Have a Happy One!

Bigger and Bigger

It's been awhile since I've posted....yeah, I know. We are home from St. George, where we stayed for the month of February. (Thanks mom and dad!) Our Month, in a nut shell: Mike worked, we had lots of visitors, Temple trip with mom, went to the Parade of Homes, long walks, home made kettle corn, redbox DVDS, Wii, new camera, visit to Evanston, lots of eating out, and our most significant St. George moment is this....

Okay,the picture doesn't look like much. Just another snapshot of my growing little boy. But, there's more to this picture than meets the eye. You see, before I took this picture I was playing with Miles. The dryer buzzed so I put him on his tummy on the play mat, went and got the clean laundry, and came back. Now.....I don't know if you caught that. So I'll say it again.

I put Miles on his TUMMY. And when I came back, he was looking up at me with those big blue eyes. Somehow, in the 5 seconds I had my eyes off of him, he managed to roll over all by himself. He has done it a few times since, but I have yet to witness it. Except the one time he TRIED to do it in the bathtub. I put a stop to that pretty darn quick.

We have been busy busy busy since we've been home. Mike working, me unpacking and cleaning and mothering and schooling and photographing, and working on a couple new crafty projects. More to come on that later. And Miles has been busy growing.

We went to the Dr. yesterday. Possible ear infection. He now weighs 12 pounds and 9 ounces. He is getting bigger....and his hair is getting longer. And my new favorite thing is to spike it up.

This is how my photo shoots often start. Pretty happy baby, content, smiley, perfect photographing material

And this is how they usually end. With unhappy, tired, get that camera out of my face and let me go to sleep, baby. But....still great photographing material. :)

I just can't seetm to help myself. Especially now that I have a take one hundred pictures in one second, camera. I just keep snapping and snapping and snapping. (and then I delete, delete, delete) Because, quite frankly, I'm really not that good. Yet.

But here's a question to anyone with pictures stored on their computer. (Yes, that should be just about everyone)

How do you organize them all?????

Now that I have a million +1 photos of Miles taken almost everyday, I need to figure out a system to keep them organized. how do you store them? Do you put them in folders according to the date they were taken? do you categorize them by age? (3 months, 4 months,) etc, or a combo of both? do you just leave all the photos in one huge file? I'm not quite sure what to do, and I would love to know what everyone else does. My messy computer files are driving me nuts.

Okay.....I mentioned a couple crafty projects I am working on. It's a surprise for a couple certain people who may or may not check this blog. So, I'll just give you a sneak peak.

Thats all you get. I think now I will procrastinate the laundry for one more day and work on these a little more. Stay Tuned!

Purses

in my case, should be called the "stuff as much crapola into it, and carry it around with you bag." My friend Melani purse tagged me awhile ago. I have been putting it off. Not because I didn't have time. And not because I didn't want to. But because, frankly.....the idea scared me! My purse is basically a catchall for my crazy life. As you will soon see. so, without further ado....

My Coach bag. A Hand me down from my friend Tammy, after my Dooney and Burke purse was stolen in the dreaded Home Robbery. (Thanks Tammy!)

An overview of all the "stuff". including:

• My temple recommend
• fun pink wallet
• 4 check stubs
• 1 debit card (should be put into the pink wallet...but I always feel so rushed at the store, so I just throw it in the never ending bag)
• My Movie watcher card. Entitles me to free treats and discounts on popcorn when I attend my weekly Friday morning Matinee
• 6 old movie stubs
• 4 Drs. reminders cards (all from MONTHS ago)
• 3 pens
• An Express mail receipt from the package I sent to AZ last week
• a baggie of "box top" coupons. I cut them out for Tammy, for her kids preschool.
• Check book
• Car keys
• Key fob for our new home alarm system
• Frequent buyer card for Paradise Bakery. YUM!
• Recipe for Home made Kettle Corn. Double Yum! (but why is it in my purse???)
• Ticket for the St. George parade of homes. going on now. AMAZING stuff to see.
  

• cell phone. Obviously a necessity
• Childrens tylenol and mylicon
• lipgloss and lipstick
• binkie. couldn't get through the day without a "spare"
• Several old Mcdonalds Monopoly pieces. forgot all about these. too bad they are all expired
• New Coach sunglasses....thanks DAD!
• Doggie pooper picker upper bag....must have for walks with Marlee, since I am such a responsible doggie owner.
  
