An Unexpected Time to Count My Blessings

Four of My Many Soul Sisters

("Support network" sounded too organized, "friends" didn't seem chummy enough, and "helpers" sounded too stilted, so sue me.)

On Sunday night, Patrick and I had one of the roughest sick-to-our-stomach nights of our married life so far. The next day, we were both weak and tired and still sickly. I won't give you the gory details, but the fact was that neither of us was in any shape to take care of two healthy (for which I was grateful), energetic little boys. I managed to get them dressed and feed them some breakfast, and then I was done. Almost all of our friends only have room for one more kid than their own, and I wasn't really in a condition to drive or even step out of my house, so I racked my brains to think of who (two people) I could call on for help. And in the moment, a flood of options charged through my brain. That was then followed by a flood of reasons some of them couldn't help or it would be too inconvenient, but I knew that if it came down to it even those who couldn't easily help would lend a hand if they were needed.

But my reasons for gratitude didn't end with that. I called my friend Amber and said, "Will you take Caleb for the day? We feel awful." And do you know what she said? "I'll be there in ten minutes. Is it okay if I come in my pajamas?" If I hadn't been so disgusting and she had been in the room, I could have hugged her (and I'm not really a hugger).

Then, I called my friend Temma who has a little boy just Eli's age. Didn't get ahold of her. Called my friend Stacy. Stacy said, "Well, we have this appointment, so I could for an hour, or if you need help this afternoon, let me know." It turned out Temma's little boy was sick, but I know she would have watched Eli for me if he hadn't been. By then, I was a little wiped out and couldn't make any more phone calls. Patrick was doing okay and hadn't been as busy as me up to that point, so he offered to take charge of Eli so I could sleep. Eli fell asleep unexpectedly that morning, so I called Stacy when I woke up, and she said, "Yes. I'll pick him up on my way home." Like that, we magically had the afternoon without any responsibilities. For three hours, we slept. Then we woke up, I took a shower, and we gathered our children back into our house, fed them microwaved chicken nuggets for dinner, and we all fell into bed. The next day, we felt much better.

I know that not everyone is so lucky to have a community of support like that. If I had my way, though, every woman would be so lucky. Because we definitely all need it at times. Thanks so much to my community, and may you always know that you can call on me when you're in need.

Hello, January

Poor December only got one measly little post. I wasn't completely lazy, however. In fact, I was packing and traveling and visiting and returning and unpacking and playing. I also was posting, actually, just not here. I have taken on an alter ego. You can see my darker, more self-absorbed more feathery side here: www.geefunnyfarm.blogspot.com. (You may be wondering, "Is it possible to have a more self-absorbed side when every post in this thing is about you, your family, and you?" Actually, I think I can say yes.) This alter ego blogging is in behalf of my mom's new business GEE Funny Farm. The business is in the birthing process, but when it's up and running, it's going to be wicked cool. I mean, how many places do you know of where you can go and to see a wallaby, llamas, horses, a miniature horse, parrots, a miniature donkey, and more?

This is a glimpse of the utter coolness of the Funny Farm.

Anyway, we had a fantastic Christmas. We loved seeing our families, in particular. We did not, as it turns out, fall deeply back in love with Wisconsin cold. In fact, we felt a little frosty towards it. My teenage self shudders at my wimpiness; my adult self is actually not all that concerned with approval, as it turns out. It was cold. Period. Our families were awesome, though. The kiddo was showered with attention. If he weren't so cool, he would be spoiled for life. Fortunately, he actually hasn't seemed too obsessed with keeping it up at home. Phew.

Above: Dad's side spoiling the munchkin.
Below: My side spoiling the munchkin.

After the family time, we spent one day with Daniel and Michelle in Michigan. They were so nice to us and tolerant of how we shifted their normal routine by arriving at 1:30 am and getting up to go at 5:30 am the next morning. We played games and caught up and just had such a nice time for the day we were there. And we were so happy to meet their newest addition and see their first addition who is speaking in complete sentences and even says, "I fell and broke down and cried." What two and a half-year-old says, "I broke down"? I love it!

After three weeks away, we were really, really glad to get home to our own space. Our little apartment seemed absolutely charming when we came back to it. Also, we made it back in time to celebrate birthdays with our friends Kathleen and Rachel. So that was an added bonus to our return. Now, Patrick's had his first day of the second semester and he has a better idea of what he needs to do to be successful. It's fun listening to him organize his time, especially since his plans include a walk with me everday. We went on a nice walk in CW (Colonial Williamsburg) today and it was so relaxing, I'm thrilled at the idea of keeping it up for an entire semester . . . and maybe longer. Life, my friends, is pretty stinkin' grand.

