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Wondering where I am? I've moved! Check out the new blog Waterfalling Up for more updates from our family!

Saturday, December 31, 2005

New Years Eve 1994

Everyone,

It was 11 years ago today that Juice and I met. Our church was having a youth dance. It was going to be my first one ever (you're not allowed to go until you're 14). All of my friends had been going to them all summer and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I was obsessive about writing in my journal at the time so I know exactly what was going on that day.

I was mad at my friend Jordan because he didn't want to go with me to the dance. I really liked Jordan but he was not Mormon and I don't think he really wanted to go to a Mormon dance. Andrew had to drive me to the stake center (which was just up the road) and we were late. As always. As I walked in, all of my friends were there and hanging out in a big circle. Kristie ran up to me to tell me that Deborah had brought some boys that we didn't know. That was a big thing since these dances are organized by stakes (a group of congregations in the same area, if you will) and you can only dance with the same boys so many times. Apparently. I didn't know, being a virgin stake dancer at the time. Kristie and I walked up to the circle, introductions were made and a slow song started. Juice turned to me and said, "You're tall. Want to dance?" Of course I said yes and was probably happy I was tall for the first time in a long time.

Through the course of the evening, Juice and I danced almost all of the slow songs. Much to the chagrin of Deborah (the girl he came with) and Melanie and Kristie (who had major crushes on him). Juice and I also played on the giant twister board that they had set up in another room of the church. The end game came down to me and Juice, and he beat me only because I was very embarrassed about so close to him. He gave me the candy he won in front of everyone. I remember offering some to Melanie and she hissed "NO! He gave it to you! Keep it all!" I think I still have a wrapper of the starbursts taped in my journal. He danced the last two dances with me. Kristie (being a very good friend at the time) gave him my number because I was too shy to do it myself.

Little did I know that Juice did like me because I was tall, and pretty. But did he like me enough to remember my name from that night? No. He had to call around and ask who I was before he could use my number. In Juice's journal, he mentions me as the "pretty tall girl I danced most of the night with" and that's it.

He did call me a few days later and we got together with friends and played Pictionary in my basement. Juice and I soundly beat Melanie and Max (his best friend, also at the dance that night) and we even slaughtered them at Charades. I think we hung out once more and then didn't see each other until September that year. I was still in junior high and he went to high school.

My 10th grade year I don't remember hanging out with him very much. I liked him a lot, but so did a lot of other girls. At the beginning of my junior year, he asked me to Homecoming [see above picture] (my first date!) and hung out every day after that. Okay, not EVERY day, but it was close. We were off and on dating until he went on his mission. I wrote him in Germany, and didn't see him until a few months after he got back. We were both at BYU by then (my junior year again) and within 2 weeks of school starting, we were looking at rings together.

We were engaged on Nov 2, and 10 months later, married on Aug 4, 2001. We've been married 4 years now and I still love to watch him walk in a room. He's a wonderful husband, a fantastic father and my best friend.
We still love being together. It's nice!

Safire and Juice

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Getting ready to come

Everyone,

We are planning our big trip to Utah in a little less than a week. We've traveled with Butterfly a few times, but she has always been pretty little. I'm a little nervous that she'll freak out on the plane or just be cranky the whole time. I sure hope that we will be flying with understanding people. I called the airlines yesterday to tell them about Butterfly. Apparently you can't sit in the rows directly in front or behind the exit row if you have a lap child. Who knew? So our seats were re-arranged and they said the flights were not too full. I hope we get a row all to oursevles. It would make life much easier.

Just thinking of all the things we need to bring with us. We will probably bring her door jam bouncer because she loves it so much and it's easy to transport. Also, her new blocks she loves, a few other toys, clothes and that's probably it. I will buy diapers and wipes in Utah. And spoons. I think I'll buy spoons there too. Not that she is eating off of spoons every day but then my mom can use them with the other grand kids that come along. I wonder if there's a high chair we could borrow from someone. I remember my Nana having one, or maybe Aunt Pat has one still? If not, she'll live without one for a week.

We have a full schedule planned of visiting people, and seeing new things. New houses seem to be on the rise in our group of friends so that's a must see. Also, Butterfly still needs to see one of her Great Grandma's on my side (Great Grandpa died when I was about 12 weeks pregnant). And my other side is having a huge family picture with all 32 of us. Should be fun.

We're really looking forward to going.

Safire

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Christmas


Everyone,

Butterfly's first Christmas was fantastic. Low key, except for the wonderful cold we all got. Juice was pretty out of it on Christmas Eve, and Butterfly has been battling it since. Can we say cranky girl? BUT, we had a great time on Christmas. Very calm and relaxing. We went to church, went home, and played with our toys. We were still opening presents at around 6pm that night. It was like an all day present spree! Very fun. Butterfly loved the bows and the paper. Juice loved all of his sword stuff, and I enjoyed my baking pans. Soot LOVED Juice's new Robo Raptor.

Safire, Juice, Butterfly, and Soot

Thursday, December 22, 2005

More decorating ideas...

Everyone,

Thanks Aunt Lisa for this link. Again, make sure your speakers are on.

Safire

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Wait a second...



I thought that crawling was supposed to come before this. She can stand! With help! And she pulls herself up on stuff now. I'm still waiting for the crawling.

Safire

Friday, December 16, 2005

Here's a decorating idea for you Mom!

But I think Dad might kill him self with the lights. Still...worth a look. Make sure your speakers are on!

Safire

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Make a Memory

Everyone,

Got this from my friend Deanna so I thought it would be fun!

If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a completely made-up and fictional memory of you and me.

It can be anything you want--good or bad--BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE.

