I love being a mom. Not that it isn't hard and frustrating and exhausting, because it definitely is, I just think it is so worth it. I love having a kid. Especially one as cute as Leo. He's starting to laugh at things and it's so funny. This morning I was getting him dressed after his shower and he was screaming as usual. (He hates getting out of the shower.) I laid him down to put a diaper on and he suddenly stops screaming and smiles. Then he peed everywhere and totally laughed about it. It was absolutely hilarious. Made my day.

Brownies

I'm pretty much a baking goddess. I mean, I always knew I was pretty good, but it turns out I'm phenomenal. On Saturday Ty and I went out to celebrate the fact that we wouldn't have to choose between paying rent or buying groceries. We saw a movie and then got lunch at Zupas. (I know they don't have it in AZ, but it's really yummy. Soups, salads, paninis...) Any how, by the time the movie was over I was starving. While we were in line waiting for our food I saw the most heavenly looking brownie ever, and I wanted it. Boy did I want it. However I decided not to get it. I have a huge sweet tooth and Ty is always trying to talk me out of eating sweets. Whenever I want something he says, "Do you really want that?" And then he tells me that I don't and that we're not going to get it. Any how, I decided to be responsible and I told myself that the only reason it looked so good was because I was so hungry and that after I ate my lunch I wouldn't want it any more. It turns out I was wrong. I thought about that brownie for the rest of the day. I wanted it so bad. Almost bad enough to go back and get it, but that seemed a little out of control so I refrained. Any how, we needed to get groceries and I thought, "I could just get the stuff and make it myself." So we went to the store and by the time I got there I had talked myself out of it. ("Self, you don't really need it.") But then brownie mix was on super sale. I ended up getting it. I made the brownies and mixed in nuts and marshmallows. Then when it was half way done I put more nuts and marshmallows on top. It was delicious and so worth it. Unfortunately we ate them all. In two days.

Do you know what the two happiest words in the English language are? Financial aid. We got some. More than we were planning on actually, which is good. It means we won't be going through our neighbors' garbage cans for dinner, and that makes for an incredibly happy Kristen. A wise man (Garth Brooks) once said, "Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers." I'm really grateful that this is not one of those times. :)

Dilemma

I have a little problem. It started about two months ago when the Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door. (They aren't the problem, they're just the background.) So it's these two really nice older ladies and they see that I'm hugely pregnant and just drop off some pamphlets. But they're really excited about the baby and they ask if they can come back in a few weeks and see it. I said that was fine and they've been coming by every few weeks since then. Well they came by today and they brought Leo a present.

That's right. They think my little boy is a girl. Named Leah. And now I'm stuck because I accepted little girl clothes from them. Eventually they're going to come by when he's definitely dressed like a boy and know that he's not a she. So what do I do? Refuse to answer the door if I don't know who it is? Make sure Leo's always in gender neutral clothes. Strip him naked every time someone comes to the door? Move? If you have any ideas my ears are wide open. And if you're thinking, "Well, why didn't you just tell them that he's a boy." I did. Repeatedly. Apparently they just don't believe me.

Happy Anniversary!

Addiction

Hi. My name is Kristen, and I'm an alcoholic . . . okay, not really. I'm actually addicted to Spider Solitaire. And it's terrible because I almost never win. Seriously I've played nearly 80 games and won 11 of them. Pathetic, I know, but I just can't stop. I always think, "That was so close. I'm sure I'll win the next one." And when I don't I think, "Surely the next one." It's a vicious cycle. Good thing I spend more than half of my awake time nursing, huh? I mean, what else am I supposed to do with my free hand?

Sleeping

Guess who got eight straight hours of sleep last night. It wasn't me. Okay, I'll tell you. It was Leo. YAY! My sister Jule said that when you have a baby the first week is great, the second week is okay and then there are four weeks of crap. Boy was she right! Fortunately we hit the end of the crap weeks today, and it definitely is getting better. We're still working on the sleep thing, but life is definitely better.

The other day Leo was being such a crank. We could not get him to stop crying. Finally Ty just set him on his lap with a bottle. He squirmed around until he got into this position and then he immediately fell asleep. What a stinker! He does like to sleep in strange positions though.

Also, Leo was being super happy this afternoon so I thought I'd record it for those of you who have never seen him in live action.

Fall

We've been having the most amazing weather lately. It's beautiful. There's a nice breeze and, even though it still gets pretty hot during the day, we leave our windows open and sometimes have to use blankets at night. I love it! However, I also really hate it. Why? Because it means that winter is coming. And even though I know we have months of beautiful weather in front of us I can't help but resent it because it means that snow is on it's way. I hate snow! 

