Cameron, Stephanie, & Andy

Baby Shower

2012-02-09T20:24:00.004-06:00

About a month ago, my friend Kasee and I threw our cute friend Cami a baby shower. It was so fun to celebrate her little girl on the way. (Maya Vera: cutest name ever.) The theme was "books & bows." It turned out great! (Mostly thanks to Kasee, who is known far and wide for her party throwing abilities.)

I was pretty proud of these cupcakes:

Playing a celebrity baby matching game! Cami, the guest of honor, is on my left.

Hostesses! Me and cute Kasee.

Saturday Outings

2012-02-09T20:10:00.000-06:00

Lately, we've been taking turns planning our Saturdays, trying to do fun things other than errands and cleaning. The more we see of Austin, the more we love it.

Old Settlers Park, feeding the ducks

Austin Farmers Market

View of Austin from Mt. Bonnell

7 Months!

2012-01-24T21:36:00.000-06:00

Our darling little guy is 7 months old. I can't believe it! He is looking more and more like a "big boy" and less and less like a baby. We love him to pieces. He is my little buddy, truly the light in my life. (Cheesy, but incredibly true. )

Still super smiley.
Still LOVES his Johnny Jump Up. He cracks himself up and gets so into it. He tries to jump everywhere now, even when he's just in our laps or something.
Still loves to swing at the park. And go down the slide.
Likes walks again. Yay!
Is huge. About 21 lbs. In 12 month clothes now.
Loves to sing primary songs with mom at the piano. (Or is it just me that likes this?)
Likes to sit in his new high chair.
Sometimes likes to eat oatmeal cereal. He is very patient when we feed him--he puts his hands up in the air and just waits with his mouth open.
Makes the funniest face ever when we try to feed him something more adventurous like applesauce. You would think we were feeding him lemons!
Loves his toys! Especially his baby einstein ones that sing.
Has no interest in crawling. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if he skips this altogether. He still hates tummy time with a passion. You would think we were torturing him by the way he screams.
Can stand up and hold himself by grabbing the couch.
Must have someone in his view at all times. He cries if he can't see anyone.
Still wakes up 3x a night. (HELP!!!)
Still not the best napper, but I'm coming to terms with this.
Is getting a bit better at entertaining himself. I think he can use his hands and body a bit better, so he's less frustrated overall. Usually, he's happy to sit on the ground and play with his toys for 30 min. or so. Yay!
Is starting to like books! Though he usually is mostly excited about trying to eat them, he does enjoy lift-the-flap books. His favorite is called, "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" He looks so surprised whenever I lift the flap. Darling.
Got a big boy carseat and loves it! It's so nice he doesn't scream when we buckle him in now.
Loves to be turned upside down! I say "uh oh!" a few times before...he knows what's coming and gets so excited.
Likes to be tickled and has the cutest giggle to go along with it.
Loves to spit and blow bubbles.
Still loves bath time! He likes to play with toys in the tub. He screams when we take him out now. I think it's because he misses his toys?
Loves to play airplane and being thrown up in the air.
Has the sweetest blond hair. It looks buzzed.
Has the most beautiful eyes and lashes. People are always commenting on them.
Thinks it's hilarious when I throw my bun from side to side. Or do anything crazy with my hair. Or do anything crazy in general. He's probably the only one who enjoys my dancing.
Loves peek-a-boo, patty cake, if you're happy and you know it, and itsy-bitsy spider.
And the big news: is getting a cranial band to help re-shape his flat head. He'd better thank his kind parents one day for spending such an outrageous amount of money on a piece of plastic.

He is so incredibly sweet and good natured. We love him so much we can't believe it! Picture overload:

Oatmeal face!

Playing with his buddy Charlie: (or more like staring at him)

He loves when daddy comes home!

His two favorite toys:

Playing piano with his buddy Amelia: (he kept pulling her hair)

Day at the park:

At the zoo:

His favorite swing! Makes him happy every time.

2011 In Review

2012-01-19T20:32:00.001-06:00

I know this is late, but I wanted to do a "year in review" post! We called it our year of changes. We went from students living in Provo to Texan "real adults" with a baby and a real job. Our year looked like this:

January
We found out we were expecting a BOY! I was still super sick, began my last semester at BYU, taught a ton, and started studying like crazy for my orals. Cam also started his last semester and took good care of his sickly wife.

February
I finally started feeling a bit better! Cam worked hard in school, I studied constantly, and we took a fun trip to Vegas with Cam's family to watch BYU play.

March
I passed both my orals! This was such an accomplishment for me; there were many times I literally didn't think I would pass. It felt so good to have them go so well. This is the month when Cam and I really started to wonder if it was the right thing for us to go to Palo Alto and for him to work for Ernst & Young. It was a really stressful time for Cam as he started looking around for other options.

April
I went on a super fun cruise with my mom, dad, Abby, and a bunch of my dad's family. It was SO FUN. The only downside was that Cam wasn't there. We stopped in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. It was so nice to relax after all that studying!

While I was on the cruise, Cam got an offer to work for Dell. This was such a blessing! It really was an answer to our prayers. We knew it was the right thing, so we planned on moving to Austin, TX in the fall.

We both graduated with our Masters Degrees!

We moved out of our Provo apartment, our first home together, and moved to my Grandparents' basement in Holladay, UT. This was such a special time for us to spend time with them and get to know them better. They were so generous to let us stay there rent free.

May
Cam began studying for his CMA (Certified Managerial Accountant) and CPA tests! This was his major summer project. He passed the CMA first, and took 3 out of the 4 tests of the CPA the proceeding months. (He'll take the fourth one sometime soon.) He passed them all with flying colors! I am so proud of him--he had to juggle so much with having a new baby (that didn't sleep) and an emotional, needy wife. I spent this month nesting and such. Our new doctor (the same doctor that delivered me!) was much more on the cautious side. He was pretty concerned about Andy's small size, so I spent the month going to lots of non stress tests and ultrasounds!

June
Cam went to Hawaii to sell security systems for a couple weeks. We were nervous the baby would come early. I think he got home the day I turned 38 weeks? Here I am at 38 weeks:

Then, on Monday, June 20, we experienced the birth of our beautiful little boy!

July
This month was spent trying to adjust to life with a colicky baby. We didn't sleep much. The month was also spent trying to help Andy learn how to nurse. It was such a relief when we could finally nurse confidently by the beginning of August!

August
Our month of celebrations! Cam and I both turned 26 and we celebrated our two year anniversary.

We also took a super fun trip to Jackson Hole with my family.

September
We began the month by blessing Andy on Sept. 4 in my parents' ward in Bountiful.

Then came the big move to Texas! All within a few days we moved to Round Rock, scrambled to find some furniture, and Cam started his new job. We feel so blessed. We love our apartment, our new friends here, and Cam loves his job.

October
I don't know if any main events really happened this month. We continued to adjust to Texas, our new home, Cam working, and me being a stay-at-home mom. Also, we took a Saturday trip to College Station to visit Cam's cousin. So fun!

November
We hosted Cam's family and cousin's family for Thanksgiving. It was a blast! We had so much showing them the Austin sights.

December
Most of this month was spent in Utah enjoying the Christmas season with family.

We had such a wonderful year, filled with incredible blessings from our Heavenly Father. We look forward to all that 2012 will bring!

The Annual Gingerbread Man Contest

2012-01-17T11:22:00.007-06:00

You may or may not have heard of the Messick family annual gingerbread man decorating contest. It's a pretty big deal! :) We all take it very seriously. (Sara cried when she lost last year. Ha ha.) It's not one of those competitions where everyone is a winner. We usually get a neighbor to come over and judge and they MUST pick a 1st place, 2nd, 3rd, etc., all the way to last place. I am usually a top contender.

I think I won 2nd place in 2009:

In 2010 I think I did pretty well:

Now comes the great disappointment of 2011. (I still think it's because our judge was a 17 year old boy. Of course he would choose Avatar.) Also note that I only bothered to pay attention to the places of those who beat me. Ha ha. Aren't I mature?

This is Cam's first time not taking last place:

I think Ben did pretty well for his first year!

All of us working:

Christmas Day

2012-01-09T10:05:00.007-06:00

It's time for a belated Christmas Day post. We had the best Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my family's house. We woke up and went to church and got to listen to Pres. Eyring speak. (He's in my home ward and usually speaks the Sunday before Christmas.) It was the perfect way to start Christmas day and helped us remember what Christmas is really about.

Then, we opened presents! It took forever (which is so fun)--there are getting to be so many of us and we take turns. A highlight from the day was when Christine opened a gift from Ben--a pair of scandalous underwear. (Okay...this was actually a joke I played...)

Andy opening his first present, a darling blanket Aunt Abby made for him:

We packed up in the afternoon and headed to the Lee's for Christmas round 2! We had a delicious prime rib dinner prepared by Grandma Liz and then opened up all our presents. Greg and Kathy (and my parents) are so generous and gave us so much!

I certainly can't remember everything we got, but here are some highlights:

Andy
new blanket (aunt abby)
johnny jump up and night light (grandma liz)
lots of books and new shoes (my parents)
lion king and a high chair (us)
a new shirt (ben and christine)
new clothes (uncle brendan)
lots of new toys, clothes, and stuffed animals--his fav. is giraffe sophie (cam's parents)

Cam
a massage gift card and new clothes (my parents)
sweat pants (andy)
toms and music to the ravel mother goose suite for us to play together (me)
scriptures, primary song book, true grit, and tools from (his parents)
stylish new shoes (Brendan)

Me
nordstrom gift card and clothes (my parents)
a label maker, 2011 blog posts in a book, a mommy hook, and a movie (cam's parents)
a sweater-- which was first opened by Grandpa Harlie. He thought it was his. Ha ha. (brendan)
from cam: a massage gift card, finale music software, tickets to see the Austin Symphony with Emanuel Ax (YAY!), and the cutest coupons that included lots of foot massage coupons and fun things like "a free night out with the girls," "one saturday where I won't check my phone or computer all day," and "one listening session where I won't play devil's advocate." :) I'm a lucky girl!

As a family:
money (my parents and cam's parents)
restaurant gift cards (ben and christine and cam's parents)
a costco gift card (grandma liz)

We are so blessed to have so many generous family members! We had a fantastic Christmas and we're so grateful for all the wonderful gifts we received.

Highlights of Christmas Break

2012-01-01T15:53:00.001-06:00

We just got back from Utah last night. We had the BEST Christmas Break! We had so much fun seeing loved ones. Some highlights of our trip, in no particular order:

1) The Annual Crab Feast with the Lee Family. Greg flew the crab fresh that day from California. Delicious!
2) The Family Christmas Party with the Baker Family. It was complete with a ham dinner, birthday crowns, chimes, and a modified game of Loaded Questions. So fun!
3) Christmas Eve at Aunt Ann's. Such AMAZING food! It was so fun to see all my Winterton cousins. We had to leave pretty early to get Andy down, but it was still so fun.

4) Visiting my Messick grandparents. We have missed them so much.

