The Mommy Minute

Right after I gave birth to my daughter, my mom gave me some really good advice. She said, “A baby grows so fast, that you need to enjoy every minute. Don’t worry about doing the laundry or cleaning your house, just hold that baby all day long.” And so I did. I gave up my neat-freak ways and decided that I wouldn’t waste my time on things that paled in comparison to this new little life that I had in my care. I had anxiously awaited the birth of my baby girl, and now that she was here in my arms, I wasn’t going to put her down unless I had no other choice. So, day after day, I just snuggled her, fed her, held her while she slept, and kissed every one of her perfect 10 toes. I didn’t worry about anything but her. Of course, after a while, we ran out of clean underwear and paper plates, so I had to give in a do a little housework. But I taught myself something very important in the process: that motherhood is the perfect time to “live in the moment.” I don’t look back on my baby’s first few months of life and think about how dirty my house probably was. I look back with a heart full of happy memories because I savored every single moment with my newborn daughter.

While reading the book I Am a Mother (by Jane Clayson Johnson), I came across this cute little poem:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow.
For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

It perfectly captures the philosophy that I’ve tried to adopt as I navigate the world of motherhood. I try to focus on what really matters and what will bring my family the most joy. Of course, I must fulfill my adult responsibilities, but I make it a point to put my daughter first. Sometimes I get frustrated because it’s 1:00pm and I still haven’t taken a shower. I’ve also been known to freak out when I walk across my kitchen floor and end up with cheerios stuck to the bottom of my socks. I think, “Can’t I just have clean hair or a clean house for one single day?!” And then I look at my little girl and I picture the day when she’s grown and gone. I promise myself that on that day, my house will be spotless. But for now, I decide that I’m not going to be “Supermom”… I’m just going to be “Sonnet’s Mom.” And we’re going to play at the park. The dishes and the dust can wait... My baby won’t keep.

Gotta Love Utah!

We had a long weekend (thank you pioneers!) so we headed up to Beaver to see the grandparents. Beaver does a fun Pioneer Day celebration...Nate and Granny Janny ran the 5K race, we watched the parade, saw fireworks, and went to a quilt gathering (I totally want to learn how to sew!). We ate lots of yummy food, experienced some awesome rainstorms, rode motorcycles and horses, went shooting, and loved not being at work or in 110 degree weather. ha ha! :)

something to laugh about

I just discovered this blog...it's hilarious! You gotta check it out. She totally makes fun of all us mormon mommy bloggers. I love it! :) ha ha!

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Mom had a birthday!

Last Friday was my birthday! Nate and I went on a date for the first time since Sonnet was born! (I know, that’s sad, but I’ve just never really felt comfortable leaving her before). My parents came down to baby sit and Sonnet had a great time! She made them watch her new Baby Einstein DVD like 3 times. (She will actually sit still and watch it all the way through! We are still in shock because this girl won’t sit still for anything. She loves it and I love having 30 minutes of quiet time once in a while!) Anyways, Nate and I went to dinner (Café Rio) and then to see the new Batman movie (Christian Bale is babe and that voice of his-whew!) We liked it. AND Nate made me a cake (all by himself!). It was a really fun day!

And I got a new camera! I had a Kodak once upon a time that I loved (a cheap little thing that actually took great photos), but Sonnet’s bottle exploded on it. So then I got a Nikon and I hated it! So I was on a quest for a new one. My requirements were simple: around $200…small and user-friendly…take clear, vivid shots... not make everyone looked drugged or washed out when the flash was on…and be tricky enough to catch my little Tasmanian Devil as she runs past. :) So, I researched about 15 different models (there are soooo many digital camera’s out there)…I asked around and read tons of reviews online. I finally decided on the Canon Powershot SD750. It’s a slim point and shoot thing and it cost $199. It’s only 7.1MP (but it got better reviews than the ones that were higher) and it has a 3x zoom (Sonnet is usually in my face when I take her picture so the zoom didn’t matter to me). It has a big 3” LCD screen on the back. It came with a rechargeable ion battery (that’s nice!), the macro mode actually works, and I like the single color option (where you can make the photo black and white and just have one color (like a pink flower) stand out). Anyways, I don’t know much about photography, but so far this thing seems to meet all my needs. So, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a new camera anytime soon! :)

Also, I hung up some pictures in my front room (I call it a “shrine wall.”) I’m sure it will get larger as time goes on. It’s pretty fun to decorate for free (using stuff I find in the garage!) My next project is my office...


