Love Is In The Air... And Fog Too

Well it's been another busy weekend of photography--two weddings in two days and boy was it COLD! These two cute brides were my sister-in-law's roommates at BYU-Idaho.

They both had killer bouquets. And both brides (and one of the grooms) had on BRIGHT converse shoes. (Oh and matching bright tights... the brides I mean.. not the groom!)

It was a great weekend. And now I get to spend the next few weeks editing HUNDREDS of photos. Lucky me. (I hope I'm not fooling anyone into thinking that I would be upset by that.) Photography is life.

Almost Forgot

To Janelle:

Love,

Brent

And the rivalry lives on...

(For those of you who don't know Janelle and Brent, my sister-in-law/brother-in-law, let's just say it's a classic tale of forbidden love: A Meridian High School alumnus married a Mountain View alumna. Yup, a Warrior married a.... what's the mascot of Mountain View?... Probably a goat or something. Mountain View Billy Goats? Catchy. Anyhow, best of luck to you both!)

Sometimes I Could Cry

He's just SO cute.

And I refuse to believe that is prideful. Now if I posted a bunch of pictures of myself and said the same thing... well then you could call me out on that one.

Have You Ever...

..tried to take your own family pictures? PAH! You try getting a toddler to look at a camera with NO ONE behind it.

I tried throwing snow in the air. (Hence Jay's arms being up in the last one.) Oh well! He's still cute no matter where he's looking.

These were taken in our front/side yard/parking lot area... you'd understand if you'd ever been to our house what I'm talking about. Anyhow, it's too bad that I don't like the cold because I LOVE pictures in the snow.

Frozen

My distaste for winter has been slightly offset by Jay's utter adorableness this time of year. He loves to look outside at the bright glow of snow on the ground. He thinks that cold surfaces are funny. And he looks SO cute in mittens and a hat. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?

Anyhow, "frozen" is my theme for this post for two reasons:

#1) That is what our pipes were this week! No fun. Have I mentioned that I dislike winter? Thank goodness for wonderful parents close by.

And #2) That is what I felt like being interviewed by channel 6 news at a toys for tots drive last night. First off, you should know that I'm not advertising my own awesomeness by telling you I was there. It wasn't my idea. Apparently, Joe has a soft spot for Christmasless children and we just HAD to go help. It was pretty cute. We showed up to Albertson's and Michelle Edmonds was standing in front of the bin with her camera crew. She asked if we wanted to be on the news and Joe said no. Before I could say anything she grabbed Jay and I and within 5 seconds we were on the air--LIVE! Blinking... microphone in my face... blank stare.... That's what I remember. I could NEVER be a news anchor. My mind went blank, which would have been okay had I fainted or walked off camera. But no.... I started talking! This is always dangerous. It turned out okay though, and luckily we were only on the 9:00 news on channel 9. Who watches that, right? As we were leaving, Michelle thanked us for watching channel 6... I wasn't about to tell her that I thought we were coming to help out Dee Sarton!

Did You Know...

Did you know that when it takes three cycles to dry your clothes that there is probably something blocking your dryer vent? Did you know that deep cleaning the lint filter doesn't help that at all? And did you know that two feet of solid lint in your vent is a fire hazard? Hmm.

Now our dryer works amazingly well. I'm shocked that our house didn't burn down in the few months that we've been putting up with our "broken" dryer. Yesterday I did three loads of laundry in just a few hours--something that would have taken all day and through the night a few days ago. My life will never be the same.

Funny side note:

(Do you like how I tell you that it's funny?)

I tried googling "lint" to find a picture for this post... cuz pictureless posts can be boring... and I was bombarded by all these pictures of belly buttons and lint sculptures!.... First off: Ewww!... And really? Lint as an artistic medium? Sheesh. No wonder artists are poor.

Duh Duh Happy Birthday

(Gus Gus.... Anybody? I'm hoping there are enough Cinderella fans out there that I don't have to explain the title.)

Anyhow,
Happy Birthday Joe!
I love you so much.

Joe's birthday was Monday and it was an exciting day. I made him a double chocolate cake with stripes that alternated between German Chocolate and Chocolate Fudge cake. (If you look closely you can see what Joe's birthday hairstyle was this year... He needs a haircut so badly! He decided he was going to part his hair on the side of his head and grease the rest of it over. Ummm.... yeah.)

