Chase, Amy & Finn

Why did the duck go to jail? Because he was a quack dealer.

2012-02-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

They had him at last. Years and years of long, strenuous surveillance and hard work finally found its prize. And there he was, cuffed and turned so he was viewed in profile. His good side. There was something about him that demanded… not respect, but something similar. It demanded that you reached out your fingers and tickled him. Or told him a clever joke to try and get those mischievous beady eyes to glimmer.

Even the fellow taking his picture had to resist the urge to tackle him to the ground and give him a good wet willy. The chains at his feet clung to his ankles as he turned to face the camera for a frontal shot. “Stripes aren’t my style, eh?” he murmured to the photographer, chuckling slightly at his own lack of creativity. The photographer eyed him without a change in expression, still wondering how unprofessional it would be to start a tickle fight with the inmate. Deciding it wouldn’t bode well with the boss, he concentrated on taking the mug shot. “So, uh, what’re you in for?” he asked, trying to sound casual. SNAP. He took another picture. Blinking the dizziness out of his eyes, the inmate was thoughtful for a moment. “It’s a long story son. I’d tell you I’m innocent, but look at me—we both know what I am. There is no denying it. I’m as guilty as the day I was hatched! I… I…. I’M A QUACK DEALER!” and with that the inmate let out one loud, enormous quack. Immediately doors swung open and dozens of officers and guards flooded into the room.

Feathers flew up in the air as the duck was tackled to the ground. One officer jumped onto the photographer and slammed him to the floor. “Don’t worry, you’ll be alright!” he yelled over the quacks now resonating through the small room. QUACK QUACK QUACK. The duck was in a frenzy! The officers, finally pinning him down, looked like they had just had the pillow fight of their lives. “What are we gonna do?! This quack dealer is out of control,” shouted one young officer, clearly a rookie. “Wait!” the photographer cried. “I know what to do.” Everyone stared at him, even the duck, although he continued quacking ridiculously loud. The photographer rolled the slightly overweight cop off of himself and stood up, cracking his fingers menacingly at the duck. “Time to break out the fluffy fingers,” he murmured under his breath, his eyebrows arching with excitement. Secretly, he was ecstatic that he now had a valid excuse to tickle the duck. The other officers looked on in envy as he got ready to unleash his fingers. Who could resist tickling a cute little duck after all? The photographer began gently and then went into a full assault, causing the duck’s quacks to sputter and transform into laughs of glee. Suddenly, all the officers forgot their roles of honor and civic duty and began tickling the duck as well.

As the laughter subsided, they all lay there smiling and content. The duck let out a few chuckles every few seconds, but no quacks came out of his beak. Then the dean of the prison walked through the half-open door to see the scene of feathers and officers sprawled out on the floor. In horror, he pointed dramatically at the grinning duck and shouted, “Duck, you’ve dealt your last quack!!”

Mustache Thank You Postcards

2012-02-08T21:02:00.000-08:00

I sent out thank you postcards for Finn's mustache birthday party (even though we said no gifts, thanks to those who did, so sweet of you!) and to make them a little more personal I took photos of him playing with each toy he received. Just printed on some card stock on our computer and then on the back I wrote out a message and put the address and stamp. He didn't really want to smile in any of the pictures though - he has a really hard time doing anything but trying to eat rocks when we go outside. :)

P.S. If anyone reading this gave him a toy camera, let me know. Funnily enough, not one gift he received had a tag on it, so I'm trying to track you down, gift-giver!

One Year

2012-02-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Finn is ONE! Like, officially mama's-weeping-in-the-corner-and-silently-sobbing one. And what new things come with being a big-boy one year old? Well let me tell you:

He is almost to the point of mastering throwing tantrums. He's just not quite there though. By that I mean that when he throws a tantrum I just crack up laughing at him because it's cute. Annnd I'm sure that will last another day or two.
He is super clingy to me, which I kind of love because my non-huggy baby is suddenly a cuddle bug now.
He is eating 100% table foods, mostly consisting of yogurt, berries, cheesy eggs, cheese sticks, cheese crackers, peas, mac & cheese, and lots of pasta.
We just had his one year check-up and he is the 50th percentile for height and 10th for weight. My little boy is a whopping 20 lbs exactly.
His red hair is growing out!! We are so sad about this (cue me sobbing in the corner again) but the hair coming in underneath is a lovely golden blond. So he'll still be a heart throb and I'm sure he'll have a red beard like his papa. See how I'm consoling myself here?
He has had a total of 7 hair cuts since birth, his last being a fantastic bowl cut, due to him screaming uncontrollably every time the scissors came near him.
We are realizing more and more what a performer and a charmer he is. He will stop at nothing until he gets any human in a 20 yard radius to smile at him. And when he has more than one person watching, he runs around like a giggling maniac.
He finally learned to clap and give high fives! But he's not very generous with them. He'd rather run up to you and dangle his fingers JUST over your hand and then run away laughing, hoping you'll chase him down for a proper high five.

I'm sure I could go on and on... I'm trying to blog more often so that I don't forget the sweet/funny/crazy things he does all the time. He makes life so fun and - even though he's such a handful - surprisingly easy.

And also, I feel bad adding this in at the end, but the Chaser had his birthday a couple of weeks ago! He is 26 now! An old man. Finn and I surprised him at work the day before his birthday with a candy bouquet and a plate of cookies - complete with a Ron Swanson card and Tom Haveford's head saying "TREAT YO' SELF!" Because that's just what you gotta do.

Happy Birthday Chase! You are such a perfect husband and father - you make Finn and I want to be better each and every day. Love you!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-30T15:04:00.000-08:00

I know it's late, but I wanted to post about Finn's first Christmas! We didn't take a lot of pictures which I am so bummed about. But oh well.

To start off, this was Chase's beard right before we went up to Idaho. Fantastic, right?

This year (err, last year I guess) we went to Idaho for Christmas. It was so fun and we had a great time - we didn't want to leave! Finn was a little bit sick while we were there so he was kind of a grump most of the time, but that didn't stop his Grandma Child (who was also sick, poor mama) and his aunts from cuddling him right up. :)

Most of the trip was spent relaxing (and recuperating) but it was perfect. On Christmas eve we went to Chase's Uncle Rob and Aunt Steph's for dinner. We had fun with the family, reading the story of Christ's birth and opening presents from Uncle Rob and Aunt Steph (Finn LOVES his pillow pet! Thank you!)

Christmas morning we went to church and then came home to open up presents, but by then Finn was so very, very ready for a nap. So while he slept we opened gifts and ate breakfast. By the time he got up the living room was full of wrapping paper and boxes and when we tried to show him his gifts he hardly cared. But he was a happy boy anyway.

Chase and I each gave the other a few nice gifts and one homemade gift. Chase made the most amazing perfect awesome wall clock!! It is seriously so cool. It isn't finished because he wants me to design the faces (there are two, one is the hours and minutes, the smaller one is just seconds), but I'm so in love with it already! He is such a talented guy and he spent hours in the garage making it. Ahh, I have the best hubs. :)

For him, I made a website for his music and recording information. Check it out and listen to his lovely songs on the "Music" page: http://www.whatlightmusic.com annnd since I kind of ran out of time, but mostly because I wanted Chase to write the content, it's not quite finished. But all his songs are up and I was able to have a bunch of people listen and comment on them so he could read nice things on Christmas morning.

Eating Grandma's hair... and Grandma's tissue paper.

He loved playing in the snow, but he loved his Grandma Child even more. :)

Anyway, it was a great trip and it just reminded me of how much I love my in-laws. They are such amazing, loving, selfless and FUN people. I adore them! It's no wonder that Chase turned out they way he did.

And just because I don't want to forget it, my favorite memory of the whole trip was the first morning there, Chase went to go work with his dad on a plumbing job and Finn woke up when he left so I brought him into the bed with me and he fell back asleep. I tried so hard to move softly and reposition myself (he was hogging the bed!) but out of no where he sat right up on his bum, eyes half closed, looked around at me and gave me the biggest, cheesiest grin (exactly like the photo below) and then flopped face down on the bed, fast asleep. Without a doubt the cutest thing I have ever seen.

So surprisingly the plane ride home was fantastic! Finn was super happy the whole entire flight (even though he'd been sick and grumpy the whole trip) and near the end he started to get really sleepy so he wrapped his arms around my neck and smiled and babbled to me for 20 minutes until he dozed off. We're talking about the boy who is notorious for NOT cuddling or hugging. It was by far the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for. I love my sweet boy!

Just one more thing. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm grateful that He loved His enemies when no one else would. I'm grateful He embraced the sinners when others would stone them. I'm grateful He willingly gave His life when no one else would or could. I know He is the Son of God and that because of Him, I have the privilege to live on this earth and learn the difference between right and wrong - because of his example. I have the opportunity to have a family who I can be with forever. I have the blessing of going through trials that make me stronger and teach me about the power of prayer and faith and the healing that takes place when I put my trust in Him. I know that life is a gift, an opportunity to become more like Christ and I know that because of his atoning sacrifice, I can live with Him, with God, and with my family again after this life. This is the true meaning of Christmas - to celebrate the birth of the Son of God whose perfect example and loving sacrifice I so often take for granted.

Mustaches on strings are the finest of things.

2012-01-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

My dapper little man is turning one on Wednesday so we just had his birthday party this weekend. He told me he really wanted a mustache party, so that's what we did! Okay, he doesn't talk yet. But I could just tell he wanted one.

I had so much fun throwing this party! I saw a lot of ideas online that gave me a pretty specific plan in my head of what I wanted, and it actually turned out almost how I imagined. First I designed, printed, and cut out his invitations. Then I sewed each one with my sewing machine to create the "strings". That was a pain, but I like how they turned out.

I love this sweet little boy! We drew his mustache on with eyeliner. And the little bow tie he's wearing is just a felt one I saw on Pinterest that took about 5 minutes to make.

I was bummed that is was so super sunny on the day we had it, so the pictures are kind of lousy. The backdrop is just striped wrapping paper. All the platters were old rusty copper ones I found at the thrift store and painted white. The cupcake stand is just 3 old plates and 2 wine glasses turned upside down. It was so fun to transform them, especially since I usually really fail at spray painting things.

The menu/labels:

Cheesy Bow Ties - "The perfect side for a cheesy mustache"

Buffalo Chicken Dip - "Finner Finner Chicken Dinner" (our *long* nickname for Finn)

Fruit Kabobs - "They'll put hair on your lip"

Chocolate Top Hats - "Banana & Oreo delicacies"

Chocolate Cupcakes with Lindt truffles inside and cream cheese frosting.

A mustache smash cake

Chocolate Mustache Pops, or Flavor Savers - "Please take one if you really (picture of mustache)"

I loved making his cake! I found the idea just googling one day, but you just take a 2-layer 9-inch cake and cut an "S" shape in it. Then flip one of the halves over to make a mustache.

The labels have stripes on them, but it's hard to see in the sun. These top hats were so tasty and easy to make! I'd seen people do them with marshmallows, but I thought frozen bananas would be way yummier! I just sliced bananas, stuck them on Oreo halves with a little chocolate, then drizzled chocolate over each one and put them in the freezer.

This dip was so delicious! Everyone kept asking for the recipe, which you can find here. Really easy to make.

Of course I did the chocolate mustaches on sticks that everyone does.

We played Pin the Mustache on the Fox! I just painted this fox on some brown paper my mom had and taped it to a piece of wood. The kids had a ton of fun with this!

When guests arrived they took these mustache necklaces that I made using Shrinky Dink sheets. I had never seen these before but apparently everyone and their mom played with them when they were kids. Clearly I missed out. But I made up for it by making 30 of these mustaches! I don't care how old you are, watching plastic stuff shrink in the oven is always fun.

It's hard to see in this photo (I'm kind of bummed I didn't take more/better photos before everyone came, but I ran out of time and didn't even put up half of the mustaches I had planned on) but there are three strings hanging from a nail on our house and branching out to the walls, each with a dozen mustaches hanging from them. My awesome sister-in-law cut them out for me with her Silhouette machine. I really want one now, it is so cool!

Finn liked his cake after his initial "Why the heck is this stuff sticking to my hands!?" reaction.

One thing that worked out really great was to have a place for all the kids to play in the yard. We set up a couple of Ikea circus tents and tunnels, a slide, and some balls. That way the parents could eat and the little ones still had fun too!

I think it's safe to say that the little man had a good time too.

And here are our some of our friends and family modeling their lovely mustaches!

I love my sweet little family! :)

Chase shaved his beard into this nasty/awesome thing.

It just doesn't get any better than this little boy. He makes my life so beautiful in every way.

Anyway, the party turned out just fine and I think everyone had a blast! I felt like it was a bit of blur, but I did learn that if I ever do this again, I need to give myself twice as much time to set up! But I enjoyed making all the decorations and food so much. Thank you to my amazing mom and friends Lauren and Aubrey who helped so much with everything! Couldn't have done it without you.

