Random Catch-up

A lot has happened in the last month so I felt like I should write a catch-up post. As most of you know, Mike and I finally graduated from the University of Utah. It’s a nice feeling to be done, but I also feel a little uneasy not knowing “what next?” Mike is in the job market and that’s pretty stressful and frustrating. It’s so important to me that Mike gets a job that he loves and feels fulfilled doing. I just want him to be happy and I am willing to follow him wherever his career takes him. So far he’s had a few interviews with companies out of state. I guess we’ll see what happens. I think the added stress of job hunting has really been getting both of us down. But hopefully we’ll be able to relax a bit on our trip. Remember me mentioning how we planned to go on vacation to celebrate our graduation? Well, that’s the trip I’m talking about. We leave tomorrow night and won’t get back until the 19^th. I still have no idea where we’re going. I am surprised that I haven’t found out, since there have been numerous opportunities for me to figure it out. I just haven’t tried to because I truly want to be surprised! I have mixed feelings about the trip. On one hand I am so excited to get away from here and go on an adventure and spend some alone time with Mike. It sounds like Mike has some pretty fun things lined up for us to do, and that excites me. And Mike has done ALL the planning. I haven’t had to do a single thing but pack my bag, which has been awesome. But on the other hand I feel quite a bit of anxiety. Packing, getting everything ready, and just traveling in itself makes me feel anxious. Mike has assured me that we’re going somewhere safe (no political unrest, war, or exposure to crazy diseases, etc.) but I still feel nervous. Oh, and I also feel kind of sad that we are leaving Vessel behind for 9 whole days. I love that kid so much and I know I’m going to miss him like crazy. But, Mike and I need this time together and hopefully we’ll come home totally refreshed and relaxed and happy.

The past few weeks have been full of events. The neighbors that lived next door to us and the one that lived below us decided to move out. Mike helped them both move and we recently got some new neighbors that we helped to move in. So far they seem really nice.

My friend Shanna called me early this week wondering if she was in labor. She kept asking what labor felt like for me because she was trying to figure out if she should go to the hospital. By the end of our conversation we concluded that she was most likely in early labor and she asked if she could borrow my yoga ball. So Mike and I walked over to their apartment which is only a block away, and by the time we got there they had already left to go to the hospital. She had the baby in the wee hours of the next morning! I was so happy for her and Scott! A friend of mine and I made dinner for them this week and Mike and I went over to see their little boy. He is so tiny and so sweet. I always forget how small they are! Vessel was really curious about him and wanted to touch him and pointed out his hands, nose, eyes, mouth, etc. Very cute. :)

Last weekend 2 girls in our neighborhood got baptized. One just turned 12 years old and her sister is 14 I think. They had been coming to the Young Women class on Sundays and the activities during the week for the past few months. The other girls have befriended them and we’ve all tried to make them feel welcome. I have enjoyed teaching them, although, it’s been kind of difficult teaching some gospel principles to them since they haven’t been raised with it. I mean, for instance, the last 2 lessons I taught were all about the priesthood. Normally there are basic things I can talk about openly with the girls and they just “get it” because it’s not a new subject to them. But these new girls hardly know anything, so its been challenging, but also really neat to talk in more detail about the doctrines of the gospel instead of just kind of “reviewing.” And I think it’s been good for me because in some ways I can relate to them. I don’t resent it, but I didn’t grow up with the priesthood in my home and we didn’t have family prayer or scripture study or anything like that. I didn’t start going to church regularly until I was old enough to attend mutual, and it was because of lots of friendly youth in my neighborhood that I was active at all during my early adolescence. So, it’s been really cool to watch these young girls learn and ask questions and gain testimonies despite their life circumstances. Their father is in jail, so it was their mother who allowed them to get baptized. But other than that I don’t think they have any family support. Going to their baptisms and then watching them get confirmed at church the next day was a sweet experience for me.

