Utah! - USC Friends

Don't you love college friends?!!  Friends you make in college are such special friends; you are both in a similar period of life and experiencing new things.
We met Lauren for lunch at Zupas while we were in town.  Lauren was my secretary in the Relief Society and all-around fun girl.  She just graduated and moved home after putting in a grueling year as ward activities person - the busiest calling in the world.  We didn't get to hang out long, but it was so great to see her!  If anything, it reminded me that even if we were to return to USC, all our good friends like her are on their way out, as well.  Life keeps moving.  Lauren just graduated in Cello Performance for USC so you know that she's awesome.  She's been accepted to a bunch of grad schools but is still deciding where to go.

Ashley and NH were some of our best "couple" friends at USC.  NH got a job out in Utah so they left LA and moved just a week or so before we did.  Ashley was just barely pregnant at the time; when I came to Utah I really wanted to get together so that I could see cute baby Mason!  He's a very sweet, very good baby and I was so happy to hold and snuggle him.  It's too bad that he's wrapped up in Willa's pink swaddle-wrap for the photo because he had the cutest little outfit and shoes on when he arrived.
Willa's got the funniest face in this photo!  I think she was in the middle of blowing a raspberry, which she is especially proficient in these days!

Me and Mason - look at my new haircut, fancy eh?  It was the best haircut of my life!!  There is a new method for cutting curly hair; I thought I would try it out because I wanted to go shorter and nothing can be worse than what I was already getting (as far as short haircuts).  It was amazing, took 2 1/2 hours, and was the best money ever spent on a haircut.  If anyone reading this blog has curly hair and wants more info, email me.

Before Ashley moved, a few of us got together to throw her a small surprise baby shower in Los Angeles.  We wanted to invite more people, but in the end just decided it was better to keep it very small.
Here we all are!  Willa was only 3-4 weeks old and I left her home with Ryan.  Can you see the Madonna Inn goblets?  So fancy!

Since it was too early to know the sex of the baby, we pooled our monies and got Ashley a sweet designer diaper bag.

We also tied her a little quilt that now has many imperfections because we are not good tie-ers.  It's minky on one side and silky on the other.  I went to the garment district downtown to get the fabric, which ended up being a bit of an event for me so soon post-partum.  It was slippery to sew the two fabric types together and Ryan was impressed with the domesticity and look of concentration on my face as I tried to sew and take out pins one by one.

Myka made a guess the gender cake; half of the cake is blue and half is pink, but you can't tell which half because it's all frosted.  The side you cut into tells whether you will have a boy or girl.  Didn't work this time since Ashley had a boy, but I hear it's 50% accurate.

I'm so glad that we got to do that for Ashley before she left!  Now she has sweet little Mason and is the best mama on the planet except for one thing - Ashley doesn't have a kiddopotamus swaddle wrap!!!!  Or, maybe that makes her a good mom, but me a bad friend?  We wrapped him up in Willa's and it seemed to soothe him and calm him a bit.  You can guess what she's getting in the mail from me.  Kiddopotamus swaddle wraps - friends don't let friends have babies without them.  It was so good to see Ashley with Mason and realize that we are both moms now.  We definitely missed our other good friends and hope that we can all see each other soon!

Utah! - Ryan's family

We got to visit Willa's Great Grandpa Daniels, the original C.R. Daniels! He looked as good as ever and informed us that he had mowed the lawn that morning. This is only interesting because he is 91. When we visited him last December, he got on the floor to play with Willa.

Even though she was hungry and exhausted, Willa let him hold her and gave him a few smiles.

We luckily avoided contagion on the flight to Utah and so we were able to go visit Uncle Robert in the hospital! He looked good, but still isn't feeling up to too much activity. He decided to help Willa do some sit-ups so he could vicariously exercise through her. It was fun to see Carey too, it's the first time we've seen them since the wedding and it looks like wedded life is going well (except of course for the whole cancer thing). We are so glad to have Carey in the family now!

This is kind of a scary picture; I was going to take the red-eye out, but decided that the effect was better with it in. Robbie says he feels like a zombie these days, so here is a photo where he actually looks like one, too!

That pink butterfly is Willa's favorite toy. When I bring it out she LUNGES for it! She loves it, but also gets very frustrated with it when she's trying to eat it. I'm not sure what kind of disagreements she and the butterfly have but they involve lots of guttural sounds, a few sad sighs, and violent flapping of arms.

