Sunday Sunday

The last two Sundays have been big in our home. There were celebrations and lots of changes. 

Just as I felt like I was getting better at corralling our Primary class, we were released. Last Sunday was our final time teaching them. I can't say it went entirely smoothly, but it went well. We had a good mix of silly, productive, and creative. We played the telephone game to show them how important it is to record things, and in turn, to read from primary sources rather than to listen to second-hand stories or rumors. We talked about prophets, scriptures, and how important they are... We got our wiggles out & then the kids made Mother's Day cards. One girl had been in a funk most of the class, but then I sat beside her & I helped her write out a  message to her mom, I cut out a heart for her to glue down, and we discussed what colors she liked best & she cheered up. 

Our Wild Child was still all over the place, but he didn't get to me as much. And he also asked for help in coloring and writing something out. Then, one of the other boys said he didn't know what to say to his mom that she'd like, so our trouble child piped up and said, "Tell her her hair shines like a rainbow!" I'd love it if someone told me that!

Little Dad did great. He avoided Wild Child trying to suck him into Crazytown. He shared a few things during the lesson, and when it was time to color, he colored & wrote his mom a note like it was his job. He neatly placed it in his scriptures and I could tell he was excited to share it with his mom. I call him Little Dad because when we filled out some get-to-know-you papers at the start of the year, his answer for what he wanted to be when he grew up was without any hesitation, "A dad." Melt my heart. 

After Sunday School, we all filed into sharing time. Two of our kids did exceptionally well & were called on to help out during the lesson and song time there. The children received a handout to write out and/or draw something they wanted to improve in their lives. Well, our girl who'd been in a funk surprised me. She wrote out that she wanted to believe more strongly and to work on her faith and to never give up. Me, too. She doesn't usually connect or share relevant things, so this especially blew me away coming from her. 

Two of the boys had me help them draw scriptures, as they decided they wanted to start reading them. I'd like to think that was from our lesson earlier, but either way I was glad they were asking for my help rather than shoving one another, giggling, or picking their noses. 

Teaching six and seven year olds was by far more work than I thought possible, but through the weekly experiences of working with them, I got to know each of them & am going to miss talking to them about their favorite part of their last week. I'll miss their insights, funny sayings, and their personalities. I'll also miss Curly-haired Blonde-man shouting out to a teacher who got emotional while sharing something tender, "Hey, you're crying! Why are you crying?!"

So I went from that to immediately being called into Activity Days. I'll be working with 8-11 year old girls, and as the title implies, we'll be doing activities. The crazy thing is that those activities are on Tuesdays twice a month. That means that my Sundays are now freed up to attend classes just for me. That hasn't happened since a few weeks after Jon & I married. For two and a half years, I've missed out on the all-women's meeting of Relief Society. I'm looking forward to connecting with the ladies of my congregation. Today was my first time in Relief Society, and I really feel like that's what I need in my life right now. 

And Jon--we were both released as Primary teachers. He moved on to Nursery. He's in Junior nursery & gets to take Henry in. I'm sorry that I'll miss out on those interactions, but I think it'll be a great bonding time for Henry and Jon, and it'll be a nice break in Henry's routine to be around all of those kids at once. 

Jon jokes that getting released from Primary was the best Mother's Day gift I could get, but I disagree. I was a mom last Mother's Day, but I think the sleep deprivation of the early infant months made everything a blur. This year I really appreciated it. it has been amazing watching Henry grow and seeing all the things he's accomplished and is still learning. That, and sharing thise moments with Jon have been my greatest gifts. 

Jon wrote me a sweet card & gave me a mini-orchid. We had a relaxed day at home after church. Jon took Henry for a walk so I could nap! And then we went out to Sand Hollow & basically just followed Henry around as he explored. Very low-key, but oh so perfect. 

The only blemish on an otherwise perfect Sunday last week was that I was asked to speak. And I did. I did it! I am not a fan of public speaking. I categorize myself as pretty awkward in general, but then ask me to talk in front of a crowd... Yikes! 

Add to that the fact that Henry has been teething (molars!!!) and you've got a sleep-deprived mama trying to talk about important things while nervous as all get out. Jon & I spoke in Stake Conference when we were first married. That time I just made a list of bullet points & talked from there. Not so this time. I didn't trust myself to come up with words on the spot. Not gospel words, or big words, or concise descriptors. Mommy brain. I can't seem to string two sentences together in conversation anymore, and here I was being asked to speak for 12 minutes. Haha. 

So, even though I was mostly talking about my life, and my journey, and experiences, I typed it all out. 