Everyone play along now! :)

Safire

7 month update

Everyone,

Butterfly turned 7 months old on Saturday. It occurred to me that she is now closer to being a year old than she is a newborn. Seriously, does time go this fast all the time?!

She is still not sleeping great. BUT, 2 nights ago she slept from about 11:30pm till 7:30am straight! *angels singing* She didn't repeat it last night but slept better. She is also starting to sleep longer during her naps. Instead of 20 minute power naps, she's asleep for at least an hour, sometimes 2. All I can say about the sleeping thing is that it better get better. I am SO tired. I've considered asking Juice for a hotel room for a few nights for Christmas and letting him deal with screaming child at night. The plan is to start her crying herself to sleep in her own room this weekend. I feel like such a mean parent by doing it but seriously, it's got to happen.

She has 3 teeth. 2 on the bottom, and one on top. The top one keeps coming in and out of sight. It's like peek-a-boo with teeth! I thought I saw the companion top tooth last night so maybe since they are coming through, she'll start to sleep again.

She weighs 22 lbs, 6 oz and didn't grow an inch this month. Of course, I could be wrong in my measuring (they are much better at it at the doctor's office). Her head grew 1/4th of an inch so she is growing.

Her favorite things right now is her door jam bouncer, and the puppy. She is wild about the dog. It's so funny to see her in her bouncer trying to jump towards the puppy and squealing.

In other news: JUICE'S LAST FINAL EVER IS TONIGHT! We are so excited. Pray that he'll pass this class so he can graduate in May. So many possibilities open up with this final final. :) We can't wait!

Until next time,
Safire, Juice, Butterfly, and Soot

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Christmas Cards

Everyone,

After reading a Christmas card update from a friend (you know the type, we did this and that, Merry Christmas) I asked Juice what he would put in a Christmas card from us. (since we didn't do a letter) He said the following:

Remember that pregnancy? It resulted in a baby. A girl. In May. I'm still working and I'll be done with school on Tuesday. Safire quit her job in May when the baby come and is now staying home with her. Butterfly (the baby) is growing and doing all the baby things, including not sleeping. Merry Christmas.

Mine would have been a little more...descriptive.

Merry Christmas everyone! 2005 has been a big year for us. Juice is happily working for Lockheed Martin and will finish with his Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering this month. We had a baby girl in May and named her Butterfly (as I'm sure most of you know.) I quit my job to stay home with her and fill my days with playing, eating, sleeping and all the fun things 7 month olds can do. Merry Christmas!

I'm sure Butterfly's would have been different.

Christmas? What's Christmas? Ohhh...a toy! Does it taste good. Or can I bounce with it? I love to wake up at night and hate to be alone. Hi everyone! Hi puppy!

And Soot's...

This is the time of year big person 1 and 2 put up lights and it gets cold. I love the cold air because it lets me bark at things I normally don't hear. It's great!

We hope everyone enjoys our virtual Christmas card!

Juice, Safire, Butterfly and Soot

Monday, December 05, 2005

So. Tired.

Everyone,

Please, someone take Butterfly out of her misery. Poor thing is teething. Again. Last time she got teeth (around Halloween) she was up for 2 or 3 nights in a row crying every hour on the hour and we got no sleep. But then the teeth showed up and she slept through the night for a week! Ahhh...sleep. She got 2 cute bottom teeth out of the deal and we got a break from the sleepless nights.

Now, her top teeth are coming in. She has not been sleeping for days (make that 4 and counting) and I'm ready to pull my ears off by about 3 am. There is only so much crying I can take. The past couple of nights we have regressed to her sleeping in bed with us because then she will sleep for 2, maybe 3 hours at a time. And I'm willing to take those 2 or 3 hours for myself.

Of course, her sleeping in bed with us means that I'm huddled on one side of the bed, Juice is huddled on his side and Baby Girl is lengthwise spread eagle in the middle. Hey, at least she's sleeping, right? Right?!

Her top right tooth broke through last night. I was so excited and hoping that I might get the few nights of sleeping through the night like we got last time. No such luck. I guess we have to wait till the top left one comes through. It better not take more than a few more days or I will go insane. (and break down big sobbing tears for MY mommy)

Pray for us,
Safire and Juice

PS- The dog seems to be the only one who sleeps. If I lock myself up in a cage at night, can I get some sleep too?

Monday, November 28, 2005

Butterfly discovers belly laughing!

Everyone,

Sorry the video is so dark...I had to capture the moment. Enjoy! (we did!)

http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20051128&currentTime=211148

Safire, Juice, Butterfly, and Soot

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Visit from the Grandparents


Everyone,

My parents are in town for Thanksgiving and we've been having a really fun time! We went to see Harry Potter 4 (great) and Gettysburg (really cool and only about an hour away from here if you don't get lost on the way) and shopping. Lots of shopping. So much shopping on me and my mom's part that we totally lost the car in the parking lot and spent a good 45 minutes trying to find it! I hate rental cars sometimes...

Anyway, we're off to downtown DC today with Juice to see the campus and a museum or 2. Just thought I'd post a hello before we left.

Until next time,
Safire

PS- We moved on from cereal to squash on Sunday. Baby Girl started to cry the minute she tasted it, and proceeded to projectile vomit when she couldn't get it off her tongue. I think that's a resounding NO on squash. Anyone have any ideas of some other vegetable to try?

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Solid what?

Everyone,

After a few days of delays, shots, and visiting friends, Juice and I finally got around to feeding Butterfly solid foods. She seemed to like it, but she didn't get the whole spoon then swallow bit. She kept trying to suck on the spoon, or grab the spoon and feed herself. It was very cute. The second night we gave her solids she was much more interested, although still trying to suck on the spoon.

