A Rough Start to a New Year

I must say, January has been the longest month of my life.  We got back from Virginia where we spent the holidays, and Kevin went back to school the very next day while Henry and I got back to our routine.  Then, on Saturday the 11th, our life got interesting, and not in a good way.

Let me fill you in on a little back story.  We were robbed twice last year.  During the summer our car was broken into and several things were stolen, including an ipod and a bike rack.  We were parked in our assigned spot outside our apartment.  Then, in the fall, Kevin's road bike was stolen off our porch.  It was chained with two other bikes to the railing of our porch.  The thief cut the chain and pulled the bike out from the middle of the two other bikes.  I heard a crash as the bikes fell over, but I just thought it was our neighbors being noisy.  Luckily, renters insurance covers things like this, and we were able to replace Kevin's bike.  If it wasn't for insurance, we never could have replaced it because it was somewhat valuable, and we're quite poor.

Fast forward to January 11, approximately 11:15 PM.  Kevin learned his lesson, and now keeps his nice bike hidden away.  But our apartment is tiny and we don't have room to keep all three bikes inside (I have a commuter bike, and Kevin has an older bike he uses to get to school).  So he chained the older bike to an old rocking chair we have on the porch, and kept the bike laying flat on the ground at night.  We had been asleep for about an hour when we heard a crash on the porch.  Learning my lesson from last time when I just rolled over and went back to sleep, I jumped out of bed (the door to the porch is on my side of the bed) and looked out the window.  There, leaning over the edge of our porch, was a dark figure yanking on Kevin's bike.  He must not have realized that it was actually chained to the chair and not just stuck, because he was pulling on it like crazy.  I banged on the window and the guy took off.  However, this bold son of a you-know-what stood at the corner of the next building and watched our porch for a while until someone walked by.  Like he wanted to come back for the bike.  What a creeper. 

My best guess is that this was the same guy that stole Kevin's bike before.  When he sold it, he must have learned that it was actually worth some money and figured that we were bike people.  He must have imagined that this bike was also valuable, which it really wasn't.  It's valuable to us because it gets Kevin to school and back, but it wouldn't be of much value to this guy.  After talking to the police and apartment security, we had a late night and not much sleep.  The next day I went to the office and asked to move to a second story apartment.  They were pretty nice about it.  Although, I have to admit that I ate two packages of double stuffed Oreos by myself that week.  Moving with five days notice is no small feat!  But now we feel much safer to be a little further from the ground.  And all our bikes heaved a great sigh of relief.

Sleigh Bells Ring

It's been too long since we've updated the blog!  We've had a busy holiday season and a bit of a rocky start to the new year.  Hopefully I can catch you all up without writing an epic novel about it.

We spent Christmas in Virginia this year with the Pugh clan.  They were all anxious to see Henry, and sort of excited to see us.  Let's be honest--Henry steals the show around here.  We were a little nervous about the cold weather, but it wasn't as bad as we feared.

 

 Henry made good friends with Riley the dog and enjoyed exploring the green, wet environment.  Being born in Phoenix, he had never seen so much color outdoors before.  Grammy and Grandpa were sweet enough to set up a play room for him.  It was well-stocked with books, toys, and lots of matchbox cars--Henry was in heaven.

Christmas morning was everything we could have hoped for.  Henry seemed to appreciate it more than last year.  By the end, he started realizing all the colorful packages had cool toys in them.

The headphones were not for him, but he enjoyed taking a turn with them. All too soon the time came to return to Arizona.  Hopefully we can go back to Virginia before too long!

Our Happy Halloween

On Friday the 25th we had our ward Halloween party, and, much to my relief, it was a huge success!  I worried about it because the bishop asked us to simplify the activity by not having dinner and having the party outside.  It was outside last year and it was so dark that our "chili cookout" became a "mystery chili cookout" because no one could see well enough to know what they were getting.  Not only that, but no one could see who else was there, so most people didn't talk to very many people and then left early.  I was determined to solve the problem of the darkness, and worried a lot about making it work.  Anyway, looooong story short, the day before the party the bishop gave us the green light to have the party inside.  While it was relief, I was basically starting from square one because the party I had envisioned was no longer applicable.  But I had some great ladies to help me out, and it was a great success!

We had donuts and root beer and lots of great activities.  For the kids we had carnival games (ring toss, bean bag toss, cake walk, etc.), face painting, and a craft table.  And for the adults we had minute-to-win-it games (you have a minute to complete a silly task, like putting an oreo on your forehead and contorting your face until you can get it into your mouth).  We had a huge turn-out; I don't think you could have fit more people into the gym!  At the end we had a costume contest (this was really great because it got everyone to dress up...it's so much more fun when everyone dresses up) and then we ended with the trunk-or-treat in the parking lot.