5) Having Cameron's Lee grandparents visit. It was so fun seeing them. They always make things more fun. And Grandma Liz might be the best cook I know. I'm still thinking about her Prime Rib Christmas dinner. And I'm pretty sure she's the hippest Grandma around.
6) Going to Tarahumara in Midway and then to Park City with the Lee's.
7) Visiting my good friend Amy, her husband Chase, and their adorable son Cayden. And seeing their beautiful new home!
8) Figuring out that Andy LOVES a Johnny Jump Up. Best thing ever.
9) Having lunch with my friend Katie, her husband Chad, and their darling boy Kaden. They live in North Carolina; we don't get to see them enough.
10) Meeting up with our dear friends Monique and Dima for Cafe Rio. They were probably our closest "couple friends" in Provo. We have missed them so much.
11) The Ugly Sweater Party my mom hosted with my Winterton side. We had so much fun playing Reverse Charades and Catch Phrase! (Me in a sweater from 2nd grade and Cam in one of my mom's sweaters.)
12) Celebrating Brendan's 24th Birthday. We ate at La Jolla Groves at the Riverwoods.

13) Enjoying the Lee's new tv/game room! I found a hidden talent for Gladiator on PS3.
14) Getting breakfast and going to the zoo with my family. So much fun!

15) Celebrating Christine's and Ben's birthday at Texas Roadhouse. I love those rolls. Poor Andy did NOT like the birthday "Yee haw!" and burst into tears.
16) Christmas Eve shopping trip with my mom and sisters (and without Andy) to Fashion Place. I have missed Nordstrom. And it was so fun to go to H&M.
17) Watching movies. We liked "The Warrior" and "The Help." And Cam saw the new Mission Impossible movie.
18) In N Out and Nielsen's Frozen Custard and Cafe Rio. All things we have missed in Texas.
19) Lots of naps and sleeping in.
20) Christmas decorations. My mom and Kathy always decorate so beautifully. It's so fun to be home.

21) The gingerbread man decorating contest. This deserves its own post, but let's just say I'm devastated by the outcome this year.

What a great Christmas break!

The People I Love: Christine

2012-01-01T15:16:00.001-06:00

My sweet sister Christine turned 24 a couple days ago. Crazy--I can't believe she's so old. There are so many incredible things about her--it'll be hard to list them. But I'm going to try to list a few.

-She is one of the most selfless people I have ever met. She has always been this way. I used to take advantage of it when I was younger: I made her scratch my back at night until I fell asleep back when we used to share a room. (I'm a horrible person, I know.) She willingly did it, bless her heart.
-She is so caring. She would do anything for anyone. I remember she beat me in a piano competition once when we were younger. I was really upset about it. She told me she wished I would have won, and not her. She really meant it too. What a sweetheart.
-She is so incredibly smart. She has always done so well in school. And everything, really. (Except for sports, ha ha.)
-She is absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever seen anyone so photogenic?

-She cares so much about maintaining a close relationship with Heavenly Father. I have walked in her room countless times to find her with her scriptures open or kneeling by her bed fast asleep. Ha ha.
-She is such a talented pianist. She knows how to get things perfect better than anyone I know. She has such control and accuracy, it is incredible. I absolutely love listening to her play. Certain pieces will always remind me of her. Listening to her play the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the BYU Phil was breathtaking. I was so proud of her- I just cried the whole time.
-She was my childhood playmate. I have so many memories of playing barbies with her for hours. Riding bikes. Walking to Smith's. We had so much fun!
-She is my duet partner! I look forward to playing our Christmas duets every year.
-She is crazy! She may seem like this super proper, poised lady....but she dances around the house crazily singing opera at the top of her lungs. She's so fun to be around.

-She is a peacemaker.
-She's a queen! How many people can say that about their sister?

-She is so forgiving. I teased her relentlessly at times when we were little, giving her horrible nicknames and such, and she always quickly forgave me.
-She is so thoughtful. When I was really stressed out about my master's orals, she found me in the library to give me flowers and say good luck, even though she was so busy herself. She is always putting others first.

I love you Christine!

6 Months

2011-12-26T21:34:00.001-06:00

It's time for a belated "Andy is 6 months old" post. What a darling little boy. People constantly tell us, "He must be the most smiley baby in the world!" He is incredibly smiley, the light of our lives, and we love him to pieces.

Thoughts about our little Andy:
-He loves songs! We can get him to smile instantly by singing "Patty-cake," "If you're happy and you know it," and "Andy, Andy I've been thinking." He also loves, "The eensy, weensy spider."
-While doing turbo jam, I discovered that he he finds any kind of crazy, unusual movement absolutely hilarious. We do crazy dancing for him all the time attempting to make him giggle.
-He can sit up securely by himself.
-He loves his new johnny jump up! (Thank you Grandma Liz!)
-Loves to play airplane, be thrown up in the air, and be turned upside down.
-Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz (75-90%), Height: 27.5 inches (75-90%), and Head Circ: 46 cm (90-95%). He is growing out of his clothes at an alarming rate! His 9 month clothes are almost too small, and he fits in 12 month stuff comfortably.
-Loves when people clap! It makes him so excited. Especially when I chant his name while clapping or say "Yay!"
-Sucks on absolutely everything. Still no teeth in sight, though.
-Has a love/hate relationship with all his toys. He loves them for about 5 minutes at which point they turn very frustrating to him because they just don't seem to do what he wants them to do.
-Still needs constant attention! He's happy as long as he's being played with.
-Likes reading books. He likes to turn the pages. Though he's ready to be done with the book after about 1 minute.
-He has the most beautiful, long eyelashes.
-Still doesn't seem to like going on walks in his stroller.
-Loves to play the piano. I like to sit his bumbo on the bench and watch him pound away.
-Still hates tummy time. But he'll roll over if he's not too tired and is in the mood.
-He wiggles and moves constantly! I think he'll be so relieved when he finally crawl and walk around. We always say he's so tired of being a baby.
-He hates to sit and loves to stand.
-Is still not the best sleeper. We're hoping to get a more regular schedule set up soon so I can start teaching piano again. He still wakes up 2-3 times during the night. Yuck.
-LOVES bath time! He does it now without his little infant bath. He lays down and kicks like crazy. He soaks us!
-We waited until 6 months to try solids. He HATED rice cereal. Like--gagging, crying, hated it. We tried oatmeal. I wouldn't say he liked it, but at least he wasn't gagging. Still, most of it ends up on his bib. He doesn't get that he's supposed to swallow. I tried mixing it with pureed bananas today, which didn't seem to make any difference. Good thing he still nurses so well!
-Grew tons of blond hair this month.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T16:12:00.000-06:00

This year marked the first year we've ever hosted Thanksgiving! I think it turned out really well. Cameron's family flew in for the weekend; we also had Cameron's cousin Aisling join us along with her husband Bryan and adorable boy Carter. It was a late dinner (about 6 PM) which was ctually really nice--it gave us lots of time to do everything. However, near dinner time we had 2 disasters. Disaster no.1: Andy was screaming. And I mean reallllllly screaming. We laid him down to sleep a little too late, so he'd reached the overtired phase and wouldn't calm down. We listened to him scream for the first half of dinner. It was such a relief (to everyone) when he finally fell asleep. Disaster no. 2: Aisling's dog somehow escaped off our deck. Everyone went out to find her for 30 min. or so. Eventually we found her and all was well. Somehow everything stayed warm and dinner turned out well!

Our turkey: (We cheated and didn't make it since we only had one oven to do everything. We got it from Rudy's, an amazing BBQ place. It was sooooooo good!)

My first attempt at homemade rolls. I was so happy they didn't fail miserably.

Cam and I each made a pie. He made chocolate cream and I made tollhouse. They were delish.

We also made jello salad, a green salad, mashed potatoes, and a yummy sparkling drink. And we bought a costco pumpkin pie. Bryan and Aisling brought stuffing, sweet potato pie, homemade pumpkin pie, and an apple onion pie. It was all so good! I wish I would have taken more pictures, but between the hustle of bustle of preparing, Andy screaming, and looking for the dog, it didn't happen. Oh well.

5 Months!

2011-11-21T11:27:00.000-06:00

Our darling little boy is 5 months old! We can hardly believe it. He is a complete joy. Just when we don't think he could get any cuter, he does. We see more and more of his personality every day. He learns new things all the time.
Andy:
-Is super smiley. The pictures are evidence.
-Has mastered grabbing things! It's been fun to see him get better at it all month. He's a pro now!
-Chews on everything and slobbers constantly.
-Loves the activity center my mom & sisters gave him. It has absolutely saved my life. It's the only thing that can entertain him for longer than 5 minutes. Sometimes I even get a good 20 min. of entertainment out of it!
-Much to my dismay, has started to hate our walks. They are my sanity so I'm super depressed about this. I end up carrying him and pushing the empty stroller.
-Went on the slide and swings for the first time! He loves them both. The slide makes him giggle every time.
-Had his first Halloween. He went to two parties: he was a chicken and a pumpkin.
-Loves to be held. Loves attention. He is very happy and smiley as long as those two things are happening. He is usually screaming when these needs aren't met. This means I get absolutely nothing done.
-Is super chunky. I'm guessing he's about 18 pounds now? He only spent a month in his 3-6 month clothes, and is now in 6-9. Whenever I tell people how old he is, the response is always the same: "What a BIG boy!" I think this is mostly because of his gigantic head. As my mom told me while skyping a few days ago, his head is the same size as mine.
-Loves to put everything in his mouth! Including his feet. He has loved the discovery of his feet this month. He is always grabbing them.
-Is a wiggler. He wiggles and moves alllllll the time.
-Is starting to the grasp the concept of books and stories. By this I mean he actually looks at the pages rather than sitting there clueless that anything unusual is happening.
-Still loves songs! He loves when I sing along with the Pandora Disney station.
-Loves sitting in his bumbo on the counter while I cook.
-Still loves to stand.
-Can sit up! This is the big accomplishment of the month. He's never lasted longer than a minute without my help though. We're working on that one.
-Still hates tummy time, but I finally witnessed him rolling over a few times this month.
-Makes all sorts of sweet noises.
-Unfortunately, he's discovered his ability to make high pitched screams.
-Is still the sweetest nurser ever. Though it's frustrating at times, it's mostly sweet how he unlatches constantly to stop and smile and to talk. Cameron and I have to make sure we don't talk while I'm nursing because Andy stops and looks up to listen.
-Is not a good sleeper. In fact, he's gotten worse. He wakes up 2 or 3 times consistently every night. And his naps are horrible. He has about 4-5 mini naps every day. We tried the whole month to work on sleep training--getting him on a schedule and getting him to fall asleep unassisted. It was horrible to listen to so much screaming and there was virtually no improvement. I've been so frustrated and depressed about all this, but I'm actually feeling better after reading more in "the book" (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) and realizing he doesn't fit in the "normal child" category because he was such a colicky baby, which I guess means it takes longer for his sleep habits to develop. Even though I'm depressed I'm not getting more sleep, I feel better knowing it's not because I'm doing something wrong. We'll just have to give him some more time. And I need to stop comparing his sleep to other babies because it is so discouraging. He's his own person and that's okay. We love him just the way he is!

