Sarah and Cory ... Lovin' Life

Conversation with Spencer

2012-02-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Me, talking to Spencer: Do you love mommy?

Spencer: No

Me: Do you love daddy?

Spencer: No

Me: Do you love baby brother?

Spencer: No

Cory: Do you want to live here by yourself and be king?

Spencer: Yes

Lol. He cracks me up.

Nostalgia

2012-01-24T14:22:00.002-07:00

I'm feeling a little bit nostalgic and wanted to get some things down in writing. If the ramblings of an 8 1/2 months pregnant woman isn't your thing, feel free to skip reading this post :)

I realized I haven't blogged much about this second pregnancy. I didn't make the "big" announcement on here (though I believe I was intending to do so) and I didn't announce the gender, or anything. No "belly pictures" (take my word for it- I'm getting big) or anything like that. I've concluded that, in some ways, I've been quite the slacker. Now that I'm reaching the end (finally!) I wanted to get a few things down.

I'm not one of those people who love being pregnant, and who have glowing, fabulous things to say. I try not to complain too much, since I know how blessed I am that I can conceive and carry a healthy baby to term. I'm grateful that my body knows what to do to bring this precious infant into the world. But months of feeling nauseous take their toll and make me happy for the end of pregnancy (you'll never hear me exclaim that I want to be pregnant forever!) I'm at 34.5 weeks and still sick, every single morning. Some are worse than others, and some days it's inevitable that I'll throw up (even though I focus all my energy on trying not to throw up). By now, it usually lets up some by the afternoon, but some days it sticks around all day long. Sometimes it goes away and then makes a reappearance when I'm supposed to be making dinner. Add in the heartburn (wicked this time around!) and the fact that I still have a yeast infection in my mouth that coats my tongue in this gross, white film, making food taste different than it's supposed to... all in all, I'll be happy to be done.

Plus I miss my little Spencer. I'm more grateful than I can articulate for my family, my mom in particular. I think Spencer or I would have starved to death in the beginning (no, I'm not joking). She's given up almost every (weekday) morning for the past 7 months, to come over and take care of Spencer (and me). Cory's been wonderful about feeding him lunch, dinner, bathing him and putting him to bed. Spencer and I would not have survived without all the help.

It's just that I miss him. I know it sounds dumb, since it's not like I've gone anywhere... but my activities with Spencer have been severely limited. He's been my constant little buddy for almost 3 years. I grew him for 10 months... I birthed him... I nursed him (for 15 months!) We snuggled, napped, made dinner together, read books together, took walks together, ran errands together. All the fabulous summer plans I had for me and Spencer didn't happen. Most days I was too sick to leave the couch. I feel like I've been cheated out of precious time with him. I should have had 10 months to enjoy him, to savor the time left of just me and him, and I feel like I didn't do enough savoring.

And now I'm looking at a few more weeks, and life is going to be very different. No more being pregnant (yea!) but adjusting to having 2 kids. No longer will it be just me and Spencer. Don't get me wrong... I already love this second one, and I really am excited to meet him. I know my love for Spencer isn't going to change. It's just that a small part of me is grieving over lost time with my buddy. I was never very good with change, and this is going to be a big change. One day these feelings will be just a memory and I won't be able to imagine life without child #2. I know I'll adjust. I know I'll still be able to do stuff with Spencer. And I know I'll be happy no longer being pregnant. I'll have an adorable (and hilarious) toddler and a new little baby boy. Life will be good. As long as I keep focusing on the positive, I think we'll be ok :)

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas. It was fairly low-key, since Spencer was sick, Cory & I were fighting colds, and oh yeah... I'm still pregnant. I decided I'm a fan of low-key... it was nice to be at home and spend time as a family.

Spencer helping Cory put the lights on the tree

The Christmas tree was Spencer's favorite thing about Christmas - he loves the lights

Temple Square with Cory's parents

Temple Square (Spencer was in heaven with all the lights and water!)

Cooking Christmas breakfast

Presents! He loved unwrapping them... even if they weren't for him

Fall Fun

2011-12-10T21:02:00.001-07:00

Spencer's all about helping... he's a little copycat lately

Lighting ceremony at the Gateway

What's more fun than raking leaves? Throwing them in the air...

He can "dance" -- it's moments like this when being a parent is the best thing in the world!

Tell Me How... To Buy a Car Seat

2011-11-17T14:22:00.001-07:00

These "tell me how posts" haven't been quite as frequent as I originally intended... but I could really use some opinions on this one. I know how to buy a car seat... but advice on which one to buy would be appreciated.

Spencer's current car seat is rated to 35 lbs. and 35 inches. Given that, and the most current recommendation that babies should stay rear-facing 'til they're 2... and he's still in a rear-facing car seat (and no, it's not a convertible car seat- strictly rear-facing). He's nowhere near 35 lbs (haha, thank you 5th weight percentile) but he's about 34 inches tall... meaning we need a new car seat. Soooo... what to buy?

When we got Spencer's, we just got a rear-facing one, figuring that by the time he out-grew it, it would be used for the next kid (and yeah, baby #2 will make his appearance in less than 4 months). But now I'm not sure what to get for Spencer. We don't technically need a convertible one... so it seems to me that it would be best to just get a booster seat. It's just that some of the booster seats seem so big (most are rated 30-100 lbs) and Spencer's not quite there yet. So do we get a convertible seat? All he needs is 5 more lbs and he'll be big enough for a booster seat. I dunno. So many choices...

So tell me... what have you done for your kids? Any recommendations? Ones you've bought that you loved? Hated? I'm all ears :)

Halloween

2011-11-06T21:18:00.001-07:00

Halloween was really fun this year. Spencer got the hang of trick-or-treating really quick -- he'd knock on the door and hold up his pumpkin. He loved it. We dressed him up as a little Jedi and of course, we think he was totally adorable.

Wearing the Halloween shirt he picked out.

He loved carving pumpkins. Or rather, he loved cleaning out the guts.

The finished products.

We took advantage of the really nice weather in October and took Spencer to Tracy Aviary. He loved walking around, seeing the birds and chasing the peacocks. His favorite part was feeding the ducks.

18 Months!

2011-10-17T14:34:00.000-06:00

Spencer is 18 months! Wow. I know every mom feels like this... it's just going by so fast (and yet, some days are soooo long... go figure). I'm trying to savor this time, since 18 months is such a fun age! The "terrible two's" are just starting to rear their ugly head, but for the most part, Spencer is good-natured and loads of fun.

He's very adventurous and loves to be outside (cries every time I bring him in). If he could spend all day digging in the dirt/rocks, I think he'd be really happy. He also likes to 'color', although he's obviously not very good at it. He spends more time putting the crayons in the box, dumping them out, and repeating the process. He's also enjoying playing with play-doh. He likes trucks, cement mixers, balls and being chased around the house. He's very much a boy.

Here's some recent pictures. Despite my lack of blogging, we have managed to do some fun things this summer. Some days all we do is stay home, while I sit in the bathroom, waiting for the inevitable throwing up (and some nights are the same)... but some days we've been able to get out. My mom has been invaluable, coming over most mornings and taking Spencer outside for his walk around the block, or for some fun in the sandbox. Cory bathes him and gets him to bed most nights. Thank heavens for an awesome mom and husband!

My hips have been killing me lately, so Cory works on me at home, on his table. Of course, then Spencer thinks he needs a turn, too. It's adorable.

Freezing corn. The ice was Spencer's favorite part.

After his bath - love the farmer tan!

We built him a small sandbox and he loves it. LOVES it.

He's a really good eater (most of the time) and he'll eat anything if he can dip it. Fry sauce and ranch are his favorites.

My brother Joel is in the marching band at the U. They do a sort of pep rally at The Gateway on Friday nights, before home games on Saturday. We went one night and of course, Spencer enjoyed himself. There was water fountains, music for dancing and balloons.

He loves balloons.

He's my little helper. Wants to do everything I'm doing. He helps load the dishwasher, puts the soap in the dispenser, puts the wet clothes in the dryer, helps with vacuuming, and wants to be right there when any food is being made. This is him making pancakes.

