Thursday, February 21, 2008

Another Year Older

Today I celebrated this many years of being alive ... and this far in, the verdict is that it's been an above average life so far.

And the next year is starting off pretty well complete with a scrumptious birthday feast of delicious Sam's Club hors d'ouvres and, of course, cupcakes - YUM, YUM, YUM!

And, if that alone wasn't enough, in addition to cards, emails, and phone calls, there was also...

Flowers from Kenny

Dinner at Zupa's - in my opinion the world can
never have too many soup, sandwich and salad places!

A Mah Jong set - so I don't have to be the only
one of my group without one!

A Charm bracelet - isn't it charming?

Sour Candy - from someone who obviously knows me well

A Bucket of Pampering - ahhhhhh


A gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure

Shoes - because, well, because they're shoes

And, lunch at Ruby Tuesday for one last really good
burger before heading back to Peru where burgers are
a truly foreign concept

Caleb was not thrilled with all the attention I got.

Happy Birthday to me!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Isn't It Romantic

I am of the opinion that Valentine's Day is overrated - which doesn't mean we don't celebrate it or that I don't expect some sort of appropriate gift, but the whole getting reservations weeks in advance for an overpriced meal that inevitably includes some sort of potent potable that we will decline and roses that die and chocolates that shouldn't be eaten by the giver or the recipient because of the New Year's diet which this far into February can't be called a diet anymore anyway is just not all that enticing.

Our first Valentine's Day was lovely. We had been dating for all of 2 weeks and Kenny decided at that early stage in our relationship I was worthy of being his Valentine's Day date - but only the day before so our dinner reservation was at 10 pm. But, the restaurant (which was overpriced every day of the year not just Feb. 14th) was very nice, good food, nice ambiance, and the fondue and dancing he planned back at his apartment afterwards was very impressive and romantic. And then we got married. And well, Valentine's Day usually sneaks up on us and sometimes there are plans made, generally not, or gifts exchanged (truthfully, he almost always gets me something), or at least something is said in passing, but for us it's just not a big deal. I could be sappy here and say that every day is Valentine's Day for us and that 4+ years later the Honeymoon is definitely not over and that we don't need a special day to remind ourselves of just how lucky we are - but come on, y'all know that is just not my style.

So this year, with Kenny thousands of miles away Valentine's Day looked in danger of being overlooked once again - luckily cupid intervened and we celebrated in uncharacteristic and probably unparalleled fashion.

The Dashing Date: 2 is always better than 1...


The Restaurant: No need to make reservations, this place is always open and ready to provide a memorable dining experience...



The Maitre D': He has a way of making everyone feel like a regular...

The Entertainment: They took requests...

The After Dinner Surprise: No place for potent potables here...



The Requisite Gift: Isn't my Valentine the best? It's just what I wanted!


Ah, 42 inches of LCD HDTV heaven...Cupid was very good to Kenny this year!


Happy Valentine's Day to me, I don't think future years stand a chance!

Friday, February 08, 2008

Isaac, Isaac, Isaac

By the time Caleb was 2 weeks old, we were already in the market for a new memory card for the camera to accommodate the volume of pictures we were taking of him. Really, I think every time Caleb took a breath we took a photo. As a result we have literally thousands of pictures of Caleb, many that should be deleted (and of course haven't been - I mean, he is our first born after all) but instead are just taking up memory on our hard drive.

Despite my vow not to fail Isaac in the picture department, we are already WAY behind. I attribute this to the following, 1) Isaac is a much better nurser than Caleb ever was which is good, but bad in that I am seldom in a position to take pictures of him that do not also involve more of myself than I would like to display, 2) Our other child who needs and deserves attention as well and can speak so he is much harder to ignore than he once was, 3) We have had a newborn before and realize that every breath is not as exciting as we once thought and thus wait for the perfect moment before breaking out the camera (note, newborns in general though wonderful are not exactly exciting so the "perfect moments" are fleeting), 4) Taking pictures adds to my guilt about being a blogging slacker - I'm working on this not being a reason for no pictures because I would be embarrassed to admit this to Isaac in the future. So, today's post is all photos of Isaac, our second born, but no less important, new baby.

Eyes open: not a common occurrence.

Yes, Caleb is encroaching on Isaac's post, but I suspect this will be typical
of the future so why not get used to it now?

Ahhhh, finally satisfied and ready for his close-up.

This is the other side of the BYU quilt from above. My mom made this for us to
represent our University years - it is usually on the U of U side because
the other is more than Kenny can bear. I see future conflicts over this blanket.


A rare moment on the floor. He spends very little time on the floor
for fear of being "loved" to death by his older brother.

Other than eating, his favorite occupation and mine too, come to think of it.

Friday, February 01, 2008

The Magic Number is 2

6 days after welcoming a new brother, Caleb, according to parenting magazines, books, "experts" etc. graduated from being a toddler to being a preschooler...i.e. he turned 2. 2 seems a little young to me to be thinking about preschool, but I have the luxury of living in a third world country (never thought I'd say that about Peru) where things like Montessori and pre-preschool options don't exist and are thus seldom discussed. Caleb is essentially bi-lingual and I feel like that is as much of a head start as any parent can hope for without driving themselves and everyone else crazy.

This year it seems like Caleb has been opening presents for a solid 2 months. He has had 3 Christmas celebrations (one in Peru and one with each set of grandparents), 2 birthday parties (again, one with each set of grandparents) and several "Congratulations, you're a big brother" present opening sessions. Unfortunately for Caleb, it will be 11 months before there are any more presents coming his way.

Some days I look at Caleb and cannot believe that I am the mother of a 2 year-old. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Other days I feel every bit of my 31 years and can't believe my oldest child is only 2. In college I had the good fortune to share an apartment with my 3 best friends. By the time Caleb was born, between the three of them there were 9 other children. I was worried that all my children would be younger than all of theirs, but there is now one in between my two and another expected in the summer. So even though we are sort of in the middle of this having kids thing, at least we still have some company.

I would love to post pictures of Caleb from each month of the last year so you can see the changes he has gone through, but alas, most of my pictures are saved on a computer thousands of miles away so you'll just have to make do with pictures from his parties.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2 Cakes, 4 Candles and More presents than anyone needs...




 

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