All About "Him"

Before I get started, I am doing this cuz Tamara "tagged" me. I am sure that Brian will disagree with some of what I say. Someday, he may get around to posting a rebuttal. Probably not. So here goes.

What is his name? Brian James (Yes, we really reversed his name for our baby. Deal with it.) But he goes by Babe, Him, Jaime (pronounced Hi May), Rocko and various other nick names. We both come from nick name families so no one is called by their actual name. That would be too easy.

How long have you been married? 6 great years.

How long did you date? 6 long years. Well to be fair 3.5 years were spent on missions. His then mine. We were engaged in 10 days after my mission.

How old is he? 29.

Who eats more? Totally depends on what is being served.

Who said, "I love you" first? He did.

Who is taller? Seriously? Brian is over a foot taller than me.

Who can sing better? Brian. Last week during the opening hymn in church he leaned over and asked me what part I was singing cuz he couldn't find it in the book. That was his teasing way of telling me that I was not getting it right. I laughed so hard I dropped the hymnal. I do try but I don't always get it right.

Who is smarter? Brian, hands down. People complain to him at work cuz he always uses words that they think are too big. Of course, for Brian they are just everyday words. And he always knows the answer to all questions. Really, try him. And he says everything he has learned has been from TV.

Who does the laundry? I wash it. And then it sits in the baskets or on the couch for days till either I feel guilty enough to fold and put it away or Brian get frustrated with it and does the rest himself. I'm always secretly hoping for the latter.

Who pays the bills? Brian. Unless he tells me to pay something. For those of you who don't know, Brian is very diligent (read: seriously anal) about our finances. He is a CPA after all. And I am sure lucky cuz I don't have to worry with him in charge.

Who sleeps on the right side? Me. I think.

Who mows the lawn? Brian. I am allergic to all forms of plant life. And he gets serious pride out of a nice looking yard. After he mows we usually have to do a "drive by". i.e. We drive by the front of the house just to see how nice his yard looks.

Who cooks dinner? 50/50 me or takeout. Brian would starve (eat cereal for every meal) if I didn't cook or order out.

Who drives? Brian. Although on road trips we fight over who gets to drive.

Who is more stubborn? Me by far. It is a family flaw. We all have it.

Who kissed who first? Brian. But only after I told my friend to tell his friend to have him do it already. We were in high school and that is how things were done back then.

Who asked who out first? Brian. Again, only after I had my friend tell his friend that I liked him. He didn't know who I was before that.

Who proposed? Brian.

Who is more sensitive? Depends on the situation but probably me. Stupid hormones.

Who has more siblings? Brian, he is the youngest of 6. 3 boys, 3 girls. I am second of 5. 4 girls and a boy.

Who wears the pants? Depends on the issue at hand. Remember, I am more stubborn but he is smarter so it makes for some lively "discussions".

So I guess that I have to "tag" a few people. Hmm. Lets see. Val, Crystal, Shelley and Steph A. So get going!

Holy $#%@!!

Okay, so today I was chillin' with James at about 11 am (he was eating) and I noticed that he was pooping. He didn't seem to be trying too hard so I wasn't really worried. All of a sudden, I noticed this warmth rushing up my arm and onto my legs. Seconds later my nose was assaulted with the most noxious smell ever.
I thought, Oh $#%@!
And sure enough there was $#%@ everywhere. All over me. All over James. Everywhere. Words cannot describe the mess that was made. And yes, I did actually think that word. Poop is not what happened today. $#%@ happened.
It came out both legs and up his back. It was even on his ears and arms and hands. I was totally grossed out. My first thought was to trade Brian places for the day so I tried to call him to see if I couldn't go to work today and he could come home to deal with the $#%@ but he didn't answer. Typical. And, of course, James kept trying to put his hands into his mouth. Yuck and a half! Needless to say, we took a bath. Maybe this is karma coming to get me cuz my mom infomed me that I did the worst poop blowout that she has ever had to deal with. At least we were at home and not out somewhere or in the car. Can you imagine if this had happened on the plane last week? I would have died!!
I think his outfit is ruined but I did spray about half a bottle of Spray n' Wash Advanced Cleaning Gel onto the mess. I washed it once and it faded but I will have to try washing it again with bleach this time.
I took a couple of pictures but they don't even come close to doing justice to the horrible mess and not to mention the smell. Too bad there is no scratch n' sniff on blogs.

