M i l l e r s/E v e r y w h e r e

Thanksgiving Point

2011-11-28T21:57:00.001-08:00

Nate and Nikall Visit and Eat Argentine Food

2011-11-27T23:37:00.001-08:00

We are simply the worst.

2011-10-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

The worst at blogging, anyway.

So lately, work has had me on a pretty busy schedule lately so between flowers & Zumba, I am exhausted at the end of the day! We DO have a ton of pictures to post of some recent happenings with Cal & such (thanks to David) but getting to posting them on the blog is another story altogether.

Anyway, so here's the big news:
This week we'll be moving all of our belongings to a new pad!
We will be moving to a house in North Orem this week. Lots of home improvement and all sorts of new things that usually grown ups have to deal with. Which will all be documented as it happens! :)

So sorry for our long absence, there will be hoards of new posts as soon as we get a moment to sit & breathe!

Sometimes I Work With Flowers

2011-09-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Just a little post about some of the things I make at work...

I have tons (seriously, guys. TONS..) of pictures of my floral work and thought I'd just post a few from my first week back at The Flower Patch.

Simple rose bouquet with greens.

A very typical bouquet of the Provo BYU area. Lilies, gerber daisies, poms.

Hydrangea, orchids, Calla Lilies and Stock

With a corset ribbon tie.

What $150 will buy you...

And this is actually a bouquet of a co-worker of mine, Kayleen.

Purple stock, green carnations, green cymbidium orchids, purple crown aster,

and green hypericum.

Just a little headband of white daisies & solid ego as modeled by lovely Kyshel.

Pastel sympathy arrangement.

2011-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

And now to write a little about Zumba... I have a different blog for more Zumba stuff, but I just have to share this. A friend of mine by the name of Kass Martin (pretty much celebrity status in the Zumba fitness world) was directed by the creator of Zumba himself to choreograph some special songs.

As many of you may know, Zumba is mostly comprised of international rhythms. Samba, Reggaeton, Cumbia, Merengue, Bollywood, etc. But Beto, Zumba's Creator, called on Kass to take care of the music that isn't so international. What we so fondly refer to as "Oldies". She took care of choreographing lots of songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. She taught this class at the Zumba Convention in Florida and decided to have a special workshop here in Utah for her very own Zumba-ites. Also, she encouraged us to dress up for the occasion.

And as any of you who may know me know that if there's an opportunity to dress up...

I will take it.

Pictures from the Saturday Night Fever workshop:

Allison Petersen, Kass Martin, Myself, and Emily Engemann

Chris Phinney of Park City Zumba, Skyler Carr & Myself

Me & Kass

Emily, Allison, and Me.

Bachelorette Treatsies.

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Courtney and I threw a Bachelorette Party for Erika not too long ago. Lots ridiculous things said, ridiculous "sexy" games played & even some Carmen Electra dance moves.

Just a few of our treats from that night.

I am drooling just looking at these pictures again...

Puddle Jumper.

2011-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Calvin got a cute little blue raincoat from his cousin Joel not too long ago. David and I suspected we may not have a lot of chances to use it since, let's be honest, Utah isn't the most humid of places..

This year's been a different story though. LOTS of extra moisture. The rivers flooding over. And for the first time in years, Utah's legalized "real" fireworks, you know. The kind that you can launch into the air?
It was actually pretty common through most of June for us to start our days off sunny. By early afternoon, it would get overcast, and by evening time, things would get rainy.
So much to our surprise, we had many opportunities to use his raincoat!

This kid is ALL about puddle jumping.

Calvin Loves Abstact Art.

2011-09-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Good job, Cal.

Chinese Chompz

2011-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

While my dad was visiting from Peru, we all got together for a dinner out.

I love all of this Gomez Family Time.

Awww

Mother and Father

Scott (or as Calvin calls him, Sock) and Andrea

Tony, My handsome brother, Erik, and Ali

Hike To Ensign Peak

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

For Pioneer Day here in Utah, my dad had a great idea to take a hike up to Ensign Peak. Ensign Peak is known as the peak that the Pioneers came over into the Salt Lake Valley after their long journey across the plains. The same peak where Brigham Young famously declared, "This Is The Place".
I was a bit taken aback since my dad is probably the last person on Earth that would ever suggest we go on a family hike. The outdoors aren't really his thing. But it isn't too hard of a hike, only about 20 or 30 minutes. And it was gorgeous.

Calvin dressed in his patriotic red, white, and blue.

Dad trying to take a picture with Cal in front of the view...

Dad: What gives?!

I live here, folks.

Check out that view!

Not to mention those amazing clouds.

ANGIE'S BIRTHDAY SURPRISE.

2011-08-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Story:

David likes to plan surprises for my birthday. I always ask that he keep his clues & hints to himself because I prefer to be surprised. This year for my birthday, he kept saying how much I was REALLY going to enjoy my present this year. He told me he'd have to go to Salt Lake to pick it up.

Since I didn't want any clues, I was guessing that maybe he'd ordered something on ebay & had to pick it up in SLC. I had no idea what was coming, folks.

The day of my birthday started out with delicious breakfast & such. I really didn't have much planned for that day (This is Friday, by the way). We were going to my mom's house for dinner to celebrate mine & Calvin's birthday since my birthday fell on a Sunday this year.

David went up on Friday afternoon with Calvin to pick up my birthday present. He then came to get me from home to take us all up to my mom's for dinner.

He mentioned that my birthday present had taken up most of the front seat of the car...

.... Now I had NO CLUE as to what it possibly could have been.

He had to travel to SLC to get it & it took up most of the passenger seat??

UH.

And as we entered my parent's house, sitting right there in front of me was none other than my DEAR OLD DAD! I was so surprised! I obviously had no idea he was coming and I totally started crying. Hugged him & we all ate dinner together for our birthdays! Seriously, what a great present.

I rather wish I'd taken pictures of this, but I was completely taken off guard. So you all just get to picture that in your little heads.

Favorite Chompz.

2011-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gyoza
Recipe by Lillian Wilkins...

It was probably the first dinner I ever attempted that 1) Tasted good, 2) Had us going back for second and third helpings, 3) has become one of our favorite things to have for dinner.
Coming soon, a video on how to make sushi by yours truly..

Yuuuummmmm

The Opener of Gifts.

2011-08-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a video from early on Calvin's birthday. First thing, he woke up to some gifts from his grandparents and from us. He is definitely a fan of anything related to cars. Actually, anything with wheels on it will work.

Birthday Boy!

2011-08-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this happened like a month ago...

July 13th, 2011.
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY CALVIN!

We invited all of our family over for a day at the pool.
These pictures were all taken by David, by the way.
He's pretty good with a camera..

Cousin Noah

My sister, Ali. Nice half moon eyes, Al. :)

One EXTREMELY swollen diaper...

The Cake, made by David.

The cake, take two... being eaten by Calvin.

Opening his gifts with his Abuelo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIDDO.

♥♥♥

A B C

2011-08-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Calvin (as many of you already know) has a pretty intense love for all things Sesame Street. As he started watching more of it, we noticed that he would start pointing out numbers & letters to us. He can now count all the way to 12 and can tell you any letter of the alphabet.

