Blog Complaint

Dear World:

I would like to file a blog complaint. Melissa has not blog in a few weeks and I miss knowing what she's thinking! I know... many of you are thinking... why not just talk to her? You do live with her, right? Yes, it's true. We do live together. I and I do love her. It's simply been a bit chaotic lately and sometimes steeling a quick glance at the blog let's me know what I've missed.

Blog complaint #000001

- DBM

Thanksgiving

I wish I had something deep, or profoundly beautiful to say.

I don't.

It's been a great day with great food and great family.

We are healthy and happy.

In this moment that's all that matters...

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you got to share it with people you love!


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Salesman

Yesterday afternoon I was picking up the basement while Carter was taking a nap when I heard a knock at the door. I hate answering the door when I'm not expecting any one, and usually won't. I hate salesmen. As I started up the stairs I thought, "if it's a salesman I'm going to kill him."

I opened the door to find Shawn holding flowers and a carmel apple. Talk about the best surprise ever!!



It was the perfect way to brighten up my day! And I'm glad Shawn isn't in sales anymore...or else I would have had to kill him. ;)

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Night Night

I'm listening to Shawn sing Carter to sleep. All I keep thinking is "love love here we are"

I love him.

I love them.

.sigh.


(quote from dearbabyblog.com)


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This week I'm thankful for...

5. Lazy days and my brother Chris
6. Carter being good during Sacrament Meeting
7. Taking naps with Carter
8. My job
9. Psych. I love that show!
10. My marriage and my faithful husband.
11. My mother
12. Snow!
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Thoughts by Mrs. Brock

Hey There.
I keep thinking, "I should blog" and then I see the Thankful Posts and I think, "I should do that!" and I just keep on thinking...

Pretty sure I'm a thinker. I wish I were a doer. I think that's my trial in life. Have I told you that? No matter. I get so frustrated with myself when I don't do things. The ideas in my head. You wouldn't even believe everything I've got planned in there...that I never get around to doing. It's devastating. I think reading blogs makes it worse. I mean I see all these people I know doing all of these fun/creative/adventurous things...and then I get down on myself. Seriously. Anyway. Not what I wanted to write about today.

Life is good. Almost too good. I mean things are just moving right along, nothing amazing, nothing terrible going on over here. Is it sad to admit I'm prepping for disaster? Life just does not work this way--there is always a curve ball. Isn't there?

Oh. I've got a curve ball for you. Haha. I just got called as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher. Hello! I haven't had a calling for about 2 months, so when the Bishopric called I knew something was coming. I was running through everything I could think of. What I'd like, what I wouldn't like. Gospel Doctrine teacher didn't cross my mind. Ever. I don't know enough about the gospel to teach everyone else in the Ward. Yikes. I'm kind of intimidated. But to be honest, I'm kind of excited for the challenge. It's going to force me to get back in touch with my spiritual self. Which has been neglected lately. (Having a one year old can do that to you). I'm guessing I'll learn a ton more than I teach anyone else. Wish me luck!

Still. I'm optimistic. I really can't complain. I'm sick and Carter's sick and I still marvel at how well life is going. Maybe I've had an attitude change... because I can still think of bad/hard things in my life, but it doesn't get me down. Maybe I know a lot of people whose lives seem much more difficult than mine and it makes me grateful for my little struggles. So I am going to try and write down something I'm grateful for every day of the month of November (since Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday). But since I'm already days late, and I highly doubt I'll blog everyday...I'll do it in bunches.

This Week I'm Thankful For...
1. For my husband who works so hard to support our family...even if it means he has to work late.
2. For good visits with old friends
3. The wonderful, amazing people who so willingly watch my little boy while I work. The love they show him (and me) brings me to tears. I know he is well cared for and that feeling of peace is priceless.
4. I can't help myself. I am so happy it's Friday!! I am also so thankful for nap time. It is an absolute must for survival around our house. Speaking of which...Carter just woke up so I'm outta here.

