Trip to Utah and the Weber

 Last month we took a road trip to Utah. It was really nice to visit with family and friends. This was the first major road trip that we have taken as a family, and overall I would say that it was a great success. Lucy was a great little traveler; she mostly slept in the car and we only had to pull over to feed her and change her diaper.

I have kind of a funny expression on my face in this picture, but I want to remember what it was like to continually pull by the side of the road and take care of Lucy in the middle-of-nowhere

I really wanted to make sure that Sam had a fun summer, especially with all of the recent changes that have come with a new baby. I knew that he was just the perfect age to have a lot of fun at the Weber this year, especially since my sister L and his second cousins G and C would be there. And I was right - Sam had a fantastic time and even said that going to the Weber was his favorite thing about this summer. We all had a great time - my only regrets are that we weren't able to see more friends and also eat at Gandalfo's!

We arrived in SLC on a Sunday night, and Lucy had a ready-and-waiting group of family members to welcome her.

 

Before heading up to the Weber cabin, we were able to visit with a few friends and also visit with some grandparents that live in the Provo area. We also got to spend one night at Wildwood, which was especially fun for J. I'm glad that on this trip we got to introduce Sam to cabins that are special to both sides of our family.

I made sure that I got to see my dear friend Joanna, who had a baby girl just six days before Lucy was born. We're holding each other's babies in this picture. It was so fun to meet little Molly!

A visit with Buddy! I especially felt like this visit was way too short and was left with a very bittersweet feeling as we said goodbye.

We made it up to the cabin early Tuesday evening, after we stopped to visit a laundromat in Kamas. We had a great turnout at the cabin this year (perhaps because we were able to get a week in August, which rarely happens), and I think that we had over thirty people visit the cabin on-and-off during the week. I think we usually had at least twenty people at the cabin at any given time. J and I slept outside in a tent with Lucy, so we wouldn't wake up other people in the cabin. We slept on an air mattress and Lucy slept on a camping mat. Sam slept with the cousins in the upstairs loft of the cabin. During the day we played games, walked around The Loop, canoed, fished, rode horses, and visited.

Our little camper with J in the tent

Throwing rocks at the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir

J looked so handsome that I had to take this picture

My dad and birthday-girl L riding horses with my cousin's husband Sam

J couldn't remember the last time he had ridden a horse. He made some joke about being a "city slicker" with his sunglasses when I took this picture.

Sam liked to ride the horse Thunder. He was really cautious about riding on a horse at first, but he really liked it and got to go riding several times. 

G made some armor (like part of a gauntlet?) out of tree bark

My brother C "attacked" the fort that was being defended by Sam and his cousins.

My sister E arrived home from her study abroad in Jerusalem on my sister L's birthday. She came up to the cabin after her flight landed. Since E goes by a nickname that starts with an L, we took a picture of "The Three Ls." It was fun to visit with E and hear a little about her time abroad.

I love this picture of Lucy and V!

Sam had so much fun with these cousins. We are lucky that we get to see them at home too, but it was extra fun for them to get to spend several days together at the cabin. We took this picture just before we got in our car to come home.

On the drive back home we took a slight detour to visit Craters of the Moon National Monument. J and Sam went out and visited some of the short trails for a few minutes, while I stayed in the car and nursed Lucy. This picture was taken at the top of a hill made from small basalt rocks.

The only slight misadventure from the drive home was that we left Sam's blankie and stuffed dog Fluffy in the Super 8 motel in Baker City. The staff assured us that they have mailed them to us (it took several calls and reminders for them to do so!), so we hope to welcome Fluffy and the blankie home today or tomorrow. In some ways, I'm glad that Sam realizes that he can survive without his blankie. We'll see how long he ends up wanting to sleep with it!

Early Morning Smiles

I think I originally created the "can't sleep" label for posts so that I could keep track of the times that I couldn't sleep because I felt compelled to write. But these nights I can't sleep because it is my duty to be awake and feed my baby. And really, who could feel groggy or tired when there is such a happy, cute, wee person who wants to smile and "converse" with coos in the wee hours?

Two Months!

My little Snuggly Buggly is two months old! I was relieved to hear at her appointment today that she is growing on a consistent trajectory since birth. She's in the fiftieth to seventy-fifth percentile for just about everything in terms of size. I remember that when I took Sam to his two month appointment, though, I was shocked to learn that he had dropped in his weight from the fiftieth to seventy-fifth percentile down to the ninth percentile. I didn't realize back then that there was a problem with my milk supply and that my son was slowly starving. It's still painful to think about it. Only the day before that appointment I had posted some pictures on here, and I even mentioned that he was getting bigger - which didn't actually end up being the case, really. You can imagine how emotional and upset I was after that doctor's visit. We put him on formula right away and he quickly filled out.

Luckily, with Lucy, I haven't had a problem with my supply. I haven't really had problems with her at all. She is so great and cute and happy. And she already is getting some chubby cheeks and chubby thighs - they are so squeezalicious!

Visual Thinking

It's not surprising that I am a visual learner, given my career and interest in art. Even when I write things down, I think I remember them better because I can visualize what my handwriting looks like. My mind first thinks of the handwriting's appearance, and then I process and recall the significance of what is written. On our recent trip to Utah, I remembered the apartment number for my grandma's new place because I could visualize what I had written in the address book that I left at home.

