10 Months or Should I Just Say "Old"?

From now on, when people ask me how old Meili is, I will say, "I stopped keeping track at double digits. She's just old now." That's how I feel. She's giant! But I will say, that every month I think she is my favorite so far, and it was no different this month. Even though sometimes I want to rip my hair out because she is all over the place all the time, it is so fun to see all the new things she has learned.We went to the Box Elder and Cache County Fairs this month, and this was the only picture we got. I liked the fairs more this year than I have in the past because it was fun to show Meili all the animals. Yet, still nothing compares with how excited she gets when she sees dogs.
Meili loves the stairs! She would be perfectly content climbing up them all day, and she has a new, very distinct cry for when we put a gate at the bottom of the stairs. She learned how to climb the stairs while I was running my relay, and now Josh is banned from being alone with her without me because he teaches her new things and she's getting too big too fast!

Just had to add this. Look at those beautiful eyes and eye lashes!

We've been trying to get a picture of her bear crawl, cause it's so funny, but this is the best we've got.

August was a good month for us. When we went to Meili's 9 month dr's appointment, I talked to the doctor about Meili's napping routine. I said, "Right now, to get her to take a nap, I have to swaddle her, and rock her to sleep." And I told him how we've tried crying it out, and other things, and it just wasn't working. The doctor looked at me and said, "Yeah, but can you imagine swaddling and rocking an eighteen month old?" I know, exactly what I was worried about. So the doctor said that we had to let her cry it out. He said, "Pick the 2 hours that she is going to take a nap, and make sure she's showing signs that she's tired. Then read to her or listen to music, to settle her down, and then let her cry. And if she cries for 2 hours, that's her choice." Ugh. I felt awful, and I definitely hoped that she would not choose to cry for 2 hours. But I was determined, and set out again to fix her napping routine. I have been really consistent. The first nap, she cried for like 45 minutes, but ever since then, it is usually less than 15 minutes. (Even though she still does cry, and it still breaks my heart everytime.) But it has made life in our house much happier. Even the babysitter said how much she loves it.

The other REALLY, extra good news...We scheduled an appointment with an eye doctor to look at Meili's tear duct. Our pediatrician explained that they would probably put a little balloon at the bottom of her duct, and then just inflate it a little, and normally that fixes the problem. He said some people have to get tubes put in. So at the beginning of August, we scheduled the appt. for August 31st. Then she never had a problem with her tear duct. So we cancelled the appt. I hope that it's fixed itself, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

One last tid bit of information, not related to Meili. We also had a family reunion this month with my mom's family in Oxford, Idaho. It was really fun to be all together again, and see how everyone's family has changed (because we don't see each other as often as we used to.) I didn't take any pictures, but I wanted to at least remember that it happened.

Get Up On Again It!!!...Again! Would 'Ya?

Yeah, don't ask me about that title. That was something that someone on my team came up with and thought it should be our slogan. But not a single one of us could get it right, and it just kept getting longer as we went.

Mel, Skyler, Annie, Marcos, Adam, Ike, Jenna, Colleen, Jaci, Kira, and ME

On August 12th and 13th, I did the Epic Cache-Teton Relay, which is very similar to the Ragnar except we ran from Smithfield to Jackson instead of Logan to Park City.
What can I say? I just love Relays! I said after this one that if this was the only reason I ran, it would be worth it.

This picture is our whole team in Preston. Half the team had already finished their first legs, and our van was getting ready to go. (Yeah, I look super ready to run, right?)

Yeah, after 2 days of consistent sweat, Annie didn't know quite what to do with her hair.

Yea! for the only picture I have of Ike!

Somehow we convinced Skyler to wear my pink shorts because he had the last leg of our team into the finish line. I think he might love them, wouldn't you say?

We realized we hadn't taken any pictures, so we made up for it in a matter of about 5 minutes.

Annie and I

Annie and Skyler

Skyler and Mel

Here are a few of the funny moments that happened probably as a result of no sleep, dehydration, and inadequate nutrition...

-After the first time we tried to sleep, we were all comparing notes on how many hours (or minutes) of sleep we were able to get, Annie said, "My zipping bag wouldn't sleep up!" And when we all questioned her about it, she looked at us totally seriously as if to say, "Yeah, it wouldn't!" She didn't even realize what she had said.

-Skyler pretty much got the raw end of the deal in our van. He was the last runner, so by the time it came his turn, we were all tired, and ready to sleep or eat. He was always very nice to us, and brought us water during our legs, he offered to run miles for us, etc. etc. So we were talking about how nice he was and that he was like the team cheerleader/mascot. He said, "Yeah, I'm here for you guys. I'll do whatever I can to support you. Even you Ike." (It was just funny that he felt like he needed to clarify that.

