Sometime No News Means Good News

Not much has been going on that is newsworthy enough to blog about. We're just plugging away with school and work and raising MJ.
MJ is now well established in solid foods. She loves rice cereal and oatmeal, but is pretty unsure of anything else. I started her on carrots last weekend and here's how much she enjoyed them...

We started pears yesterday with much better success. To start with, she'll actually swallow a little!
MJ now sits pretty well unsupported and is making advances toward wanting to crawl. But, the most fun of all, is that she will now laugh hilariously when tickled. Here's a picture of Daddy getting her.

Jared and I celebrated our four-year anniversary on Thursday. Since it was a weeknight, we didn't do much exciting. But, we did havee a nice Japanese hibachi dinner. In less than three weeks we'll be in Vegas to see U2 in concert- our anniversary gift to ourselves. We can't wait!

MJ- A Rice Cereal Eating and Jumping Fool!

Yesterday we started MJ on solid foods. After she woke up from her morning nap, I prepared some super tasty, liquid-y rice cereal. MJ sat in her high chair and look very official in her bib. I was expecting it to take us a few times to get MJ to like the cereal, or for her to at least make some funny faces at the new taste/texture. But, she was a pro!
She sat up nicely, opened her mouth for the incoming spoon, pushed the food to the back of her mouth and swallowed. It was like she'd been eating solids for weeks. Needless to say, we didn't really get any exciting pictures. I guess she's saving the funny faces for when she tries fruits & vegetables...
In other exciting news for this weekend- MJ figured out how to work the jumperoo. We ordered a jumperoo for her a few weeks ago, but MJ didn't really have much of an interest in it, mostly because she couldn't touch the ground. But, on Friday night we put her in it and she just started going to town. Since then, she's really figured it out and just jumps and jumps and jumps. She's always sad when I try to take her out.
Here's a great little clip I tooks this morning of her having fun. I'm special and took the video sideways and I can't figure out how to rotate it. You'll just have to twist your neck.

A few other fun things that have been happening:
MJ loves our dog Loki. She loves to pet her and squeals in delight when the dog comes near or if Loki licks her.
MJ now weighs about 14 pounds (double her birth weight) and is 26" long. She's so long that we've had to put her in 6-9 months clothes already, but they all look huge around the middle. Pants especially don't like to stay on.
MJ will be 5 months old on Tuesday!

Our Family's First Camping Trip

I'm a little late in posting this one... But, the weekend before school started, Jared and I took MJ on her first camping trip. We went up to Kent's Lake in the mountains above Beaver and just stayed overnight on Saturday.
Jared was able to enjoy a LOT of fishing. We fish were going crazy for his purple powerbait. On Saturday night they were hitting about every 5 minutes. But, most of the fishes got off the line right before getting them on shore. We were able to reel in 3 or 4 fishes, but only kept one that didn't survive the de-hooking.
I fished a little too, but mostly was busy keeping MJ entertained.
Our dog, Loki had a lot of fun too and attempted to be ferocious in chasing the ducks away. Mostly she just kept getting her rope caught on rocks in the lake and needed to be rescued...

MJ had a little bit of trouble falling asleep away from home, but all-in-all it was a good trip. We may even go camping again. It was a great break before the hectic semester started.
Jared is now going to school full time to get his degree in Information Systems and working part time on campus. I am still working full time for the Finance department at SUU and I'm taking 9 credits this semester.
Coming soon: MJ Starts Solids!

4 Months Old!!!

I can hardly believe it, MJ is four months old. Time really flies by!
She has so much personality now. She's generally very happy, playful and giggly. She still loves taking baths, but now she delights in splashing me. She's trying really hard to master sitting up and rolling over from back to tummy.
MJ went to the doctor last Monday and officially weighs 12 pounds, 5 ounces and is 25 inches long. Her ear infections are all cleared up and she's a much happier little girl.

This past weekend, we all went hiking in Zion. MJ is still a little too small to fit in our hiking backpack, so we just strapped her in the stroller and stuck to some paved trails. Here's some pics of our adventure...

Just chillin' in the stroller.
Hanging out with Mom.
Getting her feet wet at the Narrows. The water was a little chilly.
Checking out some wildlife.We carried her stroller up over a couple dozen stairs to get to the top of the Weeping Rock trail. The view was worth it.

The Little Model

On Saturday we took at trip down to the big city. It had been like 3 weeks since we'd made a trip to Costco! I don't know how we survived so long.
While we were down there we decided to get portraits done of MJ. She's been growing up too quickly and we didn't want to easily forget the times when she was small.
The photographer and her assistant were a little... frightening. Consequently MJ didn't smile for any of her pictures. She was still adorable as always, though and we did get a few good shots.
Today, MJ went back to the doctor for a check-up on her ear infections. They've cleared up and her ears look healthy. They also weighted and measured her. She's now 12 pounds, 5 ounces and 25 inches long. That means she's in about the 85th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. On Saturday (the 15th) she will be four months old. And, we'll be taking her for her first camping trip... that is if I can convince Jared to go.

Ear Infections Are No Fun

A VERY unhappy little girl!

Maybe this isn't so bad after all!

Last weekend we spent some time up North with Jared's family. For Pioneer Day, we went to a pool party at his Grandma's house and hung out with all of his aunts/uncles/cousins, etc. Most people that were there we hadn't seen in almost 2 years. All the little kids were so grown up. I can't beleive how quickly time passes.

MJ went swimming in the pool, of course. The first time we tried she screamed her head off because she was kind of tired. But after a nice snack and nap we tried again and she loved it. I think we'll be having a little swimmer in the family...

The next day my 91+ year old Grandma and my aunt & uncle & fmaily came down from Idaho to say "hi". I was scared that MJ would not enjoy being held by Grandma, but things went suprisingly well. MJ had just woken up from a nap and it took her a few minutes to realize that someone other than Mom was rocking her.

The Monday after our big adventure up North, MJ came down with a fever. The Dr diagnosed her with ear infections (in both ears!). My poor baby was soooo unhappy for a few days. All she wanted to do was cuddle and sleep. And she HATES taking her antibotic. I have to give it to her 3 times a day. She ends up spitting the majority of it out each time, getting the pink goo all over her face, neck, hair and anything else within a 3' proximity.

Though she's unhappy with her ear ache, she still manages to smile almost all the time...

Promotion, MJ Updates and Other Stuff

What can I say? Life has been hectic lately.
Jared got a part time job working on campus and will be going to school full-time in the Fall.
I got promoted at work. I'll be making a little bit more money a year and I'll have a some more stuff to do to fill my time. The thing I'm excited about the most is that I move offices (even though I'm staying in the same department) and no longer have to hand out all the financial aid checks. This basically means I have a lot more flexibility and can actually leave my desk for more than a few minutes without having to get permission. Yeah!
And, can you believe it? MJ is almost 3 months old. Time is just flying by. She is getting more fun by each day that passes. She'll now bear weight on her legs, hold her head steady and rolls over from her tummy to back. She went on her first fishing trip this past weekend. She, however, did not catch anything. It was a slow day and we were only there for a few hours before it started pouring. MJ has also discovered her hands and now will try to jam both into her mouth constantly.
Jared and I decided to go see U2 in Vegas for our 4th anniversary coming up in October. We got our tickets and hotel reservation and can't wait for three months to go by... I'm mostly excited that I may get an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep. It's been so long, I don't remember what it feels like.
With everything that's going on, school, work, parenting, and fun, I'm sure it will be awhile until I update again. But, until then... Adieu.

Looking like a little gangsta.
At the lake, helping Mommy fish.