Company!

 We did a Valentine's Babysitting swap with our friends, the Bendheims. They watched Tanner on a Saturday while we celebrated Valentines by eating at Cafe Rio and going to a comedy improv show in Irvine. Then, we watched their little guy on Monday while they went out.  

 The boys played ball, cars, trucks, more ball, puzzles and read books. It was really fun to watch them play together because they are only two months apart, so they are learning and doing lots of the same things. Tanner was really good about sharing all his balls, except the best one. He kept that tight in his arm the whole time!

For President's Weekend, my parents came to visit us! Tanner had a super fun time playing with his Papa and Nana.

 Jeremy and DadR went golfing Sat morning. MomR and I took Tanner to the beach. He wanted to jump off the huge steps by himself, but we had to help him. Once he got to the sand, he was enthralled by the guys playing volleyball. Then, he started walking around asking "Oh, no! Huh Dada? Huh Dada?" He was looking for Jeremy on the sand because the previous two times we had been at the beach, we went to meet Jeremy exercising with some friends from work. He expected to find Jeremy again, and was NOT happy that we were leaving without him!

 Here's me pregnant at 26 weeks! Mom and I went to the spa later that day and it was soooo nice to get a back massage. I also got my first ever professional pedicure! My pregnancy is going really well. Up until about 21 weeks, I often forgot that I was pregnant (mostly because of being so busy with work), but lately I am feeling much more pregnant. My ankles are starting to swell if I don't drink enough water, and I'm getting heart burn if I eat too much at one time (which is hard not to do because my appetite is huge!) I feel a lot slower this time around than I remember being with Tanner. So I just have to pace myself a little better. One thing I'm looking forward to with this birth is doing hypno-birthing! We should start our classes in the next week or two!!

Work

(Me with my Tan Man after a busy day of work)

So to be honest, the past month or so has been extremely difficult for me, mostly because of all the stresses with work. I directed a show in late January, and that was exhausting both physically and emotionally (being prego slows you down a bit!). It took me about 5 days to physically recover from the show. The hardest part was going a whole week of just seeing Tanner 1 or 2 hours during the day, and 2 days in a row without spending any quality time with him at all.

(Tanner waiting for Daddy to come home)

Directing shows is a big part of my job because the school wants me to do a separate performance for every grade level. I love doing the shows, but sometimes I wish that I could just focus more on actually teaching music instead of being a production manager. The shows are a pretty big deal and take a LOT of work - even for someone who is physically normal.

(Our home suffers from both of us working. I guess Tanner is getting sick of dirty laundry, too, because he has become very interested in picking clothes off the floor, shaking them out, and strategically putting them in a new place in the room).

Our plan has been that once baby #2 comes along, I will stay home full time for several years. Two main reasons influenced this decision. 1- I want to be with my children. 2- I won't make any money if I keep working. We figured out that with my current salary, after daycare costs, tithing, taxes, and gas fees for my commute it does not leave much left as a profit. It's just not worth it!

So that means that this is my last year teaching at this school and teaching in general for awhile. I thought I would be more sad about it, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I've been learning that God has His way of preparing you for what He wants you to do. And plus, the timing worked out so perfectly that I accomplished one of my goals- to teach full time at least one year longer than it took me to get my teaching degree. It took me 5 years to get my double major and I have been able to teach for 6 years straight since I got my degree. I did it!! Plus, this doesn't mean that I will never go back to teaching. If all goes well, I plan to get my Masters in Education, do more research in education, teach more and prepare for one of my biggest dreams- to open my own school.

 (Tanner attempting to play with his toy airplane after "doing" our laundry)

But I digress... back to being stressed. I have 5 more different shows to direct before my due date (May 15). One of the shows is actually the day before my due date. The administrators and I are trying to figure out how it will all work out.

 (These are Tanner's photo jobs!)

I've been learning a lot about myself and about life by going through this all- not just in the last month but basically ever since I've been a working mom. The good news is that when I turn to the Lord, things are always better. I got a blessing from our home teachers (Jeremy was out of town), and that helped a lot. Jeremy made a CD of audio scriptures for me to listen to during my commute and that has made a big difference, too. Also, when I'm feeling really down, I am singing more hymns or folk songs to myself  that I know will make me happy. And I've been trying to not focus on all the time I am missing with Tanner, just trying to make the most of the few hours of quality time I have with him each day.

Trip to the Desert

For MLKDay, we decided last minute to go on a little overnight trip. Sunday night, we drove to Palm Desert (just 2 hours away) and stayed in a nice hotel. We played in the hot tub, ate lots of snacks, watched TV and played Dominion! The next morning, we ate the continental breakfast, which was the best ever. You ordered your food at the bar and the cook made whatever you wanted- eggs, pancakes, sausage. Tanner was a wonderful little guest in the hotel. He loved exploring all the drawers and cupboards, organizing all the towels and pillows and emptying all the tissues and toilet papers. Best part- we didn't have to clean it up.

 After breakfast, we went to Palm Springs to ride the special tram up San Jacinto Mtn. That was way more interesting than I anticipated. The tram rotates while you stand in it so you get a 360 degree view of everything. And it was a long ride- 10 minutes!

As soon as we got to the top and walked outside, Tanner started saying "snow!" (okay it was more like hhnow!) We had never taught him this word, so we were pretty surprised. He was definitely pointing at snow and was really excited about it. The only thing I can figure is that he learned it from Baby Einstein. He had been watching the one about seasons recently.

 It was a gorgeous day in the mountains. The snow was pretty icy, so we sat Tanner on a little slope and he slid down on his bum. He loved it! So we did that for a little while.

 When he touched the snow the first time he said "Hot" (but it really sounds like "hos, hos").

 We explored the lodge and visitors center. Then headed back down the mountain to go play in the sand. "San! San!" was the word of the afternoon. 

 We spent the late afternoon and sunset at Joshua Tree National Park. It was like being on a different planet. Kind of like a world made by Dr. Seuss. Apparently, Dr Seuss got inspiration from this area when he wrote about the Lorax tree! We really enjoyed the atmosphere and wish we had more time to explore the area.

For dinner, we ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant. The highlight was the mariachi singer that serenaded us all night long. After that, we drove home and got in bed before 11:00 pm. It was the perfect family trip to take our minds off of the stresses of work and school. 

Random pics from January

Here I am at 21 weeks pregnant (this was the beginning of January). We found out we're having another boy!! We are super excited.

Before Jeremy started this semester of school, he got to spend lots of time with Tanner.

Tanner now understands how sidewalk chalk works (meaning he now is interested in drawing with it instead of eating it). He likes drawing on the sidewalk, the bushes, the house, garbage cans, bikes, clothes, you name it. On Saturdays, Jeremy and I take turns distracting Tanner while the other person cleans the house. This kept him busy for almost 30 minutes.

That night, it got a little chilly, so we put on a fire. Tanner says "fie-ya!"