I kept my resolve to be better at taking pictures this month. We have tons! Here are some favorites:

the beautiful new addition to our home

2011-11-18T13:31:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to post for a while now about our new PIANO! My parents were generous enough to let us sell an old piano they had and use the money to help buy a new one here in Texas. Looking for a piano was quite the experience. We knew we didn't have room (or the money) for a grand, but we needed a piano nice enough for me to teach on. So we settled on finding a Yamaha U1 or U3, both fantastic upright models. At first we spent some time looking around on Craigslist, but not many pop up and they go really fast. (Random: we almost bought one from the lead bassist from the band Fastball. Remember them?) We eventually decided to go with a refurbished one from a store. We missed the selection you'd find in Utah--there are so many piano stores there! There are maybe two stores that sell Yamahas here? After visiting this horrible music store here that seriously tried to sell us a Clavinova (okay...nothing wrong with them for certain purposes, but I couldn't believe they were trying to convince a teacher with a piano degree that a Clavinova would be a much better choice), we ended up at this great store called Strait Music where we found a gorgeous refurbished U1 with an absolutely gorgeous sound, tone quality, etc. We fell in love and got it a few days later. It felt like Christmas Eve the night before it was being delivered...we were both soooo excited we could barely sleep. Though neither one of us have been able to play it as much as we would like, we are so happy to have music in our home. We're hoping Andy gets a little better at a schedule by January so I can start teaching.

We framed some of my most favorite pieces I've played above the piano:

Some Gems

2011-11-15T10:01:00.000-06:00

I found these gems on Cameron's phone the other day. Didn't even know about them. It made me miss when Andy was super little.

A few minutes old:

With my sweet Grandma:

Halloween

2011-11-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

We had a really fun Halloween this year. The festivities actually began the Friday before Halloween with our ward party. We found this adorable chicken costume for Andy, so we decided to make a theme of it and be farmers. It was such a fun party! There was a chili cook-off, a bake contest (which I sadly didn't win), and a bunch of other stuff. As you can tell, we don't know how to use our camera.

On actual Halloween, we went to a party thrown by our good friend Kasee. She threw such a fantastic party...I decided I'm never going to host anything again because it would just look horrible to everyone after going to her party! (You should all check out her fantastic food blog: theaprongal.com) We did a little costume change so Andy could wear the adorable pumpkin costume that my mom gave him for Christmas last year (before he was born).

And what better way to introduce our new friends than to show them in their costumes?
Juan and Cami (honey bear and flower):

Amelia, their beautiful little girl who closed her eyes in every picture I tried to take: (She was dressed up as a bee at the ward party.)

Matt and Andrea (Zombie Steve Jobs and a Witch): sidenote--they had their beautiful little girl Adelaide just 3 days later...yay!

Janssen and Landen sans husbands:

Kasee and Jason: (Cop and Inmate)

Blakely, Lindsey, and Little Charlie: (Jazz fans and a skeleton)

Speaking of Charlie, he is Andy's new best bud!

Sadly, I somehow didn't get a picture of Allison and James who were dressed up as Twitter and Facebook.

Some pictures of the spread:

It was an awesome party--thanks Kasee! We love our new friends here!

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

2011-11-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Sleep is all I think about these days. No, it's not MY lack of sleep that's constantly on my mind (though I long and dream for the day when I can sleep through the night again). I'm constantly trying to help Andy develop healthy sleep habits. I've heard so many people swear by the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," and I love and feel good about using the principles it teaches. So, I've pretty much been trying to do everything it says since Day 1.

He's never been a very good sleeper, but we've worked on one thing after another and he's gotten better. He now actually sleeps at night, which is AMAZING. I can pretty much plan on him going to bed about 7 PM and waking up about 7 AM (with a couple feedings in there). However, he's never been good at taking naps. They used to be about 15 min. long and we've worked to him getting to 40 min. or so. Anyway, I've been long awaiting the day we'd get to the chapter titled "Months 4-12" in the book, so that I could begin an actual sleep schedule and hopefully help him take more substantial naps. Part of that plan includes letting him cry it out so he can learn to fall asleep unassisted. We tried the Ferber Method of this at about 6 weeks (as the book calls it, "graduated extinction") but didn't have much success and decided it might be a little early. Now we're doing what the book calls "total extinction," where we let him cry it out as long as it takes at night without going in, and with naps we let him cry an entire hour before we'll go in. The point being that he learns that no matter how long he cries we won't come in, and he just needs to go to sleep. (I know some people think this is horribly mean, etc....but we choose to think it means we care about him enough to let him sleep, which is what he really needs.)

Before we started all this, I had lots of people tell me their experience with it and how it just took their child a few days to learn, and then they wouldn't cry anymore. Consequently, I had high hopes. (Although, knowing that Cam and I both were horrendous sleepers as children, I should have known better.) Like I said, night time actually isn't an issue for him. He maybe cries about 15 min. and gives in. But naps are a whole other story--we've been doing it for about 10 days and I am ready to pull my hair out. It absolutely breaks my heart to hear him cry. I spend so much of my day sitting on my bed (which is just about the furthest I can get away from Andy's room) with my door shut, with the monitor on, but turned all the way down, so I can see it light up to indicate if noise is coming from his room but I won't hear it. Sometimes he only cries for 15 min. before he sleeps, but it's not uncommon for him to go the entire hour. And even if he falls asleep, he'll usually only sleep for 15-30 min. and then I have to let him cry some more in hopes he'll fall asleep for longer. And I still worry about his night feedings. Should I not feed him at one of them so he'll stop waking up? But what if he's hungry? Blah, blah, blah. All I think about is his sleep. There are definitely times when I see some improvements, but I feel like they should be far more significant. I feel like he should have caught on by now? Perhaps he's just incredibly stubborn like his dad? He certainly couldn't have gotten the stubborn gene from me. ;)

Anyway. I know I'm an overly worried and concerned first-time parent. This is such a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but I swear it is consuming my life. I wish he would just learn to nap a little bit better!

People I Love: Kathy

2011-10-31T17:28:00.000-05:00

I've decided I'd like to dedicate posts here and there to people that I love. Today, I'd like to write about my mother-in-law Kathy, since it's her 40th (wink, wink) birthday today!

I literally could not imagine a more perfect mother-in-law. My thoughts about this sweet woman:

-The first time I met Kathy, I was stunned with how gorgeous she is. And the more I've gotten to know her, the prettier she becomes because she is so beautiful on the inside too.
-She has always made me feel so comfortable and welcome. Our first Christmas married, she spoiled me rotten. She took such great care to plan so many gifts that I would like. I felt so special and cared about.
-On that same note, that's what Kathy is good at: making everyone feel special and cared about. She is always doing things for other people. Truly, one of the most selfless people I've ever met. She will do anything for anyone.
-She organizes these wonderful parties for extended family. They are elaborate and take so much work! She always has all these little games planned, delicious dinners, good desserts. She puts so much work into making sure family time happens.
-Birthday crowns! She makes birthday crowns for everyone in the extended family. And they are elaborate!! This means she's making 50+ crowns every year. She's amazing.

-I think a story Brendan tells captures Kathy well--I guess Brendan loved his stuffed animals when he was young and wanted to throw birthday parties for each one all the time. Kathy would go all out and make the stuffed animal a cake, etc. What a fantastic mom.
-She is so generous. One example: we lived at their house for a couple months and she wouldn't allow us to buy any of our own food or anything.
-She is so talented! She designed their gorgeous house and has decorated it so beautifully.
-I have never met anyone so organized. Everything in her house has a place. And it's always there.
-Everything she does is exceptional. I don't think she's capable of doing anything half-heartedly. I've noticed this with her callings, parties (like my bridal shower and baby shower), her job (after all, she won employee of the year in the school district her first year!), making movies for people...everything.
-Speaking of making movies. I had to get some video clips put on a DVD for a teaching certification I was doing. I didn't really know how to do it, so I asked her for some help. In true Kathy fashion, she stopped everything she was doing and made me a fancy-DVD with a menu, music, pictures, etc. It took her more time than I initially thought it would, but she acted like it was no big deal.
-She keeps all these amazing traditions. She buys us all a Christmas ornament every year, depending on what we've been working on for the year. She buys Cameron a nutcracker every year for Christmas.
-She is an amazing gift giver. For example, for my most recent birthday, she gave me a book of my blog for all of 2009. It is beautiful. It must have taken her ages to design it. That means so much when she is so incredibly busy.
-She is such a hard worker. She works full-time and does all the book-keeping for Greg's business. She is seriously busy and stays on top of it all.
-She tolerates her husband's and sons' endless teasing so well. :) She's so good natured and is so fun to be around.
-She is such a good grandma to Andy. You can just see how much she loves him. She bought puppets to entertain him with when we skype.
-Most importantly, she raised my sweet Cameron to be the wonderful man that he is. I couldn't be more grateful for that. There are so many things I see Cameron do and I think..."He got that from Kathy," or, "Kathy taught him that."

I love you very much Kathy! Thanks for all you do. We miss you!

My Shows

2011-10-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

I probably should be embarrassed to admit it, but I watch a LOT of TV these days. When I'm left without a car a lot of days and nurse a few hours a day and Cameron works late, it's easy to just pop on a few shows. I don't watch all of these all the time, but some favorites (in no particular order):

We don't watch it as religiously as we used to, but it'll always be a favorite.

One of the funniest shows ever. We are soooo happy it's on netflix now.

We're into this one right now because of Vocal Point. GO BYU!

House is such a fabulous character.

We had high hopes for this one when we saw the ads all summer. (Who doesn't love Job?) It hasn't quite lived up to our expectations but we still enjoy it, perhaps because of how it seems to parallel our lives right now.

A new one we sometimes watch. Pretty funny.

A big favorite of ours. We stumbled upon it a couple years ago and have loved it ever since.

LOVE THIS SHOW. It's got mystery, but isn't too dark. And Dr. Brennan is just an adorable character.

Embarrassing...I'm a 26-year-old that watches (and enjoys) the Disney Channel. Maybe it's because I didn't have it growing up and desperately wanted it. Anyway--I love this show. I discovered it this past summer and can't get enough of it.

Also found this one this summer. There was a marathon on while we were packing to move. I had never understood why the family was famous so I curiously turned it on. This family is crazy...which is very entertaining. Cameron won't admit it, but I even got him into watching it.

An embarassing guilty pleasure. But I have loved it for a few years now.

I found this one because it's on before Modern Family. It is soooo funny. A hidden gem.

Who doesn't love this show?! A favorite for Cam and I.

A new show that is totally a guilty pleasure. But I look forward to it every week.

This is an oldie, but I really like it. I'm always up for a good mystery and there are plenty of re-runs of this on.

Considering pregnancy consumed my life for nine months, this show blows my mind.

I am not very crafty.

2011-10-26T16:59:00.000-05:00

I am not very crafty...but I'm becoming more so. I don't know if it's because craftiness seems like it should accompany my new role as a stay-at-home mom? Anyway, this is my latest decorating/crafting endeavor. I'm really happy with the way it turned out! (Though I think it looks better in person than it does in the pictures. I know nothing about photography.)

