My...not so quite... Dream Man

When I was in High School I wrote in my journal that my dream man would be a mix between Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird,

Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice,

and a character name Ari Ben Canaan from Exodus.

As my Dad put it, I was a "hopeful" romantic to the point of being absurd. When we were dating I told Jon about my "dream man" and consequently he watched all the videos (the books were too long :) to "study" up on gentlemanly attributes! He must have studied hard because he passed my test.

Well last night I was telling Jon that I took this quiz on Facebook to find out what Jane Austen character I am most like and that I am Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. He responded most enthusiastically with... "That's great because I'm Mr. Darcy,


Atticus Finch



and... um.. what's his name... Osama Bin Laden?"



Aggg! No way!
Sorry Jon but that's not quite my dream man.

A Week Of Firsts

1) Asher slept through the night for the first time! The crying thing worked. The first night he cried for 40 min, the second night only about 20 min and then the next night he only woke up once at 5:30 AM! Yippee!

2) Anna ran her first marathon! It was the SLC marathon, they started at the Gateway and ran up to the U of U and all the way down to 6200 South! She is crazy, but then again I HATE to run (unless I am angry). She took first place in her age group for girls and second in her age group for both boys and girls! She was way too peppy at the end for a girl who just ran 26 miles! We are proud of you Anna!

3) Asher got his first hair cut! His hair was getting so long and he was starting to get a mullet in the back so we decided to give it a trim. We just used the hair clippers, but it is hard to cut a baby's hair. First of all they won't sit still and second we didn't quite know what size of clipper to use. It didn't turn out too bad, but I'm sure we'll get better at it. And as my friend told me on Sunday "The difference between a bad hair cut and a good hair cut is two weeks" and at the rate his hair grows I am sure I'll get lots of practice!

Before

After

4) At his four month apt. last week Asher weighed 15lbs 10 oz and is 27.5 inches long! He is in the 98th percentile for height! The pediatrician told us we should start investing in a basketball hoop!

The Top Ten things I Couldn't Live Without

I have several friends who are going to be first time moms in the next few months and so I thought I'd make a list of the top 10 things I've found that I couldn't live without as a mother. (#1 is the least essential most essential thing, and #10 is the most essential essential thing)

1) Boppy Pillow

This was a life saver for the first few months of breastfeeding. It is hard enough to try to figure out how to hold the baby and get then trying to everything adjusted is impossible. This pillow REALLY helped. I would say that any mother planning to breastfeed should get one of these, especially if it is your first time.

2) Crib Mobile

Asher's Grandma Farrell gave this to him for Christmas and he loves it! I was really skeptical about mobiles. I thought they were just to make the crib look cute and for parents to look at. I was so surprised that he likes it so much. He gets really excited when I turn it on and flaps his arms and smiles. It will entertain him just long enough for me to get a load of laundry in or to go to the bathroom-- oh the joys of motherhood!


3) Shout Spray and Wash

When I was single I NEVER had to use this stuff. But now with two boys in the house I think I am going to have to start buying cases of it at COSCO! Between Jon's greasy messes (from working on cars, bikes, in the chemistry lab, and who knows what else) and Asher's poopy messes I've been very grateful for it. I hate washing out poopy clothes and usually just wait to treat it with this stuff and wash it two or three times if I have to (not very environmentally friendly- I know).

4) Medela Hand-held Breast Pump

This is great and very handy. What more can I say. I'm sure electric ones are nice too but I didn't have the money for one. This works really well and only takes about 10 min to do both sides. So if you are looking for a less expensive pump I recommend this one.

5) This crazy rattle

I got this at a baby shower and can't remember who gave it to me (so thank you who ever you are). I thought it looked weird and didn't really like it, but it is Asher's FAVORITE! Whoever designed it knew what babies like-- it has a big ball for easy sucking, different rings of texture to chew and slobber on and rings to shake to make noise. It is great!

6) Pacifier

I am SO grateful that Asher will still take his pacifier (even though sometimes we have to trick him and dip it in water to get him to suck on it). It is the only way he will fall asleep (okay not the ONLY way, but the easiest and least noisy way. I know that some people don't like pacifiers and that sometimes they can teach baby bad sucking patterns, but it has been a life saver for me. We really like the MAM brand.