Me and my darn good lookin' husband before we went shmoozing law firms on the hunt for a summer internship.

Don't You Wish You Were a Factorial?

I recently celebrated my birthday. I have a friend who is a numbers/math girl (unlike me) and she introduced me to the wonderful habit of figuring out something cool about every birthday year. This year I am a factorial. Since I will not be a factorial again until I have become a centenarian (which may never happen), I think this is one of the coolest birthday years I've ever celebrated.

For my birthday, Patrick wins the "Best Husband Ever Award" because he went to get my gift on black Friday because he saw an ad for something he thought I'd like and it was hugely on sale. (As in, this gift is usually about 90 dollars and with Black Friday rebates, he got it for 20.) This meant, that the weekend when we were sick, he got up at 5:30 am and went to Office Depot. This may not seem that early for Black Friday fanatics but it was a weekend, he was sick, and he was going to Office Depot so he didn't think it would be that busy, and it didn't open until 6:00 anyway. After he got there, he couldn't find the product he wanted. He got in line to check out something he had found instead and talked to a lady who had been there since 4 am and was the fourth or fifth person in line. This made him realize why the product probably wasn't there-- he just wasn't gung-ho enough. Fortunately, he asked an employee just to be sure, and the employee went in back and found the last one. The product he got because he didn't think the one he'd come for was there was a photo editing program. The one he came for and ended up getting successfully was a scrapbooking program. The gifts were great, but, I have to admit, the effort was the most flattering thing.

Patrick also gets another star because he went in to work his job the night before my birthday so he could stay home with me later on the morning of my birthday. He also canceled a study group so he could come home earlier on my birthday even though he is desperately in need of studying because we were all sick over Thanksgiving break. (Did I mention how wonderful that turned out to be, by the way? I loved being confined to the house with my husband and son. We had a great time just hanging out and being together as a family, even though we all felt physically crummy.) Anyway, in sum, I have the best husband ever.

I opened presents, we had an early dinner going out to eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (second choice after Subway, which we couldn't find), and then had friends over for cake and ice cream. I also, as it turns out, have some awesome friends. One friend is a Mary Kay lady, and she gave me lip gloss. The same friend called the night before and offered to make my cake, but I had already made it so she made me homemade oreos instead. One friend is a sewing master, and he made me an awesome purse, so now I can have something cooler than my old-lady purse when I'm not using the diaper bag. Another friend dropped by a really sweet card on my birthday. I also got all sorts of generous and thoughtful gifts and cards from our families on my birthday. Following cake with the two couples who came to share it with us, we finished off the night playing games with our friends Kyle and Kathleen. All in all, a pretty stinkin' sweet day. I was super satisfied with how this birthday went, and now I get to revel in 4! for the duration of this next year of my life. Just think, I'll never get to do that again.

What Do You Do When You're Sick

Wish You Didn't Get So Many Sale Notices

Well, one thing you do is look longingly at the amazing ads that are going up for Thanksgiving weekend and think, "If only I had the energy . . . and if only I didn't care about spreading sickness."

Call and Cancel Your Plans for Thanksgiving

And feel inexpressibly grateful that you have such nice friends that they offer to bring you dinner on Thanksgiving even though they tell you not to worry about contributing, and even though they are already feeding eight adults at their house, and even though their family is coming into town from north and south to share this meal with them so they could be covetous of their time with them.

Look Longingly at Your Birthday Gifts

Um, this has more to do with the fact that my parents' gifts arrived six days early than it has to do with me being sick, but the fact that I may be lounging around the house for the next six days will make the temptation to open them ever so much greater. Not that I will do it, of course . . .

Sleep a Lot

The kiddo has been sick since about Saturday. Yesterday, I went to the doctor and she gave me decongestant for him. Huzzah! (This did not happen last season when he was sick because he was too little for meds like that; there are just so many things to love about having a one-year-old.) Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I was lucky to get him to sleep a half hour 2-5 times a day. And when he wasn't sleeping he was right on the brink of tears about 90% of the time. Happily, now that he has medication, he sleeps (and isn't an emotional mess) and his daddy and I get to sleep too. Thank goodness that Dad has a vacation. I have already taken two naps today, and I am lucky to ever manage one nap when I'm healthy because my body revolts against "laziness."

Read! Read! Read!

A while ago, I looked at my Goodreads.com list of books to read and thought I should start whittling away at it, so I put a bunch of books on hold at the library. I have now read The Book Thief and The Hunger Games. I am currently reading The Professor and the Madman and have started The Tipping Point, though I haven't been impressed with the second one. Gilead and Catching Fire are now sitting in the house, waiting in line. Patrick is reading Catching Fire, and since that ones a sequel to The Hunger Games, it may get moved up in front of The Tipping Point for me, which, honestly with all these other books waiting in my house, might be tipped right back to the library.