Thanks, Sesame Street. :)

Belated Blog Posts Galore!!

2011-08-23T09:12:00.003-07:00

Alright, since the past few weeks have been a little busier than usual, blogging has been taking the back burner..
I've got tons of pictures to share so watch out...
Here they come!

Puddle Jumper

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Calvin got this cool raincoat from his Cousin Joel a while back, and we didn't expect we'd really use it until fall because, lets be honest, Utah isn't exactly the most humid of places..
But this year, Utah has been experiencing more rain than usual in the early summer months. Actually, for most of June, the day would start out sunny and by the early afternoon, the sky would be overcast with some rain to finish off the evening. So things have been nice and green thanks to the extra moisture.

Anyway, the point is that we've had lots of opportunities this summer to pull out the raincoat! Calvin's been stoked at any chance he gets to go run in some puddles..

This Man of Mine

2011-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen take note.
If you like a girl, get her flowers.
Doesn't need to be a holiday,
Actually, your ladies appreciated it more if there isn't a holiday.

David knows my favorites.
He brings me flowers often.
But he also knows that some of my most favorite flowers he's
gotten me, are ones he's pulled off the side of the road
to pick them himself.

Grow a pair, cut your hair!

2011-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another belated post.

It was a spontaneous decision. I was determined to finally get the pixie cut I wanted. One when I wasn't pregnant (the last pixie cut I had kind of failed after 60 lbs of pregnancy weight gain).. My hair was getting to the point where I would wake up and try to lift my head but my hair was stuck under my shoulder. Please tell me I'm not the only one that happens to? Anyway, I was so nervous to cut it all off. My hair had kind of become my little security blanket in a way. Even driving to my hair appointment, I was debating whether I should turn around, if I could really do this. But I wanted it so bad. Thanks to a very talented girl I know (you can check out her blog, HERE.) I cut it all off. And I looove it.

Plus, seriously, I feel 10 lbs. lighter without all that heavy, thick hair on my neck!

You should have seen this pile. It looked like a small poodle.

Yay!

Two Doods Dat Hang Out

2011-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Woops, This post is a little bit late. But I figure I'd better post these pictures soon.

The Gomez Family Tradition:
On the Fourth of July, the family heads over to a cozy little spot on the park where we lay out our blankets and picnic chairs and enjoy each other's company while eating delicious food and watch the fireworks!
This year, we didn't quite make it til the fireworks went off. Calvin doesn't do so well when he's tired (as anyone who has a two year old will know all too well) and we had to go home a little early to put him to bed.

Big Bear always at Calvin's side.

Me & my Madre.

Guess who's back!?

The one and only, Dozer!

The story of how he got back to us is a whole other blog post..

Charming...

Calvin getting tired, me losing my patience. haha

Happy Fourth of July!! :)

4th of July Cabin Trip

2011-07-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

The family all got invited to spend the 4th of July up at a very lovely cabin belonging to Andrea's

In-laws, The Veenkers. We had a great time playing outside, making s'mores, learning card games, and of course, 4-wheeling.

Calvin's trip on the 4-wheeler.

Those legs you see sticking out are my mothers. She was hanging on for dear life.

Showing all the dust that had blown onto my pants on the ride.

Wearing black was probably not a good idea.

We had some free time so some of us decided to go on another 4-wheeling

adventure. I decided I would rather stay at the cabin and converse or take a nap or something since

that week was going to be a long one for me. During the trip, my brother Erik and little sister Ami started accelerating and Erik decided to let off the gas. But instead of the 4-wheeler just rolling slowly (as a car would if you let off the gas), its engine breaks stopped the 4-wheeler right on a rocky area, where they apparently slipped and the 4-wheeler flipped them right off. Luckily, both Erik and Ami were wearing helmets or else their injuries might have been much worse, to say the least. They both got scraped up and came away with some pretty nasty bruises, but thankfully that was the most of it.

What remained of Erik's coat after falling on some rocks.

A bruised cheek

Erik's side bruise.

Ami's scraped up forearm. This is after it healing, too.

Trust me, it looks a lot better in this picture.

Nothing like a few 4-wheeling bruises to finish off the 4th of July weekend right!

BE THE PLANK.

2011-06-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

ADVENTURES IN PLANKING:

We all went to dinner before our dear friend Hannah left for Wales.

We of course ate until our little bellies could hold no more (Thank you, Bombay House)

And randomly decided that we must go planking.

Thank goodness Erika had her camera on her so we could document our adventures.

Also, if you haven't seen these ladies' blogs yet, you can click on the below links

to check them out.

(Hannah ↓ ↓)

VERBAL VOMIT

(Erika ↓ ↓)

ALL IS LOVE

This one ↑↑↑ and the one of Hannah in the tree

are definitely my favorites. If you don't understand planking, I say don't

diss til you try it. You will have a hard time not laughing. I promise.

Picnic In The Canyon

2011-06-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

This is our trip up Provo Canyon about two weeks ago! Sorry it's taken me so long to post any new pictures. I've been lazy about finally getting some of these pictures on my computer. We all went up to a little park on a sunny day to spend our Saturday afternoon together.

Ali & Ami

Al skipping rocks

Ami, this is so cute!!

Aren't these marvelous trees?

Erik taking care of little Yogi.

I had to climb one of these trees too!

Video of this will be coming soon. Calvin was up to his knees in

mud from this faucet.

The Puddle Jumper

2011-06-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

For about a week and a half (maybe two weeks?) here in good ol' Utah, every day was grey and rainy. It was pretty awesome, everything was green, I could get away with still wearing my big scarves in May. The best part was definitely Calvin's discovery of what happens when you step in a puddle. On one occasion, his whole bottom half was soaked through. This video only shows the smaller puddle.

The bad side: Calvin's clothes were constantly having to be re-washed because of all the muddy water. but it was totally worth it to watch him stomp around in the puddles.

The Chase

2011-05-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

After a week of nothing but gloomy rainy weather, the sun finally decided to make an appearance. Sunday started off a little gray, but as the day went on, I just couldn't stay inside anymore! People were barbecuing outside, kids playing. So Calvin ran outside for a while.

David was determined to get a good shot of Calvin and Cal just did everything he could to make ruin every shot. He would run away or turn his face right as David pushed the button.

As you can see, yesterday afternoon, the camera was pretty much just an extension of David's face.

Just a little glimpse of our growing garden!

It Tastes Good!

2011-05-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what this dish is called.

But my Madre makes it all the time! It's SUPER easy to make. It usually only takes me about 30 minutes to make.

What you'll need:

Bacon (cut up into small bits)

Onion (I only use just a little bit, you can use however much you want)

A pinch of garlic powder

Heavy whipping cream

Can of peas

Can of mushrooms

Parsley

Salt to taste.

In a sauce pan, on medium to high heat, throw in the bacon until cooked

then brown your onions in the bacon fat. When the onions are transparent,

add the whipping cream (as much as needed). Here, you season with salt

and garlic powder (careful not to go too crazy with the salt.. it can get too salty

really quick). Add mushrooms, peas, and parsley.