Christmas!

2011-12-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! And Christmas ornaments. In fact, my very awesome friend sells some amazingly adorable/nerdy plush ornaments that anyone who actually reads this should check out. They are seriously too cute. You can buy them at her etsy shop.

10 Months

2011-12-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

This sweet little guy is 10 months old. (Okay, well he was when I started this post, I forgot to publish it). Gah, I just can't stand how dang cute he is! Chase and I just can't get enough of him.

So what's he been up to lately? Well... about 2 weeks ago, he started WALKING!

It has been so fun watching him learn to balance and then see the big smug grin on his face when he realizes he's actually walking all by himself. He's also just as scoundrely as ever. Scoundrely is the new word I made up, inspired by Finn, by the way. Start using it for anything or anyone who is constantly getting into trouble and then getting back out of it by being really, really, really ridiculously adorable.

Also, Finn met Santa at our ward party the other day. He loved it.

And just because I love old man sweaters, behold my spiffy looking baby:

NOM NOM NOM

2011-10-28T13:07:00.001-07:00

Watch out, or my little shark "fin" will eat you up.

9 Months

2011-10-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Right, so I'm kind of in denial about this. How can my perfect, sweet little baby boy already be 9 months old?! It feels like a very silly joke someone is playing on me. He's just my baby, not a soon-to-be walking toddler... Right? Please? Anyone?

But really. I cry. Anywho, here are some recent-ish photos of my handsome fellow. And yes, I admit to having an addiction to taking pictures of my little guy. Sorry for the overload.

Okay, okay. I know I have to accept it. But it's so bitter-sweet. I love that he is learning and growing and enjoying life more as he becomes so much more aware. In fact, there are things I am so glad he is doing that he never did as a "baby" baby. Like, when he's asleep in his car seat, he lets me pick him up and he'll lay his head on my shoulder and snuggle into my neck as I carry him to his crib. Best thing ever ever. And he is getting into that stranger-anxiety phase... He LOVES other people who smile and talk to him - he's the biggest, cheesiest flirt to them. But once he spots me and realizes I am not holding him, he'll pout and whine until he gets into my arms. Which is both super sweet and slightly inconvenient, haha. But I am just cherishing these moments when he desperately wants to be close to his mama. When else will he ever, REALLY, want to be with me at all times? So for now, even if it's inconvenient sometimes, I'll happily pick up my sweet boy when his arms are stretched out for me.

Anyway, as far as his 9 months stats, he weighs 17 lbs, 13 ounces and is 28 inches long. So he didn't gain much since his 6 month appointment, but the doctor said that is totally normal since he's been crawling and running all over the place. He still only has two teeth.

So lately, Finn has been liking some new things:

I think this photo says it all:
This toy, that some random stranger gave us for free when we were walking out of a consignment store, has become his most favorite thing ever! It even beats out RVCA's dog toys. I'm not surprised - I'd think walking would be pretty bomb too if all I'd ever done was crawl or sit or lay on my back. We usually walk down our one long hallway from one end of the house to the other at least 20 times a day. He'd do it all day long if his mama didn't get tired from turning him every time he ran into something. Anyway, Chase and I think there is nothing much cuter than watching this proud little boy waddle behind his walker. Behold, the cuteness:
In case Finn hasn't told you, a day is not really counted as a good day at all unless he makes at least one mad dash for RVCA's water bowl, which involves me realizing that he's not around and hearing him pitter-pattering into the laundry room, then me jumping up and running across the kitchen yelling "FINNERS, FINNERS, FINNERS!" and him turning to see me coming, giggling, and continuing as fast as he can to get to that water bowl and splash it all over himself. I usually beat him to it, but when I don't, that boy has the smuggest little grin on his face.
We've discovered mum-mums finally, and he's a fan. I love them too because he can kind of feed himself instead of me constantly popping puffs into his mouth.
I bought Finn some suspenders, so I had to make a new tie to go with them. This is one of his Grandpa Child's ties. I love my cheesy boy. :)

And also, on an extremely-unrelated-to-Finn-being-9-months-old note, I made this dress with the help of my awesome mama and I like it very much, if I do say so. Only cost me $6!
Finn may have picked up some of his daddy's musical talents. He's got rhythm:
He also thinks it's kind of funny to feed RVCA yogurt melts:
And last but not least, my son makes rude noises using my knee:

Punkin Patch (kind of)

2011-10-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we went with my mom and dad and brother and his family to some stables where there was a petting zoo, hay maze, and pumpkin patch. We went because they had 2-for-1 coupons on Groupon. Anyway, we unknowingly picked the hottest day of October (97 degrees) and went at probably the hottest time of the day. We were pretty sweaty the whole time and slightly disappointed when we realized their idea of a pumpkin patch was about 20 pumpkins stacked on some hay. But we still had fun getting all hot and dusty! Although next time I will check the weather a little more thoroughly - dang am I jealous of all you cold-weather people right now.

Finn loves his grandma and grandpa Payne, they always make him grin from ear to ear. And I love Fall - even if it feels like summer still!

Time for another haircut.

2011-10-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

Lately, this little boy has been looking quite shaggy. Evidence:

So he had a haircut. His fifth haircut in less than 9 months. I swear his hair grows half an inch a week, it's ridiculous. But he's much happier now that he can see! :)

Tag, Finn's it.

2011-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

So I have this baby. And he's a clutz.

2011-09-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Finn has been crawling and walking around furniture for a while now and this new mobility really presents a lot more opportunities for him to get hurt. Two nights ago he was in the living room happily munching on some little puffs while walking around the coffee table when he tripped, fell and bumped his chin. After a few seconds his mouth filled with blood and started streaming all over his face and hands. So to preface, this has happened before. He fell and his mouth started bleeding in the same spot, then stopped after several minutes. So we were trying not to panic too much. Anyway, he had smeared the blood all over his face and hair so we stripped him down and put him in a tub. We thought the bleeding stopped, but it was just lighter. So we cleaned him up and put some jammie-jams on him and let him sit on his papa's lap and drink some cold water. He was still bleeding and the water he was drinking quickly turned red.

He seemed happy in the bath and drinking his water, so we decided to feed him some baby food and he ate a lot but was still bleeding a little. After he ate we let him play in his jumper while we finished making dinner. We found him in the jumper with more blood on his face and hands. It seemed like he kept putting his hands in his mouth which made him bleed more.

He started acting tired so I put him in his swing. Once he fell asleep I went to go move him into his room and found him with a puddle of blood on his jammies and blood dripping and coagulating on his lips.

Chase and I were really starting to worry and panic at this point - it was so scary to see him that way and realize he was bleeding more than we thought. I made some phone calls (and sent picture texts) to some nursing and dental friends and they said not to worry unless the bleeding persisted into the next day. After we wiped his mouth (he was still asleep) the bleeding finally stopped once he stayed asleep. In the end, I'm so glad we didn't go to the ER over this, but I have to say we were very, very close when we saw him like that picture above.

Needless to say, we were more traumatized than he was. Our poor baby didn't really know what was going on or what the yucky tasting stuff was that he kept swallowing or why his mouth was aching. The next morning his diaper was tar black from swallowing so much blood. :(

Anyway, his first big owie was a fantastic success.

Toothbrush

2011-09-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

Finn loves our toothbrushes - he gets so excited that he pants, in fact.

My Little Trouble Maker

2011-09-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Firstly, here are some pic-sirs that we took with my new early Christmas gift from Chase - a new lens for our camera! I won't pretend we know very much about photography, but we had at least decided it might be nice to get a different lens than just the one that came with our camera. I'm liking it so far but still learning! Anyway, I think it will be fun to have as we try and capture memories of our little family.

Secondly, Finn is the silliest baby ever and I love it. Every night he gets into this giggly crazy shrieking mood. He becomes hysterical to the point that if you even look at him or start to come near him in an attitude that implies you might tickle him, he shrieks and giggles before you even touch him!

In other news, there is a growing list of things that Finn likes to make trouble out of:

RVCA's water bowl. If we don't shut the door and I turn my head for 5 seconds I hear little splish-splashes and shrieks echoing from the laundry room.
The recycle bin. It's just a little metal trashcan from Ikea that we put bottles and boxes in, but anytime he's near it he can't resist trying to turn it over.
The spice rack. We have a little microwave stand in the corner of our kitchen and underneath it is our spice rack. He likes to pull out the bottles and try and eat them.
Dog toys. Because baby toys are just lame, in case you haven't heard.
RVCA's bed. Absolutely every single time - without fail - that he is in our bedroom he speed-crawls to her bed in the corner, flops onto it, then turns sideways to look at us. It's so dang cute.

So basically what I'm trying to say is, I still have a lot of baby proofing to do. :)

Also, Finn loves baths as much as ever - as soon as he hears that tub running he will do everything in his power (including steamrolling you) to get to it, even if his buns are out there for all to see. And I just like his hair in the last picture - it just fell like that.

Teeth & Crawling

2011-08-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Finner-Finner-Chicken-Dinner is 7 months old! Which is really messed up, I'm so not ready for my little man to grow up. It's bitter-sweet because each day he is changing so much and I just love him more and more as he grows, but at the same time I'm dreading the day when I'll look back and miss all these perfect moments with him - maybe I never will because I'll just be so wrapped up in loving him at whatever stage he's at? Anyway, he is the sweetest, cutest, silliest, most wonderful little boy in the world and Chase and I cannot get enough of him.

So three new things: He has two teeth (as of yesterday), is crawling all over the place and (also as of yesterday) is pulling himself up to furniture to stand! Seriously kid, you can just stop now and give your parents a breather. So many changes means he it is a lot more difficult to keep him from getting into trouble, but also means he has that many more ways to show off his adorableness.

So he started crawling about a week and a half ago. He had been rocking on his hands and knees for what seemed like a month and then finally figured out how to move. Here's a video of the first day he started officially crawling. He's a lot faster now... unfortunately. :)

So now that he crawls, he is SO not interested in any toys unless they are RVCA's. If he sees her bone he'll lunge after it and I have to race to him before he sticks it in his mouth. The only other thing he's interested in - other than crawling anywhere he can, pulling up on furniture and bumping his head on things - is our phones and our computers. We're trying to be very strict about not ever letting him play with our phones at this point, but he wants them sooo bad. He'll do just about anything to get his hands on them or our laptops. This morning I had my computer out on the floor and it was like some kind of crazy-mad-baby switch went off in his brain. His eyes got big, his mouth opened into a manic grin, and he propelled himself at it faster than I've ever seen him move. So for the next 10 minutes I slid my laptop around me in a circle on the carpet and Finn just chased after it relentlessly while I laughed my head off. He does this cute thing when he crawls where he pops his little baby bum up between each "step" and it just melts me. I finally was laughing too hard and he was too quick and smeared all his lovely drool on the keyboard so I thought it was time to stop, or else I think he'd have kept going all day!

I almost forgot - he also loves door stoppers. You know the boingy ones that are like a springs sticking out from the wall? He just sits there on his tummy and pulls them back and forth so they boing really loud. Also, my computer is telling me boing is not actually a word, but I refuse to believe it.

RVCA loves the new-and-improved crawling Finn more than anyone. For some reason he's a lot more fun when he is right at her level. They get a hoot out of each other, as you can see:

They are basically best buds. :)

As for teeth, here's the first one (you can see it better if you click to view the full-size photo):

Also for an update on us, life is so good! Chase got a raise at work and I've been keeping busy with my web design job. Casey and Aubrey - some of our best friends from our BYU days - are moving down here and we are so excited to get to hang out with them again! And I'm finally getting around to decorating - I'm almost done with our bedroom, I just need to paint the lamps we got from a thrift store. Finn's room is almost done too. Next on the list is refinishing a sweet mid-century desk that our good friends Adam and Amanda were too kind to give us because they couldn't take it with them to law school.

Chase is almost done writing a new song. He's trying to play and record his music more, which makes me so happy. He is so ridiculously talented with music. Hopefully Finn takes after him.

We're pretty boring, so I'll talk more about Finn:

He loves yogurt melts. He starts grunting and shaking his arms when he sees me opening the bag.
He thinks RVCA sneezing is the funniest thing in the world.
He loves to eat our noses:
He is so happy all the time. He's such a good sport about everything and just loves to laugh and grin and be tickled, it seems.
He's had 4 haircuts so far, and a BIG bald patch on the back of his head that is mostly covered by the hair above it (read: comb-over). It's growing back in, but for now he's rockin the bowl-cut look.
He's started making more advanced sounds, like babababa. Except he only does them when he's crawling, haha.
He has a big stuffed soccer ball from Ikea that he LOVES. Which is good, because I'm gonna raise him to be a soccer star! Well, only if he doesn't have my bad knees.
He goes down for naps and bedtime wide awake most of the time and falls asleep quickly, but he's still waking up once a night. I still don't know why he does it considering up until 4 months he was sleeping 11 hours every night, but I don't have the heart to do anything CIO-related. I'm just cherishing the extra cuddles!