And him helping make dinner. This is the face he makes when I tell him to 'smile'.

I know this looks like a Christmas picture, but it's actually taken at Gardner Village. He loves looking at Christmas lights... I'm really excited for December.

Spencer and his cousin Bailey at Gardner Village.

Feeding the ducks at Gardner Village.

We went to Pack Farms to pick out some pumpkins. Spencer's favorite part was riding in the cart.

And a celebration for Cory's birthday. He turned 27 (again). Happy birthday honey!

It may be time for another haircut... I just love his curls though.

Catching Up

2011-07-21T16:59:00.000-06:00

Alright, I know I'm quite behind. I've got a really good reason that will be another post. For now, a few pictures of what we've been up to.

Rocking Grandma's shades

Doing "snaps" on the 4th of July

Enjoying Mom's chocolate chip cookies

Loving the Centerville Parade

Centerville Parade

We went to Red Butte Gardens to see the roses. They were gorgeous. And all Spencer wanted to do was play in the dirt.

Red Butte

Trying on Dad's tie

Enjoying his "pool" in our backyard

Tickles from Dad

We did a weekend to Colorado, where Cory's sister lives. Spencer had a blast with his cousins.

At the farm

Making Grandpa proud by driving the tractor

He loves swings

Swimming in the pool (another thing he loves)

Tell Me How ... To Transition to One Nap

2011-06-14T11:07:00.003-06:00

I'm long overdue for another "tell me how" post. This time, I need you to tell me how to transition Spencer from two daily naps to one. He's such a good napper... well, was a good napper. He'd go down at 10, sleep for 1.5 hours, wake up so happy and pleasant. Then he'd go down around 2, sleep for another 1.5 hours, and wake up happy and pleasant. I loved the pattern of our days. This past week has been a whole 'nother story. He's driving me crazy.

I got sick and then he got sick, too, so in fairness, the week was crappy to begin with. When he gets sick, he doesn't sleep. Won't nap, and wakes up frequently at night. So it was a long week. He seems to be getting over his cold, but he still won't nap. He won't go down for a morning nap, but by 12 or so, he's super tired and ornery (and so am I!) I put him down and he sleeps for 1.5 hours but wakes up still tired and ornery. He's used to getting 3 hours of sleep during the day, and now will only sleep 1.5. By 5 in the afternoon, I'm frustrated and ready to sell him, cause he's tired and cranky and clingy and all other fun things. I'm sure this rhetoric sounds familiar to many of you...

So... what do I do? All the stupid "help" books say when you make the switch to one nap, they'll sleep longer to make up for only taking one, instead of two. HA! I'd love him to continue to take 2 naps, since we had such a nice pattern to our days. Now it's chaos. Maybe he'll go back to taking 2 when he's feeling all the way better, but probably not. He's 14 months, so close to the average that kids transition to one nap (it's 15 months, according to some sleep expert dude).

What time(s) do your kids nap? One or two? How long do they sleep? How did you know it was time to make the switch to just one nap? I realize that all kids are different... blah, blah, blah... but please help anyway. Your own personal experiences are welcome. Or if you don't have advice, feel free to bid. Like I said, he's driving me crazy... :) Good thing he's so adorable and I love him like mad... otherwise I really might sell him.

Easter, Gardens and Other Stuff

2011-05-09T10:10:00.014-06:00

Well, no shocker -- I'm behind again. Instead of doing a few posts to catch up, this will be a long one. Kudos if you make it to the end :)

Mom, Spencer and I visited Red Butte Gardens in mid-April to see the thousands of dandelions. It was very pretty. And nice to get that first 'taste' for spring.

Red Butte Gardens

Red Butte Gardens - Spencer's favorite part was the river. Of course.

Dying Easter eggs

Licking the (chocolate frosting) beaters

Hunting eggs

Easter Sunday - thanks to my dad for taking such great photos

Easter Sunday

Cory & his mini-me

Easter Sunday

So handsome

Hunting eggs

We put him to work after Easter dinner, cleaning up (haha :)

Thanksgiving Point, Tulip Festival - gorgeous weather and gorgeous flowers

YEA for spring!

Birthday Party

2011-04-16T10:40:00.008-06:00

Since Spencer's 1st birthday fell on a Tuesday, we had a party for him with family on Saturday (April 9th). Here's a few pictures.

Loves the homemade ice cream.

With his cake -- they're blocks (in case you couldn't tell)

He sort of got the hang of opening presents...

We got some great stuff that he's been playing with all week long. Thanks to everyone who came and made his 1st birthday party a really fun memory!

Time for a Haircut... ?

2011-04-16T10:17:00.002-06:00

When my brother(s) & father can do this to my son's hair... does that mean it's time for a haircut?

Yeah since I can now put it in a ponytail... I think it might be time.

We tried to get a family shot at Spencer's birthday party... here's the best we got.

1 Year Old!

2011-04-06T15:23:00.011-06:00

I'm sure I'll begin every birthday post with the line "I can't believe my baby is __!" In this case, I can't believe a whole year has passed! And what a year it's been ... moving from New York, finding a place to live, getting settled in, adjusting to being parents, starting a chiropractic business and trying to build up a cliental. Wow, sometimes I'm amazed that we survived :) We never would have made it through the year without the support of our families.

We celebrated Spencer's 1st birthday yesterday. People ask me all the time if I can imagine life without him. Well, I do remember what life was like before him (a lot easier to do stuff!) but he's a perfect fit into our little family. He's bright, inquisitive, and a whole lot of fun to have around. We love him to pieces and know that he came to our family exactly when he was supposed to.

Born 4/5/10 @ 12:10 pm (Eastern Standard Time)

4/5/11 @ 10:10 am (Mountain Standard Time)

He loved the balloons we got him.

Since Spencer has no idea what a birthday is, it was a pretty low-key day. We had family dinner, dessert and presents. Here he is with his peanut butter fingers.

Eating his peanut butter finger (loves them -- takes after his mom :)

With presents.

He's soooo close to walking on his own... we hope this will give him the encouragement he needs.

We've been very blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby. Happy birthday sweetheart. We love you so much. We're so grateful you chose to join our family!

"New" table

2011-03-28T17:55:00.004-06:00

This post is over a month late... sorry Andrea :)

When we moved to Utah from New York, my brother gave us an old kitchen table that was in good shape. It fit perfectly into our kitchen and we were happy with it. Unfortunately, after canning some peaches, we burned the table (despite double towels!) So it looked like this:

I figured it could be fixed, but I had no idea how and didn't want to figure it out. Lucky for me, I have a brilliant and talented friend who selflessly offered her expertise to help me sand it down, paint and finish it. And yeah, it looks great!

When sanded down, the wood underneath was so pretty.

At Andrea's suggestion, we painted it a pretty off-white color.

It doesn't show too well in the picture, but you can see the gorgeous wood grain through the paint, giving it a really nice look.

Like I said, it looks great. Thanks a lot, Andrea!

Yum

2011-03-08T14:16:00.007-07:00

Wherever the 3 of us go, people always remark on how much Spencer looks like Cory. Total strangers pet Spencer's hair and remark to Cory that he's got a "mini-me." He does look just like Cory, but I'm afraid he's got my eating habits. Here's the proof:

He loves cheese. If I get the bag of cheese out of the fridge, he comes crawling in as fast as he can and begs for some.

He loves homemade raspberry jam and licks it off his biscuit, not bothering to eat the biscuit.

He loves whip cream (from a Lion House pie that Cory shared with him).

That's my boy!

Trip to the Zoo

2011-03-08T13:54:00.006-07:00

Spencer and I took advantage of one of the free days at Hogle Zoo and went in February (well, we went in January, too, but I forgot my camera). He loved it both times. He loves to be outside, go for walks, and loves watching other kids... so the zoo is a fun place for him. It's nice that it's not very far away (and nice that it was free!)

The ducks were his favorite.

Pretty view of "This is the Place"

(There's a giraffe in the background)

10 Months

2011-02-18T14:10:00.002-07:00

Spencer is 10 months (and a half... this post is a little late).

Here's some of his favorite activities:

Opening and closing doors, cabinets (and the bathroom is his favorite room... little weirdo :)

Turning on and off the lights.

