Tis the Season!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I decided this year that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I loved reading online about various Turkey-Day recipes in preparation for the big event. And I thoroughly enjoyed puttering around in the kitchen all morning with Trenton chillin' in the bouncer on the kitchen counter.

But the best thing about this day is the opportunity to reflect on all that we've been blessed with. For some reason my thoughts this year frequently turned to my little African friends, thousands of miles away. The ladle of porridge the kids pass around at school is a world different from the meal I enjoyed yesterday. I hope I can teach our children to value what they have and to give whatever they can.


For more about our Thanksgiving feast, click on over to my cooking blog. Love you all!

Three Blogs in One

1. Remember this? Entitled, "The First of Many Father-Son Naps."


Here's the second in the series.


Only this time, one of them isn't sleeping... ("Busted! Dad, you are sleeping on the job!")


2. pandora.com is changing my life! I'm probably way behind, but Ryan just showed this to me the other day, and now I can't stop listening. You just put in a title or an artist that you like, and the website starts playing tons of other similar songs. It's so much better than radio because it's all songs you like, and there are no commercials or obnoxious DJs! Plus, it's free!!

3. I hope you don't mind how incredibly much motherhood is on my mind. It's the biggest thing that has ever happened to me, so I can't help but write about it. I LOVE taking care of my child. I enjoy feeling needed, even when it gets tiring. I enjoy talking to him all day long. I enjoy changing his dirty diapers with him smiling up at me. I feel my love for him growing every day, and I can't think of anything more amazing than experiencing that.

Lastly, an article came to my inbox the other day compliments of babycenter.com, and I had to share parts of it.

Things that change when you have a baby:

• You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
• Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
• You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
• You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
• Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
• You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
• The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

My TV Junkie

Is it bad that my boy loves TV? He's a big fan of Oprah and the Food Network, just like his mom. It doesn't matter what we're doing, if the TV goes on, he's craning his short little neck so he can see it. ("Ooooh, flashing colors!")

Here he is waiting for a diaper change and twisting his whole body so he can catch a glimpse. (Note that the onesie he's wearing is size 6 months, almost twice his age!)


He's such a ham these days. If I make too much eye contact while I'm feeding him, he loses all interest in the milk and starts smiling his little heart out. This is us before church started... ("Milk? Yeah right, Mom.")



The number one thing people comment to me on is the swaddle. (If it's time for him to take a nap, even if we're out and about and he's in his carseat, he's swaddled.) The number two thing people comment on is that he knows his mommy. Naturally, I love it when people say this. It's such a good feeling to see him look for me when he hears my voice.

In non-baby related news, I'm ecstatic that the holidays are here! I bought a four-foot tree and a few decorations, and I'm having a hard time making myself wait till the day after Thanksgiving to put them up. I'm going to try to hold out, though, because it builds the suspense! It's almost time to break out Josh Groban's Noel CD. (Yes!!!)

Thank Goodness for Weekends

What a great weekend. It was our first weekend in who knows how long without any Proposition 8 activities, and let me just say, I was excited! I haven't decided whether I was more excited that it passed or that it was over... Well, actually, I think the latter wins. (It's OVER!!)

I realized on Friday night that I hadn't been anywhere in the car since we got home from Utah on Sunday night. That's a whole week without leaving my stroller's reaches. Man, was I itching to get out.

Saturday started off wonderfully because without me even knowing it, Ryan took care of the baby for an hour before I woke up. I didn't even hear a peep! I woke naturally at 8:20 (Did you hear that?! 8:20!) to find Ryan walking into the apartment with our chunker in the baby backpack, content as can be. (Life got so much better, by the way, when Trenton started holding his own head up. That's a huge milestone for Mom.)


Then we spent the WHOLE day out of the house, exploring our area, which was divinely wonderful. Thanks, Ryan, for helping me stay sane and reminding me that yes, there is a big world beyond our apartment! Phew!

I'm posting this last picture as a farewell to summer! We'll have to save these adorable shoes for our next little boy, now that fall is finally on its way to CA and now that our little guy is looking less and less little. (I swear he grows visibly every single day!)

Home Again Home Again

While driving to the Salt Lake airport, we were seriously tempted to "miss" the exit— "Ooops! Guess we'll have to stay a few more days!" But after much debate, we decided real life couldn't wait for us, so here we are, back in California.

With both our families in Utah, our quick trip was jam-packed with family togetherness. (We're sorry we couldn't see everyone while we were there. Maybe future Utah trips will have to be a couple weeks long... :)

I went to one day of the Association of Personal Historians conference held in SLC, and we spent two nights with each family. Trenton just ate up all the attention! I started to miss my baby, since I was so rarely the one holding him! :) What a blessing it is to have such tight-knit families. Ryan blessed Trenton (similar to christening) at his parents' beautiful home in Provo. Thank you for everyone who came to share our special day.

Trenton LOVED the airplane! As soon as we got on, he started smiling and wouldn't quit!

He also loved being cuddled by Grandma Julia, who tried to never let him go. :)

He stretched out and relaxed for ages in Grandpa Gregg's lap.

I was so lucky to have my brother, Corey, fly up from Arizona for the occasion. Ryan always says Trenton looks like Corey. Can you see the resemblance?

The lovely Rachel, now an aunt six times over!