I find that I either have time to write or to post pictures but not really both, so today is a writing post. Those of you who are only interested in this blog for the photos, be warned. Probably the next one will be mostly pictures, though.
I feel as though I am finally fitting into the role of a mom. I manage to take care of Caleb, as well as keep my mind fairly sharp with reading, go for walks with a friend in the ward, keep up with the laundry, wash dishes, vacuum occasionally, write a little everyday, practice playing Christmas carols out of the Simplified Hymnbook, and serve in my calling. Besides these things, I have also gone to the temple with Patrick, gone on a certifiable date during which we left Caleb with the Curtises, and decorated our apartment for Christmas. And this weekend Patrick invited the Teachers over after the ward Turkey Bowl to have homemade pizzas. (Math question for the day: How many pizzas do we need to make for for 0-9 fourteen- and fifteen-year-old boys?)
Taking Care of Baby
Truthfully, this just gets more and more fun. I gave a lesson not long ago at church on individual worth. I was trying to teach the girls that Heavenly Father loves them perfectly; they don't have to earn God's love and they can't lose His love. To illustrate, I explained that in however many weeks we calculated that we had been through more than 500 diapers, I had been spit up on, peed on, and pooped on, I had gotten as little as three hours a night of straight sleep, and I was regularly awakened at 4:00 am for the morning. I followed this up by asking, "Do you think I regret having Caleb?" To which the girls responded, "No!" I asked, "Do you think that I love him?" And the girls chorused wisely, "Yes!" And then I correlated that to how if I feel that way as an imperfect parent than how much more does their Heavenly Father love them than I love my little son even though I love him a lot.
And, while I loved him intensely in the midst of that phase, and in fact he still does some of those things, he also responds to me and smiles sometimes just because he sees me smiling. And he sometimes calms down when he's upset just because I pick him up. And he looks so much like an angel when he's not unhappy or angry. And he is mostly a very pleasant baby except for on difficult days. And last night, he went to bed at 10:00 and woke up around 4:30 and then went back to sleep until 7:15, which was amazing and blissful, and one other time he slept for seven hours straight. And he has started to look like he's looking at the pictures when I read him books. And he has started sucking on his hand sometimes and it's oh-so-cute. And he babbles, saying "oh" and "ah" and variations of those. And he sometimes lays on the floor and just waves his arms and legs widely looking like he's ready to get up and go any minute now. And, in essence, I do love him and I'm so grateful for him and proud of every little development and excited to see what kind of person he develops into.
Reading
I decided not long ago that I needed to read all the religious books on our shelves. Patrick bought a ton of different ones on his mission which neither of us have managed to read yet. I started out with Trusting Jesus by Jeffrey R. Holland and I enjoyed reading it very much. It's made up of different talks he has given at General Conferences of the Church. I ordered the books to decide which I will read when. However, I also decided I needed some variety-- which I'm sure will be more true when I arrive at Nibley, McConkie, and Talmage. So I will also be visiting the library and double-checking our shelves to read plenty of other things too.
After Trusting Jesus, I read Digging to America. I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it took a look at some really interesting and relevant issues. However, it looked at these issues using very normal, very real people, so it will probably never be considered a classic. And, while I like some classics, there is definitely something to be said for real characters who readers can relate to. The story is about two families who adopt daughters from Korea and become good friends. One family is what I've dubbed "organic American" and one is Iranian-American. While they're distinctive and have funny character flaws, they are healthy people with healthy relationships with their spouses, extended family, and friends. I enjoyed reading about the interplay of interactions between people; that's really what this story was about.
I then read The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. I previously enjoyed A Walk to Remember (before the movie ever came out), but I frequently feel that Nicholas Sparks is too mushy for me. I'm not enough of a romantic maybe. Sometimes it just feels too fake and sometimes too sensual to me. It's the same way I feel about a lot of LDS romances. Anyway, my mom recommended The Wedding, and since I had really liked A Walk to Remember, I decided to give it a try. It is really good. Maybe I could relate to it a little more than some of his other characters because the main character is supposedly not that romantic. To illustrate this part of me, I will just refer back to the days when Patrick and I were dating and I asked, "Patrick, will you write me poetry?" And he responded, "Are you out of your mind!" While you may think that says more about Patrick than about me, you can note that I married him knowing that's how he is, so I clearly found his down-to-earth approach to life more attractive than swooning and rhyming.
Following that, I read Sarah, Plain and Tall. Pattie has the movies and I enjoyed them, so I decided to read the book. I remember having it as a choice to read in elementary school and thinking the name made me feel like she was "Sarah, Plain and Boring," so I opted out at the time. The dialogue seemed awkward to me both in the book and the movie because they don't use contractions, but I suppose they haven't always been around. Nevertheless, it feels awkward. But the story was cute, anyway.
And next I'm reading John Adams. As I've mentioned before, 1776 used to be my favorite movie and the portrayal of John Adams-- particularly singing "They want me to quit. They say, John, give up the fight, but still to England I say, Good night, forever good night!" and corresponding back and forth with Abigal, who also fascinates me (though my interest in their relationship may suggest I'm a bit of a romantic after all)-- has always stirred me. I think he must have been a really interesting man. My grandma got me this book ages ago and I don't know why I never got farther in it because it is a well-written biography, but I intend to remedy that now.
Walking
This is the last of my accomplishments that I plan to dwell on, but I do want to mention it, particularly for those of you who thought I sounded a bit pathetic in the last entry. I had been walking regularly by myself, motivated by the need to get out of the house and by the need to lose some post-pregnancy weight (because I'm not as fortunate as three or four other women I've met or heard of recently who already fit back into their pre-pregnancy pants) and I was enjoying my walks, especially because I get the feeling that Caleb likes to be out of doors too. However, the other day while walking I ran into a woman my age from the ward with a baby born the same week as Caleb who suggested we begin walking together. And we did this week. The plan is to go everyday. And the two times we actually went this week were so pleasant. It is nice to have company sometimes, especially the company of a woman. Some other women from the ward may join our company and I think that would be fun too, especially since I hardly know anyone in the ward who isn't involved with Young Women's.
That's all for now. I just wanted all my friends and admirers to know that I am becoming SuperMom and I am actually loving it, though I was starting to wonder if I ever would. Hurrah for getting past post-partum emotions and for getting a handle on the changes in life!
Note: For some reason the i-button on Patrick's computer has been flakey and required a firm push which I haven't always managed to achieve. This may mean that I am missing some i's. Just thought you might like to know why if you see that it has happened.
