...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!

Mr. Handsome.

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

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'

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.

Hey Howdy Hey!

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 Center of Attention

Every once and a while, if we really listen, Calvin will say "Hi Dad" or "Hi Mom". Mind you, it sounds a little more like "H-Ma!" or "H-Da!"But I love hearing it all the same. :)  Ironically, Calvin didn't come with his own Mom and Dad to church for Mothers Day. He decided that he would much rather be with his Grandma and Grandpa Gomez. And I hear that he was a hit! Flirting with the girls and doing all of his "tricks". Waving, clapping, "talking", and clicking his tongue. 

We have also learned that cookies are Calvin's preferred treat. Most especially chocolate oreos. This is him at his messiest. I hold him out at arm's length all the way to the bath tub when he's this sticky mess.

I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot of time out at the pool this summer with Calvin. He just LOVES being in the water. He knows the sound of water running and makes a mad dash toward it! Like it's Christmas all over again when it's his turn for a bath. 

I can't believe how fast he's growing! 

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

Bath Time, Baby!

David's at work until 8 tonight. Ah- I've just got to hold on about another hour or so til' he gets home. Good grief, today has felt like the longest day of my life (well.. one of them). Calvin's had a cough and runny nose develop. I hate it when he's sick. I feel so bad for him- He doesn't know how to blow those runny boogers into a tissue so he can breathe. (*Sad Face*) At night really late, I can hear him coughing. Aw it makes me so sad. I hope it ends soon. And hopefully the weather stops being so awful and make up it's mind so this doesn't keep happening.

Anyway, I've been pulling out all the stops to try and help poor Calvin get better. And he was so funny today in his warm bath. He's such a ham.

↑ Watching the bath tub fill up. ↑

and don't worry. He loves having his picture taken. When he eats, he thinks it's so funny to hang on to the spoon with his teeth. I'm surprised at how strong he is when I try to pull the spoon out of his mouth! 

↑ He knows he's being a funny boy. ↑

I think I may have a future prankster on my hands... 

Blessings Flow

Teri (A neighborhood friend) was over at my house yesterday. We spent a good chunk of our day making headbands, watching The OC, and talking about baby things. Teri's pregnant and 18 weeks. We were talking about how excited she is, and I am so excited for her. She can feel her little girl kicking now! We got onto the subject of parenting.

A lot of people tend to look at me (whether they mean to or not) with this expression that says "Oh, you're tied down with a baby and a husband" or "Oh, you're settled". It makes me a little frustrated more times than not. Not because I'm frustrated that I can't go out to the club or whatever the hip youngsters are doing nowadays... but because they have NO idea what they're missing out on.

True Confession:
Finding out I was pregnant was one of my hardest days. I remember feeling a huge sinking sensation in my stomach and tears welling up in my eyes because I had no idea how David and I were going to survive and provide for a baby! Not only that, but I had plans (finishing school, going to Disneyland, etc). But as time went on, and the weight kept building and my belly kept growing- I felt myself being more drawn to the idea of having a family and raising a little boy. Finally- Calvin made his debut and I could not have been happier.

As Teri and I continued our talk on family and babies it was like, WOW. I feel so blessed. I described to Teri how amazing it felt to finally see Calvin. How fun it is to watch them learn and grow, and how much you grow in that process as well. I can honestly say I would not have my life any other way.

I know it's cheesy. I feel like I need to share this- I feel so happy sometimes. Like I'm as light as a mist and at any moment I could be blown away by a breeze. Light as air.

I can't wait for Teri (or anyone else for that matter) to feel that way too.
It's the greatest feeling in the world.



Better than prom.
Better than finding a dollar bill in your pants.
Better than finding your favorite color of nail polish.
Better than stepping on a crunchy leaf in the fall.

:)
My heart is so full.

Calvin the Beanstalk

Calvin is now officially 8 months old. And not only that, he's now got SEVEN teeth. What in the world? Are 8 month old babies supposed to have so many chompers? I wish I could be more candid with my pictures. Unfortunately, Calvin is all too good at finding me & my camera. He's figuring out how to get up and down without having to bonk his head in the process. I wish I could just explain things to him.. Like, "Just bend your knees and bring your butt to the floor" or "If you hold it like this, you can pick it up a lot easier" but alas, it's not that easy with a baby. I think seeing him work out these new tricks makes me think a little more about the mechanics of how I do things. It's really opened my eyes!

He is my life and I love my Cal so much. It's so hard to imagine my life without him. Every time I go say good morning to him in his crib, and he looks so happy to see me. Like, I am seriously the best person he could see right then. I try to savor each of these moments like it'll never happen again. He is the best thing that could have happened to me.

Post script: I would just like to mention that I love his blue eyes too. I have no clue where he got them. David & I both have pretty dark colored eyes and Cal somehow got these amazing hazel-y blue ones.

David

D: Have you ever had a stinky belly button?

A: ......?

D: Like, you scratch your belly button and then your finger stinks?

