Hutchings

4 Months

2012-01-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday our sweet Vida Jayne will be four months old. I cannot adequately describe how much we love her. When I look into the eyes of my children, I am absolutely sure there's never been more beautiful creatures on the earth. Is this a normal feeling? I'm sure it is. No doubt, this kind of love has been around ever since there where children and yet it seems so specific to me and my children.

She is happy, easy going and a great eater. Her height is striking and I still can't stop kissing those delectable cheeks! Her coordination is increasing impressively. Rolling over is a cinch, grabbing toys a no-brainer and she has her sights set on crawling. She's starting to notice our food and grab at it. We've let her try a banana and she couldn't get enough.

We all love her dearly. Including Jaime. Whenever Vida wakes up, Jaime rushes over to her and yells "Hi Vida Jayne!" in the cutest, dorkiest imitation of my baby-voice. She also insists on trying the activities Vida is engaged in - sitting in baby chairs, having tummy time, and even being swaddled.

Why do I love them so much? Oh yeah, those eyes...

Jaime's Beard

2012-01-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

Justin can grow a good beard in no time. The beard in the picture above only took him two weeks to grow. They aren't a long term commitment and he grows them fairly often.

Jaime's been interested in the hair on his face, so we've taught her it's called a beard. One day she was playing in my cooking utensil drawer and found the filter for the wheat grinder. She picked it up, pressed it to her face and said "Jaime hap a beard!" We about lost it. It does bare a close resemblance to the dark hair on his face. Every once in awhile she'll grab it and call it "Jaime's beard," and I was fortunate to grab a picture one time.

Growing Up

2012-01-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

My little girl is potty trained. It took time, patience, and endurance on both of our parts but she's got it down! She keeps her panties dry like a champ, but has struggled with learning to keep them empty. We promised her that when she had a success at this more difficult task, she'd get cookies.

Last weekend she did it, just in time to make cookies for a family gathering we had.

She is still learning but will have it down pat in no time. I keep telling her how proud I am of her. She's done a great job. We've had so much joy watching her learn. Working so hard to teach and then seeing progression has to be one of the most rewarding experiences we can have.

Photography Featured

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I responded to an ad requesting photography for products. I undertook the project of photographing this tutu on the cutest little girl I know.

So far they've been featured on this website.

Photobooth

2012-01-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

We have Photo Booth on our family computer and I just had to share these two awesome moments with you.

Justin Quotes

2012-01-15T15:09:00.000-07:00

Just another installment. It took me a bit to gather them all together with the transfer of computers, but here they are!

"That's why you're here, to teach me new tricks."

"Honey, I don't do hard things."

"If you don't want me to use all of the chocolate chips in front of me, you've GOT to tell me."

"Please take no offense from my foolish words."

"Do you know how dumb you sound?"

"...and don't write that down!"

"You're not allowed to go out tonight if you're ornery!"

Jodi: “I'm gonna have you change her diaper.”

Justin: “I don't do that any more, it's out of my pay grade. I can't even discuss it with you without my agent present.”

"That doesn't mean it's what you said, it's just what I heard."

"I'm always good for dumb sounds."

"Don't be goin' doin' things I'll regret."

"I am giving you crap, but not meaningful crap."

"We don't need to have proper perceptions of things."

"Don't worry about my ineptitudes."

"There you go. Start promoting the 'eat crap diet' and see what happens to your reputation."

"You have to know that the things you buy and use are cheaper and quieter than the things I buy and use."

"Sorry for being a bum, I just have a good knack for it today"

"I'm allowed to tell you what to do, and you not to listen."

"I bet if you let me turn on football I'd do the dishes."

"I thought you had something in your hair. It was just your ear."

“It’s fun to live vicariously through you.”

"I'll hang out with myself tonight."

"You know what? I am not you and I think it's time you understand that."

Me: “Are you just extrapolating things?”

Justin: “You're using big words on me...”

Fall Photos

2012-01-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

...in January?

Even though it was freezing, there wasn't any snow so we went for it. We happened to have Justin's sister, Marquie, staying with us for a couple of days and compelled her to snap a few family pictures for us. Justin and I also snapped a few. We're trying to get some family pictures up in our house and are considering some of these.

I am a Homemaker

2012-01-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

I have diverse feelings about being a stay at home mother. Some days I feel I won't make it any longer. I feel overwhelmed and under-rewarded. Then there are the moments that the Spirit testifies to the deepest parts of my soul that what I am doing is God's work. I stay home so that I can make my home a better place. I am a home-maker. I stay home so that I can love my children full-time. I comfort them, have joy with them, and teach them things that I feel are important. Beyond that, my time at home is spent planning and preparing healthy meals for my family. This helps all of us feel better and be happy. My time at home is spent cleaning. This can seem so mundane but it makes the biggest difference. Our family interactions are immeasurably improved by a clean home. I may be able to work enough to pay for a full-time maid, full-time cook and full-time babysitter but the benefits of doing it myself cannot be calculated. I teach skills to my children. I bond with Jaime over cooking together, learning to clean up her messes and becoming a responsible person. The quantity of time spend with her gives her a piece of me, which cannot be bought. I make my home what I want it to be so that my family can be what I want it to be. I want my family to feel happy and healthy. I work hard to create a learning and growing environment. I am here at the cross-roads for each member of my family. I want our relationships to grow stronger and my children to become competent, confident adults.

I have those moments when I think it is just too hard. After all, I didn't sign up for this, right? Oh wait...yes, yes I did sign up for this. Time to pick myself up and learn to serve more selflessly. I have learned that raising children the way they should be raised is the surest way to become more selfless. I now know how hard it is to deal with a never-ending tantrum while never relenting firm and kind correction. How hard it is to have never-ending patience with someone who hits, kicks, yells and disrespects. It is hard, and I fail. Too much. I have had times in my life where I've felt spiritual growing pains, and ever since I became a mother I don't feel like those growing pains have ever stopped. Scriptures and counsels have taken on new meaning:

"...bless them that curse you...pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)

"...lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Hebrews 12:12)

"...mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" (Mosiah 18:9)
"...clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry...and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted" (Jacob 2:19)
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God...and if it so be that you should labor all your days...how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" (D&C 18:10-16)

"increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help those in need" (the 3 purposes of Relief Society)

Sometimes I wish I was available to serve other people more. I can't drop everything and go help someone, and sometimes can't manage to cook a meal for someone else when they need it. It has taken me too long to realize that home is where I am needed most. Being a disciple of Christ means filling our lives with service. What more is being a mother than a life full of service? It's about the best description of being a mother I've ever heard - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, comforting, and teaching principles of happiness which are the principles of the gospel.

When I get tired, run-down and fed-up I remember that I chose this. I chose to have children and with that I took on the responsibility to raise them and teach them the very best I am able. After all, I was a child once. I drove my mother crazy, threw fits, defied and disrespected. The truth is, we all still do that in grown up situations. We make mistakes, slip up, and sometimes choose the wrong. How do I want to be treated when I behave this way? Love. Firmness. Kindness. With principles of truth. As parents, we will produce adults that reflect our lives and actions as parents. We will shape them.

I am home with my children because I am building people. I am home with them because they deserve my very best. They are God's children just like I am His child. Funny how giving my all to others without resentment and selfishness ends up creating the best version of myself too. The Plan of Salvation is all about families.

Birth Mom

2011-12-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

While my sister, Jerilie, stayed with us last week I was privileged to host a lunch with the birth mom and grandmother of her beautiful daughter, Ashley. Ashley has an open adoption, which means my sister is still in contact with Ashley's birth mom. She sends letters and pictures monthly and gets together with the mother as often as she chooses. The frequency of contact will decrease over time as she sees fit, with her daughter's best interest in mind.

I was thrilled to be part of such a meeting. I didn't know what to expect and was touched by the interactions I witnessed. The birth mother beamed as she beheld Ashley, with a sparkle in her eye and a smile that never ceased as she ogled over every action and cute story. As I looked around the room it struck me what a sacred experience it was. Two women shared a bond that not many will ever understand - both love Ashley beyond words and both want the very best for her. That's why her birth mother went through with an adoption that was no doubt painful, and it is what my sister works for everyday. The happiness and well-being of this beautiful little girl is what all of us want. I am grateful for adoption and what it gives to children and women who yearn to be mothers. It heals hearts, blesses lives and makes the world a better place.

Christmas with the Hutchings

2011-12-25T23:27:00.001-07:00

I can honestly say that Christmas this year did not turn out how I thought it would. We had been so consumed by our kitchen project and then recovering from it that we barely had time to plan and prepare before our company was here and it all started.

We did do a few fun things that we snapped pictures of as we went.

Gingerbread houses (in my case, a gingerbread jeep) at Michelle's annual birthday/Christmas party.

Caroling to the neighbors on Christmas Eve. One of my friends said in all the years she's lived here she had never had carolers!

And of course, making and eating delicious treats.

We ended Christmas Eve with our new tradition, carried on for three generations, of acting out the Christmas story while reading Luke chapter 2. My sister's son, Aaron, loved being Joseph and our little Jaime didn't make a half-bad Mary.

Then we let the kids open their new pajamas, another third generation tradition.

Vida's head was drooping (as pictured above) so we said "Jaime, hold her head!" She rose to the occasion, although not how we anticipated...

Then we put all the kids to bed and got to wrapping and organizing presents.

On Christmas morning we opened stockings, ate breakfast and got ready for sacrament meeting.

After celebrating the true meaning of Christmas by singing hymns about the birth of Christ, we came home and opened presents. The favorites for our children were definitely the bumbo for Vida and bathroom step stool for Jaime.

She put the step stool together with her daddy and must have washed her hands five times the first time we put it up to the sink for her. She loves it.

We had a somewhat lean gift-giving this year because of some big ticket purchases we've made lately.

A family iMac to replace our college laptops.

A new washer and dryer set to replace the decrepid ones with oh so many problems.

And of course the one that still makes our house sparkle - the new and improved kitchen with all of the new tools it required.

Add in the cost of hospital bills from Vida and we were at our max for this season. But who can complain? I get to spend all season looking into the face of that rugged bearded husband of mine who is gifting our family with eleven days of uninterrupted family time.

Secret Sleeper

2011-12-21T13:49:00.002-07:00

Today I went grocery shopping with my sister, Jerilie, who is visiting for Christmas. Her husband watched the kids at home. When I got back we were unable to locate Jaime. We searched and searched and then finally found her like this.

Tucked under our bed, asleep. Poor thing. She woke up last night sick and has been throwing up ever since. I'm glad she is finally getting some rest, no matter how she gets it.

