Hanging out with Clarkie

Anna and her cousin Clark are very good friends. Clark is always pretty excited to point to Anna, he likes to hold her and help her with her pacifier. Anna talks to Clark and gets pretty excited when she sees him.

They got to play together quite a bit during the last few weeks, here are some pictures of their adventures.
Clark, helping Anna with her toys
Super Clark - wearing his dish towel cape
Making homemade pirate hats
Getting wet (mostly just Jan and Clark)Smiling, kicking, laughing and (almost) turning over

Obviously, they have had a great time together, as did their mothers.

The #1 Baby in America!

So, what do a frisbee, a ruler, and a 10% off coupon to Dress Barn have in common?

What if I add a blue ribbon medal?

That's right. Those things all came in a gift bag.

Anna Gaines, on the day of her 4 month birthday WON FIRST PRIZE IN A BABY CONTEST - (collect 10 dollars)

At Beetle's suggestion, I entered Anna in the Provo Freedom Festival Baby Contest at UVU.

She competed in the 4-6 month category, wore her "Shake your Buddha" t-shirt and a yellow flower headband on her head and kicked her little feet all the way to sweet sweet victory

We have the option of walking in the 4th of July Parade and the Children's Parade (opted OUT)
and all the bragging rights we could ever want because we have irrefutable evidence that she is the cutest baby - at least in Utah County.

Sad Panda

I'm a fool
I was looking at my blog dashboard and all the cool elements you can add to your blog, and even though Ben has repeatedly told me that I can't do it, I upgraded my blog.

The reason Ben is repeatedly warning me against it is because the last few times I tried it, all but 7 of my links inexplicably disappeared from the sidebar. This means Ben does some magic and fixes it by un-upgrading it. so I get my links back but I still can't add cool things.

Well guess what. Ben is in California. and currently in a business meeting so I can't bother him to do it right now.

So I will start the arduous process of re-entering all the links that I lost
if I forget yours - let me know.
Also, I forgot what colors my template was, so I picked another one - so sad

Newport Beach Pics

The problem with a really big fancy camera is that you only want to take it out when you're sure you will be taking pictures.

We only took the camera out for 2 days while on vacation and on the drive back, Thad and I documented some things.

This is taking Anna to the beach, but it represents much more, 20+ hours in her carseat.
She was highly tolerant of the cold ocean water and the sand. She even splashed a bit in the resort baby pool and fell asleep as I held her in the hot tub. She may turn out to be a water baby.
This was our second photo-op at another beach. Anna was asleep in her stroller so she didn't get any pictures taken of her. This was not a swimming beach - after we saw what happened to this pteradactyl, we stayed away from the water.
This is a scary ride that Thad and I documented on the way home after we saw how much it freaked Ben out on the drive out.
And here's another picture of Anna, because I know that's why you visit my blog.

All Alone with a Pineapple Penguin

I like the way Ardently writes so much, I'm going to try to take down some of my thoughts, kind of stream-of-consciousness like.

Having just returned from vacation, I have quite a bit to do around the house. It's not dirty thanks to a relentlessly tidying husband but the tables are covered with a weeks worth of mail and the odds and ends of unpacking. Ben is in California for another week, hopefully the last, so I have no real motivation to get things done, or to go places, or to even shower (just kidding, I still shower).

I like watching Anna play when she's awake, but when she's asleep I read the magazines on the coffee table, or watch TV. This is not helpful and my mind is continually finding projects and chores that need to get done.

vacuum the carseat
clean the tub
make dinner (for one?! not worth it)
lose 1o pounds
run errands
read for bookclub

One of my favorite pastimes is excusing my lack of ambition with the fact that we're living in a little apartment, and that when we buy a house, I'll be more motivated.
This is apparently when I'm delusional from eating pudding and cereal all day
Why on earth would I be more motivated to clean a bigger living space?

Anna has also been difficult. Since Ben left she has become very picky about if and when she eats. She used to be more diligent in her schedule than I was so I didn't need to worry about it. Now I'm constantly on eggshells - will she eat? will she cry when I try to feed her? Will she continue to cry for the next 6 days until Ben gets home? If she does eat, will it be enough or will she want another snack in an hour? This gets old pretty fast and leaves me wanting to just sit and read magazines on the couch while she naps

In the end, I somewhere summon something resembling ambition, but thankfully it only lasts about an hour. - thats enough when you live in a little apartment.

