stewart family fun

A few faves

2012-01-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging a lot lately for many reasons, one of which is because I've been too busy reading other people's blogs. You guys, other people are so entertaining and it doesn't take any of my brainpower to read how awesome they are. Best of all, at the end of the year many shared their favorites from 2011. Favorite books, movies, TV shows--you know the drill. Made me think about my top picks, which brings you this not-at-all-comprehensive list of my absolute favorites from last year, in no particular order:

If you haven't read Bossypants, READ BOSSYPANTS. Actually, listen to Bossypants because Tina Fey narrates. True story: Her rules of improvisation totally changed my world view.

If my mom or mother-in-law were to ever watch this movie, I would deny its existence. But since I'm pretty sure neither of them will ever see it, Bridesmaids was my favorite movie of the year. Another true story: This movie nearly made me pee my pants.

Webster's word of the year was "pragmatic." Mine was "hangry." It's a combination of hungry and angry that I experience almost daily. Jessica suggested that we print out a bunch of these cards and hand them out to people we've wronged as a result of hanger. I owe Nic an entire stack.

My new celebrity crush came to my attention because of my second favorite movie of the year, 50/50. Oh, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, you are nerdy and adorable, just like I like 'em.

Nic also has a new favorite celeb worth mentioning: Emma Stone. This is a HUGE improvement from Megan Fox, his previous pick. Am I right?

The most listened-to album in our house was Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons. It's folksy and delightful and is something that both Nic and I can agree on.

Because this is my list of whatever I want, I get to have a favorite medical procedure--and this year I choose the colonoscopy. This unpleasant procedure made it possible for my mom to be around for many more years. And you guys, I need her.

I'll end with my favorite picture from this year. This image captures exactly how I feel about Norah and how I always hope we will see each other. I kind of wish that I could bottle this moment and live in it forever.

Being festive

2011-12-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

I put up a tree this year. It didn't have ornaments, but it was completely lit, which is more than I can say for years past. Every time we came downstairs for breakfast or came in the door from work, Norah would smile and say, "Tree!" This alone is motivation to start decorating for holidays.

Norah discovered the art of unwrapping the presents that were under the tree. I totally let her because I'm a sucker and don't want to argue with an 18 month old about why sometimes we can open presents and sometimes we can't.

We spent Christmas Eve and morning with my family, which was delightful as always. We also witnessed a Christmas miracle as Norah slept the entire night in a crib that was not hers. She went to bed without a fight and woke up being her usual, awesome self. Unprecedented!

At some point the pajamas came off and the nakey reading began.

Norah entertained us Christmas Eve by dancing to Beyonce for at least a half hour. Christmas morning she was still in the dancing mood. She's added quite a few new moves to her routine--like jazz hands.

We spent Christmas evening with the Stewarts. After being so good for more than 24 hours, Norah had had enough. I bribed her and two cousins to be good by watching Tangled, which just so happens to be the only movie that Norah will actually pay attention to. It sort of worked--meaning we didn't have to leave before presents, but we didn't ever get back to the 1,000-piece puzzle we so optimistically started.

I have never experienced Christmas madness like I have at the Stewarts. There are so many kids and so many adults and so much excitement and so much good food. It's exhausting and completely wonderful.

The best part is gathering in the basement to open presents. It's a mad house and I highly recommend it.

As always, I'm overwhelmed by the love of family and friends who make our lives completely magical. We've been blessed with a lot, and we have a lot of people to thank for that.

Cleaning house

2011-12-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Remember the weekend before Thanksgiving? Norah doesn't. But here is proof that I took her to her second apple party and attempted to get her to enjoy it. My dad made a valiant effort and even got her to help for a bit.

I ruined it by trying to get an adorable picture of her in the apple bin. Colman and Alexi loved this when they were little!

Luckily for me, J.J. was there to make her smile again.

Oh, and also, I turned 30 this month. The best part was that I didn't even have to freak out because Nic did it all for me. He is seriously not okay with the end of our twenties and could possibly being having an existential crisis of some sort. His reaction completely absorbed any anxiety I would have had about my birthday. All I could think was Jeez, Nic. You need to take it down a notch; this is not that big of deal.

Nic sent me beautiful flowers to my office with the most awesome of all awesome love notes that have ever been written. You'll have to ask me what it said later. My mom came to our house that evening to play with Norah so Nic and I could enjoy a restaurant dinner without me and Norah fighting over who is going to hold her glass of water.

Also, Norah is adorable. I finally got her to let me put something on her head without yelling at me. It's the little victories.

We took Norah to see The Muppet Movie, which was the first time I've dared take her to a theater. It helped my anxiety level knowing that she was outnumbered by adults three to one. My favorite part was when she took the entire bucket of popcorn on her lap, leaned back, and actually watched a lot of the show.

The end.

So many pictures, not so many words

2011-12-08T10:24:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving week, plus some, in Virginia and the outer banks of North Carolina with all of the Wilcoxes. The top two reasons why it was amazing include that we got to spend time with Josh, Jess, and Ellie, and that this trip has served as a marker for the end of my mom's cancer treatment as we've gone through the past year.

I have an overabundance of things that I'm thankful for; on top of that list is my family. Thanks guys.

Angry sushi

2011-11-08T20:28:00.001-08:00

I'll accept waking up before 7 a.m. while I'm on vacation only because I got to spend mornings with the above three weirdos.

Our recent trip to California over Halloween marked a new stage for us: We have a toddler. A toddler. I tried to write off her extreme moodiness as teething, but as soon as I had strangers staring at me and my flailing child in the middle of a family dining establishment, I realized it was all over. Of course, Nic and I are plotting to drag Norah to various vacation destinations throughout her life and force her to enjoy herself. So maybe I'm just upset because she caught on to us so quickly.

Case in point: the beach. Don't let the forced smiles fool you. She would not be convinced that this was anything but torment.

Once we gave up on trying to get her to have fun, Nic starting pushing her buttons solely for our amusement.

She also did not appreciate her homemade Halloween costume. It could be because I keep dressing her up as types of food. Last year she was a lobster; this year she was sushi with a side of ginger and wasabi. I can't help it if I think she's delicious!

Again, we did our best to compel her to have fun, but mostly she just did this:

Norah's adorable crayon (Alice) and paper (Russell) friends got their trick-or-treat on and were a huge hit at the kindergarten Halloween parade.

Out of nowhere there were about 45 minutes when Norah decided that vacation is awesome. This involved us chasing her down the street. Runaway sushi! We put her to bed immediately afterward.

Thank you again, Alissa and family, for still pretending that my baby, uh toddler, is adorable. You are champion hosts! I purposely didn't take any pictures of your spectacular new amazing house because I didn't want to be tempted to post pictures before you do. But people, the Kings' new house is kind of the best thing ever. And it's in a forest in Southern California.

Want to know what Norah didn't get to scream during? So You Think You Can Dance tour! We left the kiddos at home and got to do some screaming of our own. You guys, this is the third time we've been and it's totally the highlight of my year.

If I had to pick a favorite from this season it would be this:

Nic didn't complain about going with us because she was there:

Heartbreaker

2011-11-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Nic and I were watching Modern Family. It was the episode where Phil takes his daughter Hailey to some activity at the college she'll be attending in the fall. If you've seen the show you know that Phil makes some lovingly dopey mistakes that embarrass Hailey and cause a fight. They made up after Phil explained to Hailey that her going to college was going to be really hard on him; he said that it seemed like it was just yesterday when he pinched her chubby little thigh trying to get her in the car seat to take her home from the hospital.

You guys. It was just yesterday when Nic was loading our squirmy, perfect, 8-pound 10-ounce baby girl into her car seat to take her home.

Nic looked over to catch me crying as we finished watching the show. Now don't judge him because he really is the nicest guy I know, but when he saw what was going down he immediately asked me, "What is wrong with you?"

You know what was wrong with me? Norah is going to be going to college, like, tomorrow. She's almost a year and a half and already for heaven's sake! Now, you all will have to remind me of this conversation when she's a teenager, but at that moment I could not stand the fact that she's going to leave us someday. It makes my heart ache in this glorious, what-would-I-ever-do-without-you, how-did-we-get-so-lucky-to-have-you sort of way.

. . .

Wednesday night I could hear her frantic in her crib. Thinking she had just lost her binkie, I opened the door to her room and hit a wall of stench. You know the smell. That warm, sticky, sour aroma of a baby who has just thrown up a day's worth of food. The. Worst. That led to her getting into our bed, dad moving to the loveseat, and a night full of pajama and sheet changes.

But it didn't stop. She couldn't keep anything down. We went to the doctor. The Zofran they gave us wasn't helping the nausea. She was dehydrated. We ended up at Timpanogos hospital to get her IV fluids.

I always make Nic come to Norah's doctor appointments so he is the one who holds her down for her shots. While we were at the hospital on Friday, he had to hold her down as nurse after nurse tried to get an IV in one of her tiny little veins that kept collapsing. It took 9 tries. Every time a needle went into a vein, it would blow out so the nurses couldn't start the IV. Finally, they got an IV started in her foot; Nic wanted to hug that nurse.

Norah was beside herself. She was sick, exhausted, dehydrated, and scared. Talk about heartbreaking.

We got a bag of fluid in my baby and they wanted to test her blood to make sure her whatever levels were back to normal. They stuck her heel but couldn't get enough blood. They poked another vein and still couldn't get enough blood to run the test. They wanted to give her a break and try again.

I understand that we had to get an IV started for the fluids and that we had to keep trying even after vein after vein collapsed. But the thought of sticking her with another needle to get some blood for a test was just too much. I told Nic that she was done. We told the nurse and she talked to the doctor. The doctor respected my motherly intuition and discharged us without another poke. Exhausted, we took little Norah home so she could sleep in her own crib without someone waking her up every hour.

This was the first time as parents that we've had to deal with a truly sick baby. It nearly broke my heart.

. . .

No one ever warned me about this--but apparently I'm in for a life full of heartbreak. That girl can make my heart ache by being such an awesome weirdo; and then she can break it because something isn't right in her tummy. That range of emotion is like nothing I've ever been a part of, and in the end it's kind of magical. Am I right?

Thankfully, Norah is back to her usual, adorable self. I never got sick (knock on wood), but Nic wasn't so lucky. I think it may have been karma getting back at him on my behalf. Because do you want to know what genius thing he said when I was falling apart over Modern Family? He reminded me that I'm also going to be 30 soon.

It's been a while

2011-10-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Get ready for a lot of catch-up because I've been slacking in the blog department. And now summer is over. How is that even possible?

I can't tell you why I haven't been around here very often. Not because it's some secret, just because I'm not sure. We'll blame it on having a one year old.

So here is an photo-illustrated guide to the past few months:

It's obvious that we've been super busy. Not just anyone is going to feed the dogs ALL of their food. I'm looking at you, Norah.

And those books aren't going to read themselves.

Nic is determined to turn Norah into a fish. So far he is succeeding. She loved swimming at the lake.

She also loves strutting around mostly nakey--another trait she picked up from her father.

Aww. Look at us having so much fun.

If you have a small child and haven't hit up any garage sales, I'm telling you, you are missing out. Got this bike for Norah for $5. Five dollars, people! This is a major benefit of living where people have so many kids...eventually they're not gonna need their kid stuff anymore and then I'm there to buy all their books for a quarter. Don't judge me; it's a special sort of thrill.

And BTW: Norah is a fabulous weirdo. She always trying to look at me in a strange different way.

Also, Nic and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in September. We took the weekend to ourselves in Park City and Norah had her first sleepover with Grandma Wendy. Totally weird to be sans baby. Totally awesome to eat sushi, go to a movie, and sleep until 9:30. I only got one picture. We're riding the tram at Park City resort to go down the zip line.

Other adventures included a Jeep outing. We stayed close to home and discovered that Norah is still an awesome Jeeping baby.

Her dad's hobbies are very exhausting though.

We took Norah to Thanksgiving Point and I managed to get some pictures of her looking like she's enjoying herself. The reality was that most of our time was spent carrying her around trying to convince her that we were having fun.

Notice how Nic is on crutches? That's because he had surgery to repair a torn ligament and remove two bone spurs from his ankle in the middle of September. I agree with him in saying it was the worst surgery ever! He's still hobbling around and I may or may not still be a little bitter about being the only person in our home who can be trusted to climb stairs.

He did have a hard cast for a few weeks; it came off when he was alone at the shop after work at 4 a.m. and got water on it in the shower. I say it came off, but what I mean is he removed it himself with who knows what kind of tool was lying around. He's also been working a lot and can't be held totally responsible for his actions.

