For Grandma

So my sweet Grandma Edna loves Reese. When I call to talk to her the first thing she says is "how's my baby?" I'm so glad that they have a relationship and it's awesome that even though Grandma Edna has a ton of great grandkids and even a few great-great grandkids she still takes a personal interest in Reese. So I shot this video of Reese and wanted to post it so my sister can pull it up on her Iphone and show it to Grandma. We love you!

(we were listening to Disney music so just try to ignore the Pirates Life for Me in the background. Next time I'll pick a cuter song.)

Also, speaking of my Grandma, I have a random cleaning tip for you. Next time you finish cleaning your toilet (everyone's favorite job, I know) try this with the brush:

That way it can drip dry and you don't get gross toilet water in the bottom of your brush holder. My grandma showed me that last time I visited. Then I came home and showed my Mom and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. Maybe everyone does this already but it was a revelation to me so thanks Grandma!

Comments

So my cute friend let me know that she hadn't been able to comment on my blog. I changed the settings around (including removing the annoying word verification thing... sorry I didn't even know I had that.) So hopefully it's better now. Thanks for reading my blog and sharing your thoughts with me!

Be Happy

That was one of my goals last week. I have just been struggling lately and I shouldn't be. I have a wonderful husband, a sweet daughter and family who lives close by. I have several great friends (well, I have many but several within a 30 mile radius.) I live in an apartment that is safe and warm. I have a car to drive and food to eat. Spence has a great job that allows me to stay home and be a mom. I have a strong testimony and relationship with my Savior. But I have just been bumming out.

So last week my goals were to stay busy and be happy. I love staying at home with Reese and most days I make really good use of my time- working out, reading scriptures, keeping the house (relatively) clean and organized and working toward personal goals. But sometimes I don't. It's weird how when you have a lot of time on your hands, sometimes you just don't do anything because you don't have to. Then when you don't do anything you feel totally unaccomplished and depressed. I wish I was better at self motivating- I'm working on it.

So all last week I was happy- each and every day I found a million things to be happy about. A bird landed on my balcony and I got to watch it = happy. Reese figured out how to drink out of my Camelbak = happy. Spence cleaned up all the Superbowl dishes (and there were a lot of them) = happy. Reese did awesome at church yesterday = double happy. Al took 3rd in KingCo for wrestling = happy. I finished a really great book (Half Broke Horses) = happy. The list goes on and on and it's growing everyday.

I'm feeling much better and I'm going to keep working on it.

Mama's Girl

Reese is starting to act like she loves us a little bit- finally! She has never been a cuddly, snuggly baby. I mean, we know she likes us but she wouldn't lean into us or let us rock her before she went to sleep or hug her tight. She likes other people, which is definitely a good thing. But now she will be sitting on the floor, look up to me and raise her arms because she wants me to hold her. Spence and I always kiss after we say prayers (his parents always did it, and we just kind of naturally started doing it to.) The other night after family prayers we kissed and Reese tilted her head up to me because she wanted one too. Then she did it to Spence. We have gotten her to give kisses before but that was the first time she wanted to. She has a fever and a cold right now and last night she laid her head on my shoulder and let me rock her for awhile. She loves my Mom and Dad, but now when they are holding her if she is done she will lean toward me so I'll take her. I don't want her to become overly attached to me- separation is healthy. But it is nice that she is starting to show that she loves us because we love her so much.

January stinks

So I have decided that January is the lamest month of the year. Nothing left to look forward to now that Christmas and New Year's are over. It's cold and wet and where I live, it looks like this:

 Gray. All day. Every day.

I lived in Seattle for a while growing up and I didn't think it would bother me when we moved back but I am struggling. I need one of those UV happy lamps or something. I tell Spence every day that I wish tanning didn't give you cancer so I could go and get some vitamin D and some warmth (not to mention some color on my totally pastey legs.) I'll live through it- but this has definitely solidified my desire to go to grad school somewhere sunny and warm- Arizona, Texas, Florida, Hawaii.

Coming Home

When Spence and I were first married we met this awesome couple in our ward- Scott and Michelle Hart. They are great friends and they introduced us to rock climbing. There was a gym in Logan like 3 minutes from our house and we would go climbing 3-4 times a week. It is the best sport to do as couples because you can totally go at your own pace and skill level without slowing anyone else down (or making them feel bad because you are better at it than them.) When we were able to go that often we really saw ourselves improve. Of course, life changes and with a baby we have not exactly had the time to dedicate to this 'wholesome recreational activity.' But as part of our New Year's Resolutions we have decided to go rock climbing at least once a month. So yesterday we went with my mom and dad. Mom watched Reese while the other 3 of us climbed. I know this is going to sound way too deep for what I'm talking about but it was like coming home. I had the best time. Sure, I'm not nearly as good as I was before but it was so nice to be just me and my little muscles and the wall.

Spence aka Spider Man. He is just so tall he skips holds all the time and is up the wall before I can even blink.

My dad is 53 and totally keeps up with me. He and I were doing all the same climbs.

You can't see my face but it is beaming with joy.

Even Reese enjoyed herself. We will be getting her into a climbing harness as soon as possible.

It would have been so easy to be discouraged because it has been so long and I kind of have to start over. But kind of the opposite things happened- I want to go back as much as I can so I can work back up to it. I love it- and when you have something in your life that you enjoy that much you have to figure out a way to make it work.

Reese is 10 months old

We celebrated Reese's 10 month birthday by going to a one year old birthday of a little boy in our ward. I can't believe that will be Reese in 2 months- with frosting smeared all over her little face. There is nothing really new to report- she is still crawling around like a mad woman, standing and pulling stuff off of shelves, and still smiling at everyone she sees. She doesn't have any new teeth and still says 'da da' for everything. But there are some fun and quirky things that she has been doing that I never want to forget.

 We are so fortunate that she has not yet figured out how to open drawers and cabinets. But when I'm cooking and she wants to be with me in the kitchen I'll open the tuperware drawer for her. She loves taking them all out and carrying them around the kitchen. Too bad she doesn't love putting them back in.

 She has started growling. She has always been such a happy and noisy baby, but now she growls constantly. It's so funny to hear the grainy quality to her voice.

 She wants to climb over everything. She loves to have you lay on the ground so she can crawl over you. Anytime we hold her on the couch she tries to crawl over the edge of the arm. We have to keep a close eye on her because I know one of these days she is going to leap off.

 She likes to put something in her mouth while she is doing something else. So she often has a toy in each hand and one in her mouth. Or something in her mouth while she is crawling around.

 I wish I could buy this child a little baby jungle gym. She likes to crawl under the table and weave her way in and out of the chair legs. It's amazing to watch her problem solving abilities. Sometimes she will get stuck but she doesn't cry, she just keeps trying different things until something works.

 I started renting Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to limit the Elmo time. She is starting to talk like a muppet. She will say 'da da da' and will move her head up and down like Elmo and his friends. She is our little muppet baby.

She has way more fun taking her toys and books off of the shelves then actually playing with them. She likes to grab the DVD cases and look at the pictures and slobber all over them.

Happy 10 month birthday to little Reese!