Pop Quiz Baby

We all know the first baby, but who is this mystery second baby that looks so similar?

If you know the answer, don't spoil it for everyone else

Debate in the Blood

You know what argument I am just sick of hearing?
"Humans are the only animal that ______"

Humans are the only animal that doesn't sleep with their young.
Humans are the only animal that wears shoes.
Humans are the only animal that doesn't fling poo at intruders.

It's just a ridiculous fallacy that just because other animals do it, that nature intended it that way. Humans are blessed with intelligence, wit, and shame these are notably absent in the animal world - thus we should be relieved of these expectations. So I don't want to hear anymore about it.

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word
itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words -
"mank" and "ind". What do these words mean ? It's a mystery, and that's
why so is mankind.
- Jack Handey

Pretty in Pink

Thanks to all of you who tolerated the picture on the last post.
Here is what she really wore yesterday, she is actually cute, not a tortured soul

From her hat to her toes, it's pink, pink, pink.
(actually her socks are white)

And here's an obligatory lambie pic - they're friends

The Silent, Intellectual Type

Today we went to get Anna's brain tested.

My friend at BYU is working in the "baby lab" where they test the brainwaves of infants.
Apparently when you hear a sound, one part of your brain is active and when you see something, another part of the brain activates. When you both hear and see at the same time, a lot more of your brain is active. They've tested 5 month olds and found that their brain computes all this the same as an adult so now they are testing 3 month old babies to see if they can do it too.

So in this picture she is basically wearing a shower cap/net of sensors that cover all parts of her brain. We watched a short video of blue circles and sounds and sometimes a duck would pop up. They wouldn't tell me how smart she is but it was confirmed (through measurements) that her brain is pretty perfectly round, and her disinterest in physicality is an indication of her brilliance.

The Luck of the Irish

Your Leprechaun Name Is:

Mini McNugget

What's Your Leprechaun Name?

Defunct Dreams

I had a dream last night about teaching people to irrigate.

What prompted this?

Was it the little boy now living next door to my parents who is fascinated by the water running through their backyard?

Was it an innate desire to swim through dirty river water?

Or is it just summer, and that's what happens?

At least I didn't flood any neighboring basements

Reboot the blog

I don't know if it's from reading too many blogs, or from watching too many episodes of Scrubs, but I seem to have a constant dialogue in my head of randomness. It's like I look at everything and try to assess if it would make a good blog post. Even this discussion of internal dialogues for blogging has been an internal dialogue.

I wish something cool would happen so I could blog about it.

I just finished re-reading all my archived posts - some of them are so funny. I used to be really good at this. I was laughing out loud not only because of my funny wording but also because of all the bizarre comments I got from y'all.
I think I noticed a change in the blog once I realized how many people could be reading it and I probably shouldn't be using it as a personal rant zone. Nevertheless, I promise to get back to posting inane observations about life and stories that have no point (with pictures to illustrate).

because that's what we're all here for right?

3 long months

This baby is 3 months old now.


She is a big girl.


We had to get really candid with the camera because she freezes up when she sees it.

happy birthday baby

steamed vegetables

what is the best method or apparatus for steaming vegetables?

Some Dedications

These are some pictures we took on our recent trip to Thanksgiving Point Gardens, they are specifically dedicated to some individuals but everyone should enjoy.

For: Jan and Robyn

For: Ben
Baby Geese

For: Laurie Jayne
My Nephew's Chucks

For: Beetle
Mom rented a segway

Obviously, we had a great time.

I added some pictures from our San Diego trip

One Stellar Day

Today is Mother's Day, I bet you knew that. But did you also know that today marks the day of my birth?
It's true and for my first Mother's Day as a mother it's pretty awesome that I also get to turn 20-something.

To mark this occasion Anna and I flew to San Diego to spend it with Ben
In addition to it being Mother's Day and my birthday, it's also the two year anniversary of the last time Ben and I were together in San Diego - for our Honeymoon.

As you can see, this trip is not lacking in its significance.

So, back to the topic at hand, today.

