June 2013

Miscellaneous pictures from the month of June:

He's happy around fire.

One of his favorite toys is the straw from my hospital mug.

Mr. Mitchell's Father's Day cake.

My workouts are usually a little hampered.

Apparently he's not very happy with Dad for making
 him wear Mom's apron when his bibs ran out.

And now for the videos:

May 2013

All of the highlights have already been blogged about for the month; this post will be videos and pictures and small anecdotes that didn't have anywhere else to go.

Saturday mornings with Dad are fun.

He was giggling and smiling during the entire song. It was adorable.

My child almost always gets distracted by the camera and won't continue doing whatever cute thing it is I wanted to catch him doing. Kind of like in this one.

I love that his little outfit makes him look like a baby mechanic.

I heard this little giggle session while I was working one night.

Don't worry; the situation was well under control.

Now that C.G. is getting more and more mobile I have to be much more careful about what's left around on the floor.


This video is just because I think he looks cute.


C.G. is carrying on the tradition of playing the doorstop as his first musical instrument. The last 10 seconds are the best because he shows his cute little face.


Here's my little duckie robe model:

Little boxer man

My laundry helper:

"Can I come out yet?"

Enjoying his bottle before PJs and bedtime:

He loves milk.

C.G. is rapidly becoming more and more mobile. He's a little Chatty Charlie and is starting to show a stubborn side.

Mr. Mitchell is enjoying working with the crew here in Pocatello even though it makes him pretty tired everyday. He gets quality time with C.G. every Tuesday - Saturday night while I'm working, and I think they both really like it.

I spend my days taking care of and playing with my boy, keeping the house running, doing errands, and working nights. With Mr. Mitchell working days and me working nights we hardly see each other, but it feels like we're in a pretty good place right now. We'll carry on this way until it feels otherwise.

Hope you are all doing well!

Happy Memorial Day

I had originally posted this video on Facebook because it seemed silly to create a post just for this video, but Facebook removed it. I guess somebody reported it as copyright infringement because, apparently, me showing a video of my baby playing with a flag while listening to patriotic music implies that I'm trying to steal credit for the song. To those of you whose mission it is to remove sweetness, innocence, and happiness from this world I say, "You need a new mission of finding a noble purpose in life, and you need to leave the rest of us alone." Anyway, happy Memorial Day! Don't forget that this day isn't about sales and bbqs, but about remembering those who have sacrificed for our freedom in whatever form it may have been. Enjoy!

 

April 2013

Here's the part where I put in all of the miscellaneous pictures and videos that I would like to share with friends and family.

First of all, I finally made the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Seriously amazing. I was truly proud of myself.

Perfection!

I had to snap the last gummy picture of my baby. His two bottom teeth burst on April 28 and April 30. I miss that adorable toothless smile, but he is stinkin' cute with his two new chompers.

Last toothless picture.

I'm not sure why this picture was taken, but I just love the face. We can pretty much always tell what he's thinking.

"You have crossed the boundary from entertaining to weird."

I don't have any C.G. videos the month that wouldn't bore anyone besides me. I could watch C.G. do nothing all day! However, he never does nothing all day. He is a big-time roller. We try to sit him up, but he doesn't want it. He'll flop right over and roll where he pleases. Sometimes he'll do a labored army crawl if whatever he's trying to get to is too close to roll to, but too far to just reach. Most of the time, though, he rolls and gets anywhere he wants that way. He makes lots of different noises, started reaching out to us when he wants to get picked up, and loves to eat. He loves pears, banana wild berry, banana, sweet potato, banana puffs, and milk. He hates peas. He'll tolerate pretty much anything in between. He loves strings and crinkly paper.

I do want to share a couple of thoughts I had this month along with a funny story:

1) I had to fill in for a housekeeper this month, and when I arrived at the condo to start cleaning, the family was still there working on getting out the door. They invited me in to start cleaning while they headed out, and I overheard this conversation between the mom and daughter. 