 

We didn't win any prizes for our costumes, but that's ok.  We thought we looked great!  Unfortunately, it was way past Henry's bedtime, so he wouldn't tolerate having the costume's headpiece on.  He made such a darling cow!  Luckily, I took a picture beforehand when he wasn't so tired.  (Please ignore my messy apartment in the background.)

I'm much more relaxed now that the party is over.  I'm very gratified that everyone seemed to have such a good time, but I'm mostly grateful for how well I'm sleeping now that I don't have to stress about it anymore! 

And I had to include this picture of Henry's pure joy in seeing some ducks up close (he normally only gets to see them from his stroller).

Sleep and Search

We've been rather busy for the past month.  The most important announcement is that we have successfully sleep-trained Henry!  He is sleeping in his own bed for approximately 12 hours every night!  We put him down at 6:30 or 7:00 PM (because he is actually tired by then, not because we want to torture him) and he doesn't get up til after 6:00 AM.  Finally!  We have our bed to ourselves and we even have a little time in the evening to do what we want...as long as it's something quiet.  Typically we either watch Doctor Who (we are completely hooked on this show!) or Kevin studies while I do some family history.

About a month or two ago I had a powerful spiritual impression to start doing family history.  So I got a little help from our ward family history consultant, and I've had some exciting success!  Right now I'm focusing on Grandpa Shaha's line, and I'm checking what we already have to find anyone who's missing or correct anything.  So far I've found about six people.  I even found in Family Tree on the church website a connection with another family line; they're our ancestors, but the work has already been done.  I had to correct a few things (they had Shaka instead of Shaha), but it's nice to know that our ancestors have been served.  Hopefully we can have a family temple day sometime so we can get the work done for these folks!  It's incredible how close I feel to them while I research to learn about their lives.

The relief society president asked me to be in charge of this year's ward Halloween party.  I have a small group of ladies to help me out, and I'm pretty excited about the plans we've made so far.  I manage to appear calm and collected, but the awful pain in my back, daily headaches, and the constant craving for chocolate and Dr. Pepper show me that I'm actually pretty darn stressed about the whole thing.  It doesn't help that we just found out that they will be forming two new wards in our stake, and this activity is the week before the ward boundary change.  Hopefully it can be a good memory for everyone before they start going to church with other people.

Celebrating the Big 3!

With our anniversary approaching, Kevin and I were anxious to do something fun.  We have never really celebrated our anniversary before--the first year we moved to AZ that week and had no money, and the second year we had a new baby and only had enough energy to get some See's chocolates from the mall. So I was absolutely determined to do something worth telling this year.

I learned from a friend that Arizona Broadway Theater is just a five minute drive from our apartment.  So I looked into and learned that they are showing Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat.  I vaguely remember that Pilchuck High School put this show on and I kind of remembered enjoying it.  Kevin was excited about the idea, so we bought (kind of pricey) tickets.  It's a dinner theater, and the website said the whole thing started at 5:30.  We arranged to drop Henry off with our friends the McDonalds at 5:00, and expected to be back by 8:00.

Well.  Sometimes, when poor people do things that are typically done by rich people, those poor people are more confused than they realize.  We got to the theater by 5:05, and there was practically no one there!  We were a little concerned about getting to our seats by curtain because they wouldn't even let us go to our table.  After sitting on a nice, soft sofa for a couple minutes, we decided to ask someone what the protocol was.  Apparently, dinner was at 5:30, then curtain was not until 7:30, which allowed for a nice leisurely dinner, but would get us back to get Henry close to 10:00, not 8:00.  We now understood why there was an option on the website to buy a ticket without dinner.  Rather than sitting and watching everybody else eat, as we thought, those patrons simply don't show up till the show is about to start.  Now we know.

We called the McDonalds right away, and they were so kind to say that we should just enjoy ourselves, and everything would be fine.  And since we had spent more money than I would like to admit on these tickets, we were determined to stay and enjoy the entire event.

All I can say is, it was worth every penny.  The meal was gourmet, and the show was incredible.  I had no idea that Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat was so funny!  We were cracking up throughout the entire show!  I highly recommend it.  The best part of the evening, though, was reminiscing with my sweetheart about our busy, but delightful, first three years of marriage.

Henry on the Move

It's time to catch up on my blog!  One of the biggest reasons I decided to start a blog was so I could share pictures without Facebook having rights to them.  So I'll try to catch you up with some pics!