  And a Few of my most favorite things
  

sparkely, pretty royal blue bracelet my mom made. Then she gave it to me when she realized it didn't "go" with anything she owned. Lucky Me

I opened these fortunes right after I found out I was pregnant with Miles. I saved them for his baby book....and then ofcourse forgot about them. So cute. Now, I need to put them in his book before I lose them again.

My silver ipod covered in a cute pink case. It goes with me EVERYWHERE...as I am listening to the Twilight Series on it. yeah...who has time to sit and read??? this way, I can listen when I am out and about running errands.

• $10.06 all in change. Note to self....empty change pocket more often
• A 2 GB "memory stick" and a 2GB memory card
• Camera, so I never miss a smile or a moment of my little guy
• Receipts, nail clippers, glasses cleaners, some misc. wrappers and more garbage than I care to admit.

WHEW!!! What a haul. Where did all this stuff come from? And more importantly, now that its all out....how am I going to get it back in???

I tag: anyone brave enough to expose their own catch-alls

Atlast, Atlast....my new camera has arrived. Well, its new to me. I bought a gently used Nikon D50 on ebay. And after years of coveting my friends cameras....

and trying to convince my hubby for months....

And (somewhat) patiently scoping out the e-bay postings for weeks to find a good deal...

and paying for expedited shipping.....

all to capture the EXACT moment Miles loses his breakfast.

Priceless!!!

Just doing a little something I like to call, the "Cousin Cuddle"

I don't think they could be any cuter.

4 Months Old

My little guy is 4 months old today.

4 month "Miles"tones:

• double in size (10 pounds 14 ounces)


• completely living up to his nickname Smiley Miley


• trying his hardest to roll over from his back to his tummy


• sitting up (with just a little bit of help from mom)


• kicking and kicking and kicking and kicking his legs (which are now starting to have the cutest little fat rolls)


• trying to put anything he can in his mouth


• sucking on his pointer fingers


• mostly sleeping through the night


• squeeling and squaking and giggling at just about everything


• eating 6 oz. at a time


• spitting up what seems like 6 0z. at a time (he's gaining weight though, so it must not be that much)


• being "double bibbed" at all times. Yes, he really does spit up that much


• having the best time splashing around in his bath every night


• getting his "real" hair, as oppossed to that soft newborn hair that is falling out


• is BARELY starting to fit into his 0-3 month old clothes


• looking more like his dad everyday




• and unfortunately, getting his 4 month immunizations. (But don't worry. he hardly cried at all)

What a cutie. I know I am just a "little" biased, but I certainly feel lucky to be his mom.

Happy 4 Month Birthday little guy!

Gabe Gabe bo Babe

Here's my cutie nephew, Gabe. Rachel already posted all the details. But I just wanted to show him off a little more. We haven't officially "met", but we will see him Monday. And Miles is so excited. Stay tuned for lots of pictures of the Atkinson cousins!

I'm it

I have been tagged, and must list 6 things no one knows about me. This kind of info falls into 2 different categories. Things no one knows that I don't care if they know, and things no one knows that I hope no one ever finds out. I'm sure you can guess what category my six things for this post will fall into!

so, lets get started.


#1. I am afraid of the dark. Its true. Now, I wouldn't say that I am a "true" Nyctophobe. But my husband will tell you the "let's leave the hall light on" is a near nightly argument in our house. He wants to turn it off...and well, .......I don't. And I know exactly where this fear came from. The blame for my phobia rests squarely on my father's shoulders. :) Just ask Rachel, and she will tell you. My dad used to own a Freddy Krueger mask. enough said. Not only can I not sleep in the dark, but I can not walk into a dark room. (this is also courtesy of daddio) I always crane my arm around the corner to flip the switch. If the switch isn't close to the door, the solution is simple. I don't turn the light off when I leave. There's just something about not being able to see if someone is in the room waiting for you! It is for this reason I also make Mike sleep closest to the door. Then, if anyone breaks in, they will get him first....and I might have time to escape!