Our Kitchen!

2011-12-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hey, there! Our kitchen is DONE. Okay, so it's almost done, but I'm going to show you anyway.

Looking back I'm confident this project was born in some of the worst circumstances possible. It's winter. We have a newborn. We didn't plan or prepare at all - no food planned out and no idea how much it would cost.

I was able to scrounge together a couple of before pictures from around the time we moved into the house.

Old Kitchen

Old Dining Room

Two weeks ago we emptied and removed our cupboards, purchased a steamer and began removing wallpaper.

After peeling, steaming, scraping and scrubbing every ounce of wallpaper and glue off our walls I vow to NEVER put wall paper up in any of the houses I live in, no matter how cute it is (this wallpaper was NOT, by the way). Painting over paint is easy, removing wallpaper to paint is a nightmare.

Our family crew showed up and helped us rip down the dropped ceiling (it was lower than our normal ceiling by 12 inches) and begin installing our new can lights. Love them.

At this point I was really starting to regret starting this project, because our kitchen looked like this:

We enlisted our home teacher to help Justin put up the ceiling drywall and patch the walls while I scraped the popcorn texture off the dining room ceiling. Getting the ceiling up was the milestone that was most needed. Without the ceiling our house wasn't insulated and our home wasn't warm. We got it up and Justin was able to climb back into the attic and pile the insulation on (he had removed it at the start, and thoroughly despised the cramped process).

Then came the mudding and sanding, mudding and sanding, and mudding and sanding. What a horrible mess that makes.

All of this dirty work thanks to superman. He stayed up so late every night working on this and still got up early every morning to go to work because of my repeated pleas of "I can't live like this." I never did take a picture of what our living room looked like during all of this and I'm kind of glad I didn't - cabinets, dishes and snack foods everywhere.

All of that prep work took the longest. Once the new ceiling was up, mudded, sanded and every inch of our walls was scrubbed to remove every minuscule amount of glue, we were ready to texture.

We borrowed a compressor and texturing gun from my brother and Justin went at it. Once he got going, texturing the walls took less than ten minutes. Texturing the ceiling took decidedly more time. We used my brother's hawk and it turned out beautifully. We let that dry for a day and then Justin stayed up until 4:30 a.m. priming and painting our walls and ceiling. We chose chocolate to complement our caramel cabinets and new white bead board. The girls and I got out of the house for the night to avoid fumes and came home to this sight in the morning:

I was so incredibly excited at this point! One thing I learned is that the beginning stages of these projects take so long and it feels like you're getting nowhere, but then the last few stages go quickly and make a big difference!

I could not wait another day, so I cleaned like crazy to get it ready to put back together after he got home from work. As soon as he got home I helped him mount the cabinets, loaded them up and kept cleaning.

New Kitchen

The next day we got our carpets cleaned. They really needed it after eating on them for two weeks and getting so much construction dust everywhere. After that relaxing day Justin got to work on this paneling and moulding. This is the last step of the process and it's almost done! A little more moulding on the edges and around the pantry and porch doors and we are done!

New Dining Room

This was our first big house project on our own house. Justin has a ton of experience with construction but this was my first personal experience with it. It was very hard for me to deal with the mess, chaos and exhaustion that accompanied it, all while still adjusting to having two kids.

Just another hurdle in life. Aren't they all alike? We think they are unbearable in the moment and then, in the end we realize we are better off and it was all worth it.

Jerilie

2011-12-05T11:45:00.002-07:00

This is my lovely sister, Jerilie, and her family. She and her husband, Rick, have not been able to have children on their own and have been fortunate enough to adopt two children, Aaron and Ashley. Her adoption stories were recently posted on a friend's blog. Their lives are full of faith and their story is inspiring.

Part 1 and Part 2

2 months!

2011-12-02T22:58:00.002-07:00

Little Vida is exactly two months old today. She's about the most darling thing there ever was and has seriously got the most delectable "kissing cheeks" I've ever seen. They hang a good inch beyond her jaw bones!

Vida got her first round of immunizations this afternoon, which is always a difficult experience for me. Letting her go through something painful for the greater good isn't easy, but I believe that principle is part of good parenting.

The doc says she's 68th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height and 34th for head circumference. What I want to know is what percentile those cheeks are in.

Movember

2011-11-30T09:00:00.001-07:00

This month, as any of you that have seen me know, I have been growing a mustache. This is a feat never before attempted, as I don't particularly enjoy the look, and my wife doesn't enjoy the look or the feel. Though for a cause I will do most anything, and raising awareness for men's health seemed a worthy enough reason to let my upper lip get hairy. A group of men at my work came together to form team "No More Father's Lost". I tell you, it was all much easier with my coworkers all looking like they were from the '70s (good thing not many outsiders come into our office).

My Movember Mustache, 2011

If you are interested in supporting this great cause, you can do so by donating on my Movember Profile (the "Donate to Me" tab under my profile picture on the left side of the page). At least give me some credit for wearing this thing all month...

Happy Movember 30th!

Our Kitchen

2011-11-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

This is the current state of my kitchen.

The simple purchase of a new stove and matching over-the-range microwave turned into a project that'll end up costing at least ten times the purchase amount of the appliances....ugh. We wanted to put the microwave above the oven which required removing the ceiling, redoing lighting, removing cabinets, removing wallpaper, painting....the list goes on. I'm not accustomed to this type of mess, having never remodeled anything in any of the houses I've ever lived in.

Today I was mentally lamenting the state of my house as I drove away to get pizza for our magnificent adult helpers and our six, I repeat SIX, little "helpers" (ages 8, 6, 3, 2, 1 and 0). It's been so hard for me to have this chaos and I was so frustrated. And then I saw it. A sight I hope I never forget - a homeless man sitting on a bench next to a shopping cart filled with the only possessions he owned. Yes, today was chaotic and my house will be a mess for awhile - but at least I have a home. I still have somewhere warm and comfortable to sleep tonight and so do my children. I have a wonderful husband, beautiful children and plenty of family that would never let us be without a home, and in fact come to our aid as we wade through this mess. Considering this impoverished and lonely man I realized there really isn't anything to be frustrated with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great Thanksgiving with family, friends and food!

We are very fortunate to have so much family nearby. We had a good old-fashion large family Thanksgiving with Justin's eight aunts, eight uncles and bazillion cousins and all of their little kids!

Jaime had so much fun playing and we had fun showing off Vida and catching up with everyone.

There are so many things about Thanksgiving that are strange to me - a holiday focussed on eating/overeating, the fact that turkey must be an integral part of the meal, and "black Friday" that follows it - "Let's say we're thankful for stuff and then go buy more stuff!" But, I think most holidays have a really good message behind them that sometimes gets bulldozed over by all of the other fluff. Before dinner we were asked to sit down at the table and talk about the things we are thankful for before getting our food. I hadn't even thought about it until I was specifically asked to! The first thing I thought of was how grateful I am that I get time with Justin this weekend. He's always so busy and I'm tired of being home alone. This weekend is a Godsend. But when I search further there is so much to be thankful for.

We have healthy children.

Our children have two parents, under one roof, that love them immensely.

We have a home.

We have an income.

We have faith.

We get to serve other people.

We love each other.

Really, what else matters?

First Haircut

2011-11-19T13:41:00.004-07:00

Jaime got her first haircut on Wednesday at the hands of her generous great aunt. It was strange to me that I had misgivings about cutting her hair when I have never had such feelings about my own hair. I've never been apprehensive about cutting any amount of my hair off, yet I was almost emotional about cutting off two inches of her hair. It's the hair she's had since she was a baby. I didn't want to see it go.

But, it was time to face the scraggly-hair reality she was living.

We pony-tailed and saved the length in the back. This will be sent to Taiwan and made into calligraphy brushes, compliments of our best Taiwanese friends who have been begging us to cut her hair ever since she was born. They made calligraphy brushes out of their kids' first hair cut and want to do it for Jaime's too.

I can't imagine what they'll look like - curly blonde bristles instead of straight black ones. We shall see!

We got it bobbed, without bangs. So far it looks like the curls were cut off and won't come back on the new ends. So sad! But it's still pretty cute.

(this is a picture of her enjoying a spoon of sour cream)

6 weeks!

2011-11-19T13:00:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow she will be 7 weeks but this picture was taken Monday just before a Zinch-Chegg acquisition party.

She's growing so much! Size 3 month clothes are beginning to get tight. She still loves to be held all the time and I am working on a solution to that! We'll be buying a mobywrap for Christmas, just like we had for Jaime while we were in China. Only this time I'll be cooking and cleaning the house while wearing it, instead of walking the streets of Nanjing. She's starting to smile a lot too - enjoying high pitched funny noises.

26

2011-11-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

That's right. He has surpassed a quarter of a century! Yesterday was his birthday, and although we were both exhausted from a long night with our girls, we managed to have a little fun.

We spent some time in the morning together, eating a great breakfast and opening a couple of presents. Then he went off to work, got taken out to lunch and I got busy working on his cake. It turned out great! Chocolate Zucchini Cake, saturated with chocolate sauce and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting. So good.

We invited Bryce and Michelle to come and enjoy some cake with us. His work also bought him a Costco-sized cheesecake and he brought home over half of it after his office had their fill.

Twenty-six candles and two guests later, our celebration was complete!

Juliana

2011-11-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

I got to spend a whole week with my big sister! She came to visit, help out, and see my girls.

Jaime and I also got to spend time with her adorable son, Ryan. We got a lot of the movie Cars 2, as Ryan is the biggest Cars fan I've ever met.

We took a trip to the duck pond that's in our neighborhood just around the corner from our house. The ducks are brazen - so brazen that they'll literally stand atop our feet to get bread, and so aggressive they don't think twice about snapping at bread-holding kid fingers. We've gone there enough times Jaime's now terrified.

We also spent some time with our sister-in-law and her two, soon to be three, little girls!

These little girls just can't get enough of holding the baby, lucky for them they'll be getting one of their own in February!

It was a fun week during which Ryan and Jaime got to know each other. There's no counting the number of times I heard "Ronny pooosh Daime" and Jaime's screams of rage and retaliation. But in the end, they really did learn to love each other and I would hear "Yay! Ronny!!" the moment she realized Ryan was still here in the morning.

Sadly, we said goodbye to them today, but not before we took a picture of the girls wearing the matching dresses Juliana bought for them.

We sure wish they lived closer.

Baby Blessing

2011-11-06T20:46:00.008-07:00

There are a great many moments in a father's life that are special, though there are some that stand out above others. For me, some of the most poignant "father-moments" have been the blessing and naming of my two daughters.

