Things I'm not going to miss

* 3 hour commutes because of a little snow .. or a lot of snow* 45 minute commute on a good day * ironing dress clothes every morning * dealing with finance people in India * waking up at 6am & dropping off Tad at 8am * only seeing Fred for 30 minutes at night * not having time to talk to Fred about his day * doing laundry at 6:30am * paying $40 a week for gas & filling up my car Every week * driving .2 miles up a winding ramp to get out of a parking garage * downtown construction * drama queens * corporate politics * timecards * dreaming about undelivered fedex packages *

Most of all, I'm not going to miss this ..... anymore!

That's right - as of January 1st I'm officially unemployed... and rehired as "Mommy".

(I took this picture of Tad because I can finally show you the one hair that is out of control. He's had it for a couple of months now- oh yeah, and because of his great cheeser smile. )

5am-10pm

We had a great Christmas! We lucked out and Fred was off both Christmas Eve & Christmas.

Our schedule went like this:

5am -Feed Tad & open presents at our house. He's sitting up by himself, a little wobbly, but he can do it. (I put the boppy by him so I don't worry about him bonking his head.) He was even able to open a few presents! Around 6:45 he was done with that game and went back to sleep. It worked out perfect because then Fred & I opened our presents from each other. Fred did awesome picking out 2 sweaters, a movie, a chocolate melting pot, and a new purse that I love!

When I asked Fred what he wanted to get Tad he said legos & a tractor. We found some baby legos on KSL & I finally found this little tractor & surprised Fred. Yes, it's a remote control John Deere. :} Only 2 buttons so Tad can even point to them to make it move!

7:30am -Off to Grandma & Grandpa Lyons' for a houseful of people! Presents, then breakfast with my dad's side of the family.

9:15am - Home to unpack, load up & feed Tad then off to Fred's parents' for scones & more presents & games while Tad took a nap.

2:00pm- Grammy arrives to give us our annual Santa painting. That I wait impatiently for every year.

3:00pm - Home to unpack, load up to head to Henefer to visit my Mom's side of the family.

7:00pm - Back to Fred's parents' for Turkey dinner & games.

10:30pm - Home to finally go to sleep!

Tad did AWESOME! He took his naps & wasn't fussy at all!

We were spoiled as always by our families & very grateful for all the clothes Tad got- he's growing fast!

NBA here we come!

Tad had his 4 month check up and the Doctor said he wouldn't be surprised if Tad was at least 6'4". He's already 27" long which puts him in the 99th percentile.
He's also a tubby 17.6 lbs. (We were guessing closer to 20.)
He's going to need to start walking soon because it's a workout to carry him in his carseat into the store then lift it up into the cart. :}

Here are his 4 month pictures - he kept pulling the santa hat over his eyes then freaking out, so I gave up and let him chew on it.

We thought we'd be able to start him on rice cereal, but the dr says that about a year ago they found that if you start a baby on foods before 6 mos. it could lead to Type I diabetes. I tried to convince him that Tad can eat 13 oz at one sitting and that I thought he needed cereal, but the dr wouldn't budge and say ok. So, I guess we'll wait another 2 months before we begin the food adventures!

Bring on the sad "ohhhhs"

What do you do with a sick little boy? You let him watch football!

Fred got a cold the last day of finals. Finals & sick... does not make for a happy husband. He had baby duty while I went to my work Christmas lunch Friday afternoon. He tried not to get his face close to Tad, but Tad still ended up with his cold. It's the sadest thing - listening to Tad trying to sleep. He'll moan as he falls asleep then you hear him cough. And, my little boy doesn't like to cuddle, so there's not much I can do for him.

He does love football, so I distracted him from his misery with a few games Sunday afternoon. Tad can be playing on the floor and as soon as a football game is on the tv he instantly turns to watch. He'll go back to playing with his toys during commercials, then right back when it's on again. (No, Fred & I are not big football fans.)

Save your sad “ohhhhs”, it’s funny!

My little sister picked Tad up at the end of his nap and was just holding him for a little while. Kaysen, our 1 year old nephew loves to sit on your lap if you’re holding Tad so he can “play” with him. For some reason when Kaysen got up on Crystal’s lap Tad burst out in tears. Great big crocodile tears.

