What's in a Gnome?

Time to report on the Dating Divas Romeo & Juliet Date...Husband and I had a lot of fun.  We made homemade pizza (a favorite at our house).  I'm sure Shakespeare liked pizza too, and if he didn't...oh well.  You can only stretch the date theme so far sometimes.  While we made pizza, we did a little activity.  I had printed off a bunch of quotes from Romeo & Juliet.  We took turns reading them and then translating them.  It was really cheesy and sometimes just plain dumb, but we also had some good laughs.  Take for example Tony's interpretation of

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

Translates into:

What's in a name? That which we call a Jimmer

By any other name would Jimmer you just as much.

Classic.

After our silly little game we watched Gnomeo & Juliet.  It was a lot of fun.  Cute movie.  Way to go, Sir Elton John.

In other news, we're excited for the arrival of summer.  Not that summer brings any big changes, just that it brings a number of vacations and lots of fun with family.  We're anticipating the Annual Gibbons Family Lake Trip, a visit from Dr. Brown and Grandpa for Hyrum's baby blessing, a Shinkle Family Get-Away to Scottsdale, and a Burgess Family Reunion (complete with meeting Jacie Lynn and introducing Hyrum to his Grandpa Burgess).  We may even throw in a ward camp out if we feel up to another trip.

Hyrum is 6 weeks old today.  Yesterday (while he was asleep and I was making delicious Mexican pizza for dinner) I found myself thinking, "Wow! When did I figure this whole Mom thing out?!"  The past week has been magical, if I'm allowed to use that word.  Hyrum and I have finally figured out our little eat, sleep, repeat routine.  This has resulted in me being able to do chores, fix dinners, and even squeeze in a little time with Tony during the sleep phase of the cycle.  (Unless, of course, it also coincides with Tony's sleep phase.)  On top of that, last night Hyrum ate at 9pm, 2am, and 7am.  It's amazing how rested you can feel when your baby decides to eat only every FIVE hours instead of two or four.  Although I have a lot to be grateful for in the baby category, Hyrum also has his moments, like when his diaper exploded at church.  Come to find out, you shouldn't sit there embarrassed while your child makes rather loud pooping sounds in Sunday School.  Instead, calmly get up, walk to the mother's lounge, and take off his clothes.  That way, he won't ruin his clothes when it all comes gushing out.  [SIGH]  I still have a lot to learn as a mother.

Hodge Podge, Conglomeration, and Everything-but-the-Kitchen-Sink

Without further ado...

It amazes me how we can turn this:

 Into this:

Into this:

We've been helping my family with their garden and in return, we get part of the harvest.  So far we've had quite a few zucchinis (pictured above) and they are delicious.  My mom also made homemade salsa with fresh cilantro from the garden.  Eventually we'll be able to make homemade salsa with fresh cilantro, tomatoes, peppers, etc.  Gardens are wonderful things.  I love going out on a Saturday to weed, cultivate, and harvest.  It's quite rewarding!

Besides gardening, my new favorite activity is Tummy Time!  I love cheering my little guy on as he grunts and slobbers and strengthens those little muscles! 

Speaking of that sweet pea...he's 5 weeks old!  We went in for his 1 month check-up yesterday and he weighted 10 pounds 10 ounces (60th percentile) and was 23 inches long (90th percentile).   When did he get so big?!

New to my list of things to be grateful for are not paying for a tow truck, extended warranties, and Toyota recalls.  On Sunday we were driving home from church when my car quit working.  We pulled over to the side of the road, Tony took a look under the hood shrugged his shoulders ("I'm a house guy, not a car guy!" says he).   Luckily I was still on my parents' home and auto plan so one little phone call was all it took to get our free tow to the dealership.

Then, on Monday afternoon we get the phone call..."We have no idea what is wrong with your car."  GREAT.  LOVELY.  WONDERFUL.  I'm glad it's going to be an easy and inexpensive fix covered by the extended warranty I purchased when I bought the car.  Glad to hear it.  Sure.  You can take it to the Toyota dealership.