I was looking for a way cheap way to decorate the wall behind Andy's crib. We recently visited Cameron's cousin Aisling (who has the cutest decorating taste and is extremely crafty) in College Station. I loved seeing how they've decorated their new place. Their guest bedroom has a vinyl tree on the wall, which inspired me to create this:

Supplies:
2 rolls of brown, vinyl electrical tape from Home Depot=$8
scrapbook paper for the leaves=$2
sticky tak stuff I had hanging around

I was so surprised at how easy it was. The tape was so easy to work with and just did whatever I wanted it to do. It's fun to feel like I created something for Andy to look at!

4 Months Old

2011-10-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

The little light of our lives is now 4 months old! I don't think we could possibly love and adore this little guy more than we do. He is an absolute joy. We see more and more of his fun personality each day.

Andy...
-Is so social! He loves attention, talking, being talked to, playing, laughing, smiling, singing. Sometimes it gets a little exhausting because he only lasts about 5 minutes without interaction, but we love his energetic, fun, strong personality.
-Still loves to eat. However, his social personality gets in the way because he'd rather unlatch a million times to stop, talk, and smile at me (so cute!) than actually eat continuously.
-Is getting better at sleeping! His naps are getting longer and longer and he's getting better at falling asleep unassisted. He usually goes to bed between 7-8 PM, wakes up a couple of times to eat during the night, and gets up about 7 AM. I LOVE knowing I have the evenings to do what I want. He's now taking 3-4 naps, each about 40 min. long.
-Much to our dismay, he's not sleeping very well out and about anymore. Guess we'll be spending lots more time at home now!
-Sometimes likes walks. He ends up crying for half of them though. Not sure why?
-Giggles! Sometimes it's in response to something random (like the doctor listening to his heart) and sometimes it's when I do some sort of obnoxious laugh or throw him up in the air.
-Is so strong. Still not good at rolling over. But he stands assisted like a pro. And I think he's even close to sitting by himself. He just isn't good at balancing yet, but he has the muscles for holding himself up. He's always trying to sit up in his car seat.
-Loves bath time. He loves to splash around.
-Loves mobiles and hanging things. He's getting much better and reaching for things and grabbing them. He's almost mastered putting his own binky in. He gets frustrated with his own lack of control, but he's getting there. He also gets frustrated when his hanging toys don't do exactly what he wants. This guy definitely has a strong will.
-Got his first little stuffed animal. He likes holding on it and sucking on it. (But he likes holding and sucking everything.) It's a cute dog named Carl.
-Had his first cold. It was very sad. He hated his nostrils being suctioned all the time.
-Sucks on everything. But I don't think he's teething.
-Loves being sung to still. His favorite song now is this song my grandma taught me: "Reuben, Rueben, I've been thinking." I usually make up my own words: "Andy, Andy, I've been thinking what a good, good boy you are. You're so good, I love you so much, you are my shining star." It always makes him beam. Too cute.
-Makes quite a variety of noises.
-Is in 3-6 month clothes (has been for almost a month)...but I swear he's almost grown out of them. He is getting so big! Which brings me to his current measurements: 16 lbs 5 oz (75th percentile) , 25 inches long (50-75th percentile), and head circumference is 75-90th percentile. We are happy about this because he was soooo tiny when he was born.

Andy still leaves me completely worn out most of the time, but I LOVE being his mom. I never could imagine my heart would be so full!

We didn't take enough pictures this month. I'm vowing to do better this next month.

Andy and Carl:

Andy's Blessing

2011-10-03T14:15:00.001-05:00

Andy was given a beautiful name and a blessing on Sept. 4 in my parents' ward in Bountiful. We moved just a few days later, so it also served as a good opportunity to say bye to everyone. We are so grateful to everyone who was able to come. Though I'll never organize a big event like a blessing again while moving (WAY too stressful), it turned out really well.

Thanks to Cameron's mom, Kathy, for the darling blessing outfit:

All Andy's grandparents:
Grandpa Greg and Dad:

Grandma Jean:

With Aunt Christine:

Aunt Abby and Sawyer:
Aunt Rachel:

My cousin Kameron who I LOVE. I was so grateful he made the drive to come!

Aunt Christine and Uncle Ben:

Cameron's cousin Erin, her husband Jared, and Uncle Brendan:
With Aunt Sara:
Cameron and his brother Brendan:

Andy is 3 months old!

2011-09-21T10:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked the 3 month birthday of our darling little boy. I can't adequately express how much I love and adore this little guy. When he was born, I really had a hard time adjusting to everything. Everyone always told me--"Just wait until he's 3 months old." Everyone was right. Everything seems a little more manageable now. And I enjoy my time with Andy so much more now. It's so fun to see his sweet little personality. He really is my little buddy I hang out with all day. One of his big smiles absolutely makes my day. It makes the sleepless nights completely worth it.

Some of Andy's current likes/dislikes/milestones:
-He LOVES to smile. He has the cutest open mouth gigantic smile. It lights up a room. And he does it all the time. All I have to say is, "Hi Andy!" or "I love you!" and he gets a huge grin.
-He loves our singing time in the morning. I stand him up and sing him a few songs. He tries to sing along. His favorite is "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer.
-He loves to talk. He sits and talks all the day long. He's a very chatty, social guy.
-He loves to kick and wiggle.
-He loves to stand up with his weight supported. He absolutely loves this and is hardly content in any other position. It gets a little hard to hold him up all the time.
-He loves to be naked.
-This is a weird one: He loves having his nostrils suctioned. He looks really confused, yet excited. Don't most babies hate this?
-He still likes sleeping in the car while driving. However, he does NOT like to be buckled into his carseat.
-He loves to eat. As always. It's fun now--he stops and smiles at me every few minutes while nursing.
-He finally seems to understand night time is for sleeping. He usually falls asleep around 8 and sleeps til 6 or 7 AM. He usually wakes up to eat around 2 or 3 and around 5 or 6. I wish his longer sleeping stretch happened to fall from 11-6 rather than from 8 to 2.
-Napping is a different story. Andy likes to take cat naps. I hardly ever has a good hour long nap. Most of his are 15-30 minutes. Not cool.
-He rolled over for the first time on Sept. 10. Twice. However, I wasn't there--he saved that event for dad. And he hasn't done it since, so I'm not sure if this "counts." Perhaps he'd be doing better with this if I was more diligent with tummy time. He hates tummy time and starts screaming after a minute so I usually give in and pick him up.
-He seems to favor his left hand. Lefty? We'll see.
-Andy has no "schedule." Hopefully we're not doing something wrong? We just let him sleep/eat/play when he wants to.
-He has a very lop-sided head! He favors his left side. We're trying to get him to look the other way more often, but he's pretty stubborn. Hopefully he doesn't have to wear one of those helmet things. Cameron is extremely concerned about this!
-The most tragic development of this month is that we figured out that if I take dairy out of my diet, Andy is a LOT happier and in a lot less pain. Overall, this is obviously a good thing because we figured out how to make our little guy happier. Tragic because I LOVE LOVE LOVE milk. I don't think anyone could love it as much as I do. I used to have it with every meal. I went through 1.5 gallons a week. I'm trying to get by with soy milk, and it's okay. But I really really really miss milk. I don't know if I can go a full year without it. Sigh.
-He took his first flight on Sept. 8.
-He has about 2 blowouts per day. Hence, about 50% of his clothes have poop stains on the back. I don't know if I don't know how to change a diaper or what?
-Is just about into 3-6 month clothes.
-He went for his first swim on Sept. 15. I think he liked it?
-He finally has his own room/nursery! I'm sure he doesn't care, but it makes me very happy.
-He was given a beautiful name and a blessing on Sept. 4.

We love this sweet little guy and are SO happy he joined our little family.

First Swim:

Blessing Day:

First flight:

We love Texas.

2011-09-17T03:44:00.001-05:00

What to do when you're awake with your baby at 4 AM? Blog, I guess. We're LOVING Austin (technically we're living in Round Rock). Our place is so nice. We love our new friends and ward. Cameron loves his job. All is well! I'm having lots of fun with Andy and lots of fun decorating our new place, especially since we've always lived in furnished places before now. Here is my current "inspiration board" for our living room/family room. It's taking a while to come together, but I'm hoping it'll turn out the way I see it in my head.

Happy 2 Months Mr. Andy

2011-08-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

Our little Andy is 2 months old! We love him more with each passing day and can't believe what a (time consuming) blessing he is.

At 2 months Andy...
-Is huge! He looks like a different baby. His weight has almost doubled. 11 lbs 13 oz (50th percentile) , 22 1/4 inches (25th), and head circumference in the 85th percentile. He's so chubby! His legs, cheek, and tummy are so fat...we love it. And obviously he's inherited his mom's big head.
-Is so alert. He looks around all the time and loves social situations.
-Loves being sung to! It almost always calms him down. I guess he likes whistling to, but I'm not a good whistler so I leave that to the aunties.
-Is very happy after a good poop. Sometimes he struggles to get them out, bless him.
-Is very smiley! I can't pinpoint the day he had his first smile because in the beginning we weren't sure if they really counted. I would guess at about 5-6 weeks? Now he smiles all the time. Especially when we poke his nose with a binky and make funny noises.
-Has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. And his eyelashes are soooo long! They're gorgeous.
-Spits up all the time. He goes through many many outfits every day.
-Loves his swing. Our sleep book tells us not to, but we let him sleep in it because he'll sleep for so long in it! 5 hours the other day. It was amazing.
-Loves to nurse. We're so happy we've finally figured this out. We had to pump exclusively in the beginning and we're finally to the point where nursing is comfortable and (shock) even enjoyable! This has made all the difference since feeding is such a huge part of life with a newborn.
-Loves walks. They always calm him down.
-Still loves his car seat and sleeping in the car. In fact, he sleeps really well everywhere other than at home.
-Is actually a much better sleeper than I give him credit for. He usually goes back to bed after his night feedings now, which is such a blessing. He eats 3 times a night--once with Cameron. Cam and I are finally sleeping in the same bed again, which is so nice. We're starting to feel more normal. He still saves his long sleeping stretch for during the day rather than night, but overall everything is much better.
-Loves to pee everywhere when I least suspect it. It always surprises me and I scream.
-Makes all sorts of strange noises. We sit and listen in the monitor and laugh at what we call his dinosaur noises.
-Still loves baths.

In no particular order, some pictures from the last while...

Why I have loved living with my grandparents

2011-08-19T14:54:00.003-05:00

Cam and I have had the opportunity to live with my grandparents (in their basement apartment) this summer. It really has been an amazing opportunity. Initially, I was a little worried about how it might all pan out, but it has been such a blessing. I have really treasured this time to get to know them better and spend so much time with them. I will miss them so much when we move!