A Few More Thoughts

So I just looked at my blog and it made me kind of depressed. I used to be funny and interesting. Now I'm just a boring mom who talks about my kid all the time. I guess it makes sense since I spend most of every day doing nothing but feeding him. (Literally, the kid eats for hours at a time.) But I never wanted to be one of those people who got boring when I had kids, so I'll work on that.
Also, I'm starting a "diet" tomorrow and I've spent the entire day eating every little bit of junk I could get my hands on. You know, so it won't be in the house any more. :) And now I just might puke. Thought I should preserve that for posterity.

Catch Up

I feel like I haven't blogged in a really long time. I got tagged, so I'll start with that. 

Three Joys

Dessert

Family

Movies

Three Fears

Failure

Spiders

Enclosed Spaces

Current Obsessions/Collections

Gardening

The Colbert Report

Grey's Anatomy

Surprising Facts

I can't make macaroni and cheese. (I mean, I can make it. It's just always runny.) 

If I could go anywhere in the world I would choose Israel. (Ireland is a close second.)

I can't stand playing video games.

Now I'm supposed to tag five people, but I'm pretty sure every one I know has already done this. If you haven't, Tag. You're it.

Here's what's been going on with us. 

*Leo rolled over for the first time all by himself. He was pretty shocked when he did it, and so far he hasn't done it again.

*We put him down the slide yesterday too. (Well, I went down with him on my lap.) He didn't like that too much. Maybe in a few more months. 

*My best friend Becca was up here all week. She's the one who got me started on Grey's Anatomy.

*I've been wishing for weeks that we had an apricot tree because I love apricots and they're ripe right now. While Becca was here I found out that I do have an apricot tree. It's in front of the house in front of us, which is also owned by our land lady. We've been eating apricots like crazy.

*We took Leo to see Iron Man. It went pretty well, but I don't think we're going to make a habit of it.

*Ty has his national Pharmacy Tech exam on Tuesday.

*My kid is super cute and here's the proof:

chunky monkey (and I don't mean the ice cream!)

I weighed Leo this morning and he was 9 pounds! I know that doesn't seem like much to a lot of you, but I feel like he's getting huge. I mean, look at these cheeks. (And the ears. Hence the "monkey" part.)

He's getting so chubby! Yesterday we moved him up from newborn to size one diapers. I was a little sad about that, but at least now I can buy the generic brand. Any how, this picture is just because he's so dang cute. 

Hope

I remember when I was younger I was very afraid of having children. Not because I was worried about the pain or concerned that I wouldn't like being a mom, but because I wasn't sure it was fair to bring children into a world that was getting more and more wicked by the minute. I wondered if I would be able to help them deal with all the horrible things they would encounter on their journey. I remember hearing about the things that kids were dealing with in high school (girls kissing girls in the hallways between classes, kids bringing guns to school, religion and morality being mocked on all sides) and thinking that it had gotten so much worse in the few years since I'd been there. I wondered how much worse it could get and I worried again about bringing a life into such a horrible place. 

Today I found this quote by Boyd K. Packer. 

"[Today's children] will see many events transpire in the course of their lifetime. Some of these shall tax their courage and extend their faith. But if they seek prayerfully for help and guidance, they shall be given power over adverse things. Such trials shall not be permitted to stand in the way of their progress, but instead shall act as stepping-stones to greater knowledge." 

"Do Not Fear," Ensign, May 2004, 77

What an amazing promise! It filled me with hope, not only for my children but for myself as well. I love knowing that God is out there and that he truly does answer our prayers. I know that if we seek for guidance it will be given to us. There truly are so many things in this life that tax our faith and courage, but I know that all things are for our good and everything we experience is just preparing us for greater things to come. 

Randomness

Wow! It's been a crazy week. Here's some of what's been going on.

*We've gotten into the bad habit of calling Leo "Stink" (because he's such a stinker). Ty thinks it's funny and that we should keep it up, but I'd rather not scar him so early on.

*We're getting on-again-off-again sleep. Leo likes to sleep really well one day, including good naps, and then not sleep at all the next day. It's been interesting. Kind of roller-coastery on the emotions. And he won't stay asleep in his crib for some reason so we have to put him in the car seat. (I think it's easier for him to breathe with the incline.) Any how, the crib has turned into a car seat holder during the night.

*Ty is finished with his pharmacy tech training class. (YAY!) Now he just has to finish his internship (75 more hours) and take the national exam and he'll be licensed.

*Aunt Meilyn was here for a week and she helped us out a ton! We wouldn't be getting any sleep if she hadn't showed us how to "burrito" Stink so he couldn't get out. Plus, we got to go on two dates while she was here. (Yay for dates!)

* I cleaned (a little) yesterday and felt very proud of myself. We'll see if I can manage to do it again :)