Remember how Norah is a fantastic weirdo? She totally is. And I can't get enough of it.

Kudos to you if you're not my mom and you managed to make it this far. I can't promise this won't happen again, but I can promise that Norah has an excellent Halloween costume, which will definitely be worthy of an update.

An end

2011-09-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

I wish I could call this post "the end," and top if off with a "screw you cancer" just for kicks. But unfortunately I'm learning that cancer doesn't really end. It's like some sort of clever metaphor that I can't come up with right now because I'm too mad at cancer.

But you know what, cancer? My mom made it through 12 rounds of chemotherapy, so you can suck it.

I could never begin to describe what this year has been like for my mom--I'm sure I don't know the half of it myself. But what I can say is how proud I am of her and how thankful I am for the doctors, nurses, family, and friends who have made cancer treatable and this time bearable.

At the treatment center, each patient rings a bell when his or her treatment is complete. Norah and I got to help my mom ring it on Wednesday. It was a good day.

Get well soon, Mom. We love you.

Can you say adorable?

2011-09-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

Norah can't. But she can say:

Dog
Bye bye
J.J. (Alexi's dog)
Sup (her dog)
Uh-oh
Ball
Night night
Mom, mom, mom

Universe, take note!

2011-08-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning began with a sick baby at 2 a.m. Sick as in diarrhea every hour sick.

If you are squeamish or judgmental please turn back now.

By 6 a.m. I'd had it. I was done. D-U-N. Nic took over so I could sleep. Unfortunately, his job doesn't allow for working from home, which meant I was going to be the one dealing with Miss Poopy Pants Grumpy Face all day.

Which was fine. Really.

We ate popsicles. Norah took, like, a hundred baths. She took a long nap. She seemed to be feeling better. I felt all awesome because I can work from home when my baby really needs me, etc., etc.

Fast forward to me talking on the phone with my mom and Norah playing in her room. That's when I discovered that she was leaking out her diaper, leaving three distinct puddles on the carpet.

Poop puddles. Puddles of poop.

And you know what? I can deal with that. Moms have this otherworldly power of being able to conquer any disgusting mess. I would prevail! But do you know what I can't deal with? Looking away for a second then turning around to see my only child bend down, put her finger in the brown goop, then stick her finger in her mouth.

Have you ever had to tell your mom you need to get off the phone because your daughter is eating her own poop?

Here's an adorable picture of Norah eating something that's not poop. Hopefully it helps get the other image out of your mind.

This is where my appeal to the universe comes in. Because would you like to know how my day ended? It ended with Moxie getting sprayed by a skunk.

So, universe, I have one simple request: If you are going to give me a poop-eater, please don't give me a skunk dog. At least not all in the same day.

Walky McWalkington

2011-08-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

This weekend proved to have significant developments in the life of Norah. She is now an official upright human being!

She's taken steps here and there, but it wasn't until Friday that she decided that walking just might be a viable mode of transportation. Because she's a turd, she walked for her first little stretch while I was at work. I got an excited text message from my sister-in-law saying that she caught Norah in the act. On Saturday she showed my mom her new skills and by Sunday she was feeling pretty confident.

Check out her new moves:

Somehow I think her stolen mardi gras beads gave her that little bit of extra confidence that she had been looking for.

My dogs are about to get fatter

2011-07-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

Norah discovered a new game.

Her birthday

2011-07-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a month behind.

My baby is one. Like, she's been alive for a whole year. Does that blow your mind like it does mine? I think that time goes by quickly in general, but having Norah around is like have a living, growing, time-measuring monster full of awesomeness.

She changes so much so quickly that sometimes I find myself being sentimental even as she's dancing or clapping or telling me "no, no, no."

Remember when she was this tiny?

How about when she was all googly-eyed?

And she used to be an almost-completely-bald drool face.

She doesn't really have to grow up, does she?

We had her birthday party at Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. Until she's old enough to have a preference, I will choose whatever kind of party I want--and I wanted baby animals!

The girl had three cakes. Three. One was a farm-themed cake for the kids; one was a smash cake for her; and one was carrot cake deliciousness provided by my mom, Jess, and Josh.

And do you see the heart-shaped thing on her cheek? That was as far as she let us get with the face painting.

We had a "special visitor" stop by, which means all the little girls got to pet a baby bunny. Adorable!

I've made Nic take me to Thanksgiving Point to see the animals on our own. It's nice to have a baby now so I can pretend like she's the one who wants to do these things.

She totally went on the pony ride, too. There wasn't even any crying involved.

She did get a little restless on the wagon ride, but in her defense, it was very, very hot.

She didn't quite know what to do with her smash cake at first. She's never had access to that much sugar in her life. But she got in to it. Nic's face is my favorite in this picture. He loves that baby girl!

Norah did pretty well opening presents. Her favorite part was the cards. She would open them and turn them around and try to read them like a book. I could basically eat her up whole.

She passed out within minutes of getting into the car. That must mean it was a big success.

I've never been really big in to holidays and parties and such. But just like everything else in my life, Norah has changed it all. I'm already thinking about what she'll be for Halloween and what we can do for her next birthday. I'm seriously obsessed.

Is it cliche to say that I never imagined how much joy our daughter could bring into our lives? I can't get over it. It's incredible and terrifying and fun and exhausting. It's so much better than I ever thought it would be.

Thanks to everyone for helping celebrate Norah's first birthday. And thank you even more for being a part of our lives.

Jellyfish!

2011-07-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish, I wish, I wish that life were as simple as it is when you're on vacation.

Just like I owe you a birthday post, our weekend trip to visit the King's deserves a proper post. But until then can I just tell you how much I enjoy this family? These pics are from our visit to the aquarium. These little girls make me swoon!

And did you know that Russell is my Godson? He has so much awesomeness in the 6-year-old body that I can barely stand it.

I love this picture of my two favorite ladies. Can you see why I want to stay there forever and ever?

I owe you a birthday post

2011-07-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Norah's first birthday for, like, three days. You'd think I'd post about it. I'm not sure why I haven't. It may have to do with the fact that I'm still wrapping my head around the fact that my daughter is one. Oh, and I work full time. And I have a house, a husband, a daughter, two dogs (one of whom is very, very fat and hairy), two cats, a lawn to mow, and sanity to maintain. I'm not complaining; I've just been a little overwhelmed.

So, you get Fourth of July update and birthday will have to wait.

We got a splash pad in Eagle Mountain! It's kind of dinky and small but Norah thinks it's the best thing ever. We went on the Fourth and it was actually overcast and cold. Colman and Norah were the only ones willing to brave the chilly water.

We also had a BBQ with the Stewarts. Just look at Norah waving the Red, White, and Blue. Now that's an American baby that the Stewart family can be proud of.

I'm very amused with myself right now.

And guess what? Somebody discovered that opening drawers is super awesome fun. She's also very amused with herself--constantly. That means that she's starting to leave a visible path of destruction wherever she goes.

Chop!

2011-06-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Have any of you seen Nic lately? He's hard to catch at home (just ask me and Norah) but have you seen his hair? His hair has taken on a life of its own.

Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

And exhibit 3:

Out of control right?

He finally got a haircut yesterday. This is the first picture he sent me:

Ewwwww!

And want to know possibly the worst thing he has ever said to me in my entire life? He told me that I need to crochet a squirrel because he has the perfect tail for it. Ahhhhhh! Does that make you gag like it did me? Why would he say something like that out loud? And why would I share that on the Internets? Both are very good questions.

Here's the "after" photo he sent while he was still at work:

That look on his face is very similar to the one that Norah had when she first saw him this morning: a little unsure and kind of confused about the missing hair.

I think both of them are adorable.

Warming up

2011-06-06T13:43:00.001-07:00

Last summer was a lot of trying to figure out this parenting thing, get some sleep, and not feel fat anymore. This summer is going to be much, much better. Like, so much better.

We tagged along with my family to St. George for Memorial Day. We swam, visited with Granny and Grandpa Wilcox, played cards, and a lot of stuff that I didn't take pictures of. My dad did capture me and Norah enjoying the ride down:He also took my new favorite picture of all time:
Norah's hands are always too busy to to carry things. That's what her mouth is for.We also got a chance to go boating one weekend. Don't let her squint eyes fool you; Norah had a blast, which means that so did everyone else.

She got quite a thrill from standing and looking over the edge. I blame Nic for her lack of fear.

This past weekend was a bust, what will all the sickness and the vomiting. But you guys, we are going to have such a fun summer. Right?

Dancy dance

2011-05-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

This is how we dance around our house. Norah is already better than me. But she does get to do it topless, which I think gives her an unfair advantage.

About the stuff and the things

2011-05-17T09:40:00.001-07:00

So...I haven't updated in a while. Not because there's been a lack of material; it's more of a lack of motivation. You see, season 4 of Mad Men is on DVD and I'm just so tired. It's way better to ogle the secretaries and wish I had access to their wardrobes instead of actually doing something after Norah goes to bed.

But. But! I have made actual meals at least four or five times in the last two weeks. I do believe that is more than I have cooked the entire year. No wonder I'm exhausted, right? We've also made our yard look respectable and Nic is nearly done tiling my bathroom. Oh, oh, I also starting going to yoga and spin again. And, and I've also stopped pushing the snooze button ten times meaning I don't regularly look like a hot mess at work. It's the little victories.

With the warmer weather Norah has embraced grass as an acceptable crawling surface. That means lots of plants, and dirt, and what is that? in her mouth at all times. It's good for her, right?

And can I tell you about her hair? She was born basically bald but with three long strands sticking out up top. Now that's multiplied to this:

Which reminds me of this:

I suppose I could try to tame her hairs, but, no, it's just not going to happen right now.

She's just so...awesome. Like, full of awe and also ahhhh. All of the sudden she's turning into a little person with opinions and likes and dislikes and how did this happen?

Really?

2011-05-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Our weekend "getaway" literally started with a tire flying off our trailer. It didn't just go flat; it removed itself completely from the structure it was supposed to be supporting. Like, we don't know when it came off or where it ended up. We did retrace our route, so we do know that at least it didn't cause an accident.

Norah was such a good sport. Just waiting patiently for Dad to figure out what the heck.

New tire and a few hours later, we did get to Moab. Then we drove out of the camp ground and immediately ran out of gas. Here's me trying to make the best of it.

But look! No big deal. We made it on a trail Friday evening, but it was freezing cold and Nic's brother didn't have a top on his Bronco--so this was short lived.

So, so beautiful.

There goes Nic and Norah. She was a champion Jeeping baby.
Even though the whole day was exhausting.
I know that my parents took Josh camping when he was just a few months old. So at 10 months, Norah is pretty grown up. But our version of camping involves a truck-bed camper with a heater, sink, microwave, and toilet. I have no idea how anyone camps with a baby in a tent.

On Saturday we decided to go on a trail called Moab Rim (i.e. trail on the side of a cliff). Totally amazing and gorgeous during the day. Not as incredible when it took us four hours to get down in the dark.

I told Nic that I lost track of everything that went wrong. The things I remember: running out of gas again, broken power steering, something that caused a tire to have to be switched out, hardwiring a fan so an engine wouldn't over heat, and on and on. There were three vehicles in our group, so these problems weren't exclusively ours, but added up to us getting back to camp at nearly 11 p.m.

But did I mention that Norah was a trooper? You guys, she was so good. She only got upset toward the end, and at that point I think all of us wanted to cry, so can you blame her?

Oh, earlier that morning Nic also rolled his friend's Jeep. In the parking lot of the Motel 6. Not on a steep hill or gnarly obstacle. Just on flat ground. Messing around and then bam! Jeep on its side. Nic may be a little upset at my mentioning this, but really? How does that happen?

Again, Norah was so nice to us--even when we put her in baby prison because of all the dirt.

We were planning on going out again on Sunday, but after Saturday night, everyone was over it. So we went to Hole in the Rock and toured its bizarreness.

As we were leaving our house Friday morning a pelican flew over us on Pioneer Crossing. "Look," I told Nic. "That means we're going to have the best trip ever!"

So moral of this story: Pelicans are a bad omen.

Easter discovery

2011-04-28T13:30:00.001-07:00

Even better than finding foods that Norah loves is discovering that the mere smell of a hard-boiled egg will make her dry heave. Does that make me a horrible person? Because I'm not sure if I can accurately convey the joy that these pictures bring to my soul.

Egg in shell is perfectly acceptable. Look at us; we're all having a grand old time!

