Fortress of Femininity

Because I have such an AWESOME friend (EMILY HATCH), I was able to make a very QUICK trip out to Orem,UT this weekend (Sat-Mon) to visit Andrea. I left Saturday morning and got in SLC around 12:30 and Kate picked me up on her way home from Bountiful. I was kind of sad because it was rainy and cold. I was hoping the weather would've been as nice as it was the whole week before I got there. My brother Greg let me borrow one of their cars to drive around, which was WONDERFUL. And so we went and picked it up and then I headed down to Orem to surprise Andrea. We often do iChat with each other, and haven't in a while- for obvious reasons, and so I called her after I'd pulled up to her house and parked near the end of the driveway. I asked her if she wanted to do a chat with each other since I hadn't seen her in so long. She didn't answer her phone the first 3 times I called it, so I had to get Travis to take her his phone. He was in on the surprise, so he helped a sista out. Andrea agreed to do the iChat, but what she didn't know was when she was sending the invite to chat, she was just sending it to Ryan in GA and I was at her front door! She said "hi" to Ryan, and just about the time she was about to ask where I was I had walked through the door and said "HI!". She was SO confused and said "WHAT THE HECK! What are you doing here!?!!!" Ryan got to see all of it, which he was super excited about since it was all his idea to do it that way.

We had a lovely time with each other. I am really glad I got to go out and spend time with her and talk and cry and laugh and see her family and listen to the funeral and talk about how wonderful Sister Green was. I really will miss her. She was such a bright influence in the lives of many. She was always so welcoming to me and all of our friends, and always, ALWAYS had a smile on her face. There is a quote they have hanging in a picture frame on their wall in the living room that says "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened". I don't believe it could be more fitting for what they are going through. I know it will be especially hard in the next few weeks to come though... I can't change that. I wish I could make things easier, but I know they are relying on the Lord heavily and will be blessed with comfort and peace. We got to go to the grave site and there were still flowers from the funeral there and so Andrea and her sisters picked a few out they wanted to dry. And it was cloudy and gloomy and then all of a sudden, the sun came out and shown down on us and the grave and lit it up. It was a neat and special moment for me. I was glad I got to be there. We ate at Cafe Rio! YESSS! I also got to take some pictures of Travis and his CUTE fiance Tiffany, not with my own camera, but I borrowed Kate and Ryan Webb's and they turned out pretty good! (You can see a few of them here!) I got to spend some time with my Em, and even got to stay at the F.O.F. where I lived with her and two of her sisters and Jill W and Korina. It brought back a FLOOD of memories and it was fun to stay there again. I went to Church with Greg and Sam and the CUTE girls. So it was a good visit.

I did miss my boys like crazy, and we did iChats a couple times which was nice. Ryan is a wonderful husband and father and supported me going and being there for Andrea. I felt very strongly that I needed to be there for her (and Travis) and I'm grateful for all the help from Ryan while I was gone. I know it was good for he and Ben to have some Father and Son time- even though Sunday pretty much every diaper change was a poop! I can't wait to take my boys with me next time. I don't think Ryan will let me go anywhere alone again anytime soon either!

Ben is starting to associate pretty much ANY animal with Ally and calls anything that doesn't look human "Ayee". It's pretty cute. He's knows where his shoes go and when I go to put them on he'll grab the other and hold it up to his foot. He's also blowing kisses, and he makes a sound when he's doing it like I make when I do it. I asked him the other day if he wanted to go night-night, and he said back to me plain as day "nigh nigh". It was cute. He hasn't said it again... but I got excited anyway. When we leave the house he says "Bu bye" because we usually tell Ally that before we leave. I'm a little anxious to see how he does on the plane out to UT. He's a good kid, I'm just afraid he'll get a little antsy and claustrophobic. I guess we'll see!

I'm really in to this season of The Biggest Loser... I am so amazed with and proud of those people. Yeah, I know- they like lose that weight in an unnatural time frame... but still. They look so good. And I look so gross and huge. So why is it... that whenever I watch it, all I want to do is eat ice cream?

P.S. Does the first line of this post make you want to sing "Because I have been given much..." for a second? Because it makes me want to.

Blurb.com RULES!

We got our Blog Book today! I am so glad that Jessica turned me on to this idea. The page quality is really good. I think there are a couple of things I will do different however. I don't think I'll do a black background for the front unless there is a jacket. And I'd do a bigger book then the Standard Landscape size next time, and watch my picture sizing. Other than that, I'm excited to work on the others I've got going on! It almost didn't make it here, supposedly the driver left it on our doorstep at 2pm yesterday- but Ryan was here all day. So I went to our neighbors house to see if they got it and they hadn't. I called FedEx though and they got it taken care of for me.