-On that same note, we were joking about how sad it was that he was always so helpful, and there were times that we were asleep in the car when he ran by, and we never had his water ready etc. So we were totally kidding, and said that it would be funny if rather than get out of the car to give him water, if we just ran by and threw his water at him. Well, we took it a little too far. As we were driving past him, Ike slowed down, we rolled down the window, I yelled, "We're supporting you!" and Annie chucked a water bottle at him. The poor kid was so happy to finally get water that he went chasing it down the road. We decided to be nicer from then on. :)

-There were so many funny moments. It felt like we were laughing the whole time. But that's all I remember a month later.

So this is where I ramble on about details of the race that nobody but me cares about. So feel free to skip ahead.

My first leg was 4.7 miles-sounds simple enough? Uh...no. I ran at about 2:00 in the afternoon in August, on a highway in-I don't know where Idaho, straight uphill for about 3 miles straight, where the only scenery was sage brush and the I could feel the sun beating down on my back. That was tough, but at least I got it out of the way. (That's why I say Ike was our MVP, he ran 12 miles in the exact same conditions, and he killed it!) I think our van was done with all our legs at like 7 or 8 or 9... who knows. We stopped and got Subway, and tried to get a little sleep under the stars in a random parking lot-also in I don't know Idaho. Actually, come to think of it, the Subway may have been in Soda Springs. Shout out to Hope!! :)

My next run was at about 3:00 in the morning and it was 7.5 miles. I had mixed feelings about running in the pitch dark. But, that was by far my favorite run, and went by the fastest even though it was the longest. But my mind was kind of playing tricks with me. I kept thinking that I heard something behind me but it was really the echo of my own feet. And I thought every single thing I saw was a bear. Whether it was a cow, or a bush, or a rock-to me, at 3:00 in the morning, it was a bear. I even thought to myself, "What would I do if I saw a bear? I obviously couldn't hide because my stink at this point would carry at least 20 miles. I can't run away, because I'm obviously exhausted. And no one would ever hear me scream, so I guess I'll just let him have his way." Luckily, my team was keeping a very close eye on me. In fact, they would pull off to the side of the road ahead of me, and then when they saw me coming, they would turn their head lights on-which also scared the you-know-what out of me! Luckily the last mile and a half or so of that run was downhill-and I have never loved a downhill so much in my life.

After our van's legs were done, we drove into Jackson and got breakfast at McDonald's. I just have to tell you a little story... My last leg was so cold, that for hours after I felt like I couldn't get warm. So I had black tights and a white turtle neck on for my run. Then I put purple capri sweats, and an orange t-shirt over that. I was still cold so I put on a white jacket and wrapped myself in a green blanket. I didn't understand why everyone at the McDonald's was steering clear of me until I went into the bathroom. Oh, how I wish I had a picture. I have worn some embarrassing things in my life but that may have been the worst, and add that to the fact that I had matted hair from my head lamp, and I stunk (for at least 20 miles.) I'm sure that even homeless people would not have taken me in!!! Ha Ha!

Then we found another parking lot that we tried to get a little more sleep. I was so tired that I didn't care that bugs were crawling on me and in my sleeping bag. It was all worth it for the hour of sleep that I got.

My last run was 2.9 miles. But I tried not to think of it that way, because I knew that I was going to overlook it. And I did. I was seriously tired by then. I ran at about 2:00 in the afternoon and it was pretty flat, and shaded, but it was still tough. BUT I MADE IT!!

We all ran in at the finish line, and it was great!

Skyler, who made up our "team motto" also, every once in awhile would just look out the window and say, "Guys, we're really doin it!" I loved that, because that's how I feel about running sometimes. I hate it in the moment, and I wonder why I do it to myself. But every once in awhile I have to remind myself where I came from and that this was a goal of mine for so long, and now "I'm really doin it!"

Oh My Oh My Oh NINE MONTHS OLD!

Nine months old seemed like another biggie to me. Every time Meili grows into new sets of clothes, I just can't believe that she's already so big. (Granted, she still fits in some of her 0-3 month stuff,) but she just seems like she's gotten so big overnight. It seems like she learns something new every week.

One week she started pulling herself from laying down to sitting, and then all of a sudden she was pulling herself up on everything. She also tries to climb on everything. Even if she is already at the top of the back of the couch, she is still determined to climb more.

She is now crawling for real. Luckily, she's still not super fast, and she takes a lot of breaks, so I can still keep an eye on her most of the time.

