O Christmas Stick

LOOK OUT! IT’S THE NEW YEAR! Well, not yet. But just you wait; it’ll be here before you know it. So, in the spirit of most other forms of media we’re going to recap the year with a lot of stuff you’ve already seen before.

Actually, blogs are set up for recaps already. I guess if you want that you can just pick your favorite posts from the side bar. That being the case, instead of a recap we’ll put in a conglomeration of pictures that we took while saying, “We have to blog about that,” and then never blogged about.

In short, get ready for a choppy post. It’ll be worst at the beginning where you’ll see stuff from everywhen. It might actually be good by the end, but you’ll have to read (or in my case write) the whole thing to find out.

We begin with Jack’s weight problem. He doesn’t have one. Which is just as well because all we did to deal with his pretend weight problem was to create a WiiFit character for him and have him do a body test. It turns out that the WiiFit doesn’t recognize ages under two years, so we lied about Jack’s age. Funnily enough it did let us put in his exact height, though you can’t tell from the main screen line up, where he appears to reach my shoulder.

 In creating his Mii we tried to replicate his face and body exactly. So, he has a huge bald head with wide blue eyes. We hoped this would be cute, but it mostly looks like a short, big headed, sleep deprived, creep.

His body test took a team effort,

 but it paid off. Just look at the smug expression he had when his BMI came back in the normal range.

 

 It wasn’t all good news though. His WiiFit age was around thirty due to his terrible balance.

While we’re on the topic of weight we really should talk about eating. I don’t know if we ever told the internet in general that Jack’s been eating solids for a while, but he has. One of the ways we started was by grinding some broccoli. Well, Jack really wasn’t a fan of home ground broccoli and he told us by crying. But we, mean parents that we are, would take advantage of the open crying mouth to shovel in some more broccoli. Jack came up with a creative evasion to our feeding tactic. He would cry normally while the spoon was far away, but when the broccoli came near enough he would close his mouth and while continuing a sort of humming cry through his closed lips. We were, of course, proud of Jack for his problem solving skills and we quite prefer closed mouth crying to open mouth, so everybody wins.

Another everybody wins scenario is due to an excellent impulse buy of Hilary’s. She was at a second hand store for baby things and came upon this little number. 

 Since Jack decided he’d rather be on his feet trying to walk than almost anything else this jumper lets him run back and forth in a way which is not only safe, but doesn't require anyone strain their back by holding his hands a the optimum height.

You may think that Jack doesn’t look all that happy to be in the jumper, but he’s not actually frowning. He has discovered that he has two teeth in his mouth, and he loves to suck on them while making that face. As you can see,

 he typically has a blast running around.

He has also rediscovered the pacifier’s in a big way. This is all Levi’s fault. Levi is the three month old that Hilary watches during the day. Well, Levi responds well to a pacifier in the mouth. So well, in fact that Jack decided he wanted to try it. So, he has learned to take the pacifier from Levi’s mouth and put it in his own. For instance, 

 we don’t own a green pacifier, but Levi does.

Well, that about does it for the day to day updates. Time to jump into the holidays. As you can see, 

 Jack is a big fan of holiday accessorizing. So, we let him help us get the house ready for Christmas. He used his excellent taste to pick out the right lights for the outside.

 He may have been inspired by the festival of lights put on at the DC Temple. Of all the crèches, trees, and lights that were there his favorite things were those we let him put in his mouth.

 

 (We actually even made it inside the temple for stake temple night thanks to Hilary’s awesome cousin for babysitting for us. We even got to go to the seventh floor meeting room. Very cool temple indeed.)

Now, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree. Well, to be precise part of a tree. I mean, few people (if any) actually have an entire tree with roots and all inside the house. So, you just take part of a tree and put ornaments on it. This year we took that idea to it’s illogical conclusion, which makes our festive plan part just a little shy of Charlie Brown’s tiny tree. We lovingly refer to ours as the Christmas stick. 

What it lacks in looks in makes up for in cheapness and being right outside our front door. Next year we’ll get a real tree. Promise.

Little House in the Big Woods

Across the street from our house there is a path through woods. It was so fun to go out in the fall, the trees were gorgeous, Jack was happy, and we got to a point where we could no longer see civilization, just trees all around. That was such a welcome escape, and it was so close. The first time we went I didn’t bring my camera, or my phone, so no pictures. That is why I made Chris go back and try and get a family photo because we have, like, none. Since it was just us and the timer, it was hard (impossible) to get Jack to look and smile for the camera. This is the best we could do.