Since I've finally got clearance from my boss to take vacation I will let y'all know we'll be in UT the middle of June! I hope we can see some or all in the short time we're there! I am REALLY excited. I am very homesick for my family and mountains, and diverse landscape and my friends... not that I don't have great ones here. I would miss them if I was away from them too.
It's thundering outside and the sky is really weird and pink and it's not windy and humid outside. That's kind of a scary thing here in the South... that's tornado breeding weather. And that's one of the things I HATE about living here besides traffic. Other than that I'm good. There's something disturbing about the sound of the weather radio, and it's strange to me that my kids will grow up hearing that and knowing what it is. I had no idea what one was until I moved here... or rather, cared to know what it was. There's also something about gathering shoes, and blankets and pillows and extra sets of clothes and things that are important to us to take in to our hall bathroom so we can take cover if something were to happen. OH and lets not forget the sirens outside and how friggin' scary that is to me. The whole thing is just nerve racking. There were tornado watches and warnings (which is what you REALLY watch out for) and sirens going off on Sunday night at 11:30pm. Yeah... thanks... so much for sleep. I couldn't sleep until I knew it had passed. Ryan and I just sat on the floor by the front door and watched the lightning and rain. I got some cool pictures!!!! And in the video you can hear one of the reasons why I love living here and hearing the rain... FROGS! And in the middle picture- it wasn't day time out, that was at 9pm!

Today was a contemplative day for me. I wont go on and on about it, but my best friend Andrea and Travis's mom passed Monday and today was her funeral in Utah. I wished SO badly I could be there for it and for them. From what I've heard though it was beautiful and packed to the rim with people who loved her and that Andrea gave a wonderful talk filled with beautiful and funny memories of her sweet mother. Sources tell me people were crying from laughing so hard. To me that's what it should be like. I am so proud of The Greens and hope their recovery time is short and that the Lord will continue to bless them with comfort and peace.

A Red Hen

Ben did a cute little art project at daycare last week, I thought I'd share. Usually he's very opposed about putting his hands in paint, but he did it this time! And I think it's pretty adorable.Friday night we went to hang out with some friends and eat pizza. We brought the pack n play to see if Ben would fall asleep- and luckily he did. Even in the hallway where he could hear all 9 of us talking and carrying on. He's a good sleeper that kid. We had fun hanging out and then we got home (put Ben in his bed) and did some stuff for a little while before we went to bed, and by that time it was around 11:30pm. We were sound asleep when at 2:30am we heard a LOUD BUZZING sound coming from... the bathroom. Well, you know how it is when you're woken up from a nice deep sleep, especially if what it is that woke you up scared you... you run around like a chicken with it's head cut off! (ew... just had a visual.) Ryan ran around trying to figure out where it was coming from, but couldn't find it. He was looking out the window, feeling the walls, and he ran out of the room to see if it was coming from the other bathroom or to see if the A/C maybe broke. I got up out of bed and went in to the bathroom and found THIS had turned on, all by itself while sitting in it's charger.Creepy! So Ryan came back in the room, I handed to him and said "figure out how to turn it off" because (if you look at the picture) the on/off button became inverted somehow. Like it was just sucked right in! He couldn't get it off, so from bed I yelled "Put it on it's charger and plug it in!" so he did, and it turned off... and never turned back on. That's an expensive little gadget, so Ryan got on Norelco's website and did a live chat and they're sending him a replacement, for free! Great customer service, psycho little body groomer. Needless to say, it was a little bit hard to get back to sleep!
Yesterday morning Ashley came over to babysit and Ryan and I were able to go to the temple to do sealings. It was a really neat experience and it was an awesome reminder of the covenant we made with each other and Ben a little less than a year ago. I love being in the temple, and I'm reminded of that every time I go. We were able to do some family names for a couple of women in the room with us and it was neat to be able to help them accomplish their work and to assist them with that. That was the first time (besides are own) that we had ever done sealings, so it was a neat experience. I, of course, got a little misty eyed looking at my hubby there in the sealing room all over again.
We came home and did a little project with Ben... I missed out on doing it when he was born. We know for next time to do it when they're little. We were given two plaster hand print kits... so I thought since he just turned one we'd do it for that monumental occasion. Yeah... it didn't go as planned (which in the back of my mind I assumed it would be this way)- but it's so him and it's still cute. Don't worry, he didn't cry the whole time. He liked the feeling of it squishing between his fingers! Hence the way it turned out!
Last night we celebrated Poppy's (Ryan's dad) 60th birthday and Delinda getting her new job at SAIC. The Terry's came with us too! We went to Taco Mac (of course) and had a lovely time with each other. We laughed and ate and enjoyed the nice weather.
My best friend Andrea was supposed to be here with us this weekend, but her mom's health is failing and she needed to be at home with her and the family. Please pray for her mom's comfort and that she can be as pain free as possible. I love Sister Green and Andrea's family so much, they mean a lot to me. Here is a blog that Andrea and her family created to update all of us on what's going on with her. http://memoriesofmarilyn.blogspot.com/
Well, we bought tickets to go to UT to visit in June! We are so excited, and so are my parents!!! They get to see Ben! It's almost been a year! That's all for now- Happy Sabbath.