Luckily, Toyota quickly determined the problem.  My computer had crashed.  Luckily, it was covered by my extended warranty and all we would pay was the $50 deductible.  Luckily, it was also covered by a Toyota recall and we would NOT have to pay the $50 deductible.  Hooray!  All is well.

On a completely unrelated note, I have a new favorite website.

[Note: This is a group of Utah Mormon women and sometimes they're a little cheesy and over the top, 

but just take it for what it is...you can still find some really good ideas for dates 

and other little ways to show your husband you love them!]

I'll get back to you next week about how our first attempt at a Dating Divas Date goes.  It all started with a note in Husband's lunch box:

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Date night?

This Friday!

The text message I got at lunch time (1:13am):

But soft. What light through yonder window breaks?  

Tis the east, and Jeri Lin is the sun.

[Like I said...cheesy.  But you have to admit it's better than..."So what are we gonna do tonight?  I dunno.  What do you want to do?  I dunno.  What do you want to do?  I dunno...]

Hyrum Joseph

My friend Katelin is going to school for photography.  She offered to do a newborn shoot for us and we were very impressed with her work.  Check out her website. 

Katelin Roberts Photography

 

 

Joys of Motherhood

I have been a mother for 23 days.  In those 23 days, I have discovered a number of "JOYS."

1.  Those little grins that may or may not be caused by gas.  It doesn't matter if they are or not, because either way, they melt your heart.

2.  "Happy first Mother's Day!"

3.  Receiving a candy bar at church on Mother's Day because you are a mother and you deserve fifteen one.

4.  An aching back at the end of the day because he wouldn't sleep or sit in his swing or lay on the floor and wanted to be held by his momma...all because you like spicy food.  Sorry.  He doesn't like spicy milk.

5.  That fresh-from-the-bathtub-baby smell.

6.  Seeing his daddy (who now works nights and tries really hard to sleep during the day, even when the baby is crying) love his little boy.

7.  Crying really hard in the shower so your husband doesn't hear you, but being heard anyway.

8. Going on a walk for the first time in three weeks!

9.  Saying, "Oh Hyrum!  Your momma wants her momma!" at least once a day.

10.  Getting up in the middle of the night to feed the little guy because you love him.

11.  Singing songs all day long.

12.  Little teeny tiny sneezes.

13.  Family prayer.  Family scripture study.  Family Home Evening.

14.  Little bitty baseball gloves.

15.  Doing 10 times more laundry even though only one little body joined the family.

Hooray for being a mom!

Blessing Day

Have you ever had one of those days when everything goes right? It's been one of those days in the Brown household.  I call it a blessing day.

Blessing #1:  Tony found out today that he will have an opportunity to be a seminary student teacher next school year.  This means a number of different things.  First of all, it's a paid position.  They will have work for him throughout the summer and then he will teach 2 or 3 classes next school year.  I can't even tell you what that will mean for us financially...let's just say a balanced budget.  Being a student teacher will also allow Tony great opportunities to become a better teacher, hopefully even a good enough teacher that he can be hired full-time.  Being a full-time CES employee would be Tony's dream job.  Even if that's not how the story ends, we're grateful for this opportunity and the blessing it will be for our family.

Blessing #2:  ASU posted all of my financial aid today.  Between hard earned scholarships, Pell grants, and university grants, I will not only be able to pay for tuition and fees, books, and  supplies, but some of that money will be extra cash in our pockets (probably to be used to pay off Tony's student loans).  Thank you ASU, the federal government, and whoever else is giving me free money.  You truly make school a worthwhile endeavor.

Blessing #3:  I have a baby boy in my arms (resulting in a blog post that must be pecked out with one hand), no where to be, and nothing to do but love this little boy.  How lucky am I?  Not only is he handsome, but he's also the sweetest baby you'll ever know.  He hardly fusses and is so easy to love.  He lets me get a decent night's sleep.  He hasn't tried to pee on me when I change his diaper.  He's spit up twice in his whole life.  He doesn't scream when we put him in his car seat.  I love Hyrum.  He loves me.  We love Daddy, yessiree!  He loves us and so you see...we are a happy family!

