Liberals and Conservatives

We've never gotten political on this blog before, but considering the circumstances, it's time to. Please no one get offended, the views expressed on this blog are representative of this blogger only and are limited to the candidates in question. So here we go. I'm curious - which debate have you liked most? Was it the Palin-Biden one? Maybe the townhall style Obama-McCain one? Or last nights? My personal favorite was the one that occurred this morning at 11:30 MST. Just in case you missed it, here are the highlights.

The Players:
The Scene: Our backyard and garden

Dialogue:
The Conservative: "Hey, dirt stays in the garden, the flower pots, and the potting soil bag."

The Liberal: No it doesn't. Watch.

How does one respond to such an argument? At least she's a candidate that's very involved in her cause and not afraid to get her hands dirty. Seriously take a look at those fingernails. Ew.

Notice how the Liberal candidate feels very strongly about conservation. None of the flowers are disturbed - only the dirt.

After the debate was over we had some much needed cleaning up (check out those socks).

The candidates then met for lunch (check out Ms. Liberal's fashion statement) during which Mrs. Conservative noted that her opponent still had dirt in her ear, and on her nose. It was also later found in the one little white item of clothing she still had on. At least she accessorized.

So who do you think won this debate? And which of these candidates are you voting for?

JC Penney - It's MY Store

Remember how I'm really struggling to find clothes right now? Long shirts happen to be the bane of my existence at the moment since my already long torso is not staying completely covered, but maternity shopping? Not all it's cracked up to be. Up til this point all 3 shirts I've bought have come from Ross and their sometimes good but hit-and-miss selection.

Then I saw in the Sunday paper that JC Penney was having a 50% off the lowest clearance price sale. You know me, I'm there. I came away with 5 shirts for $10.55. Not one was maternity, just those Juniors shirts I used to hate with the empire waist. I would never wear them because I was terrified someone would ask me if I was prego and it would be really awkward and horrible. Now I really love those shirts. And somehow, long shirts are in style for teenagers but not prego women. Go figure. I'm just really happy that I have another weeks worth of clothes to wear. So happy I had to blog about it. Hooray!

New Trailer

Devony is really really super dang excited about this.
http://www.twilightthemovie.com/ecard_widget/
It's my favorite trailer yet.

Climbing the Stairs

I don't know what the problem is, but if you can't see the video, click here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=345207151377532707&hl=en

Weekend Happenings

What a weekend. We enjoyed friends (Karen & I made more jam), good food, great General Conference talks (a semi-annual meeting held by our church for the more than 13 million members worldwide - click here to learn more about our beliefs), and all sorts of good fun. Here's the highlights in full technicolor: Of course we start with Sydney getting into things Why am I not supposed to play in the dirt? That's what it's there for!
She looks like a little pink soldier with that hat on
She really loves this blankie & pillow
Here is how we entertained Syd during conference Saturday morning - 1 plastic bag, 1 rock, multiple halloween spiders. Good times. She's hooked.
Sydney feeding herself chocolate pudding

Not so thrilled when it was gone.

My beautiful rolls. Homemade rolls and homemade jam. The best ever. Yay. Pair them with New potatoes & peas and a yummy roast and you have one great Sunday dinner. If I do say so myself.

Also in recent news:

1.Sydney has learned what jam is and that she loves it. Whenever she sees it she points to it and emphatically grunts.

2. She blew kisses today. Could be a fluke but it was cute.

3. I got free yogurt at Albertsons - actually they paid me once I used coupons. Hooray!

4. Blogger does not want to post my video, so you will have to wait until I get it up another way.

Oh, wait.

Make that a nice baker's dozen. Sydney cut her fourth molar yesterday. 3 teeth in 3 days. Rock on.

Teething

Sydney has cut 2 teeth in the last 2 days, and has done 6 teeth in the last 6 weeks. Oh my gosh, can we talk about crazy? I have to sing praises and thank my lucky stars that she is really good about cutting teeth - except when it comes to molars. Then she's up screaming at night, multiple times a night, won't eat like she normally will, etc. She's cut 3 molars so far, so she just has 1 more to go for a little while. All together she's got 3 molars, 1 canine, and 8 incisors (front teeth), for a nice round dozen teeth. Until that last molar finally finishes coming in - which should be really soon. Hopefully this means we won't have to deal with the teething situation when the new baby comes. Right? Please say yes.

Week in Review

We've totally had a great week and have done a lot apparently, judging by the number of photos I just uploaded. I know this is a big post, but if I don't put them all in here it will most likely be another 2 weeks or so before it gets done. Highlights from this week - going to the zoo, finding Snap n' Style dolls at Walmart again (not since last Christmas!) as well as my favorite apples, making jam and homemade bread, and Sydney cutting her 3rd molar. Maybe we could be done with those soon - Yay!

And let's not forget my favorite people - look what they brought me today! Cutest ever.