In other news it’s been a busy “summer” so far hanging out with friends and working. I’m still a crossing guard and I’ve had a lot of calls to work for people, especially these last 2 months. Since school has been out for us, we’ve been able to take Vessel to the park at least every other day and go for walks in the stroller. I did some much needed spring cleaning this week and gave a garbage bag full of clothes and other stuff to D.I. And I spent all day today deep cleaning (mopping, dusting, vacuuming, changing the sheets, etc.) before leaving on our trip. One of my biggest pet peeves is coming home to a dirty house. I really don’t know of anything better than the feeling of having a clean house and being caught up on the all the laundry and having the dishes all washed and put away. (Ahhh…sigh of relief)

I guess the last thing I wanted to catch up on is Vessel. He turned 18 months old almost two weeks ago. He had his well child check up this week and he is healthy and growing bigger than ever. He’s a very bright child and has been picking up on many new things. His new favorite thing to say is “up” and asks me to lift him up a million times a day. His other big thing is saying “this” while pointing to everything he sees that he doesn’t know the word for. But his vocabulary is expanding day by day. While reading books with daddy this evening Mike was really impressed with how many words he actually knew. He said the word “moon” and said “choo choo” when he saw a train. His latest words are cat, dog, monkey, fish, ducks, bird, picture, flower, bubble, dirt, glasses, cold, boots, clock, bus, car, more, teeth, don’t touch, hello/hi, and others. He understands basically everything we say to him. When it comes to diaper changing time all I have to do is ask him to get a new diaper and he does. I ask him to please lie down and he does. And if I ask him to give something to daddy he does. He climbs on everything. He can get up and down the stairs by himself. He can reach the doorknobs on all the doors in the house but he doesn’t quite have the strength to turn them to open the doors, though he tries to 24/7. He’s been a really picky eater lately. It’s tough to get him to eat anything that isn’t yogurt or a banana. However, I was astonished that he ate an entire bowl of peas tonight. He must have been pretty hungry. He has been able to match shapes for the past couple of months and line up his cars in a row. He loves to wear his cowboy boots all the time. When I ask him to go get his shoes he brings me his boots and asks “boots?” And then he tries to put them on himself without any luck. I let him wear them whenever he wants but sometimes it’s kind of hard for him to get back up with those boots on when he sits down. He is so stinking cute to me. Even his doctor said he’s “abnormally cute,” whatever that means. He is so loving and affectionate, especially in the mornings. He loves to play and cuddle and climb in bed with us. And even though he’s so sweet and loving, he is beginning to show some signs of the “terrible twos.” If he doesn’t get his way or if I don’t let him have something he wants, he has a meltdown. Tantrums happen more often now and his desire to be independent has gotten so much stronger these days. He takes good naps during the day and goes down at night without any trouble. But he is still very, very attached to his pillow. He takes it everywhere with him, and I mean everywhere. The other day we left the house and when we got to the stairs he realized he didn’t have “Bob” with him so he turned around and went back to the door asking for it. He likes to have it in the car with him and when we get out to go shopping or something, I sometimes have to bring “Bob” into the store with us just so he doesn’t freak out. And then tonight I decided to put “Bob” in the wash with a load of laundry so when bedtime rolled around “Bob” was still wet. We put Vessel down without him, but it wasn’t long before we heard him crying and asking for his pillow. I had to get it out of the dryer still damp, but right after I gave it to Vessel, he laid down and was calm and fell asleep. I don’t know what it is about that thing, but he sure loves it. I think it’s kind of cute that his best friend is a Spongebob Squarepants pillow. He’s never even seen a Spongebob Squarepants cartoon. Kinda crazy. Anyway, I can’t really remember what else he’s been doing right off the top of my head. He just seems more grown up and every day I am amazed at the new things he learns. I know I say this all the time, but I love being a mom.

Well, that about wraps up this update. I’ll be sure to fill you all in about our super amazing vacay about a week from now!