So, when I came across this Muppet clip on "Visual Thinking" just the other day, I was really charmed. I love jazz music (similar to Jim Henson), so this clip's combination of jazz, visual designs, and Muppets really was up my alley:

Summer Recap

We have been really spoiled this past summer, since J has been able to be home with us for over seven weeks! J had four weeks of paternity leave, and then was able to tack on his three and a half weeks of accrued vacation time after that point. This is the first week that he has had to go back to work.

So much has happened over the past few weeks, that I feel like it's too daunting (and time consuming) to put everything down in a long post right now. Instead, I want to write down some short memories and thoughts from what I will remember about this summer:

Lucy the Angel Baby: She is a good nurser, a good sleeper, and a happy baby. She smiles and coos often when she is a awake, or just happily chills in a swing or bouncey seat. She often is even cheerful when we make her do "tummy time" on the floor. We love to hold her and snuggle with her. 

 

Sam the Angel Big Brother: Sam adores his little sister. He is really sweet and gentle with her. He loves to be around her and try and get her to smile. I feel like he's adjusted to this major change in our family really well. He also has been really helpful with grabbing diapers, giving Lucy her pacifier, etc. He also spontaneously makes little drawings and notes that say "I love Lusee" or "I love Lusy" (we're still working on spelling her name, but I love his phonetic attempt).

 The B family brothers came to visit with their families. Sam loved playing with his cousins at RB. Lucy was only two weeks old, so I spent quite a bit of time at home, but I did get to go out to RB and enjoy some lovely summer meals outside.

  My sisters' visit to Seattle: V,  C, and L came to help with baby Lucy. It was miserably hot that week, but it was still fun to be together. It was especially fun for Sam to have L with us, since they could play together all day long. They got to go a couple of places together, including the beach and the Family Fun Center. My "Ant Bee" and her son joined us for a two days too, and it was really fun to have them all here. It was especially helpful for my aunt to take Sam to the aquarium and market one day.

Sam played on his first t-ball team. He loved going to practice with his friend Grey, who was also on the team. It was fun to go to his t-ball games, especially since all of the outfielders would run in a herd (from wherever they were located in the field) to try and catch the ball. Lucy rooted for Sam from the sidelines for a few games, although most of her cheering took place with her sleepy eyes closed fast.

 Lucy and Soren cheered their siblings from the sidelines

We took Lucy on her first hike, to the Swamp Monster trail on Tiger Mountain.

 The Enchanted Forest! We took a quick trip to my favorite theme park one day. I was glad to show J this place, since he had never been before. I was glad that J found it as charming as I do. It was fun to see J and Sam go on all of the rides that I enjoyed as a kid, especially the log ride and the bobsled ride. Lucy was great on this trip. She slept the whole way to the park (3.5 hours!) and then slept while I carried her around in a Moby Wrap.

 

 We feel pretty lucky to live in a place where you can watch the Blue Angels practice cool stunts.

 We took a road trip to Utah last week, so we could go to the Weber and visit with family members. I hope to do a post or two exclusively dedicated to that trip, which I felt was a big success. Lucy even slept in a tent for four nights! When leaving for the trip and coming home, I was reminded of another way in which I am like my mom. Whenever we went on vacation, my mom tried to have the house completely clean before we left. Then, when we came home, there wasn't as much housework to do. As I vacuumed and scrubbed before our trip, and when I enjoyed the clean house as we walked in the door, I felt a fun connection with my mom.

Other thoughts:

• I read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier for the first time. I loved the unexpected twists in the plot. I doubt this book would be as fun to read for a over and over, though, since there wouldn't be the same element of surprise. Plus, the protagonist leaves much wanting, especially through a feminist lens. She is a weak and uncertain creature, and her first name isn't even revealed to the reader! We only know her as Mrs. de Winter, which is fitting, since she seems to assume her identity and confidence through her husband. Nonetheless, I really liked the book, and I was especially interested to learn about how the novel was sparked by the author's own jealousy of her husband's first fiancée.
• J and I watched Hitchcock's Rebecca after I finished the novel. The movie was alright, but neither of us really liked Joan Fontaine or Lawrence Olivier in their roles. I thought that Joan Fontaine was too pretty to be Mrs. de Winter. And I also wished that the actress who played Mrs. Danvers would have looked a little bit more skeleton-like, to fit with the descriptions in the book.
• Rebecca was the first book that I read exclusively on my phone. It was really convenient to read while nursing, since I could hold the device in one hand. It also was convenient to read in the middle of the night, since I could keep the lights dim but have my phone illuminated.
• J and I watched the first season of Mr. Selfridge together. It was compelling enough, but both of us were a little unimpressed. I didn't feel like the characters were developed enough for me to genuinely care about them and their triumphs or problems. I would think that there are too many characters for the show to sufficiently focus on, but then again, I feel like Downton Abbey does a great job at developing many characters in depth. Anyhow, I think that I will stick with one more season before I write off the show altogether. Perhaps Harry Selfridge will be a little less annoying and a bit more redeeming in the second season?
• J watched several soccer games of the World Cup. We've never been big into watching sports, but it was fun to see a few games. Soccer is much more interesting to watch than other sports, I think.