If you want your sauce a little thicker, add flour & stir.

To thin, add milk.

And Voila! Ladle it onto your favorite pasta and done.

Angie's Corner

2011-05-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

My corner of the room.
Don't know why I like the way it looks this morning.
I just had to take some pictures!

My little floating bookshelf with my favorite books.

The History of Love,

The Unbearable Lightness of Being,

The Little Prince,

My tarot cards, and favorite elephants.

Old CD case, Yoga Mat, Scriptures

Jewelry box I got from my best friend, Kiersten, when I turned 16,

The Shins sticker, Elephant cuff,

Paint thingy (brain fart, what are these things called??), Thrifted owl mug

Watercolor paper, Cell, Book I'm in the middle of reading, Thrifted Tea pot,

and small tea cup from my Melanie Leslie.

Reading lamp that also serves as a place to put my headbands.

My Calvin and Me

2011-05-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Usually I'm the one taking pictures for blogging purposes.

Finally, Cal and I had a moment where we just relaxed a little bit to watch some Toy Story. I can probably quote you most of these movies (by "these", I mean ALL THREE Toy Story movies) but as long as I'm watching them with Calvin, it really doesn't matter to me how many times I've seen them.

On a different note, that right there is my favorite

dress in the world. I've not been able to find

another one like it!

You heard it here first!

2011-05-17T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love this whoever commented on "Only For A Limited Time".

It made my day. Seriously. :)

Beehive's Brag Blog said...

I PROTEST!!! I don´t want it for a limited time only. I like to watch it everyday!!! If you delete it after a few days I will post lots of comments all over your blog and FB and tell you what I think!
LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT! LEAVE IT!

Only For A Limited Time

2011-05-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

We've been slowly trying to introduce Calvin to the toilet in an effort to make him more comfortable with eventually going numbers 1 and 2 in the toilet instead of inside his diapers.
Here we have a small video of Calvin sitting on the potty and reading one of his books. I don't know why we thought this was so hilarious.

Now, this video will not be spending a whole lot of time on this blog since Cal is pretty naked. It will be deleted after a few days. Basically, the video is only up for my dad and grandma who are currently in other countries.

I love his naked cuteness.
THIS KID! I love him. So much.

Taking The Wheel

2011-05-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

My guess is he'll need at least 4 or 5 phone books under this kid to see through the windshield.

Deejay Francis Zumba Master Class!

2011-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday, my sisters and I got to attend a Zumba Master class with Beto Perez' Zumba DJ!

DEEJAY FRANCIS!

I am not totally sure how many people were there, but it was packed! I got whacked in the face a few times by a few enthusiastic Zumba lovers, but the energy was great and the music was fantastic. It was a theater full of people in neon clothes who love Zumba as much as we do!

Deejay Francis!

Check out those guns.

Just us and the wonderful Lindsey Taylor

Me & my Zumba ladies!

Deejay Francis!!

Show Me Your Teeth

2011-05-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Is this the cutest face or what?
Okay, so he's got a lot of cute faces...
But this one is definitely one of my new favorites.

↑ The ONE time he reacted when I asked him to smile. ↑

And Calvin pouting that I laughed at his cuteness.

Here he is trying to escape the camera in the corner.

No such luck, little man.

Thank You, Blogger.

2011-04-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

After a few tries, Blogger is finally letting me upload pictures!

Sorry for the long wait!

And for your patience, I reward you with these Hang Out Dood Tender Moments.

Do you love that Calvin is totally absorbed with that toy

and not paying attention to David? This kid is so awesome.

Myself. Doodlin'.

Struggling.

2011-04-21T07:49:00.001-07:00

For some reason, blogger isn't allowing me to upload pictures...
For all I know, it was something I did wrong.

Technical difficulties, people!
I'll be back soon!

Calvin and the Cone

2011-04-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

What's with the wiggly tongue??

The Best Surprise!

2011-04-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon, after our stake conference, Cal and David and I went up to my parents' house for dinner as we always do. It was kind of a lazy Sunday, I headed over a little early since I really didn't have much to do after stake conference.
Enter the house, put Cal down on the floor (he takes off running, of course) and I see my whole family in the front room.

.... Strange..

And then out of nowhere, my Dad appears! He decided to drop in on us unexpectedly. We haven't seen him since December when he visited from Peru for Christmas. Actually, I was so confused! I talked to him just the day before on skype and he told me that he didn't know for sure when he was going to come visit. He said something like, "I may just come and surprise you all."
And of course, I was totally oblivious when he said that and didn't think anything of it.
And here he was! Fresh off the plane from Peru!
Turned out to be a much more interesting Sunday afternoon than I'd originally thought I'd have.

I am not sure what is happening in the above picture.

I like to think that this is my little sister's best surprised face. Ha!

Kisses with Calvin

This is yet another example of my Dad's very animated story telling skills.

And last but not least, we filmed my sister Andrea seeing my dad as he entered the room.

Her reaction was GOLDEN.

My New Baby

2011-04-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

This is my brand new. Barely arrived new play thing.
Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?

It's the Olympus Pen camera. A little point and shoot with detachable lenses and stuff. So it's like a big ol' SLR but without all the bulk! So I get the benefits of learning manual focus, aperture priority or shutter priority.. I even get to choose my ISO. And it's digital! I really look forward to learning more about the technical side of photography. I hear David talking about it constantly! For my first lens, I chose a wide angle more for my blogging purposes since my last little digital camera fell to its death.
So I will be doing a lot of catch up with my little beauty.

I told you it's neat.

Hang Out Doods.

2011-04-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yes. Doods.

That was intentional.

Woody and Buzz.

David and Calvin.

Inseparable duos.

Short Blog Break

2011-04-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

My poor little laptop has run into some minor issues.
It won't read cds or dvds! Which some might think isn't a big issue, like... who even uses real disks anymore? But seriously, it's pretty annoying. So I am taking in my computer to get this minor issue taken care of. Meanwhile, since it will be a few days, I will not be posting anything on the blog until I get my computer back.
I will try to take tons of pictures of this little Calvin for all of you. Since I realize that it's mostly for him that any of you read this blog.
Later days!

Angie.

2011-04-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

...okay, not the greatest picture..

This.

Our very own homemade deep dish pizza.

Not to toot my own horn (or OUR own horn)

but David and I have the best pizza crust recipe.

Other pizza's don't even come close.

Writing about pizza right now is not helping my pizza craving.

Mmm...

GET IN MA BELLY!

Rock On

2011-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Guess what we found on an impromptu visit to Savers?

That's absolutely right. After much convincing on David's part, we bought Calvin a little rocking horse. I need to take care of the stickers on it (thanks, previous owners ::sulk::) And Cal loves it. In fact, this morning as Kinley laid eyes on it, she started going for it and Calvin screamed!

"NEE NEEE!!!"

(This is Calvin's version of Kinley..)

And proceeded to rock on the horse all morning. Watching Elmo on the horse, eating breakfast on the horse, etc. It's pretty cute though, I have to admit.