It still seems like a chore to me to do this solid food thing. There are so many more things you have to plan for than nursing. I mean, when she was hungry, she'd nurse. No bottles or anything to prepare. And now there is stuff to prepare! But she seems to like it so that makes me feel a little better about it. Besides, she's so cute to take pictures of with food all over her face. And for the grandparents, a video (as promised) of her first bites...not that exciting but good for posterity. :) http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20051113&currentTime=152826

Until next time,
Safire Juice and Butterfly

Friday, November 11, 2005

Butterfly's 6 month stats

Everyone,

We just got back from the doctor where Butterfly got 3 shots (poor girl!) for being 6 months old. The first shot startled her, the second one made her angry and the third just plain hurt. Juice came to the appointment for the first time and I think it startled him a little too how much she cried. She whined all the way home, and is now currently dead asleep so hopefully she'll sleep some of the pain off.

She is 21 lbs, 11 oz and 28 3/4 inches tall. She is now off the charts significantly! We have such a big girl. Her head is 17 1/4th inches around which is in the 75th percentile which is exactly where it was last time. I think she got Juice's head because his is a lot smaller than mine. :)

I also went outside and took some 6 month old pictures of her in the leaves. I tried to get one of her on her belly out there but the leaves were just too darn interesting. She wouldn't look up at me. But here's a cute one.

Enjoy your weekend!
Safire and Butterfly

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Odds and Ends

Everyone,

I haven't posted in awhile because I have been trying to actually do chores while Butterfly is asleep. (*gasp* chores?! Did that actually come out of my head?!) I have even assigned myself a chore chart where I only do a few things every day. So since Butterfly is not the greatest napper, I only get half of the chores done on my daily list. However, after 2 nights of not sleeping, Butterfly has decided to sleep the afternoon away today. (Not in the stroller, this is a picture from our weekend out.) She went down hard at 11:30 and now it is 1:30 and she hasn't twitched. Poor thing. She got maybe 4 or 5 hours of sleep yesterday (including the non existent naps) and she's paying for it today. (Read in there that I also got 4 or 5 hours of sleep and dealt with whiny baby all day...insert pat on back here.) So, since she has been a champion napper today, I got almost everything on my list done except for vacuuming (don't want to wake up baby) finishing my laundry (broken dryer, waiting for new heating element) and dusting (because I just don't want to).

The weather here has been fantastic and we took a little jaunt to the C&O Canal (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal) and hiked for 4 miles. 2 miles out, and 2 miles back. I have tons of pictures but will only show a few. It was a beautiful day...75 degrees and so nice! We took Soot and just generally enjoyed ourselves.

Butterfly is 6 months old today! She is such a big girl. I haven't taken her 6 month old shots yet since she is still napping but here is a way cute one taken of her last week. Will post more on her 6 months old and eating solid food for the first time later.

Until then,

Safire

Thursday, November 03, 2005

A post from Butterfly

Hi everyone,

My name is Butterfly and I am almost 6 months old. Do you know what? I have 2 teeth! They are my newest thing. They are on my bottom right in front. Mommy calls them my milk teeth. Milk...I love milk. I love to eat. Mommy says that next week we are going to start this thing called solid foods. Not sure what that means but as long as I get my milk, I am happy.

I am also happy with our furry person. She is so funny. She doesn't smile back when I smile at her but she makes fun burbling noises that I think are hysterical. It's also really fun to chase her around the house (with the help of Daddy). Mommy took video so you can see. http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20051030&currentTime=122036

Talking is lots of fun too. I love to talk to everyone. They are so nice and attentive! Blowing raspberries can be lots of fun too.

Oh, there goes the puppy.

Baby Butterfly

Monday, October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween!


Everyone,

Happy Halloween! Go team go!

Love, Butterfly

PS- Thank you Nana for the costume. She looks faboo!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Teeth

Everyone,

It started out in church today as she was chewing on my finger. I felt something rough in her mouth, so I moved my finger over to see what it was. Butterfly has teeth! They are small, kind of clear, and both on the bottom. I only felt one in church this morning, but both are definitely coming up tonight when I put her to bed. I won't be surprised if tomorrow we have our first official tooth.

I am so excited for her to have teeth, but sad at the same time. I loved that great big gummy smile she gave me in the morning. Oh I'm sure the toothy grin she is going to give me now is going to be just as good. But who knew that being a mom could be so bitter sweet.

Safire

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Oh the chubbiness!

Everyone,

Butterfly is so chubby it's so adorable. You just want to eat those rolls right up. And she's so soft too! You always hear those commercials about how your skin can be baby soft, etc. It's something to covet, believe me! She's got these great big thighs and these little dimpled hands and elbows...I could go on and on. I love it. What a cute healthy little girl we have.

We recently refinance our house and the notary that came by to help us sign the papers kept saying that we should put Butterfly in commercials. She should be the Gerber baby. Ahh...she is just that cute. See for yourself.



So much cuteness going on,
Safire and Butterfly

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Bored bored bored

Everyone,

I am happy that Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy that Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy that Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really. I am happy Juice is getting his degree. Really.

Just in case you were wondering. But man I am bored some nights. Since he's at class tonight, I am home, alone with Baby Girl and chanting the above to myself. And when he does his homework, I chant that. But I CAN NOT WAIT till he is done. Only 8 more weeks of school and then we are both free! (Juice more so but I was supportive!) But, of course the down side is that there are 8 weeks left.

Safire

PS- 9 weeks left till Christmas. Has anyone started their shopping?!

Friday, October 21, 2005

How cute are you?

You Are A: Duckling!

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Thursday, October 20, 2005

Priceless


Everyone,

Toothpaste: $2.97
Shampoo: $3.56
Conditioner: $3.40
Body Wash: $3.80
Various hair care products: $5.00
Lotion: $2.55
Sleeping baby who actually let her mommy use all of this without rushing and without calling to a crying baby that she is okay: PRICELESS!