"Mom! Why can't I wear it?"

"Because we are classy people."

Boom. That was it. No wordy explanation, no 'because I said so,' no bashing people who do wear that. Why don't more mothers try to teach their daughters to be classy in their words, dress, and actions? It thrilled my heart to hear a mother trying to teach her daughter to be a lady. Please don't read this as an appreciation of snobbery, because it was not that at all. It was simply good taste.

2) While sitting at the table with my mom and dad enjoying the perfect chocolate chip cookies my mom told me that I'm like Mary Poppins. Jokingly I said, "Why? Because I'm 'practically perfect in every way?'" To my surprise she said 'yes.' I almost never feel that I'm good enough at anything, and I was so tickled to hear my mom say that. My dad piped in by saying that there's no such thing as a perfect parent, but that I'm pretty close. That almost made me cry. Granted, I haven't had to do too much parenting, but I seem to be doing a good job so far. My favorite thing about that conversation was the wrap-up from my dad, "You never know whether or not you were a successful parent until you see your children as parents." I am so pleased that I have helped my parents feel successful because they have been terrific parents and deserve to feel that way.

3) I work nights, and one night Mr. Mitchell had to work a night shift at Home Depot, and my mom had to go do Relief Society visits. That left my dad as the babysitter. He was sitting downstairs with the baby who was very upset, and my dad couldn't seem to figure out why. Then I hear this conversation:

M: Are you okay down there?

D: Well, I'm not the one crying!

M: Ok. Just wanted to see if you needed help before I left.

A few seconds of silence...

D: MARLEAH!! MARLEAH!! Are you still there?

No answer...

After my shift I found out that C.G. had a very poopy diaper, and my dad does not do poopy diapers. Unfortunately, my mom had slipped away by the time he realized that was the problem. He didn't know where the wipes were, and didn't want to interrupt me, so he used tissues to wipe the baby's bum. Then he fed the baby 30 something banana puffs (instead of the sweet potatoes waiting upstairs) and put him in bed after 9pm (instead of 7:30pm). I heard this story and had a good chuckle over it. C.G. and my dad were both alive and well, and that's what counts.

Happy Sundays

Now that I'm working Tuesdays - Saturdays I have gained extra appreciation for the Sabbath Day - the day of rest. The past two have been especially nice:

Easter! We had a fun Easter weekend with two of my brothers and their families. On Saturday we dyed eggs and had an Easter egg hunt. Each grandchild got a dozen eggs, including C.G, who napped through the entire thing. Consequently, we all helped dye C.G.'s eggs (not that he could have done anything if he had been awake). It was fun.

C.G. is represented by the monitor hanging off of the pink basket.

Even if pictures of myself are less than ideal, I usually put them on here anyway because, hey, it's life and it's real; however, this time, the only picture captured of me was sooooo horrible I left it out. Imagine Mrs. Wishy - Washy in a baseball hat and you've got me.

On Sunday we had a very pleasant day at church and a lovely Easter dinner. C.G. also got to finally play with his eggs. I wish I had captured his face when he first saw the basket. His eyes were huge and his mouth was gaping, and he could hardly wait to get his chubby little hands on the thing.

The following Sunday was General Conference for the LDS church. There were many wonderful things said, including appropriate responses to a lot of things for which our church is currently under attack, but that's not really the most memorable thing for me.

Something that was said Saturday morning has really struck a chord with me since I heard it: "There are few things more powerful than a righteous mother's prayers." Wow. That was huge to me. I have such a huge responsibility in being a mother, and Heavenly Father has trusted me to raise one of his amazing children. I have a lot of work to do as a woman, a mom, and a disciple of the Lord, and hopefully it will all culminate in me being a righteous mother who can pray powerful prayers for her children.

The second thing that has been on my mind since conference was the talk given by Elder L. Whitney Clayton called Marriage: Watch and Learn. I loved it - the entire thing. Mr. Mitchell and I are going to read it together and make a few goals as a couple based on this talk. I think everyone should read it. Seriously.

