Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Taylor had fun eating wrapping paper and opening up all of her presents. Well, in all actuality we probably had more fun that she did.

I took a few pictures of Taylor in her dress I bought her for Christmas with her Teddy Bear from Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Hal (Joel's parents).

OK- so the dress I bought Taylor for Christmas is 6-9 month size. LOOK at the size of the bloomers that came with it (on the left)! I about died when I saw how huge they are. I ended up putting her in the bloomers on the right from one of her 0-3 month size dresses. I laughed so hard. I bet the bloomers on the left would fit a 12 year old!

4 years ago....

4 years ago today I married the love of my life in the Boston, MA temple! It's been 4 great years and hopefully we will have many, many more to come....

Joel & me when we were engaged

My dad, me, Joel and my mom

I look like I had been crying here... I probably had been

Taylor this morning

Is it December 14th already?

December is 1/2 way over and I am NOT ready for Christmas. How is it that everyone else seems so on top of it and I am, quite frankly, about 2 months behind?? We took Taylor to the doctor today for her 6 month check up. She weighs in at 15 lbs 8 oz and is 27" long, which puts her in the 35th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. The nurse was like, "How can you have a 6 month old? You were just pregnant!" I had to agree. I don't know how it is that Taylor is already nearly 6 months old. I love every new stage that she goes through and every new thing she does is so cute and so much fun but it makes me sad in a way how fast she is growing up. Last night she was ready for bed at 6 pm- kind of early, but let me tell you, when this girl is tired she is CRABBY CRABBERSON! So, she ate her dinner, had a bath, had a story and song, nursed and fell asleep. She woke up at around 7:30 pm wanting to nurse some more but then she slept until 6:15 this morning! Hallelujah! It was wonderful.... except I woke up about 50 times wondering if she was OK because normally she wakes up once or twice a night to nurse. She is getting to be such a big girl- sleeping through the night!

This afternoon Joel, Taylor and I went to the holiday party for city employees. We arrived and found out that the party was being held outside. WHO has a party OUTSIDE in December in Colorado? We were NOT dressed appropriately to say the least. Maybe if they had told us that the party was going to be outside we would have been prepared, but they didn't so Taylor was in a fleece romper and hat in her car seat with a blanket over her and Joel and I weren't dressed to be outside more than about 10 minutes. Luckily the food was being served in semi-heated tents but it was kind of strange because there were no tables or chairs set up so all of these people were standing in this tent huddling around the heater and eating. When we got home I decided I needed to take some pictures of Taylor in her hat. My friend, Mary Beth, (whose blog is hilarious by the way) thinks that babies belong in hats. So, here are some pictures of a baby in a hat just for you MBC.

A week ago Joel and I bought Taylor a Fisher Price Jumparoo as one of her Christmas gifts but decided to put it together and let Taylor play in it now. We figured she wouldn't know the difference if she gets it now or on Christmas and this way we can get more use out of it. She LOVES it. It is so funny to see her little legs jump all over the place. It was well worth the money!

I guess I will stop rambling now and maybe go try to get some Christmas stuff done!

Little angel face

I sneaked in and snapped some pictures of Taylor sleeping the other morning before I had to wake her up. She just looked so peaceful and content snoozing away. I have always called her my little angel when she is sleeping because she looks so innocent and beautiful. I looked at these pictures and couldn't believe how big she is getting! The bottom picture is Taylor when she was only 3 or 4 days old. I can't believe how fast my baby girl is growing up!

What we've been up to the past few days...

Playing, eating carrots and eating our toes...... that pretty much sums it up!

OH DEER!

Joel works at Whole Foods and normally goes into work at 4 am, but since he is out of school for fall break this week and to get the store ready for all of the Thanksgiving shoppers he is working from 2 am-10 am. He gets up and leaves our house by 1:30 in the morning, the brave soul that he is. He called me yesterday morning as he was leaving work and told me that on his way into work he hit a deer! Of course, I was thinking, "AND YOU STILL WENT TO WORK!?? AND YOU DIDN'T CALL ME? ARE YOU OK?" Apparently when he got off the freeway he saw the deer in the road, slammed on his brakes (he said his tires were smoking) and heard the thud of the deer hitting his car. At first he thought that his car was going to be totaled but the only evidence of damage is a hoof mark on his bumper! I guess the deer jumped out of the way and kicked his car! I am just thankful that he is OK and that the car didn't get totaled!

