Friday Finally

Ok, I'm not the best title maker-upper. A little news for those I haven't seen in a while. I started a new job with Target Construction here in Vegas. We specialize in dirt: grading, digging, blasting and the sort. I really like the position and the coworkers are old friends Nick Day and Brent Neel. I'm still not sure if any work gets done, but I've been here for a month and so far so good. I'm in estimating, cool office not the hot outdoors. I still manage to detail cars on a part time basis, the cash is good ya know? I mean holler if you hate cash...

The reason for the title: it is friday and I'm going home soon to play with Claire. I made up a new game with her last night. It's called "hide and seek." Let me know if you like the title of that one, not bad eh? Anyway, I took some video of the entertainment. It consists of us crawling around the ottoman hiding and seeking each other. Her laughing and giggling is so fun to me as a daddy. Now the bad news: I can't post the video because my pants are a size or two too big and I "cracked" the camera if you know what I mean. Ahh the joys of weight loss.

The Dress

Awhile back, I wrote about making Claire a dress but never posted any pics. So, I had Claire wear the dress again on Sunday since she might grow out of it. I need to try to make another outfit soon!

9 Month Check Up

Claire was technically 9 months old on June 17th, but we had her check up today. No shots, thank goodness. Just a prick on her big toe to get a drop of blood to test her iron levels - passed with flying colors.


So, here are the latest stats:

Weight - 20 pounds (50-75 percentile)- actually about the same weight as at 6 months

Height - 29 inches (90 percentile)

Teeth - two bottom, and two cut through on the top (big chompers by the looks of them)

Favorites - giving mom a heart attack by putting EVERYTHING in her mouth and then choking on said item; laughing with a cute scrunched up nose, and trying to eat anything that mom and dad are eating

New tricks - mimicking sounds like "hi", "uh-oh," and coughing sounds (Matt will cough a few times and then Claire will cough too); Crawling and pulling herself up on furniture - I guess she is "cruising" now.

Mom or Dad? The contest is still on for which she says first -she makes ma-ma and da-da sounds all the time, but not really designated towards me or Matt just yet.

Destination: Singapore

My little brother Matty just got his mission call on Friday - he is going to Singapore, English speaking. He leaves for the Missionary Training Center on September 3rd. It was pretty cool to have him read us the letter - I was one of 3 siblings calling in, so Matt had us all on speaker phone.


I had no idea where Singapore is - so I did a little Wikipedia search and found out that it is actually in the island state of Malasia, south of Thailand and Vietnam - they speak English there because it was a Brittish Colony. I started a family blog for his mission so we can keep tabs on him - and post his letters, photos, etc. So, for all those interested, bookmark MattOnaMission.

Makeover: Strawberry Shortcake

I love a good makeover. Some of my favorite shows involve them - of course, What Not to Wear on TLC, and then there are movies like The Princess Diaries, The Breakfast Club and Miss Congeniality.

However, I am a bit sad about some recent changes to the classic toys that we grew up with. I never really liked Barbies, but I did have Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Ponies and a much-loved Cabbage Patch Doll. I would love for Claire to play with these toys instead of say, Bratz dolls which make me afraid for society.

So check out what they are doing to Strawberry Shortcake. This NY Times article that my SIL showed me tells all about the new toys that are coming out - remodeled versions of our classic toys. I guess it's still better than other things out there...

Crawling

So I was talking to my sister Becky the other day and casually mentioned something about Claire crawling all over the place and she said - WHAT? she is crawling?! So I guess I didn't tell anyone about it.

She has been crawling about for a week or more now - maybe two. This video is one of her first days where she got her arms and legs going at the same time. She is doing a great job - not too fast yet, which is fine by me. She is very determined to get where she wants to go, even if that means getting into a make up case, pile of magazines, under the table, or over to the pile of shoes by the front door.

Yes, we need to babyproof our house. Our pediatrician told me to do that at 6 months just to get ready -I guess I was in denial. So now I have to get really organized and put everything away. Fun.

Ode to Basketball

Even though I am currently playing on our ward's volleyball team (go Pinnacle Ward #2!!), my heart definitely belongs to basketball. I was driving home from playing basketball last night, thinking that nothing else would keep me up until past 11 pm on a work night. After 9 months with a new baby, during which Matt taught early morning seminary and was up at 4:45 am every day, we get to bed early when we can.

Anyway, I digress. I have played basketball since I was in the 5th grade - I love to play, don't like to sit on the sidelines. I always played with the boys and didn't care that that wasn't very "girly." I played for as long as I could when I was prego, then came back a few months after Claire was born. The sad part is, I'm still out of shape and the sport kicks my butt every time. But that's kind of why I love it - it requires physical and mental skill and stamina. Plus, it's fast paced and never boring. Baseball - boring. Golf - boring. WWF Wrestling - boring (that one was for Matt).