*I think I should get a round of applause for typing this thing one-handed while comforting my little fuss bucket of a boy this afternoon. (Teething?)

February 2013

The month started off with my visit to my sister and then turned slightly dull yet very busy at the same time. Mr. Mitchell's intensive EMT class was very time consuming, but we think it was well worth it. The class started out with 25 enrolled and by the time it was finished there were only 3. The national test is next Saturday so a lot of our time is still consumed with studying and pretending there's an injured person in the house.

Practicing on C.G.

Mr. Mitchell had to take serious advantage of his downtime when he wasn't in class or studying or practicing.

Playtime with Dad before bed.

For the first couple of weeks we had to squeeze Insanity in there. We finished though, and during the entire program we only missed one day because we had the flu. Pictures here because I said I would.

I finally started my job as a reservationist for Vacasa. It's been a slightly difficult adjustment because I'm working nights so now I'm not around to make dinner or help get C.G. into bed. It'll be a very big challenge once Mr. Mitchell's summer work starts. We are grateful for the extra income though.

C.G. turned 5 months. It is so fun to watch him grow!

Trying out his new toy.

Playtime with Daddy!

Believe it or not, this is a very common way to find him asleep in his crib:

Sleeping position: Hobbes-on-face

 I had to document C.G.'s bald spot. It's starting to grow in and I don't want to forget his cute little bald patch. We rub it for luck.

Lucky bald spot!

C.G. once discovered he could scream and had fun with it for about a day. He seemed to have forgotten all about it, but has since rediscovered it. Between his screaming and crazy tongue antics we've decided he wants to be a Maori boy. That is when he's not growling and trying to be a tiger boy.

C.G. really likes his Uncle Garrison's cardboard cut-out. He often seems to think it's better than the real deal.



He's getting better at rolling from front to back and will kind of, sort of, not really sit up. It's a work in progress, but he has plenty of time.

Overall, we're busy and all doing well. Hope you all are doing well too!

January 2013

January was a very low-key month for us. I continued to apply for jobs that would enable either Mr. Mitchell or myself to be home with Caleb (or perhaps with a sitter for an hour or two), and Mr. Mitchell continued to get all of his ducks in a row for his intensive EMT course. I have finally been employed by Vacasa Rentals as a reservationist and Mr. Mitchell has officially started his EMT class. The class started with over 20 and is now down to 4. Cross your fingers that nobody else drops: Mr. Mitchell will have to switch to night classes and it will takes months to complete the course. 

C.G. has had a lot of education this month.

Here we see him being educated by his father in the way of computer games.

"Don't bother us, Mom!"

 Here we see him being educated by his Grandma in the way of the crossword puzzle.

"You spelled it wrong, Grandma!"

And, lastly, we see him being educated in the way of reading manly books.

"Why read Goodnight Moon when you can read Ender's Game?"

As you can see he's only learning about the truly important things in life. I didn't get many pictures of him this month because I've been doing a lot of videos. I keep hoping to catch him during his babbling or big smiles, but the camera always distracts him and he gets very serious trying to figure out what I'm holding.

He still really likes his mobile.

"It's so beautiful!"

 We went through two outfits before 11:00am so it became a diaper day.

Socks are key.

He's starting to enjoy tummy time a little bit more now that he's getting better at grabbing things, but it's still not as fun as other things he can do.

"Am I done yet, Mom?"

And he still absolutely loves his bouncer from his Great-Aunt Patti. He'll kick and bounce in that thing for 30 minutes, easy. Today he simultaneously grabbed the lion and the elephant and almost didn't know what to do about it. Ultimately, he decided to let go.

Mr. Mitchell wouldn't let me get a 'first-day-of-school' shot, so this is as good as it gets. He thinks the shirt looks stupid, and since he wouldn't let me take the picture I wanted I say we all make fun of his stupid shirt.