7) Bouncy chair

This is another thing I was skeptical about getting - I thought it would just take up room in our house- but it has been a necessity! Asher thinks this chair is the greatest thing since getting his diaper changed. He learned at a really little age that if he kicks both his feet he can make it bouncy crazy hard. I usually put him in it while we eat breakfast or dinner and it is cute to watch him kick and kick to get himself going. (PS. Asher is wearing Jon's socks in this picture-- Asher's socks are always falling off so this was Jon's solution :)

8) Fleece swaddling blanket

Asher is a little Houdini baby. He can get his arms out of almost any swaddle that you put him in-- except in this blanket. This is just a piece of stretch fleece that someone surged the edge on. But the best part is that you can stretch it and make it super tight around him so that he can't get his arms up and punch himself in the face with them. We've found that if we swaddle him tight up in this blanket, put a pacifier in his mouth and then wrap a fuzzy blanket around his face to keep the pacifier from falling out he will fall asleep by himself. That is the BEST thing he has learned to do so far!

9) Moby wrap

When I was pregnant I saw a lady wearing one of these with her four-month-old at a BYU football game. I went up and asked her how it worked and where she got one. She had made it and told me it was really simple to make. It is! It is just one long piece of material (4 yards of stretchy cotton material that is 22 inches wide). Mine has a seam in the middle because 1) my material was only 2 yds long and I cut it in half 2) it makes it easier to find the center. This is the BEST sling! Especially for little babies. It keeps them snug and warm and they can fall asleep in it pretty easy. We've been putting Asher in it since he was a week old and he loves it. It is great for taking him to church in because he will fall asleep in it for about 2 hours. Here are instructions of how to put it on and ways to wear your baby in it.

10) Jon

Sorry ladies but I have to one and only, and he isn't for sale. This beautiful boy has been WONDERFUL with Asher and is enthusiastic about changing diapers, cleaning up spit up, doing laundry and getting up in the middle of the night (even when he has to be to work early). He is always wanting to hold, carry, play with and snuggle Asher. He especially loves carrying him around in the moby wrap- he says he likes the attention he gets and feels that it gives him more empathy for what it must feel like to be pregnant! Yep--basically I got the dream man.

What have you found is a MUST HAVE for new moms (or "old" moms)?

Can you guess who this baby is?

I'll give you a hint:

Germany

World War II

Yesterday was his birthday (I only know this because it is the same day as one of my good friends).

It is Adolf Hitler as a baby.

I was so taken back when I saw this picture-- because he looks SO cute. At this point in his life he could have been just like Asher. He was pure, innocent and had all the potential for good. You'd never guess by looking at this picture that this baby would turn out to me one of the most evil and twisted men in the 20th century.

I've been AMAZED that since I had my own baby, I have felt a huge amount of love for all babies and children. I feel like I have been given such a great gift of love for all of God's children. I find myself looking at adults I meet on the street and imagining them as babies. I imagine some woman holding and loving them, I imagine her looking down at them as they smile and laugh for the first time, I imagine her singing them lullabies, and I wonder if she would be proud of the adult they have grown to be.

This way of thinking has really changed my perspective on life. I realize, more than I ever have before, that each and everyone of us started out with the same goal. We left the presence of our Father in Heaven totally excited and ready for our mortal test-- with the goal to lead good lives, return to Him and become like Him. Yet SO many of us get lost and confused along the way. So many of us are NOT going to make it back.

That completely breaks my heart! I feel much like the Sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon of whom it was said:

"... they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endue endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble. " (Mosiah 28:3)

It is almost more than I can bear when I think about a child being separated from his parents for eternity. About loosing any child.

I'm not trying to make any excuses for Hitler or to make him look any better than he was-- he was a evil evil man. Yet, seeing his picture this week just really made me reflect on the pain that our Father in Heaven feels when his children make wrong decisions. I remembered how much he loves each and every one of us, and that we ALL have the same potential to be like him. This knowledge has given me a greater resolve to help Him in his work, to make sure that not one human soul perishes.