Playing with Dad.

(Spencer's very attached to Cory in the mornings; I think because he realizes that dad has to go to work... so he follows Cory around all morning long. I love Spencer's expression!)

Playing with/on the dishwasher.

Playing with the camera (and looking at photos of himself).

Eating (see video at the bottom of this post).

Taking baths.

Hiding stuff under the radiator, couch- anyplace that's small and tight.

Pulling up on everything (whether steady or not!) and hamming it up for the camera.

Stacking things (and then throwing them, chasing them, and stacking again).

Drumming on stuff

Eating

Pushing things around

Babbling

Playing in general

Tell Me How... To Get My 10-Month Old to Stop Throwing Food

2011-02-14T09:30:00.004-07:00

Ok, so it's not a very "Valentines-y" post, but we could use the advice. Today's question is:

Tell Me How... To Get My 10-Month Old to Stop Throwing Food.

Spencer is 10 months. And he's in a throwing phase (at least I hope it's a phase!!) He throws food, his sippy cup, silverware, toys... pretty much whatever he's holding. He loves throwing his toys and chasing them all over the house. It's not so much a problem with throwing toys and the like... but when we put food in front of him, he chucks it onto the floor. I'd love to make the rule that if you throw food, then you're done eating. But I don't think he's old enough to "get" it yet. Obviously, we're not going to starve him, and he throws food at the very beginning of the meal (not just at the end, to indicate he's done). So tell me how to teach him not to throw food. Is this just a phase? He used to be so good at eating whatever we put in front of him, and now he just throws it. Can he be taught? Do we just need to wait it out?

Advice from all you experienced parents would be much appreciated.

66 Cents

2011-02-09T21:43:00.005-07:00

I got all 5 of these deodorants for a total of $0.66. Smiths has them on sale for $2 each, and a recent Red Plum (1/25?) had a $2 off coupon... making them free. The $0.66 was tax. Yea for couponing!

Tell Me How...

2011-01-21T12:00:00.004-07:00

My friend Jade has this great series she does on her blog she calls "Tell Me How...". She posts all sorts of questions and her friends give such awesome answers. I always read all the comments, since her friends always have such good suggestions. Recently, she's done "Tell me how... to deal with dust" and "Tell me how... to unpack." I've always thought that a blog is the perfect platform for something like that... what better place to get advice than from all your friends?

So I'm going to start my own "tell me how..." series. My first question: Tell me how... to date my husband (when we have no money and a 9-month old).

I'm pretty sure that many of you are in a similar situation. We're trying to grow Cory's practice, so disposable income is pretty sparse. Add to that the fact that Spencer goes to bed between 7:30-8:00... so we don't "go out" much. We don't have a lot of money for movies, dinner out, or mini-golf (things we used to do). Plus with Spencer in bed, it's not like we can go anywhere. Now yes, we have family nearby who are always willing to babysit... and we do take advantage of that. But I'm talking about stuff Cory & I can do at the house, for free/cheap (besides watch a movie). What do the rest of you do when the kids are in bed? (aside from crawl, exhausted, into bed yourselves). What are some good dating ideas? How do you keep your relationship strong? (cheesy, I know, but still a valid question).

And Jade, if you're reading this (and I know you're a little busy), feel free to post on your blog.

Let the commenting begin... :)

9 months

2011-01-21T11:08:00.008-07:00

Spencer is 9 months (wow!) old. He mastered crawling a while ago, making us both very happy. He's quite fast (he's got a "turbo" speed that cracks Cory & I up). He's pulling up on things and will take a few baby steps. He's got stranger anxiety and loves to be held by mom or dad. He's very interested in food... eating it, watching it be prepared, etc. When I make dinner, he's in the kitchen, constantly at my feet. He watches the stove, the microwave, and loves to pull stuff out of the cupboards and look into the fridge. In short, he's happy and healthy and active.

He loves to play under the table.

In the fridge.

Loves Dad (and loves Dad to hold him!)

Such a cutie.

Get out the camera, and he's such a ham.

Mmm, food.

A typical dinner preparation at our house.

He loves the bath (thanks mom for the tub!)

We finally unpacked our last 2 boxes. They were all of our framed pictures, artwork, wall hangings, etc. Spencer was in paper heaven.

Cute, cute, cute.

He such a boy.

Pulling off his socks remains his favorite game.

Playing "catch" with Dad.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T21:14:00.008-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was so nice to spend time with both families. It was also fun to spoil Spencer and see him experience his first Christmas. We sure love him!

Reading with Uncle Joel

Thanks Mom for such a cute outfit

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Playing 'Bond' on the Wii

Christmas Day with Grandma Bingham

Oooh look at all my presents!

Day after Christmas... eating lunch with Dad. I love this face: "Dad, I want some..."

If you get near his mouth with food, he opens like a baby bird.

I'm sorry, but I think he's the most adorable baby ever.

Reading "Brown Bear" with Grandma Tina.

Couponing

2010-12-28T15:40:00.008-07:00

I've started "couponing" in the last month or so. I never really bothered to do it while we were in New York, mostly because there was just one grocery store near us (and it wasn't that great) and a Walmart. I would clip the occasional coupon, but that was about it. About a month or so ago, a friend on Facebook posted this blog that she follows that steers you towards some great deals and I started reading it religiously. From that blog, I found 2 more to follow. Now I read all 3 every day. And they always have fantastic deals.

So now that I've started couponing, I must say, it's pretty fun. I love getting stuff for free. Thanks to my mom, I've learned to shop sales and recognize a good price. I cringe when I have to buy something at full value (thanks a lot, Mom!) Couple that upbringing with some savvy couponing and I've been able to get some awesome deals on stuff.

So since I use this blog (partly) as a journal, I'm going to occasionally post some of my more awesome finds. I know this will bore some people, and I certainly won't post everything I buy, but I want to be able to look back and see some of the more tremendous deals. So without further ado, here's the first one.

All this stuff for only $6 (thanks Smiths!)

And $10 at Target (the Tabasco sauce is never on sale).

Oh and in case anyone is interested, the 3 blogs I read are:

http://moneysavingmom.com/

http://hip2save.com/

http://www.freebies2deals.com/

November & December

2010-12-15T14:23:00.015-07:00

Here's some pictures from November and half of December.

(The first 4 should be at the end... but I don't want to spend the time to fix it...)

Christmas lights at Temple Square.

Dad combed my hair...

We went for a fall hike up Farmington canyon. Weather was gorgeous and it was beautiful.

Like father, like son.

First snow.

His hair is getting really long and it's so adorable.

New snowsuit.

He loves Cory.

So cute.

It was too cold for Turkey Bowl, so we all played dodgeball instead. Very fun and much warmer!

Watching the dodgeball.

First Thanksgiving dinner.

Playing with cousin Fisher.

Helping with laundry.

Impressive he managed to back in there.

He loves french fries. Loves them. (Don't worry; it was homemade).

Yoga baby... downward facing dog...

Helping with the Christmas decorations.

Helping me with couponing.

Helping with the dishes.

Eating dinner with Dad.

Playing bongos with Dad.

He loves the Christmas tree with the lights.

September & October

2010-11-01T20:33:00.014-06:00

This is going to be a long post. I've been meaning to put up some pictures for weeks, so now you get 2 months worth of pictures. Sorry, there were just so many cute ones to pick from that there's quite a few. Enjoy :)

(I accidentally uploaded them in a smaller format -- so to see them larger, click on the photo)

Visiting cousin Fisher (look at Fisher's face, too funny)

Driving with mom

First shiner

With my mom -- Spencer's face says "don't take my picture"

Fall colors, overlooking Midway

Watching the ducks and fish

First time eating rice cereal (yeah, he's not a fan)

Yum...

Too cute... skinny little guy

One of his favorite toys -- an old remote that we don't use anymore -- he loves the buttons

Hanging with mom and grandpa

Who says boys' clothes aren't really cute?

