We looked out the window and it was a white Christmas today. It's been a really long time since either of us has seen it snow like this (we got like .03 inches per year in Dallas) and of course Maddie hasn't ever seen it. It was fun.
And here is a picture of our new desk, too.
Another angle, and a baby
Ryan has a secret juggling talent. Since we only have one kid right now, he is just working on balancing... but just you wait until we have a couple more. :)
Hi Everyone, this is Ryan. I've been spending the last few hours(?) checking out people's blogs and it reminds me of a game I used to play in college with some friends. Someone would give you two actors -- say, Jim Carrey and Jodie Foster. You had to connect those two actors through movies that they've been in with other actors. Jim Carrey was in Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) with Richard Jenkins, and Richard Jenkins was in Stealing Home (1988) with Jodie Foster. (NOTE: I was really bad at this game. For instance, I don't know who Richard Jenkins is and have never heard of the movie Stealing Home. I got some help on this one from this website.)
So anyway, I've spent the last little while clicking on the links to our friends' blogs, then clicking on the link to one of their friends' blogs, from there clicking on the link to one of their friends' blogs and so on to see if I get back to us. (I haven't yet.)
By doing this, I've observed a couple of things. First, we are super far behind the rest of the world in getting a blog. Second, almost everyone in the blogosphere went to BYU. Third, it may not be long before the prophet stops telling us to keep a journal and starts telling us to maintain a blog.
Fourth, and most importantly, everyone seems as happy with their lives as I am with mine which is exciting. So just like many of you, we are doing "life" -- loving each other, working, learning, having kids, trying to wake up on time, getting older, feeling older, and pursuing dreams. So maybe it is a little bit stalkerish, but it's fun to join the crowd.
For lunch today, my cute husband took Madilyn and me to a little Italian restaurant. As I passed her across the table to Ryan, the people at the table behind him turned around to look at her. When he passed her back to me later on, one of the ladies nudged another and she turned around to get a good look at Madilyn. I'll paraphrase the conversation we had and in red I'll add what I was thinking.
"Oh, she's beautiful," she said. Now here is a woman with good taste.
"Yeah, thank you," I said smiling. I love when people notice how cute she is.
"They told me there was a pretty baby over at your table, but every time I looked back she was in her car seat or behind the bench where I couldn't see her. She really is lovely." These people obviously have their priorities straight. If you see a baby this cute, it's only right to make sure your friends get a good look as well.
"Yes, she is a lot of fun," I said, holding her up so everyone could get a better view.
"Her eyes are so pretty," she continues. I'm convinced this woman has excellent taste in babies. Her eyes are one of my favorite things on her as well.
Then the conversation fades and Ryan and I go back to lunch - and I am thoroughly pleased that people have stopped to look at how fabulous my kid is.
I know every parent is a little overly proud of their child. I go way beyond that though. I don't just appreciate it when people admire my daughter; I expect it. At Sam's Club, a couple of weeks ago, Madilyn was in the cart next to the cashier. She was cooing, smiling - even laughing. And the woman didn't say anything. She barely even looked at her. I could not believe it. What was wrong with that woman? She must have been having a very bad day, because I could not conceive of how anyone could be near a baby that CUTE and not say something and smile... not even notice her.
You can see I have a problem. And you're probably scared to meet my daughter since it seems I'll flip out if you don't go gaga over her the way I do. (And that is totally not true - I'll just silently think bad things about your taste in children. :)
The thing is, most of my world revolves around this perfect little girl. I quit my job, I went through pregnancy and labor (which merits so much more than the brief mention it is getting here), and I spend all my time with her. None of this is disappointing or sad. It is all totally worth it. But I'm so invested in her that I tend to forget that not everyone else has such strong feelings about her. And since a lot of people generally indulge me by at least mentioning her or smiling at her, I'm probably not going to change my ways.
So beware to all the strangers we run into during the day. I have some high expectations of you.
Today is the end of my week as a single mom. I don't know how anyone does it for more than a week at a time. Ryan came back from his business trip this afternoon and we were more than a little excited to see him. This is only the 3rd or 4th trip he's made, but they are usually for around a week. Whenever we pick him up, I put Madilyn in her"I love Daddy" onesie so he gets the message even if she isn't real chatty yet.
We go into a coping mode when Ryan leaves. Dinner comes from a box or some meshing of leftovers, Maddie gets the abbreviated version of her bath, and for her part she decides to alter her sleeping schedule to wake up at 4 in the morning just to make sure I don't get lonely sleeping in that big bed all by myself. Thoughtful kid, huh.
Speaking of how thoughtful she is, today I was sitting on the couch and holding her so she was facing me. Without warning she puked all over me. I'm talking puked on my face and then it ran all down the front of me. You should see her after she spits up... her face gives no indication that anything has just happened. I, on the other hand, am screeching about how gross this is and how I just took a shower, but for Madilyn it is a non-event. Luckily I have Ryan back to throw me a burp rag when this kind of thing happens.