A very clean and relaxed mommy,
Safire

Monday, October 17, 2005

She comes by it honestly...


Everyone,

Take a look at this photo of Juice at 5 months old, and then compare it to the one I took of Butterfly at 5 months old. Funny that they are in the same position and have the same smile.

Safire

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

5 Months Old

Butterfly,

You were 5 months old yesterday! I can't believe how much time has flown by. You gave me a present by laughing hard at my silly faces and swarming you with kisses. You sit up by yourself for minutes at a time, and sometimes will flip onto your stomach. Of course, once you're there, you will put your face in the floor and scream. Such fun.

You love being outside. When you are being particularly cranky and nothing will calm you, standing in our open door will. Your eyes get wide and you stare at the sky, the trees, people walking down the street...anything. You are always quiet outside. Daddy is thrilled that we have another outdoorsy person in the family. I'm sure we'll have many camping trips in our future. And don't forget those fishing trips Grandpa promised you. I hope you always love outside as much as you do now. After all, your Momma spent 10 weeks in a tent once...good times and nosy squirrels.

You have blown through most of your clothes. I've given up putting anything less than 12 month old stuff on you because I can't get anything over your cute chunky thighs. So what if you sort of swim in the 12 month size. Be thankful your pants come to your ankles because that won't always be the case. The curse of having tall parents, I suppose. You are already 2 feet tall (27 inches) and weigh around 20 lbs. This number makes my arms hurt just thinking of hauling you around! But you're snugglable.

You love to bounce on the bed and you love Daddy swinging you through the air. You love your puppy and desperately want to put her fur in your mouth...much to the chagrin of the puppy. But Soot is a good girl and doesn't even try to get you to let go. She even chases your hand around with her licker which makes you squeak and burble. Soot will stop, cock her head at you, and then go back to licking. I hope you two will be good friends in years to come.

You cry really cute lately with your mouth squeezed shut. It comes out more of a mmmm sound than a cry. Of course, if we don't respond to the mmm then the big guns come out. We love you lots and can't wait to see what next month will bring!

Love,
Mommy

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

The Celebrity

Hi Everyone,

There is a celebrity in our neighborhood. Not a big one, mind you. She is just famous enough that everyone knows her name, and everyone stops to say hello to her. She often takes walks at night while we are out walking, and we've been witnesses in the neighborhood swarming that goes on. She's even famous enough that people who see our baby comment on how cute she is, but do not gush. And people, she is gush worthy! Just look at this. She's not yet 5 months old and she sat up long enough for me to play with her and think, I should take a picture. And then run into the other room, turn the camera on, and get her to look at me before she fell down. Now if that isn't something to gush about, what is?! :)

But I digress. People do gush over the celebrity. Our celebrity started her career off young, which is why she is still living in a neighborhood like ours. You would think that a celebrity would keep a better house, but since this is where her family is, this is where she is too.

She is incredibly friendly, and is always getting to know new people. I even know of some neighbors who are outside around the same time every day just to see her. She's good enough to always stop and visit, but doesn't delay her walk too much. There may be other people waiting for her down the road!

One neighborhood kid named Pooh Bear (no joke, that's what everyone calls her, even her mother) is especially enamored with our celebrity and will follow her around. Much to the chagrin of Pooh Bear's mother and their neighbors because Pooh Bear's mother is calling for her while Pooh Bear is off keeping court with the celebrity. So everyone around hears "Pooh Bear!!" but her. Our celebrity's mom (who often goes walking with her) has had to remind Pooh Bear to mind her own mother and go inside when called.

I hear she sleeps in late, and doesn't do her dishes. I suppose for a celebrity you can always hire someone else to do your dishes, but I think doing ones dishes normalizes one. Wouldn't you agree?

Our celebrity is still young. Blonde, fit, with brown eyes and a piercing voice. Anyone want to venture a guess? No? Well, I have a recent photo of her...




Surprise! It's our puppy. And yes, she is a celebrity in our neighborhood. (I didn't really surprise you...but did I have you going for a bit?) Everyone stops to say hi to her, and all the kids yell "Soot!" when we leave our house. It's like walking with someone very famous. People call Butterfly her little sister and tell us if Butterfly grows up to be as cute as the dog, she'll be beautiful. Thanks, I think.

Until next time,
Safire, Juice, Butterfly, Soot

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Sunday Snoozing


Everyone,

Okay, okay, it's Wednesday. (It is Wednesday, right? Days seem to flow together sometimes...) But Butterfly looked so cute in her Sunday dress! I had to share.

Ahhh...the Sunday nap...

Zzzz,
Safire and Butterfly

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

I'm givin' ya all I got cap'n!

Everyone,

I have been watching Star Trek: TNG during the day. Spike runs 3 hours of it every day. Normally I will record them with my DVR and skip all the commercials, since the commercials on Spike are the exact same ones over and over and over. I'm happy when they finally run a show so I don't have to watch the same commercial every day at least 10 times!

Years and years of Star Trek reruns have made me appreciate the change that the show went through. They are playing the first season right now, and I just want to say that Deanna Troy's look improves. Drastically! And I'm glad those mini skirts left because I can't imagine our future with tight fitting mini skirt dresses. (Not that my legs wouldn't look fantastic...but still!) I also think Butterfly might have a little crush on Capt. Picard since every time he comes onto the screen she looks at him. He is fairly hunky for a bald guy.

So where am I going with all this Star Trek talk? Well, I just want everyone to know that engines are running, and like Scotty used to say in the first Star Trek, "That's all I've got Cap'n!" I think of that phrase every time Butterfly tries her hardest to roll over. And she finally did it! Like a good mommy I took her picture and I'm writing it down in her little book. A first step towards locomotion! Gotta think about baby proofing the house now...

