those cheeks

for some reason my brother thinks ike's cheeks are fat and he looks asian!
i just love him and his chubbiness!

mama-hood and another month gone by...

disclaimer: yes, this is another post about my baby ike. yes, i know that's all i post about any more, but really, he pretty much consumes my life and i really kind of like him. a lot. no need to read if you don't want to.


i really liked this post today. she explains mama-hood so well -- you just can't explain it, but it's the greatest/most wonderful thing! i'm truly so grateful for the opportunity i've had to stay home with baby ike and watch him learn and grow. i think i would be a nutcase if i went back to work! and, it's true what they say -- it does keep getting better!


watching and hearing him "coo" and "aww" at his mirror. so cute!
seeing him smile, especially all his smiles after he wakes up from a nap. my fave!
him sleeping through the whole night (a lot of the time!)! another fave!
laughing at his faces he pulls when i change his diaper -- kind of like "i wouldn't do that if i were you!" pretty awesome!


before i know it he'll be laughing, then climbing trees, going off to school and getting embarrassed by his mom! i don't want that day to EVER come, though i know it will. i better get on making him a mobile -- he's really starting to look at and talk to things. he loves the bunting i recently hung in his room. by the time i get him a mobile, he'll be pulling it from the ceiling!


baby ike is another month old today, which means he got to go visit the doctor and get his first shots!:( [those of you that know me -- don't worry, i stayed out in the hall! we didn't need a mom passed out on the floor with a baby crying!] he's a champ though -- cried just a bit and then came home for a long nap.


here are some recent photos (no, i'm not a photographer and don't claim to be one, so please excuse the blurriness):

 a face he pulls often

 ike -- almost Nike (his dad would love that!)

 a slight smile i caught on camera

his bathtime hair! yep, he's still got it!

one month

one week and a day ago, my baby boy turned one month old.
he continues to grow at an alarming rate and surprises me every day with new faces and great big smiles!
oh how i love my baby ike!

a glimpse of what baby ike is like.

growing pains

my baby boy is growing before my eyes! 
he weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs. 5 oz. at his two week doctor's appointment. how can that be?! he sure loves to eat.


luckily, my friend, stephanie, captured some great photos of baby ike at 8 days old. you can check them here and here.

lesson learned...

baby ike's hands, one day old [he had this same pose in one of his ultrasound photos]

1. I never knew how much I could love my little guy. I loved him before he was born, but that love was surpassed when I held him in my arms for the first time…and continues to grow each time I get to hold him.

2. I already don’t want him to ever change – I want him to stay this little forever.

3. My new favorite pastime is watching him sleep. The facial expressions he makes are priceless!

4. I never realized that when people told me to get ready for more laundry, they weren’t just talking about adding another person’s clothes to our pile. I don’t know if there’s been a day that he hasn’t gone through at least four outfits…most of the time he’s gone through that many before 8 am.

5. I never knew it would be so hard to get the motivation to clean or make the bed when he’s awake. I don’t want to miss any moment of it.

6. I didn’t know how much I would love showing him off.

7. I’ve come to realize (and am still learning) that I can survive with very little sleep.

8. I didn’t know how much it would mean to me to have someone totally depend on me – when he looks at me, I think he loves me too.

9. I didn’t realize how soon it would be before it felt as though he has always been a part of the family. It doesn’t feel weird having a baby and now it’s hard to imagine our little family without him. I’m grateful for my knowledge that families can be together forever.

10. The little quiver of my baby’s bottom lip makes this momma sad.

and he's here!

on a beautiful Easter morning, baby ike joined our family.

he came with a full head of hair, big hands and a very happy spirit.

we are busy lovin on him!

let the countdown begin

as of last week, i am officially full-term.

yes, i think i'm ready to have this little guy join the family.

yes, i'm scared out of my mind.
but, yes, i'm so excited to hold him in my arms!
here's to a good, hopefully not too uncomfortable few weeks (or less! but i'm not getting my hopes up!)

novem-beard

bri's company has a tradition of holding a "novem-beard" contest. this year they decided to couple it with a fundraiser to raise money for a local eight-year-old with congenital heart disease -- who doctors said had little chance of surviving and is continually supported by his single father and his 3 siblings. story

everyone in the company that wanted to participate were encouraged to grow their beards out all month and ask for pledges for every 1/4" of facial hair that they grew throughout the month. those who couldn't grow facial hair could have a proxy stand in for them to also help raise money.

the final numbers haven't come in, but i think they were able to raise a good amount for the boy and his family. it was a great project for bri to participate in and i think the whole company thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

when december 1 came, the company decided to hold a contest to see who could shave the coolest design in their beards. i'm not sure who won, but this is what bri looked like when he left the house yesterday morning...everyone told me i should get the "best wife award" because i let him go out like this!

ps my spacing hates me...i don't know how to fix it.

half-baked

we have been very excited at our house the past little while anticipating the arrival of a bouncing baby boy, due april 2012! we are grateful for the opportunity to have this sweet spirit join our family and to learn and grow together. he's healthy and we're happy! i'm halfway done and couldn't feel better. here's to another good 20 weeks!

ps bri is pretty sure he already knows how to pray. the little guy was interlocking his fingers yesterday during the ultrasound...he'll probably be teaching us a thing or two!

