29

Erik turns 29 today.  This summer has been very busy for us as we adjust to life as parents, and I think when life gets busy it's easy to stop articulating appreciation.  Erik is seriously awesome, so in honor of his 29th birthday and our upcoming anniversary (on the 31st)  I thought I would share some things he does that make him so great.

1.  He gets up with Clara early in the morning on his days off so I can sleep in.  This means some weeks he has to wake up early every day.  This is especially meaningful coming from Erik because he is not someone who naturally enjoys waking up. 
2.  Every Sunday morning he makes us blueberry waffles
3.  He serves in the church and holds the Priesthood

Clara's blessing day.  Erik did a great job and it was a beautiful experience for our family.

4.  He works really long hours so I can be a stay-at-home mom and he doesn't even whine
5.  He takes me to Idaho for Christmas every year and fully participates in all of my family's traditions.  Traditions are very important to me and I appreciate that Erik makes an effort to be a part of them even if he doesn't fully understand why they are such a big deal.
6.  He's been making a really big effort to be more helpful without household chores lately

Cowboy Erik.  Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while knows how I feel about this.

7.  He is very motivated and has great follow-through
8.  He does all of the edging (I am afraid of the weed-eater) and most of the mowing
9.  Erik always talks very nicely to me.  This is important because I am totally oversensitive and tear up if anyone even looks at me the wrong way.  I don't think Erik has ever yelled at me.

The captain's hat on Erik does it for me.  Also I wanted a picture, but not one where you could see my face because I didn't have any make-up on.

10.  He got us a great car to keep Clara and me safe.  Also it's super cute and has heated seats, which is what I actually care about.
11.  When I was pregnant Erik took such good care of me.  He even took me out to get cake batter ice cream in the middle of a huge wind storm because I insisted I would go without him if he wouldn't go.  When I was really sick he would bring me my medicine and some crackers to take it with before he left for work so I wouldn't have to get out of bed. 
12.  He gives really great, like near professional, back rubs

New daddy with his sweet baby

13.  Erik is very very honest.  He's very good about making sure we always pay a full tithe, and I absolutely trust him.  I have a friend who recently mentioned she was worried because her husband was coming home from work later and later and she was worried he wasn't being honest about where he was going.  If Erik started coming home later that thought wouldn't even occur to me because that would be so wildly inconsistent with Erik's character.
14.  He does tummy time with Clara every evening, even though more often than not she spits all over him.  He's really involved with making sure she's developing correctly, and gets so excited when she makes progress.
15. He plans awesome trips for our family.  Besides Idaho, in the past 2 1/2 years we've been to Hawaii, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Washington DC.  We've recently started tentatively planning a trip to Brazil.

This picture is from our most recent (as in, last week) trip to Banff.  It was pretty gorgeous.

16.  He calls and checks in with me around lunch time everyday.  This is important because as fun as having a baby is, it can feel a little isolating sometimes.  Having him call makes me feel good that he's thinking about me and Clara and gives me some adult conversation.
17.  He always remembers to take the garbage to the curb on Tuesday nights.  Seriously, if it were up to me to remember we would be up to our eyeballs in thrown-out leftovers and dirty diapers.
18.  He's really supportive of my goals.  Whether it's getting my Master's Degree, learning to play the organ, getting pregnant, or reaching an exercise goal, Erik has my back.
19.  Erik is pretty good about eating reasonably healthy and getting enough exercise.  This is important to me because I kind of like him and would like him to stay around for a while.

Two cute snugglers worn out from tummy time

20.  He let my sister come and stay with us for a whole month.  While this has been a nonstop party for me, I can understand that he might be a little over-estrongened. 
21.  He's very involved with Clara.  When he gets home from work the first thing he does is scoop her up and talk to her.
22.  He cuddles me and holds my hand even though he thinks those things are uncomfortable
23.  He keeps great track of our finances and makes really smart financial decisions.
24.  Erik is a good listener.  Since I like to talk, I really appreciate this characteristic.  He knows way more about cheerleading, reality TV, and home decorating than he probably cares to, but he always listens even when I'm repeating myself.

Erik in Mexico right before we went swimming with the dolphins.  I caved and paid $25 for one of the pictures of a dolphin kissing Erik, but then I lost it on the plane.  I want to cry every time I think about that.