Annnd I can't think of anything else to write about. So I'll post pictures instead!

Just Things.

2011-08-13T21:51:00.001-07:00

We had our three year anniversary a week ago. We went to a nice steak house. It was great to just relax and talk and eat yummy steaks. For our anniversary the same thing that happens every year happened: we decided not to do gifts but then we both get each other something anyway. Chase got me the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox which is probably one of my most favorite movies ever! And he also got me... a Kindle!! WOOH! I love it. I just finished The Help today as a matter of fact - it's such a perfect way to read when you have a scoundrel of a baby getting into trouble all the time. You can set it down and come right back to it, all using just one hand. Good job honey bug. :)

I got Chase a new stripe-tastic shirt from Urban Outfitters and surprised him by finally... FINALLY decorating our room that has been so boring and bare for almost 2 years. I will post photos as soon as we find some side table lamps for it! I've also been working on some nursery decor, so I'll post pics of that too.

Anyway, here are some of the things I made to decorate our room. They are simple and don't take much talent to make, but are meaningful to us.

Okay, I actually didn't make the shark one for our room. I made it for my very shark-tastic friend Nikki because she loves shark week more than anybody ever ever.
And I love her.

Chase and I both had the Ticket watch from Nixon. It's how we met, on a Ticket Tuesday (hence the name of our blog). Anyway, here's our sweet little watches. When Chase proposed he gave me a watch first, and then a ring. He said the watch was for time, and the ring was for all eternity. He's so sweet and sappy. :)

This is a quote from one of our favorite songs by Fun. Our favorite line is, "We should live until we die." And we should.

This is hanging above our bed in a huge 11x30 inch frame. Our faces are the O's in Goodnight. It's how we first kissed.

My roommates had one of those cliche signs above our apartment door that said "Always Kiss Me Goodnight." When Chase dropped me off one night at the door, we stood there talking. A friend of his walked out of the apartment across the hall and teasingly said, "Heyyyy you better do what that signs says Chase!!" So then we stood there and I finally said, "Sooo, are you going to kiss me?" And he said, "Is that okay?" I said yes. Then we kissed. Then he said, "Thaaaaank you."

And this is just a creepy awesome picture I made a while ago but never posted. Don't worry. It's not in our room.
It's in the guest bathroom.
Just kidding!

Snakes' Weddin'!

2011-08-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

For Independence Day we went up to Idaho to see Chase's gorgeous sister Christina get married to her man Kol-dog in the Logan, Utah Temple! It was such a fun trip! We were beyond excited to bring Finn to see his grandma and grandpa Child and all the rest of Chase's family.

We had a blast going boating, hanging out, and of course watching Snakes get sealed to her hubby for time and all eternity. Chase and I were married in the Logan temple too and it was such a beautiful reminder, sitting their in the sealing room, remembering what we were promised in there - that we would be together forever and that our family would be eternal. I love being reminded that we are sons and daughters of God who have so much potential to do wonderful things and create and progress - forever. It really was like reliving our own ceremony being in there. I'm so so happy for Christina - I've never seen her smile so big and cry so much. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip.

This last one is my favorite. I love my little family! They are my whole world.

The Zoo & The Biosphere

2011-08-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

We went to the Zoo and the Biosphere a couple of months ago, but I never posted about them so I'm playing catch up.

The Biosphere is in Tucson about 2 hours away from us. We decided last minute to take a trip there with Mama and Papa Payne on Labor Day. It was very cool - it's a huge glass dome with a rainforest, desert, and ocean all in one. A bunch of scientists lived inside for two years doing experiments. Let's all take a little moment to thank Blogger for their backwards, unorganized, and inefficient image uploading method.

It was Finn's first time in the Ergo and he fell right asleep. :)

He has a fantastic pout.

Doesn't it totally look like the Emerald City?

Love my mom & dad!

We also went to the World Wildlife Zoo & Aquarium. I love zoos! It was fun - we went on what was probably the last nice day before this unbearable summer heat came. Finn didn't really know what was going on but my mom, Kennedy and I had fun!

This may be my most favorite picture ever of myself.

So sweet and thoughtful.

Alligators are behind us! But you can't tell because Finn's hair is in the way.

This little lizard was telling Finn and funny joke about a duck.

Two striped little babies, just saying hello.

Annnnd this is the best photo ever of Finn. I can't wait to show it to his girlfriends.

But then they'll see this one and forget all about the one above it. :)

Inspiration

2011-08-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Love this so much. I hope someday I can say I've lived like she did. :)

6 Months!

2011-07-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

What the heck! Finn is 6 months old. How is this even possible? Yesterday he was just my little baby and now all of the sudden he's turning into a little boy. Why didn't anyone tell me how hard it is to watch your baby grow up?

We are loving Finn to pieces. He has such a fun personality - just look at the videos I've posted. He's turning into a funny man like his papa. He loves to make us laugh, so he really tries to be a little ham all of the time. When we go to tickle him, he starts screaming in delight before we even touch him just because he knows we love it. He's a big cheese ball!

Finn's appointment went great! He was flirting with all the nurses right up until the needles went in. Poor guy. He cried for less than a minute and then was happy again and has been all day - thankfully!

He weighs 16 lbs, 1 oz. so he's gaining steadily and finally getting a bit chubby! He's 26.5 inches, so he's in the 25% for weight and 50% for height.
The doc said his top two teeth are coming in! I never even LOOK at the top ones, but she showed me and his gums are all swollen. I can't handle this. Stop growing up!
Then, just to rub it in my face that he's such a big growing boy, he's trying to scoot and crawl with his knees all day! Can't I just push him down?

Here are some of his 6 month photos I took this morning - thanks for the adorable outfit mama Duck! :)

Happy Jumper

2011-07-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I feel silly posting so much about this kid. But then I look at him and I don't feel silly anymore. :)

(And I promise I'm not that mean to RVCA - she was nibbling my side!)

The Adventures of Finn & RVCA

2011-07-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Finn and RVCA are starting to be best buddies! RVCA let's him pull her hair and try to suck on her paws as long as she has free reign to lick his fingers, toes, and face.

Them

2011-07-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, right after my first semester in college, I came home from work and felt sad for judging someone and then later realizing I was quite wrong about them. I used to write a lot to get out my feelings so I started typing and ended up with this little story. I found it yesterday rummaging through files on my computer - I'm glad I did because it was a needed reminder. I've never let anyone but Chase read it. I'm not a writer and I know this "story" is super corny, but I wanted to share it as part of our journal/blog so I don't forget.

Why? Why should I sit here while they all stare and taunt me? I can see it in their eyes; “This is going to be good,” they say. I just glare. They don’t notice. They don’t notice very much. All they really want is to see me fail. I know they are waiting for me to screw up, to act like a fool. I brace myself.

They see everything. They see the wealthy housewife with her Prada purse and oversized sunglasses. She seems to look down on even them. They see the mother of three working night shifts as a janitor. Her back looks like it will break if she bends down one more time. They feel bad for her. They see the twelve-year-old girl wandering off by herself, trying to lose her mother. They even see me.

But I don’t understand. They judge all these people they see. The wealthy housewife probably spends all of her money on worthless, worldly possessions. Her kids are spoiled with gifts and starving for love. She’s too worried about looking the part, she doesn’t even take off her sunglasses when she comes inside. The janitor. They feel bad for her, like I said. She’s probably illegal and can’t even speak English. They are glad they are not her. Poor thing should go back where she came from. And then the young girl. She keeps peeking around corners, hoping her mom won’t come by and bother her. She has a cell phone. At that age? Soon they will give them everything they want and they’ll never learn what it’s like not to have nice things.

What of me? Do they judge me too? Of course. Why shouldn’t they? But I can’t imagine what they would think. “The poor lady, she is stuck here all day, almost as much as us.” They must think I have a nice family to go home to. I don’t. They probably think it’s noble that I at least try to live a happy life. I’m a good person, really I am. They are the ones who judge everyone. They probably look at my clothes and think I’m old fashioned. But I choose to be that way; I don’t want to conform just because something may be the latest trend.

The wealthy lady comes up to me. I brush the hair out of my eyes. I try to sound sophisticated, like I don’t even care that she probably hasn’t worked a day in her life while I sit here 10 hours a day working my tail off. She doesn’t even smile when she speaks. Permanent frown lines mark her fake, plastic-surgery tightened face. “Ha!” I think to myself. “That’s what money does to you. Makes you unhappy.” I’m glad that I don’t even care about money; it’s not important for happiness. Even they seem to stare smugly at this lady, as if to rub in the fact that they are permanently and pleasantly plastered with grins of contentment. They can see it when they look at her. She has everything that money can offer and nothing that it can’t. She must have had terrible parents, to end up that way. I answer her question and she moves along somewhere else.

I glance at them. “Bravo,” they say. “Way to show her that you are way more put together than her without all the diamonds and sports cars.” That’s right. I am. There is that girl again. On that cell phone. Doesn’t she have homework? And where is her mother? What kind of parents just drop their kids off here on a school night? Irresponsible. This girl is going to end up just like the Prada lady. When I was her age I didn’t have a cell phone. In fact I don’t have one now. How unfair is that? I roll my eyes and she yet again pops her head up to scan for her mother. You’re just fine princess; mommy won’t catch you using up all of her minutes and spending those bills you hold in your hand.

The janitor is here early. Maybe to look around at all the things she wishes she could have but simply can’t afford. She walks slowly. A lot is on her mind. They wonder what worries could be running through her head.

Another customer. I help her. And now the Prada purse lady is back. She’s probably having trouble finding the women’s section. They seem to wear smirks as she approaches. She hands me a long sleeve shirt with a tag on it. She starts to fish through her purse for the credit cards. Her glasses slip off her face and fall on the ground. Janitor to the rescue. She bends down and picks up the glasses as she passes and hands them to her. Suddenly I notice a deep purple bruise over the woman’s eye that had been concealed by the glasses. For a brief moment as wealth meets poverty, the two ladies exchange a look. As if even though they are from two different worlds, for one moment they completely understand each other. The woman murmurs her thanks to the janitor.

Maybe they were wrong about these two women. Maybe.

I look at the Prada lady again. Only she’s not the Prada lady. Now she’s the beaten wife. I notice it now. The way she walks tenderly, with a small limp. The sunglasses and long sleeve shirt. They seem to realize it too. It’s not what it seems.

They point to the girl with their vacant eyes. No sign of the cell phone. Still holding the money in her hand. It’s almost closing. She better get whatever she came here to get. But she keeps scanning, searching. What for? They come up with many scenarios. Not likely the mother. A boyfriend maybe. One that she’s not supposed to see. Or maybe employees? She did have her eye on some shoes. Maybe… maybe. I keep watching to see if she tries to slip them into her purse.

An alarm. I look down at my watch. Time to leave at least. No sign of any more shoppers. The girl must have walked past me without me even noticing. I go to collect my things.

As I head for the exit, I see the janitor. She is sitting near the large sliding-glass doors with a bucket and mop. She’s crying. In her hands I see some bills. It reminds me of the young girl. She had some… I turn around and walk back to the register. I feel like I’ve forgotten something. Or I just feel confused. I see them. They look at me. They are taunting me again. What do they see in me? The answer comes without words. I know now. Look at this lady. She chooses to see what she wants to see. How could she know what those people were really like? She passes judgment on them. She ridiculed them in her mind. She cares about no one but herself. Maybe not even herself. That’s what they think. But they are wrong. Maybe they were right once, but not anymore. I walk up to them. The three manikins stand there, always in the same place, in the same clothes, with the same judging looks on their faces. I laugh to myself. They don’t move or make a sound. They are manikins after all. They see only on the surface. They don’t have the ability to see what is inside. But I do.

Slowly I walk back to the exit. She is still there, with silent tears streaming down her face. I stop in front of her and pull my wallet out of my bag. She looks up at me as I hand her some money. She says thank you in a voice shaking with emotion. “No… thank you,” I say, equally as grateful. As I turn to leave, I glance at them.

They are just a bunch of dummies.

Father's Day

2011-07-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot to do a post about Chase's first Father's Day! So here it is.

To celebrate, we did things in reverse order. On Friday night - before Father's Day - Chaser opened his gifts! Finn decided to go all out and get his daddy some basketball shorts, new church socks, a huge bag of Sour Patch Kids, drill bits, and a picture that I made of him and his papa.

This picture was inspired by a song Chase wrote for me during our last semester of college when I was having major self-esteem issues and comparing my design work to everyone else and feeling like I wasn't good enough and I'd never amount to anything, etc. This really gave me a huge boost and helped me realize what matters most - looking on the inside and not worrying what others think. It's something I want him to teach our son, and I know he will because he's an amazing father. I sing this song to Finn all the time as a lullaby.

