Learning To Cook!

I have finally learned how to make Arepas! I've been craving them for so long and my mom's good friend Marta makes some amazing ones. Luckily, I found out Marta and her family were making their way down from Layton to spend dinner with us. I packed up Baby Calvin and got myself out of my sweatpants and drove to my parents' house. 

And Marta agreed to show me how to make them! It is much easier than I thought it would be for sure, it just takes a lot of multitasking and meat preparation that takes about a whole day. Anyway, they turned out delicious! Buttery, flaky, and so tasty! YUMMMM!

On A Regular Basis

Calvin is CONSTANTLY climbing things. David and I have recently had to secure our bookshelf to the wall because of Climbing Calvin. I was doing some laundry at my parents' house one day and realized that I couldn't hear Calvin. So I went on a search and you know where I found him? At the TOP of the long stairway. And I freaked! How could I NOT notice? Anyway, I had to get him back to the bottom and get it on film, this time he had someone to spot him in case he slipped. It's about time I get this video on the blog. :) Enjoy.




P.S. I should thank the people who read this blog. I notice a lot of people's interest in our family. And I'm really glad
that I'm not just writing to a big black hole.

Impressing the Crowd

I've got a Coughing Calvin.

It usually starts with a runny nose, maybe a few sneezes. I can usually tell that he's feeling sick just by his body language. You know... that achey, stiff, sick feeling you get all over your body when you get sick. This has been going on for about a week now (going on a week and a half) and I thought it was getting better!

When just last night, Calvin's coughing woke me up. It was pretty intense.. Big chesty, tight cough attacks that seized his little body. I could hear him gagging and crying and struggling to breathe- I finally told myself, if it doesn't stop, I'm getting up and going to the store to get him something. 

Guess what I ended up doing.. 

It was nearly 2 in the morning and I got up and dressed and got him a humidifier and some Motrin (he was running low) and maybe some Vicks. Thankfully, that seemed to help him get some rest. The On-Call nurse at the Pediatrician's office told me that if it got any worse than that (wheezing, blue lips, etc) I should take him to the Emergency room. 

AAAH! 

I didn't have to do that (Thank you!!!) It may have been my sleepiness coupled with my worry/stress that made me cry when she told me to take him to the ER if anything got worse. Thank goodness I didn't have to resort to that! Anyway, he's still a little cranky, but doing better. I turned on the shower, put some pots of boiling water on the stove and of course, his humidifier on to hopefully get some humidity going in the house and help my little guy. 

Downside of all the steam: I have to wipe down all my walls from the collecting drops running down. 

Upside: My skin looks really good. Haha! 

We caught Calvin just chillin' in his crib with his feet up. (Sorry for the beeping and clicking you hear in the video... that's me trying to get a picture on my lil' digital camera)

At Play

David discovered that Calvin likes to play underneath a big blanket we have. We'll cover and uncover him and laughs from the rush of air that happens when we uncover him. David just happened to leave the blanket on his head and we found out that Calvin REALLY likes to try crawling around with the blanket over his head. He obviously doesn't get very far before he trips all over himself and laughs his little hiney off. At the end he we uncover him and he gets a little disoriented and tips over.

In other news, his Grandma and Grandpa Gomez succeeded in finding a walker! Something I assumed was gone from existence. I thought that because of too many incidences of falling down the stairs, they'd stopped being manufactured. Anywho, they found one. And we have been watching to see when he finally starts to take steps forward in his walker..
His Tia Andi held out a cookie in front of him and VOILA! He is so easily enticed by food. Immediately, he starts almost running towards Andi and he gets his cookie. I'll have to get it on film for you. I always have these moments of "Look at my baby go. He is the cutest, smartest, most amazing baby in the whole world!" And then I remember that's probably just me being a silly mom.

My New Favorite Video

My baby Calvin exploring new places such as the world of UNDERNEATH! Anything he can get under is his newest favorite thing. Especially chairs that have bars under them. I actually had a hard time getting him out from under those chairs at his last doctor appointment! Oy Vey!







You can also probably tell how much he loves the sound of his own voice.


P.S. IF THE VIDEO ISN'T PLAYING RIGHT, YOU CAN GO HERE TO WATCH CALVIN VIDEOS.