Utah! - Cackling Aunts

My mom and aunts go out to lunch every couple of weeks.  This is the McCall side of the family (Willa's middle name and my mom's maiden name) and these ladies have something we affectionately call the "McCall Cackle".  It's a high-pitched, twirling, shrieking, cackley laugh and it has been known to make babies cry when heard in loud doses.  They planned a luncheon while we were in town so that we could join in on the cackling fun. Willa did well and did not cry!  Maybe it's a sign of maturity.

Lunch at Nordstroms (I only mention that because you can see the clothes in the background)

 At the table:

Had to add in this cute photo of Presley holding Willa.  Presley is a very attentive and fun cousin for Willa!

It was good to see everyone, as usual; we can't wait until next time!

Utah! - New Houses

We are back from Utah!  It was a great trip but we are happy to be back home with Ryan.  I know that Willa missed him because she actually recognized and remembered him!  We spent most of our time visiting family and friends.  This post is the "New Houses" post because my sister Carrie and brother Chris both had new houses for me to see!

Carrie's new house: Easton is in the foreground goofing off.

Carrie and her husband are building a wake park in Utah!  A wake park is basically where you can wakeboard being pulled by a pulley-system without a boat.  It's good for learning and also for perfecting wakeboarding skills.  I think it's going to be really successful; it will be the first one in Utah and I think there is a big market for it.  In the wintertime they can convert it to use with snowboards on a course.  They decided to move because they wanted to be closer to where the wake park will be built (it should be open by the end of June or early July).

Carrie is always able to get sweet deals on things, this house is no exception.  She somehow became friends with whomever holds the mortgage on their old house and she got them to switch the exact same mortgage to this new house.  The new house is bigger, nicer, and sits right on the lake with an amazing view!  Their old house was nice, but this house was so beautiful inside and out.  I told Carrie that in a few years when Ryan and I scrape enough money together to buy a tar-paper shack with a dirt floor our kids will love going to their rich cousins' mansion by the lake for cousin sleepovers!

View from the back, don't you love this?  We just wanted to get a lawn chair and sit there for hours; patio furniture is now high on Carrie's want list.

Hanks cousins out front:

This was the best photo we could get, the boys have found a garter snake and it is too interesting!  Talia is getting a closed-mouth smile these days since my dad has made her a brace-face.  We tell her that having braces in junior high is far less embarrassing than having them in high school or beyond.

Look at little Presley-bug.  She is almost four years old and so cute.  She calls her dad Dardy, which is a combination of Daddy and Darcy; she told us at dinner that, "Dardy is my best friend, ever!" Carrie said that another time she asked Carrie if she would be the worker so that Dardy could stay home and play with her.

Chris's house:

Unfortunately, I didn't get an outside shot of Chris and Linsdey's new house.  It's very nice and they moved in secretly in December, but didn't tell anyone about it until Christmas Day!  Chris likes projects and so he has been redoing things room by room.  I think this room is finished (for today).

Here is one of the front rooms.  He framed the room, added the coffered ceiling, the wood paneling around the bottom (I forget what that is called), reframed the windows, and probably more.  He's got the touch.

I love the neighborhood that this house is in.  The homes are all settled-into and it just feels homey; a creek runs by about 100 yards from the house and you can hear it when you have the windows open.  It's so peaceful!

Chris is also the baby whisperer in the family.  I'm not sure if it's because he's the oldest of seven, or if he's just a gentle giant, but Chris is so good with babies and he loves them.  He reaches for whatever baby is in the room and keeps them completely calm and happy whenever he holds them.

Traveling

Second try with rice cereal - don't be fooled by the adorable smile, this stuff is disgusting!
We're visiting Utah for the week; traveling on a plane with a baby is not as fun as everyone makes it out to be. In fact, it was hardly fun at all! She was good and didn't cry, but she refused to nap so it was a loooong trip - a timeless tale experienced by most parents, I think.

Attempt at oatmeal at my parents' house. Just as disgusting as rice cereal.

Four Years

Okay, can't figure out how to rotate this picture.  Nevertheless, today is our four year wedding anniversary!  Look at those young, innocent faces.