Happy Fall!

 (We're trying to enjoy it as much as we can before Winter takes over)

Happy Halloween!

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Lately

Sometimes you just want to post some pictures...

Sneak Peek

I just wanted to post a little sneak peek from our trip to Boston. It doesn't get much better than this!







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Lagoon...Our yearly visit

It seems every year we go to Lagoon during Frightmares. This year was no different. We went last Friday the 30th. We had a great time, and Carter even went on some rides [when he wasn't crying...aka we forced him to ride and he stopped crying by the end.] Here are some pictures from our adventure!

 

  

Thanks Julie & Doug for the discount tickets!

Survey

To all you mommas out there:

How do you do it?

(and by it I mean everything)


Seriously- I get so tired. Just worn out really. Dishes. Laundry. Picking up. Life. Rinse & Repeat.

I feel like whenever I get a free minute there are so many things I SHOULD be doing and so many things I WANT to be doing. I don't know what to do...and then I end up just wasting time, or relaxing, or watching tv. Because, let's be honest. Sometimes I just need a break!

And maybe (just maybe) I have this false image in my head. But-I feel like so many of you have it figured out. You are happy and fun with clean houses who do awesome cute creative things and are super spiritual and somehow have time for all of this...and more.

So ladies, I'm looking for some tips. (Cuz I need help in all these areas) Please let me know...

How do you do it??

Thanks!
Melissa


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Climbing the Rock

Tuesday we went rock climbing as a family. Shawn, Carter and I and my two brothers, and Zack and his nephew. it was great to get out. Not so great climbing for me (I didn't like getting belayed by my husband who was simultaneously holding our baby...imagine that). It seems like everyone else had a nice time on the wall. Watching the sun set and hiking down by headlamp was also super cool.

Here are a few pics, with one of my favorites of Carter to-date:

Carter's 1st Haircut

Today we took Carter to get a haircut. He was Rockin the mullet! But the straggle had to go. So Shawn scheduled a hair appointment for himself and Carter. I made it a family affair.

Carter was a champ. He didn't cry until she was using the electric razor by his ears. He wasn't that bad- he just tried to squirm away from the noise. It went way better than I expected!

Now he looks like a cute little boy. My baby is growing up!

Here he is post cut.


















He won't sit still for anything. And runs into everything! (do you like his bruised forehead? Sheesh!)

Bad Movies

My sister invited me over to watch a movie tonight. She has a history of picking bad movies. The ones that drag...the ones you've never heard of. I think I have a skill similar to this. I have a knack of picking cheesy movies. The ones that feel so fake...I think it's something we get from our dad...but that's another story.

The movie tonight was some Adam Sandler romantic comedy. I can't even remember the title but the jokes were bad (both ways). It was long. Oh so long. We couldn't wait for it to finish and we knew how it would end after the first ten minutes.

BUT.

I had so much fun!

It was great to catch up. And there were times when I was laughing to tears and all out of breath. Sometimes you just need a night out...to be weird...with your sister.

She says next time I get to pick to movie. I'll let you know how that goes.

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{Dear Granny}

I'm in a weird place right now. Wanting to express myself, bursting with emotion, but really just wanting to pull inside and be reclusive.

My Granny passed away. It was unexpected (to say the least).

We attended her funeral today and it was beautiful. We are all going to miss her so much.

Still, I feel peace. I know she is free. My heart radiates the feeling that she is finally FREE. I don't know why being free is so important, but that is the word.

I'm sad. She never got to meet my little boy. I feel guilty we didn't make it a priority to fly Carter to Canada to see her. She loved him so so much.

She was an amazing woman and although I didn't know her as well as I would have liked I am so grateful for all the times we got to be together and all the letters that passed between us. I think I might miss her letters the very most. They were so special. I tear up thinking that just two weeks ago I got a card from her for Carter's first birthday.

Life is so precious.