Booty Booty Booty Rockin' Errrewhere

I know you've seen the naked bum pictures before. David shot this video of Cal watching the bath tub fill up and he gets SO excited! And I personally think it is the cutest thing ever.


And David also managed to sneak a video of Cal hanging out in his crib in the morning. I love when he finally catches David filming him. Heh heh. Cute behbeh.

I'm Just A Sucker For...

Those EYES!

I can't say it enough. I just love that little guy.

What a ham..

I think Calvin is starting to discover how much we love to take pictures of him. We can't seem to get him at a calm, serene moment. He's always giving us these open-mouth smiles. I think I may have a mischievous little boy on my hands.

Calvin the Great!

Enjoying his days at the park in this beautiful weather we've been having. It's been in the 70s all week! Skirts and shorts, here I come!!!

↑ Checking out all the ducks at the pond ↑

Ooh Baby

A video David shot of Calvin in his bath. There are tons of new videos and pictures to come so stay tuned!





Calvin Playing in the Bath from David Miller on Vimeo.

A beautiful, healthy baby IS a Happy Baby: Jimi

Well, I just thought of sharing this great picture of Jimi, aka. Pelotitititititititito, the handomest little grandchild in the wholewide world. Enjoy!

Today

Started out a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day..
Although thanks to a nap and a full tummy, the day's taken a turn for the better. Thank goodness! I just bought Calvin some picture books. I've been working on building a Children's Book library with all the essential books.
The Lorax
Green Eggs and Ham
(My next Dr. Seuss book is The Butter Battle Book)
Where The Wild Things Are
Goodnight Moon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Olivia
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Ferdinand The Bull
and others...

And I finally got around to buying him one of my very favorites.. Can you guess?

I think I'm moving to Australia. 

Not very flattering of me.. But as always, Calvin is so cute. What a dashing little fellow.

Step by Step

I'm slowly learning the ins and outs of being a housewife. 

I successfully made a pizza. ALL by myself. :) 

I know it sounds very silly. But I feel so satisfied when I make something that tastes good.. but more importantly that David thinks tastes good. I think next time, I'll stick with David's recipe next time I try pizza- though this recipe was pretty good. :) 

Snug Dad?

Picture of the Day.. I'm sure I'll get a sharp reprimand for posting this picture...

My Dad... wearing a snuggie backwards (like a robe).. as it should be worn. Ha!

Genesis Sunday

Conference Weekend. Don't you just love it?

A friend of our family spent conference with us yesterday and invited us to a fireside in Salt Lake in which he was participating. He is in a group called R.O.C. (which stands for "Remembering Our Culture"). Both my sister, Andrea and I were part of this group a few years back! Immediately, I got kind of a bad taste in my mouth- Andrea and I left because of some unfairness we felt in the group. Anyway, Joshua asked us to please go with him to the fireside because it was going to be a special fireside. This was going to be in Salt Lake with a congregation known as the Genesis Congregation which basically is a group for "colored" LDS people. I've heard in the past that Genesis is a lot of fun to be a part of so I decided I'd go. I really didn't know what to expect- like, I didn't know if I was about to attend a Baptist congregation or something I wasn't used to.. and I was partly right. ... I definitely wasn't used to this. 

We finally found our way to the church and sat in the congregation. The chapel filled and ROC began to sing. Although the music was nice (and just as I'd left it), it wasn't the music that made my evening great. The evening was filled with gospel style LDS music and even some real gospel music.. Yes. And that came with clapping, standing, dancing, and a number of hallelujah's and amens. Like I mentioned before, I was not used to seeing such behavior in a chapel.. Then again - I've never seen so many Black people in one room! It was really really fun. Andrea felt a little bit uncomfortable getting into the swaying and the clapping but I felt right at home. I think I really needed to feel the spirit that way. I can't really describe the way it feels other than, the music is so wonderful, and loud and everyone is singing almost like it was their way of offering praise for the Lord. It just filled me and made my heart swell.. (I hope I did an adequate job at describing that feeling.. It only happens with music)

At one part of the meeting, a gentleman got up and sang "Amazing Grace" in the most beautiful way I've ever heard it sung. It wasn't full of technical runs or high notes.. It was just sung in the way he knew best and the congregation hummed along in the verses and sang the words they knew during the chorus. It was really very touching. 