Figuring out Sydney's new car seat. Check out that face - what a ham. This was beastly to install I must say. I'm either totally weak or it's crazy impossible to do. Go Aaron.

Such a big girl!
Figured out how to ride the springy horse at the park by herself
The carseat box being put to good use (we recycle!)
Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam!!!! Is there anything more yummy? We ran out at Christmas and have been living off of store bought jellies. What a sad life... until now!
Found the best garage sale ever on Friday. All these toys = $4. Totally made my week. Sydney's thrilled with them.Howdy pardner!
My first "belly" pic at 23 weeks. I felt totally ridiculous taking this. Aaron hates these, so we won't be posting them often, but here's one for the record.
At the zoo on Saturday. We saw the snow leopard cubs and I just found out there are Red Panda cubs, which explains why the Red Pandas are never on display when I go. They are adorable!
This morning. Why? Because she could.
She got tired and crawled over to her pillow and blankie and laid down. She's such a good baby.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Sydney is such a daddy's girl. She has always loved him and she will usually only cuddle with him. She gets giddy excited when she hears the garage door open when he comes home and chants "da da da" until she sees him, when she grins and squeals with delight. She had a few things to tell her dady on his big day (which was actually pretty quiet).
Dear Daddy,

You are the best daddy in the whole world and I love you so much! I love when you throw me up in the air and make me giggle so much! You are my best friend and you always share your food with me! You always play with me and cuddle with me and you even give mom a rest from changing my diapers and looking after me when you come home! You make me blocks and toys and you always pick me up and kiss me better when I fall down and cry. You're the best! I love you!

love,
Sydney

Happy Birthday Aaron! We all love you so much!

So Big!

Remember how little she was the first time she drove?

She's grown a little bit!
She got to help daddy pull the truck a few feet up the driveway!
Then she went for a ride on the garbage can! She's so big!

We took Sydney to the doctor yesterday for her one year check up. She is 29 1/2 inches long and weighs 21 lbs 10 oz. She's in the 60th percentil for weight and the 50th for height, and her big old noggin' is still in the 97th percentile. She's growin' big brains!

We've been shopping for car seats and long shirts lately (I'm finding that my shirts are inching up while my pants are inching down, so there's a couple new inches that need to be covered!) . Being tall already, it's been a little interesting finding shirts long enough - good thing it's the fashion right now! On the car seat front, I'm finding that not all car seats work so well in all cars, and that it's a little tricky getting 2 car seats in the back seat together, especially both rear facing. What happens when we get 3 kids? With the car seat rules these days, we'll have to have 3 side by side! Nice little situation, but we'll figure it out! (But not for a long time still!)

On another note, Sydney is at such a fun age! She is so perceptive about everything lately! We took some garbage out to the curb today and she spotted a leaf lying on the road. There was some water running down the gutter so we sat down and made leaf boats and floated them down stream. I gave her leaves and she tossed them into the water (instead of eating them!), then watched them float away and lifted her arms up in a "where did it go?" gesture. It was so fun.

Babies, Babies, and more Babies!

Just had to do a quick shout out to the 2 new moms in my life - my sister Haylee had her baby (all 9 lbs 7 oz of him!) on Monday night and my friend Cori just picked up her baby from Korea! I am so thrilled for both of them and can't stop smiling! What a great week! Congratulations to my 2 favorite new moms!

Car Seat Advice

Ok I need some advice on car seats. It is time to get Sydney a bigger one, and we want to know which ones you all have used and whether or not you like them. If you know about one that your friend likes, let us know that too. We want to know what you love and hate about those car seats and whether you feel like you got a good deal for what you paid. Tell us if it is wearing well or if you feel like it will be done for after 1-2 years. Let us know your thoughts!

Feelings of Entitlement

Just some random musings here. I was reading today and came across a point where some men say "it is our right," and it made me stop and think. What makes us have such feelings of entitlement? I understand making a deal with someone or exchanging goods and services, but that's not what I mean. I'm talking about true feelings of entitlement. For example, I know many couples who when they were first married felt they were entitled to the many comforts and conveniences their parents had after 30 years of marriage. I felt entitled to give birth (until I got over that and we got Sydney). Others feel entitled to good health or affluence, despite their lifestyle choices and work ethics. Does this make sense yet? Why do we feel the world owes us anything? What have we done that makes us so special? It's normal and human to feel this way, but why? No answers today, just thoughts.

