Goodbye, August; Hello September

Well, school began this August, and is well under-way, but that's not all that has been happening for me this month.  I had the most wonderful experience this month: I had the opportunity to sing in the Oquirrh Mountain dedication choir.  Not only that, but my choir got to sing in the very first dedication session.  It was so exciting to think that when I entered the temple on Friday morning, August 21, 2009, the temple was just another building.  But when I left, it was a Temple, dedicated to the Lord where sacred ordinances were to be performed.  I don't cry a lot in church meetings, unless I am the one speaking, but I cried the whole way through the session.  The feeling I got when I entered the Celestial room and began to sing the words to our first song, "Let the mountains shout for joy!  Let they valleys sing and the hills rejoice!  Let them all break forth into song, let them shout and be glad before the Lord!"  I had an overwhelming feeling that the mountains and the valleys really were shouting for joy, as were the spirits whose work will be performed in that beautiful building.  I was so overwhelmed by the brightness and the spirit in the Celestial room, that as soon as I left, I cried and cried and cried.  Luckily, we didn't sing again for about 30 minutes while the Prophet went outside to do the Cornerstone ceremony.  The Hosanna Anthem was the crowning moment of that day, along with the up-close-and-personal view I got of Pres. Uchdorf's hair (nice and thick).  When everyone sang "The Spirit of God," I knew that He was there in His house, glad and well pleased with all of us who visit the temple so much that there was  need for this one in the Oquirrh Mountains.  It was the second time in my life that I have sang for a prophet, and I believe it will be my last; I am so grateful for that opportunity!

Alice is my sweet little girl, and she has gotten to be so fun lately!  I do believe that she is like her mommy in that she wants to be a big girl right now, and do all the things big girls do (I was too anxious to grow up, and always ready for the next "adult" move that came my way).  Her first attempt at being a big girl was brushing her teeth:

She enjoyed it so much that she cried when we finally had to put the toothbrush down. Her next big-girl attempt is cereal. I know that the calendar says that it's a little early to start food, but Alice doesn't seem to care what the calendar says, she is ready right now. She watched Joe and me like a hawk when we bring food to our mouths. She almost started crying tonight when Joe wouldn't let her touch his can of root beer. She finally got a handle on it and PETTED it. She is fascinated with what we put in our mouths. She doesn't like to eat laying down anymore. She would rather recline slightly. And she wants to be in charge--she always holds, not the bottle, but the nipple which gets annoying because she either suffocates herself, or she pushes the nipple out of her mouth. I finally got frustrated enough on Sunday to go ahead and give her a taste of rice cereal mush. And, as you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed it, although she couldn't figure out how to eat and not suck. She is four months going on 3 years, apparently.



Tonight we had our first official Family Home Evening, complete with a song, prayer, lesson, and a Living Scriptures cartoon to round out the hour. I was sure that Alice would zonk out during the movie, which was about 25 minutes long, but boy, was I wrong! That little girl was glued to the screen, from beginning to end. She oohed and ahhed at all the right times (when the angel stopped Laman and Lemuel from beating up Nephi) and even shrieked her disapproval whenever Laban was on the screen, and then she would look at us, hoping that we, too acknowledged her scream. I am not kidding about that, nor am I exaggerating. I should have gotten it on camera, because I don't know if anyone will really believe me when I say that she really didn't like Laban. We couldn't believe it! Every time Laban appeared or talked, she would squeal. She knew he was a bad guy. She was really happy when she saw the angel, though: she LAUGHED. I think we have a very special spirit on our hands. I hope I don't screw her up.

As previously mentioned, I have also gone back to school, and have been going full time now for about a week and a half. Once I get to school I am a very productive adult. On my way to school, I cry like a little kid not wanting to leave her mommy on the first day of Kindergarten, only I'm the mommy and the little kid doesn't mind Mommy leaving. You can see here that she loves going to Lisa's to see her a Kyler.

It is hard to go back, but every day I find myself saying, yes, it's hard, but I would miss this. I have a wonderful new addition to my classroom:

I don't know if you can tell, but that, my friends, is a magnet board, four feet by four feet, and attached to my wall. Joe made this for me, and I am the envy of the school. I keep telling Joe that he should sell these in different sizes because teachers are crazy and will pay for stuff like this, but he is reluctant. I can't exactly explain why, but he is. Joe took one of my Lehi jackets to work, had the painter match the exact color of purple, and had another friend create the vinyl. It's actually two huge sheets of metal. I love it, and it makes my classroom not look so dirty and gross. (It's dirty because of the previous owner, not me. I should decorate the room, but I have better things to do, like teach).

So, there goes August, and here comes September, the last of the hot summer months, and the last breather before the onslaught of holidays. Yay, September! Here I come, to start a new year of school, my 28th year of life (born September 9, 1981), and a new phase in my life called Working Mommy. Ready or not, I must go.

First Week Back...

Well, I survived my first week back to school, and I only cried a couple of times!  I had meetings Monday and Tuesday, with a half-day on Wednesday, and the first day of school Thursday.  When I dropped my sweet girl off at my mom's on Monday, I didn't cry until I got back in the car. I cried all the way to the school, got myself under control, and walked in, fairly confident that I could keep it together for the day.  That was until Brenda, the department head, looked at me and said, "Have you cried yet?"  Then I started bawling again.  