Out of the shell, boiled eggs become some kind of harbinger of Easter sadness that caused Norah to have the most incredible, visceral aversion to a food that I have ever seen.

I think she's trying to will it away with her mind.

But it just won't go away! Why would we do that to her?

Only when the tears came did we stop. Which brings me back to the part about my being a horrible person. Mind you, I could have reminded her how she is nearly a year old and still disrupts my sleep at least twice a night, but I figured the egg was in itself torture enough. So, really, I was going easy on her.

I also made her a special egg. She didn't eat it.

Don't feel too bad. Grandma Wendy got her a special Easter basket full of prizes and we only tried to get her to try a boiled egg one more time. Just in case she wanted to change her mind.

Hipstamatic

2011-04-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

I do own a real, live Holga camera. But, you guys, how much do I love my iPhone and its accompanying array of camera apps? I. Cannot. Get. Enough. Combine the most incredible electronic device I've ever owned with my most favorite baby in the world, and well, this is what you get: a lot of pictures and a gushing mommy.

I do feel like I'm cheating. Like, I should get out the real Holga and take an honest picture. But I also didn't shower today, so realistically, actually driving to a physical store and developing film is down on my list somewhere next to get a replacement water filter for the ice machine in the fridge. It's just not going to happen.

And besides, I'm impatient and none of the Holga pictures I took ever came out to be very awesome--which probably had a lot to do with the impatientness.

But, now. Now I get instant gratification and photos that make me want to die of cuteness. Both are things that make me very, very happy.

All Norah wants to do is stand, even though she can't do it on her own yet.

That's why we bought her this walker; it is saving our backs and our sanity.

This is what I mean about the cuteness that makes me want to die. Death. By cuteness.

Best thing about being a parent? Norah does this when either of us come through the door:

She also learned to pull herself up in her crib. Ask her how proud she is.

9-ish months

2011-04-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for a more lighthearted update, which means baby talk!

Nic weighed Norah and determined she's about 20 pounds. "After 6, straight to the hips" apparently doesn't concern her at all, because she's definitely sustaining her rotund figure by still insisting on eating twice a night. Do I just give up hope on ever getting a full night's sleep? She's just so darned adorable, it's hard to stay mad.

She still has just two teeth, although judging by the amount of yelling at me she's done in the past few days, I'm thinking we're going to see a few more here soon. And if she's not teething, we're really going to have to sit down and have a rational discussion about her tone of voice. Girl can get angry.

She also wants to do nothing but walk, even though she still requires assistance. That means there is a lot of bending over while she holds on to your fingers and flings herself around the room like she's in a giant pinball machine.

Oh, and I also wish that all fat rolls could be as adorable as hers.

Subtlety is not her speciality

2011-04-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Neither is holding still, which makes it very difficult to take a picture with my phone.

So in case you can't decipher how we feel about cancer, this is how we feel about cancer:

I feel like Norah is going to be wearing this onesie a lot in the next little while.

After a weekend stint in the hospital, my mom is thankfully doing much better--but I think we're in for a much longer six months than any of us could have anticipated.

The beginning

2011-03-30T13:39:00.001-07:00

Chemotherapy starts today. Let's get this behind us, shall we?

Mom, your only option is to get better. We love you!

Oh, and don't be mad at me for posting pictures. You're the most adorable cancer patient who ever was.

For realsies

2011-03-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last week Norah decided that it is acceptable to crawl on all fours. She's very proud of herself.

Eleanor Jane Wilcox

2011-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Born March 14 at 9:15 p.m. 8 pounds, 4 ounces. 20.75 inches long.

I hear that Josh, Jess, and Baby Ellie are doing well. Josh did a toe and finger count and says it's all good. I could not be happier for their new little family--and I cannot wait for her and Norah to play!

So much sunshine

2011-03-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

The sad part about writing this post is that it means we're back to real life and no longer living like we have all the time and money in the world in Hawaii. I love pretending like the only responsibility we have is deciding which shrimp truck we want to visit for lunch that day. Hint: Giovanni's was my favorite. But our trip was perfection, filled with sun and sand and lots of time with our little girl.

Norah was the best traveling baby ever. And I can say that with confidence because I've traveled with Colman as a small child. Sorry, Colman.

Norah was fine with the sand, but wasn't too sure about the grass. For some reason she didn't think it would let her move.

We stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore, which I cannot recommend enough. Here's the view from the pool, which Norah also loved.

And can I tell you how much fun it was traveling outside of Utah with a chubby, blue-eyed baby? Nearly everyone we talked to ended the conversation by congratulating us. Now that's just good for morale.

Maybe the title of this post should be Norah Goes to Hawaii, because, really, that's what 99.9 percent of these pictures are.

But can you blame me? Crochet hat and sun dress--how could I not take a million pictures?

Courteney Cox's daughter, Coco, thought Norah was adorable too.

Yes, that Courteney Cox.

While Nic was surfing, Norah and I were hanging out on the grass and a little girl started playing with us. Turns out that little girl belongs to Courteney Cox, who was filming Cougar Town at the resort. So we hung out with Coco and her nanny until Courteney came and introduced herself. Crazy huh? Then there was a paparazzi guy snapping photos and her nanny left to get security, which left me and Norah sitting with Courteney and her daughter for the longest time. She wasn't very happy about the photos, which is why I didn't ask to get a photo with her (you know, I had to play it cool), but I did snap a few after security got involved.

Oh, and then we Googled "Courteney Cox, Hawaii" and the pics that guy was taking did make it online.

I wonder how much I could sell mine for...

And now for more pictures of Norah:

Like always, she thinks the most entertaining things are her hands and feet. Look around you baby!

I only got one not-so-good picture of all of us together. Most pic are of Nic and Norah because he literally carried her all over Hawaii for five days straight.

Oh, and you could see humpback whales from our balcony. Ask me how excited I was. Whales were breaching. Outside my window!

We also went whale watching, where again, Nic was on baby duty while I watched and waited.

If any of you watched Lost, you may remember this waterfall as where Kate and Sawyer find the briefcase. So pretty, but way too cold for a baby to swim in. Fun fact: We also randomly saw Hurley from Lost at our resort too.

So have I sufficiently convinced everyone that we had a blast? Basically we want to go back, like, right now.

Among the living

2011-02-23T12:20:00.000-08:00

So here it is, almost March, and I've only posted once this month. I haven't been sure what I've wanted to say--but I know I want to say something. It's just a really tender time.

Here's the thing: My mom has cancer.

Doesn't that sound profane? I feel like if it has to be said out loud, it should only be whispered. And, no, she's not dying of cancer and I know it could be worse, but this is my mom. My mom.

My mom isn't supposed to have to go through procedures and surgeries and chemotherapy. Do I really need to explain to the universe that, sorry, you've got the wrong lady--Erin's mom is unavailable for that right now?

But here we are. And for those of you who don't know the story, here's the condensed version:

My mom went in for a colonoscopy and they found a polyp. The polyp was removed and tested and turned out to be cancerous. Then she had surgery to remove the part of her colon where they had found the polyp. Out of the 27 lymph nodes they removed in the surgery, one of them had a tiny, teeny, minuscule amount of cancer. So that means chemotherapy. She's now home from the hospital, recovering from her surgery, and awaiting the next steps.

Sorry for blogging about your insides, Mom.

Again, it could be much worse. It could be too late for any of this. So in the grand scheme of things, everything is fine. It's just that she's my mom.

And then want to know something that completely blew my mind? I'm a mom. That person that my mom is to me, I'm that to someone else. Talk about a holy shit moment. So, yes, I've been a little pensive and a little overwhelmed and a little unsure of what I even have to say.

The best that I can come up with right now is this: I'm incredibly blessed to have a mom who has always been a mom to me. Everything that a mom should be, she is--and I know that not everyone is lucky enough to have that. Now if I can do the same for Norah, we win. Even with all the messiness and heartache and cancer that life brings, we win.

I guess that's what I have to say.

And on a lighter note: Nic and Norah are going to Hawaii with me on Friday. The warm weather should do us good.

In action

2011-02-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

On cabins and crawling

2011-02-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend with my family in a cabin near Evanston, which was so much better than Nic having to work on Saturday. And even better? There were eight extra hands to help entertain my little Army crawler.

Not pictured: the outdoor hot tub and snowmobiling. We got Alexi to jump out of the water and roll in the snow with us and I only tipped the snowmobile once. Both count as a win.

Norah is officially mobile and it's officially adorable. She scoots and rolls like a little caterpillar all over the place. She went from Friday night not being able to get around to Saturday morning all of the sudden cruising everywhere. How did that happen?

And have I mentioned that she also got her two bottom teeth? She did. Alexi knows from experience.

Thanks again to my mom and dad for giving us an excuse to get out of town. You guys should totally buy a cabin.

Bribery

2011-01-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

To get you up to speed: Nic has a friend in Texas who is a hunter. This friend invited Nic to go on a hunting trip. It's one of those trips where you pay to go and then they release the animal and you shoot it.

Gasp. Barf. Eww. Sad! How is that even fair? How is that even fun? Why would anyone want to do that? I mean, really?

So of course Nic agreed to go.

Booooo! Hiss!

And this is what the hunt was for:A ram. A grass-eating, wool-making, lovingly dim-witted ram. A ram. (Full disclosure: I Google image searched "cute ram" for this picture. I'm sure there are some ugly, not nice rams out there, but I'm also sure they deserve to live just as much as the cute and cuddly ones.)

I'll never really understand what would make Nic--or anyone--want to shoot an animal, especially a ram who doesn't even have a fighting chance. And Nic will never understand why I care so much that he doesn't shoot a ram. His argument is that the ram is going to get shot anyway; that those rams are raised for people to pay to hunt them. My argument? You just aren't supposed to shoot things. Duh.

What we both understand is that money buys car parts. Hence, the bribery. At first I offered to pay the $200 it would cost to go on the hunt. Apparently, that was low-ball offer. But his interest was piqued when I got to $500. Five hundred dollars to simply not do anything. I'd say that's a pretty good deal. And it turns out that he agrees. He gets $500 and I get the satisfaction of knowing that he's not going to kill an animal. In my mind, that's a win-win.

He actually wasn't going for it at first, so I had to take my efforts up a notch. Which is how Ramy McRam Face came to be:

My persuasion combined with Ramy's pleas means that Nic will be buying disc breaks for his Coronet and Ramy will live to see another day.

The end.

Norah Genevieve

2011-01-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you how much I love Norah's middle name? Love it. She's named after my paternal grandma, Genevieve (Granny Gen), who not only has a beautiful name, but is a beautiful person to boot.

This picture was taken at my cousin Shannon's wedding in October. I cannot describe what it's like to have my perfect little baby held by her great grandmother and namesake. These are the kind of moments that make life almost incomprehensibly amazing. I grew up adoring my Granny and to have my own baby share her name...it's just incredible to me.

I already know that Norah is going to live up to her name too. She's funny and smart and beautiful, just like Granny Gen.

Six Months

2011-01-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

Now that Norah's nearly seven months old, I suppose I should give you her six month stats:

Weight: 17 pounds 4 ounces. 75th percentile.
Height: 25 inches. 95th percentile.

Per usual, I made Nic come with me to get her shots. And per usual, Norah was all happy and smiley until the nurses betrayed her. But she did do way better this time. After her four month shots I had to take the next day off of work; this time she came to work with me right after and got to help me do some work on our product guide and try some guacamole.

We're starting to venture into the world of solid foods. It's still more of a "Hey I wanna suck on that too" sort of thing, but the entertainment value is amazing (for her and for us). And you'd better watch how close you let her get to things because little Grabby McGrab Face will have it in her mouth before you even realize that, hey, that's my phone (or my work, or my dinner, or my dog). You get the idea.

She's gotten to the age now where I kind of just want to freeze her in time. She sits up, isn't quite mobile, thinks I'm awesome, is easily entertained, and sleeps pretty well. Basically she's perfection. And yes, I'm sure I'll still like her just as much once she can crawl around, but gosh, imma miss being able to sit her down in one place and find her still there at any point afterward.

Last year

2011-01-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Per tradition, we had lobster flown in from Maine for New Year's Eve. Well, I didn't have lobster--I'm still not convinced that's it's delicious. But it's probably one of my dad's and Nic's favorite things, which means that it's one of my favorite things too.