Do me a favor and tell the people you love that you love them. It is so important. Oh and make time for them too, will you?

And one more thing, if you have any grandparents who are still living give them a hug for me...mine are all gone...

Joyce Knowles
1923-2011


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Father's Day

Sometimes life hits you in the face. 

Tonight, when we were driving home, life hit me smack in the face. And in the process touched my heart. 

I have a great husband. 
I have a great baby (almost toddler...ahh!)

We have a great life. 

I consider myself pretty lucky. I sure do love these two. 

{imagine cute picture that won't load here}

Happy Father's Day!

Hi Daa-ee

Carter just pulled himself up on to our bookcase, and started saying "hi" to a picture of me and Shawn. And then he said daddy...which sounds more like daa-ee. so cute. He sure does love his daddy!


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P.A.R.K. it

Today (Yesterday now...) Carter and I went to the park by our house and just sat in the shade. We usually walk around the outside and rarely stop, but today we did. It was gorgeous!

Carter is getting so big! He crawls like crazy and is in to everything. He pulls himself up on whatever he can get his hands on. He can say "up" and "hi". He claps really well and loves waving at people. I can't believe how much he changes, learns and communicates from day to day.

I'm telling you we love this kid. He is 11 months of awesomeness!

Today I am Strong

I just wrote in my journal, but for some reason I'm in the mood to blog. Usually I'm in bed by now.

Lately, I've been having a hard go. Struggling to feel motivated. Not feeling good enough. It's a stupid mental game really. But I have been loosing. I have found it really hard to be a mom and get things done. I still feel like I'm looking for balance...something I crave, but haven't been able to find.

This weekend has been hard. There is no other way to say it. More trying than I have had in some time. And yet. I feel so good. Yes, I am mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. But I feel so empowered. Despite everything that has happened I stepped up to the challenge. I have held firm. And it is refreshing to be reminded that I am strong.

In every situation I encountered I did what needed to be done. And although it has been ... Disgusting. and Traumatizing. I am so grateful to be reminded of a part of myself I have been missing lately.

I still have all my imperfections and tomorrow is another day. But today, I feel good about myself and that feels really nice.

Weird Weekend

This weekend was weird. And I weird I mean out of this world crazy unusual didn't make any sense totally out of the ordinary kind of weird.

It started off really well. One of my best friends Kim got married on Friday. It was beautiful and fun. I'm happy to report that everything went smoothly. Kim and Logan are well on their way to a wonderful long life together. We are so happy for them!






Saturday morning we had minor issues with our Altima. This car has been nothing but trouble for us. Anyway, we were told it would be $300 to fix the brakes. And I just told Shawn, "I hate this car I would get rid of it today if I could!" We have been talking about selling it for a little while. So Shawn posted it on KSL and within an hour we had someone who wanted to buy it! We finalized the sale this morning. As of 1030am we only own one car.

Back to Saturday. I just felt off. Like I'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed. So I loaded Carter in the stroller and we went on a walk so I could clear my head.

Then I had just fed Carter and I was holding him on the couch and without warning he just started throwing up. All over me all over the couch all over the blanket all over him. I was in complete shock. I took off Carter's clothes, changed my shirt and tried in vain to get Shawn's attention (who was mowing the lawn). I finally got his attention and he held Carter while I cleaned up. Shawn went to change Carter's diaper when he started vomiting again. All over Shawn all over Carter all over the floor. Carter went straight to the tub. Shawn changed his shirt and so it began.

Carter threw up 8 times in 2 hours. He couldn't keep anything down. Anything he drank came right back up. On Sunday we were worried about dehydration so we took him in to KidsCare. They drew his blood and because his electrolyte and glucose levels were low he had to get an iv. One word: Traumatizing.

I have never heard Carter scream like that and I hope I never have to again.






He was doing a lot better after we left the Dr. I took the day off today because I didn't know how he would feel today. He has only thrown up once (so far) -so we are making progress!