This morning I had the blessed opportunity to present my second daughter, Vida Jayne Hutchings, before our Heavenly Father and give her a name and blessing. The naming and blessing of children is a directive from our Heavenly Father and is performed by the authority and power of the Melchizedek Priesthood. We do not believe in baptizing infants, as it has been revealed that the age of accountability (the age when a child can choose right from wrong) is eight, and children's sins are covered freely by the Atonement of Christ up to that point. However, we believe that when a child is brought into this world, she is to be formally presented to Heavenly Father by way of an ordinance commonly referred to as a "baby blessing."

As I held Vida in my arms, surrounded by my father, grandfather, father-in-law and Bishopric, I felt a great power flow through me, and those around me, to her. It was the power of Heaven, and we were acting as the conduit. I was able to bless Vida with a great many things, and in a way prophesied of parts of her life to come. She has many great things to come.

It was a joy to have so many of our family here to support us in this great event (over 30 total!). We missed those of you that were not able to join us, but appreciate your prayers and thoughts on our behalf.

Reflections on Photography

2011-11-04T12:23:00.002-06:00

We purchased our NikonD5000 two years ago to capture the adventure of living in China and the lives of our children. It was fun to learn how to use it, purchase a better lens and start a photography blog.

During August of this year I did six photoshoots. At least 1 hour per shoot...3-5 hours of editing, posting and distributing per shoot...and I ended up spending around 30 hours on photography that month. That may not sound like a lot but to me it felt like way too much! I discovered that I don't like sitting at my computer editing pictures for hours at a time. I discovered that when I get paid I stress over making the pictures perfect and worry that they're inadequate. I discovered I'm not a fan of photographing people I don't know. I love photography best when it's done free, for family and friends. I'm grateful for the August experiment and what I learned from it.

I love to take pictures of my kids (as if you hadn't noticed), but I try not to obsess over getting the PERFECT picture. When all is said and done, my kids are probably just going to care about having any kind of picture. The fun of pictures is the memories, not amazing photography. Pick your battles, right?

And on that note - here is Jaime imitating Vida's "tummy time."

One Month

2011-11-02T22:38:00.004-06:00

Our sweet Vida Jayne is one month old today. It seems odd - as if we've had her forever and yet can't believe we're already measuring her life in months instead of days or weeks.

I want to give a little background and explanation of her name. As many of you know, we were planning to name her something else since before she was even an idea, a J-name to stick with our J-theme. Then, one night as we drove home I pioneered the question "If we didn't stick with J-names what would we name her?" We discussed beautiful names, including Vida. Vida was the name of Justin's grandmother and we both loved it, especially because it would always remind us of the sacred times we spent with her before she passed away three years ago. I set the conversation aside for awhile, but neither of us could ignore the name. It nagged at us and we remained uncertain about her name until after she was born.

In some of my first few moments alone with her in the hospital I said a silent pointed prayer about what her name should be. Despite my reluctance to give up the name I had held on to for so long, I felt strongly that her name should be Vida. Justin did too. At the time, I had no idea that people weren't familiar with the name and would respond "....what?" when I would answer the question "What's her name?" with "Vida." Nor did I know people wouldn't know how to pronounce it, not even once realizing it's the Spanish word for "life." Those things were hard to deal with at first, and it is still unpleasant sometimes when people are noticeably taken aback by her name. But the fact is that Justin and I feel it's the right name for her and that it is a beautiful and elegant name. Her middle name, Jayne, is after my father whose name is Jay.

We are grateful for our Vida Jayne, who is healthy, strong and beautiful. At times it feels like we have a little piece of heaven in our home.

Halloween

2011-10-31T20:56:00.005-06:00

The excitement of holidays is back! Remember when you were a kid and all the holidays were so exciting? Having kids in our home makes holidays so fun again.

It took Jaime awhile to warm up to Halloween though. When we first walked into the ward party on Saturday she grabbed my legs and yelled "Mommy!" The costumes freaked her out. I kept trying to explain to her that we were all wearing funny clothes, including her. Not sure if she understood but eventually she relaxed. It was Vida and my first time at a social gathering since her birth and Jaime did not appreciate anyone talking to her baby sister, avidly hurling a biting "NO!" in the direction of anyone talking to or about Vida. It was at this party that she first learned the concept of trick-or-treating and she was sold. Best thing ever, right?

This morning I told her it was Halloween. As soon as I explained to her what was going to happen today she said "shees!" and ran off to get her "shoes!" so we could begin. I told her that none of it would start until the evening and distracted her, making note to not mentioning it again until we would leave. Can't blame her, I'd be excited too. We got all dressed up and headed to Justin's work party. Then we trick-or-treated at surrounding businesses and headed home to hand out candy and trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.

Justin and I each got to take her around a couple of streets and I absolutely loved doing it. I was dressed up too and it felt like I was a kid again. She yelled "wun! wun!" in-between houses and said the most adorable "kicky keat!" at each house. She was a hit. I loved getting excited with her and running to every house.

While youth does come to an end, it is wonderful that we get to experience it all again with our children.

A Bug Story

2011-10-29T13:54:00.006-06:00

Justin is busily working outside today, redoing our garden project. Next year we hope to have a garden worth boasting of...or at least worth growing something. Justin hasn't gardened since he was a child and I have never gardened. I repeat. NEVER.

While he's busy outside I'm left with our two little ones inside. Juggling two kids is something I'm getting used to. Admittedly, it's much easier now that Jaime has adjusted to the baby and no longer tells me to be "done" with her, instead telling me to put her on the "butme" ("blanket") or in the "baba chair" ("baby's chair") so that she can have my attention. Jaime's insistence to "help" by picking the baby up when she cries is a whole other story. Gets my blood pumping every time.

I began making yogurt this morning. During one of the time-sensitive parts I was rushing around the kitchen working while Jaime started saying something to me. I couldn't understand what she was saying so I glanced over to make sure she wasn't hurt or in immediate danger and told her she needed to wait. She was insistent and kept repeating the same thing over and over, but I was distracted until it finally hit me - "bug" and "scared". I picked up a crying Vida and sat down next to Jaime, finally able to concentrate on her. "What's the matter?" I said as I looked into her pleading eyes, welled up with tears. That's when I noticed it - a small moth perched atop her bowl of peaches. The poor girl had been terrified the whole time, paralyzed by fear and pleading for my help. I felt awful. She's fascinated with the pretend bugs we draw on paper and form with play dough, but even those make her nervous. I took care of the bug, sat down, hugged her and told her I was sorry about the bug.

A little sniffily she repeated me "sorry bug... sorry bug..."

This is Jaime's scared face, her favorite face to make right now. Perfect for Halloween weekend, and this story.

Peanut Yummies

2011-10-28T14:34:00.003-06:00

My mom got to come spend time with me last week to see the new baby and bond with Jaime. We were pleased that Jaime warmed up to her. By the end of the week she was heading downstairs to see "Gammah!" ("Grandma!") in the morning of her own volition.

While she was here I had her and Jaime make a treat from my childhood that I hadn't had since then. Peanut Yummies were just the thing.

Peanut Yummies
Bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 cup evaporated milk to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan. Boil 3 minutes stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter and 1/2 tsp vanilla; fold in 1 cup rolled oats and 1/2 cup peanuts. Drop spoonfuls on waxed paper. Chill until set (if you can wait that long).

Halloween Birthday

2011-10-22T18:04:00.001-06:00

Jaime got a special Halloween birthday party this year. We dressed her up in a Chinese dress that we purchased while we lived in China. Vida got to wear a Leopard dress, custom-made by Grandma Juna.

We dressed up too. Can you tell what we are? I'll give you a hint. It's the same thing we were this year.

We invited all of Jaime's favorite people - her cousins! I prepped Jaime by telling her they were coming and from then on all I heard from her was "Ella, Daniel come too!" "Evie come too!" (apparently Julia and Zoey are too hard to say). She loves her cousins.

The kids had fun doing a cake walk. Most of them learned how to do it for the first time: forgetting to walk, walking away, taking prizes when they didn't win, but mostly getting it right. It was adorable.

We made a pumpkin craft together.

Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes.

Maybe a little too much...

And of course Jaime loved all of her wonderful presents.

Thanks everyone!

Justin Quotes

2011-10-17T20:52:00.003-06:00

Here they are again. Compliments of superman.

"Jaime, you are a certified punk."

"Listen woman, these are my tools."

"Awww, I'm not getting spoon fed today?"

"Why are you being annoyed? Why aren't you just enjoying me?"

"We gotta go big or go home, and we can't go home because we're already home, so we gotta go big."

"On Saturday, Dad will take you to the farmer's market because Mom will have a hangover."

"Can you imagine sleeping and losing half your body weight? ...it's like the American dream."

"Come over here and give me a hug...and love me for who I'm not."

"You're not allowed to say 'ow' unless someone hurts you on purpose."

"I'm so full of 'no's today, forgive me. I'm like Mr. No. So, forgive my no-ness."

"It's so much work for me to have stimulating conversations."

"This is not communicating. It's telling me all of the obstacles."

"You're so weird, like ultimately weird."

"The things you don't understand about me are the things I don't understand about myself."

"Emotion is not meant to be expressed, only experienced."

Jodi: "I've told you that I like affection in the form of massages and back scratches and stuff, but that hasn't really taken off yet."
Justin: "Sure it has. I do it willingly now."

"Hon, go get some baking soda, put it in your mouth and try to swallow it."

"I think I rock."

"I try really hard to make up for your lack of ability."

"You really need to have this baby; I need a wife back."

12 Days Old

2011-10-14T14:51:00.001-06:00

Our little V is 12 days old!

She doesn't seem like a newborn anymore. She's used to diaper changes, is pretty awake and aware, doesn't clench her fists and is so big. Okay, so really she's probably not that big but to me she seems huge. I remember Jaime being in newborn clothes until she was 2-3 months old and Vida is already growing out of some.

I went looking and found a fun comparison. Here is a picture of me at the same age.

What do you think?

She is still so sweet and I love cuddling her. I just can't get enough of a soft baby head.

Natural Childbirth

2011-10-09T09:10:00.002-06:00

Why I chose to give birth naturally.

I love to question things. Analytical thinking comes naturally to me and there's nothing that sets my brain on fire more than wondering why things are the way they are and questioning them. Not surprisingly, childbirth hasn't escaped my gaze. I think modern medicine can be wonderful and I consider much of it to be knowledge allowed to us by a loving Heavenly Father. But, in some cases I feel it's gone a bit too far and deserves to be questioned. My experience giving birth to Vida served to secure my doubts about some of the practices we routinely engage in. Vida came on her own, at the hand of a skilled nurse who took a few moments to help her come with as little tearing as possible.