Homemade Chicken & Dumpling Soup

2011-03-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

So I don't have the BEST track record when it comes to cooking. David never fails to tell our guests about times where our dinners looked more like vomit than it looked like food (this has happened multiple times). And we laugh at my failed attempts. Hardy, har, har.

But recently I've been making a HUGE effort to do better with cooking. And thanks in part to Martha Stewart (she's like, my home maker idol), I've learned a lot about proper cooking technique and ideas. I can now proudly say that my cooking has greatly improved. I can now look at a recipe and feel confident that I can make it.

One of my favorite new recipes:
Chicken and Dumpling Soup.

I forgot to put the garnish on it before I took the picture. Oops.

Chicken & Dumplings Recipe:

Broth:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Boob Halves cut into three pieces

4 Medium Carrots, cut diagonally into slices

1 Onion, chopped

1 Garlic Clove, minced

1 Bay Leaf

2 Celery Stalks, chopped

1 1/2 c. Chicken Stock

Salt to taste

1tsp Fresh Thyme

Dough:

1/4 C. plus 2 T. Yellow Cornmeal

3/4 C. All Purpose Flour

1 t. Baking Powder

1 T. Lemon Zest

3/4 C. Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley

2 T. Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 T. Unsalted Butter, in small pieces

1/2 C. Milk

Directions:

1. Bring 2 quarts water (with chicken boobs, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and stock and 1/8 tsp. salt to a boil in medium pot. Skim froth. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 20 mins. Add thyme.

2. Meanwhile, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, zest, parsley and cheese in a bowl. Add butter and blend with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and stir until dough forms.

3. Roll dough into 1-inch balls (I just used a small spoon to scoop it). Add all at once to simmering broth. Cover, simmer until dumplings are cooked through. I tested them with toothpicks. If I stabbed them and the toothpick came out clean, they were done (usually about 20 minutes). Serves 6.

LATE POST: Calvin and The Snow

2011-03-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, there isn't a whole lot of snow left. We've been getting a few "surprise" snow storms here and there. Calvin LOVES the way the snow crunches under his boots. The way his feet sink into it and looking back at his tracks. His biggest complaint? When he falls, he lifts his hands up in the air and arches his back so his face doesn't touch the snow (kind of like a locust pose you'd see in yoga but hands in the air in front of him).

Can you believe the size of that coat? It swallows him up! You should see us getting him into his car seat with that thing on. He's like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

Mr. Handsome.

2011-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

Check out that toothy smile.

Doesn't it just melt your insides?

This face is how he gets me to do anything he wants.

I'd rob a bank for this kid.

Dozer

2011-03-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow will be a bittersweet day for the Gomez Family.
Our puppy, Dozer, will officially be going to a new home tomorrow around 6 p.m.

He is technically mine and David's dog. We thought we could keep Dozer at my parents' house temporarily (one year or so) until we could get out of our apartment complex, since we don't have the money to pay for a pet deposit. Soon, one year turned into two years, and we've just renewed our lease for a third year in this complex. Which means Dozer has stayed at my parents house for longer than we'd planned. And it's been really good there for him. The only thing is that with my parents working and all of the kids gone at school and such all day from early in the morning to late in the afternoon, Dozer doesn't get a whole lot of attention (poor thing has to hold his pee for that long?!).

So we decided it would be best for him to go to a home that could give him the care he deserves.
We found a home for him not too far from where we are. A family with a stay-at-home mom and two little girls who want a loving doggy. It makes me happy for both the family and for Dozer, but I am going to miss his cute cuddly self. He fits in so nicely with our family, I mean, the dog loves to sing, after all.

Seems so silly to be writing all of this about a dog, but he is part of our family.
He will be greatly missed.

Chillin'

2011-03-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Loving all the sunlight that pours into Calvin's room every morning. Calvin loves his bean bag.

He'll take his books and "read" them.

Most often those stories have hand motions that we make up to go with them.

And he's memorized the order of those hand motions.

I'll have to get that on video so you all can see how debilitating-ly cute it is.

I could watch him play all day.

He's got quite the imagination!

Watching (you guessed it) Elmo in Grouchland

holding his little wooden hammer and eating some cheerios

or Ay-oh's ... as he calls them.

Stoked For Spring

2011-03-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

We had some brief warm weather to break up all the gloominess! We were so excited about it, we just had to bust out in our shorts and skirts! Calvin for some reason would tug at the bottoms of his shorts, like, check these things out!

This kid....

He Just Makes Me Laugh.

2011-03-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

Calvin's been "saying" prayers for a few months now. But all of a sudden, we go to pray for a meal and he starts talking in this little high squeaky voice.. And all I could do was laugh and think to myself, Does he think we pray that way?

Does my voice get higher when I pray?

Home Alone!

2011-02-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

We FINALLY got it on video.
One of Calvin's most popular tricks since he was just about since he could walk!

The way he squishes his little cheeks. I could just squeeeeeeze him all day long.

Fattening Treats.

2011-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry I'm late in posting this, ladies.

Last Thursday, I and some of my favorite girls from the former Los Hermanos crew got together for a small reunion. I had a ball chatting it up, reminiscing and talking about what's new in our lives. At the end of our visit, we enjoyed our delicious cookies. I'm not 100% sure what this recipe is or even what the name of this cookie is. But it was GOOOOODDD.

Dear Pearl and Janeal,

Lets not take forever til our next get-together?

Love, Ang.

2011-02-15T09:28:00.000-08:00

Can the Terrible Twos come early?

Hypothetically speaking, if your friend's kid was super sensitive all of a sudden, started throwing tantrums, scratching and hitting, would you say he's started with his Terrible Twos phase?

Just hypothetically speaking...

↑ Calvin being cute and NOT being Terrible Twos-y ↑

The Kid Likes To Boogy

2011-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

Always happens. I bring out the camera for a cute moment and all the cuteness turns off. He's completely uninterested in being cute for the camera. But FINALLY I got him dancing like he does at home.
I love this about Cal. About babies in general, actually. The minute Cal hears music, he starts to dance. He hears people laughing and talking and laughs and talks along with them! I should take note from him. Adults are so tainted by what people will think of them if they just bust out dancing because they love a song. Babies don't do that. They love what they love.

Down With A Sickness

2011-02-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Look at this face. Look at those little puffy sad eyes.

I'm telling you, people. It was SAD.

He literally sat on that couch for HOURS before moving.

The Little Man

2011-02-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Calvin is officially all caught up on his shots.

Oh don't worry, the had to suffer through 7 SHOTS.
Needless to say, the next day was rough. I had 3 shots myself, although the worst of my suffering was just sore shoulders. Calvin woke up drenched in sweat, totally lethargic, appetite lost. Probably the most pitiful of these things was that Calvin's legs were so sore that his legs couldn't hold his weight! Every time he tried to stand up, his legs would shake uncontrollably and buckle because they were in so much pain. Not to mention the poor little guy just couldn't stop crying!
Around nap #2 of the day, after a warm bath in an effort to try to bring down the fever, I put Cal down in his crib and noticed he was shaking so violently from the chills that his whole crib shook! I hated watching my Calvin in such a horrible state! I literally couldn't do any more than I already had.