I don't know it was possible to feel so exhausted and stir crazy at the same time...

Send good vibes our way-Shawn is supposed to fly to NYC tomorrow. I don't know if I can handle this alone.


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Beautiful Utah!

Wettest May in 150 years and it looks amazing!

How do ya do ol' blue?

Last night at a ward activity I gave Carter a blue ice cream cone. No ice cream-just the cone. He went to town!


His face and hands were a mess. He looked like a clown, but so cute!


I threw him in the tub and he cleaned up great.

Well. Carter just pooped. His poop may or may not have been blue. His cute little bum might also be stained blue. Nice.

I'm in the running for mother of the year award.

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8am

I've been at work for an hour. I'm really not in the mood to be here. Totally ready for the weekend. Hopefully I survive the next 5 hours. Wish me luck!

I hope your weekend is full of fun and sunshine!!

"when it's cold outside, i got the month of may"

May 21st is the best day of the year.
(and not because it is my birthday)

Do you remember last Saturday? Sunshine, glorious sunshine! It rained for days, and then folks, my birthday pulled out the one-two-punch and it was pure bliss.

Historically, my birthday has the best weather. I'm telling you, like I told Shawn. May 21st is the best day of the year.

Oh-and I don't know who seriously thought the world would end on the 21st. Not happening. It's my birthday. They should have known better.

I had a great day. Shawn and I got to go out on a "real" date (aka no baby). It was so nice! We went to the Gateway and walked around and then went to dinner at The Naked Fish. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and the company? Well I'm spending eternity with the guy, so it couldn't get better! It was wonderful to be reminded what life is/was/can be like when it's just me and Shawn.

Oh and I might be 26 now. I'm not one to fuss over my age, but 26 sounds a heck of a lot older than 25. It sounds like I should be an actual grown up or something. Good thing I'm not. ;)

Well, until next year!

Mother's Day 2.0.1.1.

This year was my first mother's day.

I've officially decided mother's day is no different than any other day, you just get a card.

The day doesn't really live up to the hype...because at the end of the day, you are still the mom and you still get to do all of those "mom" tasks, but I have to admit, it is nice to feel appreciated.

I'm just grateful for these two handsome guys in my life...its all I could ask for anyway.

Oh, and I have a new level of gratitude for my own mom, and mother-in-law. Wow. Hats off to those ladies. I had no idea how much a mom really does--and I only have a 10 month old! I imagine its only going to get more extreme...

Happy Mother's Day!

May May Graduation Day Day

May 6, 2011.
May 6th was a very big day at our house. Shawn Graduated!!!

I'm so proud of him. It's been 6 long years in the making. Shawn worked so hard. He worked full time the whole time he was in school. He would work all day and then go to 3 hours of night school. Our whole marriage he has been in class at least two nights a week. I keep joking we're going to get sick of each other in the evenings because we're used to being apart, but I am so relieved to have him done and home with me!

University of Utah Graduating Class of 2011, Shawn Paul Brock, Bachelor of Science, Finance.

That Ladies and Gentlemen, is MY man.

Random

We had a wonderful Easter. Carter was a doll picking up eggs and putting them in his basket and then taking them back out again. I'd post pictures but I've officially decided I'm "Mac-illiterate". Maybe I should get Blogpress? But then I'd have to learn how to do that...

Lately I have been on a family history/genealogy kick. I might be obsessed. Any spare minute I have I'm searching for this one woman and her family. I cannot get her our of my head. I finally found her AND her husband together on a census record. They had a daughter I didn't know about. The road kind of deadends there. Next step: searching Parish records which unfortunately cannot be done from my iPhone. We are going old school. Wish me luck!

Carter is 9.5 months old. He has officially been "out" longer than he was "in". Time flies. Shawn's sister had to be induced tonight. I wish her the best, and a quick uneventful labor. That whole child-birth thing is intense. We are excited to meet the new little one!

Shawn flying right now and his flight was diverted to Memphis because Atlanta is having tornado warnings. It's going to be a long night.