Love this face

Cory thinks this outfit makes him look like Elvis

Swimming with dad -- he loves the water

He's such a happy baby

Cory rock climbing down in St. George

Tied-died onesie -- so cute

Eating his toes (luckily it was immediately after a bath, so they're clean)

Halloween as a pumpkin

Again, just a cute shot

At Gardner Village, watching the ducks

Gardner Village

We found something he likes to eat -- a vanilla wafer

Cute face

Halloween outfit (check out the feet)

Carving a pumkin

The finished products

Chilling in the bath

Dressed up as a pirate (thanks to grandma for the costume!)

His first Halloween candy -- don't worry, he didn't actually eat it. But he loves wrappers, and played with it all night. He even took it in the bath with him -- he just wouldn't let go.

Helping dad brush his teeth

Such a sweetheart

5 months

2010-09-16T15:18:00.010-06:00

I'm sure I'll say this every new month... but I can't believe Spencer is 5 months old! It amazed me that he grew from this little peanut into a healthy 7-pound baby... and now, I'm amazed at all the stuff he's managed to learn in the first 5 months of life!

He has to be in the middle of everything... so this is us, eating lunch

Helping me sort clothes

Baby push-ups (he's been doing these for over a month)

Of course, he puts everything in his mouth. He particularly loves to suck on his play-mat bars

So cute

He's close to crawling. He gets up on his knees (as you can see) and rocks... or goes backwards
He's also sitting up pretty well on his own (and this empty water bottle is his favorite thing to play with-- go figure)

With his favorite toy

Reading stories with mom

Sleep Update

2010-09-05T17:03:00.004-06:00

Thank you everyone for your comments and your emails on the issue of sleep. I really appreciated them. It's nice to have stuff like blogs and facebook where you can ask other parents (en masse) for advice, etc.

We decided to implement the "cry it out" method. And it worked. After progressively less crying each time I put him down, Spencer learned to put himself to sleep. Now that we've been doing it for over a week, he does pretty good. Sometimes he still cries when I lay him down for sleep... and occasionally he revolts and refuses to sleep. The first and second naps usually go pretty well... it's the third nap, around 2:30 or 3:00 that gives us the most trouble. He still only sleeps for about 45 minutes at a time, but I think that's just how he is. He's what one book calls a "short napper". As long as he gets some sleep, everyone is happier. I don't dread naptimes as much, and I love the time that I spend rocking him. He cuddles right into me and I think (over and over) just how much I love him.

So again, thanks everyone. It's nice to know I'm not the only parent out there who's trying to figure it out as I go along! I remember hearing people joke about how they wish their kids came with an instruction manual... and now I know the feeling :) He's 5 months old today and I can't imagine life without him. Happy 5 months, Spencer!

That's My Boy

2010-09-01T20:30:00.003-06:00

Given the choice between his favorite toy or a bag of cookies, Spencer chose the cookies.

(Make sure your volume is on)

That's my boy!

To Sleep... or Not...

2010-08-25T15:56:00.002-06:00

I don't normally use this blog as a place to whine... but I need help. I (naively) thought that I would be granted never-ending patience when I gave birth. I never dreamed I could yell at my kid. But sleep deprivation makes you do some crazy stuff...

I'm going to preface this post by stating the obvious- I love Spencer. Every time I think about just how much I love him, I get all teary-eyed. And I get really defensive when someone (other than me) calls him "fussy" or any synonym of fussy. I give my standard response "he's such a good baby- he's just tired." And it's true- he is a good baby. He's got such a cute personality and he's a joy to have around... except when he's tired. Which brings me to the reason for this post...

Spencer is having difficulty sleeping. He's never been a fan of sleeping, not since day 1 of his little life. All the books and articles I've read say that babies' sleep is pretty disorganized for about the first 3-4 months of life. I think I was subconsciously thinking that once he hit 4 months of age, all his sleep problems would somehow be resolved. Now that he's hit 4 months (and is a few weeks past 4 months), I'm finding that's not the case. And I'm going crazy.

I've got 2 friends that have little boys the same age as Spencer. They are able to fall asleep on their own, take nice long naps, go down to bed early and are generally great sleepers. Spencer does none of those things. And when they talk about their awesome-at-sleeping babies, I find myself thinking bitter and resentful thoughts (which in turn makes me feel like a horrible person).

Spencer can't put himself to sleep yet... I have to rock him to sleep, until he's passed out cold. If I just lay him down when he's tired, he screams. Bloody murder. And instead of screaming himself to sleep, he gets more and more upset, 'til I have to go pick him up. His naps last only 30-45 minutes (which is barely enough time for me to brush my teeth and shower, let alone sleep myself). If we put Spencer to bed earlier than 8:30pm, he either cries forever, or he sleeps for 30-45 minutes, then wakes up. He thinks he's just had a nap and stays up for hours more, until he finally passes out.

He's been sick for a week, which I know hasn't helped. Then I got sick. Then Cory was out of town. Then Cory was sick. It's not been a fun week. But now we're all finally getting better, I'm going to try the "sleep training" again.

I've read lots of articles on sleeping tips, online and in various other baby books. I've read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. All of this only makes me feel like the worst mom in the entire world. I feel like I'm failing my child. I want him to be well-rested, so he can continue to grow and develop. I feel awful, because I know he's so tired. I feel guilty for being unable to get my kid to sleep. I get all these emails about how much sleep babies need and then I stress out over it, until sometimes I can't sleep. He rubs his eyes all day and by the end of the day, his eyes are so red. He can't seem to get over his cold, because he won't sleep. Poor baby!

Like I said... I've got major mom guilt and one overtired child. I want him to sleep. I don't know what to do. We can't seem to get on any consistent schedule, despite me trying every day, all day. I've come to dread nap time, because it's usually a battle. I spend 30-90 minutes (depending on the day) trying to get him to go to sleep. And then he's only asleep for 30-45 minutes. It's extremely frustrating. And meanwhile, I'm ready to pull out my hair and he's getting more and more tired.

Like I said, I need help. Advice. Or words of comfort. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gone through this. How do I help him learn to fall asleep on his own? What time do I put him to bed? How do we get on a schedule? What am I doing wrong? Please help :) You all are experienced moms (and dads) so must have lots of good tips. Help us!

Professional shots

2010-08-02T11:16:00.009-06:00

I know it seems that all I do is put up pictures of Spencer... but these were too cute not to share. We did an impromptu photo session a couple of weeks ago with a friend who's a professional photographer... Cortney from Bouncin' Baby Photography, and the photos are just so cute.

Love this one

His favorite activity... drooling!

Chiropractic Open House

2010-07-22T11:08:00.005-06:00

Cory's new office is having an open house and everyone is invited!

Details:
Saturday July 31st
9am - 3pm
1525 N. Main, Suite 100, Bountiful (where the old JCPenny was -- bottom floor, southeast corner of the new complex)

Free drawings, FREE FOOD (who doesn't love free food?!), and booths by other local businesses. You can also take a tour of the new office and let me tell you- it is nice.

Also, free health screenings being done by Cory.

Cory's been working really hard on the their new website, and the more people look at it, the higher google ranks it (or something like that) so please click on the link and go have a look around. http://www.completecare-chiropractic.com/

Hope to see some of you at the open house!

July - 3 months old

2010-07-22T10:41:00.006-06:00

Here's some pictures from some of the fun stuff we've done in the month of July.

At the Centerville parade. He seems to really like parades, except for the loud noises (hence, the earplugs).

Rocking the earplugs at the parade

Swimming on the 4th of July

Utah Lake boating fun

Too much fun

Hanging with cousin Fisher

Farmington parade with my mom.

Playing with Dad

He loves his playmat. He's got excellent head control and loves to roll over.

He's got better hand coordination and can now grab for objects. He loves this lion dangly toy - his favorite.

Smiling in the bumbo

My Little Buddy

2010-07-06T14:18:00.003-06:00

Spencer has now been part of our lives for over a year. From the very beginning, he's been my little buddy, my constant companion for nearly 10 months. Wherever I went, whatever I did, he was there, with me. I got to hear his little heartbeat, I got to feel him moving around, and I got to feel him kick. I talked to him all the time... and now, a year later, nothing has changed. I still talk to him... only now he jabbers back at me. He still goes everywhere with me. At the current time, I'm his favorite person in the world. He's still my little buddy, a perfect gift from God.