So that is pretty much my day. Today it was filled with $#%@. But I can't complain too much as James is now down to sleep for the night and will not wake up till tomorrow at 5 am. I am gonna need some rest to get over the horror of today anyway. I wanted to use bleach on me and James in the tub but I refrained. I am a germaphobe after all.

It's About Time

Well, it is offical. Brian and I have now been married for as long as we dated. Our 6 year anniversary was Saturday, February 16. We started dating in February of 1996. 12 years ago. We worked together at Shopko in Bountiful. For those of you who don't know, Shopko is kinda like a Target or Walmart without the Super part.

Anyway, I was the one who persued Brian by doing what all high school girls who like boys do. I told my best friend to tell his best friend that I liked him and that he should ask me out. Don't laugh. I know most of you did this at least once. Or you know someone else who did it if you didn't have the guts. Anyway, it took him a while to get up the nerve to ask me out and technically he didn't, ask that is.
He came up to me at work and asked, "Are you working on Tuesday?"
I responded, "Yes."
He then said, "Well get it off."
I asked, "Why?"
He then infomred me, "So, you can go to the Jazz game with me."
Then he walked away.
I am not kidding that is exactly what happened. And, of course, I got Tuesday off and we went and some drunk woman dumped nachos down his back (karma for not asking me out properly) and then we went to Gringo's. It was a mexican fast food place. Then he dropped me off at home and didn't bother to get out of the car and walk me to the door. It is a miracle that we had a second date. But, to be fair, Brian did ask me out properly the second time (a lazer show that Friday) but it did take him a while to walk me to the door and even longer to get up the nerve to kiss me. And then six short years and two missions later we got married and are living happily ever after with the most perfect baby we could ever hope for.

Here is a picture that was taken the day my mom graduated from law school in May of 1996. Aren't we so cute? And so young? In case you don't believe that this picture is old, my brother in the picture, "Boy" as we call him, is now 25 and about to graduate from college. Not to mention, denim shirts have certainly not been "in style" since then either. Maybe not even then. I think that may be the same shirt that got nachos dumped on it. Anyway, here is a picture that we took Saturday night before we went to Fogo de Chao to engorge ourselves on meat. Mmmm! My how time flys when you're having fun.

Oh, and by the way, James has officially been introduced to church. He got to go for the first time today. I took a picture of him and Brian right before church. Aren't they so handsome? James was very good. No crying, but no sleeping either. He did poop, fart, coo and laugh out loud during the Relief Society lesson though. And he charmed all the people who saw him by giving a few smiles. I hope every Sunday is this easy. I think I am hoping in vain.

3 Months

Just a quick update on James. He is 3 months old today. I called the doctor's office to see if I could bring him in for a weight and height check. They said, "Yes". So I drug him over there and, of course, he pooped all over the place at the office. And when I was taking his clothes off to clean him up he was laughing his little head off. Something about being naked is really funny to this kid. I guess he takes after his mommy. Oh well. I got what I wanted. He is officially 16 lbs. 4 oz. naked except a fresh diaper. He is 24.75 inches tall. And his head is 16.75 inches around. That means that he gained 1 lb. 10 oz. from last month and he grew 1.5 inches and his head got 1.25 inches bigger! For all you percentile people out there. He is 90-something for weight and 70-something for height and head. I personally like the picture approach to measuring so I have included the following so y'all can he how much he has grown in 3 months. The pillow is a great way to see how he has grown.

During the last month James has learned a lot of new tricks. He loves to bat at things and grasp items. Although his hands are still some of his favorite things to stare at and suck on. He really likes books and we read together all the time. Here he is trying to turn the pages of his favorite book.

This is a picure of James watching his mobile. He thinks that is pretty cool as well. Every time I put him under it, it's like he has never seen anything so interesting in his life. Here he is about to cry with his lip stuck out all sad and his eyes huge and welling with tears. I think it is so cute when he cries but I still feel bad for him so I don't get many pictures of him doing it. Usually he only cries when he is tired or hungry and so I feel bad making him wait for food or sleep while I get my camera out. It makes me feel like a mean mom.And here we are showing Daddy our newest toy. The Baby Bjorn has come in handy. I should have taken it with me when I went shopping for James' first church suit the other day. He likes to look out and doesn't like the car seat. And because James is officially 3 months old now he gets to attend church for the first time on Sunday. I will take a picture of him in his suit and post it later. It is super cute. Thanks, Burlington Coat Factory, for always stocking little suits and such for a reasonable price.