Reading has been a relief because I was starting to get stir crazy. I wanted to get out of the house but I didn't want people to hate me and my sniffly baby. The kiddo has gotten stir crazy too, but he's holding up better now that he's getting naps. So, all in all, life is working out all right for us despite pounding headaches, runny noses, and achey bodies. Even so, we do hope they pass soon, especially for Patrick who has exams starting in exactly two weeks and feels an urgent need to study but not an urgent enough need that it overpowers his even more urgent need to sleep and rest.

Ode to October

One of our great adventures in October was going to the William & Mary football game. Note to all moms unfamiliar with this game: a live football game with a toddler isn't the place to learn about it. I was completely oblivious to what was going on 99% of the time. It seemed that every time I looked up nothing was happening and every time the crowd cheered, I was focused on the kiddo. So it happens that I remain completely ignorant on the issue of football strategy, terminology, and, well, everything else even slightly football-related.

After the Tribe's win, Patrick and some friends got together and played some flag football themselves. One thing I love about my husband is that he's really much more interested in playing than in watching (though he does like to watch it as well). Loving to play football as he does, Patrick was very excited beforehand about this informal game, and he wasn't disappointed afterward either-- he had a great time.

While Patrick played football, Caleb and I played in the leaves. Near the end of the game was when Caleb learned the sign "go." It mostly involves moving your hand to point, so it isn't too difficult. We played a game where Caleb signed "GO!" and I would run with him, then I would say, "Stop," and we would stand still. He learned the sign quickly this way because it turned out to be such a fun game for him. Overall, a very successful time period for us all.

Another vocabulary word I missed last time was "bubbles," or rather "ba-ba(s)" (the "s" isn't consistently there). We played with bubbles a lot this month because we came across goodies from last years Halloween with a little pumpkin bubble container.

This picture just makes me think that Caleb is becoming a little boy. (Okay, I admit I threw a block in his pocket so he would reach in to retrieve it, but I think it makes him look so big. He's less and less a baby all the time, even though he isn't technically "toddling" much yet.)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, we also hosted aunt (er, great-aunt) Jenny this month too. She came to visit us after checking out the Funny Farm in Wisconsin. We spent two fantastically fun days touring CW (Colonial Williamsburg) and learning all about the Randolph's, the capital building, and the Governor.
Oh, and we learned about the jail where Jen was incarcerated. Not a pretty thing to be carted off to the noose, as it turns out. Eeew.

Caleb and Jen bonded and are now buddies. It didn't hurt that she gave him fantastic maraccas from her recent trip to Peru. She also bought and read him Goodnight, Moon. It's now a good pre-naptime storybook. She also played the GO!-game with him (mentioned above). I got a video of that, but it didn't turn out well at all, so it's not gonna make the cut. And she just generally gave him a lot of attention and smiled at him a lot which is basically Caleb's idea of heaven.
At the very end of the month, our friends Jason and Melissa invited us over for a Halloween party. Here's Caleb posing in his adorable costume. The vest and pants were inherited from his uncles (my brothers). The shirt was a thrift buy that Grandma bought him. The mocassins came many months ago from my aunt and uncle as a gift with an appropriate matching outfit. And the hat was a Dollar Tree acquisition. The rocking horse belonged to me (and my brothers too?) when we were kids and my parents offered to send it our way when we made the move. All in all, this costume cost us $1. We call that success.
Here Caleb is with his most familiar friends. This is the best I managed with them. I have new respect for photographers of children. What insanity! They were all generally happy at least, but they are also all mobile and wiggly, so they weren't exactly posing for the doting parents and their glued on lenses. Ah well, you get the idea.

And now that Halloween is over . . . on to CHRISTMAS! I love the beauty of fall and the fun of Halloween, but I adore Christmas. I love carols and decorations and the food and the parties and the vacation and the presents and the family and the friends -- all those magical, marvelous parts of Christmas. I admit we have even set up our tree prior to Halloween one year. I don't forget Thanksgiving, I just see that as more build-up to Christmas time. I know some people think it's silly, but, hey, after I'm dead if my kids roll their eyes remembering that I celebrated Christmas ridiculously long I'll be so pleased to have that listed among my quirks.

Hope you're October was as fantastic as ours and hope you are as excited about the holidays as we are.

October Pictures

Our boy loves to read. Lately, he's more about flipping pages than reading, but either way he loves books.