The Sweetest Face in All the Land

So, Joel loves to sing me songs that he makes up. Usually they have something to do with my state of being... for example, he will sing me songs about being, "the most cranky wife in all the land" if I am telling him to pick up his dirty socks or, "the most evil wife in all the land" if I am nagging him a little too much. He sings to me to make me laugh and it works. Of course, he really doesn't think I am the most cranky or evil wife in all the land, though at times I am sure I can be. I do have a point to telling you this- well sort of. When I was looking at these pictures of Taylor all I could think of for the title of this post was, "The Sweetest Face in All the Land." She is such a sweet baby and has the cutest little cheeks I just want to kiss her all day long! It's kind of funny though because in nearly all of the pictures I have taken of her lately she has her mouth open!

Why I have mastitis

First of all, thank you Emily, Amy and Shelly for your comments after I whined about being sick. Luckily Taylor and I are feeling much better. I am still really sore, but am well enough to be back at work today. Joel didn't catch the bug (lucky dog!) so he took good care of us in our weakened states! :)

So, let's get down to business. I thought these pictures were so funny I had to share. Here is a picture of two of my co-workers in their full HAZMAT gear. I was in the same gear but didn't have my picture taken. As you can see, it makes it kind of hard to pump while all geared up! We all looked like aliens........ you should see the faces of citizens when they see you walking around like this. OH, and it's like wearing a latex glove over your entire body. We all looked like drowned rats when we disrobed!


And here is a picture of me in a Tyvek suit without face gear on. Sexy, huh?

Sick sick sick

Taylor and I have come down with the stomach flu and I pretty much feel like I am going to die. Luckily it was much less severe for her- she only threw up 3 times but I was up ALL night last night with vomiting and diarrhea. I don't wish this on anyone....... I am going to go lay down again if my baby will cooperate! I hope none of you get this- it's awful! OH, and on top of it I have mastitis. I was in a class last week for work where we were in full Hazmat gear so I didn't get to pump as much or as long as I normally do so of course I got mastitis. My mom told me to get lots of sleep, fluids and nurse a lot. Kind of hard to do with this bug. I couldn't even keep water down let alone my antibiotic. Whine whine whine.......

Tagged

I was tagged by my friend Emily to try and come up with 6 things about myself. Let me think.........

(1) I was born with a true knot in my umbilical cord. When my mom was in labor my heart actually stopped so they gave her oxygen and she delivered me very fast. It's a good thing I was the 4th baby and our family has good birthin' hips or she would have ended up with a C-section or worse, I could have been born dead! (defiantly mom! ;))

(2) I have no sense of smell. I kept this a secret from everyone in my life for a LOOOOONG time. When I was 12 I told my little sister that I was dumb at smelling and she was like, "What do you mean?" and I said, "Marisa, I don't know how to smell!" and she told me it's not something you know how to do you just do it! When I was in 1st grade we were given a smelling test and it was so stressful! I thought my secret was out for sure. I finally confessed to my parents when I was 16. I went to a neurologist and an ear, nose, throat doctor who sent me for a CAT scan. They did all sorts of tests but couldn't figure out why I can't smell. So to this day it's a mystery but I don't keep it a secret anymore. It even comes in handy living sometimes... like when I have to change Taylor's poopy diapers! Or when my husband decides to belch!