And we've started feeding her pretty much everything we eat (except the forbidden foods of course.)

So, onto the pictures... I'm sure someday Meili will meet a boy that she will fall desperately in love with, but for right now there is only one love in her life. And no other person or toy or food can get in the way of that love...

The computer. Every time either Josh or I try to get on the computer, Meili looks at us with a big smile on her face like, "Oh is that for me?" And then it's no holding her back after that. She is determined. This particular instance, Josh's face was the only obstacle in her way, and it didn't even slow her down. She has learned how to do some things that even Josh and I didn't know our computer did, and somehow she renamed our hard drive to "nn g fmmuim." I think it works!

Meili also went to her first parade. The Pioneer Day parade in Bountiful. Me, being the first time mother that I am, I was worried that she would be super tired, or the sirens would bother her, or she would get burned, or be super hot. But it went pretty well. There was so much to entertain her, that I didn't even really think about it. As you can see from the picture, she was super hot, but she didn't seem to mind.
As for stats for nine months:

She weighs 15.94 lbs. (How depressing...I thought for sure she would be 17 or 18, and even though she's basically 16 lbs, just hearing that 15 made me feel like a failure as a mother. And, don't you worry, Josh made sure to tell me that we're not feeding her enough.) She's in the 7th percentile for her weight, but the doctor said that he's not worried about it, because most kids slim down at this age, she's still really active, and she's sleeping through the night, so she's obviously getting enough nutrition.

And she is 28 1/2 inches tall which is the 80th percentile-so her height has slowed down a little.

8 Month Pictures

I'm still hoping to be able to take good enough pictures that I don't need to take Meili to JC Penney ever again. So, for her 8 month pictures, Josh and I took our first crack at it. We learned a few things. Number one, after two outfits and two locations, Meili is done.

Exhibit A. This was the last outfit, and I just wanted one decent picture. Meili, on the other hand, refused to take one non-crying picture without the shoe. Lesson learned. Still cute outfit and ponytail.

I'm so bummed about this one, because I think it's sooo cute, but it's blurry. Another thing we're working on.

We also learned that Meili is easily distracted by woodchips.

This is my favorite!

It's easier with such a cute model, huh?

Well we learned some lessons, but for our first attempt, I'm happy.

As for updates at eight months...

-I don't know whether to say Meili is crawling yet or not. Yes, she army crawls and can get where ever she wants, but she's not on her knees and she drags her belly. Does that count? It has been super fun though, because when I leave the room, pretty soon she's at the bottom of the stairs or down the hall trying to follow me. Time to start baby proofing!

-Meili is really good about eating "real" food now, which I am also really excited about. I don't know what happened, one day, she was just okay with everything.

-We have been saying for a couple months that Meili is teething, but really, I have no idea. Maybe she's just grumpy, or maybe they'll pop up one day, but nothing so far.

5 Years 4 Days 2 hours...

For our 5 year wedding anniversary, Josh and I took a weekend trip to Park City. It was the perfect getaway because we just did a lot of relaxing which we both needed desperately. My parents were kind enough to watch Meili on Friday night and meet us for lunch in Park City on Saturday. We had never both been away from Meili overnight, and she had a total of 5 different babysitters last week, so I was really nervous about how she would handle it. Luckily, my mom and dad said she was perfect (their words not mine.) My dad even commented to my mom that he wasn't sure if Meili knows how to cry. Well, I think most of can attest that she definitely does know how, but nevertheless, I was glad it went so well. She was also awesome for Josh and I. I wasn't sure how she would do with naps, and sleeping through the night etc, and I'm happy to say she slept great both nights, and took all her regular naps (which meant Josh and I also took all her regular naps. Two naps a day is WONDERFUL!!)

This is Good Thymes where we went for lunch one day.

And we took Meili swimming for her first time, and took A LOT of pictures, because she is just so cute!

I would like to point out that her hair never got wet, so if you notice that it looks wet in the pictures, that's because Josh greased her head up with so much sunscreen that it took two washes to get it out.

We got her a little boat to float around in, and I was so glad that we did because it kept her shaded.

This face doesn't show it, but she really did like swimming.

If Meili could talk, she would say, "Would someone fetch me a refreshing beverage?"

So cute!

As I said, lots of pictures, and that's only like half of them!

This next picture is to show Meili's first ever pony tail. I think my parents played some kind of trick on us, because they had her for less than 24 hours, but I swear, she grew up so much!!! Maybe it was the pony tail.

And to commemorate our first 5 years, I included some pictures of some of the highlights. They would have been better, but I hate BLOGGER!!!