High School Revisited

I got tagged on this by a friend I met a year ago, so it was fun to see her HS self. Here's mine:
1. Did you date someone from your school? Never more than once.
2. What kind of car did you drive? A red/maroon Ford Tempo that we sold the day we moved to Colorado. No joke.
3. What was the most embarrassing moment of HS? The only ones I can think of had to do with costume problems at Dance performances. I never had a "wardrobe malfunction" because I had the good sense to wear both underwear and opaque tights, etc. at all times, but there were a few moments where dresses came undone while on the dance floor, skirts fell off on stage, etc. Oh, wait. I just thought of one. Senior year I played Meg in Brigadoon (she's the slutty comic relief character) and I sang a song about all the guys I'd slept with while making some rounds in the audience. I ended up getting pulled down on my back on my friend's brother's lap - and he'd been home from his mission for like 2 days. I guess it was probably even more traumatic for him than me!
4. Were you a party animal? Yes. It was not unusual for my mother to get a call late Saturday afternoon or early evening checking to make sure I could bring "a few" friends out. She started getting smart and asking how many to plan for after awhile. There were usually about 30 people there and she always provided food.
5. Were you considered a flirt? Not until college.
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in orchestra for 1 year and choir for 3.
7. Were you a nerd? This will be further answered in the following questions, but yes. Completely.
8. Were you on any varsity teams? Um, no.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? For what? No.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? I don't even know if we had a fight song, so no.
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Emfield, Mr. Jones (both History teachers!), Mort, and Mr. Ward.
12. Where did you sit during lunch? It was different each year. Sometimes in the commons at the tables and sometimes we had a group that sat in the stairwell.
13. School mascot? This is Aaron's favorite. He thinks it's hysterical that our mascot was the Trojan and the town our school was in (not where I lived) had the highest teen pregnancy rate per capita. Really. Jay Leno even mentioned it.
14. Did you go to homecoming, and with whom? Yes, um I have no idea. Our school had tons of dances and it was my goal senior year to go to all of them, which I did. That's way too many dates that didn't end up mattering.
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I was desperate NOT to leave high school because I loved it, but looking back, NO WAY!
16. What do you remember most about graduation? Writing my Valedictorian speech on the way to the ceremony and being glad I got to sit on the air conditioned stand, not in the hot hot hot group of graduates.
17. Where did you go senior skip day? To school. See #7. Also the school said if the seniors didn't do senior skip day we'd go on a senior trip. Which we did, to Lagoon. Ooh. That said, I think this is the one and only time in my life I actually went on roller coasters or crazy rides and liked them. I guess you're only young once.
18. Were you in any clubs? National Honor Society (pretty much on paper only), Ballroom Dance Team, Showchoir, Choir, Orchestra (for a time), and Bell Choir (I know it's nerdy, but it was actually really fun).
19. Have you gained some weight since then? I've definitely gained, and then lost, and my current state means I am on the gaining side again.
20. Who was your prom date? Um, Thayne Dawson maybe? Once again, can't keep the dances straight.
21. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Not unless I happen to be in town. What's the point?
22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? Enjoy it all and don't stress so much.
Tag some people: you, you and you!

Here's to you Baby Girl!

Where Did My Baby Go?

Remember how last year she was this?


And now she's this? What happened?


Last year on September 9 Sydney was born at 12:45 am and we met her at 3:30 that afternoon. Over the past couple of days I have been sort of reliving these days from last year and thinking how different life is. Case in point - I was up this morning changing nasty pee sheets from her crib and bathing my icky baby, whereas last year on this day, it was my second to last day getting ready without a baby. Weird. We're so glad to have you Sydney and we love you soooo much! Thanks for coming to be our baby! You're such a good girl and Happy Birthday!

Best Day Ever!!!

I'm pretty sure Sydney thought she'd died and gone to heaven on Saturday. I don't think it gets any better than her day did when you are one! First I finished sewing a dress for her. We were having a luau party for her and she had nothing to wear! I was totally excited about the dress because I didn't have a pattern - I winged it and it turned out great (if I do say so myself)!

Every party dress needs a bow!
Her first strawberry. Big surprise, she loved it!
Whacking Churro - the chocolate filled burro
More than a little confused about the "pony rides"
The cakes - the writing was perfect until I put it in the fridge. Then it bled. :(
Dad is giving me fire?
I can get messy and you don't care?
The family!
Wow that was yummy cake! She ate almost every single bite!
I taste good!
Fastest way to clean up!
Opening presents!
She was so good almost the whole time! She was entertained by all the other kids, thrilled that she was being fed, completely focused on devouring her cake, and in a total sugar rush for presents and socializing with her guests afterward! It was a really fun day! Thanks everyone who came and made it so fun! I'll try to post the video of her destroying the cake next.

We're Not Telling...

I was amazed with the ultrasound yesterday. I knew they were advanced, but we got to see the blood rushing through the umbilical cord, and the little teeny valves in the heart opening and closing! It was incredible! I had no idea that you could see that much detail! Hooray for the uber big screen my doctor has mounted on the wall so you can see lots of details! Everything is going really well as far as we can tell and she seems to be fairly comfy in there for the time being! Only another 20 weeks until we get to see her for real! Oh yeah, it's a GIRL!!!