This is the Sound of Benny

I guess it's time to update. There isn't much to update about though. It's been a pretty mellow week for us so far. Luckily Wednesday has now come and is almost gone, which means one more day of dress up for work and then Friday marks jeans day and the weekend! Well, for Ryan it's jeans day everyday. Lucky guy.
Right now I can smell brownies cooking in the oven, hear the TV and probably snoring momentarily and the chirping of the birds outside and Ally barking at them. It's a small little bark though, more like a barklette. Ben's asleep so I figured I'd write. I decided last week, and felt really good about this decision, that I was only going to visit Ben at his daycare during the day on the days that Ryan and I carpooled. I don't have anywhere to go on those days- so I figure 1/2 hour for eating and 1/2 hour to visit Ben. So Monday and Tuesday I had the car and had errands to run and decided I would not go those days. The reason why I'm doing this is because Ben's starting to go through the separation anxiety phase, and every time I leave him he cries. Not for long, he gets over it pretty quick, but I can imagine it's probably a little on the traumatic side for him. PLUS... it's hard on me to see him upset like that, my natural motherly guilt turns on that I can't just be with him all day and in turn makes me want to cry. Which I have a good few times. I think it's particularly hard on the days I only have literally 2-3 mins to spend with him, I run in and then run out- and he says "hey! You just got here! Why aren't you playing with me- DON'T GO!!"... well that's what I imagine he's saying in his head anyway. He's not that well versed yet. Monday I was alright, I was proud of myself for handling it as well as I did. Yesterday was a little harder, I missed him- but I was alright. Today I went to see him, and he was REALLY happy to see me (and I of course was happy to see him)... he ran to me and hugged me and it felt good to be with him again. It's a fact that not seeing him everyday will be harder on ME than it will be on him...
He's singing the words to his first song... okay- well the chorus anyway. And it's not like they're incredibly HARD lyrics... but HEY! He's doing it! I'll have to take video sometime... the song is "The Sound of Settling" by Death Cab for Cutie and pretty much in the chorus they sing "Bah, bah... this is the sound of (we fill it in with) Benny. Bah, bah... bah, bah". He's got the "Bah, Bah's" down! It's pretty cute.
He is going through a growth spurt right now and is really enjoying eating. A LOT. BUT he's now 13 months old and STILL wearing 9 month old pants! His shirt size is right according to his age... he's just a shorty. That's alright, "great things come in small packages" as my 6th grade Student Teacher told me one time. (She was short like me!) He's a happy kid, and people everywhere are so surprised to see him walking because he's so little looking. They always ask "How old is your little boy?".
OH, my sister Delinda got the job in Chicago! She found out today and is quite relieved. I'm torn, I'm SUPER happy for her and this is going to be an incredible experience for her- but REALLY sad she wont be here anymore, which means I have no family near me anymore. BUT... it's a new place to visit as Ryan said. And we are all so happy for her and feel it as a HUGE blessing. She's SO great and we're all so proud of her. What an awesome accomplishment! That's my bis sis! We need to celebrate!
Well... I guess that's all for now. I'm pretty much obsessed with the website blurb.com. Why you ask? Well, I just completed my first "Blog Book", which means I was able to export all of the posts and pictures from everything I've written so far into a book format. (We're using it much like Jessica as a family history book.) I cut it down to a year-a-book, so I did 2008 and ordered it yesterday (should have it next week or so) and am now working on 2007. BUT I am also making a photography book, sort of a portfolio book of sorts to have to show potential "clients". It's quite affordable too which is a plus. And I love looking at all the people's books on the site that have chosen to allow for a preview. It's pretty awesome. Wow... for not much to update I sure wrote a lot. Okay, I'm done... for real. It's time for a warm brownie.

