A Bunch of Random Happenings

I'll work my way backwards.

Today, MJ painted for the first time. I captured the experience on video. It's a little long and the commentary is lacking, but if you watch it to the end, it's worth it.

Over the weekend (before fall semester started) I hurried to finish a few projects I've been working on. Here are three paintings, to complete a triptych, I finally finished.

I also made MJ a sock dog.

And, on Saturday I competed in my first ever 5k.The race was held at Brian Head Resort, 9,600 feet in elevation. I placed second in my age division and 10th overall. The trail was really pretty, winding through trees and near a creek. But, the majority of it was steep uphill climbs. I'm still sore from the workout.

Update Before School

I figured that I had better update the blog before I got so inundated with school that I wouldn't have time...

This summer has been hectic. Yet, we weren't able to do nearly as many things as we wanted to. No camping trips, hardly any hiking, few vacations. But, as I was working full time and take 3 classes. It was hard to get away from all the homework.

We were able to make a quick trip up to Idaho to see my Grandma, Aunt Evelyn, Uncle Brian and their family. It was a great trip and did the soul good to see everyone. Pocatello is very pretty.

This past weekend, we drove up North to welcome Jared's mom, Geri, back from Russia. MJ wasn't feeling well and had a really bad, sleepless night. So, we weren't able to stay for very long- just overnight. But it was great to see that she was home safely and to hear her stories about Russia. 

This upcoming Saturday, I will be running in my first 5k. I just hope I don't die. A 5k isn't very long, but this one will be on trails at 9,600 feet. Should be fun!

Jared (along with his sister, brother & brother-in-law) will be running a half-marathon in the middle of September. All I can say is "Good Luck"! The half marathon is in Cedar Canyon and will be down hill the whole way. I opted out since it would put way too much strain on my knees (and I don't have time to train for more than 30 minutes in the morning).

SUU's fall semester starts on Monday. I'll be taking 6 classes (18 credits) this semester while working part time. It will be a real change to go to school full time, but I will be finished with my much Bachelor's sooner. 

Since Jared is now working full time, he has decided to try taking classes through the Western Governor's University. All classes are offered online and are competency-based, rather than credit hour based. The programs are geared towards people that work and already possess some experience, so it should be a good fit. If we can get all his paperwork filed in time, he should be starting in September. 

All in all, we have some good changes coming our way.

Now, to update on MJ. She is as beautiful, silly and intelligent as ever. She is now 16 months old and gets more fun every day. During the fall, I will be able to spend an extra hour with her everyday and I can't wait! She absolutely loves to color (on everything, including herself), read books, splash in the pool, take bubble baths, eat corn on the cob, jump on the couch, dance, pretend to be a monster, play hide and seek, run in the grass and give gifts of rocks. She make us smile with everything she does.

Amazing!

Sometimes MJ just amazes us with her intelligence.

The other night, I was trying to finish some reading for class while MJ was playing in our living room. I was sitting on the couch and to try to keep MJ busy for a minute I asked her if she would give me a block that was sitting on the nearby side table. We have a set of 10 blocks, with 5 colors (2 red, 2 blue, 2 orange, 2 green and 2 yellow).

So, I asked MJ if she could bring me the blue block. She walked over to the stack of blocks, correctly picked out a blue one and climbed up on the couch and handed it to me. Thinking it was luck that she actually picked out the block of the right color, I asked her then if she could bring me the yellow block. She got off the couch, went over to the stack of blocks, correctly picked out a yellow one, climbed back up on the couch and handed it to me. She did this with all 10 blocks, giving them to me or to Jared. It was amazing!

We had no idea that she knew colors, much less that she could identify them so well.

Beautiful Daughter

Here's our beautiful 15-month old girl!

Is it July already?