C.G. is now four months and just over 16 pounds. He talks a lot and has the most adorable laugh. He'll smile at anybody that will smile at him, and he is a terrific sleeper. He rolls from back to front and spends a lot of time on his sides trying to grab whatever is around him. We find him highly entertaining. 

Our Magic December

Happy New Year! We all survived the end of the Mayan calendar! Huzzah! I waited all year since my trip to Mexico to wear my Kukulcan (sp?) shirt that I picked up at Chichen Itza. I should have taken pictures of Mr. Mitchell and myself in our "end of days" shirts on 12/21/12, but I didn't. So you'll just have to use your imagination. That was a total sidetrack. Back to "Happy New Year!"

December is always magical, but it was even more magical with our little sprout. We started December with a Christmas party hosted by one of my mom's cancer patients. She got quite a few businesses in a shopping center to participate so it was quite fun. We went 'ice fishing,' visited Santa, met Nutcracker characters, met Dasher the reindeer, wrote Christmas cards to our troops overseas, and enjoyed hot chocolate and apple cider.

C.G. chilling with Santa.

Taking it all in.

The lovely Dasher.

Mr. Mitchell and I started Insanity to try and help me lose my baby pooch and muffin top. I still have 7 pounds to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight and apparently all seven pounds have settled on my abdomen and in my arms. I'm putting myself out here by sharing this with you, but if you click here you can see where I'm at and where I'm hoping to get. I'm also hoping the public humiliation will motivate me to reach my goals.

C.G. has reached some fun milestones. Unfortunately we had the minor heartbreak of thinking the videos had been transferred to the computer, when they actually weren't, and then proceeded to delete the videos from the camera. Irreplaceable stuff. Be careful, people! We do have some pictures, however, that help slightly illustrate his growth. He's rolling from back to front, clumsily grabs things (mostly bumping things around with his fists until he gets lucky), discovering lots of new sounds he can make, and getting easily distracted by the world when he's supposed to be eating. **Update: We have since found some of our December videos that were "mis-filed." Whew!

He can very clumsily grab things...such as ewoks.

(Blogger insisted on loading this sideways.)
This is how he used to comfort himself,
but he has since discovered his thumb.

C.G. also got some fun things from family this month. Grandma and Grandpa Holdaway went to Florida to visit a couple of my brothers and go hang out at DisneyWorld, and Granty Patti wanted to give him a 'welcome-to-the-world' present.

His bouncer from Granty Patti.
He's enamored with his elephant.

Mickey from Grandma and Grandpa Holdaway.

My best friend had her baby three months before C.G. arrived. They finally got to meet this month, and it was so exciting! (At least for Jen and me. :) They're pretty much the same size, but Caleb has way more hair, and Jen's baby was very curious about it.

They don't look like good friends, but they are. 

And then, of course, there were the other Christmas activities: baking, wrapping, looking at lights, singing, nativities. I don't really have any pictures or amusing anecdotes about those so let's move onto C.G.'s first Christmas. He was given an adorable stocking by Aunt Angela, he received a Christmas ornament from every set of grandparents, clothes, books, and a stuffed animal.

He was confused about what
 you do with a stocking.

Now he's figured it out.

We bought him because he looks like Hobbes.

Sporting some new clothes from Gammy Earls.

Caleb with his loot.

And then we had my family's traditional white elephant party. Losers of games had to wear wigs; winners had to wear wigs and hats. Therefore, everybody tried to lose.

The tradition of freezing our pants off while the kids hit the pinata.

Sporting their wigs.

Wigs AND hats. My, oh my.

Proud wig wearers.

Less proud wig wearers.

My favorite wig wearer.

The most natural looking wig wearer.

Between this girl and her mom I hardly ever saw my baby.

December was a good month, and now that Christmas is done I'm ready for the spring. Here are my closing notes for the month inspired by one of my all-time favorite books Anne of the Island:

"I love [him] best when [he's] asleep...

...and even more when [he's] awake."

Again, Happy New Year!