Where's Your Nose?

Henry's newest trick. Yep, he's smart. On a whim, I asked him to point to his nose. He didn't the first time, but after a couple tries, he was a pro at finding his nose. Now he even says nose when he points to his nose. He is SMART!

Long Overdue.

I've been meaning to update this blog for quite a while. For my absence the past few weeks, I apologize.

A few of the things we did in November:

The first ten days of November Joe, Henry & I watched our Bishop's two children, Isaac (6) and Eve (3). They were well behaved children and for the most part, fun to be around, however, the challenges of caring for three children for a mere 10 days were enough to deter me from including plans for an addition to our family for a long time. Between trips to school, feedings, naps and entertaining the three kids (Isaac, Eve & Henry) I had zero time for myself until after the sun went down. We do plan to have more kids, just not any time soon.

For Thanksgiving we traveled to Clifton, Idaho, where Joe's parents live. Joe was excited to spend his first ever Thanksgiving with his Mom's parents, Grandma & Grandpa Price, who moved from Paradise, California, to Clifton, Idaho, presumably to be close to the Atkin clan. He was soon corrected, apparantely he has had at least two Thanksgivings with his Grandma & Grandpa Price, but we're grateful to have spent the weekend with them anyway.

Most recently we ventured to Moab, so that I could run the Winter Sun 10k. I decided that I want to run the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon in March, so, since late October I have been training to get myself to place where running 13.1 miles isn't torture. I do most of my training on a treadmill, because I'm a coward and I don't enjoy running in cold weather much, but I know there are huge differences in machine running vs. road running. So, I also participate in as many group outdoor runs as possible, the group aspect is incentive enough to get me running outside. Plus, running in a race is fun, and good motivation to keep training (I also ran a Cold Turkey 6k on Thanksgiving morning with my Sister Callie & my Cousin Kristin.) The bad news is that the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon is a popular race, so you have to enter a lottery, I may or may not get a spot. I'm just hoping I do.

I think Joe has become jealous with my newfound obsession. He now wants to go to the gym with me everynight. Honestly, I've never felt better. It's such a good way to decompress after a long day.

Back to Moab... after running the 10k we spent the day just being lazy. We went to a fun light parade on Main Street in Moab and on our way home we stopped at Dead Horse Point, where Joe & I enjoyed the amazing scenerey while Henry slept in the car. I was a little relieved that Henry stayed in the car because I had a ridiculous picture in my head of Henry running off the edge and falling the 2,000 feet to the Colorado Rivier. Do Mom's ever stop worrying?

The Slide @ McGillis is Henry's Fav.

Just before going down the slide.

Isn't he CUTE?!

Up the slide?

Judging from the video, you might think that Henry doesn't actually like the slide. I couldn't catch him on video going down the slide... However, the first time I ever took him to McGillis, which is a private school by our house, he ran up the stairs and straight down the slide. It's really cute to watch. Rest assured, that Henry loves the slide! This video does, however display his timid side.

Gardner Village

You're shocked, I know. Multiple posts in one week, WOW! Joe, Henry & I went to Gardner Village yesterday because they have a petting zoo. It was really fun.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend is always a lazy one. Joe, Henry & I were all going a little bit stir crazy from sitting around doing nothing all weekend by the time the Sunday afternoon session ended. Despite not really understanding what was going on and why his parents were such awful couch potatoes, I'd say Henry was a pretty good boy. Some cute pictures of the weekend spent mostly inside doing nothing active.

How Henry spent his conference weekend:


1- Watching television from his perch.




2- Trying to stay warm despite the cold weather.




3- Eating some delicious yogurt, which is really messy now that he insists on feeding himself.

4- I admit this was today, Monday, not this weekend, but he has been enjoying his new toy, a rocking Elephant that Frosty gave him.

It's great fun to be a one year old!