Until next time,
Safire and Butterfly

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

As you wish!

Everyone,

The Princess Bride is my favorite movie. Since Baby Butterfly is asleep in her crib again (amazing!), I thought I'd do some mindless search of The Princess Bride and see what I came up with.

And I came up with a quiz to see what Princess Bride character you are. Take the quiz and let me know who you are in my comments!

Buttercup

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by


Monday, September 19, 2005

Sooo...now what?

Everyone,

Miracle of miracles, Butterfly is asleep. By herself. In her own crib. Amazing! I've been working hard at night to make sure that she can sleep in her pack 'n play. She used to sleep with us, and only sleep with us. That's fine and dandy, I actually liked having her in bed with us. But winter is coming and I worry that our nice big down comforter would be too much for her. That and it's nicer not to worry about rolling on her. So, I've been getting up 2 and 3 times a night to sooth her back to sleep in her own bed. So when she fell asleep in my arms this afternoon, I thought I'd try putting her to sleep in her crib. She opened her eyes when I put her down, smiled sweetly at me and then just went to sleep. Ahhh...

However, I'm now at kind of a loss as to what to do. I could have over an hour of free time. What do I do? It amazes me how much Butterfly takes over my life. We do pretty much everything together. She has also started to scream (and not just cry, scream) when I leave the room without her. So we go everywhere together, and usually we nap together in the afternoon. But today I'm not tired enough to sleep and TV is boring me.

Things I could be doing:

  • the dishes (who wants to do those though?)
  • the laundry
  • general straightening of our house
  • cleaning the bathroom
  • showering

The last one is actually what I'd really like to be doing but I hate to get in and have Butterfly wake up and cry while I'm in there. But I suppose she is well and truly asleep...I might risk it.

And then I may start on the other things on my list but maybe not. I'm just excited at the prospect of a clean self!

Until next time,

Safire

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

25 Years

Everyone,

It seems weird to me that I am now 25 (as of today...happy birthday to me! ;) ) I do a lot of surveys online and they always group the ages 18-24 and 25-34...I'm now in a higher age bracket!

I never know what to say to people about my birthday. Most people ask if it feels different to now be whatever age you just turned. And honestly, from yesterday, I don't feel much different. Okay, a little more tired since Baby Girl thought it would be fun to wake up every hour or so until 5am when she went to sleep. But as I look back on last year's birthday, I feel completely different.

Last year around this time we went camping with our ward, and I couldn't keep my eyes open. 2 days later, and after feeling awfully queasy, the doctor said that we were going to have Butterfly! It was just a few days before my birthday, and only a few days after we got to see her little heart beating away. I never knew that this past year would bring me such sickness, heart ache (in the form of heartburn!) and happiness. I am so thankful for Butterfly and Juice. And my Soot puppy too. :) It's a good birthday.

Thank you Mom and Dad, for bringing me from this:









to this!


Until next time,

Safire, Juice, Butterfly, Soot

Monday, September 12, 2005

Butterfly is 4 months old

Everyone,

Time is just flying. Butterfly is now 4 months old. She weighs 17 lbs, 12.5 oz (almost 18 lbs!) and is 26.5 inches long. She can roll over but doesn't do it very much. She would rather sit up (with a little help). She's starting to find her feet more and more and really loves to grab things and put them in her mouth.

This morning she happened to grab the puppy's tongue as it was licking her hand. Normally I try to stop any puppy kisses to the baby's hands but I couldn't stop this one. Poor Soot just looked at me as Butterfly had her tongue. Of course, good girl Soot didn't move...so I'm feeling very happy that our dog is tolerant of what Butterfly is doing now. Hopefully that feeling of tolerance will continue as Butterfly gets older.

Butterfly is also starting to test out her voice and will squeal at the top of her lungs during play. Cute, but startling. Who knew babies could make that kind of noise! Apparently I was a squealer too so I guess it comes naturally. Butterfly's other thing that she likes to do is blow raspberries. She will do that more than any other sound. It's very cute. Although I don't really appreciate it when she just spit up and stuff flies everywhere. Ew!

She is also starting to laugh, which is adorable. We try very hard to get her to do it every day, and Juice is better at it than I am. What amazed me was her cousins when we went to Utah. Sherrie and Heather had her going. I got a little bit of it on film...just so so cute! http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20050902&currentTime=195304

Thankfully, no more spider incidents. And we have Butterfly's Halloween costume (thank you Mom!). More details to come.

Until next time,
Safire, Juice, Butterfly and Soot

PS- Juice started school last week. This is his last class and he'll graduate with a master's in aerospace engineering from George Washington University (www.gwu.edu). Only 14 more class periods, darling. Then you're done! :)

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Don't leave the suitcase out...


Or this might happen to your toe. Not the hair...that seems to be normal for Juice. Look at his bruise on the ring toe...is that what it is?

Luckily, Juice's toe is doing better. But we've learned not to mix suitcases and alarm clocks. Why I insist on flying us to Utah in those pre-dawn moments is beyond me.

And yes, we went to Utah for the weekend. It was a fast decision, fast trip, but not so fast of a flight home. It always happens that our flight gets cancelled or the flight attendant is sick. I feel like we've spent more time in the Denver airport than anywhere else. Although the Denver airport is very nice...nice shops, resturants and even a movie theater.

We had a great time in Utah visiting everyone and showing off Butterfly. Lots of pictures coming your way, I'm sure.

But since she is now waking up after keeping me up ALL night long, I better go to her.

Not feeling very put together this morning. 2 hours of sleep will do that.