Seven Months

Willa is seven months old today!  She sure learned a lot of new tricks during this last month.
Sitting up all by herself like a big girl!  Though, full disclosure - she's still a little wobbly at times and fell over right after I took this picture.  Don't you love her hair when she just wakes up?

Posing with the Giraffe - it's still a love/hate relationship.  I love the giraffe, she hates it.  I wanted to get a cute shot of her with her arm around it, but it didn't quite work.

Little balancing help from dad:

ATTACK!!!  More hair is yanked out and the giraffe's pate is becoming more visible:

 Happy bed head after nap today!

Grabbing her toes:

I don't have a picture, but I took her swimming yesterday and we tried getting in the water gradually.  She did a lot better and no crying!  We spent probably an hour in the pool and she even let me float her on her back - definite sign of waterfeel.  I was supporting her while she was on her back, but she relaxed enough to lay there, which is more than I can say for a lot of kids.  We'll have to do it regularly with her so she doesn't get scared.

For those who don't know, Ryan and Peter used to swim at the USC pool during their lunch break all through law school.  One time, a fellow law student from China came with them.  After, he told Peter that he had "waterfeel", which we assume means that Peter is a good swimmer or has some sort of mystical connection to the water.  Maybe he'll lead us through the post-apocalyptic Waterworld?  And that is where the term waterfeel came from.  Look for it in the OED next year.

Here are a few other things that Willa has started doing.  She LOVES to watch Elmo on Youtube:

Enjoying the jumper a little more.  I think the day of headbands is over, I just can't make them look cute on her.

Willa has also reached a milestone with her unswaddling.  She finally understands that it's bedtime even though she isn't swaddled and so she has stopped (for the most part) crying to much when we put her down.   Sometimes we still use the swaddle for naps, because she sometimes just likes to play instead of sleep.   Let me illustrate a naptime from previously this week.  I put her down for a nap - she had been up for several hours and was obviously tired.  No sleeping, no crying  - I went in 20 minutes later to put the pacifier back in her mouth.  I went back in 25 minutes later. She was still awake and laying there quietly playing with her toes!   As soon as I came in, she started laughing and smiling.  She was so smiley and cute!  I decided to put her in the swaddle instead and she was asleep in less than a minute!  She's just funny like that; she rarely cries in the morning.  I just keep checking the baby monitor to see if she is awake and usually she is in there sucking on her pacifier and just waiting for me to come and get her.  She has her moments, but overall is such a good baby.

She is a very restless sleeper.  When I go in to get her in the morning she's upside down, on her stomach, and sucking a different pacifier than the one I put her to bed with.  I try to keep several pacifiers scattered in the crib so that she can grab one easily.  Once in a while I'll hear her make some noise in the middle of the night.  When I go to check, she is sleepily fumbling a pacifier but as soon as I put it in her mouth she goes right back to sleep.

Willa likes books for reading and not just eating!  She has stopped grabbing the pages when I try to read to her and she starts smiling at specific books.

Here is what we got Willa for her seven month birthday! A high chair!  We tried giving her some rice cereal tonight.  She liked eating from the spoon but got a really nasty look on her face when she tasted the cereal.  I don't blame her, if that stuff tastes even remotely like what it smells like then it must be pretty disgusting.   Note to self: feed baby before bath next time.

At the doctor's this week Willa was 17 lbs. 7 oz., almost three times the size of her at birth!  She's in the 50th percentile for height and weight and 25th still for head.  She still sleeps 11+ hours at night and takes two naps and sometimes a third catnap.  She struggles taking long naps and likes to get out and play after a 40 minute snooze, but she is learning to go back to sleep since mommy has stopped coming in to get her.  Her favorite book is Mirror Me and her second favorite is Brown Bear Brown Bear.  She notices if mom is gone and will hold a grudge against dad and not smile at him for several days if he is the one watching her and especially if he tries to feed her a bottle.

Are you bored reading yet?  I think that's about it.  We sure love our Willa!

Look Ma, No Hands!

Willa is finally sitting up on her own! She's not too steady and can't stay there for long, but she is doing it. We went in for her check-up this week and found out she is in the 50th percentile for height and weight - perfectly average, we want her blending in with her peers. Also, for inquiring minds - she is not cross-eyed. The doctor said it's an illusion that happens with babies when there isn't a lot of white in their eye. It looks like the eye is rolling inward, but really it is just rolling under the skin. If that makes sense, Peter.