Our wedding. June 24, 2006

We went to my friend's wedding in December of '06. I had to include this picture because the San Diego temple is where Josh actually wanted to get married.

Our cruise in December of 2007.

New York in 2008.

Cruise in 2009.

Many basketball games and football games over the years.

Park City in 2011.

And the years just keep getting better and better!!! Here's to the next 5!

Father's Day

Because I've spent the last 3 years of my life teaching parents how to parent, sometimes I feel I have the upper hand on that in mine and Josh's relationship. But the truth is, just like with so many other things in his life, when it comes to being a dad, Josh is a natural. For Mother's Day in our ward, the Primary presidency asked the kids to make a card for their moms. As I fed Meili, I watched what happened. Around the outside of the room, all the other teachers started chatting with one another, the presidency hurriedly tried to get things done before the next group came in. There, in the middle of the room, Josh was sprawled out on the floor, showing the kids how to make their cards and talking to them about the colors they were choosing. Eventually the kids, one by one, waited to show Josh their creation. As I was sitting there, one of the teachers came to me and whispered, "I'm sure you already know this, but he is the most marvelous man. He is so good with the kids-so patient, and they just love him. You chose well." I just smiled and agreed because I do already know that, but it's still nice to have a reminder every once in awhile.

Since this is Josh's first year being a full-blown dad, and Meili couldn't be reached for comment at this time (nap time), I thought that I would write Josh a little note on her behalf. I think this is what she would say if she could...

I love you Daddy,

I love that you buy me crazy hats, and dress me in weird outfits, but I know that nothing in the world makes you prouder.

I love that you feed me bananas mixed with peas, so that hopefully someday I will hate bananas like you.

I love that sometimes you let me take naps on your lap instead of always in my crib like mommy.

I love that when you talk to me you get so excited and talk in such a high pitch that only dogs can hear.

I love that you take me to play with the puppies because mommy is too afraid.

I love that you can't help but brag about me to all your friends.

I love that I know just how much you love me because I make you smile bigger than anyone else.

Happy Father's Day Daddy to my best Daddy in the whole world!

Love, Bubba

7 months

After my last experience at JC Penney, I decided on just working on taking my own pictures. This picture is not my best work, and I definitely shouldn't use a wrinkly sheet next time, but I took so few pictures this month that I just had to include it.

Oh, and apparently Josh added a little effect to this one without me noticing.

But we had to get Meili with her favorite toys in the world. Cell phones and remotes.

Josh's friend Jonny, who is currently in the military serving in Korea, sent a little outfit for Meili awhile ago. It's still a little big and this picture is so blurry, but it's so cute!! (Apparently along with a less wrinkly sheet, I need a less wiggly baby :) Good luck with that I guess!) I realize that the shoes are too big. All her shoes are too big. She just has tiny feet.

Thumbs up to Jonny!

New milestones-
-Meili's little personality is showing more and more everyday. She knows what she wants and doesn't want, and is pretty determined to get her way whatever it is. Already, at 7 months! Yikes!

-As anticipated, Meili still isn't crawling yet, but she is getting closer and closer. When she REALLY wants something (which is basically all the time) she does this little army crawl when she just rocks her body back and forth, until she inches toward whatever it is.

-I've tried and tried but she is not on board for solid food yet. She does really well eating baby food, but anything that has a texture or taste she is not into. We've tried Gerber crackers and yogurt bites, bread, crepes, potatoes, rice, mandarin oranges, strawberries, watermelon, raspberries, peas, etc. etc. and she just won't have it. She likes sucking on carrots, sugar snap peas, and cucumbers though. So we'll keep working at it, because I am definitely ready to move on from baby food.

-She scrunches her nose and squints her eyes when she smiles now, and has just learned how to kind of snort like a pig.

-Josh has been working with her on saying Ma Ma and Da Da, but instead she learned Na Na and is very proud of herself.

-Recently she has become a mama's girl, which makes me happy sometimes, but makes life a little harder most of the time. It's especially bad right when I get home from work. She is so excited to see me, but I usually run upstairs to change my clothes, go to the bathroom, or wash my hands, and she just starts crying. One day she actually started crying the moment I walked in the door-like she was so excited that she just didn't know what to do. What can I say? She's my little girl-crying for no reason at all!

Since I didn't update her stats last month... At her six-month check up, she weighed 14 1/2 lbs. and was 27 1/2 inches long. She is in the 97th percentile for her height, and the 20th for her weight. Just keeps getting taller and skinnier-but I promise it's not because we don't feed her, it's all the reaching that makes her tall, and the wiggling that makes her skinny!