Safire, and non-sleeping baby

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Ack! Spider!!

Everyone,

Two nights ago, Baby Girl and I were sitting downstairs in the rocking chair trying to get her to go to sleep when I happen to glance over at our couch and see the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen in doors not at a zoo. And it was in MY house! Inches away from MY baby's face. I could see 8 black glowing eyes staring at me. I slowly eased myself out of the chair and when I was sure the thing wasn't going to follow or bolt...I ran upstairs and woke up Juice.

"Big spider! Really really big spider!"

"Huh?"

"Really really big spider!" I set Butterfly down in her Pack n' Play and followed Juice downstairs. I showed him where it was, and he did a double take. The spider moved to the back of the couch and Juice and I are walking on our toes we're so creeped out by this ginormous arachnid. Juice first tries to hit it with a rolled up magazine but the spider was too fast and darted behind our couch. Juice hit the couch, out it came, and down came the magazine again. The spider lived. Juice said that the spider oriented on him and would turn to face him as he moved. Ew!

Do you ever have those creepy crawly moments where random body parts itch? I couldn't stop scratching my ankles. I'm normally okay with bugs but this spider was bigger than my thumb. I'd say bigger than a quarter, even.

Juice, being the wonderfully smart engineer that I'm SO happy I married, got out our shop vac and proceeded to suck up the offending spider. He put the shop vac outside. No more spider. Yay!

This is the spider after it had been through our shop vac. Notice the size of it, even missing all of it's legs on one side.



Again, ew!!!

Until next time,
Safire, Juice, and Butterfly

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

A conversation at the store

Everyone,

Last week Juice, Baby Girl and I were at the store and I was eating a hot dog. Juice took a bite of my hot dog and a guy across the way started to talk to us since Juice just swiped my food. He asked us if our baby was a boy or a girl and when we told him girl he said, "Oh I bet you wanted a boy!" pointing at Juice.

"No, not really," said Juice.

"Oh, the next will be a boy," said the guy.

"Maybe," said Juice.

"It will...it will. You try hard, every day. Boy will come." And then he smiled at us knowingly. Right. We just smiled and I finished my hot dog so we could get out of there.

People in the East sure are friendly!

Safire, Juice, and Butterfly

Friday, August 19, 2005

100 Days Old

Everyone,

As of Aug 17th, Butterfly is 100 days old. When I was pregnant, I would watch a lot of birth story TV...and one story stuck out in my mind for 2 things. First, because the couple were so miss matched in age...she was in her early 30's, he was in his 60's with grown kids HER age. Um, ew! The other thing that stuck out in my mind was the little party they gave their son when he turned 100 days old. When Butterfly was close to that day, I got curious and decided to do a little research (as much research as one can do with a baby) why these people were having a party for him when he was 100 days old.

According to Babyzone.com "On the hundredth day some Chinese families host another celebration. Friends and family bring fish and chicken to the child's home. When the chicken is cooked, the tongue is rubbed on the baby's lips to make the child a good talker. And the baby's paternal grandfather may present the baby with a rocking chair."

Juice and I celebrated Butterfly being 100 days old, just not like this. There was no tongue rubbing with chicken tongues or any other poultry. So sorry Butterfly, no good talking for you right now. Although I'm sure she'll talk just fine when the time comes. Not quiet looking forward to the all the why's just yet.

But I digress. 100 days. Right. Since we already have a rocking chair I think Elden is safe from that ritual too. But why have a party anyway? A little more digging (and I stress VERY little), I got my answer off of asiaparenting.com. Most articles were in another language (not even going to guess what) but I did find one article in English that gave me my answer. "Some traditions dictate that the mother and baby stay inside for 100 days, and then come out with a celebration." Aha! So that's the reason for the party. Not really for the baby (hurray you've lived 100 days!) but for the mom (you poor thing...shut off from the world for over 3 months...). Let me tell you the idea of being shut inside for 3 months is daunting! I couldn't do it. I go a week without really going anywhere I get a little stir crazy. Granted, the new mom isn't totally shut off. Her mother, sisters, mother-in-law and sometimes her husband are allowed to visit. More traditions indicate what the new mother should eat as well, called confinement food. Mostly that includes teas and such to promote healing. Not a bad idea.

I know in Europe they used to confine the women during the pregnancy and just after. That is where the term "Estimated Date of Confinement" comes from. Like my EDC was May 20th, or my due date. Not sure how long Europeans confined their women. Didn't have time to check.

The first 6 weeks after Butterfly was born I sort of felt like I was in confinement. We were careful to take her out only sporadically. Mostly to church and then to my mom's group when that started (I believe she was 6 weeks old). But I can't imagine just NOW coming out of that confinement. Ugh...no thank you!

So we celebrated Butterfly 100 days with a trip to the toy store and something fun for everyone. Butterfly got a mirror that lights up and plays classical music. I got a little bug that when you pull a cord, it shakes. And Juice bought the puppy a little dog that when you shake it, it says "Uh oh...woof woof woof". The puppy tore it up in a matter of 20 minutes.

I am going to have such a hard time keeping the dog off of Butterfly's toys.

Until next time,
Safire, Juice, Butterfly and Soot

Friday, August 12, 2005

I had to share...

Everyone,

Butterfly is 3 months old! She weighs about 16 lbs and is about 25 inches long. And what a sweetie!

http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20050809&currentTime=125718

I'm conducting a poll for Halloween costumes. Should she be a chocolate kiss, a cat, a monkey or a bee? Vote in my comments.

Safire and Butterfly

All 50 States

All,

I have a goal in my life to visit all 50 states at least once. It seems to be a family goal...one that my dad reached about 2 years ago when we traveled to his 50th state: North Dakota. When we moved out here, we kind of took the long way around just to go to North Dakota.

