I ♥ NPR

Tonight on the way to the grocery store I heard about a witty, interesting new musical opening in New York [please let me go there someday] called Passing Strange. The other night I listened to a journalist for some big newspaper talking about how he and his journalist buddy had a contest to see who could get the phrase, "raises new and troubling concerns" into print the most times. I love those little bits of culture and comedy that I would never come across otherwise. I love Saturday mornings with Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me and This American Life [I love his easy non-radio voice!]. I love how I can finish their names for them: "I'm Robert Siegel ... and I'm Michelle Norris." I loved the story board [I think that's what it's called?] that I'd hear on my way to work last year. It would always be ending just as I got to school and I'd be fighting to keep the tears from spilling over.

Anyway, just a little something that makes me happy.

*¡gymboree!

Thank you Emily! Vera loved her first Gymboree class today. We met her little friend Trinity whose mom taught with me last year. Her favorite things were the bubbles [she was literally shaking with excitement] and the "baby soccer" where you use your baby to kick the ball ... sounds a little strange but Vera LOVED it [which of course she would because she's going to be a little soccer player]. She had her little mouth wide open in a smile the whole time and laughed out loud when the ball came near. It was adorable. I even got into singing all the clappy baby songs - who am I??

[...I couldn't choose just 3 photos...]

*la biblioteca

I really love our public library - it's the kind of place you'd want to take an out-of-town visitor. I realized today too that it's only a mile away. That'll be fun when she's bigger and we can walk there for story hour or just to pick up some books and explore their kiddie floor. She'll of course be an avid reader just like her mommy -- and she'll love Anne of Green Gables, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ramona, Roald Dahl and all the classic fairy tales. She can skip Babysitter's Club. Tamara, should I introduce her to Christy Miller and Brio? :)

*los[california]caters

Ben's parents were here for a short weekend visit. We had a good time: Rosie, Vera and I went shopping and bought some cute summer dresses, Ben and Mike built Boone a fence so he doesn't turn our yard into a mudpit again, Mike fixed our bathtub [yay, Vera can have a real tubby!], Ben installed a "plank" for Boone to enter the basement window from outside [so Ben isn't it?], we went out to a fun dinner Saturday night and then Ben and I went on to Barnes and Noble for a *date* [I felt like it was a very Mormon couple-like thing to do :)], we all went to church together, Rosie taught me to make wonton soup, and we sat around the fire watching Vera scoot around on the floor. "All in all" [don't you love/hate that phrase?], it was a great weekend and so fun to see Vera hanging out with her family.

*los mates

poor little friends -- sad and neglected

*corners of my home

I really like SouleMama's "Corners of my Home" string of posts - simple sweet snapshots of those little spaces that make up your house and home. So here's three little corners of our home that I love. Not necessarily *sweet* shots, but a fun little secret that I discovered as we were moving in: all our rooms are painted, but each closet still has it's old 1940's wallpaper. I like mine the best :)

*uh-oh

I'm thinking we'd better lower the crib mattress ... ...

*a couple more

Finishing up sharing pictures from this weekend as this weekend we make room for more visitors! Ben's parents arrive tonight :)

Gramma Sheila

Busy kitchen

This reminds me of when I was little and loved babies.

Can you believe how old these girls are already??

Another nephew getting the last bit of ice cream.

*an explanation

When people ask me if I ski, I don't quite know what to say.... um kind of? My whole family is big-time into skiing and I'm just not. I think I could have been given different circumstances and a little [a lot] less stubornness on my part. Here's what happened: when I was 6 or 7, my parents put my younger sister and I in the same little ski school. I think I've seen a picture of all of us and I'm at least a head taller than everyone else. So then Liz starts getting better at a faster rate than I, and the older siblings (and my dad too I'm sure) start giving me a hard time about it. That, combined with my fears of going fast, not being in control, hurting myself, looking stupid and getting snow in my gloves didn't set me up to be a die-hard skier like everyone else. I always wished I could have the whole mountain [well all the easy runs] to myself, so I could just ski and concentrate on getting better without worrying about having one of my brother's cute older friends seeing me. I also thought that if I just had some "cool" ski clothes, everything would fall into place. Usually I had to rummage through the ski drawer trying to find gloves that matched and a hat that didn't itch. So anyway, I always violently protested a family ski trip - usually all the way up until lunch in the lodge [as long as I got hot cocoa and one of those cups full of french fries...]


That all said, I went skiing on Sunday afternoon and had a pretty good time. I let Ben know ahead of time that I was only going on blue runs and that he couldn't make me do anything I didn't want to. I think I'm over the not-matching bit and wasn't too worried that I was the dorkiest skier on the hill. Granted, I only had to go for a half day [ok, at the end of every run, I'd look at the clock on the lift and think yessss that one took 30 minutes ... that much closer to going home to my baby.] No, I did have a fun time and Ben was great, telling me that I looked good and all. He's always very sweet and encouraging and would get mad if I said he just said all that to make me feel better.