Spring Break New York Style

Last weekend for Spring Break we went to New York. With Carter. Whew. I don't think I need to say any more than that! It was an adventure. It was hard. Carter was fussy. And teething. And on a weird schedule. I still had a good time. Mark and Liz were so gracious to allow us stay in their apartment and take over their living space. We loved visiting with them. We flew out Thursday, April 7th and flew home Sunday, April 10th. Here is a quick recap...

Thursday:
Carter would not nap on the plane. He wanted to put everything in his mouth. Yikes. We had Shake Shack for dinner. Love that place. Carter had fries for the first time.

Friday:
We slept in and let Carter nap. Awesome pizza for lunch. Apple Store. FAO Schwarz. Central Park. The Met. Nursed Carter on a street corner in Harlem waiting for dinner. Dino BBQ was incredible. Live jazz. Carter may have thrown up in the restaurant. Awesome. Mark and Liz are super helpers.

Saturday:
We hung out at the apartment and tried to let Carter recoop. Mark and Liz worked from home. It was a l-a-z-y day. We went down to the Highline Trail. Then make our way through Chelsea Market. Walked around downtown. Took a short jaunt through Times Square. Tried to eat dinner at a Thai Restaurant. Carter cried/screamed the whole time. We got our food to go and ate back at the apartment.

Sunday:
We really just packed up and got ready to go. We were hard pressed to be out of the apartment by 1:30 so we could catch our flight.

New York is such a cool interesting place. If you bring a baby, beware: New Yorkers STARE. It's like they've never seen a baby before. I seriously got stopped on the street by a guy who just wanted to say "Hi" to my baby. We didn't do a whole lot. It might have been disappointing. Except we didn't have any plans or expectations for the trip. We just went. We had a great time spending time with Mark and Liz. Visiting them made me wish we lived closer. They are high quality people. Carter might have a crush on Liz.

Overall, it was fun and I'd say we learned a lot. I'm glad we had the opportunity to go. Ironically, I'm super grateful for where I live and that Carter isn't like that all the time. Going away always makes me realize that I love my home.

Gratitude.

Historically, I have been known to complain. It is something I'm really good at. Some might call it a tragic flaw. No matter. Just know that I automatically think of the negative (and then want to complain about it). To counter-act this behavior I have found the best thing for me to do is be grateful. I have to consciously think of blessings in my life. Big or small. They all help. So, without further adieu...

I am grateful...
Shawn has a job
Carter smiles a lot
Food to eat
My ability to create something out of nothing
Family and friends willing to watch Carter
Sleep
Independence
My memory
Blog friends who make me feel not so alone
My car

To be continued...

It's all relative.

Today, for my current employer, I had to drive to West Jordan at 8 am. I was right by my old work and one of my favorite places to eat. I thought since I'm here I might as well stop by...Except it totally tanked. The bakery doesn't open til 10 and no one I knew was at my old office when I stopped by because they basically weren't open yet. So I just drove back to Kaysville. I could not figure out how my awesome hey I'm in SLC plan tanked. Til I realized it was only 9 am!! I'd already been working for two hours and didn't even consider the time. I figured everything would be open. Then came another wake up call. I used to work from 10-6. Now I work from 7-1. When I worked at 10 it was all I could do to get there on time. I could not wake up! Now...my shift is half over by 10 and it doesn't even phase me. It's incredible o me that everything is relative. It really is. I feel kind of weird. Like I just realized something huge, but don't understand all of the implications. We can do amazing things. We are capable of so much. You just have to put it into perspective...