I find it startling to look at how strange our view of childbirth has become. The new norm is induction, labor augmentation, epidural, and episiotomy or cesarean. It's so different than what women have experienced since the beginning of the world. Labor began when baby and body were ready, a woman struggled through labor and gave birth. I've noticed that in conversation "natural" can produce confusion because it's increasingly meaning "vaginal." Giving birth vaginally is about as natural as it comes these days, forget about questioning interventions. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years, very few of them having been offered any of the interventions we now consider normal. After giving birth with epidural to Jaime, I felt cheated. I yearned to understand what my women ancestors had gone through to bring children into the world. It's something only women can understand, and I missed my chance. With Vida, I was striving even harder to go through the whole process and not miss or mess with any of it. I was taken aback when, at my 38 week appointment, they offered to strip my membranes and then offered to schedule an induction as soon as 39 weeks. Why? I didn't understand what all the rush was. I declined both and said I'd like my body to do it's thing when it's ready. The doctor seemed surprised.

Just after I gave birth to Vida, I was sure I couldn't do that again. It was horrible. I even wondered if I'd ever have another child. I didn't feel proud of what I'd done. Nobody I know would be proud of acting like a tortured animal in front of perfect strangers. As time passed I gained perspective that I didn't have while it was happening. Yes, it was horrible. So horrible. But the unbelievably horrible part was only 3 hours long. Three hours of excruciating pain that produced one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen - a miracle of life that I get to hold in my arms and love forever. Doing it naturally has given me a sense of accomplishment, allowed me to recover quickly and dare I say given me some perspective about life. So many of the trials we go through are horrible at the time. Unbearable. Impossible. But in the grand scheme of things, it won't last for long.

Baby Girl

2011-10-08T16:09:00.000-06:00

My sweet Vida Jayne is six days old today.

She's so big. I was shocked at her initial 8lbs 5oz and am still amazed by her chubby cheeks, even though they're decreasing in size daily.

She has dark hair not much longer than peach fuzz and her eyes appear to be a dark grayish color that I believe will change to brown in the coming months.

She is so sweet. I love cuddling her and cannot help stroking her soft head almost every time I feed her. She's been so easy-going and I hope it continues.

So sweet, so precious - the essence of the miracle of life. We are completely in love with her.

Birthday Girl

2011-10-07T16:21:00.007-06:00

This crazy girl is two years old today. The week has been a little stressful, but it was nice to take a few moments just for her to celebrate her birthday. She prepared for her birthday dinner by baking her birthday cake with Grandma.

She picked what she wanted to wear - a new dress fresh from the mail, sent from her aunt in California.

We sat down to eat a few of Jaime's favorite things - sausage, spanish rice and strawberries.

She decided she'd like the honor of serving everyone else and thoroughly enjoyed herself.

We finished up with some Zucchini chocolate cake and fruit leather, a special treat.

Can't believe she's already two years old!

Now if she'd just stop saying "done bah bah" (that she's 'done' with the 'baby') and stop making this face...

...things would be going a lot smoother around here. As my mom well said, she's been practicing being 2 years old for months.

Vida Jayne

2011-10-02T10:37:00.005-06:00

Maybe I shouldn't be writing this with my own screams of "I can't do this!!" still echoing in my ears. Our baby girl, Vida Jayne Hutchings, was born this morning at 1:47a.m. She weighed in at a whopping 8lbs 5oz, 20in long.

It all started yesterday morning when I realized my contractions were no longer Braxton Hicks, causing pain instead of just uncomfortable pressure. I sent for my mother-in-law and made arrangements for someone to be with Jaime until she came. Luckily, she was able to get on a flight right away and got here before we even had to leave for the hospital. I had been experiencing contractions all day - irregularly spaced yet painful. By evening the intensity and frequency picked up a bit and I began thinking about going to the hospital. Justin and I walked around our block many times, pausing for contractions along the way. They were pretty strong around 10:30p.m. so I made the decision to go to the hospital, arriving at 11:00p.m. I got there, got checked at 3cm and began a minimum 30 minute monitoring that turned into an hour, at which point they declared I could stay. If only they knew how fast this baby would come!

I got in the tub for a warm bath at 12:30am, which may have helped slightly but my contractions were so painful I was starting to not be able to contain it. I began familiarly shaking and saying "I can't do this! I'll never make it!" which are both signs that I was entering transition and got out of the tub. From that point I tried everything - laying, sitting, birthing ball and burying myself in Justin's chest but it was all too much - I was sure I wouldn't be able to do this naturally. I got checked again at 6cm at 1:00a.m., 7 1/2cm at 1:30a.m. and 8cm after a particularly painful contraction caused my water to break at 1:40am. I cannot describe the intensity with which the pain took over after my water broke. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced and I didn't even recognize myself amidst the yelling, screaming and general wildness that I couldn't contain. Justin did his best to offer me anything he could, and he did very well - considering I involuntarily bit him twice during this experience. A horrible contraction produced pressure that was impossibly huge. The next contraction found me unable to stop myself from pushing. The nurses panicked, scrambled to get the doctor in the room as fast as they could and stayed by me. One nurse said the baby was coming and came to my aid, helping hold the baby in to prevent as much tearing as possible. She told me to pant and not push and I tried my hardest but couldn't. Vida was then born at 1:47a.m. as I felt a warm head and then body appear between my legs that were never placed in stirrups for lack of time. I didn't watch like I did with Jaime because I was in such a moment of desperation and Justin didn't have the opportunity to watch either because I was clutching the front of his shirt too strongly. The first thing I said when she was born was "Is she out? Is she out?" When I heard the confirmation I didn't really need, I looked down, saw her and said "I am SO glad that is over" and repeated it several times. The doctor walked in with a look of shock on his face and said "You didn't give me time to get up here. I was just downstairs!" Oh well, I couldn't care less. He gave me two stitches, wrote me a bunch of prescriptions and left. Yeah, I'm kind of feeling like he didn't do anything.

Looking back, I can't believe I did it and am still incredibly grateful that it is over. I did it. I gave birth completely naturally. I effectively went my entire pregnancy, labor, delivery and now recovery without ever taking or receiving a single pain killer. Nothing. It can be done. Would I ever do it again? Right now I'm thinking that sounds impossible but I'm sure I will forget the gravity of this experience - don't we all? That's one of the blessings and curses of bearing children: how much we forget.

What I'm concentrating on right now is my gorgeous, healthy baby girl that is the fruit of my labor, literally.

Do we forget or just realize that it's worth it?

Canning is Upon Us

2011-09-30T11:40:00.001-06:00

I totally understand now why women get so antsy around and after their due dates. I was expecting this baby to come already and everyday that goes by seems so long. I haven't put the days to waste, though! As soon as I got feeling better from my strange and draining sickness, Justin and I got down to canning.

We've discovered that canning is something that we like doing together and you just can't beat the benefits of getting it done. We bought these peaches from last summer's love affair, the farmers' market, and have been fortunate to have been given free pears. We also picked (okay, so Justin did all the picking...) a large harvest of apples from the apple tree in our backyard that we plan on making delicious applesauce out of tomorrow.

In retrospect, I'm very glad the baby didn't come this week or last. I have been able to get so much done: canning, making batches of granola and yogurt (that seem to be our lifeline), putting a few more meals in the freezer, deep cleaning more areas of the house, and finally organizing and de-cluttering the girls' room. I feel so much better now that her room is ready for her arrival. In addition, I finally finished editing and distributing all of the pictures I took for people in August and even finished up the part-time work project I picked up from Zinch.

Baby girl, come whenever you like. In the meantime, I will keep putting my time to good use!

So Pregnant

2011-09-26T21:20:00.001-06:00

Today, I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been :)
Last time I went into labor at 38 weeks 1 day and gave birth at 38 weeks 2 days. Today I am 38 weeks 3 days!

Thoughts about being this pregnant:

Why are my feet swelling all of the sudden? Any amount of standing seems to cause them to swell, which is new to this pregnancy.
Pregnancy is way harder when you are already a mom. We've tried potty training this last week and it's been exhausting.
What kind of strange pre-labor nonsense is my body experimenting with? I've gotten violently ill for the last 4 nights and felt fine during the day
Braxton Hicks are regular, and quite often these days.
Can't help feeling like everything will get a little easier when this baby is on the outside - even though I know it's not true! I am so looking forward to seeing and holding her but not looking forward to the sleepless nights.

I am trying to enjoy it while I can. This morning Jaime came in and spent time with us on our bed. It was poignant to think that it would be one of the last times we'd spend as a family just the three of us, so we took the time to revel in it even though Justin may have arrived two whole hours late to work. It was so worth it.

Idaho Trip

2011-09-21T10:31:00.001-06:00

Even though it was a quick trip, I was grateful to be with my family to remember my grandpa. All four of my siblings were able to come and it was wonderful to see everyone. This is a picture of the five of us with my dad.

The day wasn't absent of tears for me, but I am grateful to know that my grandfather's death wasn't the end and I look forward to seeing him and my grandmother again someday.

Jaime did pretty well on the drives. She looked at books, talked to us and watched movies thanks to my iPad. On the way back she took a much needed nap with her beloved 'bun bun,' a stuffed animal bunny that I clung to as a child and that she now takes to bed with her each night.

Girls Weekend

2011-09-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

I was privileged to host these lovely ladies (plus one not pictured) at my home last weekend for a ...GIRLS WEEKEND! Okay, so we were all a bit overly excited for this. In the 3 1/2 years since I have joined the family, we haven't enjoyed this "annual" event until now. We sent the husbands packing with the kids and got down to the fun stuff.

Temple, shopping, hair, nails, food and football. Who can ask for more than that? And all without kids? It was magical. As part of the festivities we all shared something we are passionate about. Topics included scripture reading, healthy eating, dating, organization, flylady and party planning.

It ended with the disappointing BYU loss to University of Texas and the even more disappointing news that my grandfather passed away.

My grandpa was always a strong mountain man that seemed to tough anything out. His lovely wife passed away 3 years ago, but Grandpa had been going strong despite heart problems. A couple of weeks ago he took a fall that necessitated hip surgery. Complications from recovery lead to his passing away on Saturday, September 10th. Justin, Jaime and I will be making the trip to Idaho this weekend to gather with friends and family in honor of his life on earth.