Ok. I feel I've explained enough. Isn't this what a blog is for? You may have only gotten through the first half of the first paragraph, but at least I got it all out.

[Sarah, that's where we hiked this summer :) I like hiking.]

*more snow

[I wish I'd had a video of this last moment.]

*shades

Vera checking herself out in her little sunglasses. She looked so cute - I couldn't [can't] get over it.

*at home

I "get" to ski a half-day this afternoon. The past few days I've stayed home with Vera (and one day with Marie too) while everyone skies. Well and yesterday Gegi, Marie, Vera & I went on an Ikea adventure. Anyway, these are just some cute pictures from the last couple days: chewing on her toes, scooting 3 whole feet to get to her toy basket and blowing bubbles on the wall.

*the wards

This has been one of those months-long anticipated weekends: all of my family [minus Liz :( ] is here for a ski vacation/reunion. The Myers get here tomorrow and Tom's family was busy, so George and his family and my parents were here for dinner. I don't know if you know this, but I love to make dinner for my friends and rarely have the chance to for my family. That doesn't seem right, does it? Anyway, it was a fun fun night. Vera was a little overwhelmed at first but warmed up as the night went on. Actually she gets a little delirious when she's tired and thought just about everything was funny. She couldn't fall asleep fast enough though after everyone left.

*****

She got a little overwhelmed here and we had to abandon dinner for a second try later on.

Happy ♥ day!

Lots of space.

I told Tyler I was going to put this picture on the Internet for everyone to see.

This is Marie getting the last drip of ice cream. Is this what you meant, Liz, when you talked about kindred spirits?

Tyler making V laugh.



***

More pictures of the weekend to come...

*el parque

We live by a really great park and I remember walking by the playground when I was pregnant thinking how fun that would be when I could take my baby there. Today was a much needed warm, sunny day and so I took Vera to the park! So crazy - it felt like that day was ages and ages away. She loved the swing and laughed the first few times. I was sad I didn't have my camera, but did have my phone ...

*bunny

Trying to get a sweet picture with [what we want to be] her favorite stuffed animal.

*el mate

See that box on the kitchen floor? It contains about 8.8 lbs. of yerba mate and has been sitting there since last Monday. Except for once with Tamara last Christmas and once with Nieves this Christmas, I haven't had mate since I found out I was pregnant! If you know me and my addictions at all, that's pretty amazing. So Ben asked me this morning why I haven't opened it yet.... and I really don't know. Trying to come up with a theory: I think I'm scared. Scared that I won't love it as much, scared that I have to switch away from coffee [which I've come to love and need], scared that it will make Vera get a mate high ... ayayay.

*little whistler

We like to think of Vera as a scrappy little ragamuffin. [Ben can't wait for the day when she stomps her feet and tells me NO! - like he imagines I must have done.] I think this video captures her little personality. It may be boring to some [most probably], but I love watching it. After dinner she's been so funny and energetic. A little intense too - see how she tries to grab my hand to make those middle-school type fart noises*. Anyway, also notable about this video: about 50 seconds into it she whistled. I couldn't believe it, but it's something she's incorporated into her daily repertoire.

*What do you call that? I had a 7th grader do that right in the middle of a classmate's presentation last year. I was SO MAD. I sent him right down to the principal's office. I think [hope] I scared him.

*la siesta

It's been a rough day so far - we have attempted a nap 5 times and only yielded about 32 minutes of actual sleep. I never ever thought that making a baby take a nap would be this difficult!! I asked my sister-in-law once how she put her babies down. She said, "Oh they just rubbed their little eyes or pulled on their ears and I laid them down in the crib." Please, LORD, let me have one of those babies next time!! Vera screamed her little head off every time I attempted to rock her to sleep today. [I think she had a tummy ache, pobrecita]

There's always a couple days each month where I think we've made it, that she's finally figured out that it's easier to just sleep. "Oh naps? We have that down." I took the following photos the other day after she had been taking hour-long naps consistently. I was so excited, happy and rejuvenated [and so was she]. I should have known...

[she has managed to stay asleep as I downloaded these photos and wrote these paragraphs - yay small miracles]

*praise the LORD

I know our sleep troubles aren't over yet, but last night Vera slept without a peep from 7pm to 7am!!!

*ojos azules

*el fin de semana

Erik and Heather came through for a short visit this weekend. Everyone [except me and V] went skiing on Saturday - I was bummed to miss the beautiful day up in the mountains, but if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm not the most... enthusiastic skier. Anyway, Sunday Ben and Erik went snowmobiling and then we all watched the Superbowl. I realized that I love Superbowl food - nachos, dips, beer.... yum. Anyway, we had a great time with them and want all our friends to know they are always welcome to stay [please?].