Proof

This has been on mind a lot lately. J gave us a whole string of smiles today. They are wonderful and charming. There is just something about seeing a newborn smile. I will get one smile from him, and then work for five more minutes trying to get another smile out of him. They weren't his first smiles, but just the first day that he has done lots of smiles all in a row. (No pictures yet, but hopefully soon we will capture the smile on film.)

J has given me other smiles. His first "real" smile came one night a little over a week ago. It had been a rough night. You know the kind. It was around five in the morning, and I was doing a change of clothes because he had gotten himself wet. I was completely exhausted and a little fed up. And then out of no where he smiled at me! It gave me the energy to finish the feeding and get him back to sleep.

So here's what I have been thinking about. Besides the skills that a baby is born with, the first skill that they acquire is the ability to smile. Doesn't that seem a little weird? I mean in the evolutionary scheme of things it would be much better for them to be mobile, or able to communicate, etc... I think the fact that a baby learns to smile shows that there is a God. That we were created, and not evolved. A smile is utterly useless for a child. Except that it isn't useless. Seeing a smile makes it so that the parent will still work to protect that child, and care for the child. Without those smiles it would all grow old very quickly. God knew that a smile would help a child far more than other options. I mean the ability to talk is great, but that can be troublesome too. A smile, is really never troublesome.

Time

I'm not exactly sure why, but time is going by so quickly! You would think that when you are up at all hours of the day, the day would seem longer. But no. Somehow once your day is split up into three hour increments it goes by with "super-sonic" speed. (Benjamin's ultimate speed is super-sonic.) It seems like I sit down to feed J, get up and do two things, and several hours have passed and it is time to sit and feed again. I'm not complaining, I am amazed.

July 26, 2009

July 26, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a quiet week. B-man is starting to get tired of being cooped up, so we have tried to get out a little more. I didn’t have a stroller until this week. My friend gave me one that she was getting rid of, and we have used it several times already. J loves being outside (or at least he doesn’t hate it) and B-man has been happy to go on scooter rides again. Monday night for FHE we played croquet. B-man had been begging to play for several days. We set up a miniature course in our back yard. M impressed us all and won easily. M then left to go to an HOA meeting for our community. Earlier in the evening we had been outside. We noticed that all of our neighbors were doing yard work, and a lot of it! We felt the pressure so we sat out there and visited with our neighbors while we all worked on our front yards. We have a new on-site manager that is much stricter about the rules. We really appreciate it, and our neighbors do too, but they were also complaining a little about the warning letters that they had received.

Tuesday and Wednesday nothing extraordinary happened. M went home teaching with someone that needed a companion on Tuesday night.

Thursday M did a bunch of driving. We have been looking for a new car for a while knowing that our Prizm could die at any moment. M found a car that he was interested in this week. Thursday he drove to pick up the car after work and drove it to a mechanic that we trust to have it looked at. After the mechanic looked at the car he then drove back and dropped off the car. Each leg of the trip was at least half an hour. It was a lot of back and forth before getting home. He liked the car, and it got a great report from the mechanic, so M worked out a price and time with the seller to purchase the car! It’s never fun to spend a bunch of money, but it’s nice to feel like you are getting a great deal. Thursday was a tough day for me. J was very fussy in the afternoon, and we were missing M a lot! Once he got home Q and I went to a Relief Society social. They had a barbecue and some games set up in the yard of the home where it was held. I was so tired that we didn’t stay very long. Just long enough to shake off the stress of the day and get some food to eat.

Friday after work M ran some friends to the airport. We had a friend over who was alone because his family was out of town for dinner. After dinner I went to a baby shower for a woman in our ward. M was nice and took J two nights in a row so that I could get away for a while.

Saturday was a great day. We woke up and got going early. We hit a few garage sales, but had a lot of success at them. Then we drove to go pick up the car. B-man was very interested in the whole process so he stuck close to M for most of the time while they were working on papers. J and I mostly sat, or paced around and waited. After a little over an hour we were finally done with everything and able to go home. Once home we all headed over to our community pool for a pool party. We had a great time. J and I didn’t get into the water, but B-man and M had a great time. Of course B-man made friends with the two scariest adults at the pool. He is not intimidated by anything! Although the fellows looked scary they were actually very nice and patient with B-man. We were all very full from the pool party, so we didn’t have much of an organized dinner. We did make our first bruschetta of the season. I am always happy when I can do that. The tomatoes weren’t from my garden yet, but the basil was. That night M gave Q a lesson on driving a stick shift car. Apparently she did great!

Today we have returned to a normal routine. We all went to church, I taught the Beehives, and we came home and had dinner. It was great to be back in church and to be able to teach the girls in my class. I didn’t realize how much I had missed them!