Norah loved sucking on the shrimp. And I only mention this and post pictures after I Googled "babies and shellfish" and learned that after six months it's okay to try seafood for your baby. I guess typically you're supposed to wait a year, but since I found at least a few references that said earlier is okay, I don't feel like we need to alert Child Protective Services. Though I guess I should make it a habit to do my Googling before I let Norah try whatever it is we're eating.

I always feel bad for the lobsters. Thankfully no one took it upon themselves to chase me around with one this year.

Again, thanks to my mom and dad for a great evening. Sorry I don't like lobster, but I do think that how much Nic enjoys it is enough for the two of us.

(Interesting side note: As soon as I published this post I got and advertisement to order fresh Maine lobster. Creepy!)

Baby's first Christmas

2010-12-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a really good year for us. Just look at that little girl!

Christmas Eve and morning was spent at my parents house. Norah already has her own stocking and got her first pair of Christmas Eve pajamas. Grandma and Grandpa went all out and spoiled her rotten with an incredible baby hiking backpack, books, and toys. It was so much fun to have my mom and dad help her open presents and to be there for Norah's first Christmas. Nic and I were also incredibly spoiled. Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do!

We had Christmas dinner with the Stewarts, so Norah got to see all her cousins with all their new toys. It was a noisy, excited, happy bunch of kids. It reminded me of when we would go to my Granny Wilcox's house on Christmas Day when I was little. I would always take a favorite new toy to show my cousins. I love that Norah has so much family so close to make those kind of memories with. Not that she'll remember any of this year.

I'll get pictures soon. Although I do have this picture of where Norah slept on Christmas Eve:

Can't tell where she is? How about now?

She's in a drawer. I forgot her Pack 'n Play and so she spent her first Christmas in a drawer. A drawer. Nic has already assured me that he's going to tell her about it for the rest of her life, so I thought I might as well put it out there in the universe. But it was a very cozy drawer, just for the record.

Besides family parties and the like, we didn't do a whole lot of Christmassy things. I didn't even put up a tree. My attitude is that I have very limited time left until things like trees and lights and presents that are actually wrapped really matter--so I'm enjoying my last few lazy holidays. We did venture out into the cold once though. Really it just gave me an excuse to get Norah all bundled up and adorable and take some more pictures of her wide eyes.

On working

2010-12-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

It's probably because I'm in Utah, but as soon as people find out you're having a baby they assume you'll be a full-time mom. And maybe it's just me, but it seems like when they find out that you'll be going back to work, they feel bad for you (and probably pity your child too).

I'm not trying to get into a debate about what is best for whom; all I can say is that I am so much happier being back at work.

My maternity leave was awesome, but it was also a huge challenge. Something about not having a lot of structure just isn't good for my mental health. It was hard getting up in the morning and having what seemed like an endless day in front of me and at the same time not knowing what all I should do. I think the best word I could use is daunting. One day I even scrubbed the tile grout in my bathroom with vinegar because I heard somewhere that that's a good way to clean. I'm just not good at being home all day.

But still I always feel kind of defensive when people find out I work. I feel like I have to explain that sometimes we don't know when Nic is going to get a paycheck. Or Have you met my husband? You live with him for a year and see how you'd feel if you didn't have health insurance. And so on.

In truth, I feel blessed beyond belief to have my job. I work six hours in office and then the rest at home. On days when I feel Norah really needs her mom, I can work from home all day. For me, it's the perfect arrangement. I also have to say that I'm incredibly lucky to have friends and family who watch Norah so I never feel like she isn't being loved or well cared for.

I guess my whole point is that I'm discovering that being a good mom is so specific to each family. I know so many stay-at-home moms who rock it each and every day and I've worked with some amazing women who can balance work and family seemingly effortlessly. So good for all of us moms! Girl power and all that.

The only part I could really do without is the getting to the car part in the morning. Once I gather my purse, phone, lunch, Norah's diaper bag, car seat, her chubby little body, and convince the dogs that, no, they're not coming with, I can barely get out the door. The only bonus is that Nic has been shoveling the driveway religiously because he's scared I'm going to trip and fall to my death with all the excess baggage.

And as if this post wasn't long enough: I get an email from Baby Center each week with an update on my child's progress and they always include a little comic at the end. I got this one a while ago and felt like they totally understood what I'm going through in an oh-my-goodness-this-is-what-my-life-has-become sort of way. So now that I enjoy cheesy parenting cartoons, I guess the next logical step is to find a nice pair of mom jeans.

Ferberized

2010-12-13T13:39:00.001-08:00

At six weeks Norah starting sleeping from 8:00 p.m. to around 4:00 a.m. when she woke to eat and then went back to sleep for another four or so hours. The first time it happened I felt like I won a prize. Then she started doing it all the time and I felt like the luckiest new mom on the planet. Then I starting working again. And then she started waking up two times a night. Then three. Then four. Then sometimes five or six.

Problem was I had no idea what to do. I thought that by feeding her I would help her sleep longer; but the more I fed her, the more she woke up demanding a bottle. And the more she woke up demanding a bottle, the less sleep I was getting. Can you see where I'm going with this? Exhaustion. That's where.

I posted something on Facebook and Siouxzy recommend this book:

I read Baby Wise and researched the Internet and asked other parents and all that, but I had yet to find anything that seemed doable for me. Until this book. God bless this book and the man who wrote it. I had heard of Ferber before, but didn't pick up the book because all I knew about him was he's the cry it out guy. And yes, Norah's had to cry it out at night, but it's not heartless and impossible like I thought.

And now. Now, we've gone from five or six nighttime wakings and feedings to zero feedings and only one waking in about a week. One week! I'm a changed woman.

I'm not going to go through all the details of how it works; you can read the book if you're interested. I just wanted to shout to the universe that we're getting sleep again. Glorious, glorious sleep.

And for anyone who still thinks I'm heartless, this clip from Modern Family is for you.

On November

2010-12-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

So. November. Ahhh November. If you ask Nic what he thought of last month, he'd probably say that November can suck it.

We started out the month with yet another knee surgery. This one's been a while coming, but I made sure Nic got it done before the end of the year so at least we wouldn't have to pay copious amounts of money for it. Turns out it's really easy to meet your deductible and out-of-pocket when you have an ambulance ride, ER visits, colonoscopy, some other weird test involving dye on your insides, culminating in the removal of your gallbladder. Put it all together and you get free knee surgery!

And no, he didn't take any time off. And yes, I think that is ridiculous.

Nic's also been working on a job in Ogden that spanned all of November and is just now wrapping up. Hence the reason he didn't feel like he could take any time off. It's good because usually this time of year is slow, but bad because he's been working crazy hours and has to top it off with a two-hour drive each way. So basically it's been girls night each night at our house, which is awesome when you're in California, but not so awesome when there's nothing to distract you from a baby who has her first cold and won't sleep.

All of this is just to say that I haven't really been in a blogging mood. But this month is already proving to be so. much. better.

So suck it November. Suck it.

Totally worth a minute of your time

2010-11-23T09:05:00.001-08:00

You really should, but if you don't read Alissa's blog, take a look at the vacation recap she put together. Then be jealous that I have such an awesome friend.

We know how to party

2010-11-21T10:12:00.001-08:00

Besides being one of my very favorite people on the planet, Alissa is the best vacation buddy because she is happy to go at Erin and Norah speed--which is slow. We can only handle about one activity per day. But what we do get to do is pretty much awesome. Like hang out and be adorable at Laguna Beach. Seriously. Everyone needs a Norah or an Alice. Put them together and get ready for a cute overload.

I love that you can see all four of us in this picture; just check out the reflection.

And, oh, did I mention that Norah got to go to Disneyland? Now when she's older and telling me how I've ruined her life, I'll just remind her how It's A Small World blew her mind and how she should be grateful to her mother for taking her with me.

It was just a little too loud.

I won't remind her of the Finding Nemo ride though--she did not like that one even a little bit.

All that fun was exhausting.

See what I mean about a cute overload? Whole groups of people did double takes at Disneyland for Miss Alice.

To top it all off, us moms got to make our annual pilgrimage to the So You Think You Can Dance? tour. This year it was at the Staples Center and we were right smack in the center floor only six rows back. I completely lost my voice. I can't even describe how good it was. I'm obsessed. Our favorite dance? This one:

We cried.

Thanks to Jon for watching the kiddos while we went and acted like children. And thanks Alissa, Russell, and Alice for having us. We'll do it again soon!

Halloween

2010-10-31T20:28:00.001-07:00

Norah's first Halloween was more of a three-day lobster fest. Friday it was party at my work; Saturday party with the Stewarts; and Sunday party with Mom and Alexi and off to the neighbor's for more partying.

You can't tell me you've never wanted to just gobble up a baby--especially one this delicious.

By the time we made it to the last party, she was done and done. But even when she wasn't a lobster, she was still in costume: Say hello to our little boy.

Chilly

2010-10-26T19:54:00.001-07:00

Now that it's freezing, it is getting more tricky to walk the dogs with Norah when Nic isn't home. And they have to be walked; it's either walk them or strangle them or just open the front door and hope they don't lick a neighbor child to death. (That last option is starting to be really appealing, especially considering some of the neighbor kids.)

Last night was one of those times when I was on my own. I typically try to avoid their gazes as long as possible, but as the evening progresses I can't even walk by the door or look at a pair of shoes without sending both dogs into an Oh-Boy-She's-Really-Gonna-Take-Us-On-A-Walk-This-Time frenzy. Now they've also caught on to the fact that if I get Norah ready to go somewhere, they typically get to go too. So you can imagine their reaction when baby appeared in this:

I think it blew their minds. And hers too, apparently.

So the bunting bag I bought on clearance last year is still a little big. But you guys, it is so warm. I couldn't get her to smile at the camera, but the mirror? She loves the mirror. And those HUGE bags under my eyes? That's because she's decided that she needs to wake up every three hours at night again. I forgive her only because she is so adorable.

But the walk was a success. I didn't have to murder my dogs and Norah was warm and happy the whole time. That means I win.

I'm only, like, two and a half months behind

2010-10-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

So remember how I mentioned Norah's blessing and said that there'd be more to come? Well, here's the more. The hold up was that in my post-baby haze I didn't take any pictures of my own and I just now got some of the pictures that Dennis took.

This first picture kind of sums up how Norah felt about the whole event. And this was even before the blessing, so you can imagine how happy she was afterward. But she did look adorable even though she acted like a turd.

We blessed her on August 1, which was particularly awesome because Josh and Jessica were in town and so were Alissa and Jon. That means that minus Nic's sister, all of our immediate family was there. And yes, Alissa, you count as immediate family.

And I know that I have mentioned the incredibleness of Norah's blessing gown, but oh my goodness, it is incredible. Seriously. Debbie made it out of raw silk, complete with hand pleating and embroidery. Norah's even wearing little handmade bloomers under there. Thank you again, Debbie, it really is a work of art.

I didn't get to visit with everyone as much as I would have liked because of one screaming five week old, but thanks again to everyone who came out to support our little family. We felt very loved.

Remember her?

2010-09-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

Poor Moxie. Baby came along and done stole the spotlight. Don't let lack of presence on my blog fool you though. The dogs are still a prominent part of my growing entourage. In fact, wherever me and Norah happen to be, you can typically find Moxie there too. I just have two rules: Watch where you step and no face licking. She's doing really well with rule No. 1; we're still working on rule No. 2.

Sup spent his first year of life with two little girls, so this whole baby thing is old news. I think he's just biding his time until Norah gets enough hand-eye coordination to be able to pet him. Then he'll be her best friend for sure--it'll be like I grew him a whole extra set of hands.

Moxie, on the other hand, is kind of obsessed. That's why we've had to establish the no face licking rule. If Norah is playing on the floor, there's Moxie. If Norah is crying, there's Moxie trying to figure out what's wrong. If we're on the bed with Norah then ooh, ooh Moxie wants to play too--hence the watch where you step rule.

My favorite thing about our little animal family is that these guys are going to be Norah's childhood pets. As soon as she learns to grab, I'm gonna let her get a fistful of Sup and there's nothing he can do about it. And you'd better believe that both those dogs are going to be ridden like small yellow horses.

Oh, and once she's old enough to wield a shovel, Norah can scoop the poop.

This is what I mean about face licking. I take a picture, get ready for the next, and bam. Face. Licked.

Strawberry Reservoir

2010-09-27T12:51:00.001-07:00

So before the madness of going back to work and attending my grandpa's funeral, we celebrated (mourned?) the end of my maternity leave by taking the boat and camper out for a weekend fishing trip. Have I mentioned that we have a truck-bed camper with a heater? Because we do. And I am never camping in a tent again. Really, never.