As always, we celebrated his big day with his grandpa who shares the same birthday. Joe admires his grandpa a ton and would not want to spend his birthday any other way. This year they turned 110!
Which meant that the cake had to be pretty big so that we didn't end up with a massive wax bonfire.

This next picture is amazing to me. I never really noticed a resemblance between Joe and his Grandpa until THIS picture:

Click on it to blow it up if you have to but their faces are identical! I don't know anyone else in the world that blows out candles the way these two do. It was meant to be that they share a birthday.

After the candles were blown out we started in on the next tradition... spending the next 15 minutes picking wax off the frosting.

It was a great night. Joe got a ton of awesome gifts and ... thoughtful (?) cards. (You'd understand the question mark if you had been there.)

It's kind of weird to be celebrating another birthday, another anniversary, another Thanksgiving. Time just does not slow down anymore. I'll probably have a heart attack when Jay turns two. Speaking of Jay.. look how cute he is helping his Daddy brush his teeth.

Cutest. Boy. Ever.

I am so blessed. Joe and Jay truly are the best things that have ever happened to me. They both make me laugh daily. I mean what guy do you know that decides he should have a "special hairstyle" on his birthday and then actually goes out into public that way?! (Don't worry he didn't go to work that way! He's not that brave.) I don't understand him AT ALL but I love every minute of confusion and delightful mystery that I'm allowed to spend with him. I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Will Power

I have none.

Looks like my goal of donating my hair is another year away... or two.. or three. I just can't do it. I see someone with a cute haircut and I run for my scissors. I am weak.

It actually scared me a bit this time because I don't think I thought enough about it before I cut it. After I made the first cut I thought, "Stacy!!! You haven't cut your own hair in over two years! What are you thinking?" Then I used my new found knowledge of positive thinking to tell myself that I was the best hairstylist in the world. And then I told myself that I was Tyra Banks and took this picture.... and then I told myself that people really will want to take time out of their day to read about my hair and I posted this post.

Another Day

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity.

Believe that you can do it--whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

(I took that picture of Jay this morning and for some reason it really inspired me. He teaches me so much everyday. And the quote was from a book that a friend gave me when Jay was born. I randomly picked it up this morning just looking for some inspiration. Ironically it's called "One Bright Shining Hope"... Well as ironic as anything can be with the spirit involved.)

And this is for those who have reached out to me lately:

"Reach out to help one another. All of us need help from time to time. We need encouragement. We need friends who will stand by us through thick and thin. I ask each of you to be that kind of friend."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Thank you.

Little Things

One of the greatest things about Jay is his ability to get excited over anything. I thought I'd share a few moments from his morning that made me smile.

Pine cones and sticks. Christmas will be easy this year.

Raw

This is how I feel today. Humbled by life. It's hard to express myself when I feel this way because I have this annoying habit of pretending I'm fine. Pretending to be strong. I care too much about what people think I guess. Even as I'm writing this I'm totally uncomfortable. Heaven forbid I admit that life is hard.

You know that analogy about the jagged rock in the river? The rock is eventually smoothed by the rough water symbolizing how our own rough edges are smoothed by our trials. Well I kind of feel like my river is next to a steep rocky mountain and a huge boulder just rolled down and gouged a chunk out of the side of my rock. Totally not my fault, I know. And now it's going to take years of rapids and banging into other broken rocks to fix me.

Or to put it another way.... Have you heard of the "Stairmaster of Life"? Good, cuz I'm making this stuff up.. Anyhow there's the "Stairmaster of Life" and there's the "Bed of Life". The "Stairmaster of Life" is what we're supposed to be doing--trudging along, day after day, making small steps over and over and over. Sometimes it feels mundane and futile but it makes us stronger and happier. (I would have made the "Stairmaster" a "Mountain" but I think in the end it's less about where we are in our climb and more about what we have become.) And then there is the "Bed"... well this is obvious... comfort, complacency, bla, bla, bla. My problem is this: I'm on the "Stairmaster" staring longingly at the "Bed of Life", wanting to jump in, pull the covers over my head, and wait for the "Stairmaster" to become an ice cream sundae.