Crying Through the Night

Last night we let Asher cry through the night for the first time. Talk about torture for parents! We'd been debating over whether or not we should let him cry himself to sleep for a few days. The last few weeks I have been becoming more and more exhausted having to get up twice a night with Asher, at 1Am and 4Am. Lots of times he really isn't very hungry and only eats for a few minuets and then falls back asleep! Even though Jon is GREAT and takes him as much as he can-- it has really been wearing on me. Sometimes I just have to have Jon stick Asher in bed with me because I am too tired to go get him-- but then NEITHER of us sleeps very well when we sleep together-- I wake him up and he wakes me up! I keep hoping every time he wakes me up that it will magically be 6 AM, but it hasn't happened yet.

Yet, it seems like I keep hearing and reading contradicting things about how to get babies to sleep at night. Somethings I have read say that babies will just "naturally" start sleeping through the night by themselves, others say that you have to let them cry for awhile, and others say that you are a horrible and unfeeling parent who will traumatize your child for life if you let them cry too long. I have been really confused about what to do!Then I was talking with my next door neighbor, who has five young kids and whose mothering advice I value highly, and she said that with her first she didn't let her first baby cry though the night and that he didn't sleep all the way through the night till he was 2 years old! AGGG! I think that I would be batty by that time.

Yet I have to admit that letting him cry for so long, about 40 min, was really hard on me. Jon and I just lay awake listening to him. We kept repeating, "we love you Asher, we love you..." and we even said a little prayer for him. When he finally did fall asleep he slept REALLY good and didn't wake up till 6 AM, and he seems alot more refreshed and happier this morning than usual. So I don't know! I guess parenting is going to be full of lots of hard questions like these! We are going to try again tonight-- I've heard that it usually just takes a few nights of crying before they start sleeping straight through-- I hope not too much longer.

Happy 4 month birthday Asher!

Today at 3:10 PM Asher will be 4 months old! It is crazy to me how fast time is going by. When I was pregnant every week seemed to crawl by so slow, but now that he is here it seems like time is accelerating at an unheard of rate. He has grown up so much this last month. I think he weighs close to 16lbs and is really tall-- almost as tall as River who is 6 months older! This month he has hit some big milestones like-- laughing, talking up a storm, blowing bubbles, grabbing things with his hands and recognizing himself in the mirror (at least I think he does).
My new favorite thing is to dangle a toy above him just within his reach, the first thing he does is to open his mouth and go "ah ah ah". He wants it in his mouth but his hands are still a little slow in doing what he wants them to do, so it takes him awhile to actually grab the toy and transfer it to his mouth. It is adorable.
You know he keeps getting cuter-- which I didn't think was possible-- and I can't imagine how darn cute he will be once he can walk.

Jon's Favorite Salsa Recipe

I promised a few people that I would post the recipe for the salsa stuff I like to make. I got this recipe from a girl I worked with at the Women's Research Institute at BYU-- it is SUPER easy. We usually eat it with lentils on the side. I just call it "Jon's Favorite Salsa" but you can name it whatever you like.

1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can black eyed peas (I never put these in because I never have them)
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 avocados, diced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Mix all the ingredients together. It is best if you let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, but you don't have to. Also, if you leave the pits of the avocados in the salsa the avocados won't turn brown (I don't know why this works but it does). It is really good if you eat it with lime flavored chips!

I won 2nd place!!

I just got a letter yesterday from the BYU Studies Journal telling me that my essay "Abraham's Tent" won 2nd place in their annual Personal Essay Contest! I am SO excited. Not only do I get $200 but they are going to publish it in one of the issues of the journal. It will be amazing to have it published and out there for lots of people to read.

This essay was the hardest thing I have EVER written. It took a piece of my soul. I don't know what compelled me to write it, except that I HAD to. I had to find a way to put into words the deep spiritual experiences I had while Jon and I were in Jordan. I had to put into words all the questions and struggles I had gone through. I had to write it to find truth. Writing it helped me to understand what the Book of Mormon prophets meant when they asked us to "forgive them because of their weakness in writing." There are somethings that words can not quite portray.

All in all I am really proud of this essay and am so thrilled and honored that it going to be printed! Thanks to everyone who helped me with it-- especially Jon who sat through a lot of tears and rantings -- and Steven and Nicole for staying up till 2Am the night before it was due (of course!) to proofread it for me.

Here is a link to it if you'd like to read it.