We have no idea why- Kaysen didn’t even touch him. Since we knew nothing was wrong it was pretty funny & I of course had to take some pictures. :}
This is the face he usually makes right before or after crying. It’s our favorite little face that he makes. Everytime Tad makes this face we laugh. If you make it back at him he stops crying for a minute to smile, then he tries to cry again.
We’re such mean parents thinking it’s funny when he cries.

"I've had 28 years to prepare for this"

... this was Fred's response to my sister calling him an Old Foagie. It's true, Fred turned another year older yesterday, and I have 2 1/2 months to rub it in that he's old. :}

Unfortunately he had classes so he was up early. He did a little bit of homework when he got home, inbetween watching Tad play on the floor. I kept asking him what he wanted to do for his Birthday - finally he decided he wanted to make dinner together, go see Christmas lights in Ogden & watch his favorite Christmas movie.

We made a new Jambalaya recipe & put it in the crockpot.

Tad finally got to wear his new snow suit, he's growing so fast I was afraid it wouldn't fit him even though it's 6-9 months. The sleeves are slightly long, but he'd freak if his hands were covered anyway, so I just rolled them up. (He's trying to sit down in his marshmellow suit.)

We drove to Ogden to see lights. Tad did awesome and seemed to enjoy looking up at the trees while Fred & I froze!

Back at home, it was time for presents! I gave Fred a box set, seasons 1-4 of "How I met your Mother". Then we ate our delicious Jambalaya. I was stuffed after the first bowl, but had to go back for more. I really shouldn't have- it was painful being overstuffed! We watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while we ate. We watch it every year, surprisingly it's getting better for me each year. A birthday wouldn't be complete without dessert - no matter how stuffed you are! I combined Fred's favorites: Peanutbutter, chocolate & cheesecake. Overall a pretty mellow birthday, but a very "Fred" birthday and that's all that matters.

Ready to eat!

Tad LOVES his new high chair.

No, he's not eating solid food yet, though we plan to ask the doctor about it at his 4 month check up. He eats 8-10 ounces regularly and I'm thinking it's about time to start some rice cereal to supplement. He was extremely happy to be in his high chair & I'm not sure whether it was being up higher where he can see everything or because of his fun toy (Jen you're a genious!) .
We've been putting him in a highchair at restaurants (with a blanket for support - he's not sitting up on his own yet) & he sat in a highchair for Thanksgiving dinner & Sunday dinners at Grandma's. He can sit for a few seconds by himself on the floor. He hates to lay down so he better learn soon!

This week he also showed us that he can lift a blanket to play peek-a-boo! And my favorite.... he splashes dad when he's giving him a bath. (Yes, I helped teach him that. Ha ha!)

Just do it!

Often I don’t do things because I figure the answer will be no, so I don’t even try. Yesterday I got a double dose of “Just try it”.
The meter lamp for the freeway has been out since daylight savings. Normally I just deal with the traffic, but after a week I was still bugged. I tracked down a number for UDOT, who transferred me to Region I, who gave me the cell phone number to a foreman. I almost stopped there because I didn’t want to call his cell phone to bug him, but the lady assured me it was fine. He told me that it might be because of the construction, but to call one more person. All were surprisingly polite – though not helpful until my final call. He said he’d look into it and took down my number. He also said that if it wasn’t construction related he’d submit a work order. I figured that would take another week or so. You should have seen my grin when I pulled up that evening to go home and…. It was working!!!
Lesson #2: I’ve been trying to get a Swine Flu shot, I even tried to register online for Salt Lake County. In only 15 minutes after registration opened and they were already out of appointments! Weber County was supposed to give out tickets Monday between 4-6pm – really? What’s with the inconvenient hours? Fred went up and walked right in Tuesday morning. I think I was afraid to do that expecting to be turned away and bugged that I’d wasted my time. I decided to “Just try it” and took off work a few minutes early. I walked right in, they handed me a paper, sent me down the hall, filled out a paper, walked down another hall, had my paper checked, walked down yet another hall to stand behind 4 people. That’s it! I asked if I could have a sucker if I didn’t cry. :} I hate shots, but it wasn’t bad at all!

grateFUL for family & friends

How could you not be grateful for a friend that can make Tad giggle this much! Some of my absolute favorite pictures so far!