Thankfully, by the time Calvin had woken up from his nap, his fever broke! After that, a little food, and some small efforts to try to stand up on his own two feet despite the pain in his legs.

The next day, it was like he'd never been sick!
Walking around, eating, playing.
Still a bit of leg stiffness, but nothing compared to the previous day.

I am so glad to have this kid back to his usual self.

Apologies if the pictures are just slightly blurry. There was a lot of movement to try to capture with my wimpy little digital camera.

Material Lust

2011-01-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine always told me, if she could, she would spend so much money on her daughter's room and toys..
I laughed and thought, there is NO WAY that's going to be me. Thinking there are so many more things I could spend my money on than a set of toys that will inevitably have lost pieces in a few weeks or end up broken or in need of batteries. Yeah right.
And here I am, browsing the web early today... for what, you ask? Calvin stuff...
Thinking about ways I could re-decorate his room, move things around, what he'd love to play with (or more like what I think would be cute if he'd play with..).

My current obsessions for Cal's room:

A wooden Pizza set. Removable toppings.

Wooden Sushi set. Complete with chopsticks, wasabi blob, and pickled ginger.

This bed that converts from toddler size to full twin as your little guy/girl grows! Awesome!

and finally, a small comfy chair for my Calvin who spends

lots and lots of time watching Elmo on Sesame Street.

That's just a few things off of my Calvin list...

I am curious to know what's on your list?

The New Hang Out Spot

2011-01-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

This is the new Hang-out Dude Hang-out spot...
My reaction: *face palm*

Team Dozer and Calvin

2011-01-10T08:09:00.000-08:00

Calvin was super sick when this video was taken. Notice his puffy eyes and the snot? Yeah... not cool.

In His Natural Habitat.

2010-12-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

One of his new favorite things. His Toy Story Tent!
Turns out, hanging out in Calvin's tent is one of Cal's and David's favorite things to do together.
Lots of getting in and out, lots of peeking through the holes and tipping the tent over!

David is a little bit big for the tent, but that doesn't stop him from squeezing in there!

Does everyone just LOVE that Calvin is wearing his Superhero cape? CUTE!

The Post That Never Ends!

2010-12-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

Sorry people. Lots to post on recent Holiday Happenings.

Christmas Eve.

I wasn't allowed to go in while my present was being brought in and wrapped. David kept me guessing for a few weeks before Christmas giving me NO HINTS (this is big for David). I had no idea what he had for me! This was a picture taken after all the wrapping had been done. I seriously still can't believe that David wrapped this...?

Calvin likes to sit on Dozer... Most times Cal goes and sits on Dozer's head. Dozer just lays there and takes it. He's such a good puppy.

Wrapped Christmas present for Angie. Hm, I wonder what it could be!

Christmas Morning.

We had our little Christmas Celebration with my family the night before they went on their trip to Peru for Christmas! Calvin got all sorts of fun things from his Gomez Grandparents. He is spoiled ROTTEN. And Christmas Day, we opened presents from Santa and from his Grandma & Grandpa Miller. Again - spoiled rotten! Calvin really liked the opening of presents... enough that he even helped us open some of our presents (the bike included!)

The beginning of our unwrapping of presents..

I realize that I look AWFUL. As a rule, we didn't usually get up for Christmas in our family before 9 or 10 in the morning. So I realize my eyes are all puffy but hey... it was like 7a.m..... give me a break. I really can say I didn't want to post the video, but it's more for family in other places since they didn't get to partake in our morning festivities...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

Zumba. Need I say more?

2010-12-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

And now....

A little bit about an obsession of mine.
ZUMBA!!

(anyone surprised?)

Here are some pictures from a recent 2-hour Zumba event (or Zumbathon, as it is lovingly called) I attended. Wooo!

My sisters and I after the Provo Zumbathon

This was a Zumbathon held in Midvale. I got some AIR!

The Instructors and I. We are a pretty good lookin' group, no?

Provo Zumbathon up on that scary wobbly "stage".

Midvale Zumbathon shakin' our bootays!

Nice and sweaty!!

You can read more about it here on the Zumba Blog.

The Kinley Calvin Fort.

2010-12-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

Simple.
Just draped some extra cloth across my table & clipped the ends to some chairs and Voila! You've got yourself a fort. An ingenious creation to keep little babies busy for everrr!

Sorry for the poor quality. Phone picture, ya dig?

My Ladies Man.

2010-12-02T10:15:00.000-08:00

So cute. SO CUTE!
My little Calvin giving Kinley a hug. Which eventually turned into just a one arm thing around her shoulders. They were both so hypnotized by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Little cuties.

Handy Man

2010-12-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

A Helping

2010-12-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

Probably nothing gives Calvin more delight than going and "helping" his parents. He loves to steal my broom or rubber gloves while I clean, likes to put things in the garbage (even things that don't necessarily belong there) and most recently:

"Helping" David shoot evil zombies... ?

And as soon as these two Hang-Out Dudes have had their

fill of evil zombie shooting, they get together for a little chillaxin' time

by the TV (Note: This was David's early surprise Christmas present.

I am the best wife, ever.)

More Flowers

2010-11-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

Floral Disaster!

2010-11-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Check it.

This was my apartment from Wednesday afternoon to Friday morning. There was literally no way into kitchen type items (refrigerator, stove, microwave, sink, etc.). It was all pretty much off limits, which meant a lot of snacking throughout the day.
This also meant, not being able to go barefoot in my home for those days for fear of scary thorns,
barricading Calvin out of the aforementioned workspace with my couch cushions,
and my apartment being a huge grimy mess for a few days...

The wedding flowers turned out GORGEOUS.
Look at The Fleurist blog to see more pictures...

My kitchen area was taken over by flowers!

Much of the floor was also taken up by flower buckets...

Click here to see the outcome!

For The Love of Elmo!

2010-11-20T10:06:00.001-08:00

HILARIOUS.

Calvin has recently proven his knowledge of movie characters... Most recently recognition of one, Elmo the little red monster from Sesame Street. Heard of him?
Whilst in the middle of a giant flower MESS (from my most recent wedding flower job), I decided to distract Calvin with a little movie called "Elmo in Grouchland", which I love... don't judge. Calvin was glued to the screen, totally mesmerized by the little monsters dancing & singing. It went a little something like this:

Me: Calvin! Come on, lets go get Elmo! (Translation: "Lets go turn on the Elmo movie!")

Calvin: *runs away to his room and returns with his giant Elmo book and also brings his baby Tickle Me Elmo*

Me: *amazed that he actually knew what I was talking about*

I guess I was just surprised that he's gone from not knowing or caring about movie characters or tv characters at all, to knowing exactly who they are and his favorite songs, etc. He's like an actual PERSON now.. Whatever happened to my little tiny baby?!

The New Ride.

2010-11-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

The little automatic European (he is driving on the other side of the car) red sports car at the local Partyland was quite the thrill for Calvin. Between the buttons, knobs and wheel, it was a miracle I got him out of there!

(my apologies for the way the pictures look. I have no idea why they look so contrast-y and over saturated... My camera is doing some strange stuff to these pictures.)