Here are the lyrics, it's called Sea:

I'm a drop on the tail of a ravenous whale,
in the middle of nowhere and everyone's here.
And I became aware that the people I see,
are the people that live and they die without me.

I feel buried, so buried, at the top of the sea,
a fifteen-day ferry from the incivility
of the mountains, the mountains, where I still call my home
and the clouds take control at the top of the stones and they say:
Chorus
"You're lost at sea... Indefinitely
Please come back home... You shouldn't be alone."
I'm a leaf in the wind and I feel I'm destined,
to be something I'm not, but I think that's the point.
I got sky up above and the sea down below
and with this blank canvas I'll have something to show

To the people, those people, the ones that everyone sees.
And the only care I have for them is them caring for me,
when I should be loving everything that's building up inside of me,
and throw away the things I'm not 'cause one day I'll matter to me.
Chorus
"You're lost at sea... Indefinitely
Please come back home... You shouldn't be alone. "

Chase loved it, even though the colors printed out funny.

On Saturday night, we went out to Texas Roadhouse, which is Chase's favorite restaurant. And as usual, we were full from salad and rolls and brought the bulk of our meal home and heated that up for Sunday dinner. Fancy, I know. Here's my two men on Sunday morning before church:

Chase is such an incredible father. He's completely enthralled and in love with his little boy. I knew he'd be a great dad because he is the type of person that pretty much loves everyone he meets. But he truly loves Finn with all his heart - he would do or sacrifice anything to keep his little boy safe and happy. He loves to play with him, cuddle him, feed him sweet potatoes, attack his tummy with kisses, tickle him, make him laugh, sing to him, dance with him, give him baths, rock him, even change his diaper.

He's also an amazing father in the sense that he and I are equal partners in this whole parenting thing - he's always willing to drop anything he's doing to meet Finn's needs. To me that says more about how much he loves his boy than anything else. I know as Finn grows up, Chase will be there by his side to guide him, teach him, lift him up when he falls, and be an example that anyone would be blessed to have in their life. I know that I am a better person every day because of Chase and it makes me so happy to know that Finn be able to follow the example of a man who lives his life with honesty, integrity, faith, selflessness, and love for everyone around him. Simply put, Chase is the best papa in the world. :)

Finn's Bumbo Video

2011-06-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Finn was able to be part of a little YouTube video for the Bumbo chair - thanks to my awesome visiting teacher for referring him. Anyway, it was fun to do and turned out pretty cute. :)

5 Months

2011-06-20T22:28:00.001-07:00

My little baby is 5 months old. He's getting so big and changing so much every day! I would write some long mushy post but instead I'll just post some pictures and go cry in my room. :)

He sure is gorgeous.

Primary Songs

2011-06-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

First off, how is it possible to love this little boy any more than we already do? I feel like all me and Chase talk about now is how amazing and cute and sweet and perfect he is. He's got us wrapped so tightly around his little fingers. :)

But we also talk about how much we hope he'll grow up to be a good man. How we hope he'll love his parents and God and others around him. We talk about how nervous we are that we'll mess up. We just hope that we can live the things we want to teach him and that by seeing our examples he'll want to live his life loving and serving others. This is what I want for him more than anything - to be like Christ.

It doesn't matter if you believe in Christ (as in believing He is the Son of God and our Savior) or if you think he was just a nice man, even a fairy tale. Because regardless if you believe in Him, no one can deny that His teachings were good and that His example of loving and helping others was one to be admired and followed.

I've taken to singing to Finn my favorite songs from when I was in Primary. Mostly because they are the only lullaby-ish songs I know.

This one has always been my favorite:

1. I’m trying to be like Jesus;
I’m following in his ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

2. I’m trying to love my neighbor;
I’m learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:
Chorus
“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

I know he doesn't understand the words now... but I hope that someday when he is older and learns this song, he'll have the slightest memory of his mama singing it to him and rocking him in her arms and feel all the love she tried to put into those words. I hope that someday he'll think about what it means to be like Jesus and that he'll want to live his life that way - showing kindness to others and loving as He did. This is my prayer for my sweet little boy who is growing up much too fast in this very scary world - I just want him to be happy, and I know without a doubt that "trying to be like Jesus" brings true and lasting happiness.

Sneezes are funny.

2011-06-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Finn Loves Rice Cereal

2011-06-08T07:02:00.001-07:00

The Children

2011-05-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on us children.

Finn is actually almost 4 1/2 months now, but here are his stats from the 4 month appointment:
- Height: 25.5 inches = 75th percentile
- Weight: 13 lbs 13 oz. = 25th percentile
- Head: 50th percentile
So basically, he is a long, skinny boy like his papa. Dr. A said he is growing right on track and looks great!
I don't think I ever mentioned this one - except all my woe-is-me posts, if anyone noticed. But about 3 weeks before Finn was born, Chase was let go from his old job. Yeah, things were a little stressful, but even though we worried we knew everything would be okay. Heavenly Father was truly watching out for us and Chase received a job offer a week before Finn came. What a huge blessing it was and is. We are so grateful that our prayers were answered. Chase is loving his new job (he's a mechanical engineer at an aerospace company called Able Engineering), his coworkers, we will have much better insurance now, and he gets home at 3:30 most days so he can spend time with me and Finn! Oh, and his lovely guitars. Look, he's handsome:
Working from home has been going very well for me too. I'm only working part time, so technically 4 hours a day. But a lot of the time it's a lot less... some days I don't have any projects but I am paid salary, not hourly, which is wonderful! I still love designing logos, websites and building them out, it really is something I enjoy doing. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to help provide for our family but still stay home with my sweet little man. Seriously, I don't know what we've done to be so blessed. I don't feel like I deserve this. I love my handsome boy!
Finn is doing great! He just gets more and more fun every day. Chase and I love this little boy so much. I feel like we've grown closer as a couple going through this whole parenthood thing. Chase is the best papa ever. He is constantly asking me what he can do to help with Finn, and he's always stealing him so he can play with him or give him kisses. Finn loves his papa too - every time Chase calls me from work I put it on speaker phone and Finn breaks out into a huge grin when he hears Chase's voice. And he loves to sit on his papa's legs, like this:

Anyway, this is what he's been up to:
- He shrieks and yells and chatters constantly to himself. This is him mid-yell:
- He laughs whenever we swoop in and kiss him or make funny noises.
- He's super ticklish on his tummy and can't stop giggling when we tickle him.
- Bath time is our favorite time of the day.
- He loves his toes and can't get enough of them. Really, I don't know why we even have toys. His favorite things are his toes and a burp cloth.
- He's sleeping swaddle-free, which has been harder on his sleep. He's done a complete turn-around from sleeping 12 hours at night to waking up 3 times a night. What the heck little man?! But we're making it work.
- He LOVES to blow raspberries. All the time. And he's so smug about it too. This is how he looks when he does it, happy as can be:
- We put him in his stroller without the car seat for the first time and he loved being able to see everything. We just put in an insert that Aunt Christina got for him to help him sit up.
- This is just cute. The other night Chase was snoring and I couldn't sleep, and out of nowhere he gives a loud snore and says, "My sweet little guy" in his talking-to-Finn voice and then goes right back to snoring.
- Finn and RVCA are pretty good friends. She doesn't jump up on the couch when he's there and she always comes and nuzzles me with her nose when he's crying, like she's saying, "You gonna take care of that?" Although I have caught her licking his mouth one time. Not cool. She loves to play with his feet when he's kicking them around. It's their little game.
- This kid eats so fast! I only nurse him for like 5-7 minutes usually. And then if I try to get him to keep eating, he just keeps looking at me and smiling and then covering his face with his hands like he's teasing me. Little stinker. I think this is why he wakes up at night all of the sudden trying to make up for not eating during the day, because both started happening at the same time. At night he'll wake up and eat like a normal baby. During the day, not so much. It's frustrating!

Anyway, that's our little family update. Life is wonderful.

Just because he's so cute...

2011-05-25T16:01:00.002-07:00

Finn's First Laugh

2011-04-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

3 Months

2011-04-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, this post is kind of long and sentimental. I'm just trying to write down more things so I don't forget. Feel free to just look at the pictures at the bottom so you don't die of boredom. :)

So Finn is 3 months old! And all I want to do is hold him in my arms and tell him to stop growing up so dang fast! Oh, it makes me want to cry... He's already gotten so big and learned so much. I know I should be happy but I just keep worrying that I'll forget all of these sweet moments with him. I keep trying to take mental snapshots... I just don't want to forget anything about our sweet little boy. I can't believe how much I've fallen in love with him and how easily he makes me smile and melts my heart. Here are some things I am loving about him at 3 months:

I love how we can sit on the bed staring at each other and have a 15 minute conversation about whatever Finn feels like. We just take turns making sounds at each other and he loves it!

I love how when I'm holding him in my arms and rocking him, just before he starts falling asleep, he'll look up at me with his eyes trying to stay open, break out into a huge smile and give me a big "Gooo," and then do it over and over again until he falls asleep. Probably one of my most treasured memories of him.

I love how he knows his mama. At first I couldn't believe that I was any different to him than any other person. But the other day a lady in our ward came over and held him on her shoulder. Chase walked up behind her and Finn gave him a big grin. Then I walked up behind her and his eyes went right to me and out of nowhere he had his huge pouty-lipped frown and gave a big pathetic cry, so I took him from her and he stopped right away. He just wanted me. :) What a lovely feeling.

I love his big chunky dimples! His smile is to die for. Aren't baby smiles the sweetest things? I think because you know they are so genuine. They can't fake or force a smile like we can.

I love his pouty lips and big frowns. Almost as cute as his smiles. Sometimes if he is grumpy we will prolong his grumpiness by blowing at his face just to try and see his pouty lips. We are awesome parents.

I love waking him up in the morning. It's so fun to go in there and see him just staring sweetly at something, and then when I say good morning, he finds my face and breaks out in a smile. Best part of my day.

I love giving him BATHS! I never imagined he would love baths as much as he does... but he'll just sit there and splash water all over me and half the kitchen with this little grin on his face. Bah, he's so cute and now just thinking about it makes me want to go wake him up and pop him in the tub.

Other random things about Finn:

He still sleeps like a champ! Eleven hours usually unless I swaddle him poorly and he breaks out. Then he brightens my day at 6am. But I totally don't mind since I get up at 530 anyway and then I get to play with my baby instead of work. :)
He's now in his crib! Woop! He'd been sleeping in this rocker since birth, and I was so worried he would have a hard time transitioning, but turns out he'll sleep all night just about anywhere if I just swaddle him well.
HE ROLLED OVER! And I know that's not that big of a deal - all babies do it at some point. I actually don't know why I put that in all-caps. Haha.
He is doing so awesome at nursing which makes me so so happy. I'm so glad I didn't give it up after we had so many issues (like him being tongue-tied and then needing to relearn how to nurse and being used to the bottle for his first 3 weeks, supplementing with formula, etc.)

Okay, clearly I could just talk about my adorable baby all day. But what mama can't, right? So here are some pictures of our little man from the last month. But first, look how big he has gotten:

How did he go from this little bug... to the chunky little guy below?

Finn's Blessing

2011-03-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had Finn's blessing. It was so fun because Chase's whole family (except his brother Dan and his cute fam) came down from Idaho for the weekend! They loved the AZ weather. Anyway, they arrived at 6:30 on a Friday morning, and since they couldn't check in to their hotel room, they crashed on our living room floor. Sorry guys, our living room is small. :)

We had lots of fun shopping, swimming, playing volleyball, and passing around Finn so everyone could get a little kissing and cuddling in. We're so grateful they made the long drive here!

I love my two handsome boys so much! They are adorable. :)

Chase's family, minus his brother, and plus his new soon-to-be brother-in-law! (Yay Christina!!)

The Grandpas

The Payne side. Love them. :)

Some of our friends came too!

Definitely a day we'll never forget. Chase gave a sweet and simple blessing for our perfect little boy. He's such an amazing dad. :)

Nursery

2011-03-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's still not done. I have to finish making the artwork and hanging up some letters... and I wanted to make a leaf mobile... yeah, and a dozen other things that will probably never happen. :) So here's the little guy's room so far.

We tried really hard to keep it cheap - but I still probably spent too much considering how decorated the rest of our house is. Oh well, it was fun. Here's a little breakdown, just for the sake of us remembering:

Crib - gift from Mama & Papa Payne!
Dresser, shelving tower, 2 white shelves on wall, and lamp - $85 as a bundle on Craig's List! (Yes, I feel like we stole from them! Such a good deal.)
New lampshade - $15 from Ikea
Rocker - $35 on Craig's List, fabric to recover was $40 = $75
Curtains - $10 from Ikea
Valance - DIY, fabric was $16
Birdcage - $15 on Etsy
Big stuffed bird - homemade by my Mom
Baskets - $20 from Ikea
Nightstand - $30, half off from Ikea's "as is" section
Owl Nightlight - $25 from Urban Outfitters, can you tell I splurged on silly things?
Frames - 50% off at Hobby Lobby, I think about $40 for the big one and three small ones.
Bedding - $40 on Ebay. Really, we're only using the bumper, so wasn't such a good deal in hindsight.
Ottoman for rocker - $18 from Walmart
Paint for walls (Benjamin Moore Gray Horse), molding, and spray paint - $50
Little nicknacks - under $10 from the thrift store and Joanns.