Things I will miss...
-The way my grandma dresses up everywhere she goes. She looks like a movie star when she goes to church and picks out every outfit so carefully. It's adorable.
-How my grandpa dyes my grandma's hair for her. How sweet is that?
-How they bicker all the time. That might sound bad, but it really is hilarious. Mostly it's my grandma yelling at him for silly things like leaving out the Pam. Or picking the wrong parking spot. (Important stuff like that.) He's the most patient man I've ever met.
-Teaching my grandma to use her computer. She couldn't figure out how to double click...bless her.
-How they love each other and depend on each other. It's so cute. Married 65 years.
-How my grandma always says, "Getting old isn't for sissies!"
-This might sound mean, but I'll miss the way my grandma forgets things. I've heard some of the same stories dozens of times this summer. It's really cute. "You know...I was 45 when I had Marilyn." "You know...my mother had 12 kids." "You know...I nursed all my children except for Diane." .
-How hard they work! My grandpa is 90, my grandma 87, and they work out in the yard for hours at a time. They'll hardly let us help with anything.
-How they put cokes in the freezer to get them cold quick and set the timer so they don't explode a few times a day. Except--they can never hear the timer when it goes off and we have to go upstairs to tell them their coke is ready.
-How they eat so much fried food! My grandpa definitely grew up in the south and his cooking shows it. You name it, they fry it--french toast, zucchini. Not to mention my grandma eats her cereal with half & half.
-How they do little things together like go to Arctic Circle for a hamburger. So cute.
-Hearing their stories from growing up. I've learned so much about them.
-How much my grandma bakes. She bakes dozens of cookies at a time. Banana bread too. She spends hours in the kitchen and works so hard.
-My grandpa's thick southern accent. And how he says his sister Juanita's name.
-Sharing meals with them. They're so quick to share everything with us.
-How honest my grandma is. "You know, __________ needs to lose 40 pounds." "They shouldn't be having a baby shower. They should be having a party to help take care of their lawn." "I'm not going to stake conference. It's always the same every year."
-My grandma's sense of humor. She has such a cute personality and always gets all my weird jokes.

Andy's 1 Week Photo Shoot

2011-07-14T20:34:00.000-05:00

Andy got pictures taken a week after his birth at Fotofly in Draper. (We LOVED it there and highly recommend it. Awesome prices!) We couldn't be more happy with the pictures. He was a little angel and cooperated for each pose. Here are some favorites:

Andy's First 3 Weeks

2011-07-10T13:16:00.000-05:00

What an adventure the past few weeks have been! It's amazing how the presence of this new little person completely changes your world. It is way more of an adjustment than we ever realized it would be, but we're loving it. He screamed solid the first few days home from the hospital, but seems to be more adjusted and happy now. At his 2 week appointment he weighed 6 lbs 13 oz (10 more oz than his birth weight) and 19 3/4 inches. We're definitely seeing him fill out. He has an adorable little gut and his cheeks are getting increasingly chubby.

Andy likes...
-Eating! He eats lots and lots of mom's milk, which makes him very happy and instantly calms him.
-His hands. They are always up by his face. He loves sucking on them.
-Sleeping on his left side.
-His binky. This boy has a strong urge to suck! He also enjoys sucking on dad's pinky and mom's pointer finger.

-The car. He'll be screaming, but as soon as we start driving he's a happy boy.
-His bouncy seat.
-Sleeping all day and partying with mom all night. We already have our favorite tv shows picked out.
-Peeing on dad when he changes the diaper.
-Holding his head up. I'm amazed at how strong he's getting!
-Sitting up.
-Bath time. He wasn't so sure about the first bath, but likes them now.
Pictures of his first bath at home:

Andy hates...
-Getting his diaper changed and getting his clothes changed.
-Tummy time. He doesn't mind the first few minutes but then face plants and gets very frustrated.

Things to remember...
-He is always making all sorts of strange noises. He snorts when he cries. He makes this noise when we put his binky in his mouth like he's going to eat it.
-He is learning to hold his binky in his mouth.
-Everyone comments on his giant hands and long fingers. (Piano hands?!)
-He smiles in his sleep. It's the cutest little smile I've ever seen. I can't wait until he starts doing it intentionally!
-He is so alert! He loves looking around.
-I think his eyes are blue. They seem to be getting bluer all the time.

My reflections thus far...
-Will I ever sleep again?
-Nursing has been way harder than I ever imagined.
-I am amazed at how many clothes Andy goes through and how much laundry I do now.
-I don't know how people have more than one child.

With great-grandma Bonnie:

The Birth Story

2011-07-01T07:09:00.000-05:00

We are so thrilled to welcome little Andy into our home. We're definitely still adjusting to the constant demands of parenthood, but we're so grateful to have this sweet guy with us. We fall more and more in love with him every day.

Labor and delivery went better than I expected. I think I've been scared my entire life to deliver a baby. The "story" begins on Tuesday, June 14. I went to the doctor and they were concerned I was measuring smaller than the week before. (I'd measuring small the whole pregnancy, so we weren't too concerned.) They sent me in for a non-stress test and an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still growing okay and doing well. In the non-stress test, I was having contractions 5 min. apart, about a minute long. Because of that, the nurse said she thought we'd deliver in the next couple of days. (Ha! I continued to have the same contractions all week long...) The ultrasound put the baby smaller than the doctor hoped--they figured the placenta wasn't giving baby what he needed and he'd do better outside of me than inside of me. The doctor called me on Friday the 17th and told me they'd induce me Sunday night, when I was 39 weeks. I'd convinced myself the whole pregnancy I'd have the baby a week late, so this came as a bit of a shock.

39 Weeks, right before we left for the hospital:

We went to St. Marks on Sunday night, expecting to be put on Petocin around 8 or 9 and to have the baby sometime early Monday morning. However, apparently they don't just give you Petocin straight away--they give you something to soften your cervix for 12 hours before they start you on Petocin, meaning we probably wouldn't have the baby until Monday night sometime. We were a little disappointed. They put me on the monitors, but I was contracting too frequently to give me the stuff that softens my cervix. Long story short, they ended up giving me Petocin around midnight.

Petocin got the contractions moving a little bit and my waters broke about 4 AM when I was dilated to a 3. That's when the real labor began. The contractions were so painful. I had an epidural put in an hour or so later. After that, they checked me again and I was already at an 8. Thanks to the AMAZING epidural, I pretty much slept until I got to a 10 a couple hours later. The nurse couldn't get ahold of my doctor for almost an hour, so we just kinda sat there in transition, sleeping. Finally, she talked to the doctor who had me start pushing with her and made his way to the hospital. Pushing was way harder than I thought it would be. I pushed for about an hour, and little Andy was born at 10:32 AM on Monday, June 20.

Cameron was an amazing support the whole time. It was such an amazing thing to experience together. My mom and my sisters Sara and Rachel came in for pushing and the birth, which was really neat. They handed Andy to me right after--I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing I couldn't stop crying. We were so happy he wasn't too small--6 lbs 3 oz, 19.5 inches. He was perfectly healthy. Funny enough, we were concerned he didn't cry very much in the hospital. We maybe heard him cry 3 times there? We thought we had a mellow baby. HA--this baby can scream. He just saved it for his parents once he got home. :)

We took forever to decide on a name. Our ideas before the birth were Max, Owen, Andy, Beck, and Jackson. My favorite was Max; Cameron's favorite was Jackson. We finally narrowed it down the morning we left the hospital to Max and Andy. I liked the name Max more than Andy, but it just seemed like Andy was his name. Who knows--maybe baby #2 will be a boy named Max.

Just minutes after birth:

Dad's 1st time holding Andy:

My first time holding Andy after he was all cleaned up:

1st Bath:

The Baby Is Coming!

2011-06-18T11:52:00.000-05:00

I'm being induced tomorrow (Sunday, June 19th) night! This means the baby will most likely be born on Monday, June 20th. Very exciting! I'm a little disappointed I have to be induced. I really like the idea of the baby coming when he is ready. However, the baby is measuring small (about 6 pounds), so the doctors are concerned the placenta is no longer functioning optimally and it will be better for baby boy to be born at 39 weeks. At this point, they say he'll grow better outside of me than inside of me. So...ready or not, he's coming! 9 months is so long--and then suddenly it's here. I'm so excited, nervous, and scared I can barely stand it! We can't wait to meet the little guy.

I guess one advantage to the doctor worrying about the size of your baby is that you get plenty of ultrasounds! It's fun to see him grow and change.

10 Weeks:

15 Weeks:

20 Weeks:

32 Weeks:

35 Weeks:

38 Weeks: *Let me just mention as a side note that the ultrasound tech told us during this ultrasound our boy has hair! This may be a silly thing to be excited about, but I'm very excited. Babies with hair are so cute!

And one last belly picture of me at 38 weeks:

The Bump Progression

2011-06-08T19:04:00.000-05:00

23 Weeks:

27 Weeks:

32 Weeks:

33 Weeks:

36 Weeks:

Austin: Our Future Home!

2011-06-06T18:21:00.000-05:00

I guess this isn't really "new" news, but we're going to be moving to Austin, Texas in September. We couldn't be more excited! The plan for the past few years has been for Cam to work for Ernst & Young in Palo Alto doing auditing--he'd accepted an offer and everything. But long story short, it never felt like quite the right thing and we were so blessed to get this other job offer with Dell doing finance. Cam will enjoy the job much more and our cost of living will be much much much lower. Plus, we've heard all sorts of great things about Austin--great music scene, great shopping, great biking. We're excited to make it our new home!

Mexican Riviera Cruise

2011-06-03T12:03:00.000-05:00

Back at the beginning of April I got to go on such a fun cruise with my parents, Abby, and a bunch of my dad's side of the family. Though it was very sad not having Cameron there (he had too much going on with school to come), I had SO much fun! A cruise is the perfect pregnant vacation. I loved sharing a room with Abby and my cute cousin Jessie. I loved spending time with my dad's side of the family. I loved all the great weather and good food. We stopped in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. I think Puerto Vallarta was my favorite--I can't wait to take Cameron back.

In Cabo with a view of our boat:

The worst part of being pregnant during the trip--no jet ski ride for me. :(

My cute parents. Isn't my mom beautiful?

My adorable cousin Justin. I fell in love with him on the vacation.

The whole group on our way to kayak in Cabo:

Hanging out on the ship deck:

Aunt Marilyn and Jessie:

I guess my dad decided to join a biker gang while on the cruise:

Puerto Vallarta! They had amazing sand sculptures:

My Uncle Dave got so bored shopping he decided to panhandle:

Me and my sweet Aunt Diane. Not sure about the face I'm making:

A wonderfully awkward picture of Abby and I on the streets of Puerto Vallarta. Don't mind the 28 week pregnant belly.

Graduation: April 28-29

2011-05-30T23:56:00.000-05:00

Cameron and I are both officially "Masters". Though it was a great experience, we are so excited to be done with the school phase of our life. Cameron got his Masters in Accounting--it's a really competitive program at BYU. I'm so proud of him for getting into the program and completing it so successfully. I got my Masters in Music, a music performance degree. We really enjoyed graduation and had so much fun celebrating with family. I was just about 32 weeks along, which is evident by my growing belly.
We started the graduation celebrations off by spending a night up in Park City. Here we are at one of our favorite restaurants in Midway, Tarahumara.

Us in our cool outfits:

Cam's good friend Dima--they met in the jr. core together and pulled each other through the program.

Cam's Family:

My Family:

My sweet mom came, even though she'd just had ACL surgery:

Cute Abby:

32 Weeks:

A Little Update...