Back behind our place there is a little playground which we finally took Jack to. It’s pretty small, but it’s pretty much all ours since there aren’t too many kids around, and it is right there so I can see it being a great hang-out for the next few years. His favorite was the swing.

 

 The other day our friends from Provo who are doing an internship out here came up for a visit with their daughter. They had fun in the park as well.

 

 

 Finally, Jack gets to see what it’s like to be a big brother! I answered an ad in our local paper looking for a stay-at-home mom to watch their infant son as an alternative to day care (you didn’t think I was pregnant did you?) It’s kind of hard when they both cry but nice when they both sleep. At least I have a little more company (ha), and I’m getting paid. Maybe we will spring for real internet after all. Jack was so fascinated by Levi the first time he came over, he wouldn’t even eat, he just had to keep staring at this new creature. They are about 4 months apart, and hopefully can become little friends.

Connected

We are back with internet. That is our excuse this time for not posting in a while. The un-secured network we were using secured itself so now we are using the coolest thing ever for internet-my phone. Thanks to borrowing some friends internet we were able to download software that allows my cell phone to be our internet modem. It’s not fast; I can’t watch show anymore, but it will do. Someday we will pay the $30 for real internet, but for now and our budget $10 seems just fine.

Anyway, like most everyone else, we celebrated Halloween. We went to our ward's Halloween party and Jack was a cannibal tiger.

Apparently he wanted to eat the tiger (or the candy) so badly, he willed his first tooth to come in, which we discovered the next morning.

 The last picture was a recreation of a previous one.

 

 Jack likes to play with anything crinkly that makes noise so I let Jack play with the Halloween candy after I bought it. He was entertained for quite some time.

Probably the most exciting thing about this Halloween was this :

Halloween jello molds! I found the molds in the clearance section of the grocery store for $.50. We had these molds growing up, so I’m glad to keep that tradition for us.

One other exciting thing is after Halloween shopping. We finally have a few Halloween decorations and a costume for next year. 

 Other runners up are Jack, the abominable snow-man,

 or zero-gravity Jack.
 

The goings on

We finally feel settled in. After numerous trips to Target, Costco, and Ikea, we have our place in some kind of order. We now have Maryland licences and licence plates (although we didn't get the style that we wanted.) The worst part? Buying all new condiments. There are so many trips to the grocery store that I had to make because I didn't have ingredients that I usually don't have to think about buying.

This is our now finished living room complete with new desk (and a high chair!) Christmas came early from my parents. The middle mirror was the only casualty in our move, but we decided to still use it anyway in our somewhat artistic manner. We are not superstitious so no bad luck for us. I'm glad it worked out because I really don't know how to decorate, especially without

money.

We have now had two visitors so far.

My friend Laura came for a weekend from Princeton. We went to our first DC visit and decided that we like DC very much and are excited to see all that there is. So far, the Jefferson Memorial is our favorite.

My parents also came and saw us. Jack and I took a trip with my parents to the Carolinas, leaving Chris by his lonesome. I meant to take the pictures from my parents cameras but did not so I have no pictures of the trip. We went to the outer banks of North Carolina, played at Myrtle beach, saw where the Wright brothers made the first flight, experienced a swamp (also where parts of the Patriot and the Notebook were filmed), and hung out in Charleston, South Carolina.

As far as Jack, he is doing well. He still sleeps great (except in front of company so I don't know if anyone believes it). Jack is also getting good at eating rice cereal.

He is now wearing cloth diapers,

but not at night. It isn't because he wets a lot at night, he doesn't, but the cloth diapers don't seem to let his skin dry and we can't use diaper rash cream with them, so nightime is time for his skin to breath and recover. But the cloth diapers seem to be working out well. Jack can also sit! He seems to like it very much and we do to. Jack is also now quite the talker. Most of the time he is babbling away. Usually I encourage this, but not in church. He doesn't take a pacifier so there is no way to keep him from saying what he wants.

Jack has also become a frequent bather and takes a bath every night before bed. He likes to cry before it is time to eat his last meal because he is hungry and so tired, so the baths are a nice distraction for everyone. He has a blast. Our bathtub is possibly and original to the house, it is

very deep, so it is hard to hold on to Jack from the outside, so I sit on a step stool inside the tube, secure Jack with my feet and let him play with his toys and splash in the water.