I could make a list of many more blessings, starting with the fact that it's 96 degrees outside but we're comfortable inside and ending with the fact that Hyrum and I get to go visit Grannie this weekend, but those are the BIG blessings for today.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is always watching over us and who never leaves us alone.  We may have to be patient and we may be surprised to find that His plan is a little different from the one we mapped out for ourselves, but he will always bless us.

Baby Talk

It is 4:47pm and 8 days postpartum.  I unloaded the dishwasher today and started a load of laundry (I'll have Tony finish it later).  I'm pretty proud of myself.  It's been a long week plus one day.  Maybe writing about it will help...

At 1am on the 19th of April I woke up and realized that my little baby had finally decided they were on their way.  I woke Tony up at about 1:30.  We got ready to go to the hospital, which meant getting dressed and feeding Tony while I said, "We need to go NOW!" every time a contraction came.  We arrived at Banner Gateway at 3am.  I'll spare you the gruesome details about labor and delivery.  Just know that after a couple of hours I decided I wasn't as tough as my mom, I didn't have to prove anything to anyone, and I got an epidural.  Best decision ever.  It gave Tony and I a chance to sleep for a little while.  We were grateful.

Labor and delivery went faster for me than it does for most first-timers.  Hyrum Joseph was born at 10:39am.  He was 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 20.5 inches long.  Tony was supposed to announce to everyone whether it was a boy or girl, but Hyrum decided that he wanted Mom to say, so he hid from Dad and I said, "It's a boy! It's a boy!"  And that's that.

We didn't have a name for our little boy.  It didn't take us long, however, to decide that he was a Hyrum Joseph.  We want him to live an honorable and virtuous life, like Hyrum and Joseph Smith.  Tony thinks he even has the mild and gentle temperament that Hyrum is often said to have had.

We have been blessed with a perfect baby.  Perfectly unperfect but perfect all the same [if that makes any sense].  He is so handsome and so sweet.  He hardly fusses, except for when he's frustrated with breastfeeding, and he calms quickly and easily.  We love to hold him and kiss him and love him.  We love reading scriptures with him and praying with him.  On Monday we had our first Family Home Evening lesson with Hyrum.  Dad taught us about gaining a testimony.  We love being a family and we're especially grateful that Tony and I were married in the temple so that Hyrum is sealed to us for time and all eternity.

I [aka: Jeri Lin, Mom] have had some major adjusting to do.  I have a new found appreciation for my mom and every other mom in the world.  Being a mom is really hard.  I also know that's it's supposed to be hard and it's ok that it's hard.  Besides the lack of sleep that has worn me out, my aching back, and my disheveled appearance, I have struggled with what I deem a "major case of the baby blues."  I have good days and bad days and really bad days.  I cry a lot, sometimes with a reason, sometimes not.  It took a week for my appetite to be mostly normal.  It's been kinda rough, but it has helped me gain a greater testimony of the Priesthood.  I love my husband more than I ever have.  My mom is the best mom ever.  That's all.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures of Hyrum.  Enjoy him.  We do.

 

Aunt Jeri Lin & Uncle Tony

I could be an AUNT for the first time EVER at ANY moment.  Baby Jacie Lynn is on her way!  Tony has conceded that his little sister Whitney, who has beaten him at pretty much everything, is going to have the privilege of first grandbaby.  We did all the coaxing and sweet-talking we could, but Baby Brown has decided not to steal Jacie Lynn's glory.  I'm still hoping that I can go into labor within the next couple of hours, that way they can at least share the same birthday, but I think that's unlikely.  Besides, my fortune cookie said, "This week your lucky day is Saturday. Enjoy the fun."  I GUESS I can wait until Saturday...if I HAVE to.

Aside from all that excitement, Tony brought me home some of the Olive Garden Andes chocolate mints from work yesterday.  I ate them.  They were delightful.  They made my heart sing.  And then they were gone.

I'm totally excited for the day when we can try out our JEEP jogging stroller.  It's pretty sweet.  Thanks Dr. Brown, again.  [By the way, we still don't know what our children will call Dr. Brown.  Dr. Brown, perhaps?]

That's about all of my random thoughts for this afternoon, besides that I want my baby so that I can hold it and kiss it and love it!

Tootaloo!