2. fold in half so you have a smaller triangle
3. fold the same way again
4. fold in half again, but from the center so it looks like this:
5. make large geometric shaped cuts and a couple small ones, leaving as little paper as possible
ta-da!
I don't think I have a single post that is spiritually related so in honor of Elder Wirthlin who just passed away, I thought I'd mention one of his conference talks that I thought was very inspiring awhile ago. It's called "Follow Me" and it's about how the apostles left their nets and followed the Savior and how we need to recognize the things in our life that we need to leave behind to follow Him.
I was at the BYU bookstore and randomly found this whole section of blank white books. They were the coolest thing I have ever seen! I bought 5. They have all different kinds, and blank puzzles too. You can just take some markers and have a ball. They even have a couple different size board books for babies. So for Christmas Calvin is getting a board book all about himself drawn by Mom.
I feel like we are always trying something new to get Calvin to go to sleep better, longer, cry less, etc. The other day we were cleaning Calvin's room so we put him in his crib with some toys to play with while we cleaned. After we finished cleaning I took out the toys and read him a story then turned out the lights, walked out of the room and he went to sleep without making a sound. It is such a great routine, and it's worked quite a few more times since then too.
Sometimes I take a really really really long time making decisions while shopping. Clothes shopping is especially bad, but even grocery I take forever. Calvin is pretty good at making me a faster decision maker. If I stand in one place too long trying to decide on flavors of Jell-o, how many and what size, he lets out some screams to let me know I need to just grab one and keep moving. What a great little helper.
Has anyone else checked out flights on Southwest? 50% off flights to & from Salt Lake. There are restrictions for when you can fly of course, but I am so excited I just booked a flight to Seattle for $51 each way!
Brandon and I were listening to some Chris Merritt music yesterday and I thought I would share how great they are. Brandon's friend plays in the band so we have gone to see them play several times and it's always been fun. They have songs on itunes and a few websites too. My favorites are Tower of Sand and Dance Karate.
We went with some friends to the Lehi pool and I was so impressed! What a cool facility. Not only do they have a kid area, but they had a baby area. We had a great time. I love swimming in November.
We were hesitant to give Calvin rice cereal right at 4 months because of what the doctor said about the "slight chance he can develop allergies", but he also said it might be worth a try when he heard what a horrible sleeper he is and how he is always hungry. (he was waking up every 2-3 hours - and that was on a good night) After not really sleeping at all on Saturday night we decided we should try out the rice cereal. The result: he slept for 5 hours straight the past 2 nights!! He is back to only waking up twice to eat. I used to be really anxious for him to sleep through the night, but for now I'm just grateful to be sleeping in chunks again. Hoorah for rice!
Since Calvin's costume was so cute, we decided to try and match him. I think he pulled it off better than we did, but we all had a good time. You can tell Cal enjoyed the party : )
I was on my favorite food website, allrecipes.com and I found some fun Halloween treat ideas to take to a party. I thought this one was 2nd best. The mice looked even grosser but the recipe for the fingers and toes was easier. Brandon said I shouldn't be offended if no one eats them because they look disgusting. They're just sugar cookies with some food coloring. I think I should have done the red gel and almonds after I baked them, I didn't realize the gel would melt like that. Maybe they'll look better next year because I think this might be the beginning of a great Halloween tradition. yum. Happy Halloween!
1. I sleep with an eye mask at night. If I'm traveling, ear plugs too. I'm just a light sleeper and our room is too well lit from the parking lot light outside our window.
I found some wooden things at the craft store and decided they would make it really easy to make a mobile and add a little color to Calvin's room. We thought Calvin might like something to look at, and we're wishfully thinking that he might just hang out in his crib longer and we can sleep in now & then. (ha!) He did seem pretty excited about it and was smiling at it and swinging his arms for awhile, until he realized that we were leaving the room and we wanted him to take a nap.
Sometimes when I take a walk I like having a destination, like Provo Bakery. Taking a walk to the bakery kind of defeats the purpose of taking a walk though. Maybe I should find a bakery in Springville to walk to.
Calvin was becoming a horrible napper and therefore not the funnest kid to be around. We decided we might need to implement the crying himself to sleep method to help him learn to sleep better on his own. We have also paid more attention to his schedule and when he needs to sleep. It started making a huge difference right away. He has been so much happier lately. It's great. So even though it is torture to let your cute baby cry, sometimes it is beneficial to everyone in the long run. He is still a very long way from sleeping through the night though. Someday.
Yesterday I had quite the conversation with my younger sister Heather. She is currently taking a family finance class at BYU and they were talking about life insurance and wills. She asked me if we have either of these, which we don't (yet). She volunteered herself to be Cal's guardian if we wanted her to since she doesn't have any kids of her own and she might not in the future either. I told her that we would probably prefer someone that is married to raise Calvin if something happened to me & Brandon. She gave me this mean look and I told her to quit acting like she wanted me to die so she could take care of my baby.
Today I purchased our 3rd pair of baby finger nail clippers. I have no idea where the other two are. So whoever is stealing them, we'd appreciate it if you would let us keep these ones. They even came with nice little nail files.
complete with a tail:
On Saturday when I was at Seagull book there was an author sitting next to me, Janeen Brady. She was there to sign her new book called The Creation. Depending on your age, you may or may not recognize who she is at first. For anyone who grew up listening to that classic red cassette tape entitled "I"m a Mormon", she wrote that. As well as all those Standing Tall tapes, about Happiness and Gratitude and Captain Dependable. Anyone else have fond memories of singing to that stuff as a kid? It was like I was meeting a celebrity. She also did the Safety Kid stuff. My childhood would not have been the same without her.
In case you were thinking of renting Iron Man and you see it at redbox, make sure it is just called Iron Man and not Invincible Iron Man, because it's not the same thing. But if you have a 5 year old in the house, it might be okay anyways.
Another way we like to see how much Calvin has grown is to compare him to Brandon's foot.
Brandon took the LEED certification test this morning, which he has been studying for like crazy. And he passed!! It was an incredibly hard test, with tons of information. It means he will be able to work on LEED certified projects, which are green buildings. Since this is becoming more emphasized lately, and not a lot of people are certified, it will be helpful for him as he starts interviewing for jobs this fall. I am so proud of him and grateful for how hard he works.
Calvin survived his 2 month check up. He had to get 4 shots. He cried a lot, I cried a little. Then we had to go to the hospital to get his jaundice checked again because it hasn't gone away completely. If babies are older than one month they can't prick their feet for blood anymore, so they drew blood from his arm! I had to hold his legs still. Again, more crying for both of us. Thankfully, the jaundice check turned out fine, so we don't have to worry.
We had a fun visit from our friends and their son Jackson. As you can see Calvin is making quite the face in this picture. Since Calvin & Jackson can't talk yet we just have to wonder what is going through their minds in this photo. What do you think?
I think this is Brandon's favorite outfit that Calvin has. (courtesy of his awesome cousin) He seemed pretty disappointed that Calvin wouldn't fit in it for Christmas, or even Halloween, so I surprised him at work today by sending him some Santa footage, even though it's August.
Since I spend so much time drawing in my cartoonish style I don't ever get around to practicing drawing from life. Now that I have a new subject who does really well at holding still and is really cute, I think I might start practicing more.
Our vacation was so fun. Here's a picture from a stop on the way from Seattle to Seaside. If you ever drive down I-5 going by Chehalis and you like ice cream then you should take a quick stop at Dairy Dan's. The picture says it all.