37 weeks

2011-09-15T08:54:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, I will officially be 37 weeks which means this baby is full term! To celebrate, we'll be going on a tour of the hospital where she'll be born - which also happens to be the hospital where Justin was born.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and cannot be more pleased with everything he had to say. My body is preparing for labor and I'm Strep B negative. What a relief! I'm going for an all natural birth this time, so to be Strep B negative is an incredible blessing. Being positive would mean I'd need to be on antibiotics for 4 hours before the birth - which, for me, translates into rushing to the hospital at the first sign of active labor because of my history with rapid childbirth. Being negative means I'll be able to spend the majority of my labor at home which gives me more confidence I'll be able to handle the birth unmedicated.

I'm expecting this baby in the next two weeks or so. Wish me luck!

Sick, Sick, Sick.

2011-09-02T08:26:00.000-06:00

This is the way things have looked around our house this week.

First, Jaime woke up sick on Saturday morning. Then I woke up sick on Monday morning. We've been sick together all week now and things aren't looking good yet. I don't know what kind of sickness it is, but I'm sure tired of wiping leakage off Jaime's eyes and she's tired of it, too. It's not the most enjoyable to take care of a sick person while being sick yourself. And pregnant. I've been canceling all outside obligations, which has helped a lot. Am I ready to add another child to this mix in a few weeks?

Bring it on.

34 weeks

2011-08-30T10:00:00.001-06:00

It seems as if this pregnancy is slowing down as it approaches the end. It's certainly harder to keep my mind off of now that I cannot sit, lay or stand comfortably anymore. I can't stop thinking about what she'll look like, what her personality will be like, if Jaime will like her, if she'll be willing to breastfeed, how the delivery will go, and just keep praying it'll all go smoothly!

34 weeks and 4 days down, 5 weeks and 3 days until d-day! Of course, if she comes earlier like Jaime did, we could realistically be seeing this little girl in 4 weeks!

Railing Kisses

2011-08-28T22:15:00.004-06:00

I don't remember how exactly this started, but whenever I come home from work and Jaime Lynne is in the living room, she runs over to the railing and gives me kisses through the railing as I walk up the stairs. She doesn't opt for the large spaces, either. No, she chooses the holes that are not larger than a golf ball... Precious memories.

Today Jaime Lynne stayed home sick from church with mom, and this is the lovely greeting I received upon my return from Sacrament Meeting. Apparently she asked for me the entire time I was gone. Lucky for me she got the next two hours with daddy while mom went to the rest of church.

Simple Joys

2011-08-20T20:30:00.006-06:00

Have you ever noticed with envy the beautiful glass bowls that are in cereal commercials? Well I have. I always thought it was so cool the way you could see the milk on the bottom and cereal on top.

This is a garage sale find from Saturday that made me so happy. I've been looking for new everyday bowls for awhile now, and certainly couldn't complain about the price - $.50 each! They also make me feel like I should be on a cooking show with everything pre-measured on the counter before I get started. I've been enjoying them very much, and have been surprised to see that they come out of our dishwasher looking brand new every time.

One of those things that just contributes to everyday enjoyment. Love that.

Mommy's Helper

2011-08-19T08:47:00.001-06:00

I was baking the other day and Jaime insisted on 'helping'. She really is very sweet and even took the proper precautions before opening the oven. I think it does make me feel a little better knowing the hot pads cover her entire arms.

She is growing up so much. I can't see "baby Jaime" in her anymore - I see a toddler, a little kid who is interested in so many things, growing, learning, and being adventurous. It's quite common for her to exclaim "Mah tuwn!" ("My turn!") if I interfere with any of her activities and "Mine!" when she sees something she wants. I'm trying so hard to allow her the space she needs to grow. Heaven knows I'm growing, too.

Happy Gestating!

2011-08-09T21:00:00.001-06:00

Now at 32 weeks! Can't believe it's here and can't wait for our beautiful baby girl to come! We've got the crib set up, newborn - 3 month clothes organized and I'm in full-blown nesting stage.

Everything is going very well. Doctors say my body is healthy and handling the pregnancy well and baby girl is growing right along schedule and appears perfectly healthy. I feel so blessed to have a pregnancy free of complications, once again. I talked to the doctor about how tired I am and what I can do to help that. He informed me that my body is producing progesterone, which happens to act as a sedative during pregnancy. Great. Being tired is just part of it he says, especially since I already have a child. Fantastic.

Pregnant women receive a variety of comments on their appearance. For me, there are some comments that I really enjoy and that make me feel good and there are others that are hard to stay smiling for.

"Your belly is so cute and round!"
"You look fantastic!"
"You are so cute pregnant!"
"You don't look that far along, you're so small!"
=good.

"You're looking really pregnant."
"Are you sure there's only one baby in there?"
"You're so big, and you still have two months to go!"
"You look so tired."
"Do you think you can get any bigger?"
=bad.

I realize I can be sensitive at times, but really, women probably feel the most sensitive during pregnancy than at any other time, so think before you speak!

Canyon Fun

2011-08-08T08:34:00.000-06:00

This month is dubbed the month of pictures at our house. I've taken pictures for one family and have another five families scheduled. In the spirit of pictures we traveled up the canyon for a picnic and scope out of places to take pictures.

Of course, Jaime had great fun playing in the water, throwing rocks and splashing us. The girl is a water fiend.

This picture needs to be shared. Jaime is in the middle of a crazy-intentional-smile phase. When prompted to smile, she makes a face similar to this every time. Better than just ignoring us? I'm not quite sure...

We ended up finding a great place to take pictures! Tucked into the mountain off the side of a dirt road is this beautiful overgrown field that is nicely shaded in the evening. It was so much fun to take pictures here!

Sleepy Head

2011-08-03T21:40:00.002-06:00

Daily Routine

Typically when I come home, Jaime is at the top of the stairs itching for me to open the door so she can scream at the top of her sweet little lungs:

"DADDY HOME!"

Then she proceeds to give me kisses through the railing all the way up the stairs. It is the highlight of my day. No matter how stressful or bad the day (though rare those days are), all is well when I hear those sweet words.

Tuesday's Routine

Though there were no wild screams of erratic joy, and no kisses, my heart melted to see this sweet child fast asleep on the floor in the living room. And what more could a father ask for then to see his daughter dutifully studying the ways of "The Latter-day Saint Woman" so intently that she just couldn't part with it, even for sleep.

Elastic Thread

2011-08-03T16:30:00.003-06:00

Last week I finally fixed the problem I've been having with my sewing machine. Helpful staff at my local Pfaff store gave me a list of simple and inexpensive solutions to try. I did, and now it's fully functional again!

And thanks to a thoughtful gift from James and Liz, I've been able to learn elastic thread skills, that I'm very happy about.

This is an old shirt of mine that I converted into a dress. It'll probably fit sizes 6-18 months.

And these two were my first trial with elastic thread (based on this idea), and didn't go as smoothly as they could have, but hey, we all need to start somewhere!

I just can't wait to dress our two little girls in these! Two months left!

iChat

2011-08-01T16:26:00.001-06:00

I get to chat with my husband while he's at work and it makes me so happy! Whether it's working out logistics, telling him cute things Jaime does or telling him how I'm feeling that day...I am so grateful for it.

Quiet Moment

2011-07-24T14:50:00.001-06:00

Jaime hasn't been feeling well. Yesterday, she was whining loudly about something for quite some time and something about it seemed off, so I picked her up and held her for a minute on the bed. She was tired and appreciated my comfort, so I laid down with her and watched my testy toddler become a sweet and vulnerable baby in my arms. It has been a while since Jaime has enjoyed snuggling with me, and I hope that this is not the end.

As I laid down my mind raced with what I needed to accomplish that day and how this would slow me down. But then, lovely words entered my mind and filled me with contentment "mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children..." Thank you, for those pearls of wisdom.

Garage Sales

2011-07-22T14:14:00.000-06:00

This is our latest garage sale find.

Our interest in garage sales was founded summer 2009, when we were expecting miss Jaime Lynne. We scoured the piles for cute baby clothes and were successful. This summer, we still break for garage sales and usually find one or two steals. Saturday's deals included a fully functional chop saw for $30, 15 items of 2T clothing for $3.75 and this set of Lincoln Logs for $2. I think garage sailing (pun intended) can be tedious, but so worth it when you find the deals that make your heart sing. Justin's heart couldn't be happier with these Lincoln Logs, even though Jaime's only interest in them is knocking over his creations. I do love watching them play together.

Tomorrow is Saturday. Happy garage sailing!

Garden Love

2011-07-19T16:02:00.000-06:00

We picked these raspberries in a matter of minutes from our garden on Sunday. We didn't get a chance to plant this year, but were lucky enough to have some grown raspberry bushes under all those weeds. And thanks to Michelle, they were properly weeded and have been producing nicely.

This isn't our first harvest, and won't be our last. Jaime, in particular, cannot get enough. We still have a ways to go in terms of teaching her how to tell which are ripe and which are not. She goes about picking any and all that she sees, eating them immediately. We help her find good ones as much as she can, but she is in full-blown independence mode and limits the amount we are allowed to help her. The toddler stage is taking me for a ride!

Potty Time

2011-07-17T22:27:00.002-06:00

We are beginning a new adventure. I always wondered how I'd know that she's ready, until now. It started to be pretty obvious when she'd pull down her pants and sit on the bathroom floor every time I used the restroom. I'm starting out slow, mostly because I have no idea how to do this. We got a little toilet that I put her on when she wants to use it and some panties that I'm terrified to let her use. One success, one disaster and a whole lot of nothing. Tips?

Justin Quotes

2011-07-15T10:52:00.001-06:00

It’s been awhile and my Justin quotes have been piling up. I just want to say how much we both enjoy doing these. At our house, if I ever walk away mid-conversation, open up my computer and start typing, there's a good chance I'm writing one of these down. And in case you've ever wondered, I always receive Justin's approval before posting them. He laughs just as hard at them as anyone else. Glad I married someone who can laugh at himself (thank you, Mom Hutchings).

"Honey, I am pestering you because I like pestering you. Don't you understand?"

"It would make more sense if you were me."

Jodi: “Wow.”

Justin: "I try and wow you, honey."

"I didn't ever doubt you, I just didn't want to listen to you."

"Forgive me, I'm a bum."

"I'm not pushing you away, I'm pushing away your cold lips."

"I have stronger head muscles than you."

"I haven't even looked at my butt today to see what it looks like."

"It's hard to work with people that aren't as anal as you are."

Jodi: "Do you have any plans for the oranges?"

Justin: "The trashcan usually likes them."

"Don't be a nazi. I don't need a nazi in my life."

"You're okay with my one-pack. It's more like a 2-liter bottle. More bang for your buck."