#2. I love to sing. And I know most everyone is aware. But did you know my favorite song to sing in the shower is the Star Spangled Banner? Bet you didn't see that one coming. I don't know what it is. But somewhere between the "Oh say can you sees" and the "bombs bursting in air", I get carried away in my secret fantasy that someday I will sing the Star Spangled Banner at a major event. The World Series, the Superbowl maybe??? Or perhaps the Indy 500. I'm not sure. But I envision myself in front of all the fans belting it out. And when I get to the "land of the freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".....the crowd goes wild.

#3. I love electronics. If my husband would let me, I would spend every cent I owned on the latest gadgets and gizmos. If you can buy it at Best Buy, I want to own it. I am especially partial to computers and their accessories, big screen tvs with surround sound, and digital cameras. My latest obsession, however, are the new High Definition Hard Drive camcorders. I want one so badly, it is slowly being moved from the want list to the need list. Now...if I could just find a job to PAY for all these things....

#4. I hate messes in small spaces. Example: that junk drawer everyone seems to have in their house? We don't. Drawers, pantries, closets, cupboards.....I can not stand for them to be messy. I'm not sure what it is that makes my skin crawl if their contents aren't situated just so. Organize the spice cupboard is on my weekly chore list. The clothes in my closet are organized by color and sleeve length, hanging in exactly the same direction, on identical hangers. My pantry is re-arranged on a near monthly basis. And I am CONSTANTLY taking pens, keys, paper, coupons, etc. out of a drawer in our kitchen that Mike keeps insisting should be a junk drawer. If you want to throw your clothes on the floor, never make your bed, keep shoes all over the house....go ahead. But forget to stack my plates from biggest to smallest, and you have a fight on your hands!

#5. I want to own a shaved ice business. Seriously! In Utah you can find THESE just about anywhere. When we moved to the hottest city in the world, I wanted one. And I mean I REALLY wanted one. But there aren't any. Anywhere. So, it became my secret ambition to have the first shaved ice stand in my area. I convinced Mike of my genius (and money making) idea, picked out the Snowie stand I wanted, met with the Snowie people, picked a location, got my financing in order and made my business plan. Then....SURPRISE!!!! We were having a baby. And there went my $$$ (and my dreams) of being a small business owner. About one month later I was driving by Lowes, and what did I see? But a portable snowcone stand parked right outside. Can you guess how long the line was? I literally cried. Now, don't get me wrong. Having Miles is certainly better than sucking on flavored ice. But it sure would have been nice to hold him in one arm and a large Tigers Blood snowcone in the other. And so the dream lives on......

#6. I always wanted to be a cowboy queen. Perhaps it was due to my rodeo going, horse riding, steer feeding, wrangler wearing up bringing. But I remember going to the rodeos and parades and seeing these girls with pink hats on beautiful horses, with curly fluffy hair and big crowns. And I wanted to be them. They would come in before the rodeo and race around the arena on their fast horses, holding the reigns with one hand and doing their distinctive bouncy, side to side wave with the other. (If you've ever seen it, you know what I'm talking about). I practiced this wave in the mirror. I know I'll never be a cowboy queen. But I still get a little nostalgic at rodeos. And the girls with the fluffy hair and funny waves always make me smile. :)

Tag....you're it: Rachel, Amy, Kristi and Ashley

Quotes from Kids

This was inspired by my sister, who posts the funniest stories of her patients.

At church, I teach the 4 year old sunday school class. This weeks lesson was called "I am a child of God". During the lesson, I asked the children "How do you know Heavenly Father loves you?"

These are their responses:

• Little boy #1: Because he gives me bananas

• Little girl: Heavenly father loves me because last night my mom made my favoritist, bestest, most delicious dinner ever! Not like all the other crappy dinners.

(hmmmm...I don't think I'll share this tidbit with the child's mother.)

• Little boy #2: Because He makes water. and when it freezes, you can walk on it. Thats what Jesus did a long time ago in the winter time.

• Little boy #3: Because I have a family. a really big, hugest family. Because Jesus knowed to have lots of people watch me, or else I get in trouble.

• Little boy #4: Because he gave us a good teacher for church.

Now, I thought that last one was awfully sweet. Until he followed it up with:

• "You can be my teacher, because you are old like my mom. And you were probably friends with Jesus when you were a little girl, because that was a long, long, long time ago."

So, just for fun, I asked "Oh...well, how old do you think I am?"

They replied: 15, 13, 5 like me, You're old like my mom and she is atleast 17, ummmm....I think maybe 100.

Can't wait for next week. :)