25.  He eats all my cooking, even the recipes that don't turn out.  If it's good he tells me so, when it's not he very sweetly thanks me for taking the time to make it.  For his birthday cake he chose funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting, which was smart of him because it's pretty hard (though not impossible) to mess up a cake mix.
26.  Erik is very frugal, which I appreciate.  I also appreciate that he is not critical in those times when I am not the most thrifty. 
27.  Erik is really good about involving me in any semi-major decisions.  While I would expect nothing less, I recognize that this is not the case in every marriage, and I'm glad that's how it works in ours. 
28.  Something I have admired about Erik ever since I first met him is that he is very good at talking to people.  He is very well-spoken and can make conversation with anyone.  I always feel awkward when I have to have conversations with people I don't know very well, but this is something Erik is naturally very good at. 
29. Even though home maintenance and "handy-man" stuff is not something he enjoys, he's being working hard at learning more about it and is already so much more handy than he was when he got married 3 years ago. 

This is Erik painting the nursery.  We were going from pink and green to grey.  We actually ended up painting it twice because the first time it turned out too blue.  I should do a post on the nursery because it turned out pretty cute, but I digress.

Overall, Erik is a fantastic husband and dad, and a total winner.  I would pick him again in a heartbeat. So happy birthday to this handsome stud!  Clara and I can't wait for him to get home from work

2 Months

My baby is 2 months!  She looks like a baby now, not a newborn.  She is getting more and more fun every day, but at the same time I get this panicky feeling in my chest when I realize how fast she is growing.

Pretty baby.  Bow courtesy of Uncle Alex and Auntie Em

At 2 months Miss Clara...

---Has started social smiling.  It is the cutest thing ever.

Clara loves America

And the motorboat noise

---Sleeps for one 5 hour stretch and 2 two hour stretches at night

Some nights she sleeps better than others.  This would be a picture of the end of a less-good night. 

 ---Spits up all over everyone and everything.  I do three times as much laundry as I did pre-Clara

Look carefully

 ---Loves church and anywhere noisy

First week at church with Auntie Nina.  She is staying the whole month. 

 ---Weighs 10 lbs 6 ozs (31st percentile), is 22 inches long (53rd percentile).  Look at us have a long skinny baby-- she definitely did not get that for me.

 ---Is awesome about running errands.  She's down with chilling in her carseat

I think she looks like a little china doll in this picture.  I cannot handle the cuteness

Worn out after a particularly exhausting Wal-Mart trip

---Doesn't like being swaddled anymore.  She likes to sleep with her arms straight out or in the goal post pose

I was getting ready to change her and had to run upstairs to get more diapers.  In the 30 seconds I was gone Little Miss zonked out.

---Loves bath time, her swing, and mornings

Hurray for bath time!

---Wears a head band everywhere

Headband courtesy of Larissa.  Outfit courtesy of Nina.  She blows out every time she wears it, I'm fairly convinced that it is cursed.

---Very snuggly

We had an ice cream party for the cheerleaders to meet Nina and Clara.  She loved being held all afternoon.

---Wearing size 1-2 diapers and size 0-3 clothes

---Only participates in tummy time if it takes place on Erik's stomach

This picture was taken moments before she totally slimed Erik's shirt.  Massive spit up is a frequent consequence of tummy time

---Sucks on her fist and her pacifier

She also likes to snuggle her burp cloths.  It's pretty adorable.

Clara had her 2 month check-up and shots today.  The nurses were really great, but I was still surprised by how hard it was for me.  When the nurses gave her the first shots she looked up at me like "why are you letting them do this to me, mom?"  It seriously broke my heart.  We came home and snuggled all afternoon and she's been sleeping it off, but I'm still totally making Erik take her to her 4-month appointment.

This month she also met her Papa (my dad) and her Uncle Jack and was blessed in church.  Pictures to come for those of you who may still be unsure of what Clara looks like.

4th of July

4th of July in this area is awesome, and was even more awesome this year because my sister Nina flew in the night before, and Erik didn't have to go to work on the 5th.  Plus everything this year is more fun because it's all Clara's "firsts".  We spent the day with Erik's family at the lake boating, swimming, and eating.

Erik is still the best dad.  He loves his girl so much and I love watching them together.

 Clara found 4th of July exhausting.  She seriously slept all day, even through fireworks.  It was Nina's first day visiting, so the two of them spent a lot of time cuddling .