And I think the sleep deprivation worked to my benefit today. I was too exhausted to get crazy nervous. My knees did not shake, I didn't stumble over my words, and when I asked Jon, he says my voice was slow and steady. Usually when I get nervous I go into Micro Machines Man mode --(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dj2egGfd5j_k&ei=0CaZUaa7IYe9igK0q4DABw&usg=AFQjCNGmRkXsFADyHqvurid_X4sfDwoCWw) -I'm mobile so I can't hyperlink. Please forgive me. 

I talked about my journey, of how I learned how to trust myself and developed by spiritual side. I spoke about some of the changes the gospel brought into my life. I shared how my parents' divorce made it difficult for me to picture myself getting married and being happy, but how The Lord provided opportunities for me to learn and grow and become open to the possibility. I mentioned how during my time as a missionary I came to realize that there are many ways of doing things right, and that gave me courage. And I ended with sharing how grateful I am for my sweet eternal family. Life is so much more full and fulfilling with them in it. 

I thought that Brother Peck, who spoke after me was just fantastic & what was really needed. So I was really surprised by how many people came up to me in the hall and told me that my talk touched them, or that I did really well, and that they liked it, etc. When I told Brother Peck he did well and thanked him, his response was,"Oh, I mostly just spit out facts and figures. Your talk was heartfelt." But his talk is what I needed to hear. Funny how things work out like that. 

So now, NOW I can relax. Now that my talk is over, now that I know my Sundays will have a less hectic pace, now I feel like I can relax & be a sponge for a while. And by that I don't meant a soggy blob that just sits there. I mean I'll get to listen, to really listen, and hopefully absorb. I won't be wrangling youngsters, my own or otherwise. And that'll be weird and different, but I suspect I'll love it. 

Not a toy

Jon and I took Henry to Zion for the afternoon over the weekend. We stopped for a bite to eat on the way there. We ordered, sat down, and started eating, trying to keep Henry entertained. He had been super fussy in the car and was not happy with the scenario at the restaurant. Henry doesn't like that there are things that we eat that we cannot share with him. So Jon put Henry on his knee and was bouncing him gently and talking to him. He was having nothing to do with at high chairs at that point. And then Henry started looking around and people-watching and some of the people were watching him right back and smiled at him. That made Henry giggle, which made this lady turn around. She looked at Henry, then Jon and I, then back at Henry and he gave her a great big smile. Then the lady's eyes got all big and she exclaimed, "Oh, he's real!" And upon seeing our confusion, went on to clarify, "I thought he was a doll!"
Because Jon obviously looks like the type to play with life-size baby dolls.
I assured her that Henry is very much real, and went back to eating. But a few minutes later, it must have still been on the woman's mind because she shared, "I think I must have thought he was a doll because of his eyes. So blue."
She kept looking at me, waiting for a response, so I said that he does have great big blue eyes, smiled at her, and went back to my lunch.
Not two minutes later, another couple walks in and this woman starts waving and smiling at Henry and then calls her husband over to look at him. She then starts talking to Henry as if his parents are not there. You know, mostly the usual, "Oh, aren't you so cute?! ... I could just eat you up.... Well, aren't you all smiles?" I honestly don't know how to respond to that. I mean, she was talking to Henry and not me. Was she expecting him to answer? And then as I got up to go to the restroom, she started talking to Henry again and asked him, "Do you think your mom would mind it very much if I took you home with me?"
Since I was walking right past their table, I did answer that one. "I'm pretty sure his mom would NOT like that at all." I said it with a smile, so that was ok, right? What would you do? She was kind of talking about kidnapping, after all.
I blame our odd dining experience on the location. That's what we get for eating in Hurricane.
And for my parent friends out there, do you just get used to being treated like you are invisible or do you insert yourself into the conversation? But even then, what do you say besides thank you? Do you gush stuff like, "Oh, I know, he's just toooooo cute, isn't he? Can you believe those sweet chunky thighs?" Or do you share something more truthful like, "Lady, you don't know the half of it. Do you know how much work it is keeping this baby happy, out of trouble, and entertained?"