We truly are lucky to have such helpful family and friends. Tad loves playing with Grandma & Grandpa Lyons while mom's at work. Of course Nannie takes him Fridays which has allowed Fred to have more time to study.

Hopefully they don't go through withdrawls when I'm done working. My last day was supposed to be this Friday, however.... I'm a sucker and I'm staying until the end of the year. Just 2 days a week so it'll be a nice transition back to "mommy-ville". :} He's getting more fun the older he gets and I'm really looking forward to being at home. I think Fred's excited too since we hardly see each other now. And don't worry Grandmas, I've kind of gotten used to bringing him over, I'd love to let you guys entertain him while I do housework - uninterrupted!

Picture obsession?

My name is Marcinda and I have a picture obsession......

Do they really have a photographers anonymous group? :}
Tad is 3 months old! This time I didn't dig out my backdrop though, we went outside. I'm so happy that the weather has been warm even in November.

Here are pictures of our little tyke!

Jasper is finally learning to come around. He didn't even run when Tad made noises. (Talking to the leaves.)

He loves to be outside. These 2 pictures are funny because he was focusing so intently on picking up the leaves and so proud when he finally did it. (Of course they headed straight to his mouth.)

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it's back to work I go...

So, I started back to work on October 30th. Yes, a Friday. It was a great day to start back. I dropped Tad off at Grandma Lyons' then drove to SL. Once there I checked email, chatted, ate a chili potluck, Fred brought Tad down so we could show off his Ant costume. Then I did a little work (our system was down part of the day), chatted, a co-worker brought in her little boy, then I did a little more work, and finished off the day chatting. :} Productive huh?! It's weird to go back to work where you're used to being "non- mom" and coming home to a baby. Two very separate lives.
Overall the day wasn't bad. The best part was coming home and seeing Fred hanging out with Tad. On the kitchen counter was a rose in a cup. Fred said he'd brought it down to give to me at work, but forgot it in the car when he got the stroller out. He's not thrilled with me being back at work - he's very supportive though. My boss has a bunch of business trips this month so I figured I'd give it a week to decide if I was staying until the end of December or just until after her main trip.
The weekend was rough as Fred worked both Saturday & Sunday, then we started back into the work week where I don't see him as much. Luckily Grandma & Grandpa Lyons watch him Monday -Thursday. My dad said he'd watch him on Friday if things didn't work out, but of course Nanny Drysdale & Pompa need a turn on Fridays. They both live close so it's not a big hassle to drop him off in his jammies and head to work. I've been very grateful that Fred drops him off and picks him up 3 days a week.
I did tell my boss on Friday that I was giving my 2 weeks notice. I didn't want to be the typical Utah mom that works for a week then quits to stay at home. But....Fred and I have always had a close relationship and working has put a strain on it, we never see each other. My boss didn't handle the news very well even though she knew I was planning to quit at the end of the year. Hopefully things are a little more mellow Monday.
I don't know how we're going to do it. Fred told me Friday night that he can already tell a difference in my stress level and that I seem happier. I'm excited to be able to teach Tad how to do more things and focus more attention on Fred. He has one semester left! Then he should be able to work full time again. It'll be tight for a couple of months, but I think overall we'll be happier.

Who wouldn't want to be home with this?! (He sucks his thumb and folds his ear over.)

Little kid costumes are not any easier to make!

So, I've been a sucker the past 5 years making my own costumes to wear to work.

There was a chicken (which I borrowed). It was my first year at Marsh and no one else dressed up.... But it started a trend and I had to dress up every year.

There was a kangaroo (I used a pattern). Then the next few years I made up my own patterns: A gigantic purple octupus, a turtle, a christmas tree. (I know the Christmas tree doesn't really fit in. I had decided not to dress up and then changed my mind the night before Halloween.)

Luckily this year I have someone else to take over the dressing up. But I still made the costume without a pattern. When am I ever going to learn my lesson?