I AM A UTAH MAN SIR

We've taken Henry to a couple football games this season. He loves to be outside, which makes the games relatively enjoyable, but more than anything he loves to run around, which makes the games hard. In the past I have taken him to a 1/4 or 1/2 of the game and that seems to work just fine. My tolerance wears out similarly as quickly as Henry's especially this season when the games aren't very exciting.

I have been replaced by a serving of yogurt

Last week I decided to stop nursing Henry. Actually, since mid-June he's only nursed once a day, usually around 5:30 or 6:00am. The routine was typically - Henry cries, either Joe or I would go get him, put him in bed with us and I would nurse him while everyone fell back asleep. In my niavete I thought I was doing this to earn myself a couple extra hours of sleep. But all I really got was a lot less room in which to sleep (since Henry typically laid perpindicular to Joe & I thus taking up most of the space in the bed), less sleep, and a lot of cuddling from a 1 year old.

So, I decided to wean him off this morning ritual. It was the most heartbreaking thing I have had to do as a mother. Henry's protests were relentless. He cried for two days straight. And, while crying he would pull at my shirt trying to expose my breasts so that he could satisfy his craving. The mornings were especially bad, I assume since that is when he was used to nursing. For several days he woke up at 5:30am, refused to go back to sleep and refused to stop crying. So we went on walks to calm him.

The biggest change came through two decisions: Joe & I decided to sleep in the living room on an air mattress so Joe's morning routine wouldn't wake Henry while he was trying to overcome his addiction and I replaced his morning feeding with a serving of yogurt. Sleeping in the living room was a brilliant idea of Joe's because it gave Henry the opportunity to learn to sleep longer without intervention from Joe or I.

Then there's the yogurt... Henry's new comfort object. First thing in the morning Henry wants yogurt. If he gets upset, Henry wants yogurt. If you open the fridge when he's around Henry darts towards the fridge and grabs, yogurt. I am so glad we discovered yogurt.

Now, Henry's day ends at 8:30pm when he goes to bed and begins at 8:00am when he wakes up. No early morning feedings, two happy parents, one happy baby.

#1

I can't believe it's been a whole year already. One year ago, this little guy was a mere 5:15 pounds of lathargy and now it feels like he's so grown up! If you had explained to me how quickly he would grow, how much he would change, one year ago, even six months ago, I may have questioned your knowledge of the development of babies. But here we are with a miniature adult - one with favorites things, with desires, with a strong personality. I couldn't be happier to be a mom!! Parenthood is an exciting adventure and, even as I type this I feel emotional from the love that I feel for Henry and of course for his Dad, Joe.

So, here we are one year later. Some of Henry's most recent milestones include:

• Walking!! He typically takes about 10 steps before he gets nervous and sits down or falls or finds someones hand to hold.

• Speaking!! "Da" means Dad. "Du" means Duck. All toys are "du". He also makes raspberry noises every time he playes with his yellow fire truck.

• Expressing his desires!! Henry now screams like a girl whenever he isn't getting exactly what he wants. Like in Sacrament meeting when he's sitting on someone's lap instead of roaming the halls. Or, at his birthday party when he wants his mom to hold him instead of eat dinner.

• Demonstrating his desire for knowledge (or so I hope)!! Henry's an explorer and a climber. He loves new things. He loves to climb on new things - or old things. Lately, he's been intrigued with his ability to put things together. He loves to put toys inside of oneanother, take them apart and do it all over again.
  

Henry's birthday was a wonderful celebration for Joe, Henry and I. I am grateful that we have such a tremendous amount of support from our families and friends. It is awesome that one little boy can elicit so much love from a crowd of so many. I know the joy that he brings to my life and I sense and hope that he also brings similar feelings to your lives. We can expect great things from a boy who has the support of so many wonderful people. Thank you for being a part of our lives and thank you for helping us to raise our son - HENRY!

Katie's Married!