Some random shots:

Sonnet's eyes are actually OPEN in a picture:

Great hair! After she went down the slide! :)

The spaghetti monster!

Swimming in her pool to clean off:

A pretty flower:

The 30 Minute Rule

Since the day she was born, Sonnet has had this funny habit of waking up exactly 30 minutes after we put her down. In the beginning, she would wake up after 30 minutes of a nap and be happy as can be, totally refreshed for another few hours. (It made me crazy!) She wouldn't sleep longer than that no matter what we did! Thankfully, now that she's older and more active she wears herself out, and though she still makes some noises at the 30 minute mark, she will usually got back to sleep for a couple more hours. At night time, I use Sonnet as my "alarm." I put her to bed, she falls asleep, I go lay in my bed and read and when she starts yelling 30 minutes later, I turn my light off, wait for her to go back to sleep and then I hit the hay. I wonder why she does that? What a funny girl!

PS: We rented Penelope tonight. It's really cute! Plus, there's a Twilight Movie sneak peak on it. Go rent it! :)

Comment on a Camera...

My birthday is coming up in a week (25 thankyouverymuch) and I really want to get a new camera. I currently have a Nikon Coolpix and suffice it to say that I am not in love with it! I'm not great at taking pictures...I just want something that takes great shots without me having to do anything. I also want something affordable (like $250 or less). And since all I really do is take pictures of Sonnet, it would help if it could capture her without making her look drugged or blurry. :) So, anyone out there who has a camera that they really like, please comment and give me your input. Thanks!

Almost 14 months old!

Sonnet has turned into a little mountain climber. She's gotten just tall enough that now she can hike her knee up and climb onto just about anything... chairs, couches, the toilet! Funny how one little inch opens up a whole new world of dangers! :)

Here's the sweetie waking up from a nap:

She's saying that she's "THIS BIG" and she's showing her bottom teeth!


I redecorated Sonnet's room this week. Well, actually, I just sorta moved things around so technically I guess I only rearranged, but it was fun anyway. It looks like we're going to be staying in this place for a while (Nate got into paramedic school here- yay!), so I wanted to get a little more settled and get some of my decorations out of boxes! :) I don't have any "before" pictures of her room, so you can't tell that this is better, but it is. I finally put her cute light fixture back up, too! If I had my way, the walls would be pink, but you know rental property and all...


Anyways, we're all doing fine. Sonnet is growing so fast and she makes me laugh everyday! She's developed this new habit of laughing when we laugh. Even though she has no idea what's going on, she'll bust out with a little chuckle just to feel included. It's cute! Her new favorite word is "ouch." (add that to the list of: daddy, mom, baba, up, out, and yeah). She makes the "ch" sound pretty well! She walks around saying it all the time. She also calls Nate "dayee" (daddy) and it's the greatest little sound ever. She's decided that she really likes green beans (hallelujah!), so I'm feeling pretty happy that my child will actually eat a vegetable. She's still a great sleeper (especially on Friday nights when she has a sleepover in our room!) and she loves to play with her toys. Her favorite things are still splashing in the pool or at the splash pad and going for walks. We just let her walk all over the playground and pick up all the rocks and whatever else she can find. She throws a tiny tantrum when we make her come inside. ha ha! :) She's decided that she loves shoes (such a girl!)...she'll go pick some out of her basket (she can pick a matching pair too) and bring them over to me. She sticks her foot up and waits until I put them on her, even if we're not going anywhere. She loves to push buttons and she turns the TV, the radio, and the computer on and off. We've had to cover all the buttons with duct tape (looks ghetto, but hey) because she turned the computer off when Nate was in the middle of writing an essay (whoops)! She loves other little kids and she has fun going to the park or the playgroup. She actually tries to interact with the other kids, bringing them toys to play with or "talking" to them. She's always been very social and very independent. She doesn't seem to have any fear (which sometimes is a little scary). She knows where her nose and ears are (we're still working on other body parts). She can tell you how old she is (she sticks up one finger) and she blows kisses! Anyways, I'm sure there's lots more I could say about her, but that's it for now. (We're having a crazy good rainstorm and I'm afraid the power is going to go out so I better sign off). We're just so proud of our beautiful little thing and she gets more and more fun each day!

Sonnet's Second Cousin!

Introducing BARON VANCE PETERSEN! He was born Sunday 7/6/08 at 8:23AM. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long! We can't wait to meet him!