire.

 Pardon my crazy face, but James was cute and snuggly in his carrier that he's way too big for now.

 We love Spencer.  I wish I could remember what he was expounding on.  Probably the qualities of an excellent skipping stone.

 My handsome boys.
 
 Jesse teaching James about Lamb's Ear.  (It's delicious.)

 "That's right, rock.  You better skip, and skip some more."  Or something.

James learned he likes beards.

 Seriously, we love Spencer.

 I don't feel this picture needs an explanation.


 
 Jessica cooked for us the whole weekend, because she's awesome.  Cheesecake pancakes, people.

 View from the loft.

 Nerds.

 Maya, oozing uncomfortableness at having to stand this close to the camera.


Of course, more pictures of the little guy.  James got his first tooth this weekend - or at least that's when I first noticed it, but I've been feeling pretty regularly so it probably poked through while we were there.  I'm irrationally proud of him and that tooth.

And I know the camera settings for all of these pictures are out of whack.  I wasn't too worried about getting things just right, but it is frustrating to know in retrospect what I should have done differently.  But I guess that's what learning is about.


 

 My family.  Heart.


Halloween, for real this time

I forgot to post these before the weekend, so here they are now.  Pictures from trick-or-treating on the actual holiday.

Tony and I both laughed when we saw this picture.  It's hard to look happy sometimes, I guess.


Maya was uncontrollably excited to finally be going for a walk (what gives, we are terrible dog-walkers), but she's afraid of the camera so it's almost impossible to get a picture of her face.








The boy was more tired than he'd ever been in his life, I think.  And trick-or-treating was kinda fun, but it ended up being a difficult night.  We passed a yappy dog yard and it really scared James, and the whole rest of the night (and for several days after) he would get startled and cry at even the slightest of sounds.  Needless to say, he's been sleeping in our room a lot lately.

And yes, Tony and I were Hallo-grinches and did not dress up.  That was way too much work.  Although I am disappointed that I never took a picture in my pirate costume with James sitting on my shoulder.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

First Halloween

Like I mentioned in my last post, James has started noticing his hands.  After taking his 6 month pictures I had him lying on the bed still and he started doing it, and I managed to get a few shots.  Yay!  This completely steals my heart.



He caught me.



(My bedroom is definitely in WIP mode.  It drives me nuts, but home improvement is hard.)
Here are some pictures of James' halloween costume.  He is a parrot.  I made it myself, using this tutorial as a starting point.  It's not perfect and was done in a rush because I'm a huge procrastinator, but I feel pretty good about how it turned out.

Taken by my mom's iphone because we were at her house.



And here we are together at the stake halloween party.  I was a pirate because OF COURSE I WAS A PIRATE.  I just can't knock the habit.


He must have really been channeling his inner parrot because he made squawking noises all night.  Of course he had ripped off and tried to eat a few of the feathers before we even made it to the party.  I guess he needed to molt. 

And I forgot what else I was going to say.  It's been one of those days.