At least once a week, he gets to play with a friend. Usually more often than that, but at least once a week. This is his friend who is one month older than him. She's very sweet and gentle.

This is a gruesome picture of the munchkin banging on the keyboard with eye-balls.

Here he is with his precocious nine-month-old walking friend. We are impressed with her skills.

We still continue to take sweet sleeping pictures from time to time. Even if he's growing and talking, he's still our baby.

His ring toy works as decoration too.

Chilling and reading with my friend Laurel and her little daughter while her son is browsing the bookshelf in the background. Aren't they adorable?

Our friends Kyle and Kathleen (yes, the infamous picture-loving Kathleen) on the ferry from Jamestown. I deserve a prize, I got a picture of the girl despite her resistance. It was a very, very cold day.

Pumpkin carving with Kyle and Kathleen. Everyone (except me) hard at work.

Mine and Patrick's pumpkins. Our neighbor told me that our pumpkin looked like Michael Jackson risen from the dead. And, well, Patrick's pumpkin is what happens when you place sharp objects in the hands of an impatient man. There is a face there-- it just isn't carved. Do you see it?

Okay, family, this is what Caleb looks like when you talk to him on the phone. He's intrigued. Occasionally, there's a shy smile, but then back to focusing on this weird phone object and the voices which come through it.

Yeehaw, ride 'em, cowboy! This is to give you a taste of what's to come with Halloween (more pictures to follow). Thanks to Stacy for suggesting the Dollar Tree for a cowboy hat.

A close-up of my pumpkin. I was afraid that it wasn't scary, but Kathleen assured me that the nose made it terrifying.

More bragging about my kiddo: he tried to put the puzzle bench back together. Albeit, he was unsuccessful, but he did try.

One morning our friend came over to play in the morning. . . and they both loved the lion.

It's Official

#1. Our Apartment is More Guest-Friendly

For those of you who have come to our place and thought what a stupid set-up we had (don't worry, I've thought the same thing), you can now come over and enjoy a more spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't know if this is the final result because it's not amazing, but it is a big improvement. In other words, whoever is reading this should come visit us and enjoy it with us . . . and really just come hang out with me and Caleb.

Furthermore, I would like to brag that I made all the changes myself. After a get-together where I watched our furniture arrangement divide people up so that it was difficult to visit, I woke up the next morning and started moving things, including a bookcase, couch, toy chest, tacky "coffee table" (really just a plastic bin with blankets stored inside and one blanket covering the top), and an extra chair from Caleb's room. Basically, I am a female version of Hercules. And it was worth it. Voila! A new and improved living room. (I do sincerely apologize that there are no pictures, but I guess that just means you'll have to come over and see it for yourself.)

#2. I am Not The Only Awkward Person in the World

Really, I seriously stress about all of the awkward things I do. Every night, Patrick has to listen to all the stupid things I said that I shouldn't have said or that came out wrong and seemed to imply things that I don't actually believe. Poor man. When I get into this state of mind, I start to notice all the really stupid things I've said and then I start to feel really socially awkward and then I start to act even more awkward until I really, truly am an awkward person. It's a vicious cycle. Patrick assures me that no one else thinks what I think they think I said, or even if they do they aren't thinking about it any more. The most recent argument he's made to settle down my over-stressed brain was that everyone is awkward and says stupid things. Awkwardness is human. Two awkward situations came up very soon after my conversation with him, and I realized, he's right: Awkwardness happens. It's life. Get over it. Happily, I have not been as stressed since then, and happily for him he hasn't had to listen to the boring list of dumb things I said. That's not to say that I won't ever stress about these things anymore, but it is somewhat reassuring to realize I'm not alone.

#3. One of the Coolest People in the World is Coming to Visit Me

I've been thinking a lot about this visitor and what an awesome person she is and I just wanted to share it with my long list of faithful fans. This woman came into town for my birth, she flew me to San Francisco to spend a week with her early in high school, she spent three weeks with me in Turkey when my grandfather invited me to travel with the two of them, she hiked the Grand Canyon with us and my parents when we were engaged, she was one of five of my extended family members who came into town for my wedding (all of whom were valued because they made the effort to celebrate with us even though they couldn't actually attend the wedding), she came to town for my college graduation, and now she's coming to visit us here for a few days even though it's all the way across the country. Besides that, she was always someone my mom held up to me as a role model when I was a kid because she was very successful and did adventurous things and lived in exotic places like Hong Kong, Thailand, France, and Australia. Even when she lived far away from us (as in all the way across the world) and had a lot going on with work, she always made my brothers and I feel like she cared about us. Ah hem, this person is my fantastic and wonderful Aunt Jennifer. In sum, I wish everybody could have such cool people in their lives as I have in mine.