Love,

R, M, B-man, and J

July 19, 2009

July 19, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Once again another week has flown by. It’s amazing how fast time goes by when it is broken into three hour increments. We have had a few things that spiced up our week. One was that Q came back. The house has seemed so empty without her around. B-man has really loved having her around to talk with. I will often find him down on her bed watching what she is typing on the computer. I’m sure he must be pesky at times, but she never lets on that he is annoying. Plus I should call her the laundry fairy. I keep finding loads of laundry that had been sitting in the dryer that have magically been folded and put into a laundry basket. Of course having someone around during the day is nice too. We really try to give her enough space to get work done, but even then we usually have a couple of good chats a day. I miss those when she is gone!

Thursday I got pretty stir crazy and decided that I had to get out of the house. We went to a play date for the ward at some fountains in a shopping center near our house. B-man had a great time. It was the hottest day of the summer, so J and I didn’t last as long as B-man did, but it felt good to be out of the house at least.

Another thing that spiced up the week was my massage on Thursday night. I had been looking forward to it all week. A friend in the ward has her own business that she runs out of her home, and thanks to some great friends, and M I was able to have an hour of relaxation. I can completely understand why famous people are always getting massages. They are wonderful! There are a lot of things that could potentially make it uncomfortable, but it is only in theory. In practice, a massage is nothing but pure delight, and I think everyone should do it at least once.

The highlight from Friday was that we picked up another twenty pounds of blueberries. The first time we froze most of the berries, so this time we made sure to keep out some. We have been surviving on blueberries ever since. They are delicious!

Saturday was a very busy day. The morning was nice and relaxing. M made fantastic waffles for breakfast, and then the day got busy fast. First he went and helped a friend move. Then he came home for a fast lunch and then left to go help one of his home teaching families move. Both moves were “in-town” so on the second one he came and picked up B-man to help with the unloading of the truck. B-man was SO excited to help with the move. He thinks it is as fun as going to the park! When they got home in the early evening they went first to the pool to cool off before coming home for dinner. Then after dinner they went together to check out a car. It was a lonely day for me, but I was glad that B-man got to be involved in the second half of the day.

Today has been a good day. J and I went to church for Sacrament meeting. J did great and slept through Sacrament meeting. J and I then came home to try and avoid some of the germs that were going around. We’ve had a very relaxed afternoon here. B-man is really getting into reading books. Whenever I sit down to feed J, B-man brings me a stack of books and he turns the pages while I read them. It may not work forever, but right now it is a great thing to do while I am glued to the couch.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J

Web Site Story

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Meaning

Choosing a name is hard. At least for M and me. We pretty much had J's name narrowed down to two or three favorites. We were hoping that in the hospital it would just be obvious that he was J, or T, etc. It didn't really happen that way. We went back and forth pretty much the whole time we were there. We only made a decision because we HAD to. In the end it was the meaning of his names that won us over. Hopefully we can use the other name we had picked out someday. So here are the meaning of his names...

"God is gracious" and "ringing of bells"

That was exactly how we felt, and are still feeling. We are so lucky to have him in our home.

July 12, 2009

July 12, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Here’s the run down from our week. Not a whole lot has been going on. Most days went something like this…

Wake up to B-man begging for breakfast

Try to convince B-man to go back to sleep

Finally give up and get going

Eat breakfast, feed J

Eat lunch, feed J

B-man goes swimming with M when he gets home from work, feed J

Make and eat dinner, feed J

Work on baby books with Grandma E, feed J

Go to bed

Of course there has also been a lot of fun chatting with Grandma E. B-man loves having his grandmas around. We also had FHE on Monday night; we talked about the “beatitudes” to which B-man expressed a lot of dislike. (Hopefully because he was tired.)

Wednesday we also spiced things up by taking J to the doctor. He is doing great. He has put on a little weight and is now 9 lbs. 5 oz, and has grown to 22 inches long. While J and I were in with the doctor B-man and Grandma were outside playing together. After the check-up we went to our local fire station. B-man has been begging to go, and I am too much of a wimp to do it by myself. So with Grandma E’s bravery we went in and saw if we could look at the fire engines. James a young fire man was very kind and gave B-man a great tour of the engines. I am always amazed at how happily they let people come and look at the fire trucks. We have never had them say no, and they have always seemed genuinely happy to answer our questions and take some pictures.

Thursday we had another departure from the routine when we went to the farm. We did a relatively quick trip. B-man did the pedal cars, and then we picked green beans. After picking we got our box of food and went home. J was a star and didn’t complain at all about being in his car seat.

Friday we were so sad to send Grandma E home. We were so lucky to have her with us, and it is pretty lonely here by ourselves. That night B-man and I made a very quick appearance at a farewell party for several families in our ward that are moving.