In other news, I finished teaching and collected the final exam essay from my students. I was going to post some pictures of the college but I keep forgetting to bring my camera. I'm not going to make any comments, but if you would like to hear more particular details you can phone me or write me a private email. I had fun teaching, as much fun as teaching freshmen writing can be since it's not the most intriguing of subjects. It's good to be done and to have a break, I'm going to be teaching two sections of the course in the fall.

Baby Shower!

I thought the other day that maybe I would post some pictures from my baby shower.  It's a little late, but it was such an amazing shower that I wanted to share about it.

First of all, I am so grateful for Ryan's family.  I have been so blessed to have the greatest, most loving in-laws.  His parents, siblings, and their spouses are all so loving and so much fun.  You always hear horror stories, but I just always feel so lucky and happy that I married into such a great family and I love them so much.

Ryan's sister Shannon lives in Los Angeles and it was so great to live close to her family while we were out there.  His sister Rebecca lives in Las Vegas, which was close enough so that we got to see them frequently also. We miss them so much now that we have moved; being far from them and their families is probably the saddest part about moving for us.  Rebecca and Shannon threw me the most amazing baby shower, it took my breath away and I couldn't stop talking to Ryan about it for weeks!

Shannon and me - isn't she beautiful?

Me and Rebecca - also extremely beautiful

Shannon and Rebecca are even prettier on the INSIDE, as you will see by the most amazing shower that they threw me.  Have you noticed that I keep saying that this shower was amazing?!  Still, I can't stop talking about it even now!

The shower was high tea at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Shannon said that the Peninsula is famous for their high tea, and it did not disappoint.  We found out a week later from People Magazine that John Travolta's wife had high tea at the Peninsula for her baby shower!!  So thrilling!  When we pulled up to the hotel, the valets opened all the doors and asked if we were there for Cathryn's baby shower :).  Such service!

The Gardenia Room:  Amazing, right?!

Party favors: bath teas in a little box that says "A Baby is Brewing" also, little cookies in the shape of teapots

Everyone had to decorate a piece of scrapbook paper, then Shannon took photos of me with each guest and made a scrapbook out of it!  I love the book, especially now that we have moved away from all our dear friends.

The food: each person had a little teapot that was wrapped in a cozy and there were trays of the most delicious scones and finger foods.

A table of good friends!  I think the most exciting part of the entire afternoon for them was that they ran into Harvey Levin in the lobby as they were leaving.  Harvey Levin does TMZ and is also the guy after the court shows who talks to the people after the verdict.  Seeing a real celebrity after all the specialness of the tea party was the perfect ending!

My mom, sisters Carrie and Camille, and my Aunt Debbie and cousin Kephren all flew out for the shower.  I was so glad that they could be there for it!  My mom and two sisters stayed in our tiny apartment with us and so it was basically wall-to-wall bodies in there.  Kephren and Debbie stayed at the Marriott downtown at LA Live.  The best was that the Emmys were the next day and we could see the red carpet from their hotel pool!  We ate hotel food and looked for celebrities all afternoon.  It would have been more exciting if a few people hadn't forgotten to pack their binoculars, cough cough.  It was the perfect "LA" experience.  Also, there were lots of laughs of Cami and Kephren going CRAZY at LA Ink, having fun at the Santa Monica pier, and visiting Grauman's Chinese Theater to find Michael Jackson's star.

Two last photos of me opening presents.

As you can see, the shower was amazing, out of this world, and perfect.  Every tiny detail was perfect and amazing.  Shannon is the consummate party planner.  The tables had centerpieces made out of diapers and it wasn't until I got home that I saw the tiny pink ribbon that was tied around each diaper.  Seriously, I kept noticing additional details for weeks after the shower!  It was so thoughtful and wonderful.  I felt so loved and it meant so much that Shannon and Rebecca would do that for me.  We played a couple of games, ate delicious food, and had such a great time!  I think it was a treat for everyone to attend - most of us were poor students and it was fun to get the royal treatment for the day.  Thanks Shannon and Rebecca!  The only thing that could have made the day better was if Ryan's mom and my other sisters-in-law could have been there.