Now that I'm three months removed from being pregnant, I can appreciate what a miracle it was. From a small egg came this beautiful child. He's growing and changing so much every day. He's now laughing and it's adorable. I caught a short video of him laughing - too cute.

3 months

2010-06-26T13:50:00.010-06:00

Well, I was intending to do a post for Spencer's 2 months, but our computer broke. We ordered the replacement part twice and both times they sent us the wrong thing. Finally, after like 3 weeks and mounting frustration, we finally got the right part. So... we finally got internet and our computer is working again. Knock on wood :)

He'll be 12 weeks old on Monday. I can't believe it. Everyone always says they growp up so fast, but it's different seeing it firsthand. Spencer is developing quite the little personality. He's very smily and very chattery. He loves to make noise and loves to drool. He's doing better sleeping at night, though he does like to wake up at 5:30 am (I however, do not!) He's finally taking naps during the day and we're getting a little more on a schedule.

Here's some recent photos.

Groovin' in his bouncer

Love this face... I think he tires of us taking his picture all the time...

Right after a bath, which he loves

Hanging with Dad on the couch

Such a hilarious pose

So cute

His hair after he wakes up

A different angle

Trying to figure out how to roll over

Just chillin'

Sitting in the box with all his diapers

First time in the bumbo

Sitting with mom

What can I say... we love him!!!

Change of Plans

2010-05-20T16:44:00.017-06:00

So I haven't blogged in a while. We don't have internet yet at our house, so that's my excuse. Thank goodness my parents have it :)

We're safely home in Utah. The drive took us 3 1/2 days. It wasn't too bad, but I'm not doing it again with a 9-day old infant. Only a few days after getting here, Cory had a different job opportunity dropped in his lap. So instead of moving to Logan, as was the original plan, we're in Bounitful, only 10 minutes from my parents. It's a brand new office and on the bottom floor of a brand new condo complex. It's a good opportunity and we're grateful for it. Plus it's been very nice to be so close to family.

Spencer is doing well. He's gained a few inches and a few pounds. He's still got all of his red baby hair and every place we take him, the first thing people say is "look at all that hair!" We think he's the most adorable baby on the planet, but I admit to some bias :) He seems to have some of both of our personalities -- he's fairly laid-back like Cory, but at the same time, he loves to be in the middle of things. As long as he can see me and I'm talking to him, he's fairly content. Of course, he does love to be held. He's started to coo and smile at us, and it melts my heart everytime (a good thing, since I occasionally want to give him away, as he often refuses to nap during the day time).

Here's some recent photos.

We were trying to take a picture of his pouty bottom lip...

Spencer and his cousin Fisher - only 5 days apart in age.

Haha, Spencer wouldn't let go of Fisher... it was hilarious!

Not sure what he thinks of the Moby wrap...

He's got a very good pouty lower lip...

Spencer with my parents, at my brother's wedding. Their colors were black, white and green.

Hanging with Dad...

So cute!

All the boys...

Spencer is here!

2010-04-12T10:03:00.006-06:00

He's here! Spencer David Bingham finally made his appearance on Monday April 5th at 12:09 pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and measured 19.5 inches (not too shabby for very short parents!) The birth story will have to wait for another post. Suffice it to say that labor was only 6 hours and I managed to have a natural, non-medicated birth -- just what I wanted. It was harder than I ever imagined it would be... but the sense of accomplishment was like nothing else. It would not have been possible without Mom and Cory at my side for the entire 6 hours, so I'm grateful to them for supporting me when I needed it most.

Spencer is happy and healthy, which we're grateful for. I'm healing nicely, which I'm grateful for. This is moving week for us, so we're loading the moving truck on Wednesday and beginning our journey westward. Spencer rides in the car well and seems to like his car seat, which is good, since he's got about 4 days of riding in the very near future.

Blog posts are probably going to be sparse over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a couple of pictures. The general consensus seems to be that he looks just like Cory. I think he's pretty darned cute, but I might be a tad biased :)

Baby Shower

2010-03-12T08:16:00.004-07:00

A few pictures from the shower my work threw for me. We got some really cute outfits. Is there anything cuter than little baby clothes? I think not. Well, except for maybe little babies dressed in their cute clothes :) Anyways, it was a sort of combined baby shower/going away party. My last day is Friday March 26th (unless baby has other ideas and decides to come early). I've loved working here at the chiropractic college. Not only for all the perks I get (free chiropractic and acupuncture care, discounted tuition for Cory, lunch time with Cory, etc) but because I've loved the people I've worked with. I was truly blessed to land this job. It's been the perfect fit and has blessed our family tremendously. I'm excited for baby to come... but I'm definitely going to miss working here and miss all the great people who make this a wonderful place to work!

Sacred Snow

2010-02-23T11:02:00.005-07:00

Our friends Matt & Renee finally came to visit us! After what I believe has been 4 other unsuccessful attempts to visit us, they finally made it. It sure was fun to see them, and meet their son Jaeden. Of course, we did what we've done for all other visitors... go see the church historical sights.

We didn't take a ton of pictures (mostly because we've already got a bunch from other trips to the sights)... but we did get a few of a snowy Sacred Grove. Most people don't get to see it in the winter ('cause let's face it, it's cold!) But it's very peaceful and pretty. We didn't see anyone else in the grove our whole time there.

It was a quick trip for the Memmotts. But it was very nice to see them and get to spend a little time together. People always ask us if we're going to miss New York when we move... and the answer is yes, at least certain parts. How many other people get to live in the Cradle of the Restoration? We've been here for (almost) 4 years... living right where the Church was reorganized... getting to tour these sacred sights so many times that we've lost count. It's special every single time we go. We'll miss it, definitely.

32 weeks

2010-02-04T07:45:00.003-07:00

Alright, as you can see from my weird smile, I dislike posing for pictures. But it does show off nicely our growing baby. I'm now 32 weeks (almost 33) and feeling more and more uncomfortable. Baby seems to be growing straight out... looking at me from the back, you wouldn't even know I was pregnant. Various muscles and ligaments have all started giving me grief, so thank heavens that I'm married to a wonderful man... who (conveniently) happens to be a chiropractor! I was already a big fan of chiropractic... and now I'm an even bigger fan. It's helped so much ease some of the aches and pains.

Baby is very active, kicking and punching me quite often. He even gets the hiccups. He's head down and his little feet are up in my ribs (just one of those aches!) I can sometimes feel his feet through my skin and see them as he's moving them... which is a fantastically strange sensation!

We don't have much other exciting news to share. I pretty much go to work, go to the gym, make dinner and then sit on the couch (or sit on the couch while Cory makes dinner). It's a really exciting life :) We've started to pack some stuff up, so we can sell some furniture that we don't plan on bringing with us. We've got a tour of the hospital planned for next week, we're going to a cloth diapering class, and we've been reading lots of books and watching natural childbirth videos. Like I said, exciting.

I am putting together a list of what needs to go in the 'take-to-the-hospital' bag (for both Cory & I). I've got a fairly extensive list, but feel free to comment about what you thought was essential. There's always the chance you think of something that we haven't. Also, for those couple of people who have asked - we are registered at Target. Please don't take this to mean you have to buy us presents... it's just an FYI. Our ward is throwing us a shower, and the college is throwing us a shower/goodbye party and we're telling people that gift cards would be wonderful gifts. The less stuff we have to move, the better :)

Less than 2 months 'til baby makes his big debut! We're so excited!

What's wrong with this picture?

2010-01-21T07:47:00.007-07:00

Read the first paragraph of this article (click on it to make it larger):

Now, I've only read the Twilight series a few times (double digits still count as a 'few', right?). I don't recall reading anything about a character named Carlisle Cooper. Cooper? Seriously, I ripped this page right out of my Good Housekeeping magazine. Doesn't anyone proofread anymore?!? Having worked for a few college newspapers for a number of years, and being involved in that proofreading process, I totally understand how small errors slip by. But Carlisle Cooper? Come on, this is a book series that has sold over 85 million copies worldwide. I find this to be extremely amusing ... and a little embarrassing for Good Housekeeping. But too funny not to share!