So, my goal is to get in shape and run so I can become yet again worthy of my favorite sport. The NBA finals were such a let down - I don't even like the NBA that much anyway - so now my own girls night on Thursdays will be all the basketball I need. If you live in Vegas, let me know if you want to play. Thursdays at 8:45 pm.

Eureka! Its Erica!

I wanted to shout out to my good friend Erica Wyatt who found Shan and me and bravely posted a comment to keep in touch. I must say I am a closet blogger, always peeking and never posting. I promise to post regularly and to not be as shy. All of the delicious blogs have inspired me to out myself. I would like to shamelessly plug to the private bloggers to open an alternave one to noseys like me who want to catch up with you, I'm curious to know.
In the future I'll write a list of safe things Shan and I do to keep our privacy and share our lives at the same time. All of you who find us through Erica, welcome and please post stuff. It makes us feel popular...
P.S. All are welcome to put us on your lists of blog buddies. Being a part of your list makes us feel special too.

Fashion Forward

Father's Day

This was Matt's first Father's Day, so we wanted it to be kind of special. We had a great breakfast and then after church headed up to Mt. Charleston for a family lunch/BBQ at a campsite.

It was about 30 degrees cooler up there, which was nice. We stayed up there for awhile and had all sorts of treats and just hung out. We got to use my new jogging stroller for the first time, or in this case, all-terrain stroller.


I want Matt to write a bit about his thoughts on being a dad - hopefully he will take me up on the offer. I think there is nothing better than seeing the man you fell in love with get even better by being a great dad. Matt and Claire are buddies - they hang out and play all the time, and Matt watches her a lot too so he gets to appreciate the fun and the work that goes into taking care of a baby.


I am also grateful to my own dad who was just down to visit us a few months ago - I think he and I are a lot alike and we get along really well. I wish I could have been in CA to see him and my mom for the holiday, but we will hopefully see them a lot this summer.

Some Pics

So Matt said we need to post more pics of ourselves on this blog - but honestly, I think Claire is the main attraction. So, I will do better to post more of us... if I allow myself to be photographed.



We took the Young Women to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant tonight - it was an interesting experience... some more willing to try new food than others. Matt taught them a bit about the food and table manners (or lack thereof) but it was really loud and hard to hear so we mostly just ate. The best was when they tried to guess what was in the dessert - Vietnamese food doesn't really have desserts like we do. This was a clear cup layered with black beans, yellow beans, green gelatin pieces and slightly sweetened coconut milk with ice... they tried it too, which was awesome! And then I gave them a Hostess chocolate cupcake as an American dessert to wash it all down - I want some serious sugar with my dessert - not beans!

Fuel Cost Calculator

I found this on a friend's blog - and it was exactly what I was looking for to help determine if the cost of gas will keep me from traveling this summer - I know the cost is high (about $4.10 for regular unleaded here, close to $5 for diesel), but is it less than flying still? We have a family reunion in Idaho and planned on driving -so anyway, here is the site:
Fuel Cost Calculator

It asks you the destination and the make and model for your car - pretty cool.

Hi!

So every morning when I get Claire out of her crib, we say hi to her "babies" on the wall - three pictures of her when she was just 2 months old. I wave and say hi, then I wave Claire's hand for her. Then we go down the stairs and I do the signs for mommy and daddy and point to our engagement photo on the wall, and then we say hi and wave to all the other photos on the wall. Maybe I need to get out more, but it's fun for us. And I think all this repetition is paying off - Claire is waving and I think she's tryin to say "hi" but it comes out more like just an "h" sound. Just listen to her in this video - it is so hard to record because as soon as she sees the camera she usually stops.

Claire at the Park

This is Claire with Easton - so cute! We can use this photo to tease her when she is 8 years old and hates boys. Emily took them to the park yesterday - we have to enjoy this weather because 30 straight days of 100+ is not far behind.

Cousins Gotta Hug!

I went up to Salt Lake for a work meeting on Wed - just a quick trip up and back for a client meeting. My sister offered to watch Claire (she lives about 20 minutes from the SLC airport) so she and McKinley could play. We have to get creative for ways to get the cousins together. It was crazy, but worth it. Becky met me at the rental car pick up, got Claire and then I was headed to learn all about planetariums and million dollar projectors for a tradeshow we are promoting in Vegas in two weeks. I think I got to see Becky for about an hour and a half - it was way too short. So sorry SLC friends - I had NO time for anything else.

Just some cuteness

And my house is a mess... disregard the clutter and focus on my cute kid :)

Book Review: The Host

The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
So, I read each book in the Twilight series in like 2 days - and this one in about two weeks. It gets off to a slow start, but I did like it in the end. It was harder for me to care about the characters, and I kind of wish I'd read this before the Twilight books since I had such a high expectation going in. I think I like science fiction to an extent, but a science fiction romance just isn't getting 5 stars from me :) Anyone in Vegas who wants to borrow it, just let me know.


View all my reviews.