Six months

Henry will be half a year old on Sunday. I can hardly believe it. I love this kid so much. It is amazing watching him learn and grow. He rolls over like a champ. He sits on his own really well. If he reaches for a toy waaaay out in front of him while sitting up, he basically folds in half, but can still pull himself upright from that position. When he reaches to far to one side, that's another story. He just topples over.
On the topic of crawling: it terrifies me. We are going to have to achieve a whole new level of baby-proofing. I'm still not entirely convinced that he won't skip crawling and go straight to running around the house. He has all of the mechanics of crawling down, but doesn't put them all together. When on our bed he does sort of crawl, with his face planted firmly on the mattress. On carpet he keeps his head up, but then doesn't put his knees under himself, so he just kind of scoots. And if I lay him on a blanket, he pulls any toys out of reach toward himself. Resourceful little guy. And loves to stand. You give him one finger of each hand and he'll stand of ages, and bop up and down, and stomp now and then. I've already been told to prepare for an aching back since it seems like he's going to want to walk and he'll need my assistance. I'm already envisioning hours spent as his shadow, bent over behind him, my hands used as a grip to stabilize his toddling walk.
And since this is our child and he has this from both sides, he will most certainly be a climber. So pretty soon we'll be anchoring furniture to our walls.
So I am enjoying my last few weeks of having an only somewhat mobile baby. You should see him when he gets into rolling though. If he spots something he wants and doesn't want to scoot to it, he just rolls and rolls and readjusts his trajectory if he needs to, and he gets what he wants.
Oh, and this boy is independent already. If he can reach something, he doesn't want it handed to him. Nope, he wants to pick it up on his own.
The kid is also teething. He has been for nearly a month now. I can feel a few teeth under the surface, but none have broken through yet. And the poor dear is struggling big time with it. We've gotten by with natural pain relief until just barely. Talking to my midwife, who is also big into natural remedies reminded me of what we as adults go through when we have dental pain. And we can understand what we're going through. So last night we used baby Advil and he slept for a good five hour stretch. And can I just say it made a huge difference- for all of us.
Some cute things he does:
When he's sleepy, if I'm carrying him, he'll snuggle his head into my neck and throw an arm over my shoulder. He could sleep for hours like that.
Also when he's sleepy- I'm not sure if does this to announce his sleepiness or to fight it, but he likes to blow raspberries on my arm or shoulder or to the room in general. Either way, I think it is hilarious.
He is obsessed with grass. More specifically, he loves yanking it out of the ground. If you put him on a blanket outside, he will make his way to an edge and will pull fistfuls of grass blades out like it is his personal mission to do so.
He cracks up when the dogs play. He has the cutest laugh when he is being amused by the fur babies. He also tries to touch, pet, and generally grab the dogs. He somehow knows that the cat won't put up with it because he is gentler with her (if she lets him close enough).
Ok, that's enough baby gushing for now.

Little things

Jon, the sweetie that he is, got me a new (functional) phone for our anniversary.
I've been just the teensiest bit preoccupied being a mom... But hopefully I can start posting more from my phone. Because I mean, who can get enough of this guy?

So much love

Henry has been a first for much of my family. Obviously he's the first baby to come into our family. He's making Jon and I feel oh-so-very grownup with all of the firsts that we've been experiencing with him. (More on those later.)

He's also the first nephew that my sister has known since he was born. She's a biological aunt for the first time, although we both have three other wonderful nephews. My mom's a biological grandma for the first time as well. And he's also the first in this next generation to be able to carry on the family name, a first for Jon's folks. Along with all of these firsts comes a lot of love. This kid is loved all around, and I'm so grateful for that.

My sister has really jumped into the role of aunt for a newborn really well. She was the first out of the family to see Henry, and she brought clothes and crafts and toys and books. She loved on and cuddled him and was just so great with him and with me. She allowed me time to nap, she reminded me to eat, and she gave me opportunities to shower during the day. Hurray!

 I look back on those early days with amazement and through a fog. I can't believe how tired and perpetually worn-out I was in those days. I can't believe how proud I was of myself for getting showered, dressed, and fed before noon (on the days that I did, which was not every day). It was with my sister that I took Henry out for his first walk around the neighborhood in his stroller. Oh, and how proud I was when I went out on a walk with my sister, Henry, and the dogs. That was a big day for me. I'm so glad that it has gotten a little easier since then. And I can't wait for Jess to visit again so that she can witness a more interactive, smiley Henry.

Aunt Jess and TINY Henry

Our first walk

Poor peel-y Henry
(I'm so glad THAT phase is over!)

The hike we took with Aunt Jess down to the Virgin River

A couple of weeks went by and then my mom came out for a little while. She was and is completely enamored with Henry. She just wanted to hold him and cuddle him and walk with him all the live-long day. If I wasn't feeding or changing him, she was happy to just be with him. She sang him Polish lullabies (which just about melted my heart), she laughed SO hard when he'd giggle, and she kept marveling over every little thing about him. We went out on a few adventures nearby on our own, and we ventured out a little further when Jon had the time. It was great to leave the house a little by then, even if it took a whole long longer to leave the house than I ever could have imagined. Who knew that such a tiny person could disrupt so many of your daily patterns and habits? (So worth it, though.)