"Out of My League"
by Stephen Speaks

It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away
and the feeling that I'm falling further in love
makes me shiver but in a good way
All the times I have sat and stared
as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair
and she purses her lips, bat her eyes as she plays,
with me sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say
'cause I love her with all that I am
and my voice shakes along with my hands
'cause she's all that I see
and she's all that I need
and I'm out of my league once again.

For more pictures click on the Katie's Married link above.

Henry Pic's

Henry at the Children's Museum. He loved the various different vehicles with steering wheels. He also had a good time sorting vegetables with the other kids. He's still quite young to really enjoy the children's museum, but it was fun anyway.

Henry and his cousins McKenzie and Austin in the playground at the Zoo.

Henry loves water!

Are you diseased too?

I went to my regular check up with my endocrinologist earlier this week. Typically these appointments are good ego boosters for me. Most of the time I spend at the appointment is consumed with the doctors and residents telling me that I'm the ideal diabetic (if there is such a thing). I've been told that I'm the most controlled diabetic probably every time I have ever been to the doctor - including the one this week. However, now my doctor (and especially his nervous resident) are concerned that it's too good to be true. I regularly have "lows," or low blood sugar levels. My target blood sugar level is between 85 and 110 mg/dL and I drop into the 30's on a regular basis. I am always fine, but the problem is that I have an inability to sense that my blood sugar level is low, which means that I don't always fix it quickly, which ultimately can end up to be dangerous. The good news is that I or someone else has always caught the low and there haven't been any real problems. Long story short (or not so short) I now get to change my insulin regime, see if I can get rid of some of the lows. I have nine months to fix it or the doctor is going to make me undergo screening for Addison's disease which, for numerous reasons, I'm almost positive I don't have.

Addison's disease is another autoimmune disease of the endocrine system. Basically, the body of a person with Addison's doesn't produce enough steroids (there are various kinds depending on which type of Addison's you have). It can be treated pretty easily, I think, with the addition of those steroids through pills.

http://www.endocrine.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/addison/addison.htm

The most depressing thing is that diabetes and Addison's don't get along well because the treatment for Addison's causes blood sugar levels to be really hard to control.

Even though I don't think I have Addison's, I wish I wouldn't have told the doctor to wait. Now that he's concerned that I have it - the more I think about it the more I'm concerned that I have it. It's the hypochondriac in me. And, if I knew for sure, then I wouldn't be worrying for no reason! Hopefully this new insluin regime works and I can be certain it's the diabetes and not Addison's causing my lows!

On a whim, as usual.

We are fixing our patio. Joe's brother Dan got some flagstone from a job he was doing and, knowing how crappy our patio is, he offered to give it to us. Joe and I were so excited that we tore out the old patio that same night. Now, suddenly, we're neck deep in a massive project. It will be wonderful when it's done, but for now, our driveway is full of piles: a pile of flagstone rocks, a pile of gravel and a pile of sand. We got rid of the pile of bricks a couple of days ago. Nevertheless, hopefully soon you can all come over and enjoy our wonderful new vision turned reality. Here's the vision (minus the lame advertisement):

Are All Contractors Lame?

It has been approximately one month since I started a fire in my kitchen. Since that time the contractors who have been working in my home have stolen (food) from me. They have lied to me and attempted to cheat me out of money. The latest fiasco involves my living room, which had minor smoke damage that was supposed to be cleaned. But, the soot wouldn't come off entirely so the contractor opted to paint the entire room instead.

First they took the liberty of deciding that brown was a good color for my ceiling even though white was my instruction. My guess, the white paint can was empty, the brown was full. Another run to the paint store or a brown ceiling? They didn't think I'd care.

Second, the color we originally painted our walls is unavailable so we picked the closest possible match which is only slightly different. The contractor promised on three different occassions that the walls had received TWO COATS. Our walls have never received an entire coat and that's obvious because flaws that we left in our original paint job remain and color changes between the original and the new paint (where they did touch up work to cover soot) also remain. They must think I'm really stupid!