(3) I LOVE LOVE LOVE Folk music. I am actually kind of a music snob because I like my music to have meaning and relate to my life- oh and the artist HAS to write his or her own music and play their own instrument. My favorite singer/songwriter is Dar Williams. When I was in college I knew for SURE we lived parallel lives :) I love music that makes me cry. I know it sounds strange but I LOVE a good cry song. How can you NOT fall in love with folk artists when they have lyrics like, "Well the sun rose with so many colors it nearly broke my heart. It worked me over like a work of art and I was a part of all that." (Dar Williams) or "When I look around I think this, this is good enough and I try to laugh at whatever life brings. When I look down I just miss all the good stuff. When I look up I just trip over things." (Ani Difranco) or "Bless your sweet mistakes that crumble you down to your knees. They brought you to this place changing you by degrees when change was just what you needed" (Ellis Paul) or "There is fire there is lust. Some will trade it all for someone they could trust. There's a bag of silver for a box of nails- it's so simple the betrayal though it's known to change the world and what's to come. Just come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own. It's just the forces of your past you've fought before- don't you recognize them anymore? I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles" (Indigo Girls)? I could go on and on and on with lyrics that I love....

This is a picture of me, my sister Marisa and Dar Williams after one of her concerts

(4) Joel and I have known each other since the 2nd grade. We met when I moved to Vermont in 1985 and were in the same 2nd and 4th grade classes together. In 4th grade Joel was in love with my best friend Rebecca Bardos and so we would always meet him after school and play on the playground down the street from his grandparents' house. We were pretty good friends until his mom remarried and they moved to Starksboro which is about 45 minutes away from Brandon, the town we lived in. I never knew what happened to him until.... fast forward to 2001... My brother Daniel called me one night and said, "You are never going to believe who was at our house last night... JOEL MERRILL!" I fell to the floor laughing and nearly peed my pants. I had pretty much forgotten that he even existed. He had become a member of the church that we belong to. Long story short we reconnected and got married in December 2003. OH, and when Joel and I decided to get married I went to work on a Friday and didn't have a boyfriend and came back to work on a Tuesday engaged. Joel and I started talking on the phone a lot after he returned from a church mission in May of 2003. He flew to Colorado to visit me in August and once we were together we just knew that we never wanted to be apart again!

(5) Probably my favorite thing in the world is to spend time with my family. I love visiting my parents' house in Vermont. They live on a lake and it is so peaceful and FUN! It's so relaxing to go there, hang out and visit. My grandma's house is a close 2nd to my parent's house as far as places I love to visit. When we were in college, my sister and some of our cousins would go there on the weekends, eat her yummy cooking, and make music! My sister and my cousin Heide are both really good at the guitar so whenever we get together we love to make music and sing some of the folk songs that we all love!

A few photos of my sister, my cousin Heide and my cousin Shannon hanging out at our Grandma's house

Me and Joel on my parents' lake. Obviously we weren't moving in this picture, but once my brother started driving the boat we had a WILD ride!!

(6) I have the best mom on the planet- or at least the best mom for me. I love my entire family but I have a special bond with my mom and to this day I cry every time we have to leave each other. After Taylor was born she was here for 4 days and I don't think I would have survived without her. When we dropped her off at the airport I sobbed- and I don't just mean a tear or two- it was a hysterical, can't catch your breath, cry. I cried for 4 days straight because I missed her so much. Granted some of that was lack of sleep/hormones, but I do cry whenever I have to leave her. She is pretty much perfect I have decided. She knows how to do everything and is good at everything she does. She runs 6 miles a day and is so disciplined. She does crossword puzzles every day to keep her mind sharp. She is a CNM and absolutely loves her job. She cooks, sews, plays the piano, guitar, and violin, reads, and can spell any word you throw at her. She is the kind of mom who knows how to be supportive without ever butting herself into my life too much. She is never pushy or bossy. She never criticized me growing up she is always supportive and encouraging. I know that I can call her anytime of day or night with any problem and she will listen to me. She and my dad have a marriage that I can only hope to have. I could go on and on and on. I am so thankful to have such wonderful parents and such a good mommy!

My mom and Taylor a few hours after Taylor was born

OK- now I tag Amy, Marrian, and Nancy! MBC I think you've already done this? If not, you're tagged too.