2011-05-30T22:23:00.000-05:00

So I realize I've become the world's worst blogger. We've had lots of big events going on, and I haven't written about any of them. I've decided I'm going to do some serious posting over the next couple weeks and try to catch up. It's the perfect time to do it because Cameron is out of town for a couple weeks--he's selling security systems in Hawaii. He's only been gone a day and I already miss him like crazy; it's amazing how dependent on each other you get when you're married.

Life currently: we both finished our master's degrees at BYU in April. Yay! We're now living in the Holladay area of Salt Lake and love it. We don't miss Provo at ALL. We're living in my sweet grandparents' basement for the summer and are loving it. They're so good to us. The free rent is coming in handy because (other than this two week period in Hawaii and some piano teaching) we can't really work this summer. Cameron is studying for his CPA and CMA tests and I'm getting ready for the baby. We're SO excited for the little guy to join us. It's coming up soon! June 25th is the due date--less than 4 weeks away.

Anyway! That's our life lately. I'll soon be posting about the pregnancy, the cruise, and graduation.

2011-04-18T20:33:00.001-05:00

Last night Cameron and I found a box at my parents' titled "childhood memories." We proceeded to find all sorts of funny things including my journals from elementary school. Though posting this demonstrates my less-than-kind nature as a child, it's too funny to not post: (original punctuation and spelling included)

Oct. 11, 1993
I HATE Adam Smith hes rood ugly and dumb and does not know what 12x12= is it's 144. He guested 164 and I asked him the next day he sad 154.

Oct. 18, 1993
Well to tell you the trouth I have a crush on Adam Smith.

Ha ha ha. It's weird to think I used to be a little kid and think that way. Too funny.

Baby Time!

2011-04-14T20:38:00.001-05:00

I've been gone from the blogging world for a while. Brief summary of life lately--I passed my orals! And I took a fantastic cruise with my parents and Abby to the Mexican Riviera. It was so fun and was a much needed break. (The only downside was that Cameron couldn't come...I missed him terribly.) Anyway, I'll blog about that later, but for now I'm super excited about baby things! We just bought our crib/changing table today. I love them! We got them for a steal on ksl.

AND--I've had a really hard time finding bedding that I like. There's tons of cute girl bedding but I have a hard time finding boy stuff. I was super excited to find this really cute bedding at walmart.com for $65.

I'm so excited for this little guy to join us. I can hardly wait!

Schubert? Or Prokofiev?

2011-02-27T22:56:00.000-06:00

A brief post to let everyone know we're still alive. (But barely. We've nearly been consumed by horrible amounts of studying.) Cameron's had a really busy couple of weeks of mid-terms. I've been studying like crazy for my orals that are THIS week! AH! Everyone say lots of prayers for me. My pregnancy brain is having a hard time keeping things straight. It will be very nice to be done with them. I have one more on March 17 but it's not nearly as scary or big. I'm just terrified they'll show me a Prokofiev Sonata and I'll identify it as something like Schubert. (Which, by the way, I did this past week.) If you don't speak music lingo, that's like mixing up Harry Potter and Pride & Prejudice. So let's hope that doesn't happen.

Things should wind down after that so I can focus a little more on getting ready for the baby. I also have a cruise to look forward to the first week of April. I'm going with my mom, dad, and Abby and am SO excited. (Though I will miss Cameron terribly, who will be too busy with school to join us.) And then: GRADUATION! I can't adequately describe how excited I am to be done with this scholastic phase of life and move on to motherhood. We're at 23 weeks now. I can't wait to meet our little guy. He's moving constantly, which is fun. My tummy is growing too. I'm still waiting to look identifiably pregnant and not just thick. The evidence:

A Late Christmas Post

2011-01-27T22:00:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. I found things to enjoy about it even though I felt like poop most of the time. The good things: I won the annual Messick Family Gingerbread Man Contest! This is actually a HUGE deal. It's a super competitive ordeal. (My sister Sara was so mad she didn't win she wouldn't talk to anyone for an hour.) Cameron's standing actually improved this year as well. I think he went from 8th place to 7th place. He he.

Mine: Shrek

Cameron's: The main guy from True Grit (I can't think of his name right now.) He's trying to look mad he lost.

Everyone's: I think it's the best year yet.
Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Woody (Dad), Jack Sparrow (Rachel), Emperor Cuzco (Sara), Monopoly Man (also by Rachel), Christine the Bride (Mom), True Grit Man (Cameron), Shrek (Me), and Ariel (Abby).

Another great thing: We got the best Christmas present EVER! We got a brand new bed. It's a KING size bed and we now sleep about 1,000 times better. We only had an old full bed before, so this is a major improvement.

I didn't take enough pictures during the break. The only pictures I managed to take were on New Years Eve when the family was out to dinner. We had a super fun bowling game after too. Though I think I had the worst form of anyone in the whole alley, I still managed to get a few strikes. (Though the rest were gutter balls...)

A BOY!

2011-01-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

I just realized I never posted our majorly exciting news...we found out we're having a BOY! Here's the sweet pictures of the little guy. My absolute favorite is the one of his teeny-tiny foot. Although it looks like he has 6 toes.

As far as the rest of life goes, it's pretty great. The best thing about life right now is that I actually keep my food down! WAHOO! Starting at week 17, I became a new women. I'm grateful for my new-found energy every moment of every day. It's come at a good time because my semester has turned out to be a bit busier than anticipated. I'm working a LOT. This is tough, but it's actually a good thing. I enjoy the work and it's a big blessing to have the extra income coming in. It's just tough to try to balance all the working with studying for my oral exams. They are officially scheduled: March 4 and 18. AH! I need to be studying about 6 hours a day and I'm currently doing about 2. Hopefully it'll all come together. I actually enjoy the studying...if I had to be studying something, I'm glad it's piano repertoire. It's fun to pull together everything I've learned the past few years and work on remembering it. I'm also finding all sorts of new pieces I'm obsessed with....like Chopin's 3rd Sonata. A-mazing. So--to summarize. Life is very busy, but is great.

A Year In Review

2010-12-28T11:43:00.000-06:00

Well I've definitely fallen off the blogging wagon. I think it's mostly because I've become really bad at taking pictures of things and I feel like my posts have to have some pictures. Anyway--I thought I'd do a post reviewing the year so I have some kind of record of the year. The main 2010 events:

April: Our First Half Marathon
Cameron and I trained for and ran our first half marathon in April. It was SO fun to train for it together. We really gained a love for long distance running that has continued through the year and led us to some more races.

April/May: Thailand
We took the trip of a lifetime together and absolutely loved exploring Thailand together. We spent a few weeks going all over: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Phi Phi. I can't believe I've never done a more detailed blog post about it..I need to before I forget everything!

June: Camping in Zion's
We had so much fun camping with one of Cameron's best friends Brendan Blake and his adorable girlfriend Lindsey. We LOVED all the hiking, relaxing, and getting to know each other better. What a beautiful place Zion's is.

June/July/August: California
Cameron had an internship for Ernst & Young in Palo Alto, CA during the summer. We loved our "summer of fun" (as we called it). We did super fun things every weekend and every night. I miss it all the time--especially since I spent most of my time relaxing by the pool. Our highlights included: visiting lots with Cameron's family, driving to Half Moon Bay for walks, trying new restaurants, Great America Theme Park, Monterey Bay/Carmel, playing frisbee at the park, wonderful San Francisco visits, visits from my family, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

August: Our 1 Year Anniversary!
We celebrated our 1st year of marriage up in Park City with a whole bunch of fun activities and a delicious dinner. ]

September: Top of Utah Marathon
I crazily decided to run the Top of Utah Marathon in September. It was such a good experience! It was tough tough tough, but I was happy because I (barely) made my goal of finishing under 4 hours...3:59 was my time. Ha ha.

October: Master's Recital
I had my last recital ever (hopefully) at the end of October and was SO pleased with how it all turned out. My senior recital of my bachelor's wasn't the best experience, so it was a huge success for this recital to go well and for me to actually enjoy it a little bit. It was a huge day: ran the Halloween Half in the morning, recital in the afternoon, and found out I was pregnant later that night. Whew!

October: Expecting our First! (November/December: Sick Time for Stephanie)
As just mentioned, we found out we're expecting our first on June 28! We couldn't be more excited and can't wait for this little one to join us. We're especially excited this new addition will join us before we move to California in the fall. It's been a rough couple of months being pretty sick, but it'll all be worth it. I'm grateful my recital was out of the way so I've had time to rest.

December: Christine Got Married!
My baby sister got married a couple of weeks ago. Crazy! It was a wonderful, beautiful day and I couldn't be more happy for her and for Ben. Isn't she a beautiful bride?

We're so grateful we've had such a wonderful year, full of so many successes and blessings. We're excited to see what 2011 brings. We've already decided to call it the "year of changes" because of everything coming up: both of us graduating in April with our Masters' (WAHOO!!!!), having a baby in June, moving to California in the fall, and Cameron starting a "real" job with Ernst & Young.

Announcing...expecting our first on June 28!

2010-12-04T10:01:00.000-06:00

Though this might be a little anticlimactic (since apparently it was pretty obvious in my last post), we're THRILLED to be expecting our first little one, due June 28! We had our first doctor's appt. on Wednesday and now feel good about telling people. Our first appointment was awesome! Having an ultrasound and seeing the baby moving its little arms and legs and hearing its heartbeat was incredible. It's only 3 centimeters long! I still can't believe that it's growing in me. What a miracle that we can have children.

It was fun to have the doctor's appointment and actually see evidence of the child, because so far the pregnancy has been quite un-fun. We found out I was pregnant at the end of October (same day as the Halloween Half and my Graduate Recital...big day!) and I've been pretty sick from then on. However, the timing of everything has been a HUGE blessing. I literally started feeling sick the day of my recital and I've had lots of time to be sick now that that's over. If I would have started to be this sick before my recital, I would have had to postpone it. Anyway. I feel bad complaining because I know there are women who get far more sick than I have (like my mother who was constantly on IVs), but I'm pretty wimpy and it's been tough throwing up most days and feeling like I'm going to throw up ALL the time. I love love love food and I've hated eating so much bland food...rice, crackers, toast, and cereal are my main food groups. I want to be eating so healthy, but just the idea of broccoli leaves me running to the toilet. I'm tired of carrying around ziplock bags just in case of a throw up emergency in the car or while I'm teaching. I'm at 11 weeks now and I'm hoping this nausea leaves me in the next couple of weeks. Cross your fingers! I have to end with one blessing--the few days surrounding Thanksgiving were actually a miracle and I felt almost normal. It was nice to be able to enjoy some real food and to be able to enjoy Cameron's family up at the cabin we stayed at.

Anyway! Though, I'm sick of being sick, we couldn't be more excited and are so excited this little one will join us before we're off to California next fall. He/she will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family so there's a lot of excitement all around.