Heather hearts Ryan

I'm grateful for date nights. I'm grateful to have family and friends around us that can watch Ben so this is possible. But more over, I am grateful for my husband. We had a WONDERFUL night last night. Delinda and Jen came over to hang out with Benny. And the Terry's gave us a gift card to a fancy-schmancy restaurant for Christmas, so we first went there for dinner. It was a NICE place... I think we may have been a tad bit under dressed, but luckily we fit with in the "Dress Code"! We had a wonderful dinner; calamari, cheeseburger, steak and the BEST Caesar salad I've EVER had... seriously. We sat close to each other and had good conversation and cuddled. Afterward we had tickets from my work to go to a Thrashers game (hockey) at Philips Arena in the Suite seats. I was a little "eh" at first about going to a hockey game, but it was actually A LOT of fun! It was cold in the arena so it gave Ryan and I a good excuse to cuddle a lot and enjoy each other. It was just a good reminder for me of why I love him so much and how important it is that we spend US time together. Yes, Ben is a our little sunshine- but our relationship is so important and it will determine the health of our family. It's also good for Ben to hang out with his Aunt and for her to be able to spend some one on one time with him. So... it was a $35 date (tip for the waiter and parking) and SO much fun. I am so grateful we had that time together... I can't explain how much it meant to me. I LOVE MY HUSBAND!I also got my hair cut yesterday, three inches! It feels great! I've decided that I need to not let it get that long again. And I've also decided it's hard (for me anyway) to find a good hair stylist. I had one I really liked and she upped and moved to UT... of all places. HA... just kidding. Luckily the other people in the salon she was at are still good and I can still go there. It's a swanky little hip place... so I enjoy going.
Also... sad, but understandable news... our "Week of Andrea" will have to postponed until a later unknown date. She has to tend to some family goings on- and not so great ones unfortunately. And that is MUCH more important and I only wish the best for her and her family. We love you Ang and Sister Green.
Today was a BEAUTIFUL Easter Sunday. We went to church and had a restless tired boy who couldn't sit still. Afterwards we went over to Ryan's parents house. Ben was somewhat grumpy today... ONE 20 MINUTE NAP IS NOT SUFFICIENT for a walking, busy, growing boy. Hence his bed time at 6:45pm tonight! He's usually a really good sleeper, but not today. Oh well, I count my blessings everyday for how well behaved and happy he usually is. He's walking really well now, and can get himself into a standing position all by his self. He's still a little drunken looking, but loves to get around!
I've been a little nostalgic this evening. I am looking for a picture of my mom from when she was about 3 years old, and I can't find it- BUT in the process of looking, I did find A LOT of old pictures from high school, of when I lived in my first apartment in Provo, Lilith Fair in my Bug (that's you Jessica)... I have to include it. That was a fun night... going like 20 MPH up the hill to Park City!!!! My poor VW Bug was running on 2 cylinders or something crazy like that and so we had to drive in the emergency lane because we were going TOO slow! But we made it! We got there!Anyway, that's all for now I guess. Happy Easter to all, and to all a good night!

April Snow Brings May Flowers??? HUH?

Friday night the Terry's came over, and by the time they got there Ben was in bed so it was a nice adult evening. We ate something... and then hung out and watched TV and talked. Saturday morning Ryan was invited to go play Ultimate Frisbee with some guys from Church and he enjoys doing that a lot. He asked if Benny and I could come along watch and enjoy being outside. Unfortunately it was a tad bit colder that morning than I would've liked. BUT, while they played Ben and I bundled up and went for a little walk by a lake near where they were playing and looked at the ducks and enjoyed the sunshine we could find. We listened and watched conference afterward and then that night Ashley and Hillary came over and hung out with us.
Sunday we enjoyed both sessions of conference at home with our friends by watching on the TV via the Internet. In between sessions we ate some spaghetti and went for a walk to the park by our house... it was SO nice. Ben was even in shorts and flip flops! Then after the last session we had homemade Cafe Rio (thanks to Jessica for divulging that AWESOME recipe!) and it was DELICIOUS. It was almost as if we were there.Today... it snowed. IT SNOWED! So annoying. Stupid cold fronts... here it was all nice and toasty Sunday and it's snowing Tuesday! Luckily it's supposed to warm back up again this week. Ryan and I are going on a date this weekend and DJ is going to hang out with Benny! The Terry's gave us a gift card to a really nice restaurant chain we finally get to use, and then I got free tickets from work to a hockey game at Philips Arena. So it should be fun.
We are preparing for the arrival of Andrea next week. I am SO excited. I will dub it the "Week of Andrea" even though she technically will only get to be here like 2 days. Tonight Ben & I cuddled on the couch and he must've been super comfy because he just bombed out! Must be all that walking around he's starting to do! He's getting pretty good at it! He'll be a pro by the end of the week! I'm tired, so I must go to bed now. See ya later.