I have been to 41 of the states. I'm still missing 9...but I have Hawaii and Alaska. I hear those are one of the hardest to get, although North Dakota seems to be hard to. Good thing I have all 3 of those. I have been to every state west of the Mississippi and now a whole lot of them east of the river too. I'm sure you want to know but I thought I'd make a list of all the states and how I remember going to them. The ones in capital letters I don't have yet.

ALABAMA
Alaska: Honeymoon
Arizona: Trip to visit Sarah, a friend, in high school when she moved there. It was 119 degrees...we cooked an egg on the sidewalk!
ARKANSAS
California: Been there many times but the earliest I remember is my grandpa driving us out there to visit Great Aunt Dorothy and her house with a pool.
Colorado: Born there!
Connecticut: Family trip to New York and Boston...we drove all over getting states and postcards.
Delaware: See last post.
Florida: I think I was about 8 years old and we went to Disneyworld. Andrew and I flew on the plan by ourselves and met Dad at the airport. Our hotel had a great pool with water slides and Dad did a belly dance at the Moroccan Cafe.
Georgia: Layover on our way to England
Hawaii: My senior trip. We went on a cruise...it was great!
Idaho: I spent 2 years of college in this state. Not many people like it...I love it!
Illinois: Drive through to move out here.
Indiana: Ditto.
IOWA
Kansas: Drove through to get to Mt. Rushmore when Andrew and I were small. Lots of bugs in the car.
Kentucky: Layover coming back from England.
LOUISIANA
Maine: Drive to when we were visiting Boston. We only spent a few minutes in the state but I would love to see more.
Maryland: Area of current residence, hence the name of this blog.
Massachusetts: Trip to Boston where we toured the harbor, got to pretend to throw tea into the sea. Fun.
Michigan: Detour to Michigan when we were driving out here. Everyone wanted to see it so we cut across the bottom instead of just going across Indiana and Ohio.
Minnesota: Drive through to get out here. Very muggy.
MISSISSIPPI
Missouri: I'm not sure where I got Missouri but my list says I have it so...
Montana: Yellowstone National Park. Need I say more?
Nebraska: The other state we drove through to get to Mt. Rushmore when we were small. Again, lots of bugs.
Nevada: I have been to this state many times...driving through to California or visiting Las Vegas.
New Hampshire: We drove through this state for about 30 seconds on our way to see Maine.
New Jersey: This is where our hotel was when we went to New York for the first time.
New Mexico: We drove through this state to get to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with Uncle Dave and Aunt Shelly when I was about 8 or 9. I lost a tooth at their house.
New York: A trip there with my family. We saw Beauty and the Beast on Broadway.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Dakota: See above paragraph.
Ohio: Drove through to get here.
Oklahoma: I believe we drove through this state on our way home from Texas to visit family...am I right?
Oregon: Grandpa took us through Oregon on our way to British Columbia, Canada. I went with Nana, Aunt Lisa and Caitlin. A fun trip!
Pennsylvania: Drove through it while we visited New York, on our way out here, and Juice and I visited friends Tanya and Derek when they lived in Hershey.
Rhode Island: We have a lot of drive through states...this happens to be one of them.
SOUTH CAROLINA
South Dakota: Our first trip to Mt. Rushmore when Andrew and I were little. Our second trip to Mt. Rushmore when we drove out here.
TENNESSEE
Texas: Visit to Dave and Shelly Parker
Utah: Lived there for 8 years...I think.
VERMONT
Virginia: Lived there for 8 months.
Washington: First visit was to Uncle Vernon on our way to British Columbia. He had a beautiful appaloosa horse that he let me ride.
West Virginia: We went there for our anniversary trip last year. And we took Mom and Dad there to see the leaves when they came last year as well. Great syrup!
Wisconsin: We stayed a night there with my friend Amy and her husband Shane on our trip out here. We had a great time!
Wyoming: Flat, boring and hot. Enough said.

I have a plan to go to the southern states when we move back west in a few years. Juice has been to 25 states (way to go Juice!) and little Butterfly has been to 3 (born in Virginia, lives in Maryland, now been to Delaware).

So Andrew...how many do you have? ;)

Until next time,
Safire

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Our Anniversary Trip to Delaware

Hi everyone,

Okay, we'll try this again. Since Butterfly is happily sittingg in her...I mean, MY new toy...I can try and tell you about our trip. Yes, we took our almost 3 month old on vacation with us and had a ball!

We got all ready, dropped the puppy off at her kennel, drove out of the DC area and stopped to get gas in Annapolis. Butterfly decided to get fussy while we were getting gas so we were talking about getting out her pacifier. Which was in our backpack. Which was still sitting on our bed at home. D'oh! It had all of our tolietries in it. Juice convinced me that we shouldn't drive the 2 hours back to the house to get it and I convinced him that we should at least stop by a store and buy things like toothbrushes and toothpaste. Imagine, he was ready to stink all weekend long! :)

We crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which was 14 miles of road above the ocean. Not a place I would like to be in a storm! We also passed into Delaware. There was a house right next to the sign and in between the Maryland and Delaware sign. Where do they live?

Butterfly was pretty fussy the rest of the car ride and was very happy to get out of her car seat when we got to the hotel. The people at the check in counter just oohed and ahhed over her. She's so cute. :)

We were able to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, but we only stayed long enough to eat the appetizer and order our food. Butterfly decided that it was time to be done. She smacked her head on the table while Juice was holding her and she was just unhappy after that. Poor thing! So we ate our dinner in our room and it was much better.