"Jaime shouldn't do what you don't like and you shouldn't do what I don't like."

"You crossed over the obnoxious line again."

(making faces as I listed honey-do's) "What? I was just stretching my face."

Jodi: "Honey, you could do something useful."

Justin: "I'm waiting for a text."

Justin: "Honey, there's like a million ants over here."

Jodi: "How many is a million?"

Justin: "At least fifteen."

"Let me tell you the deal. I'll take a nap and you make cornbread."

Jodi: "That was mean."

Justin: "It wasn't mean. It was a joke."

Jodi: "It was mean."

Justin: "It was a joke. It may have been a mean joke, but it was a joke nonetheless."

"Honey, you know that if I want something you just have to tell me I can get it and most likely I won't get it."

"I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not responding."

"Why is being honest 'so mean'?"

"Don't ask questions about what I say."

And a few guest quotes for y’all:

"I think I broke my own heart." - Marquie

"I have a really big face, guys." - Marquie

Lynne: "What do you think, By?"

Byron: "I would be in favor of keeping my mouth shut."

Love List

2011-07-12T20:49:00.002-06:00

We bought a house. There are a few things that need improvement. For your information:

Our girls room is blue. Paint. Wallpaper. Carpet. The works.
The master bathroom shower doesn't get hot water and the toilet runs on its own, often.
Our garden just wasn't ready in time to plant this year. It still needs a lot of work.
Most of our plants are overgrown.
Wallpaper. Everywhere.

So much to do, but that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the new place. There are so many lovely things about it. The things I am loving definitely outweigh the things I'm not loving. Let me inform you.

Dishwasher

This is the first on the list because it produces such daily happiness. I cannot express what an incredible feeling of ecstacy it is to be sitting in another room while something makes itself or washes itself. I first felt a feeling like this when I was given a bread mixer and walked out of the kitchen while the bread was kneading, instead of kneading it by hand while becoming progressively tired and sweaty. I experienced a similar feeling of ecstasy when we bought a washer and dryer and no longer had to travel to a laundry mat to clean our clothes. I could do other things at home while the clothes were being washed by a machine built for the job in my own home. Now, finally, after 3 years of marriage I am experiencing the joy of a dish washer. Rinse them, place them and walk away. Putting away clean, dry dishes from neatly organized racks beats keeping my hands in hot water for an hour and rinsing and drying as I go.

Garage

What a joy! Storage space. Protection from snow, sun and rain for our cars. Workshop for Justin. What a joy.

Fruit Trees

I still cannot believe we are lucky enough to have 3 full grown fruit trees upon arrival in our new home. We may have no clue how to obtain fruit from the highest branches of the 30 foot trees, but that doesn't stop our excitement!

Air Conditioning

I am 6 months pregnant. It's the middle of summer. I take care of a toddler and do house work every day of my life. I am SO grateful to have air conditioning.

Bigger Kitchen

I couldn't take a picture of all of it - so this is one side of it.

No more detached dish storage! No more dining in the kitchen (thanks to the separate dining room)! We do still store food from our 3-month supply elsewhere, but I think it's a good physical distinction.

Garbage Disposal

I am so glad I'm not sticking my fingers in the drain collecting soppy food anymore. So glad. It's also incredibly convenient to dispose of produce trimmings and egg shells right next to my food preparation surfaces. Note to self: do NOT put too much in it at once or it will stop working and you will have to wait for Justin to get home to fix it.

Cookie Sheet Storage

I didn't know this would make such a difference. It does. Hallelujah for whoever thought of it.

The crowning jewel: Counter Containers

So much to say about these - I researched them for hours. I had a number of specifications I was looking for: round, clear glass, extreme wide mouth, easy to open, beautiful to display. I first observed some beauties from hobby lobby that I loved. Upon further research I discovered that they may be a bit fancy for my humble kitchen, thus I fell in love with Anchor Hocking Heritage Hill jars. I must have researched Heritage Hill jars online for at least 5 hours, my final conclusion being that my favorite sizes could easily, quickly and most cheaply be obtained by driving to my nearest WalMart. After finding this out I felt more than a bit foolish - you'd think I would have checked there long ago. I guess I thought WalMart wouldn't have anything to the standard I was looking for. I was wrong. Before I found them at this underpriced superstore, I was sure I'd spend at least $60 for my precious containers only to find that $21 was all that was required. Now I have three beautiful containers that I will surely have for years.

Happy 4th

2011-07-04T22:32:00.000-06:00

Our 4th was full of fun, family and friends. We enjoyed hosting at our new home for the first time, BBQs, the parade and fireworks. Fireworks are so magical for kids - we loved the looks on all of their faces.

Happy 4th everyone!

Pregnancy Update

2011-06-30T14:22:00.002-06:00

I'm 26 weeks pregnant. That means that I'm rounding off my second trimester and heading into my third!

I'd say this pregnancy is a bit different than the last, but not in significant ways. Weeks pass faster with a toddler demanding my attention. I'm less grossed out by meat (the sight of it doesn't make me gag). I'm still active, yet my stomach muscles are sagging more. Thank you, first pregnancy. In general, I'm less tired (with the exception of the last two weeks), because being at home full-time is less tiring than being a full-time student that walks everywhere. All in all, I'm feeling pretty good but experiencing increasing difficulty changing diapers while wrestling writhing squid-like toddler limbs.

Three more months and we meet our sweet baby girl!

Play Dates

2011-06-29T09:38:00.001-06:00

Every week we have a play date with Jaime's cousins and their beautiful mother. This is my first experience with any kind of play date, and let me tell you, I love them! The girls get to play to their hearts' content and us moms get to socialize and get to know each other more.

I love that the girls are getting to know each other so well and that I'm getting to know my brother's wife so much better. She's a wonderful, strong and exceptional woman and I'm grateful she's part of our family.

Garden?

2011-06-26T22:22:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick update on the house. We moved in to our new home on Tuesday.

We. Are. So. Tired.

Okay, so maybe I'm more tired than everyone else? I am trying to grow another human being all on my own.

Our house is still littered with boxes and the yard is still looking unkempt, but we're getting there. Saturday's main project was the garden. We had a bit of a weed problem (read: jungle) that needed to be addressed. Take a look.

Justin also mowed the lawn and pummeled a few overgrown rose bushes. And I'm thinking now that the kitchen is put together and our bedrooms are decent, I can relax and take it all a bit more slowly and stop conking out on the couch while Jaime shoves crackers in my face.

Wish us luck!

I Married my Superman

2011-06-20T07:32:00.000-06:00

I simply cannot get enough of him. I have a constant countdown in the back of my mind to the time when he gets to come home from work to us. I psyche Jaime up for his entrance when I hear the car pull up, so much so that she literally screams when he opens the door. Her todderesk "Dah-dah!!" echos my own excitement.

Justin is one of those people who is easy to love. He is hard-working, dedicated and loving. He complements me often and thanks me for my hard work as a homemaker. Perhaps it is the combined effect of all of his good qualities, but for some reason I have had a profound admiration and sweet affection for Justin ever since we met. The bumps and potholes of marriage are made more smooth because I have always been and will always be inexplicably head over heels for him.

We are not without our differences, but I think working through those differences in love are what marriage is all about. His kindness taught me that it is okay to retract in an argument, apologize, forgive and show love. Little problems should stay just that - little - because working together with respect for each other is more important. Our marriage has given me more satisfaction than what I thought was possible. He tries to make my life joyful in any way he can and I love him for it!

Our House

2011-06-15T08:56:00.001-06:00

Man, things have been crazy around here. That's probably because, for the last month and half, we've been working to buy this...

We can finally see and feel the light at the end of this complicated tunnel. We hope to close next week!

Muffins

2011-06-13T16:01:00.000-06:00

We've been enjoying Costco muffins around here lately.

We all love them, but maybe one of us loves them the most?

Smarty Pants

2011-06-09T15:33:00.002-06:00

Jaime is totally psyched about some of the information she's learned lately. Naturally, she didn't have any problem making these videos with us.

Understanding possessive nouns was a tough learning curve for her. So, we're particularly proud of that first video. For the second one, you can only imagine how many hours we've spent in front of books pointing out every animal on every page so that she's learned them all by name.

We think she's just the cutest. What do you think?

Summer is Upon Us

2011-06-08T12:34:00.001-06:00

I am happy to report that summer is finally and definitely here!

We have been happily soaking up all the sunshine, although in my case it was a bit much. I burned at the first mention of sun...and once again I find myself pining for the year-round sun and games of my native California that provided a constant tan.

Jaime can't believe all the fun stuff she's allowed to do everyday. Her favorites are: playing with the hose, going to the park, seeing real live birds, dogs and cats (instead of the ones in her books), and playing with the neighborhood kids.

It sure beats being cooped up all winter. We are looking forward to our next few months of freedom and sunshine before fall and newbornitis sets in!

My Yogurt

2011-05-27T08:39:00.000-06:00

How good is my homemade yogurt?

The evidence speaks for itself.

2011-05-23T16:54:00.000-06:00

Happy Anniversary, Dear

2011-05-22T10:21:00.002-06:00

It's official - we've been married for three years!

We celebrated yesterday by getting a babysitter and enjoying some delicious Chicken Tikka Masala from Bombay House.

I couldn't help but remember last year's anniversary, enjoying some incredible bópiàn zīrán niúliǔ at one of our favorite restaurants in China. It made me miss China so much.

Afterward we got our favorite Creamery ice cream, Graham Canyon, and couldn't resist stopping by BYU to visit the spot we met.

One conversation, that led to one phone number, that led to a first date that eventually led to this...

....and now this.

...Jodi + Justin + Jaime + baby boy or girl? We find out tomorrow!

Sewing

2011-05-17T13:03:00.000-06:00

I got to sew today. Sewing isn't something I do on a regular basis, nor am I much good at it. I used a tutorial from Made to make these two skirts for Jaime. It was as simple as any sewing tutorial can be and I recommend it for any beginning seamstress.

I've never had any formal training in sewing. I learned to sew by watching my mother and trying out simple patterns under her tutelage. The only reason I have a sewing machine is because I found one for $5 at a swap meet. Yup. If I hadn't found one that cheap, I can't see myself ever spending the $300+ to buy a sewing machine that would save me a fraction of that in my lifetime. I get most of Jaime's clothes second hand and usually spend $.25-$1 per item. I do sacrifice a small amount of fashion (last season's clothes over this season's), but it doesn't bother me. The stuff I find is cute enough and I spend 1/20th of what I would be spending to buy it all new.