Well, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've been putting off writing because it seems there's a lot to write- but then the longer I wait, the more stuff there is to write. I don't even really remember it all so I'll just do my best.
Let's see...two weekends ago, we were able to visit with Nate & Erin and Ella Bunderson. We sure love and miss them being here and in our ward. Ella is BEAUTIFUL, and we're all convinced Ben's future girlfriend or possibly E.C.??? Ha, ha... he's got a lot of girlfriends- so only time will tell.
Last weekend we went to Columbus, GA with Jacob & Ashley to see Brandon and Ashley (now) Johnson getting married and go to their reception. They were married in this really cool old church. It was RAINING hard pretty much up until we left to come home. Made for a soggy and sometimes stressful and scary drive! (That was a lot of S's.) You gotta love the South! And if you've never been here, come and visit! Even if you have!
This weekend we're listening to and watching conference and doing house work. Ryan took on another much needed house improvement project. He decided a couple weekends ago while at Home Depot looking for molding for the bathroom, that he was instead going to tile a "back splash" of sorts in our kitchen. So he picked out and brought some tile home (that I liked thank goodness) and put it up! He grouted it today, and will put on new light switches and plugs. It looks AWESOME. We still need to figure out if we want to change the wall color, although he's really into the red and I'm kind of done with it. We'll see though. I don't hate it. We also need to someday get new cabinets, but a little at a time.
I was out in the garage doing laundry this afternoon and I had to throw something in the garbage can that was at the edge of the garage and saw our neighbor and her twin babies, Steven & Cecilia, sitting out on their front lawn. I went to go say hi, because we don't really have a relationship with any of our neighbors yet and I would really like to gain one with some at least. We've talked a few times, so we're getting there. She's really nice, she seems a little quiet. And we were both honestly surprised to find out they had babies because he's an older man and she doesn't look super young. In fact, I found out today he has three other children and the oldest is 34 and the others are in their 20's. Anyway, it was good to sit there with her and the babies and talk. They're really cute and fun to hold and it made me realize that I'm okay with where we're at in the kid department right now! I mean, yes, I want more kids- but I'm not ready for the baby stage again for a little while. I think Ryan feels the same way. Ben is at such a fun age, and he's starting to get around more and more and I just can't imagine having a little one and him to look after. I know it's possible, and if the Lord would want me to do it- I would. And I PRAISE those who can. And yes, I understand... it will always be "hard"... I'm just not ready yet. Speaking of Ben getting around really well, here's some video of his really good attempts to walking! He's also sucking through straws now, which is stinking cute. To me... his little lips are cute. He has 5 teeth now. He says "uh oh", "Ally" kind of, "hi", "ball", "dadda", "ya", "day" for yay, "mah, mah, mah" for more... I think that's it. He's said "bu-bye" before, but hasn't really said it again. He's chatty though... always making noises. He's going to be a "Vrrrroooom" kid for sure. He's eating all kinds of food now. LOVES chicken like his daddy, loves cooked squash and mini teddy grams. No candy yet... I'm going to hold off on that for as long as I can.
My brother Greg seems to be doing better, I'm really grateful for prayers and I'm sure he is too. Actually I know he is. I'm grateful for him too... he's a good brother and I love him so much.
I have also started a Grant Collier Family blog, in an attempt to gather some material of my mom and dad's lives both separately and together and to gather memories from them and us and the grandchildren. Our own family history that I can later publish. I decided only to maintain it a couple times a month- or when I get the chance, so I don't over do it and stress myself out with things to do. Things to do... oh so many of them, one of which is fold laundry... the immense amounts of laundry. Ech.

Buggy Ride

he's cute huh? he likes the shopping cart, or "buggy" as they call it here in the South. You can see his feet whipping around, he kept doing that! It was too cute.

I started thinking about things that I will miss someday. Don't know why- I don't mean it in a sad or depressing way. There are just some things in life I know wont be the same and I want to remember those moments.