Total: $429

Sorry Blogger is lame so these pictures are not in order.

Finn's pajamas match the bumper. He insisted he be part of the decor. :)

Sleeping Through the Night!

2011-03-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Just have to document this: Finn slept 10 hours last night! Um, someone get this kid a trophy. He started sleeping 5 hour stretches at 3 1/2 weeks. At 4 weeks it was 6 hours. Now it's been anywhere from 6 1/2 - 10 hours at night!

Also, he gave us his first "real" awake smile yesterday! This is from today (sorry, from my phone):

Finn's Newborn Photos

2011-02-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

We got some newborn photos taken of Finn! Stacey Hemeyer took and edited the photos and they are absolutely adorable, if you ask me. She is a great photographer and did such an amazing job!!! The one above is my favorite. :)

Click here to see them on her blog!

One Month Old

2011-02-14T20:35:00.001-08:00

Gah, one month went by so fast - I still can't believe he's here! Little man is such a joy to our lives though... It's amazing how quickly you get that feeling that everyone talks about - where you can't even remember life without your sweet angel baby. That's how we feel, like he's always been with us. He is such a sweetheart and we are constantly staring and laughing at him as his cute little personality starts to emerge.

Life has been pretty great with a newborn, especially since you hear all the horror stories about never sleeping and constantly wanting to cry because of baby blues. I'll admit, there has been a day or two where I was running on no sleep, felt like the worst mommy ever, and basically ended the night sobbing (not because of Finn, just because I was sleep-deprived! Okay, and maybe because Finn didn't nap, was fussy all day, and peed/spit up on about 5 different outfits) while Chase put Finn to bed. Haha... yeah, I laugh now because I slept good last night! But Finn is a wonderful baby.

He does have times where he fusses and cries, but you get used to the sound of crying. Chase actually comes home from work and laughs when Finn starts crying because he thinks it's so dang cute. And it IS cute, just not when it's been going on for more than half an hour. :)

Chase is the best papa ever. I call him the baby whisperer because he'll come home from work and snuggle his little boy to his chest and put him right to sleep (after I couldn't get him to nap all day!) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is the last month has meant a ton of changes for us, but it really has been a blast, and I'm loving it more each day!

So some things about Finn at one month:

So many people tell us he looks like Justin Bieber we've started calling him Mini Biebs!

He's been sleeping really well lately. That past week every night he slept for 5 hours, ate, and then slept 3-4 more hours. So I've only been getting up to feed him once, and I've been feeling SO much more rested during the day. I'm crossing my fingers that this sticks and isn't just a phase!
Ever since he's had his first real bath at home, his hair has started sticking up and being really fluffy. I think it is freaking adorable - but it does get pretty wild and it's pretty much impossible to keep the back from sticking straight up.

He got his first hair cut! Well, it was just a trim around his ears and neck. We decided he's just not ready to rock a mullet.

He doesn't pee on himself anymore! Big thumbs up from mom and dad.
We got his tongue clipped and I've been nursing him for a week and a half, and it's going well. Each day we get a little better at it.
We just discovered that putting him in his car seat and walking around for a bit knocks him out (sometimes, not always) and sometimes we just put him in it so he can watch us while we eat dinner.

Finn and I went to church this past Sunday for the first time, so to celebrate Finn had a huge blowout during Sacrament meeting. Luckily, I had an extra outfit. As soon as I changed him and put him in it, he spit up a TON all over the front of it. LUCKILY, I had another extra outfit (10 points for me for being super prepared!)
Whenever he is drowsy after he eats, we cradle him in our arms and he always smiles over and over. It's so sweet, even if they're not REAL smiles yet. :)

Anyway, just a few things about his first month. I'm sure there's a ton more, but this is all I can muster at the moment. Finn was the sweetest little Valentine today though! He was super cuddly. :)

Introducing Finn Robert Child

2011-02-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

Our little bug is finally here! Finn was welcomed into the world on January 18th, 2011 at 9:25 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and has a full head of beautiful dark blond hair! And oh boy, is this kid a heart breaker!!! He's so perfect. He's just a little man. So far he's been in our lives for 2 whole weeks and I can't even imagine life without him. I just stare at him all day long. :)

As for the "birth story," it's not too exciting. I was so happy to have the week before my due date off so I could finish up the nursery, clean the house more, make a few things for Finn... but he decided to come early only one day into my week off (I was 39 weeks, 4 days along... so he wasn't THAT early). Anyway, all day on Monday the 17th, I felt slightly crampy, but it wasn't anything timable and I didn't really notice it. It was just a constant dull pain that didn't bother me much. I didn't think anything of it! I guess I just wanted him to wait longer, haha. Anyway, we went to bed Monday night and I woke up at 1am Tuesday morning with cramps... aka early labor contractions. But I was convinced it wasn't the real thing. I got up and drank some water and walked around the house a bit, then went back to bed until 3. Then I realized there was just no sleeping through them. So I went into the living room, downloaded a handy contraction timer app on my iphone, and timed them all night long. They were consistent all night, lasting 45 seconds and 4 1/2 minutes apart. My doctor said not to go to the hospital until they were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting 60 seconds for at least 2 hours. So I just didn't think it was time yet. Chase woke up at 6 and we took showers and then kept timing them while watching The Office - yes, the episode where Pam has her baby. They were getting a little farther apart at that point, more like 5-6 minutes, so I was pretty skeptical thinking that is was false labor or something. I tried to go back to sleep while Chase timed them. They slowed down when I was laying down, but got closer together to more I moved or walked around. Finally we called the hospital nurse and she said we shouldn't come in until I couldn't talk through them or walk through them, and was basically doubled over in pain. Well, heck. They didn't even really hurt that much, they were just like period cramps, so I thought it was going to be quite a long day of waiting for things to get painful. Once it was 8 am, we called my OB's office and they said to come in once they were 3-5 minutes apart for an hour, and not to wait until I couldn't talk through them. So we finally decided to go in. As I did my hair and make-up (come on, I had to try as hard as I could to not look too disgusting in those post-delivery pictures everyone takes...) they were getting closer together, 2-3 minutes apart, but were lasting only about 30 seconds. Finally around 11:00, we left for the hospital and I was scared to death the whole way there that they would just send us home. They checked me and since I was dilated to a 4, they had me admitted. It was about 1:00 when I was in a delivery room and Dr. Beck came and broke my water... I was at a 5, and they said if I wanted an epidural, might as well get it then. I really wanted to try doing it without but I realized right away that if they had to strap the contraction monitor things to my stomach and I had to stay in that bed, there was no way I could do it. The contractions weren't bad as long as I could walk around, but being strapped down like that... um, no thanks. So I got the epidural - which was such a breeze, didn't even feel them do it, even though I had a contraction when the needle went in - and I'm sooo glad I did! The guy who did it did a wonderful job - I could feel everything. I could prop myself up and feel my legs move. I just didn't feel any pain during contractions. It was probably because of the epidural, but I took a while to dilate to a 10. In the mean time we watched How to Train Your Dragon and I tried to nap but I was just too excited to sleep. Finally when I was at a 10, they had me wait another hour until I pushed since he wasn't descended low enough. Finally I started pushing around 8:30. Pushing didn't hurt, but I was so positive I was pooping on the table the whole time (even though I wasn't) haha. I just kept saying "Sorry did I poop that time?!" in between pushes. Yeah, talk about all modesty going out the window! My hubby and my mom were there cheering me on, and the sweet nurse was so encouraging especially when she kept saying "Oh my gosh look at all the hair!" When he started to crown she went to have someone call the doctor, but he walked in like 30 seconds later. Apparently he just decided to come and get this thing over with because he wanted to "get to bed early" that night. Haha, Dr. Beck is awesome. He has just the perfect amount of dry humor and a straight face to calm me down. Once he was ready, I pushed once, then on the second push he yanked Finn's head out with his hands, and on the third push pulled out his arm along with the rest of him. Oh my goodness what an amazing moment! I was just laughing and crying and making all kinds of crazy sounds because I was so overwhelmed at my sweet blue little alien baby, haha. Anyway... we held our baby and everything was perfect. He scored a 9.9 on his apgar so he was healthy which is all I wanted. That whole day was so amazing and wonderful and I have no unpleasant memories from it at all. I had no pain after delivery, just slightly sore but nothing to complain about. It all went so well and Chase and I still just can't believe how we made such a beautiful little boy! All the nurses were crazy about his hair and said he looked like a little man, not a newborn. He's already got the ladies fawning over him. Especially his mama and grandmas. :)

These first weeks have been great - my parents came over often to let me take a nap or just hold their little grandson. It was so nice having them be there for me. Chase's parents came to stay for several days and I'm so glad they did! I know they loved spending time with Finn, and we loved spending time with them. Nursing has been a bit challenging. It was going pretty well the first week, and the lactation consultant in the hospital helped me a lot and said we were doing it right. But I think Finn's "tongue tie" problem was making it a lot harder for him to eat enough, so for now I've been pumping and bottle feeding him, and we have an appointment to try and get his tongue clipped so he can nurse/latch on better. Sorry if this is too much info, but it's stuff I want to remember!

So everyone keeps asking me if he's a good baby and I don't know how to answer that - I've never spent more than ten minutes with a newborn, so I don't really have any way to compare. But I think he's pretty awesome! He only cries when he needs to burp, needs a new diaper, is hungry, or when we change his clothes... haha, he HATES being cold. Other than that though he is a great baby (I think!) He eats about every 3 hours during the day, and after eating he's awake for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, and then he naps. Then repeat. :) At night he is pretty good. Last night he slept 5 hours straight! When I get up at night to feed him he doesn't cry, just eats, and usually goes back to sleep. But sometimes he just wants to cuddle and stare at me for a little while, so I can be up with him for 30 minutes or an hour and a half. But I don't mind, he's so ridiculously sweet to watch that it's totally worth it. Everyday just gets better as we are figuring things out more and more.

Since he is still so little and sleepy, we pretty much just stare at him, play with his hair, and cover his poor face with a billion kisses. But some things that we've discovered already are:

He LOVES baths. As soon as we put his head under the warm water he gets all quiet and still and just soaks it up.
He loves being in the sun too! After baths I put him with just his diaper in his little rocker and set him in the sun and he stretches out his arms and legs and sleeps with a little half-grin on his face.
He has the strongest neck! From the day he was born, burping him has been a little challenge because he won't let his head go limp - he just has to look around and turn in every direction! The rest of him is pretty strong too, I've had many a diaper kicked right out of my hands.
This little boy likes to pee on himself almost every third diaper change. That's just how he rolls I guess. :)
He is ticklish under his arms and on his feet. Definitely good to know if you can't get him to wake up to eat!
He is tongue-tied! Meaning the frenulum, or the skin under the tongue, goes all the way to the tip of his tongue. I was tongue-tied too, but his is so bad that we are going to try and get it clipped (especially since it makes nursing him really hard... and painful!)
He is sooo noisy in his sleep! He just squeaks and squeaks all night long. :)
He makes awesome faces. Fishy faces, big pouty sad faces, adorable crooked smiley faces, wise scowling faces, and concentrating-on-pooping faces.

Okay, so if you are still reading this you definitely deserve some pictures. Here's our little sweet grub:

Happy Christmas

2011-01-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm just on a roll with updating the blog! Probably because I know I won't have much energy to do it when our little one decides to show up. :)

Anyway, sorry for a million more pictures! And I'm especially sorry for how materialistic they are - I promise I don't think gifts are the reason for the season! But this year we spent Christmas with the Payne side of the family here in Mesa and it was great! We drew names for the gift-giving and decided to do everything homemade. Oh. My. Busy. I had NO idea how much more work it is to make something as opposed to going out and buying it! But I enjoyed it so much, and I learned a lot - even if I lost a lot of sleep. We had my brother and his wife and his two daughters who are 8 months and 2.5 years old, so I really wanted to do something "thoughtful" for each of them.

So for Paisley, I decided on a stuffed animal. I was so in love with this little guy when I saw him (I almost bought it for Finn, but come on, $18?) So I tried to copy it for her. Yes, I am proud of how he turned out. :) I'm definitely making another for Finn.

For Jason and my Dad, we had a harder time deciding, but since they both like reading, we bought some old books at Goodwill, glued the pages down, and Chase hollowed them out to make "secret" cut-outs to hide goodies in. We added some custom bookmarks I found for pretty cheap on Etsy (kind of cheating, but oh well).