A: PFFFFHAHHA, NOOOO!

D: ... shut up...

David's Quotes of the Day

It's not hard for people to make me laugh. That goes double for David. His sarcasm and silliness always crack me up. And then sometimes, out of nowhere, we'll be having a conversation having to do with dinner, or laundry, or money or any of those other grown up things and he'll say something that makes me double up in laughter & I can't stop. The best thing is he doesn't realize what it is that he said that was so funny. I'll try and explain it through my laughter.

Well, last night was one of these nights.

We celebrated David's birthday last night with some good ol' fashioned chocolate cake and David's choice of ice cream (Mint Chocolate Chip) and I went in for the first scoop of ice cream and it popped right out of the box! It was a little softer than I'd expected and the little glob of ice cream fell to the floor by the counter. I picked it up and examined it for any dust or hairs or anything that would give me reason to throw it away (I know.. that's pretty gross, but I hate throwing stuff away). Our conversation then went a little something like this...

D: Throw it away! It was on the ground!

A: Oh, it's fine, you big baby.

D: No, it touched garbage, throw it away. I saw it bounce off the garbage.

A: It's FINE....

D: THOW IT AWAY. Do you want BOOGER FARTS all over it?!?

A: (Silence)......... AAAAAHAHAHAH!


I know it's a little stupid. But it was so out of nowhere that I couldn't NOT laugh. *Sigh* Thank goodness for moments like that in my life. I'm glad I have David.

Happy Birthday, Kiddo...
Love, Angie & BB Calvin.

Week with Grandma & Grandpa!

It seems to me that last week went by SO quickly. I could have sworn that it was Monday and the next thing I know, it's Saturday night and my body is aching from being out and about. We did get to spend a little time with Jim and Jo, which was so great because we originally thought we wouldn't see them nearly at all! David got to do his first bridal shoot on Friday night and were there until nearly 11 o'clock! It was exhausting, but very rewarding (mostly, thanks to Nate and Kate who were so willing and so patient, and so in love.) The lucky couple is getting married this Saturday so we'll be up and down getting pictures of their big day. Wish us luck! Anyway, I also managed to get some pictures of our time with Grandma and Grandpa. Calvin felt right at home with his grandparents, I would say especially his Grandpa Jim, who he spent a lot of time with sitting on his knee. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but Cal never is very cuddly. But sitting on Grandpa's knee seemed to work just right, because there he was, sitting so contently sucking on his little thumb and cuddling up. It's just not fair, I tell you.

Here are pictures from last week, Enjoy!

↑ Hang Out Dude Time in the morning with a very sleepy dad ↑

↑ He climbs EVERYTHING now. He'll be the next Bear Gryllis, I swear. ↑

↑ Playing with his Grandma and Grandpa! ↑

↑ Grandma Jo bought Cal a John Deere sweatshirt, I wish you could see it except David's hand is covering it.. Ugh. ↑

↑ Just a quiet moment. ↑

*****

Here a picture taken by accident by Nate who was using the camera on the computer as a mirror for the Bridal/Groomal shoot. You can see everyone in the background preparing for the shoot. Doesn't Kaitlin  just look gorgeous??? I'll also post a finished picture from the shoot. David is so talented at photography. I can hardly stand it. 

The Finished Product: 

Trip Kainoa McGlurkin?

Apparently I had a dream about Trip and was talking to him in my sleep. I asked David what I said and he just told me he couldn't understand most of what I'd said... Does that mean he just doesn't want to tell me?

Anyway, I was just wandering through iphoto and found a ton of pictures that I meant to post online, but never have! Some of them are from what seems to be AGES ago. So, sorry for the delay! Here they are:

(Click on the pictures to enlarge!)

↑↑ Chipmunk!! ↑↑

↑↑ Utah Lake  Field Trip ↑↑

↑↑ Children's Place! ↑↑

↑↑ My favorite picture of my mom and Cal ↑↑

↑↑ Upside Down Time ↑↑

↑↑ David swears he looks like Aunt Sharon with his glasses on.. I don't see it. ↑↑

↑↑ Just watchin' some reality TV ↑↑

↑↑ Chillin' with Cousin Noah ↑↑

↑↑ In his Thanksgiving outfit, Ha! ↑↑

↑↑ Playing with his hair! ↑↑

↑↑ Bein' Two Hang-Out Dudes ↑↑

↑↑ Another of my favorite pictures of Cal ↑↑

↑↑ Liberace! ↑↑

↑↑ He just melts my butter. :) ↑↑

(Ahem... ) And now some pictures that aren't Calvin, but I wanted to post somewhere. I won't be offended if you just skip over this last part. :) 

↑ My Halloween Jack-o-lantern! A cheerful chap. ↑

↑ One of my favorite paintings. ↑

↑ I'm not totally sure... ↑

↑ David and I on New Year's Eve 2009 ↑

↑ David and Andrea arguing over which taco stand is better. ↑

↑ The sign I made for our window in honor of our LOST Party ↑

THE END.