On Friday, we journeyed out to the beaches. Juice got a good map of the area and we were planning on going to a beach about an hour away but Butterfly had had enough of her car seat. We picked the closest beach to us and it was really nice. It was called Bower's Beach and it was basically deserted. It was great to have almost the whole thing to ourselves! I worried that Butterfly would get burned the whole time, but we had a cute little tent and also a shade umbrella. It worked out great. Doesn't she look sweet in her sunglasses?!

Friday night the power went out at our hotel because of a huge lightening storm. See part of it here: http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20050805&currentTime=202836

Saturday we drove/walked around Dover. We ran across the place where they became the first state, which was pretty cool. I was thinking about it and I have now been where the Mayflower left England, where they landed in America, where they fought part of the Revolution in Boston and now, where the Constitution was ratified. Pretty interesting for me! We also went to a few museums in Dover and that was interesting as well.

All in all, a good trip!

Until next time,
Safire, Juice and Butterfly

Monday, August 08, 2005

I hate blogger...

All,

I just wrote out a great post about our trip to Deleware and was about to publish it because Butterfly is fussy but I thought I should spell check it first. Bad idea since it just erased it all. I knew I was a bad speller but come on...not that bad! But since Butterfly needs me now I'll have to type it out again later. Sigh...

Safire

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

New on the blog!

Hi everyone,

Alright, with my title I just had a flash back of some New Kids on the Block songs that has to relevance what so ever. Sign up your email to get a notice when I post! It's at the top of the page.

Gotta go...baby needs a diaper change.

Love,
Safire

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Visitors, visitors

Hi everyone,

Sorry for being gone for awhile but family came to visit. And since I think Andrew and Mom make up half of my readership (hi Zuke and Jill! the other half) they knew what was going on. But Zuke and Jill need to hear about my vacation so here's a short (hopefully) synopsis of it.

My parents and Juice's parents arrived on Friday, July 1st to fairly nice weather and lots of work to be done at my house. They were nice enough to clean and put up a cupboard in my bathroom while everyone kind of passed Butterfly around. We were trying to get the house and food ready for her blessing on the 3rd.

The blessing went really well. Our neighbors came to the meeting, along with Naomi and her son Jaron. It was a good blessing, and Butterfly cried all the way through it. But she looked so cute!


All white and frilly. Juice says watching my mom and is like watching 2 girls with their doll. True...but this doll actually gets bigger. :)

We spent a nice quiet 4th of July at home while everyone kind of did their own thing. (See Andrew's blog for more details if he ever gets around to talking about it...hint hint.) We went to a bbq at our parent's hotel and watched the fireworks.
Butterfly handled the fireworks really well and didn't seem to mind the noise too much. The show was very good, and I got to play with the firework feature on my camera. What do you think?

On Tuesday, we caravaned up to Baltimore and saw the National Aquarium. (www.aqua.org) It was very cool. They had a huge tank full of rays and sharks and one turtle right when you came in. And from there, you went up to different levels. Each level was showcasing something different. They had things like fish and wetland habitats around the area, alligators, the Amazon river, and more. It was really fascinating to see all the fish. The best part about the whole aquarium was strangely not fish related. They had a rainforest mock up that you could walk through at the top. (Juice says complete with humidity...not like we needed any more of that.) It was beautiful and had animals just hanging out in the enclosure.

They did make us check our stroller so we had to carry Butterfly around in her sling but she doesn't mind that too much. My dad was carrying her at one point and a lady came up to him and couldn't believe that we had a human baby in it. She made my parents show her Butterfly.

After the aquarium, we went out for food at a seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor. Now I'm not a big seafood eater (can't stand the stuff) but I did have a hamburger and watched my dad and Andrew enjoy their Maryland crab cakes.

Andrew and Angela left on Wednesday morning and Mom and I dressed Butterfly up in her blessing dress once more and took her to get her first professional pictures taken. We went to Sears and the gal that did the pictures was very good. She even got a small smile out of Butterfly .


Juice's parents left us on Friday morning and my parents stayed till Monday. It was a great vacation for everyone!

Since the company left, Butterfly has been cooing and talking up a storm. She is finally recognizing Juice and will calm down for him. She is discovering her hands and will look wide eyed at them. She is also starting to roll from her back to her side or vice versa. The best thing that she does is smile though. And I caught a doozy on camera.

Isn't she just so cute?!

Until next time,

Safire, Juice, Butterfly and Soot

Monday, June 27, 2005

We're smiling!


Hi everyone,

Yes, that means everyone in the house is smiling. Okay, maybe not the dog but the rest of us are very happy. Butterfly has such a cute smile too! She has one dimple and it makes her look lopsided but very sweet. She also will laugh in her sleep which is really funny too. Take a look! (The video is kind of long but she does smile towards the end...stick with it. :) )

http://www.jusspress.com/day.php?userid=8523¤tDate=20050626&currentTime=185222

Until next time!

Safire and Butterfly (Juice and Soot are still here too.)

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Hi everyone,

Sorry for being on hiatus but as most of you know, Butterfly entered our world just a short month ago. I took a break from the blog for a while to get used to this whole mommy business. It's pretty fun. But to catch up, I thought I'd talk about Butterfly and share some new, never before seen pictures. :)
May 10th, 2005 Butterfly entered the world at 8 lbs, 10 oz, 22 inches long. She cried briefly but was so quiet even the nurses took note of it.
 Posted by Hello
We went home 2 short days later with jaundice but got over it and survived! She slept a lot and ate a lot and regained her birth weight.
 Posted by Hello
She met the puppy who was very intereted in her. The noises that Butterfly made were facinating at first. She's gotten over the facination now and accepted Butterfly into the pack. Exept she is a little jealous and will crawl into your lap if you don't have the baby.
 Posted by Hello
Butterfly met Nana and Grandpa when they came out to visit her.
 Posted by Hello