For Hadley, who LOVES to color, I made a coloring book/crayon carrier! It was really easy - just buy a few quilting squares.

For Krystal I made a magnet board/mail holder thing. It turned out cute, but definitely not as well as I wanted. I hope she can find something to use it for! Haha.

And then for both of our parents, we made a picture of our family in 4 different illustrations. Chase came up with the cool idea. He is such an artist at heart! So making these gifts was by far my favorite part of the "presents" part of Christmas because I really wanted them to be special. Anyway, wow I sound really braggy. Sorry. :(

Our little home-dog in her Christmas hoodie :)

Our friends Matt and Nikki made us this cute little guy for Christmas!! We love him.

I think she likes the owl. :)

Nate's penguin footie jammies are so rad. Poor baby Kenz was sick though. :(

Mom and Dad finally got matching snuggies! All I can say is it's about time. Good job Nate and Steph.

I wish I had more pictures of everyone. But it was such a fun Christmas... Chase and I were also able to do some special things with and for some of our neighbors... it really reminded us of the true meaning of Christmas. The Savior's birth changed everything for all of us, and His sacrifice for us was the purest form of love. We kind of had a rough patch the week before Christmas (especially me with all of my pregnancy-induced emotions) but it was such a blessing to be in a position where I didn't know what was going to happen and how things would turn out - those feelings of self-pity, fear, worry etc. completely went away when I stopped thinking about myself and instead thought about others. I honestly think that a lot of the things that were making me so stressed happened just to teach us this lesson. And it is one I'll never forget. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well! :)

Baby Shower!

2011-01-04T21:31:00.000-08:00

I had my baby shower on December 4th and it was incredible, to say the least. Everything was perfect, more than I ever could have imagined - I have such wonderful friends and family and I can't believe how lucky I am to have them in my lives. My best friends threw the shower for me. Amanda, with the help of Kristalyn and Lauren, made the most adorable cake, delicious treats, cute invitations, and lovely little decorations. They put so much work into it! And I couldn't believe how many people came to wish me well and congratulate us on our little guy. After it was all over and cleaned up, Chase and I laid down to take a nap and I just cried because I was so overwhelmed with gratitude. We received so many thoughtful and much-needed things for baby Finn and I know he is already so spoiled. :) Anyway, tons of pictures below... like tons. I wish I had more of everyone who came - thank you all of you for making me feel so special and loved! I don't deserve you.

We only took a couple of pictures before people showed up - I wish I had closer ones to do Amanda's handiwork justice.

The cutest cake I have ever laid eyes on. Love it!

So the theme for refreshments was "Amy's Favorite Foods" so there was Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato French Fries, and Mini Pizzas! Mmm.

Seriously, this was my reaction to almost every gift. Haha. And I just love the cute little bear below that my friend Nikki made. :)

Finn has so much competition with his cousins. I don't think it gets any cuter than these little ladies.

Anyway, it was such a wonderful day. I enjoyed every moment. Wait, scratch that... can I just tell you that opening presents in front of a bunch of ladies who are being totally quiet and staring at you is the most awkward thing ever? I was blushing so much! But I am so grateful to everyone for coming and spoiling our little grub! :)

Thanksgiving

2011-01-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Okay finally getting around to updating this thing. So about Thanksgiving. It was great! We flew up to Idaho to spend the week with Chase's family. Our flight also happened to be on the night of the presumed "worst storm Salt Lake had seen in 10 years". Anyway, our flight got delayed and we figured even if we made it to the airport late that night, no one would be able to drive on the roads to come get us! So we rescheduled for a flight early the next morning. The next morning we both woke up with sore throats and stuffy heads. Oh my goodness, it just got worse and I cannot ever remember being more miserable from a cold! It ended up lasting a solid 2 weeks. I blame it on my more-than-normal congested pregnant body. Bleh. But the good news is we still had an amazing time just relaxing with the fam!

Thanksgiving Day... it was in the single digits! And Mama Child said no coats for the pictures. Probably the coldest Finn has ever been.

Love my In-Laws so much. :)

Lots of sleeping happened on this trip. Seriously, where is the fun in being pregnant on Thanksgiving if you can't taste the food?

So Chase's Uncle had this GINORMOUS swing built for the Child's backyard. It was so huge and bouncy.

So anyway, that was our Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to get away from Mesa for a bit and be with the Child family and just totally relax. Chase's mom and sisters threw me a sweet mini-baby shower too! I wish I had gotten pictures. They are so awesome and I was so grateful for how thoughtful they were to do that. :) I wish I could remember what else we did while we were there, but it's all a bit of a foggy blur in my head. Hmm.

Gratitude

2010-12-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

So, someday I'll post Thanksgiving and baby shower pictures.... but life has been so crazy and busy lately.

It's also been pretty rough, and I'm getting so tired of it. I'm especially getting sick and tired of crying all the time. And I feel like there are too many legitimate things to cry about, even if I wasn't pregnant.

Anyway, I was just trying to tell myself to keep my chin up, everything will be fine, etc. It wasn't really working.

What does work though, almost every time, is reminding myself how blessed I am and how grateful I am for the life I have.

I have Chase. That alone makes everything a million times better. And we have Finn now. And we always, always have Heavenly Father and His Son. Things may get difficult with jobs and family and friends and other things... but they pass, and life is still incredible in so many ways.

I know without a doubt that everything will be okay. I'm not worried at all about that. But that doesn't mean it's still not hard. So reminding myself that I have so much to be thankful for, so much that so many others are without, helps me to be humble and grateful and know that it will all work out for the best.

I apologize to anyone reading this. But just needed to get this out so I wouldn't start crying at work. Stupid hormones. :)

Halloween

2010-11-18T20:19:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post pics of our Halloween fun. We decided to go as Juno and Pauly Bleeker. Thanks Amanda for the excellent idea. :) We went to a party at some friend's house and also had a little dinner at our place where we made delicious pizzas on the grill. It was the best Halloween I've ever had! But maybe I was just excited to proudly sport my baby bump. There are a lot more pictures, but to be honest, I'm feeling really lazy so this is all I posted. Also, blogspot has the stupidest way of uploading photos and it makes them all in reverse order and at the top of the post and it really bugs me. I am definitely feeling like a feisty pregnant lady right now. Grr.

Amanda and Adam were Charlie Brown and Lucy, and our friends Matt and Nikki were... well, I'll let you guess. On a less grumpy note, our crib came! Isn't it adorable? :) Can't wait to show pictures of the nursery all finished.

This is why I love my life.

2010-10-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

He is amazing in every way.

Save your toilet paper rolls...

2010-10-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

...and make some pumpkin garland.

These were fun to make. I think they turned out alright, at least better than the toilet paper people I used to make when I was little (no really - I used to have a black garbage bag full of probably 100 toilet paper rolls that I hoped to turn into an army of toilet paper people, complete with little q-tip arms; our kids are going to be such weirdos). Click here for the tutorial - her's look way cuter.

Another update. I guess. Two weekends ago Chaser and I went on a little trip to the Musical Instrument Museum in North Scottsdale. It was really fun and amazing to see how humans have such an incredible desire to create music - no matter where they live. I'll admit, I sat a lot on the comfy benches while Chase walked around more... something about being pregnant makes 10 minutes of standing feel like a day's worth of walking around Disneyland. Anyway, pictures:

The turtle shell leggings made us so sad and miss our little turds Pi and Munch. :( And yes, my husband is awesome and after 30 seconds of messing around on the harp (which he's never touched before) busted out "Heart and Soul" (you know, the duet that everyone plays on the piano). Everyone got quiet and watched him. What a hunk. :)

Last but not least, our little Finn is getting bigger:

The first one is 23 weeks, the second is 24 and a half. So excited. :)

Sorry for so many pic-sirs.

Getting a bump...

2010-09-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

18 Weeks

19 Weeks

20 Weeks

Okay, the 20 weeks one looks really huge... I think I was arching my back a bit, so it's not THAT big, but it really did grow a lot during week 20. I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Anyway, I finally felt a real kick from our little guy right at 19 weeks. :)

Best Pasta Salad Ever!

2010-08-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

So my mother-in-law is an awesome cook, and a lot of the things I make on a regular basis I learned from her! But my most favorite thing that she always makes whenever we are visiting is this simply amazingly delicious pasta salad that I usually have at least 3 servings of at every meal. I've been craving it for weeks and I finally got a clue and asked her for the recipe so I could make it and eat it and be a happy full person (which I most certainly did) and I thought I would share it on here because it makes me smile every time I think about it. I hope Mama Duck doesn't mind me posting it because it is, after all, her recipe. :)

Macaroni Salad

Mix together:

1 cup Miracle Whip
1 Tbsp. mustard
2 Tbsp. dill pickle juice
2 Tbsp. milk

Add the following to the salad dressing mixture:

2 cups (raw) short elbow salad macaroni cooked in salted water, drained
1 can tiny shrimp, drained (I'm not a shrimp fan, but I don't mind these at all)
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
4 green onions, chopped
1 cup chopped lettuce
6 hard-boiled eggs (boil 10 minutes), diced
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper

It's as easy as that! Just realize that you can play around with the
amounts of everything to suit your own tastes. She always adds a couple of dashes of paprika and little slices of hard-boiled egg arranged neatly on top. It makes a lot!

A Very Happy 2 Years

2010-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend Chase and I celebrated the happiest 2 years of our lives. We decided that we didn't really want to do anything too extravagant, so instead we did something better. We spent the day together just hanging out and being best friends. :)

But first, when I came home from work on Friday, I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table. I love how cute and squat the vase is. Chase is so sweet!

Updated belly shot... 16 weeks.

First thing on Saturday, we decided to do a little family photo shoot in the back yard. I think they turned out alright for amateurs using the timer and balancing the camera on a ladder!

After that, I "surprised" Chase by taking us to the Tempe Center for the Arts to see their Fender Cars and Guitars exhibit. It was... small. But we both enjoyed walking around the building, it's really cool there. Sorry for the kissing picture. I just thought the sky looked kind of cool. :)

Anyway, after the art center we walked around at the Tempe Marketplace and bought Chase a wrist rest so he doesn't get carpal tunnel. I know, great anniversary gift, I'm the best wife ever.

After we went home, ate lunch, took a nap, and just relaxed, we decided that since we just found out the same week what our baby's gender is, it would be fun to pick out some cute clothes together! So we went to Target (because it was late and we couldn't think of any baby stores nearby) and got a cute little track suit and a onesie that says I Love Dad. Then, since we weren't hungry yet, we went to the mall where apparently they have a baby gap, and found some more cute clothes on the sales rack! Then we went and saw Shrek (number 4 I guess?) at the cheap theater. It was lame. And finally around 9pm we headed over to Nando's Mexican Grill (it's over by Dana Park on Val Vista and Baseline) and each ate like 3 bites of our meal. Not really sure where our appetite went that day. But it was still good heated up for Sunday dinner.

So it doesn't sound like the most exciting day, but we loved it. It was perfect because we just got to be together and not worry about anything. Oh, and we decided not to do gifts since we both just got new phones. But Chase cheated!! And he got me the BBC Life DVD set!! I was so excited. :) In all fairness, I got him a massage a couple of weeks ago, and I just made him buy a new pair of vans because his were so trashed, so I'm calling us even.

I'm sorry for anyone still reading. This is totally mundane and boring information, but it's more of a journal entry for us.

Anyway, the last few days (after our anniversary, ironically) I've been thinking about my Chaser more and more. And about how we both had a particularly rough few days that week, but we both kept each other up. He especially kept me up. And he always does. I decided he is just like Peeta (this is so tacky - but he's one of the main characters in the Hunger Games books). He's like Peeta in the way that he is always thinking of me and how to help me and serve me, and really do anything at all to make me smile. It's incredible to me how selfless he is, he would give up anything for me I think. I hope and pray every day that I am at least half as good to him as he is to me. I see couples around me sometimes where I can tell that one of them always wins and the other gives in and they don't make sacrifices for each other. And it's not just sacrificing to keep the other happy - it's doing it because you love them and it makes YOU happy too. Chase is such a perfect husband and best friend, and I'm always trying to be better because of him. It's amazing how much more I love him each day. I look back to when we were first married, and I can see that we are so much closer and more unified and in love now than we were then. Everyday just gets ten times better than the day before. I love my life because of Chase - because he is my life. Happy Anniversary to my most wonderful friend. :)

It's a boy!!!

2010-08-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

The Doc said he is quite sure our little grub is a little man! We were hoping for a boy, so we are thrilled. :)

Happiness

2010-07-29T22:29:00.001-07:00

Happy thoughts (and lots of pictures!):

1. Well, there's the whole baby thing. I guess it's cool. We're like, sort of excited. :) Five more days until our next appointment! It's driving me crazy how long it feels like it's been since the last one! And we might find out the gender!