I hope I've made myself completely clear.

My point: I'm struggling with the idea of hope. I always have in fact. It seems to me that life happens the way it's supposed to regardless of how I feel about it. More often than not, when I do let myself hope for anything, I'm disappointed. So I've become a live-in-the-moment type of person that just lets life happen to her and expects very little, rejoicing in the good, and shrugging my shoulders at the tough stuff. Sure I set goals and work to achieve them... I'm all about self-improvement, but when it comes to the things that I can't control I've become a bit of a cynic.

I KNOW I'm not alone in this. Life has taught me that much. So what do I do about it? Isn't hope kind of a commandment? I'll take any suggestions, quotes, Ensign articles, even preachy judgments. I'm just that desperate.

Sunday Bath

Jay loves baths now. Today's was especially fun:
He spiked his hair,

found his ears,

played with duckies, drank bath water, (eww.)

and tried to climb out a few times...which could have been awkward if Mommy didn't mess with a few settings on the camera.

"How embarrassing!"

A Word to the Wise

With all the buzz and hysteria over the swine flu it's hard to know whether or not to go see a doctor when you are sick. When I first started feeling sick at the beginning of this week, I called my doctor hoping to get some Tamiflu. No dice. I was told that not only could I not get Tamiflu but that I basically should just stay home, drink a ton of water, and wait it out. So that's what I was doing and I was getting sicker and sicker. I had the worst soar throat of my entire life. Talking, swallowing, eating... BREATHING hurt. Finally, after I showed Joe my throat and he jumped back saying, "HOLY COW!" with a look of horror on his face, I decided that I better go to the doctor. (Admittedly, I probably should have figured that out a day or two earlier because my whole throat was white and bleeding.) So I went to the doctor yesterday and guess what... I have Strep! The doctor reacted about the same as Joe did when she saw my throat and she gave me Hydrocodone for the pain. I was pretty excited to finally be able to sleep and I actually feel better already with the other medicine they gave me too.

So the moral of my story is this: GO TO THE DOCTOR!! And be careful because obviously Strep is out there too. The End.

Jay's Words

Jay talks... ...a lot.
Most of the time he makes no sense at all but he really does look like he's having a conversation with you. He even looks at you like it's your turn to talk or answer his question. I always want to answer him but I don't know what to say.

Anyhow, he does say a lot of words that do make sense and I don't want to forget what a smart boy I have. He says:

Mommy
Daddy
Grandma (Mama)
Grandpa (Papa)
More (Mo)
Bye
Eye
Ear (Ea)
Nose (No)
Belly Button (Bayee Button)
Banana (Nana)

Apple (Aaapa)
Bottle (Baba)
Elmo (Emmo)
Oscar (Okka)
Tiger
Ball
Baby
Jesus (Ssssus)

He has said a lot of other things very clearly but only once (Thank You, Katie, Big Bird etc.) and he'll repeat you but has no idea what you're talking about. These words are things he understands and says daily. He's such a fun and smart little kid... FULL of personality and funny faces. (I love his snotty graham cracker face)
Just yesterday he busted out some dance moves for my mom and I that looked completely real. We both just died laughing (which really hurt my throat). He's got moves. Cute boy.

(Oh and he finally broke 20 pounds! At his last appointment he was 20.25 lbs. Woohoo!)

As Promised...

Here are the costume pictures of Jay I said I would post.
These are all the Utah cousins: The coolest thing about this picture is that all of the costumes are homemade except two. I'm not talented in the area of sewing, so poor Jay was a $10 lion from Walmart. Amy's youngest, John, was also in a store bought costume so I didn't feel too bad. But my sister and sister-in-law are so creative. Michael and Zack were tarantulas! Check it out:

So cool! (And yes Amy, I picked the one picture of Michael that had Jay in it too! Just kidding.)

And here are the two lions:

Cute no? I love Halloween!

"Bob"

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about "Bob" the builder, the retired game show host, the musician, or the hairstyle... I'm talking about what I call my mommy when I'm too sick to function. And I did call her. And she came. And took Jay. And exposed herself to the flu. And gave me a break today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're the best Bob ever!