One Of Many

2010-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

This fall I've made a point of carving as many pumpkins as I can get my hands on. So far, I've got 6 carved, including a Mike Wasowski pumpkin, and a special peace pumpkin, but here is one of my most favorite pumpkin masterpieces. Completed in honor of Andrea's Bachelorette party that I threw early in October. What do you think?

Sorry, it's a little R rated. ;)

She's pretty sexy, huh?

A World Away

2010-10-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Found these pictures on my computer.
I cannot believe how long ago this feels.
It all makes me want to try on my wedding dress again..
Oh, but I know better than to do that!

Two Hang Out Dudes..

2010-10-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Calvin never gets this cuddly with me *whine*

I enjoy seeing these moments.

The Baby Who Stares At Goats.

2010-10-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

The family had planned a trip to the zoo that soon turned into an impromptu trip to Thanksgiving Point for something called Barnyard Boo. Before it starts to snow, we plan on taking Cal to the zoo to see the monkeys, because I think my mom really wanted to show him all of the cool animals at the zoo..
As you've probably guessed, Barnyard Boo was full of, well, barnyard type animals (goats, chickens, horses, etc.) The conversation went something like this:

Kids: Lets go to Thanksgiving Point! They have the Halloween stuff up and that's not going to be up all year long!

Mom: I wanted to let him go see the animals!

Kids: They have animals at Barnyard Boo!

Mom: ...... Well, they don't have monkeys... *pout*

Dear Mom,
We will make sure to go to the Zoo to see the monkeys before it snows..
Love, Ang.

How milk is manufactured...

A little intimidated by the giant animals..

Feeding the ducks and geese! He's so stoked..

He was quite fond of the goats. They kept licking his fingers.

We're locked up..

Talking to his Abuelo in Peru..

It all makes for one exhausted kiddo..

The Little Miss.

2010-10-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks we've been pleased to have the company of another special little lady. Her name is Kinley. She is exactly 15 months old, just the same as Calvin!

It took a few days for her to stop looking over her shoulder at Calvin and I. She's really come out of her shell! I think the only problems we may have between Calvin and Kinley, is the constant issue of them wanting to climb on top of each other when the other sits down for a moment (both of them are in the I'm-going-to-climb-everything-that-I-can phase).

She and Calvin follow each other around and take turns entertaining the other. There have already been cute moments where I catch them trying to communicate to each other (which may or may not work..). Calvin will be crying over something & Kinley would come try to give Calvin a kiss and Cal will smack her away. Kinley will be trying to get a toy out of the toy bin that seems to be a little deeper than she thought and Calvin will come and assist her with his big strong muscles (AW!!).

Babies Babbling.

What a lil' cutie! If I ever have a little baby girl of my own, she'd better look like Kinley.

I Swear...

2010-10-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

I promise I haven't dropped off the face of the earth or anything. My little digital camera (or "Lil' Dijj" as I lovingly call it) lost all of it's charge! I always forget to charge things. So I've been a little behind on my picture taking.

I've started watching a little girl during the days by the name of Kinley. She's been so fun to have around, especially because she and Calvin take turns entertaining each other. Where one goes, the other one follows. She and Calvin are both approximately 15 months, but Calvin is quite a bit bigger than Kinley is. Kinley is still under 20 lbs. while Calvin is going to clear 30 lbs. here pretty soon! You can see a little bit of height difference, but the difference is definitely in Calvin's girth (I almost spelled "GUT", but pretty much the same thing, ha!)

After Kinley goes home in the afternoon, Calvin is just plain tuckered out! Laying down in weird places.
There's been a lot of this... (↓↓↓) ... going on..

(I'm sure any parent can relate...)
Oh PLEASE pick me up, pleeeaaaase???

Even staying still in one spot for more than 3 seconds! ...... I KNOW, it's crazy!
I think having Kinley around will be a very good thing. ;)

Pictures of Kinley to come. But for now, A picture of my Calvin falling asleep on the couch.

Hey Howdy Hey!

2010-09-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

I think Calvin's got a thing for Toy Story. And maybe not even just Toy Story, I think he's a fan of Woody. He's got a Woody drawstring doll that he likes a lot. We actually think we've heard him try to say his name, though it sounds a lot more like "Woo-eeh" than it sounds like Woody.
That's not the only way I can tell!

The Toy Story pajamas that we got him to prep for winter.
I pull them out.
He takes them away from me.
Kisses them,
Puts them up against his cheek,
and lays down on them with his thumb in his mouth.
And my heart just melts! It's so cute!

How can I resist that little guy when he does stuff like that?! I should learn not to show how cute I think it is or else he might learn to exploit those tricks to get what he wants out of me. :s

Calvin with his Woody pj's and his Woody doll of course!

The Littlest Pals.

2010-09-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

Calvin's Grandparents (On his Gomez side) took a little trip to Peru a few weeks back and brought Calvin the cutest little play things in the world! I can hardly believe that someone took the time to make these! I'm tempted to pick up some knitting needles (or crochet hook; however you make these little buggers) and learn to make some myself! And then I remember how unmotivated I get when they don't turn out like I want them to. It usually results in having a half-made whatever and then sits in my craft box in the closet doomed to be unfinished for eternity (*echo* -ity-ty-ty!)

Anyway, I think they're much more fun for me right now than they are for Calvin. Yes, he plays with them okay, makes them crash into each other or dive out of the crib but I just love looking at them and examining the little details on them!
Take a look.

The Animals:

And my personal favorites:

The Whole Gang:

New Sounds, New Signs

2010-09-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

A quick video clip. Just to show off Calvin's tricks. :)

Proof that boys are born with sound effects.

My Handsome Little Guy

2010-09-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

Do I need to say anything else?

Just two hang-out dudes. :)

Cooking Adventures.

2010-09-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Our first attempt at making Calzones! David's was HUGE, as you can see. Mine was about half the size of his. And of course, we made a little pizza for Calvin. Complete with Calvin sized pepperonis!

↑ Calvin's Mini Pizza! ↑

Late Post: Cabin

2010-09-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

My sister, Andrea's, fiancee invited us up to his family's cabin in Fairview! It was gorgeous. David and I kept fantasizing about our future mountain getaway. We loved the silence at night. The stars were numerous and brilliant. And I forget sometimes how magical the mountains can be. Calvin had a blast at the cabin and especially enjoyed the ride we all took on the four-wheelers!

More pictures to come.

Calvin sitting on the big statue outside! (Thanks for holding him up on there, Scott!)

This is how David got up high enough to take some of Scott and Andrea's engagement photos! DANGEROUS!

Traits Passed On

2010-09-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Can you point out, by chance, what Calvin is doing that is a notable habit of his dad's?

(not the best picture of Cal.. sorry..)

Can't guess?? Let me tell you.

We lovingly call this Perching. Most of the time it's just one knee, sometimes both. But on this occasion, Cal was going about his business, eating his breakfast and then David comes and sits down to eat, too. I had to grab my camera right away to capture this rare father-son likeness! We didn't prompt Cal to do it or anything! His little knee just went up onto his chair. Just like his dad.

Why me?!

A Moment of Still.