• Ben cuddling with me at night during bottle time. I love it when he plays with my fingers, or looks back to touch my face for just a second I guess to check if I'm still there. Cuddling with his blanket on his face. He'll actually let me rub his head and tickle his face and I love how his heavy eyes get heavier and heavier as I do it.
• After his bath he's pretty ready to go to bed. So getting his jammies on is quite annoying for him. If his towel is still on the changing table he'll snuggle with it on his face like he does with his blanky when it's time for sleep. I can always tell if he's sleepy if he snuggles with something like that. He's ALWAYS done that. I love it.
• Him giggling during nightly prayers at his crib. After bath and bottle we put him in his crib and turn his sleepy music on, and then we say prayers. For some reason he thinks it's funny and will lay there and giggle at me. I think it's super cute.
• He makes this little mouth noise. I wish I could describe it or even do it, maybe I'll be able to get it on video someday- but it's on my list of my 5 favorite Benny sounds.
• He loves his car blanky and his bed blanky. When we put him in the car he automatically grabs his binky and his blanky sometimes with out even looking. Both blankies have about the same texture. He doesn't love any other blanky as much as these two. He puts up with them... but prefers the others.
• Ben loves to say hi to people. BUT he gets sort of shy when they say it to him first. He feels much better about it if he does it first.
• He loves looking out windows and doors. His new thing is crawling up to the windows and if the blinds are down he'll try really hard to move them, or get under them. He doesn't even have time or the interest in playing with them- he just wants to look outside. He loves outside.
• Dropping Cheerios or any food on the floor for "ah-yee", or Ally our dog.
• How he still makes sucking motions with his mouth when he sleeps. STILL.
• The way he puts his binky in his mouth. It's really one of the cutest things (in my humble opinion) to watch.
• Everyday when I go to see him, I call Ryan as I'm walking in so he can hear our interaction with each other. He loves hearing how excited Ben gets to see me. I also always let Ryan say hi to him, and now lately whenever he sees the phone he says "hi!".
• His cute baby laugh and how he gets the hiccups anytime he laughs really hard.

Okay, there's more- but that's good for now. We're all a little worried because my oldest brother Greg is in the hospital and has been in and out of it for the last month or so. He's got incredibly bad migraines and now has heart arrhythmia and getting the two under control is really challenging. I really feel for his wife and girls and can't imagine the stress and worry that it's put on their shoulders. I wish we were there to help. Much love to them.

We Live in a Beautiful World

We've been enjoying the Spring weather. It's really been beautiful. And it was just as beautiful today as it was two years ago when I married my sweet love. I got BEAUTIFUL tulips today and a card that sings Queen's "My Best Friend". Perfect!!!! I took some photos today of the trees and flowers, just because I can't get enough of the flowering trees... even if everyone else does! They just make me happy! Now the pines on the other hand... not so much. Stupid pollen. I think my kid is getting affected by it too.Ben's THIS close (imagine me putting my fingers REALLY close together in measurement) to walking. He's taken a few steps here and there, but is still not totally confident and still has some balance issues. But I know as soon as he gets it, he'll be running- not walking.
It was my mom's 72nd birthday Saturday. We as siblings got together an iChat conference with out her knowing and we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She was tickled! I'm like 100% sure it made her day. I am so grateful to have a wonderful mommy, even though I'm oh so far away from her- she helps me and supports me so much and I appreciate it. I can't wait to see them. Hopefully it will be soon. I am very homesick. Stupid economy.
Last year when my parents came out to visit, my dad and Ryan planted a Purple Leaf Plum tree for Ben. We call it "the Ben tree". It bloomed this year and the leaves are now starting to come out. I think it's quite lovely and I hope we have years to enjoy watching both our Benny and the tree grow!
I am so tired. I don't ever feel like I can catch up. No, I'm not pregnant. I think being a full time working mommy and wife starts to wear on you after a while. I need a vacation! Have I mentioned how excited I am that Andrea is coming next month???? Cuz I am. YAY! Okay, I'm going to finish watching Biggest Loser and go to sleep.

