Finger Paint and a Snow Storm

I decided to try having Conner make something for Jon this Christmas. We came up with a frame for his desk at work and Conner would paint it. The best thing for his age was finger paints so we gave it a go. It turned out great actually and was a hit on Christmas. Conner of course tried to eat it a few times, but he got the hang of it and had so much fun.

We also took advantage of the Christmas snow storm and took Conner out for his first snow experience. He loved it and kept saying "Brrr" which means he's cold but he didn't want to go inside. We love our neighbors who took him on a 4-wheeler and sled ride too.

Just to remember

I decided to post today because it really is a momentous one. 12.12.12. That's really it. I thought of how I could remember that I did something on thist day, so I decided to post. If for no other reason that to show that the day was here, and then it went. I for one am watching my sister's children while she is on vacation with her husband. I made them all go upstairs to play while I checked my email. So here we are...on a day I'm sure lots of people are going to get married because that's what people do, I'm finger painting and eating granola bars. And that's just how I like it.

Santa

I was able to capture my favorite picture of the season so far. Conner learned how to say Santa a few weeks ago and has been pointing him out ever since. I thought since he seemed excited about Santa he would be excited to meet him. Our neighborhood does a really fun get together with hot chocolate and fire pits and Santa comes to visit. Conner was really excited to see him and kept saying 'Santa' but as soon as it was our turn to sit on Santa's lap, he would have none of it. We caught this great first picture with Santa....I couldn't have asked for a better one. I love it!

Our November

November came and went, without so much as a Halloween post. Ooops. Our November was eventful. We got a nasty case of the flu, visited the hospital and then passed it on to our whole family. Ooops again. We had a great Thanksgiving and we are gearing up for Christmas. I also had some good reading this month that I'll share soon. Hopefully I'll get things together and post more this coming month! Conner is playing by himself and pretending more and more these days. The kid is all boy. Give him some cars and dirt and he is so happy. I thought I would share some of the fun pictures we've taken of him playing cars. He loves to line them up wherever he can. Man, he's so adorable.

October Book Review

I'm a big reader and I've had a few friends ask me to review the books I read every month. Sadly,most of the summer went by with no books read, but I'm back in the swing of things and I'll do a little review every month. If anyone has books that they haven't read yet and want a review on first before they read it, I'd be happy to do that. Also, I'm hoping it will give anyone looking at our blog some good book ideas! I hope it's helpful.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult Some language Some Sex (4) Nineteen Minutes is about a school shooting. The chapters alternate from perspectives of different characters. I thought this book was very interesting. Picoult takes you through the eyes of the shooter and his thoughts that led him to the shooting. Thought provoking is really the best phrase to describe this book. It really makes you think about what it must have been like for the shooter. I found this book to be a real eye opener about the dangers of bullying and what our schools need to do about this growing problem. One thing Picoult did very well was display the relationship of the parents and the son who was the shooter. It's an interesting thought that every killer has someone who loves them too. Overall I would give this book a 7.5 out of 10. Overall a good read.

The Brides House by Sandra Dallas Some Sex (6) The Brides House takes you through three different women who live in a home in Colorado referred to as the Brides House. Each woman has her own set of secrets. In this book it really shows how keeping secrets isn't necessarily the best tactic. I know that people don't want to share their mistakes in life with their children, but for heaven's sake. These women were so frustrating! They all could have benefitted from sharing some of their struggles. Sheesh. When you share the struggles you had in your younger years with your children it may help them not make the same mistakes. This family was all about covering everything up, sweeping it under the rug, pretending it didn't happen. Honestly people....bring it out in the open! It may be uncomfortable and make people mad at first but it always helps to hash things out. At least in my opinion. Pretending things didn't happen really isn't the way to live life. Overall I would give this book a 6.5 out of 10. I really preferred Sandra Dallas' book Prayers for Sale over this book.

Picking Tomatoes

Our new house came with a great backyard for Conner. It took about one day for him to learn how to climb up the ladder and go down the slide by himself, and another day to learn how to climb up the slide. It also came with a big tomato plant. Since the weather has gotten cold the tomatoes have stayed green, Conner decided to pick them anyway and carried one around all night until bedtime. Man, I love that kid.

Back to blogging

Our summer was busy. Lots of family visiting, swimming lessons, days at the park, a half marathon, and a few moves... we are finally settled. Jon's brother and sister came to visit from Houston and Minnesota. We had so much fun spending time with them. Conner loved playing with cousins. Conner and I enjoyed our mom and tot swimming class. It was more of Conner crying and sucking his thumb than actually enjoying it, but he seemed to have fun at times, and we'll try again next year. My parents and I ran a half marathon together and it went really well. My dad and I couldn't walk for a few days after but it was so fun to run a race with other people. All my other races I ran solo, so it was fun to have people to keep me company. Most of our summer consisted of house hunting and we are happy to say that we have finally found our home. We moved in a few weeks ago and are almost all unpacked. Once I get things on the walls I'll take some pictures and post them. We are so excited to be here. We love the neighborhood. We are close to family and look forward to growing here and making it our own. I've decided to keep blogging. I'm not sure anyone really missed it, but I know some really want to see more of Conner which I'm fine with. He is adorable....I would want to see him too! So as time goes on we'll get some pictures up for you all to see! For now you can get a little peek at the outside!