2 Months Late

We never got newborn pictures of Carter. I just couldn't get my act together. Then I thought, we'll get pictures of him at 6 months. That will be best. He's at a cute baby stage, more alert and happy. It will be perfect. Well Carter turned 6 months old in January...but I didn't know where to get his pictures taken. Everything seemed so expensive, and I wanted them to be super cute [not just so-so]. I kept putting it off, investigating here and there. Trying to find a good deal with good photos. Well, my friend Melina posted these and I loved them! And I looked at the website, and it seemed like a good deal, and I liked that I got the copyright to the images, and I liked that I could book the time online. Carter turned 8 months on Sunday and I thought, "Crap! I really need to get his picture taken" [1. because he's almost a year (say what??) 2. he won't fit in the cute shirt much longer]

So I booked a session, and we drove down to FotoFly in Draper [seriously the only downside for me] and everything was going according to plan, just as I hoped...except for one thing...

Carter. Would. NOT. Smile.

The kid smiles all the time. I mean, he is a happy smiley kid. All he did was bite his bottom lip. I still LOVE the pictures. I would get prints of every single one and hang them all over my house if we had the money and I didn't think that was obsessive.

So, here are a few of the pictures. The photographer was really great, despite Carter's unwillingness to cooperate.

I think they're so adorable! I love the first one of the post...because he actually kind of smiled! I'm so glad I finally got some baby photos of Carter. Oh how we love him.

Happy Birthday Mr. 26 Year Old--say what??

Monday was Shawn's birthday. What a whirlwind of a day! It turned out alright...considering my absolute failure when it comes to Shawn's birthday...I have a horrible track record. [which is beside the point, but they are so uneventful I can't even remember them. -10 points for me!]

We both had to work, and then my sister asked me to babysit her girls in the afternoon, and then Shawn had to go to school. We had a quick lunch together...Chalupas from Tacobell [no joke] and they were bad. I fed Carter and Shawn opened his first present: a Patagonia giftcard! [I might be the best wife ever] Then we both went our seperate ways.

After babysitting, I went grocery shopping and got Shawn another present: Dots! [he didn't seem so appreciative of this present...I wonder why?] We had classic spaghetti w/french bread and salad for dinner...at 9:30pm. [I cannot wait for graduation in May]

Then Shawn got to open his [basically] second present, wrapped in Christmas paper and under a Christmas Tree [that I drew and hung on the wall] because Shawn wanted Christmas for his birthday, because it's too great to have only once a year. The present read, "Merry Birthday Happy Christmas Dad Shawn, Love Melissa and Carter" He got a Patagonia Backpack! [are you seeing a trend?]

The last present Shawn got was...well...how do I explain this? I bought a Patagonia shirt for myself [so I could get free shipping and they didn't have any on sale in his size] but I felt guilty giving myself a shirt on his birthday. So I gave him the shirt and said "sorry you can have it if you want, but it's really for me" Luckily, he laughed and said I could have it [I can't believe he didn't think it would fit and he didn't want to wear a shirt with a polar bear on the front]

Honestly, the day turned out all right. I'm so grateful Shawn was born. I love my life with him. He is my sunshine.

I've been trying to finish this post for days now, so I'm just going to publish it...without birthday pictures.

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Hi There... Remember Me?

I remember you.

I started looking at some of my old posts. It reminded me that it isn't that hard to write a post. Maybe I should do it more often.

This was New Year's Eve...before Carter had a huge blow out.

Isn't he adorable?!?

Here's to coming back. To looking forward. To writing more blog posts. And to a super baby!

February. The most dreaded month of the year

I really dislike February. Valentines Day has never been that important to me. I think Presidents Day exists just to give people a break because the month is so horrible. February's only redeeming qualities are that it only has 28 days (usually) and it's the month Shawn and I were engaged. I cannot wait for this month to end. 4 more days. I can make it. Other than my strong distaste for this month we are doing really well.