2 years

Here's to Ryan and I for making it another year! Although it wasn't a necessarily easy year, it has been WONDERFUL. Year two has brought us a little son, a closeness we've never had before, and I am so grateful more and more each day for my husband and eternal companion. I love you Ryan Smith! I am so glad I get to have you as my best friend forever. Happy Anniversary Lovey!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I have lots to write about, but I just wanted to quickly write about my WONDERFUL, AMAZING, LOVELY, TERRIFIC, FUN, Warm and FUZZY birthday weekend. Friday night we went out to eat as a family (the 3 of us) to Zaxby's! YUM! Saturday morning, my actual birthday, Ryan went to go meet a guy to sell some bass guitar... stuff... after telling me like 10+ times "Hey Heather, Happy Birthday". He even woke me up at 5am to tell me! Then I got on iChat with my BFF Andrea and she emailed me my present. At first I thought, hmmm... she's emailing me my present? Then when I opened the email it was an E-TICKET confirmation for her to come out and visit us in a month! YAY! As she said her presence is my present! Then Ryan got home and he made it out to seem as though he hadn't gotten me anything for my birthday yet... and I was a little sad, just a little though because I knew he WOULD eventually get me something. And as we were making breakfast he said "what's that?" on the counter and it was a PRETTY GREEN NANO! YAY! He's good...and well, as in previous blogs I hint well. That afternoon we dropped Ben off at Ryan's parents and we headed off to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then went bowling! We had fun, and it was nice to have an evening with our friends. Ben had A LOT of fun with Nana and Poppy giggling and playing.

Don't know if you can see it, but Hillary put my name in as Heather Happy Bday. Cute! (All the pictures are from Ryan's iPhone...so they're a little on the grainy side.)

Then Sunday... as if my birthday wasn't good enough, we headed over to Ashley and Jacob's for our usual Sunday dinner and as I walked in I heard a "SURPRISE!!!" Yes... I am one special CHICK! I am loved! Ashley and Ryan conspired together to put together my second only in life surprise party- and the first doesn't count because I found out about it before hand. But I was kind of embarrassed because I was in my "comfy" clothes and wasn't really dressed for the crowd- BUT it was as expected, a surprise! Delinda was there and lots of people I haven't seen in a while. I felt so loved and special... it really meant so much to me. My 30th birthday was so awesomely awesome. (Yeah, I made that up... so?)Thanks Ashley and Ryan, I love you guys lots n' lots.
Also... I will elaborate on this when it's not after 10pm and time for bed, but Ben's REALLY close to walking. Tonight Ryan and I were trying to get him to walk to and from each other by bribing him with toys. He took a couple steps but then chickened out and sat his butt down. BUT... the video shows how he's prepared himself for it! He loves these walking toys and you can tell he's gotten good at it! He's so big and cute!

More to come...

Friday the 13th... again?

Now it's Heather's Birthday Eve! The eve of my 30th! Wow! I'll be 30! I'm pretty darn excited for the 30's. The 20's was rough and tough but TONS of fun. I think of all that I got to experience, people I met, places I went, getting married and having a baby, finding out how to kind of be responsible... I experienced a lot. Can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings and to experience my 30's. Look, I'm working a decade at a time.
I'm sitting here at my desk listening to the disco ball my wonderful coworkers placed in my cube for my birthday decor feeling a little blue, I have to admit. It's just that it's still REALLY hard to have Ben at daycare for me. (Obviously I just got back from seeing him!) I thought I'd be somewhat over it by now, but I'm not. I thought after a year I'd be a pro daycare mom. There's not much I can do about it right now though... other than basically get over it until things change. But the fact of the matter is I need to just get used to the idea that I might never get to be at home with my kids. It makes me sad knowing that he'd much rather go to one of the teachers there then come to his own mommy when I go to visit him. I'm sure there's good reason for it, but since there's a lack of communication (verbally anyway) it's hard to know what's going on inside his little head. I kind of think (and hope) it's because it's the classroom next door to him where all the bigger kids go and he REALLY loves going over there to play. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and stop feeling sorry for myself now and move on to another subject.
Yesterday, I did a HUGE boo-boo. It's kind of humorous now, but it wasn't then. Ryan and I try to car pool as much as possible and in a rush to get out the door yesterday we left the garage light on. Ryan pulled back up in to the garage so I could get out to turn it off... but instead of turning the light off I pushed the garage door button! Whoops! And yes, it came down on the car because it wasn't pulled all the way in. Whoops! LUCKILY between Ryan gunning it and me trying to quickly think of which button to push again- we didn't occur too much damage. There was some, which I think Ryan fixed pretty much thank goodness. I felt like a big jerk though.
Still do... but I'm super glad it wasn't worse.
I'm very glad the week is over. It's not been too bad, my husband has been super sweet to me this week (not that he isn't usually), work has been okay. We found out last week that there were pay cuts and now today some people got laid off. So it's a little weird around here lately. I am just grateful to have a job. And I'm excited because tomorrow we get to drop Benny off with Nana and Poppy and we're going to dinner with friends and then bowling. Have a good weekend all!