yeah, we've got hops!

click here to see other photos from our shoot.
it was great fun jumping in the cold and trying to not get run over by crazy drivers!

a picture's worth a thousand words...

and i have no words to describe this photo!
i'm so excited to see the rest from our photo shoot.
photo by stephanie hyde photography

she art much?

about a week ago, a few cousins and i got together to try our hand at she art (two separate words, but quite funny when trying to tell someone, they never hear two words, just one!). one cousin already had some practice, so she was our mentor. i was a little hesitant to start, but soon got into the idea that the more texture/randomness you have, the better. and, what i think i like most about this kind of art is that if you do something and don't like it -- paint over it and try again! perfect for such an artist as me! i think everyone should get into it and then we can have parties!

i wish i would have taken pictures during the process, anyway here's my final product:

softball & stitches

our softball season is well under way (minus a few rained-out games). the cracker jack kids are still holding up well against opponents -- 10-running a few! no homeruns have been hit by the watts, but there's still plenty of time!

in other news, brian has a few blue stitches gracing his left hand right now. a fence got him while he was setting up some hidden treasures for an amazing race for work. luckily, he was able to drive himself to the hospital and get into the emergency room before passing out. we're doomed if our kids ever draw blood! he left the hospital with 12 stitches and instructions to drink lots of fluids. he's been doing just fine and likes sharing his account of the accident. i don't think i'll post pictures, as i haven't even looked at them and don't want to make anyone sick, but maybe i'll find one of his wrapped up hand.

walk MS happened

so i planned on writing about the great walk MS that i participated in back in april...obviously it never happened. but, my friend, dani, did great write-up on it so i thought i'd share it here.

it was great to get together with so many of my friends (it's pretty hard for us to all get together) and it was amazing to see everyone who joined in the walk. i'm pretty lucky to have such great friends!

if you ever get a chance to participate in one of these events, i'd highly recommend it (especially if you have as great of company as i did)!

walk MS 2011: craig's crew

hey all!

this weekend i'll be joining some of my great friends and a few thousand other people to participate in the 2011 walk MS. the goal of this program is to raise awareness of those dealing with MS and to help raise money for the national multiple sclerosis foundation to find a cure and fund programs for those affected by this debilitating disease.

i've known quite a few people who have suffered or are suffering from MS and i've seen how difficult it can be. this disease has a different effect on everyone and is quite unpredictable. some of my dear friends lost their dad to this disease a few years ago. he was a very active person and one of the most genuinely kind people i've ever met -- even through his trials.

to honor him, they have created a team (craig's crew) for the 2011 walk MS. if you're in the salt lake area this weekend and would like to join the cause, you can sign up to join craig's crew here. or register to join and participate in the walk with someone else.

fyi
craig's crew was also mentioned here.

new cards and a birthday

i have a couple new cards in the shop.
a happy easter bunny and a happy birthday girl! plus, i've got a few leftover valentine's on sale. check it.

i also celebrated a birthday -- exactly one month ago! i was lucky enough to take the day off work and visit my parents while bri gave a demo to a local attorney. that morning, bri made me some delicious happy birthday muffins (complete with a candle and an enthusiastic solo of "happy birthday"). we then took off for vegas to support our aggies at the wac tournament. yet, again, another great birthday!

{fantastic umbrellas in the belagio, birthday muffins, fountains and eiffel tower, ferris wheel getting set up for the conservatory in the belagio}

for tradition

valentine's at our house was low-key and pleasant!

i came home to a table all set and ready for some eatin, but that would have to wait just a bit. we headed to hastings on the hunt for a movie to watch and decided the cosby show dvd's that we've been watching would work just fine.

next stop was panda for a little sweet fire and string bean chicken.

then onto our candlelit (baby candle) dinner. (chinese food for valentine's day is a tradition in my family.)

next i opened my bedtime buddies! my dear husband is sick of my cold feet, so he found a solution. they have small rice-like bags that fit nicely in the bottom and are scented with cloves and cinnamon...very nice touch! i laugh every time i see them! (he bought himself some basketball shorts for v-day)

we finished off the night with a few episodes from the cosby's.

doesn't get much better than this!

ps if you would like to borrow my bedtime buddies, please let me know at least three days in advance. "one size fits all!" thanks!

just that kind of day...

today i made comments on some of the blogs i read.
i usually refrain from doing this -- because "they don't know me, or care who i am or what i have to say."
but it was just one of those days. and it was kind of fun!

also, i made some valentine's sugar cookies (hearts, of course!) this week because it's valentine's and that's what we do around here (ok, maybe only every other year because it's such a process!). it wasn't as bad as i remember, and i got some pretty nice comments from people who ate them. too bad I didn't get any photos of their goodness (image via noveleats.com).

hope you have a lovely weekend!

thanks mom!

dear mom,

thank you so much for the cute "love" banner! it makes my little house even that more valentinesy.

love,

whit

introducing...

...whit ro & co on Etsy! My shop is now up and running (somewhat) with a few Valentine's Day cards. You may check it out if you want to. It's been quite the process, and I wouldn't say it's complete by any means, but I've been having fun! I hope to get more holiday and everyday cards up soon.

In other news, I turned on my air conditioned in my car today -- January 17. It felt like it should be my birthday soon. Weird.