I know I promised to post some video of MJ... But, I can't get the video to save on my computer. It says I don't have a DVD decoder or something dumb like that. I will eventually figure it out and post the video.
MJ is so darn cute. I love just watching her play, discover and explore. She is very good at climbing on and off the couch, my bed, and the rocking chair. Once in a while she tumbles and has the bruises to prove it. All in all, she's very resilient and keeps trying until she masters whatever she's doing. She amazed me the other day by taking out and inserting a straw into a plastic-lidded cup. I know it sounds dumb, but I couldn't believe that she could be that dexterous and have such good depth-perception.
Any moment that I have free from homework and my job, I try to spend with my little one. She especially enjoys playing outside (and has the tan to prove it), splashing in the kiddie pool, finding bugs, and coloring. Lately she's been pretty grumpy (and cuddly!) because she has three molars coming in. Poor girl! But, generally she's a happy-go-lucky girl that is always on the go. I spend most of my time following her around picking up all the messes she makes. She empties drawers, the DVD cabinet, all the books from her bookshelf, all of the crayons onto the floor, the silverware from the dishwasher...
I am also constantly amazed by how much she comprehends. She can identify and point out nearly all objects in books (for example, we'll be looking at a book and I'll ask "Where is the teddy bear? and she immediately point to it). She can follow simple directions. And, she's starting to identify objects by color. Her vocabulary has increased to about 10 words, in addition to all of the animal sounds she can imitate. On Saturday she said two new words: done and boat. MJ is also very helpful. She'll put trash in the trash can, put clothes in the hamper, help me empty the dishwasher, and wipe off her highchair.
My little girl is growing up so fast! It's exciting and troublesome at the same time. As she gets older she's only becoming more opinionated and harder to catch.
In other news, Summer classes will be over in a month. Business Law is particularly burdensome and I want it to end quickly. I get to enjoy two whole weeks of freedom between semesters and then I'll be taking 18 credits in the Fall! I don't know what I've gotten myself into. Especially since I found out that I need to take the GMAT in early Fall to meet application deadlines for grad school.
Jared switched jobs. He is now working with Velocity Webworks out of St George. He gets to tele-commute most days and is making about $3 an hour more than his previous job. We're really hoping that things will turn out well and he'll be able to get some good experience in web development.
Until next time... Adieu!

Coming Soon

I've been incredibly busy with family, school and daily living. But, I promise to soon post some video of MJ. She does a myriad of animal imitations, including elephant, sheep, cow, pig, lion, dog, cat and monkey to name a few. She also will jump, kick, laugh, hug, kiss and wave on command. Stay posted...

Birthday Girl

I'm a little late blogging about this... but it's been pretty hectic with finals, going back to work full time and everyone's birthdays.

MJ's first birthday was a smashing success. It was a bug theme. We had ladybug and butterfly cupcakes. And, I made a smash cake of a ladybug just for MJ to enjoy. At first she was a little tentative about eating the cake, but after tasting the icing, she dove right in, grabbing handfuls and shoving them in her mouth.

She also enjoyed opening all of her presents. It was hard getting her to maintain interest in opening rather than playing with her other presents. I think her favorite part of the day was riding home in the car from the store with all of her balloons. She was giggling and playing the whole way.

I can't beleive my baby girl is one! She has grown up way too fast. She is now getting a lot more confident with walking and will take several steps before losing her balance. She's suprised us a few times by making it all the way across the living room.

MJ enjoys reading books, singing songs and listening to music, and making constant messes. Some of her favorite foods are yogurt, blueberries, cheese and eggs. She will try to eat just about anything that Jared and I have and really enjoys sharing her food with us too. MJ also likes to make funny faces and give hugs and kisses. She's such a joy to have around. We're thouroughly looking forward to continuing to watch her grow, learn and mature.

We celebrated Jared's birthday recently too. For hating birthdays, I think he still had a good one. Next year we'll have to throw a big party for his 30th.

School is now over for the semester. I suprisingly got an A- in my Business Statistics course. Jared did well, too. We have a 4 week break between semesters before summer semester starts. But, I'm on track to finish my BS in Marketing in Spring 2011- only one more year!

Jared is now working for Ruesch Motorsports as a Web Programmer. He feels he's in way over his head, but is really enjoying the work and is learning a lot. I am working for the Volunteer Center of Iron County. I'll be working full time during the summer and then cut back to part time once Fall semester starts. I'm hoping to use some marketing skills in this position and really grow the program I'm working with.

All in all, things have been pretty good. We're as busy as ever, but there are so many things to enjoy and be thankful for.