Happy holidays for us

2010-01-06T12:49:00.012-07:00

I know, Christmas was a few weeks ago... but I'm just getting around to posting our pictures on the blog. We had a wonderful Christmas. We drove down to D.C. to spend it with our friends Em & Brett. I think this was our 5th visit to D.C. but we wanted to see the sights at Christmas, and we never pass up the chance to see Em & Brett. They're like family to us. Plus, we all got to spend a few days in New York City together, and that was wild.

Christmas tree in front of the Capitol Building.

The White House

The White House Christmas tree... though not as close to the White House as I thought it was going to be...

Christmas morning. Abby was too cute while opening presents. The present she's unwrapping is actually mine (and I'm very excited to read it!) but since all she wanted to do was unwrap the presents, she opened some that weren't technically hers. She'd unwrap one, look at it, toss it aside, and grab for another one. Too cute! Cory & I decided that we're just going to wrap up empty boxes for our little one this Christmas...

Christmas dinner. Delicious!!!

Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery. Very cool to see!

Mount Vernon, home of George Washington. It's right on the Potomac River. Very picturesque.

Washington DC temple, at night. They do a mini-temple square, and decorate all the surrounding trees. Very pretty.

Brett, Em, me, Cory

The Monday following Christmas, we drove up to New York City. We wanted to see all the NYC Christmas sights. This is Rockefeller Center. And no, we didn't ice skate, since it apparently costs $50 per person to do so. Ack! But it was fun to watch :)

The famed Rockefeller Center tree.

Em & I, looking quite awesome in our 2010 glasses.

Macy's Department Store.

One of Macy's decorated windows.

Ground Zero. Every other time we've been there, it's just been a hole in the ground. It's nice to see they're actually constructing something. We visited the church that's across the way, and they had many artifacts and posters memorializing 9/11. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I've seen it... I still choke up.

Times Square. You can see the pole that the ball drops down. Apparently the ball wasn't out... we think because it was so very windy.

I'm putting up this unflattering picture of me so maybe you can appreciate how cold it was. The temperature was only in the teens and the wind was gusting up to 50 mph... making it feel about 0. I'm wearing 4 layers on the top, plus my coat. I'm getting big enough that fitting into my coat without 4 layers is challenging... Cory had to literally zip me in and I could barely move. I felt like Randy from A Christmas Story...

Em, Brett, me - on the decorated streets of New York City.

Like I said, we had a very good time. Baby was actually pretty well behaved, and I only threw up twice the entire trip... and luckily it wasn't on the streets of NYC or on the subway. We're grateful for good friends who feel like family, when we couldn't be with family for the holidays. It was an awesome vacation, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We got back to our house on the 30th (no, we didn't want to stay at Times Square to see the ball drop; we watched it from the comfort of our warm living room). We vegged for New Years, watching as much football as possible, and eating lots of stuff that was tasty (but not nutritious). An excellent way to start the new year!

How cute are these boots?

2009-12-22T16:45:00.005-07:00

My birthday was this past Sunday, and these boots were my present from Cory. So cute! We went out to dinner on Saturday to Buffalo Wild Wings (which I'd been craving for weeks) to celebrate and unfortunately, my food didn't stay down. Sigh. But it sure was yummy while it lasted. We had a nice, laidback Sunday and Cory made me dinner. Luckily that stayed down :)

I've wanted a rocking chair for years. Even more now that we're expecting; I want to put it in the baby's room. This was my dad's present to me for my birthday/Christmas. It's genuine Amish handcrafted. It's so pretty and I'm so excited about it. It will be nice to have a tangible souvenir to take home to Utah with us from New York. Other than all the pictures and memories, of course.

Wonderful Weekend

2009-12-01T08:28:00.008-07:00

We had a very nice Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed in town and had dinner with a family in our ward. Of course, I took my camera and then forgot to take a group picture. The Simmons family has been a true blessing to Cory & I. I tutor 3 of the kids with their math homework, so that's been an additional source of income. They often feed me dinner when I'm there (and then pay me on top of that). They graciously welcomed us into their home for Thanksgiving, and let us bring all our laundry, so we didn't have to go to the laundry-mat (one of my least favorite things to do, especially whilst pregnant).

As we were eating the delicious feast Deena made, we went around the table and said the things we were grateful for. Cory said he was grateful for the true gospel and that no matter where you live, there's always a ward family there to take you in. The Simmons family has done that for us - taken us in while we're so far from home. I'm grateful to them for that. I'm also grateful for Cory, for I don't think I would have survived these past 5 months without him. As much as this pregnancy has been not fun, I'm so grateful that Cory and I will get to welcome a beautiful little spirit into our family.

Instead of going shopping on Black Friday, we slept in, cleaned house and went to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree.

We played Christmas music and decorated the tree. It was a nice alternative to the craziness that is Black Friday. Normally I love Black Friday shopping, but we live so far from any stores ... and I'm 5 months pregnant and just so very lazy :) We did venture out to the malls on Saturday, and just about completed all of our shopping. Hooray for us!

Here's a picture of the decorated tree:

And a picture of me at 23 weeks, with the tree. People keep saying to me "wow, you look pregnant" ... which I guess is a good thing, since I only have 4 more months to go!

New Moon

2009-11-23T14:16:00.003-07:00

What I really wanted was a picture of me at the movie theater, hugging a poster for New Moon. There wasn't one, anywhere. Sad, huh?

I LOVED it! I thought it was awesome! Better than Twilight. Better acting, better special effects, better make-up and costumes, better flow to the story ... just all around better. I loved Twilight, don't get me wrong, but it seems most of the rough edges and kinks were smoothed out in New Moon. Parts of the movies moved faster than the book, which I appreciated. Less of Bella sitting around and crying. Less of her moping over Edward's gorgeous face and never getting to see it again. Good job on the werewolves. And the Volturi. Those red contacts were creepy! And what a cliffhanger of an ending (well, for those few people who haven't read the books). Well done!

We drove all the way to Rochester to see it on a humungous screen, since theaters around here suck. Cory, being such a good sport, came with me. He estimated that about 10% of the theater was male. The baby cooperated for the movie, for which I was glad. We enjoyed dinner afterwards, which I promptly threw up in the parking lot. I guess dinner and a movie was too much to ask. But at least I saw the movie without incident. Now I'm ready to go again!

20 weeks

2009-11-10T07:40:00.007-07:00

Yep, it's official. I'm definitely pregnant.

I think I feel more pregnant than I look in these pictures. I'm at 20 weeks, so about halfway done. In that first month of being so sick, I never thought I'd get this far. I couldn't fathom being pregnant and sick for one more day, so even one more week felt like an eternity. But here I am, halfway done! I can't believe it. Now we've got to think of things like a registry, names, etc. I find myself talking to him all the time. Sometimes I still can't believe I've got this little miracle growing inside me!!

We're made the decision to stay here through mid-April. For lots of reasons that I won't get into -- but the main one was insurance. We'll stay here, I'll continue to work and be insured, Cory will also continue working at the school, and we'll have the baby here. Then in mid-April we'll pack up and move back to Utah. A cross-country drive with a 2-week old... wish us luck. Better than going at 6 months pregnant and in the middle of December, right?!?! It will be adventurous, that's for sure.

And we're starting to think about getting stuff for the baby. So I'm open to suggestions from all you experienced moms. Stuff you can't live without... stuff that seemed cool then wasn't worth the money... pretty much any advice you want to throw my way!

We're having a...

2009-11-03T08:21:00.005-07:00

BOY!!! Kudos to all you readers who guessed boy. Cory and I were both convinced we were having a girl. Everyone I work with thought it was a girl, my OBGYN thought it was a girl, my acupuncturist thought it was a girl... but nope, it's a BOY! After a little bit of initial shock, we couldn't stop grinning at each other. He will be the first grandchild on my side, and the first grandson on Cory's side.

Baby is healthy, which is what I'm most thankful for. I've been half worried that baby is starving to death, since I so often throw up my food. But nope, baby is growing and quite active. We could see him kicking, squirming and rolling. I think I've been feeling a little bit of him squirming, but no kicking yet... and watching him on the screen, I'm sure that's going to change. The ultrasound tech said he was very cooperative, and she got all the pictures and positions she needed.