A Weekend of Firsts

We had a busy weekend, what's new right? It was good though and well spent. Friday night we were pretty tuckered out from the week, which is usually the case, and so we rested. Saturday we woke up and took Ben to get his first haircut. My coworker Jen's husband is a barber so we took him there since it was someone we knew (kind of), and he's done lots of first haircuts. Ben sat on Daddy's lap the whole time and was a champ. Of course he's a wiggle worm, but we managed and he only kind of got annoyed once. Being the smart Barber Wil is, he suggested to bring one of Ben's movies, which helped a lot. Then daddy got his haircut, BUT since it was Ben's first, he got a certificate! We got to save some of his hair and tape it to the certificate.

Before and After!

Wil The BarberThen it was time for Ben's party! We got home and cleaned up the house the rest of the way, cooked and the troops started rolling in. We had a lot of fun, the weather was absolutely PERFECT, and Ben was really good! (He did get a 2 1/2 hour nap which really helped!)

Here was the cake eating. He liked the frosting a lot more than the actual cake of course. He was pretty cute.

Not sure why I decided that I needed to growl when forcing his hands in the cake... but whatever. Opening presents... look at how he's sitting! I love it!

After presents, he was pretty worn out... some people had left, we gave him a sippy with milk and he was OUT.

He also graduated to his new big boy car seat thanks to Nana! He really loves it and really didn't take much to adjust. He spends a lot of his time in the car with me, so I think that's why he does so well. He loves it though, it's a whole new perspective for him.

So it was a good weekend, we had fun! I'm going to bed now, because I went to bed late last night and I'm tired. Here's a little giggle to cheer you up if your feeling blue, or just to cheer you up!

The Ladies Man

I made it to Friday! Here is a true description of Ben in his daycare class, as he IS the only boy in his class. (I know... what are we doing to him already!) What's funny is Jiznin got us this shirt for Ben before he was even born! I guess it was predestined for him to be a "Ladies Man".

I am so excited! I am off early today, taking Ben to his 1 year check-up and then we get ready for tomorrow! AND it's supposed to be like 70 today! I am rolling down the windows and enjoying it!

*My mom told me I needed to put a disclaimer that I was feeling REALLY out of it yesterday when I wrote this.

• It Thursday. It's almost 3. I have a headache and just want to go home.
• Ben is standing a lot on his own.
• Someone is using vinegar with their lunch and it stinks.
• I want a Nano. My Mini is kind of old school... not that any thing's wrong with that. I like the green and orange ones. They're cute.
• It's nice out today. It's supposed to get in to the mid-70's this weekend too.
• I just bought a Midnight Dark Milky Way.
• I need to clean the house for the party Saturday.
• Ben gets his first hair cut Saturday morning by my co-workers husband who happens to be a barber!
• I'd really like a sewing machine someday. I'd like to start up a couple of small projects.
• I am STILL MAKING MY BLOG book! I decided after working on it for a while that I didn't like the background I chose, so I have to work on it even more. I like this one a lot better though. I just want to see it now though!
• I really love the song that Sting does called St. Agnes and the Burning Train.
• I'll be 30 in 9 days. Whoa.
• I am in one of those weird funks today where I feel like I'm in another world. I just feel so completely out of it.

You thought I wasn't going to post didn't you?

Well, we had a good and busy day yesterday. Pretty much the same as any other, and luckily Ben is too small to realize it. The real celebration of his first year (and us surviving it!) is on Saturday. There will be friends and family, presents and cake and I'm pretty sure he wont know what to do with himself. School was good, I think he could tell he was getting a lot of extra attention- but that's about it. I went to see him later in the afternoon and he was very tired and was kind of grumpy when I'd play with the other kids... hence the fake cry face he's making in the picture. He's a silly boy. The other little girl that has the same birthday as him (born in the same hospital) is in the picture with him. After work/school, we went to dinner with Nana & Poppy at Ryan's favorite place... but Ben likes it because he gets french fries and likes to lick the blue cheese off my finger that go with my wings! We got home and gave him his little presents and then gave him a bath and bed. Unfortunately it was 9 before he got to go to sleep, but luckily he took a two hour nap today at school. That meant me not getting to spend time with him though because he was sleeping during my lunch hour. But naps are super important for my growing guy.
Tonight we're pretty worn out. I put Ben down early to make sure he gets plenty of sleep. And it's not even 8 and Ryan's already asleep on the couch! I can't WAIT until Friday. I am working a 1/2 day and taking Ben to the doc! We'll see if it's time to get him in a front facing car seat! I really hope so, I hope he'll love it! Well... that's all for me.