Play, Play, Play

Sunday

We gave about 4 minute talks in church because there were four speakers before us. Then we attended our other meetings and had our friends Shawn and Sarah over to dinner.

Monday

The wife of the 2L who lives nearby (Stacy) invited us to go with her and her son to Colonial Williamsburg so that her almost-two-year-old could run around there. It was fun to get to know her and to learn more about what law school will be like since they have a year's worth of experience already.

Tuesday

First, I rode with two expecting mothers (Nancy and Kathleen) to Jamestown to meet three other moms (Stacy, Hailey, and Amber) and wander around the fort. It's older than Williamsburg and, to be honest, there isn't as much to see. There was a sign that said, "This was the home of so-and-so . . ." in front of a lot. Houses are rebuilt in Williamsburg, but some things are just marked in Jamestown. Of course, there was the church and the fort and there was a statue of Pocahontas which would have been a great photo-op if I'd brought my camera. They also think they may have found the very first well built in the settlement (does that mean in the colonies as well?). Also, we went by the museum. Nancy and Kathleen had already been there so I kind of browsed it quickly, but I would go back. The most interesting room was one in which they attempted to recreate faces using skulls they had found. A plaque shared what you suppose about the people from what they knew about the faces. For instance, there was a European woman who was in the fort, and she had been missing most of her teeth for quite a while before she died. They explained that we see this as a sign of poverty (can't afford a dentist), but in their day it was a sign of wealth (could afford sugar). Interesting, huh?

Second, in the evening we attended a birthday party thrown by the woman (Timi) who collected names at the 1L Partner Program last Monday. It was her husband's birthday. The couples in our year are awesome. One of our friends (Liesel) proposed a party game called "celebrity." It was a great ice-breaker. I am looking forward to more socializing with this group in the future. (After we got home, Patrick went to play basketball at the church. They play every Tuesday night at 8:30. He has always wanted a group that was so consistent and at a time that he could attend, and finally it has happened. He comes home sweaty and happy at night. And since it starts around Caleb's bedtime. I end up with a couple hours of "me" time. So everyone wins.)

Wednesday

We stayed home and rested. After all the playing the day before, Caleb hadn't gotten a decent afternoon nap and he fell asleep at the party, so we had just worn him out. I thought a little stability and familiarity for a day would do him some good. We did have our friends Shawn and Sarah over for dinner in the evening. It was good to see them. They are our neighbors. Shawn is just starting school too, so we've all been busy this week.

Thursday

We stayed home most of the day. The morning was amazingly productive: I did laundry, vacuumed, wrote a really important letter, found the mailing address for that letter, got Caleb down for two naps (a short one in the morning and an unexpectedly long one in the afternoon), read my scriptures, exercised, and played with Caleb inside and out. In the afternoon, my friend Melissa came over with her little girl and we had a "play-date" of sorts. Rachel is eight months old, so she and Caleb are sort of at different stages, but they are fun to watch together because I think their temperments are similar-- both explorers, both pretty happy kids. It was good to get to know Melissa better too. It turned out that both of us had started studying American history on our own, so we decided we should do "school" together or something. I'm not entirely sure how that will work out, but it will just be fun to share what we're learning if nothing else.

In the evening, we went to a tour on campus. Three of our couple friends were there, so it was fun to have some friends in the group. One of them had a little girl, so she and Caleb were friendly with each other. She's a lot more chill than Caleb and was content in her stroller much longer, whereas Caleb wanted out of the stroller every time we stopped. It was okay though. Patrick's sweet and isn't all that interested in the history stuff here (not compared to me anyway), so he watched Caleb crawl around in the dust and dirt and I got to listen to the tour guide(s). There was free food at the end, which we were excited about, until we reached the room and it was very nice and not kid-friendly (in the sense that it would have been difficult to get through the line and eat while having a baby among us without making a disaster). So Patrick grabbed me two cookies and said good-bye to our only set of friends who made it to the end, and we headed off to trek back to the law school. All in all, it was a fun event, even if we didn't get the benefit of the free food that we had anticipated. It focused especially on George Wythe, the first lawyer in America. I need to read more him; there seems to be a lot to know. He taught both Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, so that should show just how much influence he's had on our country without most people even knowing it.

Friday

Well, we'll see. The day has just begun. Sadly, the dog upstairs appears to have been left by his owners and he is howling over us and will probably continue to do so all day. At 10:30 last night, I believe the five-year-old threw a temper tantrum that involved lots of banging and lots of screaming. And to think, she looks so cute when we see her during the daytime. Anyway, we may go swimming, and we will certainly play.