Norah kept up her track record of being awesome in the outdoors, which means we got to enjoy a full night and day out on the lake. When she gets older I think I'll make her kiss the fish like my dad used to. Just because I can.

Thanks to Mike, Emily, and Matt for joining us. You guys are always invited.

Passing on

2010-09-22T17:32:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure where to start. My Grandpa Brinkerhoff passed away on Sunday. It's heart-breaking and glorious. Heart-breaking to have him suffer with Parkinson's and dementia for more than a year; glorious because he can finally be at peace and regain what was taken from him.

Maybe it's because I'm still a little fragile from having a baby; maybe it's because I feel so far away from my religion right now, but I was holding my brand new Norah in my arms when my mom told me he died and I just couldn't help thinking that life is a bitch. Not very poetic, is it?

Let me explain. My little girl is perfect, amazing, incredible--every good adjective you could ever think of. I have so much hope and anticipation for what she can become. The problem is that I can't stop life from happening to her. And with life comes hurt, disappointment, illness, pain. What sort of hopes did my grandpa's parents have for him? Certainly not a drawn-out battle with Parkinson's. Does this even make sense?

But here's how I think I'm coming to terms with it: Last week Norah grabbed a rattle and sat there with it in her hand, studying it with those blue eyes that I made in my body, until she finally thought hard enough to get her brain to tell her hand to get that rattle in her mouth. I wanted to cheer I was so excited for her. Just that one moment was pure joy for me. And the thing is: I get to enjoy those moments every day. How excited am I going to be when she walks, talks, goes to school? So just because my most recent memories are of a frail grandpa who was on his way out of this life, that doesn't take away the fact that his life was full of joy too. That's how his death--or anyone's--makes sense to me. Because no matter what bad things happen, life is full of so much amazingness that I can barely take it in. That's why the pain is worth it. And that's why I have every reason to celebrate each moment.

I know this is nothing new, and I rarely get this serious on my blog, but there you go.

On a lighter note, can I just tell you how for years and years my grandpa has always had the same little catch phrases? Things like: "It will quit hurting when it gets better." "When I was a little girl..." [followed by any number of stories]. And "That's a well-kissed cheek!" [said after each greeting and a dozen or so kisses].

And for those of you who don't know, I had a goat when I was little because my grandpa got me one. I honestly don't know why, but I think it's kind of the greatest thing ever--except when it ate the tassels off my Big Wheel. (I wonder what my parents thought.) One time we came home and there was a rabbit in a box for me on the kitchen floor. He also gave me a rooster that my dad ended up giving to a neighbor because it would wake him up at sunrise. And those are just the ones I can remember.

I hope that those are the sort of things that gave him joy, because they sure made me happy. And that's how I hope to remember him.

Oregon

2010-09-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

The fact that the current hood for Nic's Coronet is warped and the paint is cracking literally keeps him awake at night. Which also makes it fun to point out when I feel like bothering him beyond belief. But of course there isn't a replacement hood in Utah; the closest one was about 1,000 miles away. So instead of just driving there and immediately back like we did in Washington for his '49 Ford, we decided to make a trip of it. Well, actually, we have a child now and can no longer get away with driving all day and sleeping in the back of the truck. So we also bought a truck-bed camper complete with heating, A/C, a queen bed, sink, toilet, shower, and fridge. I'm never camping for real again.

All this for a weekend trip to Oregon to get some car parts.

I predicted that it would either be awesome or be a complete disaster filled with a screaming baby and frustrated parents. Luckily, it was totally awesome and we kind of can't wait to go wherever we're going to go next. Norah was incredible with no freak-outs and she even kept to her normal sleep schedule. I call that a win. Plus we got to spend all day every day with just our little family. So. Fun.

With the help of GPS we found the hidden junkyard of Nic's dreams outside of Portland that is filled with only Mopar cars no earlier than like 1979. Norah doesn't seem quite as excited, but she did get to help Nic pick out his new hood, which to me is adorable.

We camped right next to the ocean. And if you couldn't tell, we were really excited to be on the beach with our baby.

And apparently the deer at our campsite have no fear. I thought this was awesome until it got a little too close for comfort and all I could think about was When Animals Attack. And then when I had to walk down the path by myself in the dark I was sure that I was going to get sideswiped by one of these guys. It made him seem not quite as cute and cuddly.

But I survived and we were all still smiling by the end of our adventure.

I guess that's how it goes when you spend five days with your favorite people.

Five years

2010-09-04T12:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Nic and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. Our favorite thing to say all day? Four happy years. We don't really count that first year, what with all the misunderstandings, hormone imbalances, and crocodile tears. It wasn't so funny then, but kind of hilarious now in a I-can't-believe-we-acted-like-that sort of way. We were both ridiculous. Silly, silly us.

Thankfully, being married has only gotten better--better to the point where I don't think either of us have ever been so happy. We both agree that this past year has by far been the best too, and that was even with me being pregnant. (I didn't even lose my mind while I was growing an entire person! I feel like I deserve a prize.) And now we have this perfect, wiggly, noisy, funny, beautiful daughter who is so awesome I kind of can't take it all in and we're so excited to grow with her.

Basically, I feel like doing some sort of cheer for our lives right now. We honestly worked our asses off (sorry Mom) to get here and everything has been 100 percent worth the effort. So thanks to all our family and friends for helping us along the way, and thanks Nic for being the best friend and husband a girl could have.

Weighing in

2010-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

At two months Norah is now 11 pounds 7 ounces and 24-something inches. This was the first time we got the whole percentile thing: She's 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. Tall like her mom apparently. I wonder if she'll always have to stand in the back row for school pictures too.

Nic had to come with me to get her shots. He held her little arms across her chest and she looked at him like "Oh, hi Dad, whatcha doin'.....wahhhhhhhh! Why would anyone do something that horrible to me? This is the worst day in the history of my life ever!"

Thankfully, my parents live about five minutes away from our doctor so I got some great all-day help. My dad got the worst of it when I slipped out to the bookstore. Norah screamed for the whole 40 minutes. Sorry, Dad, but thanks too. I really wanted that book.

And how much do I wish that big-people thighs and feet were this cute?

As for information that is only interesting to me and a handful of others: Norah is starting to discover her hands to suck on and swat at things. She's no longer the cross-eyed bobble head that she was only a few weeks ago. Her favorite things include looking at books and not being put down. She is super chatty and wiggly and is rarely quiet or sits still.

Best of all: She takes a bath each night at 8:00 then goes to bed and doesn't wake up until 4:00 or 4:30, has a bottle, then goes to sleep for another two or three hours. And she's been doing that consistently for about four weeks, which means that I'm almost starting to feel like a person again.

At this point I'm about down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but after shopping for some new clothes yesterday I still feel considerably larger than I was. I ended up buying some clothes for Norah instead of me. It's fun to buy her a bigger size, but not something that I was prepared to do for myself.

I'm also trying to prepare myself to go back to work in a couple of weeks. But before I do we've got some boating, road tripping, and general not-working-fun-having to get done first. Yay for maternity leave!

Busy, busy

2010-08-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Norah doesn't want to be cuddled or even sit still, she just wants to explore--which is terrifying because what in the world am I going to do with her when she's mobile? Train Moxie to corral her? Put a saddle on Sup?

Right now she's busy working on controlling her bobble head, uncrossing her eyes, cooing, and smiling. I know these little milestones happen to everyone and I don't expect anyone else to be as entranced by her as I am, but can I just tell you how incredible she is? Those little eyes that I made in my body recognize who I am and that little mouth that I made knows how to smile.

I've never been a morning person, but waking up to a happy baby has got to be the best way ever to start the day. My favorite is when she hears Nic's voice and it sends a smile through her entire body. Morning Norah is awesome and I kind of want to eat her sweetness for breakfast with a tall glass of milk. And if I could only convince Evening Norah that life is this good, we'd be golden.

For the Norwhal

2010-08-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Colman to come up with a nickname for my daughter. Each time I see him I'm greeted with "Hey Erin, how's the Norwhal?" And I have to admit that I think it's kind of adorable (I can imagine the Halloween costume now). So when I saw this print on Etsy, I had to have it for Norah's nursery:

Um, how cute is that? Narwhal Love for the Norwhal. I'm pretty pleased with my purchase.

The only problem is we haven't quite put the finishing touches on Norah's room. We're so very, very close, but I don't want to post pics until it's done. Hopefully soon, which means that I'm going to have to start nagging Nic and Debbie for a few favors.

Norah's on a boat

2010-08-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

Norah's going on seven weeks now so we figured it's high time she get out on the lake. Translation: We needed to test the boat motor and didn't have a babysitter.

I'm still super nervous when we take her very far from home. Nervous because I'm the mom and it still feels like any outing could end in a screaming, tear-filled disaster that makes me never want to go anywhere again. In reality she's always been amazing whenever we've taken her anywhere--I'm just a little high anxiety. I've never been responsible for an infant.

Turns out she LOVES the boat. She was completely helpless against the calming powers of its noisy, bumpy ride. Maybe she's used to it because of how many times we tried boat rides to shake her out of me those last few weeks of pregnancy.

And if you're ever out on Utah Lake there's a little spot at the southwest end where all the pelicans go to hide. Just make sure that your propeller is up if you go in for a closer look. We may have hit bottom the first time we tried to get there.

Pelicans could be my very favorite type of bird. I saw them for the first time as a little girl in San Francisco and my dad recited this:

"A pelican, a pelican. The only bird whose bill can hold more than its belly can."

The fact that I now say this every time we see or hear mention of a pelican makes Nic want to stick sharp objects in his ears. He refuses to say it; he says it's too long and lame. Which means that it makes it even more fun for me to sing the pelican ditty as much as possible. My point being that last night on the lake was Norah's first pelican encounter and you'd better believe that she's going to learn how to drive her dad nuts by singing about them. It's gonna be two against one.

Oh and this last picture is my new favorite. There is nothing in this world that is more incredible than your husband holding your child. Nothing.

Someone discovered her angry voice

2010-08-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Being at home with an infant is unlike anything I've done before--obviously. I used to marvel at the moms who could never eat a meal while it was still warm. Couldn't they just put the baby down? How hard could it be to find time for yourself? It couldn't be that time consuming, could it? Silly, silly me.

This little girl runs the show. At first I was trying to fight it; trying to hold on to the old life where I did what I wanted exactly when I wanted. But as I let life slow down I'm starting to understand how important this time is. Sure, I haven't showered today. Yesterday was the first time I got dressed up in five weeks. I don't get to visit with friends like I used to. But I only have until September and then it will be back to work and I know I'm going to wish I had more time to spend at home with Norah on my lap all day long.

Here she is at four weeks. I cannot even describe the particular sort of joy that I get from those tiny crossed eyes.

Now she's five weeks and is discovering that she can be grumpy. Everything will be fine and then she'll remember that she can cry and will proceed to practice screaming to the best of her ability.

I always thought that I wouldn't have a problem letting my baby cry. Now I'm discovering the tugging on my heart that happens whenever Norah isn't happy. There have been times when I've been able to calm her and there have been times when I've had to set her down a walk away. Yesterday we discovered the magical powers of the vacuum cleaner, which has made today a lot easier.

Sometimes she just decides that her life is too hard and that everyone needs to know about it. Maybe she's just mad at her mom for taking photos instead of taking her seriously.

Yesterday was her blessing and she decided that she wanted to be antisocial. She must take after me when it comes to group settings. It was still a great day and I'll have more about it to come. But right now she's awake again meaning she must be held.

Sweet sixteen

2010-08-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

The youngest of the Wilcoxes turned sixteen this weekend. How is that even possible? We're glad you had a fun day Lexi.

The best part for me? Not being pregnant. I swam and tubed and did it all in my own regular swimsuit (well, the larger-sized, more-coverage swimsuit I purchased in anticipation of lake days with a post-baby body). It seems like it's been an eternity since I felt this close to a normal person. Norah graciously slept the day away so I could have a little me time. She did, however, pay me back big time yesterday by being the grumpiest baby ever on her blessing day of all days. But getting a chance to play all day with the big people made the repercussions totally worth it.

Yes, I'm wearing a helmet. You would too if you knew how awesome it is to get whipped off the tube and slammed into the water without even feeling it in your head or ears.

Nic finally got to ride his new wakeboard. I, of course, forgot my camera though and didn't get any pictures.