It was so neat to see all the little parts on the screen. His little femur bones, his spine, his heart chambers... everything. So precious. We feel so blessed!

And now for the best part... pictures!

Nice profile shot

Cute baby feet

And my personal favorite... the alien picture

We're just so excited. We've told all our immediate family members... but my mom wants to be surprised, so if you're reading this, don't tell my mom. We'll see how long we can keep the gender a secret. I'm sure I'm going to slip up and call "it" a "he" and the surprise will be out. But in the meantime, we'll see how long it lasts :)

Sleepy Hollow

2009-10-23T08:46:00.009-06:00

This past weekend we went down to Sleepy Hollow, NY (yes, it's a real city). We went last year and it was one of our favorite trips, so we decided to go again this year. We met up with Em & Brett, who drove up from D.C. The weather wasn't quite so nice (it was a bit cold), but we still all had a really good time.

On our way down, Cory and I stopped at Taughonnock Falls, about 30 miles south of our house. We wanted to take some pictures of the waterfall, surrounded by the fall leaves. We got more than we bargained for ...

SNOW!

Philipsburg Manor. This is a working farm established in the 1700's. You can take tours of the buildings, the mill, and walk around the grounds.

My favorite... Abby's expression. Priceless.

The Blaze. This is the main reason we went down again. They carve thousands of pumpkins and arrange them in scenes. You walk along a path and marvel at the talent on display. This picture is the Manor House.

Different lighting of the Manor House

Pirate ship

Captain Jack Sparrow

Marine life

Sunflowers

Graveyard

Washington Irving's house (author who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)
Love this picture of the 2 of us

Like I said, we had a great time!

Quality Award

2009-10-20T12:28:00.005-06:00

As most of you know, I work at New York Chiropractic College. I work in the Office of Institutional Quality and Assessment (long title, I know). Basically, we're quality, which means we're responsible for a lot of stuff at this school. I work with accreditation for our various programs. I administer and then analyze a bunch of surveys. I keep track of board scores. Etc etc.

Recently, NYCC applied for a Malcolm Baldrige Award, and that effort was spear-headed by my office. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards are regarded as the “gold standard” of quality awards and named after Malcolm Baldrige, 26th Secretary of Commerce. They are bestowed through a program managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to promote excellence in organizational performance, recognize the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and to publicize successful performance strategies.

Since 2001, only seven educational institutions have received the Baldrige Award – none in the area of natural healthcare education (which is what we are). And of the seven education winners, only three were higher education.

Basically, it's the most prestigious quality award you can win, and if you do win, there's a fancy-smancy ceremony in Washington D.C. and the President himself gives the recipient the award. So yeah, this is a big deal.

So you're probably thinking... "wow, they won one?" Alas, no. At least, not yet. We were awarded what's called a 'site visit', which means that certified Baldrige examiners come to our campus and verify what we wrote in our 50-page application. It’s still quite prestigious, since over 70+ companies applied for the Baldrige award this year, and only 15 were awarded a site visit… and out of those 15, only one education institution was awarded a site visit. Us. Stinking cool, huh?

They started their visit yesterday, and they’ll be here through Wednesday. It’s been so cool to watch the process (I’m a nerd, what can I say?) Still… it’s been a hecka lot of work. Hecka lot. I’m going to be so glad when they go away and even happier when it’s the weekend. We won’t find out til November if we won the award or not… but win or not, I already feel very proud of NYCC. This is one very good institution.

The bump

2009-10-12T08:07:00.005-06:00

I'm finally getting to the point where I actually look pregnant, and not just fat :) Some of my regular clothes still fit, and some... well, not so much. I bought a few maternity things and Em was kind enough to lend me some of her stuff (thanks Em!) Plus my mom promised to take me shopping when we're home in a couple of weeks. We figured since I'm finally looking pregnant, it was time to start taking some pictures. So here's a few.

I'm not photogenic and I hate posing for the camera... consequently, I just look awkward.

This was Cory's suggestion for a pose...

I wish I could report that I'm feeling fabulous, but no such luck. We went to the doctor last week, got to hear the heartbeat again, and were basically told by the doctor to "hang in there!" We did get an ultrasound appt for November 2nd, so assuming baby is cooperative, we should be able to tell whether we're having a girl or boy. I'm putting a poll up on the right hand side of the blog, so people can vote (you've got 3 weeks). I'm not telling what Cory and I think we're having until after people vote, cause I'm interested to see what others think. Enjoy!

One good weekend

2009-10-02T13:08:00.013-06:00

Cory's sister Danielle and her boyfriend Trevor came to visit us last weekend. I took some time off from work and gave myself a 5-day weekend (nice!) It was so much fun having them here, and getting to show off New York.

First, we went to see all the church historical sites (that's what we do for everyone who visits). This is the frame home the Smiths built (I love fall!)

The temple, framed by fall leaves.

The original rock wall the Smiths built to mark their property line -- it's up on the temple grounds.

The next day, we drove 2.5 hours north to a place called 'The Thousand Islands.' When Cory and I moved out here, we made a list of all the places we wanted to visit while living on the east coast -- and this was the only place left on our list. So now we've seen everything :) The Thousand Islands is actually a group of more than 1800 islands, stretching from northern New York into Canada. Many of the islands are privately owned -- people buy the island then erect these gorgeous houses.

The only way to see the islands is by boat, so we took a 2 hour boat tour around the islands. This is us on the boat.

Haha, this is where Trevor is going to some day live...

This is the smallest of all the islands. All you need to be counted as one of the islands is a tree and some other form of vegetation. Wa-la!

They call this the world's shortest international bridge, cause it passes right over the American/Canadian border. Our tour guide says the guy who owns the islands used to banish his grand kids to another country when they were being bad.

This is Boldt Castle, as seen from the water.

The Boldt Castle pump house.

For a few extra dollars, you can take a tour of the castle, which is exactly what we did. The grounds were gorgeous. And the castle was so cool-looking.

Haha, I was trying so hard to keep a straight face... and failing miserably...

I love this picture of the 4 of us, on the terrace of the castle.

This is a state park called Watkins Glen. It's so pretty, carved out over centuries of time by water. Cory took Danielle & Trevor down to visit (I stayed home, by this time, I was feeling rather sick... too much playing, I'm afraid)

This is a good picture showing how narrow it is.

We'll sure miss all the cool stuff that's in or nearby New York when we move. We've seen some really cool places and it's so fun to show them off. It was nice having visitors, even though I felt crappy for lots of the time. Thanks for coming and seeing us, guys!

Labor Day weekend

2009-09-15T14:08:00.005-06:00

We had a very nice Labor Day weekend. We drove down to D.C. to spend time with Em & Brett. Since I'm still not feeling well, we kept it a pretty casual weekend. Given that I spent a lot of time just sitting on their couch, we didn't take a lot of pictures... but here's a few.

Kayaking on the Potomac River

Enjoying ice cream in Georgetown

Cory and Abby playing

It really was a nice weekend. We don't see nearly enough of Em, Brett & Abby, and so it was nice to just spend some time with them and have a relaxing weekend. We certainly wish that we didn't live 7 hours apart!

A picture is worth a thousand words

2009-08-31T12:49:00.006-06:00

We are thrilled to share the news that we are expecting!! We couldn't be anymore excited to grow our family of 2 into a family of 3! This was taken at my ultrasound in my 8th week; I'm now in my 11th week. At our ultrasound appointment, we got to hear and see the baby's heartbeat, which was very special to us. They calculated my due date at the end of March.

I've been sicker than I ever thought possible, which explains my lack of blogging (and my lack of doing anything, really). After losing weight and being unable to keep anything down, the doctor's office finally got me some powerful anti-nausea medication. It definitely helps, though I still have good and not-so-good days. We even did a couple of days of an at-home IV treatment, but it seemed to make me feel worse... so we're not doing that anymore. Everyone keeps telling me that I should feel better once I hit my 2nd trimester... and we're certainly crossing our fingers that that's the case.