Here are a few key points of interest:
.Carter is rolling like crazy. He is really starting to move. He might sorta almost scoot, but not quite.
.Shawn started working from home a week ago. It's been a major adjustment (to say the least) but it's nice to have him around more in the evenings. And no commute is, well, superb.
.We are finally finishing our basement doors. Shawn hung them last weekend and they look great! Now we just need to paint.
.Carter eats solids like a champ. He gets so excited to eat it's hard to get the spoon in his mouth.
.I finally let Shawn get "cable". It's weird having so many channels after not really watching tv for a year.
.Carter sleeps on his stomach now. Scares me to death. I think that's why I was awake at 3:30am last night. He will not sleep on his back anymore. If you roll him onto his back he just rolls right back to his stomach.
.Shawn's b-day is coming up and I'm at a loss. I wish I were better at planning things. Is 26 really on the horizon?

Life is pretty good. I can't complain too much ;) Goodnight

Planes Trains and Automobiles

As Shawn pointed out Sunday night, I don't do so well in "planes, trains and automobiles". Thankfully, Carter is a champ. Carter took his first airplane ride on Friday. Shawn and I were astounded by how well he traveled.

About a week and a half ago Shawn found out that his good friend Chad was getting baptized. So what did we do? Chad happens to live in Indiana [insert link to post about when he got married and we went out to visit] So, naturally we booked two plane tickets out there and away we went! We left Friday afternoon, Chad was baptized Saturday, and we flew home Sunday. Wham. Bam. Thankya ma'm. All with a seven month old baby who might be teething and have a cold. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and I'm officially exhausted...but that's not why I'm here. I wanted to blog about two things specifically. Maybe 3.

1. I'll be honest. I don't know Chad very well. In fact I've met him a total of...3 times? over the course of 5 years? It is incredible the powerful change the gospel has brought to his life. Chad's baptism was wonderful. There were so so so so so many people there supporting him. The Holy Ghost was so strong in that meeting. It touched my heart, and uplifted my soul. It truly was a miracle to see such a complete turn around in a person and their lifestyle. We are so excited for Chad! and so proud. The strength he needed to get to this point is beyond my comprehension...and he will need much more in the days ahead. I know he can do it. Thank goodness for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is true.

2. I love my husband. I love that husbands and wives miscommunicate (and that we're not the only ones). I love that when called upon to use the priesthood, my husband is willing, able and worthy. When we walked into the chapel for Chad's baptism, we found out that Shawn was going to be the one baptizing Chad. Shawn had no towel, no change of clothing, and no time to prepare...but he was ready and willing. And I Love that about him. We were honestly just in Indiana to support Chad. Shawn has had so many spiritual discussions with him and said a long time ago, 'If you ever get baptized, I'll be there.' So we were. We had no idea that Chad wanted Shawn to baptize him. Inspite of a few hiccups, everything turned out great. Those hiccups don't matter, because in the end, what matters is that Chad was baptized. It was beautiful.

3. Carter is incredible. No really. He is the best baby. Ever. I feel so lucky. So blessed to have him. I have never known a baby to be as good as he is. Yesterday, during one of our flights home I had the opportunity to hold him as he slept in my arms. I was overwhelmed by the emotions/feelings/thoughts that he is a blessing in our lives. He is a special, oh so special little person. I seriously feel like I won the lotto with this one. In total, we probably travelled for 8-9 hours yesterday. He didn't cry, only fussed, and only for good reason. As soon as those problems were addressed he went back to being an angel baby. Smiling and talking and sleeping and playing. I don't know if I was expecting travel with an infant to be murder, but this was a breeze. I am grateful for Carter and the opportunity I have to be his mother. I really don't know how Shawn and I got so lucky to have such a good kid. He is a champ and I love him.

Oh. And I totally slacked off and only took pictures once. But it's not like I'd post those. Come on--who do you think I am? Here we are tonight rockin' the Photobooth.

Take a bite out of Crime!

Today Carter ate a piece of paper. I feel like a horrible mother. Shawn thinks it's funny. I put the mail on his car seat while I carried him into the house. When I set him down this is what I found:

With no little piece in sight. My eyes searched his car seat and my finger searched his mouth to no avail. Not much I can do now--it's gone.

I hope it tasted good.