For all of you who thought he was a spider, spiders don't have antennae & they have 8 legs not 6. (Just ask Fred, he'll tell you all about bugs.) He's an ANT! In honor of dad's Ant research he did this summer for school.

He grins every time we put the hat on him- especially if he's in his jumper. It's hilarious!

Just how chunky is he?

At 2 1/2 months, Fred was guessing 16 lbs, I was guessing 15 lbs. The dr's verdict is.... 15 1/2!!! :} He's also 25 inches long. The doctor says not to be surprised if he towers over both of us (Fred is 6' & I'm 5'6").
They recommend 1-2 lbs a month, Tad gained 4 1/2 in 6 weeks. That's why we call him "Chubs".
Tad had a rough morning but handled it very well. He's sleeping through the night 12-8am! However, that made us rush for his 8:45am appointment. He did not like the idea of a bottle at all, so he was fussy. He did well as the doctor and his assistant poked at him. The doctor said I look sane for having a 2 month old - I'll take that as a compliment.
I managed to get Tad to take part of a bottle before taking him downstairs for his shots. He fell asleep so the medicine by mouth was easy. Then he had to have 3 shots. He did his little scream where he doesn't breathe & his face turned tomato red. As soon as I picked him up he snuggled into my shoulder and was fine, not even a whimper! He's such a good kid. He even fell back to sleep in his carseat.
The only bad part for me is thinking that we still have to go in to get shots at 4 mos, 6 mos, ...... seriously? Poor kids & parents. I am happy that the doctor's office has started a "well waiting" area so that you're not as likely to sit between a bunch of sick people. Maybe this flu thing has started something good.

Every parent thinks their kid is the cute...

So sorry, I have to post some of my latest favorite pics of Tad.

Not the best picture of Fred... I was trying to get a picture of Tad sucking his thumb- he just got the hang of it this week. When I looked at the picture to make sure it was okay we noticed Tad's other hand. :}


Yes, he's really this chunky and makes a sighing noise when he sleeps like this.
Learning to sit up!

He loves his jumper horse and is constantly jumping even when he's not in it. Fun, unless you're trying to bathe him and he won't sit down.
He looks so old.

I'm thinking he's going to be a daddy's boy.

Fall.... is there any other season?

I love fall! I'm not sure if it's because those are the dates I remember most with Fred, the perfect crisp air, conference, the pretty leaves, or the fact that yard work is done for the year! Fred finally had a day off from school AND work so we spent a family day together.

First we slept in. (With a baby?) Okay, kind of slept in. Tad has been in his crib for almost a week now and sleeps until 5:30 or 6:30am. We (cheated) fed him and put him back to bed, that counts as sleeping in. :}

Next we drove up Sardine Canyon to enjoy the leaves. We'd driven up Farmington Canyon last week and the leaves were already turning brown, but Sardine was beautiful!

We stopped at the Inn that I worked at through college to chat with Steph - who is still as fun as when I worked there, no wonder I loved that job!

Of course you can't drive to Logan without getting Aggie ice cream!

And we hardly ever drive to Logan without stopping at Smith n'Edwards on the way home. (Such a random store, we love it!) We picked out some great toys for Tad's Christmas. After a quick stop at home we were off for more Christmas shopping. I'm proud to say we are more than 1/2 way done! :}

It was a fantastic day! My favorite part was when we were picking out more toys for Tad and I showed Fred one. He hurried and put it in the cart and said "Don't let him see it!" I think he's enjoying this dad thing a little too much! But I'm loving the picture thing too much!

"Smile for mom!"

... Does not always work.

Neither does a feather duster, clapping to get his attention, tickling his toes..... but we managed to get some cute 2 month pictures. Rustling leaves does get him to look up if he doesn't fall completely asleep. :}

Our new babysitter

The other day Tad was fussing and I was trying to help Fred get out the door on time for work. I layed Tad in his crib so I could talk to him as I ironed Fred's scrubs. He continued to fuss so I sat him up and leaned him up against his giant teddy bear - he usually stops fussing when he's sitting up. I continued to iron and turned around to find this!
I tried it again a few days later when he was almost asleep but fighting it. Within minutes he was asleep so I could lay him flat in his crib. :}

Also, I must brag that my little 7 week old slept from 12-7:30am this morning! A friend suggested the book "Babywise" to us after she got her 9 week old to sleep through the night after just 3 weeks of using the tips in the book. Fred & I have used the book since Tad was born and highly recommend it!