Summer Break

I started this blog for my parents while they served a mission. Even though Jon and I have a fair amount of family that doesn't live near us, I can't help but ask myself every few months why I still have one. I'm not a journal blogger. Aside from a few posts in the early stages of motherhood, I'm not really a 'vent my feelings' blogger either. I don't even think very many people look at it to be honest. That doesn't bother me, but it is a factor in why I'll be taking the summer off. I'll be evaluating my reasons for blogging. Is it really the best use of my time? Do I find that I'm happy to blog during my precious nap time hours, or is it something that I find annoying? I'm not sure what my answers to these questions are, but I'm going to take the summer to think about it. Things we'll be doing this summer. Enjoying water - Conner and I plan on taking a mom and tot swimming class - We also plan to take advantage of our apartment complex's pool - We plan on going to the Taylorsville pool to bug Beth since she is the head lifeguard there this summer - I might even get a pass to the ever so cool and not lame at all Classic Water slides. I need small slides for my little guy Outdoors - I'm determined to get Conner to like the swings. - I want to go to the park most mornings and let Conner walk around. He loves to toddle everywhere. Who says walking is the worst? I really love it. - I want to instigate a few weeks of no TV. I want to enjoy the outdoors. - The Zoo. I'm not sure what Conner's reaction to animals will be. I'm hoping he loves it....but loves it on a 1 year old level. I'm not expecting some grand reaction. - And even though my sister doesn't know this. I'll be taking advantage of her nice new backyard with free child care. Can't wait! Hobbies -I'm loving (and hating) some of the books I've been reading. I made a goal to re-read some old classics that I haven't read since junior high and High School. I've already fallen in love with Anne of Green Gables and plan on going on an adventure with Huck Finn soon. - Get to the second level of the Adult Piano Lessons Book. That's right...I'm taking piano lessons again. I love it and I can play Puff the Magic Dragon and I am proud of it! Oh and I'm running another half-marathon in a few weeks. I'm so happy I've worked hard and trained for it. It will be so fun to do this one up right...Mertin style. I can't wait to run with my parents. They are the best running buddies. I think it will be a great summer and I can't wait to enjoy it. We'll see how I feel at the end about keeping something like this up. I have no idea what I'll decide, but I hope everyone of you (if anyone reads this) has a great summer as well. Try to enjoy it.

Life Lesson Revealed

As a teenager, my mother constantly asked me to clean my room. Like most teenagers, I would roll my eyes and tell her to just shut the door if it bothered her so much. What she failed to mention was that she was preparing me for later in life.

She didn't explain that all the practice I would get from cleaning my room would help get me ready for cleaning up after my spouse.... I mean house.

I should give Jon more credit. He is really good at picking up after himself.

It was also preparing me for cleaning up after this.



And this.



And this.



And finally this.



My mom really owes me an apology. I should have been better prepared for this.

A Birthday Party

Just a few photos of Conner's Birthday party. He's only one, and I'm a believer in simple easy birthdays when your kids are too young to even realize what is going on. Pizza, cupcakes and ice cream. And everyone packed into our little apartment. It was lovely.


My parents gave Conner a glow worm and a quiet book. I LOVED my glow worm growing up...as you can see I'm a little more excited than Conner is about this gift.




He also got a walk and ride dino from Grandma Nette and Grandpa Dave. It took him a few days to warm up to it, but now he's cruisin' around the apartment.





Next was cupcake time. He wasn't sure what to do at first, and we had more cake all over than actually in the mouth, but he still enjoyed it.







It was a great party with our families. Can't wait for next year!

One Year Older and Wiser Too

A year has come and gone. All I can say about this year is...

I've loved it.

It's hard.

It's frustrating.

It's fun.

It's rewarding.

It's the best thing I've ever done.

How can you not love this face.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...

I was out on our balcony the other day enjoying the view and I noticed a little something. What is that?



I got a little closer. Is THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!




A TARANTULA!

I'm about to lose it, but Conner is sleeping so I'm holding in my terror. Jon calmly comes out and says...

"Oh I noticed that when we moved in. It's a fake."

WHAT?!



"Yeah, they use them so scare away the bugs, like they use gargoyles on buildings to scare away the birds."

Seriously. It looks so real, I'm freaked to go out there anymore. I had a dream that night that it came to life and crawled in our window. It's like the childhood dream that your barbies came to life at night but....really horrible. Stupid bugs. They ruin everything....even a balcony with a view.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Celebrating Valentine's Day when your lover is miles away isn't as bad as it seems. Knowing we get to share many more Valentine's Days together is enough for me. Plus I got to spend the day with the next best thing...Conner. He gave me lots of hugs and kisses today, and I know if he could talk he would have asked me to be his Valentine. It's nice knowing that your son will prefer you over many other women on Valentine's Day...at least for the first few years.

A New Year

Like most people I've made resolutions for the upcoming year.

Like most people they include the classics. ie: be more active, get organized, and write in my journal.

Like most people I'll probably end up 5 lbs heavier, with more than one junk drawer, and find that my last entry in my journal will still be the day after our honeymoon was over.

I'm not quite sure if other people feel pressured to make the same resolutions year after year like I do,so I decided to make some 'new and improved' resolutions.

2012 will be the year that I....

Make the most of busy season. Instead of feeling sorry for myself that my husband works insane hours and I'm alone....I'm going to have people over for dinner, get some 'simplified' scrap-booking done, and enjoy time with family.

Try new cooking tricks that intimidate me. On tap for this week is making creme fraiche (which is home-made sour cream) and use it in a new recipe.

Read a different book every month.

Run another 1/2 marathon with my mom.

And my most important resolution is to enjoy even the frustrating moments of being a mother, because in just a few years it won't matter that I still need to lose 10 lbs, that my linen closet looks like an episode of hoarders, or that my journal is still lacking in entries. Conner just wants my time...and I think I can easily give that.

9 Month Photo Shoot

I think these pictures speak for themselves. Even with a bandage, he's....in my sister's words....delicious.