Move 2 of 3

Like I said before, we're in a state of transition. Matt's parents just bought a new house in town, and we moved with them.

I look forward to the day (February 24th!) 

that we no longer have to live out of boxes.

A Nursery At Last

We've been in a state of transition for a while now.

So here we are, almost in February, and Colin is still sharing a room with us. Fortunately, an end is in sight. We are set to close on a house on February 24th (more about that to come in a later post).

It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I even began to look at crib bedding. Not much of a point when there was no nursery.

My first two realizations:

• crib bedding is expensive. You're technically not supposed to use crib bumpers or the crib quilt, so why would you spend $200+ on a 4-piece set, half of which shouldn't be used? 
• most of it is ugly not my style 

I thought, "Well, I guess I'm willing to pay around $150," so I started researching and reading reviews when I realized something else.

• The cheaper the price, the cheaper the product (duh!) But I don't like sleeping on 200-thread count sheets, so why should I make my baby? Especially when I've already made him sleep in a pack 'n play for almost 4 months?

Here was my solution:

I found this 5-piece set on ebay for $60! The design is by Jenny McCarthy, whom I'm not a fan of since she has tried convincing the world childhood immunizations are bad, but I was willing to look past that for this cute bedding!

As for the quality issue, I'll be buying  a velour brown fitted crib sheet for $15.99 to switch out for the one that comes with the set. Thank you amazon! (and I do plan on using the bumpers even though it's not recommended...)

$75 for cute and comfortable? I'll take it! Wait, now I'm sounding like the commercial for Pajama Jeans...

I can't wait to start decorating his nursery! Or the rest of a house for that matter. I'll keep you posted when the time comes.

New 'Do

I've had the same haircut for probably the last 5 years. I grew my hair out and loved it because I had never really had long hair before, but after that many years with the same hair I knew it was time for a change.

My postpartum hair loss also played a big part because I was tired of having to clean out my brush every day. A grabby 3-month-old helped finalize my decision.


I included on my 101 in 1001 list getting "an adventurous haircut." So this was also helping me reach a goal! I considered this one adventurous because I had about 4 or 5 inches cut off, and I've never had an a-line cut before :)

I got it done on the very last day of my vacation (pretty pathetic it's taken me 2 weeks to blog about it, I know) and it was a surprise for Matt. I didn't tell him I did it, so he was a little shocked when he picked me up from the airport.

Have I built up the suspense enough?

Wishing I'd just get to the point?

Ready to see a picture?

Sorry...the picture is nothing special. It was taken using Matt's phone late one night specifically for the purpose of posting on this blog. Maybe some day soon I can get a better one taken, but at least now you've seen my new hair.

And in case you were wondering, I love it!

Oklahoma Snowstorm

Where I'm from snow isn't a big deal. In fact, it's not uncommon for it to stick around at least 7 months of the year. So when the weather forecast says "snow," it's not a big deal. In Oklahoma, none of this is the case.

On Wednesday, word got out that it was expected to snow that night and people went into panic mode. The grocery store was packed, people were stocking up on propane to run their heaters, and there was already the possibility of a snow day for the schools.

Thursday morning I woke up to this:

Maybe two inches of snow. I was slightly disappointed, but the locals were not. It was just what they were expecting. The administrators even canceled schools for two days. Snow plows are few and far between around here, so I guess I can understand the dilemma, but two snow days? Two? I never got to experience even one as a kid!

And on a side note, while we were watching our Thursday night shows on NBC last night, they were listing all of the schools to be closed on the bottom of the screen when I saw Oolagah-Talala Schools. I literally laughed out loud at that one.

We've been here almost 7 weeks, but I've only begun to learn what it means to be an Oklahoman...

Baby Colin Fun Facts

Our little boy is nearing the 4-month mark. It seems like every day he is discovering something new, and it is so fun to watch.

Right now, Colin...

• weighs about 13 pounds
• is still figuring out his hands
• will reach out and touch things in front of him
• grabs for his feet when he is laying on his back
• does not like tummy time
• breaks into a huge smile when he sees himself in a mirror
• will go from laying to a standing position when I pull on his hands
• loves when anyone makes noises at him
• can blow spit bubbles like nobody's business
• loves chewing on his thumbs and sucking on his wrists
• has started making a few noises of his own
• loves baths
• watches me when I eat
• refuses his pacifier if he is really upset
• has his first cold :(

Colin and I took a trip to Salt Lake and Portland this last weekend, and we were gone for about 6 days. We went on 4 flights in 6 days (maybe I should add "domestic traveler" to the list), and he did amazingly well on all but the last flight.

Here is my favorite Colin moment of the whole trip:

I love that baby! And that brother of mine too :)

A Star is Born (the Christmas Post)

Now that it's officially January, I figure I better post about Christmas before it gets any later.

Our Christmas festivities began after Thanksgiving when Colin was cast to play baby Jesus for our stake's live nativity. He cried a little, he smiled, he squirmed, he stared up towards the heavens with a peaceful look on his face. This kid is a natural--I think we have a real actor on our hands.

He also played baby Jesus for a little program at the elementary school where my MIL works. Afterward, a woman walked up to me and said how great it was he was able to do something like this that is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Yeah right! He got to do it twice :)

The whole cast of 3rd graders

Baby Jesus in the manger
(complete with "baby's 1st Christmas" outfit)

Colin also got to sit on Santa's lap twice (we don't do anything halfway). First at a Christmas party at the Weights' house, and again at our church Christmas party.

Matt told Santa we wanted a house with no mortgage for Christmas.
I can't figure out why he didn't deliver on that one...

And of course, Christmas Day. Colin generally doesn't get up for the day until 9 or 10, so we weren't planning on waking up very early to open presents. But when he woke up at 7:30, Matt claims Colin was too excited to go back to sleep, so we all got up then.

I can't believe this is the only picture we took (well, at least the only pose. We took a lot of pictures but he was moving in all of them...). This kid definitely had the most presents under the tree. Thanks for everyone who sent him one. He loved all of them!

Although a week late, we hope you all had a great Christmas. And now, more appropriately, a happy New Year!