Uh-mazing

2010-07-28T15:50:00.001-07:00

We're getting ready for Norah's blessing and I just had to give a sneak peek of her dress because oh my goodness I couldn't even stand the cuteness. How amazing is this? Debbie (Nic's mom) really went above and beyond to make this for Norah's special day. Thank you thank you thank you Debbie--it's perfect! I cannot wait to see it on our little girl.

Any ideas for a fabulous way to display the dress after the blessing?

Getting out

2010-07-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is the second year that Nic has participated in the Keep On Rollin' charity car show at Brighton. Last year he won the Diamond in the Rough award for his Coronet; this year he actually got to drive it up the canyon instead of towing it on a trailer, which is a huge deal to him. Norah and I came up on our own because we require much more Saturday nap time and need air conditioning in our vehicle.

Norah was a champ. She went to the car show and took a stroller ride around Silver Lake all without giving me any anxiety at all. She is seriously such a good baby.

Boat and Baby

2010-07-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

Right now it's pretty much all Norah all the time for me, but Nic has also been hard at work on a different sort of baby for quite some time. Last fall we went in on a boat with my family and Nic has been dedicated to getting it ready for a summer on the lake.

It was kind of a mess when we got it and had to be completely torn apart.

Now it's looking much better.

And thanks to some babysitting from my mom, we got to take it out last week.

Nic got a new wakeboard for his birthday that we have yet to try out--luckily we'll have plenty of chances to go out this summer. I'm just excited to finally be able to get in on the action again; I've been having to sit out on all the fun for far too long.

And now for what ya'll really care about: Norah!

We had her two week appointment yesterday and she's now 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 1/2 inches. She's on a pretty predictable "schedule" of waking to eat every three hours. If you can catch her while she's awake she likes to sit in her little chair-bouncer-thingy and stare at the red star until she's completely exhausted from the sheer effort it takes to keep her eyes open.

It's super weird to be home most of the time but we're having a good time. Thankfully I have my mom and Alexi around for when I have to get out. It does help a lot that she's pretty much the cutest thing that has ever existed.

Norah's birth day (also the longest post ever)

2010-07-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to know where to start...we became parents this week and are doing our best to adjust to this crazy new lifestyle. Everything is going awesome and we can't say thank you enough for all of the friends and family who have visited and helped us.

Norah was born Sunday, June 27, at 3:32 p.m. weighing in at a hefty 8 pounds 10 ounces. And while I may have said that I wanted a 15 pound baby, I think I lied. At one point during the delivery my doctor looked up and Nic and mouthed "That's a big baby." No wonder I was so uncomfortable all the time.

But she's so teeny tiny and delicate.

I woke up Sunday morning because I was feeling some pain, but I've never done this before and wasn't sure if it was contractions or not. By the time Nic found me in the basement I was pretty sure this was the real deal. He was not convinced and proceeded to watch TV in his underwear. I made him time my contractions and they clocked in about three minutes apart, but we still didn't leave for the hospital. I didn't even really know if we were timing the contractions right. Then the pain got really bad and I must have yelled at Nic because the text message he sent to everyone before we left said something like "The cursing has started, I guess this is really happening."

The car ride was pretty intense. I remember Nic playing "Showdown" by The Black Eyed Peas to try to get me to laugh. I don't think I did. All I could do was try to keep calm and when each contraction hit I had to turn around in my seat so I could bend over to better deal with the pain.

And for all you moms who have given birth without an epidural: How? How are you even still alive? I don't know how such a feat is physically possible. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that our destination was the hospital and that the hospital had an anesthesiologist. God bless that man.

The admitting nurse told me that I had to be dilated to a five to be admitted. Thankfully I was already at six and a half because had she turned me away I think I would have come unglued--and it would have been a shame to make Nic pick up those pieces.

But once the pain was controlled I was a happy woman. They kept checking on me for the next couple hours until it was go time. The only problem was that Norah had pooped herself in utero (she is Nic's child!) and they had to flush me out in hopes that she wouldn't inhale it. But again, she is Nic's and she did inhale the meconium so the first few minutes of her life were mostly silent and pretty tense. I got to meet her for a moment and then her and Nic went to the NICU.

Because of the whole poop deal she wasn't getting enough oxygen so she got poked and prodded and had to hang out under an oxygen hood. They also had to give her an IV in the top of her just-born head.

Originally we were told that we would have to stay in the hospital for at least three days, but just a couple hours later Norah was doing much better and got to come hang out with us for the first time.

I think Nic looks more tired than I did. He was a champ. He drove like a bat out of hell to get me to the hospital; got scolded by the nurses because I made him ask what was taking so long for the epidural; held my hand and helped coach me through delivery; was there for Norah in the NICU; took care of anything and everything while we were in the hospital; and completely supports me as we figure this parenting thing out together. What I'm saying is that he is basically the best man ever.

Dennis and Debbie came to the hospital right after the delivery but Norah was busy in the NICU. My family came later that night. Take a look at the brand new grandparents. They are going to have so much fun watching Norah for us.

Aww. Norah and her dad.

Holy crap, I'm a mom.

We had some great visitors and I got lots of rest and let the nurses change Norah as much as possible during our hospital stay. Best of all I got all the Lorna Doone cookies and Diet Coke that I wanted. Nic got a little (and when I say a little I mean a lot) cabin fever and was happy to pack up and head home.

The puppies were equally as happy to have me home. Poor little suckers had no idea what I was bringing with me.

I think this picture is cute, but I'm pretty sure this is her "I'm pooping" face.

Debbie thankfully came and gave us a lesson on bathing an infant. After two days and no bath Norah was getting a little crusty.

Oh, and Nic also had his 28th birthday. I'm sure he was secretly glad that he didn't get a lot of attention. We celebrated by shopping for a new wake board until Norah decided she was done and I made us go home. Already she's running the show completely.

Norah Genevieve Stewart

2010-06-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

Born June 27, 2010 at 3:32 p.m.

8 pounds 10 ounces
20 inches

Of course there will be more details and photos to come, but right now we're too busy snuggling to do much else. Everyone is healthy, happy, and ready for this new adventure.

Still waiting

2010-06-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

So even though I'm not officially due until Tuesday, I've been told for more than a week now that I could go into labor at any moment. And trust you me we have tried everything (except castor oil, because yuck. Seriously, yuck) to get this baby to show herself. Boating didn't do it, Jeeping didn't do it, and no amount of exercise, lifting, or bouncing on a pilates ball has done a thing.

I had a bit of a panic attack yesterday when my contractions subsided and I felt like baby wasn't moving. Poor Nic had to come home and take me to the doctor who then sent me to the hospital for a stress test. Everything is fine and of course after it was all said and done baby decided to start dancing on my ribs again. I think she may be a little bit of a punk.

The nursery isn't quite finished, although Nic did take a day off to tackle the list of projects I had for him. I'm gonna shoot for getting it done this weekend, so there will be pictures to come. But because I like posts with pictures, here are some nesting projects that I have actually completed (thanks to Siouxzy for the adorable fabric):

Rag quilt
Shoes

Hooded towels

On a side note: We went to Willard Bay last Saturday and the night before I had dreams where I was hysterical because I couldn't fit into any of my swimsuits or lake clothes. When I woke up and of course nothing fit (hello, nine months prego), I ended up wearing a pair of Nic's swim trunks and an over-sized SPF shirt. (I'll be damned if I'm going to buy a maternity swimsuit at this point to wear once or twice. No thank you.) I didn't cry, but I can't say it was one of my proudest moments--hence no pictures of me. We had an excellent day though and hope that baby Norah learns to love the water as much as her dad. She does already have her own life jacket after all.

38 weeks

2010-06-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

Ho-lee-crap. That belly is attached to my body. AND it is holding a fully developed child. My child. AND I still have two weeks to go. Oh how I wish there was a reliable way to speed this process along; I really would like to meet this person who is constantly kicking me in the ribs. Baby Norah, it's time to show yourself!

Dogged

2010-06-09T14:22:00.001-07:00

As a little girl, I always imagined how great it would be to grow up and be able to have all the animals I ever wanted. Just imagine: There would be no one to tell me no--I could have any pet I chose! Turns out my mom had good reason to limit the animals in my life, because apparently there is such thing as too many. This is a lesson that Nic and I are relearning this week while we've had two additional dogs at the house. That's a total of four large dogs and two cats--although the cats have been understandably MIA.

Don't get me wrong. We love our visitors. Riley and Matilda are extremely well behaved and fun to have around and keep my two dogs entertained and thoroughly tired at the end of the day. It's just A LOT of dog to have to waddle around--and my balance isn't what it used to be.

But how adorable are these faces? Here's Matilda:

And Riley:

I wanted to get them all on the picnic table for a photo (it's happened before), but Riley was the only one willing to stay put. He got a treat.

And like all other animals I've ever met, these four are Nic's constant entourage. It's great when he's home because everyone loses all interest in whatever I'm doing. I'm hoping baby Norah reacts to him the same way.

Showered

2010-05-17T20:55:00.001-07:00

My two most favoritest Wilcox women threw me an amazing baby shower over the weekend. My mom and Jessica really outdid themselves...I don't know how I got lucky enough to have all these fabulous people in my life.

Unfortunately, my dad was out of town, so this shower didn't get the photo documentation it deserved. You'll have to put up with the few snapshots that I gathered.

First Jess:

Even with a husband out of the country and a million other things going on she went out of her way to plan and host a baby shower for her sister-in-law. That's love I tell you.

And my wonderful mom:

As if she doesn't have enough to do with two kids at home, a job, and Relief Society President duties. She always goes above and beyond for me and I can't say thank you enough.

Check out the deliciousness we enjoyed:

And how adorable are these cupcakes? They even hand sewed the birds!

Plus, cute party favors for everyone to take home.

Me and baby thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Here I am at 34 weeks and counting...

Oh, and the shower was coed. Those were some brave men to enter the world of a baby shower. It was good to have Nic there to help open gifts and put stuff together--although the stroller is still in pieces in the box.

Thanks again to my mom and Jessica for everything. And thanks to everyone for coming out to support our family.

Celebrating Norah

2010-05-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

May Day was extra special for me this year. Lovely Alissa and her beautiful baby came all the way from California to help celebrate baby Norah.

I should preface this by saying that Alissa is no amateur: this lady is the best party planner you will ever meet--no exaggeration. From the handpicked menu to the adorable pinwheel party favors, I feel more than confident saying that we were all blown away by how much work she put into all the glorious details. (So much so that I'm running out of adjectives to accurately capture the moment.)

Check out our digs at the Oasis Cafe. Pretty fancy, huh?

And this is what I mean about the little details: All my fantastic guests signed a hand-embroidered fabric hoop welcoming Norah in to the world.

Cute party favors brought a little bit of California's warm weather to a snowy Utah day.

I won't say how many cupcakes I ended up eating, but these could be part of the reason I've started to get more and more comments on the size of my belly.

Thanks to the generosity of family and friends, baby Norah is going to be quite spoiled. She got so many cute things!

My mom is already watching out for her first grandchild. Sorry Moxie and Sup.

And there's the belly. I don't know how it can get any bigger, but with seven weeks to go I'm sure baby will make more room for herself.

Thank you to everyone who came to support me and baby. Thank you Dad for braving all the women and baby talk to take pictures. And THANK YOU Alissa for the whole package. I'm lucky to have such an incredible friend.

Hound dog

2010-05-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

Are you seeing that face? Just look at her! How could I say no when Nic called to say he had a hound dog who doesn't have a home and can we keep her until we find her a family? So yes, I'm about 33 weeks prego and just added another dog to my existing pack of two dogs and two cats. But, seriously, would you look at her!

The funny thing is that this time Nic was the one bringing home a stray, not me. This little doggy, Daisy, was found lost in Herriman and the people who were keeping her were going to give her to the shelter. Now she's with us and is looking for a home. She is the sweetest, funniest, most clumsy dog ever and oh how I wish we could keep her.

If anyone is looking for a perfect family dog or knows someone who is, let me know.

Someone got a haircut

2010-05-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

And he's not super excited about it.

We shave Sup each spring, and each year it takes him a while to get used to living without his golden locks. I think he's over the self-consciousness now, but he did mope about for a few days. We take every opportunity to tell him that he's still pretty--you know, just to boost his self-esteem.

Filling up fast

2010-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Alissa was in town this weekend and threw me and baby Norah an incredible baby shower. My dad kindly documented the whole thing, so there will be a full post with many wonderful photos to come. I can't believe how generous all the lovely people in my life are. Thank you! Just take a look at this little girl's closet. She's amassing quite the wardrobe.

