2008 Winding Down

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Caleb playing Santa.

This is the way he dresses when we go walking in the cold and he can sit in the stroller (meaning there isn't snow all over the roads and sidewalks).

This is one of the first times he held onto something. I was brushing it into his face, making not-very-ferocious roaring noises and he grabbed on and (of course) tried to eat it.

This is one of the first times he didn't get massively upset to be on his stomach and, in fact, looked very peaceful and pleasant.

This is after one-too-many pictures, I guess.

These are our walking buddies Libby and her munchkin (known fondly as "the Frog"). Libby and her husband introduced us to the game Arkham Horror (which Patrick bought with his Christmas money).

This is when Mom discovered a hat that Grandma Taylor gave us and thought it would be good for a photo shoot. It would have worked better if I'd moved the blanket-- this is a hat that can definitely stand on its own.

Our son is already a better citizen than we are: he's keeping up on the news. (Actually, Patrick does a pretty good job in this area; I could use some improvement -- ah hem new year's resolution #1.)

This is a sleeper from Grandma Billie.

This is how we bundle up to go walking when I carry him. Believe me, we stay pretty warm.

I really just love this picture. He looks so curious.

Our very own "Santa baby."

Intently opening his present from his great-grandma Billie on Christmas morning.

And here they are for his playing pleasure. I love them and he loves some of them now and will love the rest very soon, I think.

After my first year of blogging, I just want to say that we've had a good year and been very blessed. Two graduations and a baby -- really, we couldn't have asked for more. And 2009 is looking very hopeful and exciting too. Huzzah for living!

This Delightful Weekend

So, this weekend I graduated from BYU with a degree in English language (think of it as linguistics with an English emphasis) and a minor in editing. I also achieved honors through the honors program by completing honors classes; completing the Great Works requirements by watching certain movies, reading certain books, attending certain plays, viewing different art exhibits, and attending certain music concerts; completing the honors portfolio by writing about these experiences and my overall educational experience; maintaining a certain GPA; and completing an honors thesis. I never really doubted that I would graduate from college, although graduating with honors was a little questionable at times; that means that the really most wonderful thing about this weekend was having family in town. And we really had a lot of fun.

Above is me at the honors luncheon, crossing the stage and shaking hands with Dr. Madison Sowell, the director of the Honors Program. I also received a fancy medal that everyone "oohed" and "awed" over, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it now. Dr. Sowell had put the medal around my neck just before this picture and he whispered, "missed the glasses" because he'd managed not to get it hooked on my glasses, but I thought he'd said "missed the classes" and for a second I was pretty confused. Oh well!

Above is my massive pile of theses, compiling these at the last minute turned out to be an ordeal (which you can read about in a previous entry). They looked a lot bigger individually before they were bound.

Here is my thesis advisor: Mel Thorne. He heads the editing program at BYU. (This picture also gives you a glimpse of my growing belly.)

Here are the members of my supporting cast who attended the honors luncheon: Aunt Pattie, Patrick, Dad, and Mom. Poor Dad is cut off by me. But they all look good anyway. Below is Pattie again as well as Aunt Jennifer who came into town to watch l'il ol' me traipse across that stage. She was also in town when I was born 22 years ago, so she's been around for some pretty important events in my life.

You can see me in my cap and gown here. I forgot clips to hold the cap on, I couldn't figure out how to attach the stupid collar and when it was attached my hair got stuck on it, and my zipper malfunctioned on the second day. What a hassle! Anyway, below is me and Patrick. I have to post this because I can only get him to be in pictures with a pleasant smile on his face when there are big events going on, so it could be awhile before we get another one like this.

The picture below requires a definite explanation. So I got a video camera for a graduation present from my parents, partially to capture our cute little rugrat when he's born. Patrick experimented with it quite a lot. Here we are at dinner at the Marriott Jennifer was staying at and Patrick is recording the inside of his mouth while looking at the viewfinder; he's trying to see if his wisdom teeth are growing in. Very classy!