Saturday

There is a LDS grad student get-together organized by Stacy. We will meet the other students in their various years of study at W&M, and in their various programs. It will be good to get to know people a little better, and to meet those that are in the other ward since there are two in the area.

Then in the evening, Patrick's friend Joe is coming over for homemade pizza and videogames. We just learned last Sunday that he was in the area. Patrick hasn't really spent much time with Joe since before his mission, but they were good friends back in Wisconsin. So Patrick is pretty excited.

Summary

We are so busy, and we seem to have the ptential for more friends than we can handle, but, hey, we'll try our best. :) There are just so many good people here. We are looking forward to knowing them better.

And So It Begins

Last week, William & Mary had orientation week for the first year law students, so Patrick officially got acquainted with the law program, the law building, the law professors, his "law firm," and other law students. On Monday night there was a "partner program" for significant others to go to, so I went and we got to meet the other couples. There were about 10 couples who showed up I would say; four were LDS; three of the LDS couples had kids (none of the non-LDS couples had kids). Most of the other couples have been married quite recently. One was as recent as two weeks ago, one was two months ago, and one was a year; I'm not sure about the others. So we are in the funny situation of no longer being "the norm," as we were in Provo. The other couples all seem wonderfully nice. One woman took the initiative to get names and contact information and is planning a get-together soon.

As for me, I began my stay-at-homedness . . . or began it again since I have done it all along but haven't done it alone for quite awhile. Last week was a little difficult. And the reason why is sort of funny -- I read a parenting book and it made me feel like I was not a very good parent and Caleb was naturally a very good baby but had gone awry because of my bad training. This made for one particularly bad day. However, since I decided that was not useful for either of us, I have put the book aside. I think it has some good points, but if I measure myself against her (the author's) ideal parent, I will not feel good about myself. I may read it, but only in small doses so I don't get overwhelmed or down on myself and Caleb (who really is a wonderful kid). My thought is that I am too permisive sometimes and am not consistent enough. However, my mom gave me some wonderful counsel (which the author actually encouraged too) and that was to talk talk talk to my kid. At least if I explain what's going on in my mind all along he'll have good language skills and know that I'm trying, right?

So instead of reading parenting books, I am reading books on Williamsburg. Did you know that before it was established as a city, it was a settlement called "Middle Plantation"? And have you heard about the Bacon Rebelion where Nathaniel Bacon raised the people against a negligent governor (negligent because he wasn't protecting the people against the Native Americans)? And during the course of that rebellion, Jamestown was burned down and then later the new state house in Jamestown burned down again so Williamsburg was established as a more hopeful settlement (named for the king)? And just before that city was agreed upon, the king and queen granted a charter for the founding of a college to be named in their honor? And did you know that William & Mary is the second college in the English colonies (Harvard College being the first), and the first with royal support? And did you know that it was funded both by the crown and by pirates in prison hoping to get out (though the book didn't explain how contributing to the college would help them get out of prison in Britain)? And, furthermore, did you know that the plans for the college were made by Sir Christopher Wren who also drew the plans for St. Paul's Cathedral in London? I guess the real question probably is, do you even care? I do!

Besides playing with Caleb, and reading, I am also making plans with other wives and moms. We have a "play-date" planned with one other mom and her daughter on Thursday. Then I hope to invite an expecting mother over to hang out on Tuesday. There's another mom who I would like to spend more time with as well (her daughter being just about a month older than Caleb). It turns out that there is another little family in our complex who are LDS, the husband being an L2. Then besides all this socialization, I've made a commitment to write more, which is a wonderful commitment to make, and should be easier to do because I have a table that's all mine in the bedroom and I don't plan to hook up to the Internet there. Finally, there is also housework . . . of course. There are dishes (did I mention that I am actually not that fond of dishwashers in general though I am using this one?), and there are floors to clean, clothes to wash and put away, meals to make, groceries to buy, and all sorts of other wonderful things like that. Oh, and two other things on my list of things to do are 1.) make a precise budget and 2.) exercise more. Yes, I am thinking that in the course of all this trippin' and travelin' I have gotten out of shape. Besides which, with my baby approaching a year and complete weaning, I can no longer rely on nursing to keep my weight down (which it did beautifully). So, there is plenty to do and I should never be bored.

"You Have Arrived!"