Glider: Before and after

2010-04-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am notorious for starting projects that never get finished. But check it out: Norah's glider is complete! And I didn't even leave little parts to sew later or anything--which is so very, very unlike me.

This glider is the very first thing I bought when I found out I was pregnant. I figured I could recover it for a boy or a girl. Here's the before:

And here's the after:
The actual glider cost me 30 bucks from KSL classifieds. I ended up just throwing the old cushions away because they were icky and used some batting that I already had to stuff the new ones. So after touching up the paint and buying the fabric, I figure I spent about $50 on the entire project. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

He's feeling better, which means it's project time

2010-04-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

Because I shared so much about Nic's gallbladder, I figured that I should share more about the actual outcome. Good news is: He is feeling better than he has felt in a long time. And it's about time. I'm growing an entire person here--can I get a little sympathy? I'm only partly kidding. But seriously. I'm growing a human being who at some point in the next twelve weeks is going to have to exit my body. That has to be worse than having a little old gallbladder removed.

I've now entered my third trimester. Less than 90 days to go people! Baby Norah is doing great it seems. She is particularly fond of my right rib cage; I don't know if she's punching it or kicking it or what in the world is going on in there, but it is far from comfortable and I wish she would stop.

The whole nesting thing has hit full force and I'm pretty sure it's driving Nic crazy. I always have a list of projects for him, but now those projects have a specific deadline that if not met, might result in my whole world imploding and you wouldn't want that right Nic? We've got to finish the bathroom and build shelves in the closet and get a new water filter and change all the air filters and and and a lot of other things that I think of daily. I'm hoping this comes to an end soon, but as of now I can't help it if I have to wipe down all the walls, doors, and baseboards in the house. These things must be done!

Starting the nursery

2010-03-25T13:07:00.001-07:00

I've been shopping for baby Norah for months now, but I've actually made very few purchases. I've also been planning her nursery ever since we found out the gender, but again I've made very little progress. I have no less than one million links to nursery ideas and rooms that I love sitting in my Google account; I just can't seem to pull anything together.

However, I am THRILLED with the few items I do have. I bought this print on etsy.com. I'm not usually a fan of little cutsie sayings on the wall, but how sweet is this? It's hanging on the wall by the door--the first thing to actually have a permanent place and the first thing you see when you walk into the room.
And since I decided that I like me a subtle bird theme, I got this print that I've been eying for a while. Best of all, I have these incredible stitcheries from Alissa. The smaller one is titled "Multiply and Replenish." Don't the paisleys remind you of little cells dividing into a new, fabulous baby Norah? The larger one is called "Take off Your Top," which according to Alissa is how I got myself into this predicament in the first place.

I'm finding that I don't like a lot of really babyish stuff, so I'm choosing items that I would like to have in my house with or without a little girl. Plus, it's a real bonus when the items have special meaning--like the stitcheries.

Not wanting to spend a lot of money, I'm having Nic refinish a piece of furniture we already have and make it into a changing table. Then, he gets to refinish an existing dresser as well. I don't think he knows this yet, but I'm also having him build some sort of shelves on one of the walls (and in the closet too, sorry). Thanks for being so handy Nic!

Debbie has volunteered to make a crib set, I just need to settle on what fabric to use. Oh, and I bought a rocker on KSL that I need to recover. So I guess I have more than I thought; it's just all halfway done or not even started. Three months seems like forever when I think of my growing belly, but when it comes to finishing furniture I feel like I don't have enough time.

Shopping always makes me feel better

2010-03-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

After having an organ removed on a Friday, Nic went back to work the next Monday. And to all those who have told me that I should have made him stay home, I say next time you try to reason with him. At least he didn't drive himself. I consider that a victory.

It's hard to say if he's been feeling better; he's still all tired and messed up from the abdomen cutting and drugs and trying to do too much. He planned to work this Saturday, but after working all day Friday and making some of his stitches bleed, he decided on his very own that it really would be best if he take it easy. He's still impossible to keep at the house though; so he got to tag along with me for the weekend and even got to go shopping at Baby Gap.

Oh, Baby Gap. That's a whole lot a darling in one place. I don't think it helped Nic feel much better, but I sure felt awesome about my purchases. We're buying baby clothes--for a baby.

We're now six months into this pregnancy thing and doing pretty well. Lately, we've just been in survival mode because of all Nic's stuff. I like to remind him how unfair it is that I'm pregnant and he is still feeling worse than me. Isn't it supposed to be my turn? We've both tried to keep up with everyone, but it's been hard...so sorry for all the short visits and the lack of returned phone calls. We're doing the best we can.

Baby Norah is doing great. She's just chillin out and kicking the hell out of my insides. Whenever she bothers me really badly, I poke and pat right back at her. That usually makes her stop for a while. I figure that two can play at this game.

Not his favorite day

2010-03-13T17:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was not the most fun we've ever had when taking a day off of work. We left home at eleven and didn't get home from the hospital until after six. Now, Nic is minus his gallbladder and all hopped up on Percocet. Everything went really well. But did you know that when they take your gallbladder out, they deflate it and pull it out your belly button? Out of your belly button! The doctor had to make three other incisions to get all the scar tissue and junk off; apparently Mr. Nic's gallbladder was pretty messed up. I had so much fun that I went to bed at eight.

Today we've stayed home, which if you know Nic means that he is really not feeling well. Usually not even an act of God can keep him in the house all day. I've taken the opportunity to satisfy some nesting projects, but hopefully he'll be feeling up to doing something tomorrow.

In other news: Moxie and Sup had their annual exam this week. On a fat scale from 1 to 5, Sup is a 4.5. Apparently he's not just fluffy like I've been telling him. I feel his pain; it seems like every morning I wake up with a bigger belly. Nic on the other hand, has lost a lot of weight. Hopefully, we'll all start feeling better soon...

Procedures

2010-03-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

It's been a stressful couple of weeks at our house. I'm doing my best to grow a person and Nic is doing his best to figure out what in the world is wrong with his insides. So basically neither of us is all too chipper.

Nic had two procedures last week: one involving a camera going down his throat and up his butt (Did they meet in the middle?), and another involving laying on a table for a couple of hours while some sort of radiation went through his body to show how his organs were functioning. I wasn't there for the radiation thing, but was there when he came out of the anesthesia after his colonoscopy. If you've seen this video then you have a pretty good idea about what he's like post-op. He doesn't remember much of that day.

We haven't gotten results from the first procedure, but the radiation thing showed that his gallbladder isn't functioning properly and is most likely what is making him sick. His doctor and a surgeon are supposed to call him sometime today to discuss his options. So it looks like there could be a fun surgery in the near future. The best thing to do with Nic when he's on pain pills after surgery? Watch a scary movie. Well, not so much watch the movie as watch Nic watch the movie. It makes for a good time.

I've got a little less than four months of this pregnancy thing to go. I was all weirded out by the thought of feeling the baby move, but then it happened and it wasn't all that strange--until I could see movement on the outside! That is weird. I don't know what all else I should say about this whole deal other than we're excited for the end result. Yay for baby Norah!

We don't celebrate Valentine's Day

2010-02-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

We do, however, really like to go places and visit friends. This trip just happened to fall on Valentine's weekend.

Luckily for us, we have some of the best friendlies in the universe. Alissa , Jon, Russell, and Alice are always so nice to let me come stay; this time I tested their resolve by bringing a whole posse along with me. So with Nic and friends in tow, we drove to Southern California for an amazing weekend.

Nic, Mike, and Emily spent Friday at the King of the Hammers off-road race. But because I require a lot more sleep, and because I really just wanted to hang out with Alissa, I stayed back and did girl stuff. This included finding the most fabulous dress for Alice for only $13 (originally $50!) and a matching one to fit baby Norah when she gets here. I have now found one perk to being pregnant: Shopping with a girlfriend for baby clothes. That, my friends, is a good time.

The next day was spent at the beach in Laguna Hills. Somehow I managed to not fall down the hill we all climbed up.

Alissa's caption for this photo: "I got an excellent picture of a dumb bird dangerously close to the ocean: And there is a seagull in that picture with Nic, too." I like her so much.

Honestly, one of the best things about spending time with the Kings is that I get to see a glimpse of what it will hopefully be like when Nic and I have our little family. I mean look how fun these kids are:

Anyone who knows me know that I don't especially like it when people try to tell me my business, so I'm not one to ask for advice, well, ever. But when it comes to babies and parenting and all that crazy insane new stuff that I know nothing about, Alissa is my safe place. That's just one reason why it's so fun to see her in action. She gives me confidence that I can be a good mom too. Thanks Alissa for being such a great hostess and for hooking me up with all the baby stuff!

On a lighter note, we also went to the swap meet at the Rose Bowl and saw Jeanine, the season 5 winner from So You Think You Can Dance? Nic says she is even hotter in real life, which is just one reason why I didn't ask to get my picture taken with her. I don't need evidence of pregnant me standing next to perfect dancer girl. No thank you.

Because he was jealous of all my ultrasounds

2010-02-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

Growing up without health insurance, Nic has always had a no ambulance rule. Meaning that say he completely shattered his ankle racing motocross, he would refuse the ambulance because he didn't want to get stuck with the bill. I, however, do not abide by that rule, which is why the ambulance transported him to American Fork hospital this morning, not me. I wasn't about to be stuck in traffic with a husband writhing in pain--send me some paramedics!

The stupid part is that after an ambulance ride, x-rays, CAT scan, ultrasound, blood tests and A LOT of morphine, they still can't tell us what caused his severe abdominal pain. We have a suspicion that it's his gallbladder, even though the ultrasound didn't show any stones. So six-ish hours later we got sent home with Lortab and some well wishes.

It's frustrating because A) I've never seen anyone in that much pain, which had to have been caused by something wrong and B) What in the world are we supposed to do if it happens again? Go back to the ER and hit him up with more morphine?

On Monday we're going to Nic's primary care physician who will hopefully refer us to a specialist who will take some more time to figure out the problem. Does anyone out there have experience will gallbladder problems? He's already had his appendix out, so we know it's not that...

This also proves that I will never in my life be sicker than Nic. I'm growing a person here and he up and gets hauled off to the hospital. How do I compete with that?

Non-baby related

2010-02-07T12:06:00.001-08:00

Nic finished the bodywork and painting on another car this week. This one is a 1972 BMW and it is ORANGE. With all these cars he's painting, the Landcruiser he builds for me is going to be uh-maze-ing. Right Nic?

Baby Norah!

2010-02-01T10:18:00.001-08:00

There it is: Proof that Baby Norah is a girl! Or at least that's what our doctor told us this morning; I guess we'll just have to take his word for it because really, that doesn't look like anything to me, boy or girl.

I have my 20 week appointment at the hospital next Monday where apparently I'll be subjected to all sorts of poking and prodding and will have a better ultrasound--which will hopefully confirm baby's gender beyond an 80 percent chance. But according to my doctor today: "That's either a girl...or a boy with a really embarrassing pee-pee."

It's nice to finally have some info on this thing growing inside of me. I still haven't felt her moving around in there yet, but many of you know that I'm not exactly dying to feel something kicking. in. my. insides. Kinda weirds me out still, I'm not going to lie.

Other fun facts:

I thought I was over the nausea until I had to leave work early and didn't quite make it home before I had to pull off the road and throw up. So now I've hurled at work, home, and on the side of the road. Maybe next will be the grocery store?
I haven't had anymore breakdowns and have generally been quite happy. Nic really did throw away that book I was reading.
Not so fun to find out was that I've gained seven pounds over the last month. I wasn't too concerned until my doctor told me to try to lay off the carbs. Nice. I don't think you can ever win; at my appointment in January I had lost three pounds and that wasn't so great either.
Nic claims to not have a gender preference and is excited about having a girl; I am excited to go shopping!

Not recommended reading

2010-01-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy breakdown No. 1 has come and gone and I blame a book. Truthfully, the most surprising thing about my little episode on Tuesday was that it hasn't happened sooner. I can't tell you how afraid we have always been of Pregnant Erin and how excited we were to find that she's actually a pretty nice person (who just likes to sleep a lot). Who knew?

Trouble came, however, when I started reading this book:

If I could sum up what I got out of the first couple of chapters, it would be this:

Having a baby is like throwing a grenade into your once-happy marriage.
Nic and I will never understand each other's needs.
Happiness as we know it is about to come to an end.
Nic is going to act like a giant douche.