 Henry enjoyed his first balloon at Chick-Fil-A.  He kept hitting himself in the head with the balloon and flinching like he expected it to hurt, and then was so confused when it didn't.

 I love this picture because it looks like he's stretching out before getting some exercise...which isn't far from the truth!  This is when he started rocking out on all fours, and it wasn't long at all before he was mobile.

 I got Henry started early on helping out with the chores.

Starting right before Christmas, Henry stopped sleeping well.  We borrowed this swing from my parents hoping that it would lull him to sleep, but it didn't work.  If anything, he thought it was too exciting.  We were really disappointed.

 Here Henry is learning to stand...while watching Downton Abbey.  Did anybody else think the last season finale was a huge mistake and probably ruined the show??

 Henry and I go on daily walks.  Most of the time we actually go atleast twice--not because I'm super active, but because Henry LOVES the outdoors.  Whenever he sees someone go outside without him, he gets fussy.  And whenever he's cranky, a walk always helps him feel cheerful again.

 Our favorite piece of baby gear that we own is this bike seat.  There is nothing better on a warm afternoon than a family bike ride.  We were out biking yesterday when we remarked that we're far more outdoorsy now that we have a baby.  Between the walks and the bikes we spend a lot of time enjoying our warm Arizona weather.

 Although the weather is generally warm here, we did actually have a pretty cold winter.  But that didn't stop Henry from loving his walks!

 My copilot occasionally falls asleep on the job.

 Once Henry figured out that he could move forward, he went from slow to super speed in no time!  Now he's into ev-er-y-thing.

 This was Henry's first time on the swing.  It was a big hit!

 More walks.  He can't get enough of it.

 Because the swing didn't help him sleep, and I don't have the heart to let him cry it out, Henry sleeps with us now.  He's had a terrible time teething--his top two teeth have been going up and down in his gums for months.  I'm hoping once he finally cuts those teeth he may start sleeping well in his own bed again.  I'll keep my fingers crossed!  In the meantime, it is pretty sweet waking up next to my little man cub!

 Henry went from crawling to cruising furniture and walls in a matter of days.  I thought the first child was supposed to catch on to these things more slowly!  As it is, I'm nervous we may be on track for him to walk at 9 months.

 Besides the outdoors, the bath is Henry's favorite place.

 We're so happy that we're starting to get a little more mobile with our little guy.  We are so happy to be able to get out to our favorite places, like Five Guys!

 Here Henry is using a laundry basket like a walker.  I swear we are not teaching him this stuff!  Does anyone know where I can buy a pair of lead shoes to slow this kid down?

 Mama needed a break from this nonstop mover.  In the basket with you!

 Because Henry loves the tub so much, we thought the pool would be an instant hit.  He hated it.  He hated it so much he gave us the stoney-faced silent treatment the rest of the day.  We'll wait til the water gets a little warmer and try again another time.

 Henry's favorite thing about our walks is that he gets to check out the ducks.  They're so cool I can hardly get him to look at the camera anymore.

 Kevin plays on a soccer league with some people from his school.  At his recent game, Henry discovered grass for the first time.  Between watching the game and keeping grass out of his mouth, I had my hands full.

 Handsome boy!

 Now that Henry is crawling, he goes anywhere his little body will fit...even when I strategically place the bouncer to prevent him from going there.

 Here Henry is checking out the ducks while sucking on his gums...those darn top teeth still haven't come through.

 Henry is trying all sorts of new foods these days.  Here he is trying bananas for the first time.  Why do all kids love bananas?  It was an instant hit.

 Here we are on Easter morning going to church with my fam in Gilbert!  We LOVE living so close!  It's nice to have a little help with Mr. Chubby, eat a homemade meal, and hang out with the Shaha's!

Henry knows he's not supposed to play with the blinds, but they're so tempting!  We sure love this boy!

On my next post, I promise to include more pictures of the whole family instead of just the baby.

Henry Gets Teeth

Henry had a pretty big two weeks. Not only did he cut his first two teeth but he also ate rice cereal for the first time!

The week before Henry turned 6 months he didn't sleep, and, consequently, neither did we. He had an ear infection during Christmas and didn't sleep at all so we were worried it was the same problem. I took him in to see the doctor and she said the ears were clear--he was teething. He cut the two bottom teeth at the same time, poor baby.

Once he cut those teeth he felt much better, but now we're on to the next phase: Henry is learning to eat food. I had been putting it off because food makes for stinky diapers, but mostly I just didn't feel ready for him to get bigger. Henry, however, had no hesitations about the rice cereal. I expected a big grimace the first time, but he just had a big grin!