And my favorite part of this particular fireside was a lady who'd just recently moved from Alabama who called herself Sister Dee. She is also a recent convert to the LDS faith from being a deep south Baptist! She talked about how "at home" she felt with the music and the spirit and also her conversion story. She shared her story about growing up- Sister Dee actually had the privilege of knowing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. AMAZING. And she told of the marches she'd participated in and hearing the "I Have A Dream" Speech at Washington D.C. and also how Dr. King told them to be peaceful and to overcome. I was amazed at her experiences and her testimony of faith (Not to mention, she wore the coolest hat). I can't say enough about that amazing piece of history that she shared with us. 

The evening ended with one of my favorite songs by ROC called "My Life Is In Your Hands" (Listen to the song, here.) No matter the bitterness I feel sometimes toward my experience in ROC, I nearly ALWAYS am brought to tears by this song when I hear it sung in a fireside. 

Wow, this is a very long entry.. Sorry.... 

Anyway, I was so glad to have gone and been part of Genesis for one night. I had a marvelous time.

Sister Dee also recalled singing "We Shall Overcome" while marching with Dr. King.

 

General Conference Saturday:

Had fun yesterday listening to General Conference. I never can say enough about how much I love Conference. Even when working during the Conference weekend, it was so slow and we'd have time to listen to the inspired words. We are currently in the process of redecorating our apartment right now. It's going to look like a jumbled up mess until I get things painted and polished. I can't wait to see the finished result. I finally have another bookshelf to put up above the TV (usually David likes a painting I did to hang there and I LOATHE it). Among other things.

David also shot another wedding last night at the Highland Gardens for Amy Watts and Raymond Hawke (uh, I guess they're both Hawkes now). My family's known Amy for a really long time and she is without a doubt a woman of many talents. Truly a gem. Anyway, she and Ray have been dating and engaged for a while and had the cutest, springiest reception ever! The colors were lime (like, TRUE lime.. not obnoxious-lunch-lady-shirt lime) and bright pink and purple. David got some really great pictures. It was held in a greenhouse in Alpine so everything was flooded with natural light and made for great pictures! I can't wait to post some.

OH and in other news, as Amy and Ray were leaving their reception- David hurried inside to get a sleeping Calvin and any camera equipment he still had inside.. I decided to follow him, probably a little faster than I should have. I started in a fast walk and almost running before my shoe (which has NO traction on it) slipped on the pavement and CRAAAASH! All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Angie together again.

I ended up scraping both my knees, my feet, bruising my hip, my elbow and my right palm... Nice going.

At least I can say that maybe only 3 people got a look at my tremendous fall other than David.. Of course, they got a good look at my underwear too as my skirt flew in all directions! Thankfully, David helped me back to the car and went and got Cal himself. *Sigh* I married a really good guy. He's pretty cute too.



Well, Conference again today! And I hope to have a much less painful day full of inspired words and the Holy Ghost!

STILL baby hungry...

I blame my baby hunger on this video.
Augh!!!


Freezing the Children in the Spring of 2010 from The Panic Room Videos on Vimeo.

Wishing for Springtime

(I'm getting so frustrated with my typing.. I've got a band-aid on my index finger and it's making it harder to do things..)

Ladies and Germs, I present to you one of my very very favorite Calvin videos. This was taken a few weeks ago at a park on a sunny day after church. We wanted to take Calvin to see the duckies and swing on the swing. So David took the liberty of packing us a light lunch and a blanket and we had ourselves a picnic! Whilst we ate our lunch, we loved seeing Calvin crawling to the ends of the blanket and touching the grass. He'd immediately lift the hand that touched it and wriggle his fingers. His eyebrows rose and mouth turned into something of a grimace. Almost like he was saying "What the..." He seemed so put off by the texture of the grass that he refused to go off the blanket. Me and David seized the opportunity to get it all on film!

It Just Needs To Stop

I'm sure every mother can relate.

Crying whenever you watch "Deliver Me" or "A Baby Story" or other such things. It makes me want another baby so bad. And THEN there's that other part of me that's like, "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??!?" ....

I'll lean over to David and say something to the effect of "I am SO baby hungry! I love babies!!" and he'll just tell me that there's a really cute, chubby baby in the next room and to go eat him up. I suppose he's right. Heh heh.