That is what our GPS said to us on Saturday: "You have arrived." Here we are in beautiful Williamsburg, and already we love it. We have been delighted by how friendly people are and how many families there are in the area. Also, we have already checked out the law building at William & Mary and the professors were friendly and introduced themselves to us and the building is very nice. Our LDS bishop also came by and spent an hour visiting with us and just being generally great by answering our questions and giving us some counsel. As far as the history, well, we went to the shops at Colonial Williamsburg and plan to tour the historic area more this week. The weather is familiar to us because it's hot and humid and that's what we grew up with. I've realized in my vast experience (i.e. living in dry and living in humid) that I really prefer moisture in the air; I like humidity. In my experience talking to other people, this view is unusual, but it is true for me anyway even if it isn't popular.

As far as moving in, we have been fortunate to get in and get set up in about a week. We could only do this so quickly because my in-laws came down (bringing a few more things with them that my parents had been storing) and they helped watch Caleb and run errands so that we could get all set up. Also, they brought their van, so when we found a couch for $60 at the thrift store DAV (Disables American Veterans), we could use their van to bring it home. This is the first actual couch (rather than a futon) that we have owned in our marriage-- and it only cost us $60, pretty sweet! We loved having Patrick's parents here and I think they had a good time being here and seeing the sights, but we are also looking forward to settling into our bedrooms and into our own routine. We miss those we love back in Utah, but in general, life is sweet and we are happy.

Goodbye, Daniel and Michelle and your family

Goodbye, Libby and your family

Goodbye, Brother Brigham and all things offered by your university.

Hello, Mr. Jefferson and your beautiful capital

Hello, Grandpa, and thanks for coming to help us

Hello, Grandma, and thanks for carrying couches, assembling bookshelves, making meals, and everything else you've done.

Happiness Is . . .

Anniversaries

This year, during this last week, we celebrated three years of marriage. I know people often post sweet, romantic things about their spouses on their blogs for their anniversaries, but as my husband doesn't do the blog thing and I write these entries more for my grandma and any other interested parties, I will just say I love my husband and I'm grateful to be married to him. He's a wonderful husband and father.

Also, it was fun reflecting on our last three years together. In retrospect, I thought, the first year was fun and so, so happy, but it was also a little crazy because we were still getting to know each other and we were learning how to live with each other on the most basic level, dealing with issues like how to squeeze the toothpaste out and who does the dishes. The second year was even more fun than the first I think and a lot of the really basic issues had been dealt with, so the big thing to face was pregnancy since we found out in December that we were expecting. And the third year has been a year of change-- I graduated just before our second anniversary, Caleb was born, Patrick graduated, and he decided to go to law school all in this last year of marriage. In some ways all that change has been hard because it's involved a lot of adapting, but it's also been so exciting! This next year will involve major change as well, but we say, "Bring it on!" To celebrate this anniversary, we had a nice morning going out to breakfast and a nice evening pan-searing some stakes we'd bought on sale awhile ago and eating brownies and ice cream.

Patrick's Birthday

Patrick celebrated his birthday this last week. I made him breakfast of bacon, sausage, and toast, and then he opened his presents. I think he was pretty excited and really grateful for the gifts he got this year. The strangest gift? My mom got him a "cat-a-pult" which is a little gun that shoots out these plastic cats. The animal issue is a funny joke between my mom (an animal lover) and Patrick (a walking allergy). Patrick probably wouldn't dislike cats if he weren't so allergic to them, but as it stands the "cat-a-pult" was pretty funny.

Patrick had to go to work for the day, but mostly it wasn't a hard day there so he could read the comic book I got him (Get Fuzzy) and mess around with the GPS my parents got him. Then when he came home we had got pizza for dinner--pepperoni/meatlovers pizza is Patrick's favorite food--from Pizza Hut, and then had cake and ice cream with friends in the evening. We called this his Quarter-of-a-Century Party. After the cake and ice cream, we headed over to the park and played baseball and then a bunch of kids that were there ended up playing a very non-competitive game of volleyball with us.

It was so nice to spend this time with our friends. Here is the story with our friends. One set, that we spend the most time with and we have the most connections to, is headed to Michigan for a master's in social work. Another set that we made and love from our first married ward is headed to Flagstaff, Arizona for physical therapy school. Another set that we're friends with because the wife and I grew up together in Wisconsin will be staying here in Utah and have plans to eventually move to Texas possibly. Another set that we're friends with because Patrick grew up with the wife in Wisconsin is headed to Oregon for chiropractic school. Two other sets that couldn't come to the party will probably always live in Utah as far as we can tell. So our friends will be all around the country. It is a strange but interesting stage of life to be in with many of our friends starting families and moving onto graduate school and jobs.