When it comes to sewing, I wonder whether the time and effort is really worth it. I find myself wondering that about so many things, struggling to put in the time to hone real talents. As this tendency plays out in my life I find I have little to be skilled at and proud of. Maybe the pride of being good at something is what's worth those tedious hours. I'd like to put in the time to have things I am truly proud of, so here's to a few hours of practice on my way to a goal of excellence.

Good Morning

2011-05-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

We had a good morning today.

On a good morning, Jaime and I go on a power walk or jog together. It's getting warm enough to take her out in the mornings, but not so warm that I'm okay going without a blanket over her.

On a good morning, we get back and I strap her into her highchair with an assortment of breakfast items. This keeps her busy while I shower and get dressed. By the way, have you heard of steel cut oats? They're healthier than rolled oats and for some reason Jaime likes them way better. Win - win.

On a good morning, I sit down to have my breakfast after I'm ready for the day. I enjoy something healthy like a fruit smoothie with homemade yogurt along with a bowl of these delicious steel cut oats.

On a good morning, I get Jaime dressed for the day and head out for any errands I need to do.

That's what's in a good morning. This is what I strive for everyday, even though it doesn't always happen that way :)

Boston

2011-05-04T15:30:00.002-06:00

This week is my first time to New England. It is beautiful here, and I quite love it. Today I visited a school right in the heart of Boston, just off the Boston Common, down the street from Cheers. We also took a few minutes to walk down to Faneuil Hall, and by the Boston State House.

A Special Place

2011-05-02T19:28:00.006-06:00

I don't post often, but I wanted to share with you one of our special places: the park. My memories of parks started with playing on playgrounds while sisters played softball, or Dad umpired softball. Then I started playing baseball at ball parks. Then I took girls on dates to parks to have a picnic and a swing.

Parks have always been a special place for me, but now they have a much deeper special feeling associated with them. Now I get to take a little cutie that knows nothing about the world to a place of great wonderment, and slides. My daughter and I have had many great times at the park. To be honest, Jodi is usually the one that gets to take her to the park. But every now and again I get to tag along. Special every time.

Come share the special place with me...

Thank you for sharing.

Bedtime

2011-05-01T21:07:00.002-06:00

Hi all. I want to share some cuteness from Jaime's bedtime this evening. I do realize Jaime is pretty much all I ever post about, but hey, she's my life right now. I'm still aglow with adoring new-parent love and I doubt posts about doing dishes and laundry would be entertaining to anyone.

Our beloved Daddy is out of town this week on business, so I try and be extra tender with her raw emotions. No Daddy for a week? Might as well tell her she won't get any cheese OR teddy bears for a week. Meltdowns.
Jaime is working really hard on communicating with words in English instead of baby gibberish. I started our usual bedtime routine by reading her a book. When it was done she was noticeably unsatisfied and said "moah" so I asked her if she wanted one more. She shook her head and said "moah moah" so we read two more books :)

Usually, just before we set her in bed we sing a verse of a song. It was just me this time and when I got to the end of the first verse of "You Are My Sunshine" she shook her head. I asked her if she wanted me to sing some more and she nodded. I sang the second verse and she shook her head again. I sang the first verse of "I Am a Child of God" and her eyelids fluttered a slow blink. She was ready, and peacefully went down in her crib. I love that she can now effectively communicate what she needs.

Numbers

2011-04-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Now that random strangers are asking me my due date, I guess I should make it public...I am 16 weeks along with our 2nd baby. We are soon to become a family of 4!

Only 4 short weeks until I know if we are having a boy or girl.

About 5 more months until I will be able to see our new baby!

Easter

2011-04-25T09:46:00.002-06:00

Jaime was lucky, she got to have two Easter egg hunts this year!

Last year she was too young to appreciate what was going on, or to eat any of her candy. So it's only fair right? She thought finding eggs was pretty fun, but stopped in her tracks as she observed the hunt around her.

She did a city egg hunt with the Packard kids and found a second one right outside her door after her nap.

I've been anticipating setting up a hunt for awhile and bought all the stuff a month ago...so that's why I put the second one on. It was raining and cold outside, so we did it indoors. She only got to her second egg before the intrigue of the candy was too much, she plopped down and started opening the egg instead of picking up the dozen or so that remained.

And, at the end was an Easter basket that was way too plentiful for her. We helped ourselves and then took it all over to her open-armed cousins who consumed it faster than the lighting we heard outside. Once again, our Utah weather is nuts. I've lived in Utah for about five years and it never ceases to amaze me.

"Helping"

2011-04-24T14:55:00.000-06:00

Jaime is completely obsessed with "helping" lately. We've taken to letting her dump pre-measured ingredients into bowls and sprinkle salt and pepper whenever we can.

Sometimes, I just don't have the patience or time to let her help out (half of the tsp will go in the bowl, half on the counter and floor). So, I came up with a nice solution the other day.

Whether she thinks dumping water from one cup to the other is helping or she's so content playing with water that she's completely forgotten about "helping," doesn't matter to me. I had a peaceful dinner prep.

Yesterday's Excitement

2011-04-22T10:49:00.002-06:00

This is not the kind of excitement one wants.

Jaime was taking a nap in her room and I was at work on my computer sitting on the couch next to the window. The wind picked up suddenly and after a few minutes I heard a loud crack, looked outside and saw our gigantic pine tree fall flat on the lawn.

I started freaking out, the wind picked up even more, the house sounded like it would break into pieces, more cracking sounds and the power went out. I called Justin on my cell phone while I went to investigate and found this:

I hung up and called our landlady and the city. Meanwhile, Justin headed out of work straightaway to come help. What a guy! It was such a relief to have him home while everyone and their dog came to look at the spectacles and help out.

Basically everyone in our landlady's family came to chop up the pine tree. They worked together and worked hard! It was all chopped up and cleaned up before dark.

We are fortunate to have an incredibly talented electrician in the family. Thank you so much Bryce! He came over on short notice and fixed the crumbled mast on our roof.

After everything was fixed, it took the city quite awhile to come back and turn the power on because they were fixing other power problems caused by the storm.

All in all, it was about eight hours without power, so what did we do? Enjoyed a cold dinner of tuna sandwiches and treated ourselves to a candle-lit cookie dough session.

We feel so grateful that it wasn't worse. Only one of the trees hit the house and it only damaged the rain gutter and mast. If the bigger one had hit the house, I don't want to imagine what could have happened.

By the way, the two trees that fell had notable flaws. The pine tree had an insufficient root system to support its height, and the other was rotten on the inside even though the outside looked fine. The spiritual lessons that can be gleaned are mouth watering.

Kid Couch

2011-04-15T14:06:00.001-06:00

I found this D.I. steal a few days ago. Lucky for me, the cover unzipped right off and came out of the washing machine clean as can be.

Our little 18 month old daughter is having a blast with it, not to mention any other kids that come over.

For some reason, the favorite thing to do is to unfold the top layer to reveal a bed - a bed for walking and jumping on.

This little sweetie deserves it. Poor kid doesn't know what to think when we go from one weather extreme to the next about every four days. She needs to have something exciting to do indoors.

Oh, and have you ever asked Jaime where her foot is?

You definitely should. For some reason, pointing is not adequate for this question.

Justin Quotes

2011-04-10T15:40:00.011-06:00

On this lovely Sunday afternoon (while my husband is conveniently out of the house), I'd like to delight you all with a number of recent Justin quotes. Enjoy. I know I do.

"Want to come hang out with me in the bathroom?"

"I'm open to other ideas, I just don't have them."

"I am helping. I'm helping you realize the error of your ways."

"I'm not dissatisfied with it, I just want more."

"It's not that I want to be annoying, I just am."

Jodi: "Don't tickle me."

Justin: "I wasn't. I was running my fingers along your feet."

"You know, it's pretty amazing how easy it is to make you glow. I just have to do something stupid."

"You're usually right and I'm usually wrong." (just had to get this one in writing)

"I've always thought it was tacky, but I'm sure it would look great on you."

"I'm not a sore loser, I just don't want to lose."

Me "You look cuter in the second one."

Justin: "That's because I'm just always getting cuter."

"I'd much rather be a little boy than an old lady."

"There are thousands of cars out there, all with little colored people in them." (note: this is in reference to the Festival of Colors, not actual colored people)

"Gosh. You're so flippin' right."

"Hon, it's turkey; it's not even meat."

"Any emotion that comes from a woman, whether real or fake, is complicated."

"Some boys need sparklies."

"Jaime, you've got to stop playing with knives."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you, it just happens."

"Stop it. I don't want to feel loving right now."

And two from Marquie, just because we love her so much and hang out with her all the time.

"I tickle my own feet and I don't even want to." -Marquie

"I'm cute and I know it." - Marquie

Sacrilegious

2011-03-25T08:04:00.003-06:00

Like many religions, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members (along with all of their obvious quirks) often end of at the tail-end of sacrilegious jokes and even offensive TV shows. Now the epidemic has infected Broadway. Brought to you by the producers of South Park (that should tip you off right away as to the great quality of this production). Check it out. Just as maddening as anything else in this world that mocks what we hold so dear. I can only imagine what Elder Holland would say (remember his "I loved my mission as I am sure no young man has ever loved one before or since").

Maddening or offensive as it may be to have something so precious mocked on all sides, I hold it dear in my heart. It means everything to me and is the foundation for the amazing life that I have. Yes, it is amazing. Everyday.

Boys Boys Boys

2011-03-24T09:44:00.000-06:00

These little crazies are staying with with me this week.

Today is the big event they came for, and boy they sure clean up nice!

Solving Problems

2011-03-22T21:27:00.000-06:00

Today I noticed Jaime walking around with her pants around her ankles again. Well, technically I saw her pushing my laundry basket around the house with her pants around her ankles. She left the room and got really quiet. I went to see what was up and observed her solution to the cold legs problem. Sit on the heating vent while it's on. Brilliant...why couldn't she have just left her pants on?

The next is a completely different problem. Today I received a little less than a fourth of a postcard from a friend of mine who's serving an LDS mission. I can't make out any of the sentences or questions...only a few words.

I was upset at first but successfully became amused with Justin's help. Suddenly everything I read on the U.S. Postal Service envelope that it came in made me laugh. It includes an apology for the 'inadvertent damage,' a plea for me to understand that mishaps do happen, and a suggestion to admit guilt in possibly addressing the mail inappropriately.

Mishap...I can't help but notice my postcard looks like it's been deliberately torn up by hand.