It has been wonderful, we woke up to our alarm clock - a chattery baby, we then got ready and went down to the lobby for some free breakfast - I had waffles, which are definitely a favorite. (Waffles Forever is a t-shirt slogan I'm working on popularizing)
Then we went to the local ward, they have their own set of missionaries - as does the other ward in the building. They handed out chocolates for the mothers.
After Church we returned to the hotel to change and because we have no kitchenette we went out to find some lunch - let me tell you about LUNCH.

It was FABULOUS - this was the highlight of the day for sure.
Ben had read about a diner here that had imported Fried Clams from the East Coast, so he wanted to try them out and I'm always up for diners, with their gritty waitresses and homestyle yet greasy food, you can't go wrong. So at the Studio Diner (it's next door to the only movie studio in San Diego, they filmed Renegade and Veronica Mars) we had a very friendly waitress who couldn't stop smiling at Anna every time she came to our table. I had a delicious Caesar Salad and a cup of fruit (the most delicious melons I've ever had at a restaurant, pineapple and Blueberries on top), Ben got his fried clams with french fries - that's Ben for you.
So then, our very friendly waitress came over and offered us a FREE Mother's Day peach cobbler! with ice cream! I was quite pleased at that. Then Ben told her it was my birthday and she brought out a FREE birthday hot fudge sundae! It was AWESOME!
This waitress made my day. I made sure she got a good tip, and this restaurant will always be recommended by us both.

After lunch we drove to the San Diego Temple and walked around, we met a nice older missionary couple from Logan who took a picture for us. It was pretty gray and windy so we didn't stay long.

When we got home we did a video chat with Ben's family - not so much a chat but an Anna session.

Then naps.

awesome.

They are still napping while I've been typing this, Anna woke me up because she noticed the pacifier had fallen out of her mouth and she wanted it back. When I reached in to find it, I must have brushed my hand against her face because she immediately wrapped both of her hands/arms around mine and tried to suck on my knuckles. That's the closest we get to kisses, but I'll take 'em.

We still have dinner ahead of us, which I'm sure will put the final touches on a great day.

Happy Mother's Day to All

I stole this from Diana's blog

It's funny cause it's true, and it rhymes.

These are for the Man we Miss

We miss you Daddy!

Halfway Syndrome

I am so frustrated. Ben has been gone to California all week on business and I've been home with the babe. When I heard he was going to be gone all month I immediately started a mental list of all the projects I could complete during that time to keep me busy. Eventually I wrote some of that list down and got to work on it.

Now I'm at an irritating half-way point in everything.

The laundry is folded but not put away

The carpet in the front room is vacuumed and shampooed but the hallway and bedroom remain, meanwhile the carpet cleaner is sitting in the entryway.

The dress that needs to be adjusted for Anna is unpicked but needs to be resewn

The items I bought at the store are still sitting in the shopping bags on the table

The kitchen is clean but not tidy

The lesson for Sunday has been read through but not really planned out

The quilt is pieced but not quilted

The garbages are full and acknowledged, but not yet emptied.

etc. etc.

I guess next week will be spent finishing a few things.

A Chilean Restaurant in Edgemont

I just ate at a new restaurant in the Day's mini-mall called Pantrucas - it's a Chilean restaurant and it is delicious.

I ordered a) the Ave Palta sandwich - pulled white chicken with tomatoes and mounds of avocado on a soft white (or wheat) homemade roll. It was good and very filling.
but that's not all
b) a beef Empanada - flavored ground beef with onions, olives, hard boiled egg in a fried tart shell. There were supposed to be raisins but I didn't see any - no matter, it was also tasty.
but that's not all
c) the crowning dish of the meal was a natural fruit juice for 2.99 - They have many flavors, I got Mango, but here's the kicker, it was like a liter of natural mango juice, a liter of delectable, sweet, healthy mango juice for only 2.99.

Above all we don't want this restaurant to fail. The owner/server was super nice and explained every dish to us before we ordered. Situated in the former Lon's Cookin' Shack, this man, his wife and a son were very enthusiastic about me having lunch there. Two times, he showed us an article that ran in the Daily Herald about his restaurant, looking online, there is also a video about it which explains many of the dishes. So I recommend this place to everyone, don't be afraid of ethnic food - it's what makes America great.

all grown up

Anna is much more mature now than those latest pictures, we have uploaded more that are better reflections of her age and wisdom, not to mention the skills she has acquired.Those skinny little legs can hold her entire bodyweight -



And also, sometimes we wear matching socks
She really enjoyed the Tulips at Thanksgiving point also.