As I read scenarios about couple after couple hating their new lives as parents, I could literally feel my heart pounding out of my chest. That's why when Nic came home an hour or so later than he said, it was all over: This was the start of us never being happy again. He didn't want to come home because we're having a baby and men don't understand babies and he's never going to understand me. Who would want to come home to a tired, pregnant wife anyway? Men don't really want babies. And so on and so forth.

Are you starting to see why Nic confiscated this book? He came home to me sitting on the floor in tears informing him that I was freaking out and can't have a baby. And that's when he calmly reminded me how undouche-like he is and that he was taking my book. It was one of the shortest crises I've ever had.

When I told Nic I was writing about this, his declaration again was: "I'm not like the guys in that book, dammit!" Totally true. I'm lucky to have someone who can find me crying on the floor and make it okay. He'll still laugh about it though, which is one of the reasons I like him so much.

Oh, and if anyone wants a good alternative to Babyproofing Your Marriage, read Heather Armstrong's It Sucked, and Then I Cried. Or watch "Away We Go." Both address the same sort of issues; neither make you want to rethink any important life decisions.

Folk Dance Quilt: Completed

2010-01-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

A few months back, Alissa somehow lead me to discover this quilt pattern. Mostly, I just loved the fabrics of the original, but then opted to not spend the money to buy the quilt kit. Luckily, my mother-in-law has an entire room of fabric (seriously, it's a whole bedroom) that for some lovely reason she keeps stocked with material and lets me pillage whenever I please. So this is my version:

I must be liking quilting more because I have now finished two entire quilts--without making Nic contribute at all.

If baby is a girl, then this is going in the nursery. If baby is a boy, I'll have to raid the fabric room for some less-flowery material. We'll hopefully know soon: Feb. 1 is my next ultrasound.

Bitchin' Camero

2010-01-08T13:26:00.001-08:00

It's amazing how fast a car can be restored when you're not the one paying for it. It took Nic about a year to get the body work and paint done on his Coronet; for a client's Camero it took him roughly a month. Here's some before and after pictures that had me oohing and awwing.

I don't know how he has the patience, vision, and skill to turn this:

Into this:

How fantastic are those stripes? He did SUCH an amazing job. I mean, he cut out and replaced entire sections of metal. Who does that?

I like him so much.

Christmas and some additional info

2009-12-31T10:41:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve and the next morning in Provo with my family and then made our way up to the Stewart's for Christmas dinner. At our various family Christmas parties we told our news to anyone who didn't know. Apparently I had a lot of people convinced that I never wanted kids. It's not that I never wanted them, just not until recently.

Alissa sent baby a Christmas present, and while the dogs think they look delicious, I cannot get over the fact that I have baby toys. For a real live baby to play with. I don't know if I can sufficiently say how crazy that seems to me. I mean, besides my pants getting tighter and feeling yucky all the time, there is so far no tangible evidence to suggest that we are really going to be parents in June. But there are occasionally little things, like these toys, where I think ho-lee-crap, we're having a baby! We seriously couldn't be happier.

And since I've been pretty scarce with any details, here's a little recap of the past few months for those who are interested:

I found out I was pregnant in October when I went in to have surgery on my wrist. They sent me home after my prego test came back positive.
I didn't break the news to Nic in any sort of creative way. I called him in the hospital parking lot and told him I didn't have the surgery because of the pregnancy test. His response: "Are you shitting me?" To which I answered: "No, I'm not shitting you!!!" This is possibly one of my favorite conversations that we've ever had; you just have to imagine the two of us ecstatically cursing during one of the most life-changing exchanges we've ever had.
My mom was supposed to pick me up after my surgery, so I called her at work to let her know there was no need. That's when I told her the news over the phone while she was at work. I'm really not good at telling people about this.
Josh and Jess were in town right after I found out, but we were still too nervous to tell anyone. Sorry guys, I told you I'm not good at this.
I told Alissa after she picked me up from the airport in California. And if anyone needs someone who knows how to treat a pregnant lady, Alissa is your woman.
Nic eventually told some of his family members, but the majority of people didn't know until December after we had an ultrasound and saw that everything was going well.

I just started my second trimester and I think I'm starting to feel better. For a while there I was super nauseous all the time. I managed to only actually throw up twice: once at my desk at work and once at home. Now the main thing is that I'm just tired all the time. If you didn't know I was pregnant, you wouldn't be able to tell--but that doesn't stop me from feeling rotund all of the time.

Nic has been amazing and has taken good care of me. I think he's worried that I'm going to be disappointed if baby turns out to be a boy...right now I refer to baby as Baby Norah, because, well, I want a little Norah. But we also have a boy name, so I promise I'm happy either way. Shopping for girl stuff if just so much more fun.

All of this is to say that we really truly are thrilled and excited. I could do without this whole pregnancy thing, but we're looking forward to the baby part. So hopefully my lack of enthusiasm about this part hasn't given anybody the wrong idea about how happy we are overall. The end.

Sup's got his snow boots on

2009-12-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

I wish I could get this excited about going outside.

The only problem is coming home and removing the snowballs.

Wherein I spill the beans:

2009-12-21T14:07:00.001-08:00

I'm pregnant. With a baby.

Due June 29, 2010.

Remember Thanksgiving?

2009-12-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, we did celebrate Thanksgiving, I've just been in slow motion lately. But I wanted to make sure to give a big thank you to Mike and Emily for letting us and the dogs come stay with them in Cedar City.

I made pies, Nic fried a turkey, and Mike and Emily supplied the rest of our amazing dinner. And I'm not trying to offend anyone when I say that it was the most stress-free holiday ever.

We also went riding at Three Peaks and I got to ride Mike's four-stroke dirt bike, which was SO much fun that it inspired me to trade my bike for one that's easier to ride. Now we cannot wait to get down there again!

Birthday wish

2009-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

For my birthday, Nic picked up the Ugg boots I ordered for myself and got me a new motorcycle! It's been too snowy to ride, but my new bike starts with the push of a button AND is complete with a kickstand and headlight. According to Nic, the motorcycle I had before was way more high performance, but all that meant to me was that I kept fouling spark plugs and could hardly ride it. This bike is like the golf cart of dirt bikes: perfect for me!

Besides my new boots and new ride, I had just one birthday wish. Anyone who has seen Nic in the past few months could not miss his growing chin hair. Pictured here in all its glory, it got to the point where I could braid it. Ewww. For weeks I've been asking if I could just chop it off; but the more I asked, the more he resisted. So finally, as my birthday wish, he let me take the scissors to what I called his Fu Manchu. Best birthday wish ever. Don't be mad Nic, but thanks for indulging me.

While I was out

2009-11-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

As I lounged in Laguna Hills, Nic was making himself busy by:

Hauling Mike and Emily's Landcruiser to Cedar City and then taking an overnight trip to Vegas for SEMA.

Babysitting Korbin so our neighbor could pick up his wife and second child from the hospital. How adorable are they? Apparently Moxie kept trying to lick his face so Korbin had to tackle her. Usually kids just run or cry. Or both.

I don't think I've mentioned that we bought a boat. Well, my parents funded the project and Nic is supplying the labor. He gutted the whole thing over the weekend, which is so much more awesome because I thought I was going to have to help and it ended up getting done without me.

It may not look like much now, but after Nic is done with it it is going to be AMAZING. Major bonus: On our boat, dogs are totally allowed. I will call it the Puppy Barge.

He didn't send me a picture, but Nic also installed a stair lift for my Grandpa Brinkerhoff, who is suffering from Parkinson's and also recovering from a twice-broken hip. He spent his entire Saturday in Bountiful making it so my grandpa can get in and out of the house safely. Nic is by far one of the very best people I know. Seriously.

So You Think You Can Dance dance dance

2009-11-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm lame and didn't bring a camera with me to California, which means there are no pictures of the GINORMOUS swap meet outside the Rose Bowl. But here's me and Alice, the sweetest, nicest baby that will ever trick you into thinking that you can have your own babies and be just fine. I kind of don't think she is for real--but then there she is being all pleasant and charming and perfect.

Between talking, shopping, and lounging, we officially decided that from now on, Alissa and I MUST attend each SYTYCD tour. Because we're twelve. And because we can. Have I ever mentioned my love for Phillip? I heart him SO much!

Here's a taste of his awesomeness:

A big thanks to Alissa (and Jon!) for a great vacation. I can't wait to come back! Seriously, can I come back now?

At least I tried

2009-11-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Because we haven't had a Christmas tree in two years, I made it a point to buy one at the end of last season so I would have it this year. Unfortunately, I've just discovered why it was 75% off.

Because he's the calm one

2009-10-30T17:13:00.001-07:00

I prefer not to get my arms pulled off and having to apologize to small children, so Moxie was not invited to Halloween at work. Sup, however, had one of the best days evar! I can't even count how many people told him how pretty he is--which is Sup's FAVORITE thing. And the fact that he got pet for about two hours straight means that he was the happiest dog who has ever been happy on Halloween.

If only Moxie could learn to control the crazy.

The Wilcoxes

2009-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's not often that all the Wilcox children are in the same vicinity...well, more appropriately it's not often enough that we get to spend time with Josh and Jess. Thankfully, they have a little R&R this month and are spending a lot of it in Utah. How cute are we in our white and blue? You know that I was really excited to see them because I even went to the football game just to enjoy their company.

Unrelated discovery: Turns out Josh's beard matches my hair color perfectly.

Hobbes in a box

2009-10-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sundays are always interesting because we're home a lot more than usual. I don't know if this throws our pets for a loop, or if this is really how they spend any given day.

Keeping the peace

2009-10-18T11:25:00.000-07:00

We had a full house this weekend with Alexi, Dug, and JJ staying over. All four dogs had a party; however, Alexi was bored out of her mind. Turns out my house isn't all that exciting for teenagers.

Nic seems to be some sort of magnet for all things canine. He hasn't been able to sit in peace for four days--and I'm pretty sure that JJ slept on his head each night. It seems that the only time JJ wasn't attached to Nic was for this picture. I think he had sneaked downstairs to harass the cats...

Semantics

2009-10-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Me: Hey, how come you didn't call me back?
Nic: Sorry, I was putting out a fire.
Me: What, are Cory and Justin arguing or something?
Nic: Babe, I was literally PUTTING OUT A FIRE. I told you I was welding.

Crafty

2009-09-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Per Debbie's request, here is my most recent sewing project. I can't count the number of projects I've started and then promptly forgotten, but this one was different (in that I actually finished it). I think I liked it because it involved very little measuring and a lot of random cutting. Just my style! I got the pattern off of etsy, just in case anyone is interested.

Teenagers!

2009-09-28T15:55:00.001-07:00

This picture about sums up how the weekend with Colman and Alexi went. I don't remember when I first turned TOTALLY UNCOOL, but apparently I'm wallowing in the depths of lameness because I couldn't get these two to do a single thing with me this weekend. Movie? No. Shopping? Nope. Do you want to do anything? No, we'll just stay at home and not hang out with you. How about Cafe Rio? Well, you can just order it and bring it home...

Whatever. I say that THEY are the lame ones for not wanting to do anything. We'll just see if this holds up when Josh and Jessica come to visit. My guess is that they'll be a little more motivated to have some fun. Nic and I are just chopped liver I tell you!

Minneapolis

2009-09-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

I'm too tired to even worry about rotating pictures: That about sums up my week in Minneapolis. I can't say much about convention because, well, I like my job and there seems to be a universal rule that blogging about work always ends badly. We came away with some REALLY good stories though. But here's some visuals from my week in Minnesota (stolen from a coworker's Facebook page).

We did a lot of walking from the Marriott to the convention center and back again. The best part: Thursday there was a farmers market and the streets were FULL of homegrown goodness.

This is actually after we had torn everything down on the last day. We're smiling because it's over.

Celebrating at Dave and Busters, where I won 1,000+ tickets. Come to find out that 1,000 tickets is mere chump change.

The saddest part: Moxie and Sup slept by the door all the first night waiting for me to come home. And all this time I thought they only loved Nic!

Nic didn't fare much better: I was gone five days and came home to five ramen noodles wrappers, which is funny because I don't cook while I'm home, so what's with all the ramen?

Dear child who left a ball on the playground:

2009-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry that Sup found it before you did.

Overheard on O'Fallon's Way

2009-09-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Random man talking on his phone while walking down street: "Fine. But you know what? One day you're going to want me to get you something, and I'm gonna be like 'no! remember that time that I was stranded and you wouldn't get me gas for my pocket bike?'"

Four years

2009-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Oh Nic, I like you so much. Happy Anniversary!