Below is my friend Christine. I have known her since she moved in when I was in eighth grade (I think that's right). She is graduating and moving out of the state to go work for an up-and-coming company who sought her out because she's brilliant and great. I'll miss her, but I'm glad we got to celebrate our big day together-- lucky for me she sped along and got out a year early.

These are my parents. I like this picture because this is how they look when they're happy-- they're very genuine smiles; probably, Patrick said something funny to help encourage them to be so natural. Anyway, I'm so grateful they came out and spent the weekend with us.

Finally, me and Patrick again. He's holding my arms back so you can see my belly. So, yeah, apparently there's a baby in there. Pretty crazy!

There's more to say about everything that happened this weekend, but I thought the pictures would be a nice touch and I don't want to bore you with the details right now . . . we'll save that for later.

Waiting

For the last several days Patrick, Pattie, and Bethany have all been gone to Grandma Taylor's funeral. Without any housemates I've had to learn how to entertain myself again. I went for a walk by myself on the Friday that Patrick decided he would go before he had made the decision and I remembered how much I enjoyed keeping myself company when I was a kid. I could go in my room for hours and read or write or play house with my dolls or reorganize my room (even when it was pretty much the size of a cubby) or I could go outside and pretend I was a princess in a castle or jump on the trampoline. I spent a lot of time thinking when I was a kid too.

For the last four years, however, I haven't really gotten a lot of chances to entertain myself. There were always people within a few feet of me--inside or outside. During my freshman and sophomore years I lived with five other girls and during my junior and senior years I've lived with Patrick. This is the first time in nearly two years that we've been separated for any length of time and it was only three days. In any case, my imagination is still somewhat in tact because the first day he was gone I imagined horrible things happening and that he was never coming back. I also imagined horrible things happening to me whenever I heard an unexpected noise. The rest of the weekend was okay, but that first day I cried a ridiculous amount (something I am blaming on pregnancy hormones). Fortunately, he'll be home in the next couple hours (he just landed in Salt Lake)--yay!

While Patrick was gone, his mom's sister Roxy sent me three packages, two with movies and one with a puzzle. That was appropriate and extremely helpful because I did watch several movies, though I'm not going to admit to how many. I was so touched that she thought of me and did that for me. Besides movies, I also tried to keep busy by making plans. On Wednesday night, the teenage girls at church had an activity that I attend every week because I teach the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds. On Thursday, I visited Pattie's mother-in-law who lives around the corner; when I asked if I could stop by if I wanted company, she said she would be hurt if I didn't. She's very nice and it was a pleasant visit. In the evening, I planned to hang out with some girls from Wisconsin. Two of them couldn't make it, but one of them did so we ate ice cream and cookies and talked. On Friday, I attended a rock, paper, scissors competition with our good friends Dan and Michelle and then came home and watched movies and scrapbooked. On Saturday, I went to the Ballroom Dance performance on campus with two friends. I was disappointed that it was so many of the same numbers as last year, but I guess that's just practical. I did also make progress on my school work over the weekend, though it wasn't as much as it should have/could have been.

This next week is a busy one. Monday and Tuesday are our last days of class; Wednesday and Thursday are reading days; and Friday and Saturday are exams which go into next week for some people as well. Besides school, two of my professors are hosting parties this week (one on Monday and one on Thursday) which we are going to attend and then we are having the ultrasound on Friday. Yes, we are going to find out the gender if we can. Unlike the previous generation, we tend to think "why not do it?" rather than "why do it?" After all, we still have four months to anticipate actually having a baby. Our thought is that it's a boy, but we're not that committed to that feeling and won't be surprised if it turns out we're wrong. We don't care either way; we just hope he or she is healthy.

The week after that, we have some things we need to do in the beginning of the week and in the latter half of the week my mom and dad and my aunt Jennifer are coming for my graduation. I'm so excited to see them all!

Soon after they leave, Patrick will be starting spring term. He's decided to go through spring and summer so he can graduate in December. It seems pretty intense to me, but he feels good about it, so that's what he's going to do and we'll make it work. And then . . . back to Wisconsin whenever the opportunity arises.

Well, perhaps I'll take a walk and stop blabbering on. That's all for now!