An Eight-Month-Old Baby

He's almost nine months now, but I would say this is my favorite stage with him so far. He's doing so much--crawling, making noises like "mama" and "dada," starting to pull himself up, etc.-- and for the first time I'm not in a hurry for him to do something else. I think in the past there was always something: I wanted him to smile at me, then I wanted him to laugh at me, then I wanted him to sit up, then I wanted him to roll over, then I wanted him to crawl. I don't think I worried about it too much but it was there in my head that I wanted him to do these things. And now I'm not in a hurry for him to do more. Of course I want him to do stuff when he's ready, but I'm not stressing about it. He's so interactive and interesting now without doing anything more. Also, yesterday, for the first time we spotted a tooth. Not only that, but these last three nights he's slept through the night. It came after two nights of getting up, checking on him, and then letting him cry himself to sleep. The first night he was out after fifteen minutes or so and the second night it took less than ten. This morning he seemed to wake up at 5:30, but after I went to the bathroom he'd already gone back to sleep. So he's figured out this going back to sleep thing, and that is another victory in our lives.

He definitely has a preference for his parents, and Patrick and I are both enjoying that. He still likes other people, but he comes to me and looks for me. I think that Patrick and Caleb are especially building a good relationship now. Patrick has always played with him and interacted with him, but he just really seems to be having more fun lately. Both of us are constantly amazed by the changes Caleb's going through and we are loving being a part of his life.

Finding Housing and Making Friends

Yes, that's right, we've found a place to stay in Virginia. Patrick contacted two of the LDS students in law school at William & Mary to ask them questions. One of them recommended three places that students frequently live and we contacted the management of the cheapest place. I think that they actually got us an apartment in a different, possibly older, complex than the one this student recommended (as they are differentiated by roman numerals I and II), but the two bedroom is cheaper at the I, so we are satisfied with it already. We were concerned about the price because it is so much more expensive than anything we've had to pay for here, but one of the students assured Patrick that it's pretty average. There are more expensive places right next to campus and there are cheaper places in the more ghetto areas (where he didn't recommend that we live). So we already have these two connections and we have a place to stay. We still have to fill out paperwork and make a deposit, but we've talked to a woman in the office and we're feeling pretty satisfied with this option. You may wonder when we can move in: August 1. So we are headed out of sweet old Provo come the end of July.

Our Darling, Growing Child

So lately we have been experiencing a "stage" or something. It has involved a lot more fussiness. (This has not been helped by the diet I've been feeding him which has included a lot of bananas, rice, and applesauce, which apparently can be hard on the digestive system. This fussiness is exhausting! Our usually-happy boy demands way more attention and often isn't even that content when we're paying very close attention to him. Is it teething? That's what some people suggest, but we can't find the trace of a tooth yet, so I don't think so. Some people have also suggested that he's reaching a clingy stage where he mostly just wants his mom. I have tried my best to minimize the clingy stages by allowing many people to hand him (which has been a good attitude for a Beehive teacher since twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls are more baby hungry than a newlywed woman), but it may be true because sometimes he has been fussy for other people and calmed down when they handed him back to me. But he is also often fussy for me. Anyway, the real point of this entry is not actually to complain. It's to count our blessings because while we are pulling our hair out a bit, we have lots of fun times with him too because our baby is continuing to grow and develop and learn new things. Therefore, we here present the latest pictures and achievements of our sweet boy.

This is an attempt to capture what we think looks like red hair sometimes. Mostly though it's blond, except when wet and then it's brown.

This is how Dad and Caleb help me put away laundry.

Here is Caleb sitting up on his own.

Here is Caleb with his fan club (two of my Beehive girls). They're teaching him to play the piano.

This is Caleb watching General Conference on Saturday with Aunt Mickie.

Caleb waving. Caleb and Dad are watching General Conference together at Aunt Mickie's house.

This is General Conference on Sunday. We had to listen to it on the radio. In some ways that didn't work too well.

This is Caleb testing out more foods. He's gnawing on a red bell pepper and holding a cucumber. He looks very thoughtful.

Monday night before Easter, we got together with our friends Jay and Libby and their baby (who is just a day older than Caleb) to dye eggs at their place.

This is one of our eggs. Caleb got worn out by all the fun.

Dad and Caleb chilling on the floor.

Caleb dressed for Easter. (Fortunately you can't really tell in this picture that the pants (on this 12 month outfit) are way too long on him.)

Mom and Caleb on Easter.

We watched a lot of movies for about a week there and Caleb often fell asleep during them. This is one of those times. Patrick thought he had the coolest expression. (And I am deliberately sticking my tongue out for the picture, by the way.)

Mostly, he's just darling and we love him and we realize "this too shall pass." We just have to remember the smiles on the days when there are not a lot of them.

And finally, the latest development -- crawling! (sort of)