The many faces of Jaime

2011-03-21T17:42:00.002-06:00

I tried a different technique today while attempting to take pictures of Jaime. This time, instead of saying "Jaime! Jaime! Jaime!" in an excited high pitched voice like I usually do, I talked to her in low tones and asked her questions using words that she recognized. I got much better results.

I got a LOT of much better results.

Included in the above are the following faces, maybe you can tell which is which.

What I'm doing is so sneaky - Daddy's right outside the door, I just know it - Yes, I know where my ear is - What I just did was really really funny - What are you talking about Mom? - Dang it, Daddy isn't right outside the door - I'm hilarious - Seriously Mom, stop staring at me

Yes!

Our Little Chef

2011-03-20T15:05:00.002-06:00

This morning I made waffles for the family, and had a little helper alongside.

She had a hard time grasping the stir-don't-spill idea, but overall did very well for her very first time as a cook! I am sure there are many great things to come for this little chef!

St. Patrick's

2011-03-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

We're happy to have Justin home! We celebrated St. Patti's day with a little green eggs and ham,

and green cupcakes with cake balls.

Simple, but everything is better with him home!

Celebration

2011-03-15T21:04:00.002-06:00

Jaime and I celebrated in preparation of picking up Justin tomorrow. We each had the dinner that our hearts desired.

Jaime had peanut butter and strawberries.

I had cheese pizza and beef jerky. We both enjoyed some juice.

We followed dinner with several rousing versions of 'I'm gonna get you' that produced many heartwarming giggles. It was fun, but we can't wait to pick up Daddy tomorrow!

Photography

2011-03-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone. I recently created a photography blog as an online portfolio of my photography. The link is posted in the lower right column of this blog. If you know of anyone looking for a photographer, I would appreciate your recommendation.

China Daddy

2011-03-11T13:42:00.001-07:00

We're missing Daddy here in Utah. Luckily we get to video chat with him about once a day.

Jaime loves it, and even though she gets distracted with the keyboard, she's always up for kisses.

Even across countries and timezones.

Learning

2011-03-10T16:11:00.001-07:00

I, too, am learning all too well that Jaime imitates everything I do. I've had a number of screwdriver moments recently.

I brush my hair, she brushes her hair. I pick lint off her clothes and throw it on the floor, she picks off lint and throws it. I wash my hands, she pretends to wash her hands. I put on shoes and she puts on my shoes. What a stage! I watch what I do around her now and watch with delight as she imitates the way I do things. It's so telling of the profound influence parents have on their children.

Obviously, she's still got a few things to learn.

Sickness

2011-03-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Poor Jaime. She's on her third sickness this season. We had the tired and achey flu, then the throwing up flu, and now a drippy coughing cold. Most of our time these last few days are spent like this.

Lots of fluids (no milk) and lots of relaxing cuddle time. I don't mind her need to cuddle while she's sick; I love to hold her! I just feel bad she has to go through all of this.

But I guess she's asking for it at this age by putting everything she finds on the ground in her mouth.

China Day 1 - 3

2011-03-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

Inspired by James and Liz's accounts of their adventures, I thought I would share my own, though without the pictures. You tend not to take as many pictures when you are in the office most of the day. China...it is great to be back!

Day 1

My journey began with a delayed flight out of of Salt Lake on Delta (I am now two for two on delayed flights from Salt Lake on Delta). Luckily, our connecting flight in Seattle was just the next gate over. When we boarded our flight to Beijing, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only were we in an exit row, but there were individual tvs for each seat. I know the tv thing sounds like it should be pretty standard by now, but this was the FIRST flight on this route to Beijing that had them! Lucky me! Needless to say, I enjoyed hours of movies, and kept my sleeping to a minimum, and enjoyed a great game of scrabble with my co-worker (I lost). I was happy to get to our hotel and crash. Missing a whole day really takes a toll on you!

Day 2

Friday started pleasant, with a nice Chinese-buffet breakfast with the organizer of the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) tour that we are hosting. China has a long way to go to catch up to Taiwanese breakfasts. Oh well! Following the breakfast, I had my first opportunity to meet in person all the people I have been working with since November! The Zinch China offices are crowded, but I hear they are moving to a new office space soon :) I feverishly tried to catch up on two missed days of work, and then enjoyed a lovely dinner with with the CTCL school representatives at a local Chinese restaurant. Glad I was to be on my way back to the hotel when that was done. The jetlag was hitting me strong after a long day, and I succumbed and fell asleep squatting on the subway. My boss was kind enough to snap a photo. Check Facebook. I think I should get some kuddos for figuring out how to fall asleep in that position and not fall over, or have my legs go numb!

Day 3

Saturday is a special day...for SHOPPING in China! I do enjoy a good shop. As much as I love my wife, we do not enjoy the same kind of shopping. She is a thrifty, quick shopper that won't hang around to get a second glance of ANYTHING that isn't on her list. I, on the other hand, love to wander and explore. And that is exactly what I did. Bought some fun stuff, too! I do love my $15 tailored shirts. You just can't beat that! I also had the advantage of having my boss with me who lived here for five months last year. He knew those shopping centers like the back of his hand.

The day continued with Zinch China's first ever college fair! And it was a smashing success. One school representative said afterward, "In my 26 years in higher education, this was the best college fair I have ever participated in." Yes, we are proud of it! The day rounded out with a lovely dinner attended by the CTCL tour organizer and a few other guests. Dinner at 9:00 p.m. on your second day in China after walking the city all day? Bad idea. Needless to say, I did all I could to not fall asleep at the table. Happy I was again to be to the hotel and rest. But a smashing success the day was for Zinch!

My Mystery

2011-03-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

Here is my little mystery. She darling, hilarious, and a challenge.

I was grateful for the good weather that allowed me to take pictures outside this morning.

I snapped one shot of her before she realized I was taking pictures and then it was all down hill. Anyone know how to get toddlers to look up and smile (or at least not make a funny face)?

I even tried petty bribery and this is how it turned out.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My Wonderful Wife

2011-02-27T15:52:00.003-07:00

I don't brag about many things, but my wife is someone worth bragging about. She is wonderful, and in my eyes, the best there ever was. We have been married for just under three years, and every day my eyes are opened more to the wonderful woman she is. We laugh, we learn, we play, we take care of Jaime. She is ever so patient with me and my demanding work schedule and travel (though neither of us is looking forward to my being out of the country for the next two weeks). Jodi keeps our home grounded in the righteous principles of the Gospel, and helps us stay healthy and strong with her amazing homemade bread, yoghurt and granola, and her many jars of bottled fruits and apple sauce. The apple sauce is my favorite.

Jodi is amazing. Simply stated. Simply true. She's gorgeous, too!

Daddy's Girl

2011-02-27T15:35:00.006-07:00

Jodi called me at work the other day with something she just had to tell me. I don't ever know if this is a good thing or not, so I braced myself. It was a story of Jaime.

Jodi was making bread and needed wheat, so she grabbed a screw driver to pry the lid off the 40-year old can, and left the screw driver out. Next thing she knew, Jaime had screw driver in hand and was attempting to fix a loose handle on one of our cupboard doors, placing screw driver in the empty hole where the screw should have been.

I am quickly learning that Jaime watches, and is quick to emulate, everything I do. I had tightened some hinges the other day, and I'm assuming that is where she got the idea. That or she is just following in her Daddy's footsteps.

Jaime was kind enough to re-enact when I got home so I could capture proof of her genius.

Done

2011-02-22T21:23:00.001-07:00

4,195 pages later, we finished! We enjoyed reading out loud to each other so much that now we don't want to stop. Any suggestions on what we should read next?

Quirky Baby

2011-02-18T07:21:00.002-07:00

As Jaime advances in her newfound toddleresk personality, she seems to do stranger and stranger things. This is the first time she's conked out in a strange place for no particular reason. One minute she's enjoying a box of raisins on the living room floor and the next I look over to find her like this.

Most of the time that's how it goes - I turn to find her doing something odd. Like this.

Can't figure out what's going on in this picture? Let me blurrily explain with the next picture.

The waist on these pants is a little loose and I guess it bothered her. Off they went - wait, not all the way off. She decided they weren't hinderance like this and continued on with her adventure-filled life.

Such a sweetie. I love her so much.

Happy V Day

2011-02-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a long month. Over the last couple of weeks some kind of crazy sickness hit our little family. We've been traveling (without my camera! ah!) and Jaime and I were sick. way. sick.

It was so good to come home to this for Valentine's day...

...until Justin joined the club and ended our Valentine's day with his head over the toilet.

Here they are Again

2011-01-25T20:18:00.003-07:00

Here's another round of Justin Quotes for y'all.

"I'm not strong enough to carry you anymore, so I'm just going to drag you."

"It's not that I tuned you out, it's just that I didn't tune you in."

Justin: "I'm done today."

Jodi: "Done with what?"

Justin: "Just done."

Jodi: "Done in general?"

Justin: "Yeah"

Jodi: "Unfortunately, that excuse doesn't work in this house."

Justin: "We better go to another house then."

"What if I was a monkey and had a gorilla's tail?"

Jodi: "I thought you were a gentleman."

Justin: "I am. I just forget sometimes."

Jodi: "What would you like to do tonight?"

Justin: "Whine."

"That's the advantage of being taller than you; I can keep my face away from your lips."

"I'm so cute I could die." (sung to a tune)

"Don't use my name against me."

"I'm not criticizing, I'm just being a bum."

"No wife of mine is average."

Me: "You're just being nice to me"

Justin: "It's my job. It's part of my job description"

This round's guest appearance is by Justin's little sister, Marquie:

"Do you ever make yourself laugh with things you say to yourself?"

Crazy Baby

2011-01-24T08:05:00.002-07:00

I always thought dressing herself would come a little later into toddlerhood. But nope, she consistently demands I add more to her outfit than I had originally planned.

Observe.

This coat is a regular. I have to hide it most days, so that she won't sweat while she plays indoors. If there are any shoes or socks out, she insists on those as well. Here she has a sock and boot on the right foot and two socks on the left foot. Other regulars are hair clips. She'll bring them to me, have me put them in her hair, and rip them out instantaneously. What's the point of that? No idea.

My Dad

2011-01-23T15:30:00.001-07:00

My Dad went home to Idaho. We'll miss him, but I have a feeling one of us will miss him the most.

Bountiful Basket

2011-01-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue. I've been enjoying Bountiful Basket for weeks.

What's the deal? You "donate" $15 to this all-volunteer organization that pools money and buys produce in bulk.

What do you get? A basket of produce that is a surprise every time and that will last a family of three for 2 weeks. If you're like me, you'll enjoy feeding your family healthy food and the challenge of learning to cook diverse produce.