2010-09-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

Calvin goes down for the night at 8 and doesn't make a sound for the entire rest of the night.
Tonight, David and I heard him crying in his bed and decided to go in and comfort him.

I'm not totally sure what got him so upset (bad dream, sore gums from teething, etc). But I could tell from his hiccuping and huge tears that he needed some mom and dad time. And after singing all of the primary songs I could think of and rubbing his back (all of this while his dad is holding him all wrapped up in a blanket with Big Bear). And the hiccuping began to slow and finally stopped. We thought he'd fallen back to sleep because it's a rare thing for Calvin to stay still in one spot unless he's sleeping. I lean over to see whether he's sleeping and his little eyes drift over to meet mine and he just looked at me, his head buried in his dad's chest. It was this awesome moment of peace. I could feel the love radiating from David to Calvin and at that moment, I think Calvin felt comforted to know that his parents were there to save him from whatever. There we all sat quietly on the bean bag for a while. We read "Where The Wild Things Are", said goodnight and Calvin curled up with Big Bear and a blanket and went straight to sleep without a fuss.

It was this amazing togetherness I felt right then. We didn't need some cheesy, expensive outing for us to feel that connection. No frills. Just the quiet of that room that enveloped all of us right after the fear.
I always wish that moments like this would happen more often, but then I know that if they did, I wouldn't appreciate them as much as I do.

It's amazing what little children can show you, teach you and make you feel.

~Angie

Z-Z-Z-ZUMBA!!

2010-08-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen (but mostly ladies..)

I am starting a new class on Mondays at 10 at the Royal Academy of Ballet in Lindon (on the west side of Geneva Road)!!!

That means my Zumba Schedule looks like this...

Mondays:
Time: 10 am
Place: RAB
Cost: ??

Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Time: 8 pm
Place: Beyond Sports
Cost: $5 for one, $6 for two

If you've never done Zumba before, don't worry! Nobody comes to judge. They come for the party! The loud music, the booty shakin' good time and of course, all the calories you can burn!!
Hope to see your lovely faces.
P.s. Click on the highlighted locations to see a map and directions!

GRAND

2010-08-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

My In-Laws invited us down to see their new St. George abode for the weekend! It was nice to get out of the house for a day or two and get my head back on straight (I'm sure many of my fellow mothers can relate). I've never actually done anything cool while I was down there. Truthfully, St. George has only ever been a resting place between where I live and the beautiful Las Vegas.
After a long drive and a much needed night's sleep, we woke up and decided to take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Neither David or I had ever seen the Grand Canyon except for pictures...

We walked to the edge of it and I literally had to catch my breath! I guess you always see pictures of the Grand Canyon online or on calendars and things like that. But no matter how good the picture is, there's no way that it could capture the immensity of the Grand Canyon. It is SOOO BIG! I just stared at it forever! And there were times on the little pathways where there was a cliff on the left and a cliff on the right! I was looking straight down into miles and miles of Grand Canyon!

I wonder what the first person who discovered it thought...
HOLY CRAP!

David standing out on the very edge. I thought I'd snap a "Last" picture of him in case a wind blew him away.

The Lovely In-Laws enjoying the Canyon from a different angle.

I don't think Calvin thought that the Grand Canyon was quite as spectacular as I thought it was... but I think he still enjoyed himself. Especially watching his dad taking pictures of buffalo on the way up to the North Rim.

Updates.

2010-08-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Current Favorite Facebook Status Update:
"I hate it when I'm hanging out with MC Hammer and he won't let me touch anything..."

Ha HA!

The New "Thing"

2010-08-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

Calvin is such a BOY!
First it's playing in dirt,
next it's diving off the stairs,
the newest thing...

is trees and pinecones.

Don't get it.
but pinecones.

It's kinda cute. He'll just walk outside and towards the tree and sit down by its trunk and start scouring the surrounding grass for pinecones. He holds them up to me with the tips of his fingers like, check this out mom, isn't it cool?! He then stands up to face the tree and tries to somehow force the pinecone into the tree trunk. My guess is that he's made a connection: A pinecone comes from the tree... it's got to go back into the tree. Anyway, whatever he's thinking, it's so stinkin' cute.

Returning the pinecone to its rightful place.

NEON PARTY!

2010-08-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

Attention Zumba Lovers!

Come to Beyond Sports Taekwondo Studio tomorrow at 8 o'clock for an hour of fun! :D
Wear your best neon color clothes.
Black Lights, Loud Music and the best part?
BURNING CALORIES of course!

TOMORROW (Thursday, August 19th)
8-9 pm
$5 for one person
$6 for two people

I promise, I will make you SWEAT!
I hope to see you there!

Housework

2010-08-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

Calvin's new favorite pastime.

As you can see, getting laundry done when Calvin's around has been a little difficult.

Teh Calvinator!

2010-08-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

I've said it so many times. I am just astounded sometimes at how quickly Calvin can learn and pick things up! He's quickly learning to sign. He's also mimicking the sounds that we make. I didn't realize it until he said it right after I did, but yesterday I said "YIKES!" and Calvin echoed me (well, it didn't sound exactly like yikes, it sounded more like "Iksh!"). And at his check up appointment yesterday, he was about to be weighed and at the right moment, he ran out of the office with his diaper half on saying hi to everyone in the office! Oy.

This kid is keeping me on my toes.

And so it begins....

Worth The Wait

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that I finally have a teaching job at a dance studio in Orem. I am not sure when I'll start because they're still installing sound systems and mirrors and such, but I was fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time. And of course, with the help of my sister, Andrea, who referred me. I'm looking forward to finally teaching. I was so excited that I had butterflies in my tummy just thinking about it. I was already readying my playlists and choreography. WOO!
Weddings seem to have been bombarding us lately. I always think that somehow I'll get away with not being stressed... but unfortunately, it's inevitable. I always run into people who have a problem with something, or mishaps at the wholesaler, or who knows what else. Thankfully, I can say that my work has not been affected by the aforementioned. I am often so proud of my work for these weddings.

Wristlet Corsage

Bride's bouquet

Boutonniere and Pin-on Corsage

Bride's Bouquet

I have no excuse...

2010-08-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

I don't really have a good excuse for NOT blogging. I just plain haven't done it.

I am amazed at my Calvin.

I think it is one of the coolest things ever when I see Calvin trying to mimic my actions. One of my favorite things to do is play Baby Einstein for Calvin and watch his facial expressions. I can't get over how cool it is that he understands what happens with the characters he sees on Baby Einstein!

We are also in the process of teaching him a few things in Sign Language. He can now say "please" and "eat" and "bath".

Other words we're working on:

Thank you

Drink/Milk

Mom/Dad

etc.

Calvin's newest favorite play thing: My straw hat. :)

Calvin has recently been squealing. Not just the "I'm a crowd pleaser and I'm so cute" squeal. It's the "I need that, gimme that riiiight nooowwww" squeal. I don't have much tolerance for booger-y attitude like this. I don't think that he doesn't understand what he's doing... I actually think that he thinks I'll give in to his wants if he screams for it. So far, I've just been kind of ignoring these outbursts and after a bit of wiggling and whining, he stops.. But if he happens to act this way in a public place?