"Elbow"

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about "Elbow" the body part... I'm talking about what a toddler calls his red furry friend when he's got a stuffy nose. Apparently, Elmo's sick and needs some medicine too.

And this is Jay's sick face. Adorable and miserable. Joe and I are sick too, which is kinda crumby considering it's our Anniversary today. We didn't have much of a celebration, but we still rented a movie and ate some Panda.

Halloween was pretty low key as well. We were in Utah this weekend for my brother's baby's blessing. Jay was a lion. As soon as I get pictures from my mom's camera I'll post one. It was great to be with family, eat doughnuts, and drink homemade root beer. Thanks Jim and Jen!

The drive was a bit long though for Jay. He kept himself busy by reading an Elmo book... Upside down.

Oh yeah and by watching the same Elmo video 7 times. I know it by heart.

What's New...

Jay has been feeling great lately. I'm still not completely over his latest "incident" but he seems to be back to normal already (even with all the benadryl and steroids). I don't know if it's the whole "near death" thing or not but he's just extra cute this week.

It could be his new over-sized construction boots paired with his skin tight PJs. Or how he plays with his Daddy... ...a.k.a. the pajama monster!Then there is the adorable way he says "ba" (bye) and waves his little hand. He does that every time I put him down for a nap, followed by putting his hand to his mouth and saying "ma" as he blows me a kiss.

Oh and I can't forget his newly acquired flying skills.

He's just so cute.

I'm doing okay too. I float between being grateful he's alive and being scared out of my mind that his allergy is still so severe. I'm trying not to dwell on all the implications of him not growing out of this anytime soon. But it's hard. How will we ever go camping? How will I ever let him have a sleepover? How can I ever put him in nursery? Take him anywhere that is more than ten minutes from a hospital? Kindergarten?!? Home School is looking better and better to me. I'm hoping that he'll skate through life on his good looks and no one will ever notice his lack of social skills. He needs another child with food allergies to be his friend. I need another mother that is just as paranoid as I am to be my friend.

Oh and I need to write this down because it's just too funny to forget: When we first got to the E.R. on Saturday, the doctor came in to see Jay. One of the first things he said was, "Now is this part of the reaction or are his lips always that big?" I smiled and proudly said that was normal.

Deja Vu

It's 12:45 a.m. We just got back from the E.R. with Jay again. I put him down to sleep but I'm supposed to keep an eye on him for the next hour or so. Joe is at Walgreen's picking up three prescriptions that we have to give Jay for the next couple days... including Benadryl, Zantac, steroids of some kind, and the doctor threw in a pass for some new Epi-pens. Unfortunately, I had to use one and now we need more.

Apparently, dog bones are a no-no. We were over visiting Joe's parents, who have a dog, and Jay thought he'd try out one of her bones. He stuck it in his mouth and spit it right back out. We weren't sure if the bone had milk in it and we couldn't find the package to check the ingredients. A few minutes later his voice got hoarse so I gave him some benadryl. Almost immediately after, he threw up all over me and it was downhill from there. Joe ran into the other room and brought me back Jay's epi-pen. And I stabbed him. I think that traumatized Jay for life. I honestly don't even remember what I was thinking at that point. We jumped in the car and Joe drove twice the speed limit and ran every red light. Jay was gagging and wheezing the whole way. Joe called 911 to let them know we were coming and they told him that he couldn't break the law (speeding) to get Jay to the ER. He told them that he honestly didn't care if he broke the law. That ended the conversation. It was much more laid back at the ER this time because Jay didn't look nearly as bad when we brought him in. They still got us right back into a room and were fairly attentive to him. It took a long time for his reaction to clear up but he's fine now. Thank goodness for modern medicine.

It's scary. That's pretty much the only way to describe it. It didn't feel real and I wanted to cry but I held it together this time. The doctor gave Jay "Clifford" stickers... but I might take one for not crying.

Did I Mention I Love Fall?

My mom and I went to the greenbelt today to scout out some good family picture spots. The weather was great and Jay was in a good mood. I love this boy. The water was so perfectly still and reflected the colors beautifully. And Jay found a big stick.

Leaves... Sticks... This kid is easy to please.