Cousins and Decorations

My Summers cousins came to visit during Thanksgiving break! I got to see my Aunt Lorna for the first time in 5 years. And Tanner got to meet her too! He loved sleeping in her arms while she sang to him.

It was so great to be with my cousins!!

Below is Tanner when all his newborn hair was finally gone, and the new peach fuzz coming through. Taken the last week of November.

When I went back to work, it seemed like Tanner started to really show a special liking for his Daddy. I first noticed it when Tanner was WAY more excited to see Jeremy get home from work than to see me get home from work. Then Tanner seemed to like watching Jeremy more than me, and then listening and laughing more at Jeremy than at me. Now, all that Jeremy has to do is walk in the room, and Tanner will beam, laugh and squeal.

On the Monday after Thanksgiving, for family home evening we started putting up Christmas decorations.

 Tanner loved the little angel ornaments made out of yarn.

 Jeremy lit the fire to help with the mood. He thought it was cheezy that I was taking so many pictures.

 Tanner also loved the decorative beads.

He's got skills

Everyday, Tanner is doing something new. The past 2-3 weeks seem to have been an explosion of new skills. Here's a few of his recent developments. 

• Sits up for long periods of time without any assistance. We even try to push him over and he stays up!
• Grabs feet and pulls them up to his chest. It started with just grabbing the toes of his right foot, then the whole foot, then both feet. Pretty soon they'll be in his mouth!
• Spots an object and reaches toward it slowly with pure intent, then grabs it and tries to bring to his mouth. Depending on how big it is, he can hold it long enough to on it. He can do this in our lap and sitting up on the ground
• Grabs our plates at the dinner table. 
• Reaches to type on the keyboard.
• Squeals, gurgles, and coughs for fun
• Watches his Daddy everytime that Daddy talks or makes a new sound (like coughing, grunting, hooting at the ball-game, etc)
• Looks around the house in the evening, almost like he wonders where his Daddy is
• Grabs the pages of books and tries to hold and turn the pages. He also strokes the pages on touch/feel books and any book, for that matter. When we make animal sounds while reading to him, he'll turn around and look up at our face/mouth. Last night, he make silly sounds while I read to him.
• Splashes tons in the bath. This is amazing to me because in just the last 3 times that he's taken a bath, he has gone from no splashing to practically kicking all the water out of the baby tub. He looks very seriously at the water and then lets lose with his hands or legs. Last night, he also tried grabbing the bubbles that formed in the water from all his splashing.
• Controls his pacifier. Yesterday, his pacifier fell out of his mouth onto the collar of his shirt. He reached up, grabbed the paci, and pushed it back into his mouth! This was probably just a fluke. Usually, he pulls it out, and then sucks on the hard plastic. He can also yawn and burp in such a way that the paci stays in his mouth.
• Smiles when I sing to him
• Giggles and beams when we rough house with him. He loves to be thrown in the air, bounced on one knee, dropped into piles of blankets, tickeled by Jeremy's foot, hung upside down, and dangeled by his limbs. What's really funny about all this is that both me and Jeremy fling him around, but we both try to boss the other person around. If I'm dangling or tossing Tanner, Jeremy says "be careful with his neck, watch out! You're being too rough!" And then when Jeremy throws him around, I turn into the protective one. It's weird how we switch roles back and forth.
• Arches his back to try and get out of his Bumbo seat. Not yet! I want him to stay in that thing for at least 4 m ore months.
• Did I mention that he grabs EVERYTHING?! Last week, at church he seized 3 water cups from the water tray that they pass during sacrament. We were not expecting that at all. Even a day earlier, he wouldn't have done that. It's amazing how quick these babies learn!

Our Little Thanksgiving

 Tanner's first Thanksgiving was a fun, relaxing day with just the three of us. 

Tanner loved these Thanksgiving dolls as much as I do!

Our feast!  I love Tanner's little face in this picture- "can we eat now?" Notice Tanner's high chair? He's been sitting in it since he was little to watch us work in the kitchen, but we had to start using the tray this week because he is getting good at arching his back while sitting in it. The tray helps keep him in and lets us put toys in front of him.

 We had Hormel peppered turkey, boiled yams with cinnamon, mashed potatoes, fresh green bean casserolle (I used Paula Dean's recipe-YUM), broccoli, and autumn butternut squash casserolle with Hormel cinnamon apples. 

 Tanner got really cranky while we ate, so I put him on my lap. He kept reaching for the food, so I let him taste a tiny bit of gravy.

 He was so happy!

 After our feast, we went to the beach!

 The tide was perfect for photos- a thin layer of water made the perfect reflections!

 Tanner touched the ocean for the first time! The water was warm, just like last November. I'm not sure if it's because of the tide coming from the south or because it's just colder outside.

 And we saw the most incredible sunset! Nothing like a gorgeous view to help you be thankful!

 This was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I was so happy to enjoy it with my amazing husband and beautiful son. 

We definitely took pause while at the beach to reflect on the amazing ways that Heavenly Father has blessed us this year. I've been reading a wonderful book about women in the church, and it has made me particularly grateful for grocery stores, take-out restaurants, my breast pump, our baby swing, our health, and stores like Target where we can get pretty much anything we want without having to make it.  We are so blessed!!!

A day with the Beauchamps

Our very, very good friends, the Beauchamps, were in LA for a family wedding, so we got to spend a fun-filled day with them on Nov 12!! We were so excited because it's been two years since we saw them in Charlotte, North Carolina. Even though we live on completely opposite sides of the country, I'm so glad that we still manage to stay in touch with them. They are amazing examples to us, and we always feel so uplifted when we talk with or see them. 