Anyone have any useful tips?

I promise I will not take forever until the next time I blog. :)

It Would Seem.

2010-07-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

... That I have a renegade on my hands.

(This is a picture of my Calvin "stuck" on top of the bean bag)

Calvin has officially figured out how he can escape his crib (that is, until I lowered it..).
It all started innocently enough.
Fed him, gave him a little milk before I put him down for his nap.
I heard him fuss a little- trying to resist the urge to just fall asleep. And all of a sudden I heard a THUD and Calvin freaking out! So I head over to his room and I hear him at the door, crying!

... ???

Of course, I enter his room and there he is. On the floor and NOT in his crib.
He'd figured out that if he stands on his crib bumper, it gives him a little height. He then lifts himself onto the crib railing between his hips and bellybutton and leans forward so his weight carries him out of the crib, onto the floor.

I am SO relieved that he didn't get hurt the first time he did it! It could have been so much worse than him just crying.
My Calvin is fearless!

See The Resemblance?

2010-07-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

It happens on a regular basis now that I'll trip onto one of Calvin's pictures from when he was only a few months old and say something like "HE WAS SO LITTLE!" to David in my squeaky sad mom voice.

I was looking through some of the pictures and I zoomed in on my Calvin's face. I finally see the resemblance between Calvin and someone from my side of the family (Everyone always tells me how much he looks just like his dad)!

He looks like my sister, Andrea (find her blog, here)!!

And don't even TRY to tell me that he doesn't.

Just look at these pictures of Andrea and I when we were little girlies.

Click to enlarge the pictures.

Beach Day!

2010-07-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

I know this is post is rather late. After all, we did get back from Indiana LAST Friday. But upon finding my little digital camera, I found pictures from the beach that I totally forgot about. Anyway, we attended Silver Beach in Michigan and it was gorgeous! I wasn't at all fearful of Calvin's reaction to the water.. He's been a water baby since day one. As soon as we put his little feet in the water I could see that his little mind was working and wanting to go further out. Of course, I couldn't let him out of my grasp, but he kept doing that back-arching thing that babies do when they want to get away. He kept putting his face in the water like, wanting to see what was down there and then, finding out that he couldn't breathe down there, would come up sputtering water!

If it wasn't so cute, I would have stopped him. But he was so excited!
We got there in the morning and soon the afternoon sun had heated up the sand so much that my toes and heels were all blistered from trying to cross the sand. Oy.

I think the best part of the whole thing was watching Calvin have fun in the water and in the sand (although we were still finding sand in his fat rolls 2 days later).

(p.s. The first 2 pictures did not come from my little digital camera, they were pictures from David's camera that I stole... heh heh.)

More To Come

2010-07-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

Pictures of our visit to Silver Lake in Michigan
and our Amish Dinner Party!

Also, one of these days I will rant about my recent trip to see "Eclipse". I will say that I did get a really good laugh out of the whole thing. I love going with people that have a good sense of humor.

CALVIN IS ONE YEAR OLD!!

2010-07-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

It's finally come. The day I've been dreading for a whole 12 months..
Calvin's birthday.

Well, I shouldn't say I've been dreading it. I only say that because now he's going to look more like a toddler to me than a tiny little baby (Noooooo!). He is so stinkin' big! Anyway, we got to plan a fun little birthday party for Cal with all the cousins in Indiana! Don't worry, we did decide to get a pinata since he is partly Mexican. Calvin was a huge mess. It was so cute to watch him tear through his cake. He was seriously covered in blue frosting by the end of his party (well, him AND his balloon). His bath that took place post-party turned the bath water blue. *The water was much bluer than it looks in the picture.

This whole time while the party was going on, I felt like I was trying to savor every moment. His sweet smiles, his "singing", and how happy he was when we sang him "Happy Birthday". It was the cutest thing ever. I mean, every mom thinks their baby is the cutest.... but mine really is the cutest.
I've been told that as sweet as the pictures are and as much fun as it is looking at them, inevitably, years from now I'll take out the pictures to look at them and be so saddened by how little and innocent he was. I can only hope that he doesn't turn into one of those toddler terrors.
I can't say it enough. I just love this boy more than I could ever say in words. He is my heart.
Happy Birthday, my Calvin.
I love you.

Indiana Indiana Indiana!

2010-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone for super lack of blogging lately. David and I have finally made the trip out to Indiana to visit David's family. In case you're wondering, the flight was perfect! As soon as we felt the plane taking off, Calvin dozed off until about a half hour before the flight ended.
This last week, David got fried by the sun because we've been out at the pool nearly everyday since we got here! Calvin LOVES water. He kicks his legs in the pool and tries his very hardest to escape his little floaty tube to get into the water in the pool! Not only that, but he loves sticking his face in the water and it is the funniest thing ever when he comes up sputtering because he's got water in his eyes and mouth.

On Saturday we took a trip to Ohio for CEDAR POINT! I've heard stories from David and from a few others about the furious speed and height of some of these roller coasters. I was totally nervous by people saying things like "I totally blacked out on one of the rides once!" or "One of the rides hurt our backs SO bad that we had to leave the park early!"

Uh.. No thanks.

I seriously felt sick after having gone on "Magnum". I got off the ride and my head was spinning, my stomach felt like it was going to come up and out of my throat at any second. But all of the rides were not like that. Overall, I enjoyed myself. I knew that David would enjoy himself. Calvin had a blast! What was more fun than going on the ride, was seeing Cal's reaction to the ride. I know he probably won't remember being at Cedar Point when he's so little, but he still enjoyed himself and I had fun watching that. And the next day was a LONG ride back from Ohio.

FINALLY.

2010-07-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

I finally asked David how to get pictures on this laptop. There has been a lot that I've needed to blog about that I've been slacking on.

First and foremost, My Calvin! :)

(My tiny week old Calvin with his Aunt Andrea)

This little boy has been growing so quickly. It's like one minute I look at him and then I do a double take and he's on to his next "trick". Most recently, he's been practicing walking more. I think he's been figuring out that walking can get him where he wants to go a little faster. So these tiny steps have been getting bigger and more confident and faster. I am so in AWE of my little boy! He's getting so quick!
And he's now been climbing things!
I'll hear Calvin fussing in the next room. Not really crying, more like whining. And I'll find him up somewhere that he's climbed up on top of, but he can't quite figure out how to get back down!

He turns ONE in 11 days.

How is that even possible?
Wasn't it just last week that I brought him home from the hospital? He was just a tiny newborn baby. Small, fragile, kind of squished looking because he hadn't quite filled out yet. I cannot believe that he's almost a year old!
Before I know it, not only is my little Calvin growing up.. but he's a person who eventually will have their own opinions, morals, favorite bands, best friends, broken hearts. It just blows me away.
To think that I CREATED something so beautiful and complex. It's so unbelievable.
Not just that. But it almost makes me cry thinking about the person I was before I was a mother and the person I am now. I am so different in so many ways. And my little boy, who can barely say a word, who is barely learning to walk, can have such a tremendous effect on me.

I am so amazed.
My heart is so full.