Somehow though, we managed a few things-- like a short hike through Kolob, just she, Henry and I. Yay for the Ergo-baby! It made the hike possible and even pleasant. Snuggled up against me, he slept for nearly the entire hike. We timed it just about perfectly-- he didn't start getting hungry-fussy until we were nearly back to the car. We also went on longer hikes with Jon-- Pine Mountain and the Columbine Creek trail just outside of the Oak Grove campground. It was really nice to stretch my legs, to walk around in nature, and to experience more firsts with little Henry and his Babunia (grandma in Polish).

One of my favorite days with my mom around didn't have anything to do with us leaving the house, however. It was a day where we just hung out with Henry and talked and talked, and I got to hear all kinds of family stories about my grandparents and her childhood that I'd never heard before. It was one of the best gifts ever.

Little man, big yawn

Pine Mountain

This was pretty much all the snow that was left. Jon and I did a portion of that hike two weeks previously and the whole thing was covered in a foot or two of snow. It was a much easier hike when we could walk on the ground.

A hike around Oak Grove

Henry smiling for his Babunia

A couple of more weeks passed by and then we had Jon's folks come for a visit. They were so great. And I don't think that they realize just how much they helped us out. I ate out with them for lunch pretty much every day. That may not have been all that great for me getting back down to a reasonable weight, but man was I glad to have something to look forward to every day, and they really helped out by giving me a hand with Henry so that I could get ready to leave the house. Likewise, watching Nancy with Henry was just so heart-warming. I think that there is just something so special about watching your mothers with a grand-baby, especially when that grand-baby just so happens to be your child. Nancy was just so cute with Henry, talking to him, asking him questions, and saying things when he was crying like, "Oh, tell me your story. Are you having a rough day? Are you telling me a sad tale?" She wasn't flustered by his cries, shrieks, or fussiness, she just talked through it and let me do my thing to calm him down.

Both Nancy and Dave were a real help. And they were just delightful to talk to. As Nancy put it, it was a great time for all of us to get to know one another better. Before, we've always been surrounded by lots of other family members and other commitments. This trip was all about getting to know one another better. Nancy even said that she felt like she was getting know this current version of Jon better -- this adult, married, father, pet-owner version of her son. I am so thankful for Jon every day of my life, and my mom was likewise totally blown away by how amazing Jon is and especially by how much he's done for me and Henry to make our lives easier. I'm so thankful for Jon's parents in all that they did to help raise him to be the man that he is today. And I was humbled to hear that Dave and Nancy were likewise happy that Jon found me. They say that they see a lot of positive changes in their son and they say that I'm a part of all of that. I still say that I got the better end of this deal.

Anyway, with Dave and Nancy, we got in quite a few outings. We hit up antique shops, we went on walks and hikes, and we went out to eat, a lot. Besides our nearly daily lunch outings, we also ate dinner somewhere new pretty much every night as well when Jon got home from work. We went out to some of our favorite spots and we also got to try a couple of places for the first time with them. They have had a lot of practice with some of their other grand kids, so there wasn't really anything new that we could throw at them. They took everything in stride and were really understanding when I needed a nap or some extra time to get ready. And like I mentioned earlier, they were just good company. It was really neat for me to hear some of their stories about Jon's childhood, both the stories about Jon as well as Nancy's experience with motherhood through the years with her three children.

And now all the visitors are gone. I'm waiting for my sister's next stop as well as Jon's oldest sister and her family. Anne and the rest of the Peter gang will be seeing Henry in person for the first time. I never thought too much about how far we live from any family until now. But I'll be the first to admit it, I have had really been missing all the family. I've loved every single visit, and I have cried a bit each time one has come to an end. I wish that we could all live closer, but since we don't, I'm thankful for technology that allows us to talk and to video conference so that we can all stay in touch as much as possible.

Some of the best burgers to be had are in Hurricane.

Walking along the Pa'rus trail in Zion 

Multi-tasking! Eclipse-watching and baby-feeding at the same time. 

 By the way, Henry really does love to see the temple. Both times that we took him to the temple grounds he started to get fussy, and both times when we turned him to look at the temple, he stopped crying and would just stare at the temple contentedly. No joke.