Jack also has a new hobby.

School is going well for Chris. He is a TA for some labs, so he doesn't enjoy the grading very much. That and homework keep him busy, but he is still able to leave sometime for his family, which we appreciate very much.

I'm adjusting to being a stay at home mom. I'm weird and actually like being busy; I almost crave stress. So I'm having a little bit of a hard time being home all day. I would love for something to work out with a job or going back to school, but we really don't see how it would work with Jack and our tight budget. I know that I will never regret being able to raise my children, and I know it is best for them. My career and/or school ambitions will just have to wait for their own due time.

More to come...someday we will be regular at this!

He Recycles!

We forgot to post our new favorite pictures of Jack.

Our new House in MD

When last we spoke (or whatever you want to call this web interaction) we had brought you with us from Provo, Utah to Sydney, Nebraska. Well, after waking up in Sydney we were anxious to leave. Not that we had anything against the place, we just had many miles to travel that day. Not much happened that day other than Jack's first times in Iowa and Illinois. We made it safely to my parents house in Naperville and enjoyed sleeping in a nonmotel bed.

What's more they sent us on our way the next day with an entire Chicago style, deep dish, stuffed spinach, pizza. This delicious sustenance helped maintain our good spirits through

Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and even Maryland. In fact, I ate the last piece in our new house in Maryland.

We live in this little town between Baltimore and DC. (Quite close to DC really, we're just outside

the beltway.) It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be though. Some DC radio stations come in better than Baltimore and vice versa. We only have antenna tv and some stations are Baltimore, some DC, and some are both. In fact we actually have 3 abc stations. Our home is a modest sized townhouse that was built in the early 40's. It is actually a huge blessing that we were able to buy. Our mortgage is so much cheaper than if we were renting. And since for now Hilary is just staying home we have to get by on Chris's small (hey, I do my best) stipend.

So, as requested, here are pictures of Jack in our new house. (Notice his sweatshirt, his great-

grandfather was a Stanford alumnist.)

We begin with the front patio. Lined by Hostas and other assorted vegetation, we notice the artistic crackwork wich serves to remind us that mother nature sometimes has her own ideas about concrete slabs. Here we see Jack in a relaxed "just chillin' on my patio" mood. He

especially likes that it is outside.

Moving inside the house, we see the dining/living room area as well as a view into the addition that added to the back by previous owners. We like to keep this area open and free because we don't have any furniture with which to fill it. Jack is seen here in a cordial "keepin' an eye on the carpet" attitude.Looking to the immediate left of the last picture we see the shoe rack and dryer area. This dryer is amazingly quiet. The first time we used I had no idea it was on for some time (i.e. when the buzzer went off signifying it was done). We also see Jack showing off his right turn driving hand signal.
The kitchen narrow, but thanks to Ikea the space is well used. Hilary has added a shelf for cookbooks and other assorted recipes, a spice jar shelf, and some hooks for hanging things on.

In addition, our washing machine (Hooray! We have a washing machine!) pretends to be additional counter space. Jack is seen in his usual helping around the kitchen activities. These include sorting the recycling and fluffing the floor mat.

We also keep our water heater in the kitchen. It's hiding behind the bamboo screen.

Moving up the stairs we get to the landing, from which one can get to Jack's room, our room, and the bathroom. Jack was excited to show you the upstairs, but then got tired of not wearing the hoody hood.

In the bathroom he's working on his newest yoga pose (the crippled caterpillar)

before he heads into his room. He was also quite excited to point out his closet. In our bedroom he's tackled a very tricky pillow.

Descending back to ground level, Jack has moved to the couch in order to take in some classical music and maybe a veggietale or two. Notice our elegant food storage shelving. It's convenient to have the food close to the couch, but the can opener is inconveniently stored in the kitchen.
Did I mention that the former owners left us their entertainment center? Well, let me do so now. Funnily enough, we can fit all of our entertainment apparatus in this one piece of furniture.
Looking back through the house we have the revers shot of the second picture in this post. With Einstein on the right and periodic tables on the left, you can tell that our home decor is pretty much as cool as it gets.
Last, and close to least, we have a small backyard-like area. It mostly is a place for us to keep tree roots. However, one can take out a blanket and a pillow and have quite a relaxing time reading under a tree. (Or perhaps consider learning to read) In any case, this is our house. We like it. Jack has his own room now, so he thinks he runs the place. And, in a lot of ways he does.