And, now to top it off, I called the contractor's buff. Told him that I didn't want him working in my house anymore since he's trying to shortcut this job and leave my house in disrepair. He told me that I'm trying to cheat him out of money that he's earned!! Is it possible to earn money by doing a half fast job? Should I let him back in my house to paint the living room and fix the other mistakes that remain? Should I pay him for the work that he has so clearly done poorly? Why do I have to work with morons?

Wish I was still on vacation! I'll post some cute pictures of that soon... Henry LOVED the ocean.

What a month!

This past month has been interesting, to say the least.



At some point in the last couple months, we discovered Henry's love for animals. Our friends Kevin & Tori have a pet ferret, Jezebel, that, for Henry, is extremely captivating. Dogs are also a source of enjoyment for Henry. Whenever a dog walks by Henry excitedly kicks his legs and follows the animal's every move. It is no secret that this kid loves animals! It is no secret that his mom doesn't. So, he'll have to settle for playing with everyone else's pets... In the meantime, he's been to the zoo at least four times in his short life and now he's even played with baby animals at This is the Place Heritage Park. Super fun!!



A few weeks ago was my first official mothers day. Nothing in this life has brought me more happiness than my family. It is a tremendous blessing to be a mother, to have a child who so obviously loves you and needs you. The rewards of Motherhood are neverending, as are the challenges. We are so grateful for our mothers for all that they have brought into our lives and I am excited that I now have the opportunity to share what I can with my guy - Henry!


In an attempt to make Mother's day a special day for me, Joe purchased a bike trailer so that he, Henry and I can go on bike rides. Joe's bike is broken and I don't have one so we rounded up bikes from our parents and Joe spent hours cleaning them up so we could ride them. Let me just say, riding bikes is great fun for everyone in this family except for Henry. He HATES the helmet and he hates the bike trailer. We got not more than 50 feet before we knew that it was never going to work. I have never heard Henry cry so hard.

Earlier this month I ran in the Race for the Cure. Just a 5k, but my first organized race. It was really fun. If I could do an organized race like that once a week, I think I would. The environment is enticing. It's almost fair-like with all the vendors and booths and free stuff. There are tons of runners, which helped motivate me to keep running, and the fanfare at the end was really exciting. Spectators lined the streets, cheering us on and music was blaring in the background... as if the approximate 3.5 miles was the accomplishment of a lifetime.

And, to top everything off, this has been perhaps the worst week ever! Good news is, everything is looking up from here. Last Monday, I set my kitchen on fire. The following day my car broke down, then the cleaning lady ate my food and made me feel violated, my car broke again, and the neighbors threatened me. What a treat!

Get in, play for a while and get out as fast as you can!

Henry took a bath this morning in an adult bathtub, rather than the infant one we normally use. Bathing in the infant tub in the sink became quite a chore - he discovered the faucet - regularly turning on the water drowning the kitchen counter or himself. So, it was time to graduate to the big tub. What an adventure...

He got in this morning and got clean with no troubles. He seemed to be having a great time so I let him play for a while. It was really fun to watch him scoot around on his bottom chasing the toys that were floating in the water. And then I noticed that there was another guest in his bath water. He was concentrating so hard he lost his balance and fell right on top of his new friend. All I can say is that was one nasty bath. Enjoy the photo.

[I'm feeling embarassed because the photo was so uncouth, so I erased it. If you really want to see it, I'll email it to you.]

Whatever makes him happy, makes me happy!

Most parents can relate to the unfortunate inability to have private time - even for the most private moments like going to the bathroom. Recently, Henry discovered that there's a whole new world full of exciting adventures - in the bathroom! So, finally I gave in and let him explore the sink (don't worry, I won't give in and let him explore the toilet, the line may be fine, but it must be drawn somewhere). The result, well, it had to be captured on film. Isn't he cute!

Backwards is Best

Who Doesn't Love Swimming?