First ultrasound. :)

I haven't gained any weight yet, but for some reason my body seems to be moving all my fat to my belly, so I feel like a fatty-mc-fat-fat. :(

2. I married the king of finding good deals. But I am proud to say that I found a totally amazing deal on some baby furniture last weekend! I know, it's really early in the game to start buying furniture, and I wasn't planning on it. But a good deal is a good deal! I was browsing Craig's List just to see what the prospects were (I wasn't too excited about paying $200+ for a new dresser) and I found a listing for a white Babies R Us dresser/changer, originally about $400, and in great condition, for $50!! I emailed the lady who posted it and long story short, we went that night and picked it up along with some shelves, a lamp, and a storage tower, all for a total of $80! The dresser is perfect - the whole thing is solid wood, looks brand new, and should go perfect with the crib we want to get! Yay for Amy finally snagging a deal!

I want to replace the knobs with ones like these.

Love the bead board sides.

Planning on making a new lampshade like this one.

3. Coming soon:
The Mockingjay, the third book of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, is less than a month away. Need I say more?

I'm a nerd, if it's not already obvious. Nintendo just announced that the new official Zelda game for Wii will be coming at the beginning of 2011. Who's going to be rockin' the Wii while baby is napping? THIS MAMA!

The first half of the last Harry Potter movie comes out in November! Alright, I'm not the biggest fan of the movies, but I'm a HUGE fan of the books, so yes, this is one movie that Chase and I might actually see NOT in the cheap theaters. And is it pathetic to re-read the whole series in preparation even though I just did last August?

4. Our sweet little pup. I'm pretty sure she's the cutest dog on the planet. We love when she just wakes up because her fur is all pushed down on one side of her face and she just stumbles toward us and tries to paw our faces while she stretches, then she just collapses in our laps. Chase calls her our honey bear because she looks like she put her head in a honey pot and got just her ears all sticky (he's been reading Winnie the Pooh lately).

I made that freakish stuffed animal when I was ten. Little did I know that Mr. Coconut would be Rvca's new best friend. We love to watch her drag it around the house and trip all over it.

Hard to see, but these paw prints seem to be a common occurrence.
It would make me mad, but then she always knows how to get out of trouble.

Cute little head tilt that melts our hearts.

5. Chase. He is just ten times everything I could ever ask for in a best friend. He makes me want to be better and always do what is right. He makes me giggle every night while we read scriptures or talk about our day. He knows exactly how to cheer me up no matter what's bothering me. He is such a hard worker - he redid our whole back yard basically all by himself, working everyday after work and on Saturdays. And he looks totally hot with a beard. Could I ask for more?!

If you look closely, on the right lower corner of his mouth you can see a big white hair in his beard. :)

6. Our beautiful, newly landscaped backyard! All thanks to #5. He is so amazing.

This was right when we moved in. It's the only picture I have. A few days later it was full of weeds! Notice the dead looking tree. Everyone told us to pull it out.

Chase's hard work. Lots of trenches and pipes.

This was 6:30am before the curbing guy came. We woke up and filled up ALL the trenches. I was not a happy camper.

Afterward, some lovely curbing. :)

Just before we started planting.

Okay, we're not landscapers. But we had fun picking out plants. Hopefully they kind of look alright together? We got peach, orange, and grapefruit trees. Canna-lillies and hibiscus. And bright green sweet potato plants.

Sorry I have no "durings" but Chase dug the holes and I filled them up.

Sod all delivered and waiting to be put it. Yah, our front yard had a hard time transitioning to a summer lawn, but Chase fixed it all up.

Sod laid!! Oh, and I don't have pictures, but there was a HUGE pile of rock that Chase spread out in about 3 hours. What a man.

She LOVES it. No more nasty weeds in her fur.

Our lovely green shady tree. :)

This is our front yard when we bought the house. Our back yard looks about like this right now (as compared to the pictures above) and all the lines are filled in. Good to have it done. Next project: nursery. I think I'll have more fun with that one. :)

We're having a baby!

2010-07-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Or a little rascal as Chase would say. :)

So I'm due January 21st. Today was the last day of my 1st trimester so I'm exactly 12 weeks along. And we are SO SO SO excited!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

We had our first appointment two weeks ago and we heard the heartbeat and got to see our little grub kicking all over the place! It was so incredible - I wanted to just laugh and cry at the same time. Really, those ultra sound pictures are so lame compared to actually seeing this living little baby inside of me moving around! It was amazing... I still just can't believe we are finally going to have a baby.

Our next appointment is August 4th. I'll be 16 weeks and the doctor said he'll probably take a peek and see if he can tell the sex. :) I'll keep you updated! And maybe post the last ultrasound picture, even though it doesn't really do our incredible baby justice.

My Unruly Job

2010-05-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, right. Forgot to post it – but I got a job!

And not just any job. The perfect job! For me. It's the reason I have been jobless (aside from doing a little freelance) for the past 6 months. It's amazing how the littlest things can lead up to such huge blessings. When we first moved down here, we were in an apartment for 3 months in my old home ward and we were assigned a home teacher. The first time he came to visit he asked what kind of jobs we were looking for and told me he had a good friend who had his own web design company called Unruly Studios. He said he'd tell him about me and told me to e-mail my resume.

Well, I didn't hear anything back for 4 months. Then, a week ago out of the blue, the owner e-mailed me and asked to see my work, then for a phone interview. After that he invited me to come meet with him and I started working for him an hour after the interview!

But the best part is that I absolutely LOVE what I'm doing. Their company creates websites for other companies and in the past they would outsource for designers. Now I get to design their websites and logos (which are my favorite to make) and I get to write all the CSS/HTML code (which, for me, is so fun). I love the people I work with. They are really laid back and like to joke around and tease a lot. It's a small company – there are only 6 of us, and 4 of us are LDS.

Anyway, I work full time. My drive is 20 minutes, which is just dandy for me. The only downside that comes with this otherwise perfect job is that I have a later shift, so I work until 6:30 – which means less time with my boy. :( But it's okay. It feels SO good to finally be busy again and feel productive and actually enjoy what I'm doing all day. And my favorite thing about it is that the day goes by super fast. I know Heavenly Father blessed me to find this job. Well, I didn't really find it. It kind of fell in my lap. Which makes me even more grateful. I don't deserve to have such a great job, a beautiful home, a sweet little pup, and the most amazing best friend I could ever ask for. But I sure am glad I have them.

Owl-mitt

2010-04-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

One time, I drew a picture of an owl. Chase wanted me to make something with it, so the other day I made this oven mitt.

Life & macaroni

2010-04-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

So, taking into account the fact that the people who may read this blog are practically non-existent, I wanted to "share" some thoughts:

My camera broke. I suppose it's not all that bad since I've had it for at least 5 years. That's a good amount of use right? Except it's frustrating because I want to take a lot of pictures of all the things that are going on in our lives. Luckily, Chase's camera works. Which isn't saying much (no offense Chaser!) So anyway, if anyone has some recommendations for a good SLR camera, do tell.
If it wouldn't kill me or turn my skin orange, I would eat Kraft macaroni and cheese for lunch every day. I'm so excited to be a mom so that I can finish off my kid's uneaten mac & cheese. Is that totally gross? Or just cool?
We bought a puppy and named her RVCA (Ruca). She is a buttercup-colored Lhasapoo who is my new best friend, second to Chase of course. Behold the pup:

This was when we first brought her home.

Such a cuddlebug. :)

So, RVCA sometimes gets really mad when we put her in her crate and she barks and whines for a while. When we take her out, she has slobbered all over herself! We hope that's a normal puppy thing?

She thinks she's a big dog.
We love our house so so so much. We love our neighbors (especially Blossom and Bill, a cute old couple who lives across the street). We love our ward.
I've read several books this year, among them my new favorite series The Hunger Games. Now I am just itching to read more and more books, which is frustrating because even though I'm at home all day, I don't really have the time. I'm kind of getting into those post-apocalyptic books, like The Road, The Giver series, and Hunger Games. There is quite a genre of them out there, and I'd love to read them all. Is that creepy? Also, is it totally lame that I want to read the entire Harry Potter series again, even though I just read them last August? It is. But I'll probably still do it.
Old movies are the best kind of movies. They also have the best opening credits. I started watching Lover Come Back with Doris Day and Rock Hudson. It's kind of the beginning of trashy movies I think. It was pretty risque for a Doris Day movie. But, it did have cool opening credits of animated birds and flowers and sweet typography:
I have the most amazing, perfect husband/best friend. He teaches me how to be a better person every day. And he let's me have naps and ice cream. :)
On a spiritual note, I came across a quote that I thought was really interesting and kind of turned a light bulb on in my head. I've always been so perplexed when I've thought about Laman and Lemuel and how they saw an angel and heard the voice of God, yet they still had no faith whatsoever. I mean, come on, how blind can you be? But then I read this quote from the Gospel Principles manual:
"When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase" (Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., Answers to Gospel Questions).
Wow! Isn't that incredible? Laman and Lemuel actually SAW AN ANGEL, but they lacked something that I think I sometimes take for granted. Sometimes I think that miracles don't happen in the way they used to in the scriptures – people seeing visions and speaking face to face with God. But He's given us the Holy Ghost, something even more powerful and convincing than seeing an angel. Something He knows will stay with us. Sure, He could send angels to us, but He knows that we need something stronger, something that will not fade but will build our faith and testimonies. Reading this quote has totally changed my view of the Holy Ghost. I've always been so grateful to have it and use it as a guide in my life, but to realize how truly blessed I am to have something so powerful leaves me in awe. I hope this makes sense to you the way it did to me. I sure do love the Gospel. :)

We bought a house! (almost)

2010-02-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

We put an offer in on a house, they counter-offered, and we accepted! So unless for some reason the inspection says there is something really wrong with it, we bought a house! We should be closing on March 25. The house is in East Mesa, right around where I grew up. It's a four bedroom, two bath home and we absolutely love it! It was originally built in 1970, but in 2008 it burned down completely and they just finished building a brand new house on the old foundation. It's a 4 bedroom house, but it isn't huge – definitely a starter-home. Anyway, I'm posting some pictures so our family in Idaho can get a good look at it. :)

Click here to view the pictures of our future home!

Chase got a job!

2010-02-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

So even though Chase is nearly at the end of his first week of his new job, I thought I better make it official by posting it here. :)

Two weeks ago, Chase had a job offer from another company and he nearly accepted it, but we found out that it just didn't pay enough, even for an entry level mechanical engineer. So we were both kind of bummed. Sort of. Except for Chase really wasn't excited about working there – it was kind of going to be a job just to get by, not something he'd really enjoy. So it was a good thing he said no. Then, a couple of days later on Monday, he applied for a job online and saw that they had posted a phone number. He decided what the heck, what could it hurt to call? So he called the guy who said he was going through about 150 resumes. Chase was really nice and told him that he was really qualified. Actually, most of the people who applied had 30 years of experience. But the guy said he just wanted a new graduate. Ta da! May I present my husband Chase, new graduate! So anyway, they scheduled an interview for the next day. It went really well. The day after that, the guy (Darwin) called back and asked for references. The day after THAT, Darwin called again with a job offer! One that pays enough! So in one week, Chase went from jobless to starting his first day at work! And the best part is every day this week he has come home talking about how much he loves his new job. :)

The other best part is that his boss, Darwin, looks just like Chuck Norris (red beard and all) and has even met Chuck Norris because he teaches karate and has a black belt like Chuck Norris!!! So cool.

Chase's Birthday

2010-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

Chase is 24!! I can't believe he's so old. And I only say that because to me he is just a little boy. :)

Anyway, a month before his birthday I started planning a special day for him to enjoy. On his actual birthday, which was a Thursday, I took him to his favorite restaurant, let him buy some speakers he'd been wanting, and drew him a little picture (he made me, really). He thought it was a pretty good birthday, so no complaints. But on the following Saturday, we woke up and got ready and I told him I was taking him somewhere for his birthday, but I wouldn't tell him where. I just made treasure maps out of little scrolls of paper that had hints as to where we were going.

Our first stop was In 'n' Out for lunch. Then we took a two-hour drive down to Tucson where we went to Saguaro National Park – he kind of has a cactus fetish. After that we killed some time at the mall then went to eat at Panda Express. Then, the final destination: we went to go see a show with Chase's favorite band, Saves the Day. That was definitely the best part of the day! Let's face it, you can only be so enthralled and excited about a bunch of cacti. But while we watched them play, every time he turned to look at me he had this huge grin on his face, and that made everything worth it.

Happy Birthday to my Chaser Bug! You are my best friend and I just can't get enough of you, ever. Love you :)

(Sorry for all the pictures! The first one is the picture I made for him – super weird, I know)

Job offer!