 Ryan and Jeremy were RA's together in the dorms at BYU. Now they get to be dads together!

Chelsea and I became good friends when Ryan and Chelsea started dating. Now we share all kinds of fun ideas about being good mommies and raising our children in the gospel. I get so many awesome ideas from Chelsea! A few weeks ago, I tried her laundry idea and it has changed my life!! I put a load in the wash every morning. Then at lunch or when I get home from work, I switch it to the dryer. Then at night, while we watch TV, I fold and put away the clothes. Surprisingly, we have enough laundry for a small load every day, and we are easily keeping up! It's amazing!! Thanks, Chelsea!

We started the day by meeting at the Griffith Observatory in LA. We enjoyed the astronomy museum there and the great views of the city. Then we had a picnic lunch in the cafe (it was a too chilly to have it outside). Our baby Tanner and their baby Audrey are only 12 days apart! They hit it off really well.

 

We changed a lot of diapers throughout the day. And feedings worked out perfectly. Chelsea and I breastfed our babies in the car each time while the boys hung out around the observatory. It was amazing that our babies followed the same schedule that day! (maybe it was baby love-at-first sight?) 

 We also made it to the Hollywood strip. We saw some famous people coming from the muppets premier, including Amy Adams (from the movie Enchanted) and Rashida Jones (from The Office and Parks &Rec)

 Elijah is the coolest kid! He talked up a storm with us, danced and sang for us, and simply just entertained us to pieces. I was so impressed with how grown up he is, only being 2. He was a happy little guy the entire time! Tanner really liked him, too.

 Chelsea made matching bow and tie for Audrey and Tanner. This is the best couple picture we could get. They fell asleep before our photo shoot. Sweet things!

We ate dinner at Denny's and then it was time to say goodbye. What an awesome day! We sure do love the Beauchamps, and hope to see them again real soon.

We survived!

(the pics have nothing to do with the post)

Our family survived my first week of work!! The first day was perfect. Tanner and I had time to cuddle in bed before getting ready. The whole morning was stress free, and dropping him off was great! I didn't get emotional--probably because the traffic kept me distracted. Work was super fun because all the kids and teachers were really excited to see me. While teaching, I was again reminded why I feel so guided by the Lord to be a teacher! Pumping breast milk in my office has also gone really well. I pump three times a day, and when I pick Tanner up, I drop off the fresh milk at the daycare for them to use on the next day. I just have to make sure to keep rotating the bottles and nipples. I forgot bottles to pump milk into on Friday, so I had to go to the drugstore to get some! 

 Wednesday was the hardest day for me. The reality of not seeing Tanner for most of the day and the week really set in. One thing that I didn't anticipate about having my child at another person's home is that when I pick him up, he smells like them and not me! That is kind of weird. Now I kind of understand how animals  identify their young by smelling them, haha.

 

 Jeremy also survived the adjustments, too. Luckily, I made a week's worth of meals ahead of time, so we didn't have to worry about making dinners or doing dishes. On Friday, Jeremy worked from home and took care of Tanner. I think Jeremy understands more the kind of work it takes to care for a baby. He didn't get much Hormel work done. But somehow he managed to vacuum and tidy the house before I got home!!

 

Maternity Leave is Leaving

Well, the wonderful 5 months of my maternity leave has come to an end. (and it truly has been wonderful!) Tomorrow is my first day back at work. It will be bitter sweet because I have made such an awesome, special bond with Tanner, but I also can't wait to be making music again with my students.

Honestly, I feel a lot of peace about going back to work. This is something that Jeremy and I have talked, fasted and prayed about in great detail numerous times. Since I made the decision back in April to return full-time to teaching, I have felt very calm about it. I am going to miss Tanner terribly, and I will probably cry all the way to work tomorrow, but I know he is in wonderful hands! I really believe that Heavenly Father has been paving the way for me to be able to go back to work.

For one thing, my employers have been amazing with accommodating my schedule, paycheck and work environment, making it possible for me to work and be a mom at the same time. Also, I was able to find an excellent home daycare in our neighborhood that is cheaper than what we planned on, and it won't take any time from my commute to drop Tanner off there. Another blessing is that Tanner is an extremely easy-going baby. And since I've left Tanner with many friends and babysitters, it won't be a traumatic thing for us to leave him with Heidi. Another blessing is that I was able to have a much longer leave time with Tanner than most working moms. During my leave, I learned how to cook and clean more effectively (among other things) so that our home is a happy place. I was able to take Tanner to Colorado and Sacramento, too. I feel like the timing is perfect for both Tanner and me.

And the list of blessings goes on! It's neat for me to think about different experiences that I've had during my maternity leave that now seem to have a purpose. For example, because Tanner had a hard time latching on the first week of his life, I learned to use my pump really well. And he learned to use a bottle really well. I still breastfeed him, but I am so grateful that he can take a bottle of my milk or formula without batting an eye. I have friends that couldn't get their babies to take a bottle, and it was very difficult when the time came to go back to work because their babies wouldn't eat! So I am feeling very blessed!!

I wish I had more time to describe other blessings and experiences that I feel have prepared our family for my return to work. Maybe later...

Well, my posts might be a little sporadic for awhile. I'm not really sure how life is going to be once I get back into work. But one thing is for sure- I will not let teaching consume my life like it has in the past!! The rules of my new life are 1) don't forget what's most important: your relationship with Jeremy, Tanner and God. 2) have fun at work with every group of students, there's no sense in getting stressed out- even if a show is coming up; 3) leave work on time every day, you have a kid now! 4) when you're home-BE home. you can't even think about work!

Wish me luck!