All in all, it's been pretty good timing, since the nausea hit a couple days after graduation... on the day that our 6 visiting family members left town to go back to Utah. Now that Cory doesn't have classes and homework to worry about, he's been spending his time taking care of me... and doing all the stuff I used to do, like cooking, laundry and cleaning. He's been one humongous support to me, and I couldn't be more grateful. There's no way I'd make it through this without him! He even graciously puts up with my whining :)

Everyone is now asking what our plans are, post-graduation. The current plan is to stay here through December, so I can continue working and earning money. Cory will be teaching a chemistry course, one day a week, starting September 10th. He's also assisting in one of the anatomy labs. He's looking for a job in northern Utah, so we can move home and be closer to family (so if anyone knows of a chiropractor looking for help, let us know :) Now that I'm pregnant, it throws a slight kink into our plans. I've got great insurance through my work at the school, but as soon as I quit and we move home, we join the ranks of the uninsured. Bummer, since my insurance would make the baby free. So we're now looking into our options, like buying out our insurance policy, or a program in Utah that would assist with the cost of giving birth. I know they exist; I have no idea what they are, or how they work. So for anyone who's given birth and used one of these programs - please, email me or call me. We need all the information we can get!

Graduation

2009-08-24T15:42:00.007-06:00

Finally, the graduation post. Cory's parents, his brother and brother's wife and my parents all flew out to celebrate this momentous day with us. We did some sight-seeing while they were here - the usual spots, Niagara Falls and the church sites in Palmyra - but since I've put up pictures of those sites like a million times, I'm going to skip to the good stuff.

Cory was nominated by his nutrition class to deliver a speech at graduation, representing the whole nutrition class. He did a great job!

Here he's receiving his Doctor's hood, from Dr. Nicchi, NYCC President.

Receiving his Master's hood, again from Dr. Nicchi.

Doctor of Chiropractic class of August 2009.

YEA!!!!!!

Cory's family - Dennis, Rosann, Cory, Sarah, Nathan, Shar

Our closest NY friends - Jonathan, Jaime (holding Brooke), Carlos, Erica (holding Antonio), Cory, Sarah. Without these friends, we would have never made it (sanely) through the program.

Just the girls -we thought we deserved some kind of degree, too :)

My parents - Dave, Tina, Cory, Sarah (sorry, it's a little blurry)

And just the 2 of us. You can see in this picture that he's wearing both of his hoods - the Doctor's (grey) and Master's (green).

I really can't put into words how proud I am of Cory. To complete a Doctor's level program, a Master's level program, and graduate with honors from both in only 3 1/3 years is beyond amazing. He put so much time and effort into both programs, giving them his all, never giving less than 100% effort. It was very nice that we could have some of our family members here, as they have given us both nothing but support over this whole time. We appreciate all the support that everyone has shown for us through this sometimes arduous road. A BIG congratulations to Dr. Bingham!!

Trip to Utah

2009-08-12T11:05:00.010-06:00

Wow, I am really behind on the blogging. It's been an exciting month for us, so in my effort to catch up, I'm going to do 2 different posts.

So for this post -- we flew home to spend the 24th of July weekend with family and we had such a good time seeing everybody and eating good food (which feels like all we did was eat...)

We 2 bbq's with Cory's family and they made him a spine cake to celebrate his graduation.

They also got him some 'bling' (it says #1 Grad)

His brother Nathan got him a pass to do the I-Fly at the new Salamon Center in Ogden. It looked like so much fun! Shawn Bradley happened to be in Cory's same group. Shawn is 7'6". Cory is 5'6". Too funny!

In the wind tunnel

Watch this video -- like I said, it looked so fun!!

And what trip home in July is complete without swimming in his parents' pool? The boys decided they should have a cannon-ball contest...

Ryan

Nathan

Cory

We also spent a morning at Willard Bay, with my family, playing on the water. This is Cory wakeboarding.

And of course, we had to go to Lagoon! My dad got some good pictures of us on the Rattlesnake Rapids Ride. I love the shuffle that goes on to get out of the way of the big waterfall...

Or, in Carly's case, get to the waterfall... it was soooo hot!

And we also went with my extended family to see the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house. It was gorgeous inside, I loved the color scheme and all the marble. So pretty!
So there you have it -- the highlights of our trip home. We had a great time and we are grateful for such wonderful family members. Stay tuned for pictures of Cory's graduation... that will be the next post...

I love visitors

2009-07-15T07:19:00.009-06:00

Our friends Kelley and Neil flew out from Utah to visit us over the weekend, and we had a blast! Of course, what do you do when you come to western New York?

Niagara Falls, of course!

Looking snazzy in our Maid of the Mist ponchos

Taughannocks Falls - 215 feet tall

Buttermilk Falls, down in Ithaca

Buttermilk Falls

Of course, you have to go to Palmyra and see the church historical sites. First, we did a session in the temple.

Looking down the Hill Cumorah, with the stage set for the pageant.

It had just started raining by the time we were touring the Joseph Smith Farm. We thought we'd walk quickly through the Sacred Grove and be ok. Boy were we wrong! The paths in the Sacred Grove had turned into rivers (I kid you not) and the water was over my ankles! I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but I didn't want to ruin my camera. However, in this video you can see how hard it was raining! We had umbrellas, but they were just no match for the storm.

And the aftermath of the storm... we were soaked. I could have gone swimming in my clothes and been just as wet. If you look closely in the picture, you can see I'm wringing out my skirt.

Yes, it was quite the adventure. The sun came out in the afternoon, and it dried us off a bit, so we stayed to see a few more sites (and all the good pictures are on Kelley's camera). It was a fabulous time and so good to see Kelley and Neil! Thanks for coming to visit guys :)

Happy Independence!

2009-07-06T08:10:00.003-06:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Cory and I had a great holiday weekend! We saw old friends, a new (to us) part of New York, and watched fireworks over a bay off of Lake Ontario (lovely). There's nothing quite like fireworks over water. We also took in a free patriotic concert by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and saw more fireworks. The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love summer, the heat, the water, patriotism, barbecues and fireworks. Happy birthday America!!

Beautiful gardens

2009-06-29T08:15:00.012-06:00

I wish all weekends could be like the one we just had. Really, I do. On Friday, Cory got the great news that he'd passed Part 4 of the National Boards! Part 4 is the last part, and since he's passed all the other parts, this means he's done! All he needs is a diploma (32 days!) and he can apply for a license to practice. YEA! We celebrated by seeing Transformers 2, and getting some Mexican food. Yummy!

On Saturday, we went out to a place called Sonnenberg. It's this old mansion, built in 1887, with 9 formal gardens. We went last year, but we were a week too late to see the glorious rose garden. This year, we caught them at their peak, and they were just gorgeous.

The Japanese Garden

Blue and White Garden

The Mansion

The Aviary, where they used to have over 100 species of exotic birds.

The Rock Garden

Aaah, and the Rose Garden.

This is my new favorite picture of us.

Really, the pictures don't do them justice. And they smelled soooo good!

And for your viewing pleasure, watch this video (with your volume up). It's 2 frogs, having a fight... too funny!

It was a fantastic weekend. I got to do a lot of my favorite thing, which is spending time with Cory. I can't believe that time is winding down, that's it's nearly July. July is going to be crazy at our house (hello, Hill Cumorah Pageant and visitors!) and a short trip home to Utah. Lots to look forward to!

Herb garden update

2009-06-15T07:06:00.004-06:00

Our little garden is thriving. We weren't sure if they were even going to survive, but I'm happy to say that we only killed one plant (cilantro) -- and he had a rough day on the wine tour, so I think he might have been dead previous to us even planting him.

The herb garden started out like this:

And now it looks like this:

It was hard to get a good angled picture, since some of them are growing like crazy, and they overshadow everything else. The one in the left forefront is a dill plant, and it's gotten quite tall. The ones in the back are tomato plants - and we really need to get a couple of cages for them since they're out of control. The one in the middle is a walla-walla onion plant, and then some herbs that you can kind of see (basil, oregano, sage). I'm amazed they're growing, and I'm excited to eat what we've grown. Now we just need to figure out how to harvest some of the plants, and we'll be good!