 

Nina and I are participating in a Family Biggest Loser contest, where we get points based on making healthy decisions.  We had to find a way to get our exercise points without missing the party.  I was partners with my Father-in-Law Don, and we lost, though not through lack of effort...

 

Everyone made fun of me, but I made Clara wear a life vest on the boat.  Turns out 6-week-olds are not great swimmers.  She actually took it quite well, and the high back of the jacket provided great neck support on the bumpy water while we rode out to watch fireworks in the bay. 

We had a great day.  The weather was super, the food plentiful, and the company great.  You should come visit us next 4th of July. 

Father's Day Photo Shoot

Clara's life thus far has been very well photo-documented.  If you lined all the pictures up in chronological order you could basically make a flip book of her existence.  I'm not generally a huge picture taker, but my family lives far away and I want them to be a part of this whole baby experience, so I text them a photo-of-the-day .  For Father's Day I wanted to send my dad a framed picture of Clara, but I didn't want it to be a picture that my family had already seen, so my supercute friend Summer came over to help me with a little Father's Day photo shoot.

How do you feel about modeling, Clara?

The princess was not feeling it.  We got some darling shots, like these:

However the  majority of our shoot went more like this:

My personal favorite

When I was pregnant I read in one of my baby books that it is important to establish the parent-child hierarchy from the very beginning.  It said that my baby needs to know that she is an important part of our family, but does not call the shots.

I think Erik and I may have missed the boat on that one.

Our First Month

Little Miss turned one month old on Saturday.  We celebrated by going to the doctor because she had a cold and thrush.  Poor baby!  She is doing much better now, but it was about the most stressful night of my life staying up listening to her wheez.  It was terrible.

We have had a wonderful first month home!  I feel like Baby and I are finally starting to get each other.  I am starting to be able to tell why she is crying and she is giving me fewer "my mom is such an idiot" looks.

C Bear at 1 Month

---Weighs 8 lbs 6 oz-- a full two pounds heavier than her birth weight.  Way to chunk up, missy

----Loves taking baths as long as the water is really warm, particularly loves having her head scrubbed.  ---Hates having lotion rubbed on her after

This picture cracks me up because I think she looks like my dad in this one.  He also likes to lay on the floor with his arms behind his head. 

---Still wearing her newborn clothes, not quite big enough for her 0-3 clothes yet

Any tips for getting blow-out poop out of those cute white bloomers?

---Enjoys the sound of the vacuum, the blow dryer,the radio on static, and the les mis soundtrack

Erik's mom threw me a little graduation party to celebrate finishing my Master's degree.  C-bear was underwhelmed by my accomplishment

---Starts her fussy time right about 6:00, right when Erik gets home and I want to be cooking dinner

---Likes to suck on my pinkie and has recently discovered she has fingers that can serve the same purpose

---Loves riding in the car and tolerates walks

Isn't that dress cute?  It's from my brother and sister-in-law.  Also I make Little Miss wear headbands so much that I think she thinks they are an extension of her head.  It is unnecessarily important to me that she is not mistaken for a boy despite her gender-neutral hair cut.

---Slept for 5 hours straight one night.  It was amazing.  More frequently sleeps in 2.5 to 3 hour chunks at night time

First time at church.  She snoozed the whole time.

---Watches Sports Center and snuggles every night with Erik

I love this picture so much I want to die.  If this shot doesn't melt your heart then you are a robot.

---Cries way more at home than she does when we are running errands or at a friend's house.  Girlfriend likes to be out and about

---Spits up about 1/3 of what she's eating.  I was really worried until she started beefing up like a baby sumo wrestler.  Clearly something is staying down.

My friend Aubrie pointed out that she looks like she's about ready to take flight in this picture.  Super Baby!

---Sleeps best if I swaddle the crap out of her

While we were in the hospital Erik pointed out that an added benefit of having a baby is that he would get better at wrapping burritos.  It makes the whole nine months of puking (including once mid-pedicure in the foot bath) seem worth it.

Having a baby is awesome.  Insert every mother cliche about your heart walking around outside your body here.  We love her so much, and watching Erik as a dad makes me love and appreciate him in a whole new light.  I don't have a huge frame of reference, but she seems to be a pretty good baby.  She's a decent sleeper, not terribly fussy, she'll take a bottle and a pacifier just fine, and she'll let anyone hold her.  I may be biased, but I think she is above-average cute as well.  To test this, I asked my mom, who replied "well of course she is".  Looking back, I should have perhaps asked a more neutral source....