I realize that the written section of this post doesn't really make sense, but I'm pretty certain that the important content outweighs my faults.

Sometimes

Sometimes, you get a cute new shirt and your baby spits up all over it in the morning of the first day you wear it. But you wear it anyway.

Sometimes, when you don't change the baby's clothes before midday and she has been spitting up, and it's all over her, she smells like toast.

Sometimes, when you don't want to go home or take the car seat out of the car because it's windy, you just drive through random neighborhoods because it's fun to see something different and you can still feel productive because you are out of the house.

Sometimes, if you don't want to work out, you can change the sheets, and it's like the same.

Sometimes, you can write a blog post and stick a random picture in of an up-spitting, toast-smelling, baby just because it's cute.

We've Got a Thumbsucker

Anna is 8 weeks now. We went to the doctor yesterday and found she is 9 lbs 1 ounce and 22 inches long. She also got her shots, but she hasn't been extra fussy at all, she actually has slept an incredible amount of time and we haven't given her any additional Tylenol since we got home.

As for her Thumbsucking, it's pretty established.
sorry it's so grainy

Smorgasbord

I've had a few different thoughts lately, I will now attempt to weave them together here, let's hope for minimal seaming.

I was talking to a friend last night who returned from a trip abroad where she was visiting her brother and family. She was deeply impressed with the spirit and attitude she found there, she described it as idyllic, filled with content and gracious people. Despite being half a world away from their family and a familiar way of life, this family focused on the important things, family, the gospel and their standards. They gave willingly to my friend of their time, food, shelter and spirit. While I was listening to this I was impressed with the total selflessness of these people and how they were rewarded for it.
During this last Conference weekend I was also impressed with President Monson. I was initially puzzled with how he had time to have a professional career along with his Church service (he was a mission president and called into the 12 while in his 30's) yet he is very successful in the eyes of the world. Now I don't claim to know his biography, but from what I heard at conference, he has always been devoted to the 'one', meaning the individual, always sacrificing his own time and energy to help individual members of the Church. I would bet that it is his selfless service that he has been blessed for, both materially and in terms of an increase in
spiritual things.
Another thing my friend said about her family was their impressive ability to do what they know is right regardless of what others think about them.

This is where the post takes a weird turn.

Yesterday Ben and I went to the mall for no particular reason and Ben, speaking of the emo mall rats all around, said, "I can't tell who are boys and who are girls." I agreed and said, "That's what the God of Emo wants." Boys wearing girls pants with feminine hair and girls with masculine looking clothes, androgyny is the fashion of our time. We had several questions, like who is the God of Emo? and where did all this come from? In answer to the question of how the clothes fit the depressed attitude, I decided that the overall feeling is, "you don't know me!" Anyway, if you have any insights, please post comments, and if you look at the above link, just know that it's funny but a bit shocking.

6 weeks and still kicking

Anna is 6 weeks today, she's getting more smiley and squirmy. Last night she slept like 7 hours, pretty impressive
She rolled over twice during this photo-shoot, but I don't think it was intentional, she still doesn't really recognize that her hands are her own.
Aunt Lori wasn't as impressed that she could hold her head up within weeks, "She's got a small head!" - Aunt Lori had big-headed babies.

She Doesn't Get It.

I have the urge to put pictures of every outfit on the blog, I'll try to refrain, but this is a cute shirt.

The Final Hoops

I handed in the final draft of my senior thesis today, my last college paper.

now what?

One Month and "Mobile"

Today is our Anna's one month birthday. They grow up so fast...
she was so excited about it that she messed her pants.
oh wait...

In other news, or, more of the same,
during tummy time today, she turned over. That's right, she's a genius, and super strong.
it was probably a fluke and we haven't been able to replicate it yet, but it happened.

In contrast to these breakthroughs, sleeping through the night has taken a dramatic hit.
we are all saddened for this loss.