The BEST Husband in the World

2010-11-20T14:14:00.000-06:00

This morning is proof that I have the best husband in the whole wide world. My stomach has been upset lately and I haven't been feeling too great. Cameron has been super sweet and cooks all the meals, does all the laundry, cleans the house, and picks up my many messes--all of this without ever being asked, mind you. Though this list is very impressive in itself, what really set the morning apart was a saltine cracker. Yesterday I was doing some online research and read a tip that it can help my nausea if I eat a cracker in bed before I get out of bed. I briefly mentioned it to Cameron and planned to try it out in the morning. This morning I woke up and from bed grumbled a request to Cameron (who was folding laundry and doing dishes) to bring me a cracker. But get this--he had already set one by the bed. How thoughtful and sweet is that?! I'm grateful for a wonderful husband who takes care of me and remembers little things like a morning cracker.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2010-10-12T18:50:00.000-05:00

When it rains, it pours. I know no one likes a complainer, but I feel like I need to document the past couple days...it's pretty funny really. First off--I'm home with the stomach flu. This is awful in its own right, but it seems even more awful considering I had a nasty cold all last week. Finally I got over the cold and had ONE DAY free of illness. Great. This is an unfortunate time to be sick because I need to be practicing all day for my upcoming recital and I have a half marathon in a couple weeks and my training is suffering.

Secondly, unexpected costs. Our car has had a rough month! The brake pads had to be replaced, we had to re-register the car and pay for the corresponding tests, and...we got a flat tire on Friday. Ha ha. Cameron felt the need to drive over a tall curb; the tire deflated immediately. Of course this was as we were pulling in to our friend's house to drive up to their cabin. Perfect timing. All these events cost a pretty penny at a tight time-Cameron's tuition is now expensive graduate tuition and we're no longer eligible for grants. I had the grand idea to use our $75 Costco gift card to put toward the tires...but, of course, I can't find it. Also, Cameron's computer charger decided to stop working last night. Everything seems to have decided October is the month to break! Even little things--we lost a glass and a bowl yesterday.

A bunch of other little things haven't gone as planned, but I won't bore you with the details. I know things could definitely be a lot worse, but it's funny how things seem to all happen at the same time...I suppose it makes you even more grateful for the things that are going well! I'm grateful for a husband who sits with me and rubs my back while I'm leaning over the toilet. Having to stay home today was frustrating, but it actually turned out to be a nice time to catch up on a bunch of little things I needed to get done. I have a sweet sister who is willing to cover for me in the class I teach. Hopefully things will look up in the next couple days. :)

Summer Running!

2010-09-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

This summer was an excellent summer for running. The main highlights included the Salt Lake Half Marathon, the Mapleton Moonlight Half Marathon, and the Top of Utah Marathon.

Salt Lake Half Marathon
This run was in April and was a blast! Cameron and I trained and did it together. We loved it. It was really fun to accomplish a goal like that together.

Mapleton Moonlight Half Marathon
This was a fun night race at the end of August where you wear glow in the dark things and try to cross the finish line at midnight. However, it actually ended up being a bit of a disaster. I got lost on the course and was scared out of my mind for about 5 miles. Because I got lost, it messed up some plans to meet Christine and Ben at the finish line, who were going to take pictures, run some more with me (I needed to run 7 more miles to stay on my training plan for my marathon), etc. So--I don't have any pictures aside from this one from after our the long night of running. Thanks again to Ben and Christine for dealing with my crazy emotions that night and for running with me til 2 AM!
Christine told me to look tough for the picture.

Top of Utah Marathon
This race was Sept. 18 up in Logan. I'd always heard everyone say, "If you can run a half, you can run a full," so I thought I'd try it. It was a good summer to train for it because I had lots of free time in California. But...it was SO HARD! WAY harder than I was expecting. I'm really glad I did it though. I was happy because I met my two goals: don't stop running (no walking) and under 4 hours. I don't know if I'll be doing another one anytime soon (I think I'll stick to halves), but it was a great experience. My parents were sweet enough to drive up for the race and biked next to me off and on between miles 18-24...the miles when I thought I'd die. It was great to have them cheering me on. Cameron and I made a fun weekend of it and spent the night with my darling high school friend Bonnie and her little family. It was so fun to see her, her cute house, and her adorable little boy.
Pre-race. Cameron always makes fun of my bandanas...he says I look like I'm in the crips. I guess this is me trying to make some kind of gang sign?

Relief!

My pro biker parents!

This post wouldn't be complete without paying tribute to my feet for all they've gone through. This disgusting picture shows how battered they are. I've got 4 black toenails still waiting to fall off.

I'm excited for the Halloween Half this next weekend...then I'm ready to turn the mileage down a bit til next year.

1 Year of Wedded Bliss

2010-09-09T00:32:00.000-05:00

Cameron and I celebrated our 1st anniversary this past Saturday. (The actual date was Aug. 18 but Cameron was out of town. Thus, we postponed the celebration.) Cameron was so sweet and planned a full day of fun activities. The day began with delicious blueberry pancakes and a bouquet of roses.

We spent most of the day in Park City. We enjoyed a fun ride on the alpine slide. However--Cameron "accidentally" kicked my shoe off when we were on the lift, so I went down shoe-less. He was sorry when he had to hike up the mountain to find it! :) We enjoyed delicious pizza and even had a snow cone (tiger's blood, of course), which I haven't had in ages! We spent some time on main street looking in some shops and art galleries...which I think I may have enjoyed a little more than Cameron. After that, we went to this concert up at the Canyons. We also went to this super nice restaurant that was SO DELICIOUS! It's called "Jean Louise" and I highly recommend it. We also had some of our wedding cake. Cameron thought it would be gross by this time, but it was amazingly delicious. It was a wonderful day. I feel so grateful to be married to such a wonderful guy.

Side note: we went on a super fun hike Lauren and Mike for Labor Day. (Not an anniversary event, but I'm too lazy to create a separate post. )

The Family Visit

2010-08-25T00:03:00.000-05:00

We're back in Provo and all moved in, but I'm a bit behind in the blogging world. Before we left California, my family came and visited for about a week. We had SO much fun!! I loved having people to hang out with while Cameron was at work. It was also fun to do the touristy stuff a native like Cameron wouldn't never do. Some of the highlights:

A FREEZING summer day in San Francisco. We went again a couple days later when it was a bit warmer. We looked in lots of shops (which is a frequent occurrence with 6 girls in one family), went to the aquarium, took a boat tour, had excellent chocolate and ice cream at Ghiardelli Square, and hung out at Pier 39. We also spotted the bush man...no San Francisco trip is complete without a bush man sighting.

We had some delicious clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls. A San Francisco must.

We spent a couple of days at Santa Cruz Beach, a family favorite attraction. The second time we went, Cameron even got to go with us! We had SO much fun. We went on rides at the boardwalk. We went on walks. We watched Sara dance crazy while listening to her ipod, wandering around the beach. I embarrassed Sara a couple of times...1) I asked these guys if they would mind taking a picture with my sister. I told them she was too embarrassed to ask herself. He he he. 2) I also went and asked this guy if he would mind helping her build a tunnel in the sand. He came to help, and Sara was quite confused. Anyway! We had a fantastic time.

Sara with her men:

Sara dancing crazily while people watched her.

My hot beach outfit.

The Big 25

2010-08-08T02:14:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I turned 25! Yay! That sounds so old...I certainly don't feel that old. Despite its unpromising beginnings (Cameron is out of town and I'm all alone in California...I was so excited for my birthday facial and it fell through...and the old people I live with woke me up really early), it turned out to be a great day. Here's why:

--When I came back from my morning run, I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table with the sweetest card and all the fixings for strawberry shortcake. Cameron arranged for it to all be delivered even though he's away. What a sweetheart. Made my morning.

--I ate lots of junk food. Those of you who know me well know that I have the biggest sweet tooth but rarely satisfy my constant craving for sweets. Since it was my birthday, I made an exception and enjoyed every single bite of strawberry shortcake, oreo truffles, and Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream (yes, I ate the whole carton).

--All of the birthday wishes from everyone through calls, texts, and facebook. Lately I've been having my own little pity party..."I don't have any friends, no one cares about me, etc". I know it seems like such a little thing, but even having people make the effort to write "happy birthday!" on my facebook wall meant a lot to me and made me feel loved. My talented mother-in-law even made me the sweetest little video and made me feel very special. (You can view this on my facebook wall.)

--Chick flicks. Okay, I'll say it. I love super cheesy, meant-for-13-year-girls chick flicks. I indulged this love (because Cameron wasn't here to make fun of me) and watched "Another Cinderella Story" with Selena Gomez. I actually thought it was hilarious. Sue from Glee was in it--she's SO FUNNY. I also went to see Step Up 3D (Since when do movies cost $14?) but won't dwell on this point because I was severely disappointed in it. I love Step Up 1 and 2, but I thought this plot was undeveloped and the dancing looked fake or something. Too many special effects?

--I read the most wonderful talk about gratitude by President Monson. He talked about some of the simple things to be grateful for: Mother, Father, Friends (Husband), Teachers, Country, and the Savior. It was something I really needed to read. Read it! It's called "An Attitude of Gratitude."

Anyway, it was a great day. I'm a very blessed person. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful people in my life.

Half Moon Bay, Berkeley, Monterey, & Carmel

2010-08-04T17:37:00.000-05:00

We've been busy enjoying California. We leave next week--I'm SO sad. I really love it here! Some things we've done lately...

Half Moon Bay for Family Night

We tried to look in the tide pools for little creatures, but no luck.

We went to Berkeley on Friday with this couple we met on a day tour in Thailand. (Random) They live in the area and he went to Berkeley so we had a lot of fun as they showed us around. The campus is gorgeous! What a unique place. Lots of crazy people on the streets. I learned people commonly refer to it as Bezerkeley, and I kinda see why.

Indie and Vikrum. He's just as crazy as he looks.

Cameron and I spent a fantastic Saturday in Monterey and Carmel. We loved it! I think it's our favorite day trip we've had.

We were so excited when we first got there because we saw this little guy...we were snapping pictures like we'd spotted something unique.

Then--a minute later, we saw all of these!! Guess they're everywhere in Monterey. :)

Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

The sea lions just hangin' out on some boats.

Cannery Row in Monterey

The Beach in Carmel

Cameron's Birthday

2010-08-04T17:25:00.001-05:00

We had such a fun time celebrating my sweet Cameron's birthday on Monday. We had a delicious dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Cameron also got a little tres leches cake (his favorite) and blew out a few candles to celebrate the big 25.

Mom and Abby's Visit

2010-07-29T14:05:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, my mom and Abby came to visit for a few days. I was SO happy to have some company during the day while Cameron's at work! We had so much fun going around and doing all the touristy stuff in the area.

Day 1: Santa Cruz

Day 2: San Francisco

I forgot my camera! I was so sad. We had a great day with delicious sour dough bread and clam chowder, Ghiardelli Chocolate, street performers, and lots of shops. It was fun to be able to do the touristy stuff with people...since Cameron is from here, he thinks all that stuff is a little lame. :)

Day 3: Half Moon Bay

We found some jelly fish on the beach and put them back in water to more closely examine them.

Day 4: Sausalito & Cookies

This is how we have to make cookies in our place...we have no mixing bowl and our cookie sheet is too big to fit in the oven. Who knew you could stick a frying pan in the oven?!