 And I'll leave you with one last shot of Henry, who has recently discovered how fantastic his own fist is. He loves ramming it into his mouth as much as he can. Sometimes, though, he likes to suck on his thumb and pointer finger at the same time. Don't ask me how he does it. He just does. Talented, my boy is. :)

A new kind of normal

So everyone kept telling me that it would take about six weeks to feel really normal again after having a baby. Well, for me that included realizing that normal will never be what it once was in so many ways... And for me, I was closer to eight weeks postpartum before I felt like I had a good handle on new baby, new me, new schedule, etc.... What can I say, I'm a slow learner. But I am learning.

I love my darling little man. Henry is just so amazing, and such a miracle. We're truly blessed to have him in our family. Every day that goes by he and Jon and I learn something new together.

It is amazing what can transpire in those first few weeks of life. His personality is really starting to shine through now. Unlike his parents, Henry is most assuredly a morning person. Because of that, I get up with him, feed him, sing to him, bounce him on my lap, and talk to him. He loves it when I hold him so that he sits up and can look around. He is transforming me into a morning person. I'm sure many more transformations will yet come about.

I do have plans to keep writing here, to continue to share stories and photos, but I have just been entirely caught up in every single moment that I've had with Henry so far-- well, every waking moment. When I sleep these days, I sleep deeply (for two hour stretches). So until I get back into the swing of more regular updates, I at least wanted to leave you with a couple of photos of the person that's taking up all my time and teaching me all kinds of new things--

Happy in his bassinet (Thanks, Chrissy!)

Hiking around Zion

Changes

This is a post for all of those folks that haven't seen Jon or I in a while. It has been a long time coming. See for yourselves...

Now, as many of you know, this has been Jon's look of choice for quite some time:

Jon's longish, floppy hair, has been more or less this length for ages.

He's been rockin' this style for a looong time--

Okay, so there was a small spell somewhere between the above photo and when Jon and I met where he had a mullet and another time where he had a mustache, but we don't like to talk about those days.

This is one of the last photos of us together with his hair that long:

Thank you Chrissy for taking this photo!

About a week later I finally convinced him to go in and see my friend Emilee for a new do. I mean, the man needed a haircut either way...

He got a BUNCH of hair chopped off.

And he wasn't too happy about it--

It was kind of traumatic for him. But after a few weeks of telling people that he lost a bet or that he'd been bad and this was his punishment, he finally settled into his new look. Although when I told him I wanted a photo of his new cut for the blog, he refused to smile. He's difficult like that sometimes.

Drinking a delicious green smoothie.

One of these days I'll get a smiling happy photo of him with his new shorter hair. I love it and I've heard him getting complemented on his hair cut without any prompting on my part, so I'm convinced it is a good thing. Change is good sometimes.

And me? Yes, I've been going through some changes too, hair and otherwise--

Back in August:

(Natural hair color, untouched for years.)

September:

(New hair color provided by my pal Emilee.)

And then these days:

Celebration, FL in November

Barefoot and . . .

Early December

I LOVE this photo Jon took of me at Galveston during our Christmas visit.

January, Polaroid

At Zion

BIG changes, am I right? And bigger changes to come. We're so very excited to be welcoming a new addition to our family. I can also think of some grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews that are super excited, too. This has been such a magical, wondrous, happy time for Jon and I. The past few months have just flown by. I can hardly believe that we'll be holding our little one by the end of next month. (I know, it looks like I could pop any day now, but I've still got a little while.)

I'll be sharing ultrasound photos and video soon-- just as soon as we can figure out how to get the video that our doctor provided into a format that will cooperate with us. And soon you'll be tired of hearing about how excited I am, what pregnancy has been like for me, and our preparations, etc... But then you'll get to start seeing baby photos, and who doesn't love those? So hang tight, people, loads and loads of adorable baby shots to come soon. I promise.

Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary

As an officer. Doesn't he look dapper?
He hated being an officer, though, and got to America as quick as he could. 

At Big Bend National Park with his two little girls.

Thanks for teaching me about fishing, hiking, the importance of a good education, the necessity of exercise for the body and soul, and for telling me a few of your stories. Miss you, dad. 




Besides being my dad's birthday, it is also the three year anniversary of my first date with my husband. He took me on a wonderfully sparkly winter hike outside of Salt Lake City. We crunched through snowy trails wearing a few light layers and hiking boots, not snow shoes. Which is a big deal, because Jon hates the cold. He says that it worked out really great for him though, since it gave him a good reason to hold my hand and to get close to me. Sweet, sneaky man. I am so lucky to have him in my life.

Photo I took on my Windsor film camera that day.

Picture Jon took of me from our hike. I couldn't find one of him...