Catching up on September

I know- I've disappeared for awhile. Here's a summary of our latest happenings, but there's also posts with pictures.

* We blessed Tad. (Stressful as I tried to clean the house, keep him on a schedule, and attend the State Fair. :} It's tradition!)

* Family Pictures - when Tad was 3 weeks old, but I'm barely getting them posted.

* Trip to Kansas - Highlights: Renaissance Festival people watching, Psycho wedding planner, disappointing Wizard of Oz museum.

Hopefully life will get back to normal now and we can get Tad on a good schedule without always running off to another event. He's 7 weeks old tomorrow and already a tubby 13 lbs!

Thank goodness we're not driving across Kansas anymore!

Wow - I don't know how people live in Western Kansas. There is absolutely nothing to see!

Fred's cousin was getting married near Kansas City and we decided we'd drive out (we're still on a flying strike from our trip to Miami last year where we were stuck in the airport for 2 days without luggage). We stopped in Colorado to visit my sister's family and had fun letting them play with Tad.

The drive from Denver, CO to Hays, KS was the worst part. We made it with just enough time to get cleaned up and go to the rehearsal dinner. We had the perfect housing arrangement for our trip.... the bride & groom's house! They moved out for the wedding & honeymoon & we moved in along with Fred's sister Charlee, her husband & 2 kids.

Saturday we met at Aunt Julee's for breakfast then we ventured out to the Plaza with Charlee's family. The Plaza had a lot of stores but nothing overly exciting. It did get us out of the house while the rest of the family worked on flower arrangements. No time for a nap, we showered and headed out to the wedding. As we drove I questioned whether Fred had mapquested correctly as we turned down several dirt roads. The wedding was held at a reception center in the country. The wedding party was lovely.... the site was also nice..... the wedding planner? .... from heck! There were several run ins between our family members and her, I'll just tell you 2:

1) I asked for a place I could feed my baby. I was told "You can use the smoking patio, nobody smokes." (I ended up using the bride's dressing room.)

2) Fred & I sat at an unlabeled table in the reception, a bunch of the tables had "family table" papers on them. The rest of his family joined us. Soon the psycho lady comes over and tells us we have to move to another table, that one is for the wedding party. Is it just me or don't you think that that's the FIRST table you would label in the room? Of course we moved, but I'm still bugged.

The ceremony was outside at dusk, then they had a nice dinner, dancing, cake, a chocolate fountain inside. We didn't stay too late because of our tired little boy.

Sunday we went with Fred's immediate family to the Renaissance Festival. What a great place for people watching! And evidently dog watching.....

Fred enjoying a smoked Turkey leg.

Monday we had planned to see the Medical School & a couple of museums before the Royals baseball game. Nothing went as planned. It was pouring most of the day. Museums are closed on Mondays. And since we bagged the game we didn't drive out to the school either. We did get a nap and ate at a great BBQ place.

Tuesday it was on the road again. We got a later start than Fred & I usually like (we prefer 6am, but with a baby that's tough, so we left at 8am). Plus we stopped to see the Agriculture Hall of Fame Museum (Random huh?). Which also featured the National Poultry museum. (That's just funny!) It was surprisingly interesting. Then the Wizard of Oz museum - totally not worth the money. They could have done an awesome little place, but it was just every Oz toy ever made in every country. We had to stop and see the largest ball of twine. Then it was back on the rainy road. We drove to the Western border of Kansas then stopped for the night. The next day we drove through Colorado, across Wyoming and home. (Even Wyoming is better than the stretch across Kansas!)

I'm glad we went - not only for time with the family but also to see the area a little bit. I think I could handle it if Fred gets into school there. It is definitely not a one day drive with how boring it is.

Tad did very well sitting in the car for so long. Now the only problem is he thinks he needs to be held when he's not in it. He was spoiled with attention for the whole trip.