Saturday was a strange day. Most of the day I was by myself. For most of the afternoon B-man and M were together. First at the grand opening of our newly renovated library, and then swimming. Then M had to leave for the Priesthood leadership session of Stake Conference. Then he came home for a very fast dinner, and then he was off again for the adult session. It was a strange feeling to have the house so empty after it has been full for so long.

Today has been a quick day. B-man and M went to Stake Conference together while J and I tried to nap at home. Then this evening we went to dinner at a friend’s house. It was great to get out of the house for a bit.

We love you all! It’s amazing how fast time is flying by!

R, M, B-man, and J

Teaching gone wrong?

This is a conversation that I had with B-man yesterday. We were all playing together. He and Grandma were playing with a top (the kind that spin) that he had gotten in a "Kinder Sorpresa." It is a hollow chocolate egg with a toy inside. M brought back several for him from his last trip to Mexico. Then we used them on Easter morning as a treat underneath pictures of Christ.

Grandma: That is such a fun top.

M: Yeah it's great, where did you get it B-man?

B-man: Uh... in an egg.

R: What kind of an egg was it?

B-man: (long pause) Uh, a Jesus egg!

Hmm I think we were looking for "chocolate" or "Easter." The question is, did that Easter lesson go well, or horribly wrong...?

July 5, 2009

July 5, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been so fast! I have stayed very close to home and have enjoyed having family here. Most of the days were pretty much the same. My mother has been here helping. It has been wonderful! Monday I wasn’t feeling super great, so I tried to rest a lot. M went back to work and spent most of the day just trying to catch up on emails. My mother has made it easy for me to sit and do nothing. I am pretty good at that when I am by myself, but I really don’t like it when people are up and working. That night we had FHE. B-man and M teamed up for the lesson. It was also our seventh anniversary. Here’s to seven great years!

Tuesday was just a low key day. Wednesday was my first “solo” day. Q and my mom went to the District for a couple of errands and I was left by myself. The morning went really well. Right before lunch time we got a few surprises. One was that a friend called and came and picked up B-man to play at her house for the afternoon. About that same time the Relief Society presidency came by to visit. After they left J and I both took a nice long nap. That night was relatively quiet.

One week old.

Thursday morning I helped get things ready for people to go to the farm. I decided to sit it out. At the farm they had to do more walking than normal, but they picked more peas, black raspberries, and blueberries this week. B-man also showed them how to ride some pedal cars. Apparently they had a bunch of races, and at one point B-man ran into the gate. Luckily the gate and B-man were unhurt. After they got home from the farm we all had lunch. M had gotten out early from work, and he had fixed a tasty lunch. That afternoon Mom and Q went shopping together, and B-man and M went to the pool. J and I hung out at home. I mostly just stare and soak up every minute of this newborn stage. That night my mom watched the boys while we went to dinner for our anniversary. It was a great night, and the boys did great by sleeping the whole time we were gone.

Friday M had the day off of work. The morning was mostly spent getting my mom ready to fly back to San Diego. We were so sad to see her go. It really helped that we know we will see her again soon. The rest of the day was very slow paced. M took B-man to the pool, and we had a quiet evening at home. We did have a family party that night. We all watched “The Tale of Despereaux.” I fell asleep and B-man got scared/sad in the movie. We have to be so careful with the movies that he watches… After B-man was in bed, we watched “Australia” with Q. We all enjoyed the movie. I was a little surprised that we like it actually.

Saturday was the 4^th of July. I’ve always loved Independence Day. In the morning while things were cooking we gave J a bath. He loves having the water pour over his head and stays very very still. He doesn’t love the rest of the bath as much… We started the day off by going to a BBQ that was hosted by our friends. The BBQ was to raise awareness for ALS. Most of the people then went to the Nationals baseball game. Many of the baseball games played on that day were donating a portion of the proceeds to research for ALS. It was our first outing and it went very well, but we didn’t think that going to a baseball game would be a good idea. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. We did some yard work. (I’ve harvested our first cucumbers and we have a tomato that is almost red!) M and B-man went to the pool, but didn’t last long since the weather was a little cooler than normal. That night we had a little barbecue for our family. We then went to buy some sparklers for B-man to play with, and ended up running into some friends of ours that had recently moved. We ended up running back home for lighters and snacks, before meeting them to watch fireworks. B-man loved playing with their boys and watching the fireworks. After a very late night and a lot of fun we made it home and B-man went to bed. Later M went to the airport to pick up Elna, his mother. We are so excited to have her here. B-man is getting so spoiled with all the extra attention!

Today has been a great day. M took everyone to church and taught the lesson in elders quorum. The testimony meeting had a lot of young women talking about camp. After church we had dinner and enjoyed chatting with one another. The rest of the evening has been quiet and relaxing.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J