2010-01-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

So, Chase got a job offer! And we are so excited about it. Well, sort of. It's not exactly Chase's dream job, and let's face it – will anything even look semi-cool next to a job at Fender? But it's a job and would give him a lot of experience (not to mention pay the bills) so we're hoping that it works out. Right now, we're figuring out all of the details to see if it's really for us. It's for a company called Texas Capital Semiconductors. This is their sweet logo (hurray for ugly gradients and drop-shadows):

They rebuild and repair vacuum pumps that create particle-free environments for companies like Intel so they can manufacture computer chips (a.k.a. silicon wafers). I almost yawned hearing that too, but once you understand how these things work, it's actually a really interesting process. The little blades are suspended in the air with magnets so they are basically floating as they spin super fast.

Anyway, this is where Chase might work for a while (until he can get in at Fender of course).

Beardless

2010-01-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to an old friend of ours who has recently passed on: Chase's beard (begin Celine Dion song here).

The last one is definitely my favorite. Goodbye our furry red friend – until next time.

We're DONE.

2010-01-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. We graduated! Do you know what that means? No more homework. I know, there are so many other implications to this fact that are probably a lot more important, but the only one that I can think of at the moment is: no more homework. Hurray!!!

We are both so excited to be moving on. School was a blast though. We learned so much. The most valuable lesson that we both learned from BYU-Idaho was simply how to learn. We realized that teachers and books can only get you so far. Anyone can gain an education if they just work for it. Not to be all corny about BYU-Idaho, but it really is a great university. One of their main goals, they say, is to create "disciple-leaders," and I really feel like that is what they do. I've grown so much in the past two years. A lot of that is living out on my own and, of course, getting married. But I've had such great opportunities to learn and teach and work harder than I've ever worked in my life. Even when you take out all of the curriculum, I've gained a very valuable education in Idaho and I am so grateful for it.

We had such a great vacation spending time with the Child family – what an amazing family they are. I'm sure they realize it, but I constantly want to grab each one of them by the shoulders and look them right in the eye and tell them how lucky they are to be part of such a wonderful family. I love the Spirit that I feel each and every time I enter their home. I love how even the first time I ever met them, they felt like family to me. They are the type of people who live what they believe and leave no question of where they stand. I have so much love for each of them. Chase and I will miss them terribly, so we better start saving for a lot of trips back to Idaho.

Beautiful :)

So now we are job-hunting and wondering when we are going to be "kicked out" of our apartment. Isn't it great being graduated? Haha. We love it though.

If there is one thing that I've gained a strong testimony of, it is that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I have had far too many prayers answered to not have know that. And it is the most wonderful and comforting feeling to know that as long as we are trying to do what is right and are praying in faith, everything will work out. There have been so many times where I have asked for help and strength and direction. And I have always received answers, but most of the time the answers I receive are not what I thought I wanted or come in a very different way that I had hoped for. Yet every single time, without fail, things work out for the better. It always turns out to be a blessing in the end. I am so grateful for a Father in Heaven who loves me and knows my needs. I know He is looking out for each of us. :)

Anyway, here are some pictures from graduation:

And I almost forgot! Chase had his hernia surgery 2 days before we graduated. The picture above always reminds me of it because it's more of a grimace than a smile. :) He's feeling a lot better now, but his incision is still a little tender. He has a cut about 5 inches long! We decided he probably got a hernia from lifting a 250 lb. TV (which, I am sad to say, is sitting on the back porch still) but we're still not sure if he really ever had one. But at least it's common enough that it's kind of a preventative measure. Anyway, he's really been a trooper through the whole thing. I'm proud of my bug! It's so hard for him to sit still and let others do things for him. But we've been really blessed to have great friends and family help us move. Although, I'm not so sure it's a good thing – I have a feeling that every time we move from now on he'll try and pull the, "I can't, I have a hernia" thing.

So for a little recap, I'm sorry I have been terrible about blogging. I feel really bad because there have been a lot of memories from college that I'm sure we'll forget :( But I think it will be easier to keep it updated now that school is over.

Chase and I are as happy as can be. We are so in love and so happy to be together all the time just being best friends. It's amazing that each day I am just happier and more in love with him. The other day we went to the temple with Chase's parents in Logan. That's where we got married and as I sat through the session, it brought back a lot of wonderful memories. I automatically thought to myself, "my wedding day was the best day of my life." Then I realized that I just thought that because I always hear people say it. But it's not true. Today is the best day of my life. And tomorrow will be the best day of my life. Each day just gets better and better because I have my best friend with me for eternity. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, kind, and caring husband.

I know there are a lot of gaps in the last year we've been married, but I will try to keep this updated from now on! (And take a lot more pictures!!)

Our first Anniversary! 8.8.08

2009-08-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we've successfully made it through our first year of marriage! And we both agree – if the first year is really the "hardest," then we can't wait for the rest of eternity. It is going to be amazing. :)

Yesterday we celebrated with the greatest day ever. We started off by sleeping in until 10:30 (well, I did). I woke up and came into the kitchen and Chase had bought me a bunch of pretty flowers. He is so sweet, and he knows I'm the biggest sap. Then we made raspberry and cream cheese crepes. Yum! After that, Chase took us up to see these beautiful waterfalls called Mesa Falls. I think he mostly wanted to take me because "Mesa" is in the name. It was so beautiful though. That took a good part of the day, and when we got home at 4:30, we really got into the fact that this was our day to do anything we wanted, and so of course, we took a nap.

Then we drove to Idaho Falls to see Star Trek and eat at Olive Garden. My favorite part about that we when we were eating our salad at the restaurant. Chase got this huge green pepper and bit into it, but I guess it was just too huge, because all of the seeds shot out of it across the table and onto the wall (and my arms). Our waitress thought it was pretty funny. After dinner we rounded off the night with ice cream (of course). It was such a fun day spending time together and relaxing.

I am so grateful for Chase. He really is my perfect match. He is my best friend – I never get tired of having him by my side. I think the thing that I've learned the most about him is how patient he is. And with me, you need to be patient. He puts up with all my faults and loves me so perfectly. And every day he teaches me what it really means to be like Christ. I could never, in a million years, find a better or more wonderful eternal companion. I love him so much. And I know he loves me too. Happy Anniversary Chaser!! (Sorry I'm not the greatest at taking pictures...)

Pretty Mesa Falls...

This is a little drawing I made as a gift for Chase.

An (Old) Update!

2009-06-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

** So I found this post in my drafts, I guess I forgot to publish it. It is a few months old, but still worth posting I think.

So, I think I'm at that point where although I'm going to school full-time and working part-time, I feel like I have no time to do anything, but I also feel like I waste a lot of time doing nothing. Make sense to you? Me neither.

Anyway, one of the things that is in the "no time to do anything" category is updating this blog.

We are more than halfway done with our second-to-last semester of school! And I can already feel the senior-itis setting it. Next semester I'll be working still and I'll be taking 17.5 credits. I'm so scared! But I'm also really excited to take some more graphic design classes. I really want to learn and get as much experience as I can before we graduate. Chase will be taking 12 credits, so he'll really get to focus on his classes. Let's be honest, him taking 12 credits is probably equivalent to me taking 20 because his classes are so hard. So we are all registered and ready to get done with this whole school thing.

So what has been on our mind's lately?

Well, Nate and Steph, my brother and sis-in-law, are expecting a little baby! We are really excited for them. We keeping hoping Steph's tummy will be all big when we get to see them in a few weeks.
Mama and Papa Child came down to see us this week! It was their first time doing a session in the Rexburg Temple, and they loved it. It really is gorgeous in there. We went and got pizza and ice cream and had a great night catching up with them. They are amazing parents...I couldn't have imagined having greater in-laws. They make me feel so loved and included in their family.
Christina, Chase's sister, came down this weekend too! Okay, so we set her up on a blind date with one of Chase's classmates. I feel bad because she has been on a lot of blind dates, and I'm pretty sure blind dates are always awkward no matter what, but I think everyone had a lot of fun. Me and Chris both nailed Chase in the head with the ball when we played Wally Ball, so I know that we had fun at least. Oh, and we had pizza. Again. I'm starting to get the idea that we're not very healthy.
Mother's day was last month, and tomorrow is Father's day. My parents have been on my mind a lot, which isn't always a good thing because ever since Chase and I got married I am a big baby and cry more than I ever have in my life. So I've been reflecting a lot lately on my Mom and Dad. They are so amazing. They have both taught me so much about how I should treat others and how I should live my life, but more than anything, they have taught me about what kind of mother (or parent) I want to be.

My mom and dad are not perfect. They are not perfect people or perfect parents. But I have realized that they are perfect at loving their children. They would do anything to help their kids, even when it means that they sacrifice and give up a lot of things that they shouldn't have to go without. My mom is constantly just thinking of any little thing she could do for her children, and given even the slightest opportunity, she is always there – ready to conquer the world for them. She is amazing and always has a solution to a problem. She loves her children so much – they are her whole world. I want to be that kind of mother to my children some day. And then there's my papa. Anyone who really knows me knows that he is my hero. I could list a million reasons why, but it would literally take all day. He sacrifices so much for us. He is so kind and calm and caring and selfless. He is one of those rare people that gives without asking for anything in return. He is a true example of Christ-like love.

So those are my parents. They are so important to me and I will always be forever grateful for all that they have done for me and taught me. They are two of my best friends. :)

Killer Bunnies

2009-04-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight we made Easter eggs with our friends Casey and Aubster from downstairs. They were kind of ugly but in a cool way sort of...The eggs I mean, not our friends. Chase made one that said, "Viva La Mexico." No one could figure out why. But it was a lot of fun, see:

Isn't Chase adorable? Except in the first one he looks kind of homeless. :) After the eggs, we played this game called Killer Bunnies. We've played it a few times, and I always lose... but this time, I won! It's a weird game where you try and kill the other player's bunnies. We thought it was especially appropriate for Easter.

Happy Easter!!

Finals are OVER!!

2009-04-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

One semester down, two more to go. We are so glad it's over, even if we only have a week to catch our breaths. It has really been a busy few months. Chase had incredibly hard engineering classes... the kind where half the class fails the tests and it's normal. Luckily, it's also normal for the teacher to curve their grades so they still pass. :) My classes were super busy. Note to self: 17.5 credits is a lot. I don't think I've never been so stressed out as I was this semester, but that may have been because my hard drive crashed and I lost all of my work for my classes. But it worked out - Apple reinstalled a new hard drive with more memory and replaced the keyboard and sent it back all in only 2 days. But I did have to redo my projects. Anyway, we made it through.

Chase just finished his finals yesterday, so I decided to surprise him with his favorite dessert, Cherry Pie! I've never made a pie before, but it turned out awesome! Well, so said Chase and our friends from downstairs... I don't like cherries. I found a great recipe from http://allrecipes.com (this site is amazing!) I was scared to make the crust, but it actually worked somehow! It's really flaky. Okay, I'm sorry for sounding so proud, but I really was excited that it didn't totally bomb. But look how cute it is! :)

Munch & Pi

2009-04-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here are the turds. They are super cute little guys. :) Munch is the smaller one. He's really shy and doesn't like to come out of his shell, and he freaks out if you try to pet his head. But Pi loves when you rub his head and he likes to walk around our apartment...mostly I think he just wants to escape though.

Pi looks really big here, but he's just up close to the camera. He is a lot bigger than Munch though... He eats a ton!

This one was taken when we first got them. They've actually grown a lot, if you can believe it.

So yeah, that's Munch and Pi. We're planning on making one of those little signs people put on their walls that say, "All Because Two People Fell in Love," and then putting a picture of Munch and Pi under it.

Sam the Cowboy

2009-02-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've given in. Because from what I can tell, you're not really married until you have a blog. And Chase and I have been married for a wonderful 6 months already! I know I've missed a lot of exciting stories, like the baby turtles Chase got me for my birthday, but to start off this blog appropriately, let me tell you about our latest adventure.

This past weekend, Chase and I went out with some friends to a place called BJ's Bayou in the middle of Nowhere, Idaho. It's a weird Paula Dean-ish restaurant in a 107 year old building and has two big gators living in it. And a turtle. They might as well have been stuffed for how much they moved. The place was creepier than most things, but it was fun! We ate fried gator tail, nasty hush puppies, and really big hamburgers. The food wasn't bad. But the best part was the owner of the place. She and her husband moved from New Orleans and started up the restaurant, which they actually lived in on the second floor. We had read somewhere that BJ's was haunted and asked for a spooky story. She gave us a story alright, but it was more perplexing than anything else because she absolutely, with all the sanity she had left, believed that her and her family had constant interactions with ghosts. She told us about Sam, a cowboy who would walk down the hallways of their house. Her 17 year old daughter let us know that Sam would come and sit on her bed almost every night and talk with her. She also let us know that she wanted to be a Psychiatrist. We didn't think it was the best career choice. Anyway, the owner went on and on about dozens of ghosts and how they would steal the dinnerware and scare prom groups that came in for dinner. And Chase, of course, was encouraging her the whole time by asking innocent questions with an impressively straight face. We gave her a good tip for the whole thing, mostly because it wasn't an act. And we felt bad for her kids.