I had SUCH a fun time! I have the best mom and littlest sister in the world. :)

More California

2010-07-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

We have had the most wonderful summer so far! We're so lucky. We are loving our time in California. We're not used having so much free time to hang out together. Cameron gets home at 6 and we can have fun the rest of the night. Our weekends are completely free, which we've been taking full advantage of.

Some more of the things we've done so far...

We went to the De Young Museum in San Francisco for an incredible exhibit of impressionistic art (my favorite!). The paintings were all from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. I've been there before, but it was Cameron's first time seeing paintings from master painters in person. It was wonderful. We saw a few of my favorite painter, Degas. I also found a new love for Manet. We love being so close to San Francisco where there is always so much going on.

We spent a weekend with Cameron's aunt and uncle, Kelly and Dave, and their two sons Iain and Wyatt. We had SO much fun! It was my first time to really spend a lot of time around this wonderful family and get to know them. I really fell in love with each one of them and am so grateful I married into such a fantastic family. We had a fun weekend of swimming, chatting, eating great food, church, and settlers of catan (my first time playing!).

Wyatt, Cameron, Me, and Iain

We are SO lucky to have so much family in the area. Cameron's dad Greg works here every week--this last week he took us to dinner in San Francisco at the pier at a super nice restaurant called Scoma's. We had delicious seafood. We were lucky enough to have Grandma Liz come along too.

Speaking of Grandma Liz...

We just spent a wonderful weekend staying with her and Grandpa Harlee. They always make us feel so welcome and we have so much fun staying with them. Harlee is always pulling funny faces for pictures.

We took a trip to Bodega Bay and had the most delicious crab cakes, crab sandwiches, and clam chowder. We each ate about three meals...it was worth it!

Cameron's always talking about this ice cream place in Sebastopol called Screamin' Mimi's. I'm pretty strict with my junk food consumption so it's taken a while to convince me to try it, but I decided yesterday was the day. It was SO good!!! I look pretty excited because I haven't had good full fat and sugar ice cream for so long.

The only downside of the weekend was that we didn't get to see Cameron's dog Abby who currently lives in Sebastopol with a friend. We drove to the house and the lady who takes care of Abby wasn't home. However, Cameron was able to wave hi at Abby through the door's window.

We spend a LOT of time in the car...which I'm learning to like. We're always driving somewhere on the weekend. It gives us lots of time to catch up.

Jamie Cullum!!!!

2010-07-21T20:10:00.000-05:00

Last night, Cameron and I went to the most amazing concert I've ever been to. Now keep in mind, being the musical person I am, I've been to my fair share of concerts and I'm pretty picky. But this concert was incredible! Here are the reasons why:

1) The Venue: It was in Saratoga up in the "mountains" (hills by Utah standards) at a winery called Mountain Winery. It was absolutely gorgeous. It was a pretty small venue which made it feel intimate. The whole setting was very romantic.

2) Our seats were awesome! We bought the cheapest tickets they had but because the place was pretty empty, we got to move forward into some much more expensive seats. It was actually a pretty interesting crowd. We were definitely on the younger end which was strange. I think most people there had never even heard of Jamie--the guy in front of me called him "McKullum." Most attendees were rich wine drinkers out for a night on the town.

3) I SHOOK JAMIE'S HAND AND MADE SOME SERIOUS EYE CONTACT WHILE DOING SO!!! Yes, I know it's nerdy to be excited about this. But he's been a favorite musician of mine for quite a few years and I have dreamed of the day I'd hear him in concert...I never imagined I'd be close enough to shake his hand! The story: For the last few songs, Jamie told the audience to come up to the stage. Cameron and I were some of the first up there so we were right up front. Like---I was 2 feet away from him for the last few songs. It was awesome to hear him sing so up close!

4) Definitely the most important reason the concert was incredible: He is so amazingly talented. I can't get over it. I feel like 99% of the musicians in the popular music industry owe their success to some luck, good looks, a small bit of talent, and sound engineers who make people sound MUCH better on a recording than they actually sound in real life. Jamie's sound is 100% his. He sounds just as amazing live as he does recorded. His voice is always right on pitch. And--he is a super pianist. His technique is awesome--he really is well trained. He just glazes over all those keys like it's nothing! He has a beautiful touch. He writes most of his own songs (the others he writes with his brother). He does lots of covers and hybrids that sound better than the originals. (Ummm..."High and Dry" anyone?) He can improv like crazy and does it all the time at his concerts. It's just very clear he's a super talented guy when you hear him. He's there because he wants to share amazing music with people. He plays a lot longer than most people (over 2 hours) and has no set list. I could go on and on all day (clearly), but basically---he's super talented, and he's successful because of his talent.

5) Jamie gets so into his performance. He's really fun to watch, jumping all over the piano and everything. He even came out in the audience and sang a number out there with no mike (his own jazzy version of "Cry Me a River"). And when he's playing the piano, he's so into it. Normally this really irritates me because the typical punk rock pianist is playing a C triad over and over again (which certainly doesn't warrant much expression), bouncing his entire body, acting like he's playing some Romantic Cadenza. But Jamie's piano parts are so crazy, he really has to be moving all over.

6) Cameron caught the drummer's drum stick!

Anyway. I'll stop rambling. It was a spectacular night! And anyone who doesn't know Jamie Cullum's stuff should look him up. You won't be disappointed.

California So Far

2010-07-05T21:10:00.001-05:00

We've been here two weeks and are LOVING it! It is such a fun area with so much to do. And--we actually have a time to do it. (Always a plus after doing nothing but homework all year.) Some of the things we've done so far...

Half Moon Bay

The Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was amazing! I think it's mostly for kids...but Cameron had to drag me out of there. I loved it!

My favorite experiment there. It confuses the brain with hot and cold signals.

Great America: I LOVE theme parks. Cameron went on most of the rides with me until he started getting "sick".

Armstrong Grove--Redwood Forest

Oldest Tree in the Forest--1400 years old!

Tallest Tree in the Forest--310 feet

We spent a couple days at Cameron's grandparents house in Sebastopol. At 1 AM, I hit my head on a shelf above the toilet and knocked off a vase full of shells, shattering both the vase and many of the shells. Cameron and I just sat staring at it for like 5 minutes, dying of laughter. It seriously took an hour to clean it up!!! I felt so so so bad. Notice the shells and pieces of glass that landed in the toilet. I hadn't yet flushed when this little accident happened and I had to reach in and dig all the stuff out! It was SO GROSS.

Today we spent the day at Santa Cruz Beach. It was much colder than anticipated, but SO fun to just hang out at the beach.

Our California Cottage

2010-06-28T18:15:00.000-05:00

So now that we FINALLY have internet, I can show some California updates. Let me just emphasize that I primarily keep this blog for my own journaling purposes, so I don't expect anyone to be interested in all the details that will shortly follow. :)

First, I'll start with our cottage. My initial plan was to take all these pictures to show how gross and run-down our cottage is...but unfortunately, all the pictures I've taken make this place look better than it actually is. Really, I shouldn't complain. We have our own little place that was pretty reasonable for the area. We're in Menlo Park which is super nice and ritzy. It's just about 30 min. south of San Francisco. I don't feel classy enough to live here! Every other car is a BWM or a Mercedes...our '92 Avalon blends right in. Anyway. Our landlords are the sweetest old couple and have been fun to get to know. The cottage has a lot of "character"--if you know what I mean. The furnishings are completely out of date, which wouldn't really bother me, except that I feel like everything is SO DIRTY! Dust and cobwebs on everything. Ugh. I'm a little bit of a neat freak so it's taken me a few days to sanitize everything (and cover the couch with a sheet) to the point that I can feel comfortable here. It's beginning to feel a little bit like home.

Now, the tour of the cottage. I'll start with our main living area:

And the bedroom:

The Kitchen. Let me just say that "fully equipped kitchen" means different things to different people. The kitchen came equipped with 1 spoon, 3 forks, 2 butter-knifes, a few plates, bowls, cups, and one pot. We cook a lot so we're having to get creative. No frying pans, cookie sheets, real knives, mixing bowls, etc. We wish we would have brought a lot more. One more funny thing--the sink you see is our only sink in the whole place! It's fun storing all our toiletries in the kitchen.

The shower area. The 2'x 2' shower is so small that I have to turn the water off in order to lather up without all the soap running off my hands before I have a chance to apply it.

One thing I actually really like--our window above the couch:

One of the many funny decorations up in the cottage. We still can't figure this one out.

These are up all over the place. We're not sure what they are.

And lastly, the outside of the cottage. Which is actually pretty cute. We have a lemon tree outside and a blackberry bush. Mmmm!

One last funny quirk to mention--the reason we could afford the place is because it's right next to a caltrain. And I mean RIGHT next to it. Probably 20 feet away? It passes by every 20 min. or so and even comes by every couple of hours in the night. It actually shakes the cottage! Oh well--makes good memories. :)

Camping in Zion's

2010-06-09T19:28:00.000-05:00

We just spent about 5 days camping in Zion's with Cameron's high school friend Brendan and Brendan's girlfriend, Lindsey. It was SO much fun!!! It was so fun to get to know Brendan better and to meet Lindsey. She and I really hit it off and I feel like I have a new great friend! I'm glad she'll be there once we move to California. It was the first time Cameron and I have camped together and it definitely won't be the last. It's such a fun, cheap way to vacation!

I think our favorite thing was hiking Angel's Landing...even though I almost peed my pants I was so scared one my way up there.

Brendan being funny on the way down...

Saturday was Brendan's birthday so we took a LONG (15 miles round-trip!) hike to the Kolab arch. The arch is hard to see in the picture--upper left hand corner-ish.

We also went to the Emerald Pools, Hidden Canyon, and a bunch of other little things. Zion's is SO beautiful and we already can't wait to go back.

My First Blog!

2010-06-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

I've done it...I've finally decided to join the blogging community! I feel like it will be a good way to journal our adventures together. And I must admit that my biggest reason for getting a blog is because I really like reading everyone else's blogs.

I guess for my first post I'll describe a little bit of what our life is like. Cameron and I have been married almost a year--we were married August 18, 2009 in the Bountiful Temple. We're both half way through our Master's Degrees at BYU. I'm doing a Masters in Music--Piano Performance. Cameron is doing Accounting, the audit/professional stem.

As of now, we're enjoying summer break after a very stressful school year! We took a trip to Thailand for a few weeks (which I suppose I'll blog in detail about later)and just spent the weekend in Zion's with some friends. We're living with Cameron's parents until we head off to Palo Alto, CA for Cameron's internship with Ernst & Young for 8 weeks. Cameron's busy teaching piano and selling pest control. I'm busy teaching piano and...relaxing! I feel guilty and lazy for taking some down time, but I'm not sure how to get a job for just a few weeks. I've been spending some time in the lab at BYU arranging some hymns. It's one of my goals this year to try and get some things published (maybe) so I'm working on that. I shamefully admit I also watch a lot of Law & Order, Medium, and Modern Family. :)

Anyway! That's our life for now. I'll update about Zion's soon...buh bye!