Fess Up Friday

So, I missed last Friday. Oops. I was really irritated cuz I gained 1 lb. But this week I lost 1.6 lb. so I am over it. When I told my sister she said, "Your welcome". I have to admit I usually do lose weight at her house cuz it is so healthy and there are two kids to chase after. There is no trash food to snack on. This time, though, we had some organic, raw chocolates and macaroons to eat so I did have some sweets. No sugar added, of course. And don't think that just because I say healthy that I mean low-fat. No, we had our fair share of healthy fat. So after a bad week last week I had a good one this week but I still need to exercise more. I really am planning on doing it. I think I need to just start running again. I will let you know how that goes.

Sedona

Just thought I would share some pictures of my trip to Sedona. It's kinda like the Park City of Arizona. And it is beautiful. I went hiking with my mom and sister and my nephew and niece and, of course, I went shopping with my sister at "uptown" Sedona. These pictures are taken from the balcony at my sister's place. The view is amazing! The pictures don't do it justice.

James got a Baby Bjorn from his Gramma Sharon as an early Easter present. Doesn't he look cute in it? I think so. Look at those luscious lips
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Here is James with his Gramma Sharon and cousin Lexy. He did smile I just didn't catch it in the pictures. James did very good on the plane although he didn't sleep much. Now I feel like a pro. Oh yeah, and in case you didn't know you can check a car seat and two bags for yourself and a 40 lb. bag for the baby. At least you can on American. I went out with one bag and came home with two. Totally typical for me when I travel. Mostly I filled my bag with Christmas presents that didn't fit into our luggage at Christmas and health food from my super healthy sister's house. She is totally organic, non-processed, non-GMO, sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free, corn free, chemical free and everything else bad for you free. At least she is not a vegan, yet... She did introduce me to the LARABAR and I can recommend them to you all. They actually taste good. They come in flavors like Lemon Bar, Apple Pie and Cherry Pie. They are raw, kosher, vegan and free of anything bad for you. She even lets her kids eat them. I have a lot of catching up to do to be as healthy as the rest of my family. I am trying. Really! Oh, and for those of you who don't know, GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism.

Can you tell she loves the camera? And why not, she is a cutie isn't she? But she refuses to have her hair done most of the time. I refused to get my hair done as a child too.
This is my nephew Jaxson aka Nickolas. Apparently he really likes to play on the bed I was sleeping in cuz I kept finding him there. Once he had raided the fridge for all the apples he could carry and was just getting started on them when I found him. I laughed so hard at that. He was so sad to get caught with his stash.
As you can see we had a great time in Sedona. I totally recommend it for a family vacation. There is lots to do and see. I will have to go back soon.

Hinckley Challenge

So, I saw this on my cousin's blog and I thought, "What better way to honor Pres. Hinckley than to read the Book of Mormon?" I usually don't get all spiritual on this blog but I need a bit more of the Spirit now that I can't go to the temple every week. So, if you would like to join in the fun then visit The Hinckley Challenge and sign up to read with the rest of us. You can see my progress on the side of my blog. That way I actually have to do it.

The Faces of James

So, it is quite interesting to me that one baby can look so different from one moment to the next. I just thought I would share a few, and I mean a very few, of James' different faces. This is especially for the Grandmas who are always asking for new pictures. By the way, Happy Birthday, Grandma Shelley! Enjoy!

Fess Up Friday

Well, I have some bad news. I gianed. Not a lot, only 0.4 lb. but still. I guess I can attribute it to the fact that I didn't exercise this week like I said I would. I just couldn't bring myself to start an exercise video with constuction people at the house. It would have been way too weird. This week I will have to do it no matter what. One good thing I did was get out my Weight Watchers cookbook and make a few recipes. It is amazing to me that, as picky as Brian is, he likes their recipes. Probably because they use less meat and definately the leaner kinds. They really do have some great recipes. This week I made Oriental Pepper Steak and Ginger Beef and Asperagus Stir Fry. Can you tell I like beef better than chicken? I will keep this good habit up and I really have to get the exercise going again. After all, one of my goals is to be able to run 5 miles again by the end of the year. I am sure it will happen. Keep rooting for me.