I don't know if this week really counts, though.  My mom had Alice Monday through Wednesday, and Wednesday doesn't really count was a half-day.  And I cheated and took her to work with me.  And Friday I sang in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication choir, so Alice was only at Lisa's until 11:00.  Next week is my real first week away, with no cheating.  I really have to be gone all day, everyday.  Thank goodness for my student teacher--I only have to plan like two weeks worth of lessons until she takes over.  In the meantime, I will look at pictures of my little Alice and race home right at 2:45 to see her.  As a side note, she loves Kyler and Lisa, and doesn't seem to care that I'm not with her, although she was very clingy on Saturday--something that is new.  I don't know if it's because it's just a stage, or if it's because she missed me.  I prefer to think it's because she missed me.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 4 year anniversary! It has been the most wonderful four years ever. Most of you know that Joe and I met in March, were engaged in April, and married in August. There wasn't a whole lot of time to be friends. Well, Joe and I have become the best of friends. The past three and a half years we were together were so fun. We went on dates every weekend, we watched movies, we went to sporting events, we went shopping, we went on vacations. We went through fertility treatments, we had family fights and feuds, we got in a lot of fights with each other, and we cried A LOT. We had the most beautiful little girl together.

I can honestly say that Joe is my best friend. He is the first boyfriend I have ever had that didn't expect me to be better than I already was--he thought I was perfect. He is the first boy that I kissed who didn't immediately ditch me afterward. He was my first official boyfriend, and was eager to wear the label. He was the first friend that I felt like I didn't have to pretend about who I was.

I am so grateful that I married this man, because I almost didn't. I didn't know if I loved him--in fact, when I told my mom we were getting married, she said, "do you love him?" I said, "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I will by August." I had that much confidence in him. And I still do. Joe gets nervous about the future and about providing for our family. I don't worry, because I know he will do what he needs to do to make sure we're okay. There are a lot of things I don't know, but I do know about Joe, and because I know that, I don't worry.

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Joe got Alice up and fed her for me, and he woke my up with a singing card. He presented me with an iPod he got for a killer deal on eBay, and a subscription to People magazine. I made a carrot cake for us, something I have tried to do every year for our anniversary. This is the first year it actually worked out! Unfortunately, I found out that one slice is 15 points-- half of my caloric allowance for the day. Joe came home early from work, and we played Playstation together and went to a friend's house to watch Wipeout and have pizza. It was a wonderful night, and a perfect day. It wasn't glamourous, or glitzy, or as fancy as Joe would have liked it to be, but I thought it was the perfect celebration of our life together: games, food, friends, and laughter.

Three Months!

It's hard to believe, but it's true. My little Alice is three months old! She is so cute and so fun. I never thought such a little person could make our lives so much happier! So, what can Alice do now that she's three months? Well, Alice can:

*Support weight on her legs, and she LOVES to stand. I can't get her to sit half the time. She loves to stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up...you get the idea. Over and over again.
*Goo and coo and laugh. When I say goo and coo, what I really mean is squawk and yell. It seems that Alice has inherited Mommy's big voice. I am going to have to take a page out of my mom's book and have to tell Alice to use her "inside voice" in the near future. That is the thing I remember most about my childhood: "Sarah, don't forget to use your inside voice."
* She is packing away the food! She is up to 6 oz every four hours. And I think she wants to start eating big-girl food because every time Joe and I eat, she watches us with very focused intent. The other day, She lunged for Joe's plate of birthday cake and tried to take his fork away from him. Hold on, Little Cutie, you'll get to eat real food soon enough!
* She loves her night light! Her night light is really her baby monitor that sits in her crib, and there have been many nights that I have walked in her room to find her wrist wrapped up in the cord, her head in the corner of the crib, and the night light on her face. We have had to zip tie the cord to the crib so she can't pull it, but it doesn't stop her from wriggling her way to where she is practically laying on top of the light.
* She watches everything SO intently. I can just see the wheels in her head turning, trying to figure everything out.
* She's not a good nap taker, but she is a good night sleeper. We're working on finding a good schedule for naps. It involves a lot of crying. Alice isn't happy about it, either.

* Alice has discovered her fingers.  She sucks on them constantly.  She loves them so much, she gags on them because she stuffs them down her throat so far.  She'll sit under her play gym, suck the fingers on her right hand, and bat at the toys with her left.  She's so funny!

Alice is so cute, and is getting so big! At her last appointment, she was 12 lbs and 24 1/2 inches. She's in the 56% in weight, and 91% in length--yes, she is TALL! And her head is like the 23%. She's gaining wonderfully, and she was such a good girl when she got her shots! It was just the rest of the week she had problems. Happy 3 months, Alice! We are so excited you are here, and we love you so much!

Alice in July

Well, July has come and gone, and before I knew it, it was August. I have to go back to work pretty soon. I have mixed feelings about it--I think I would cry if I weren't going back, and I think I will cry when I can't take Alice with me. Sometimes I wish I could just strap on the Bjorn and teach that way. Alas, it cannot be. Ce la vie.  We didn't do a whole lot on the 4th and the 24th, but Alice sure looked cute in her outfit!

Anyway, we had a very busy July, although I can't really think about what we did....I took a lot of pictures, though.

We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I am very excited about this dedication because I have the opportunity to sing in the choir. We took Alice with us, and she was so good the whole time. She didn't squawk at all!
Alice has started sleeping in her swing. It doesn't look very comfortable, but whenever I try to put a pillow under her head, she doesn't like it. Whatever. Rest your head on your tray, I don't care.