I Have Pictures of Dark People

This is Tate's new bubble-blowing face

Well, yesterday was another hot day.  Actually, this whole week is supposed to be a little bit above 100 degrees.  But I can't complain, because in Arizona it was 120 degrees.

Yesterday morning, Josh got a message on Facebook from his cousin Joey telling him he was going to have a booth in the farmers market at Pioneer Park.  He told Josh, "I have pictures of dark people," so of course we couldn't resist.  It was really fun.

The park just got renovated and a splash pad was put in, and every Saturday they host a farmers market.  They have food, clothes, produce, artwork, people playing music, jewelry...it's really fun.  So Josh, Tate, and I made our way over the Joey's booth.  Josh's cousins were there so we talked with them for a while.

I had jogged around the park during the farmers market the week before and I saw a booth with really cute baby girl clothes.  Josh's brother and his brother's wife (Nathan and Sarah) are having a baby girl in November.  So while we were there yesterday, we stopped over at that booth.  We found the cutest skirt!  Nathan and Sarah like to match the color schemes of their outfits on Sunday and I think this skirt will fit right in.  We didn't have any money on us, so we asked them to hold it for us and Josh went back later and bought it.  We eventually had to leave cause Tate was ready for a nap.

We spent the afternoon at Josh's family's house.  It was so nice and cool.  We listened to music and read and ate dinner.  Tate slept okay.  I think he is going through a growth spurt because last night he went to sleep at 7 and woke up to eat at 9, 12, 1:45. 4, 6, and finally we were up and ready for the day this morning around 6:40.  It was a long night.  I read online that some babies have a growth spurt right before they reach 5 months, which makes sense for Tate.

Tate was really perfecting his bubble-blowing skills last night.  Except he sucks in his bottom lip and then tries to blow the bubbles.  It is so funny.  He was doing it for a long time yesterday.  When he does it, he builds up a reservoir of spit under his chin, which eventually drips down onto the person holding him.  He was talking a ton and also shoving his entire fist into his mouth, and sometimes both talking and shoving his fist into his mouth at the same time.

Today at Church he did great!  He ate well, played well, talked a ton, and eventually fell asleep well.  During Sunday School he was talking really loud and was showing everyone how he can blow bubbles.  It was a great day.

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We've Got a Pretty Good Balance

It is so hot.  Our apartment is too close to 90 degrees all day long.  Luckily, we have an AC unit in our room, so Tate can nap somewhere that doesn't feel like the Sahara Desert.  But me, I am doomed to sweat all day long.

So what do we do to escape the heat?  You guessed it.  We go to the park and sit in the shade.  Tate loves looking at the leaves, I love not being in our apartment, so it works.  Today we went to the park and a little boy was walking by with his family and as he passed he said, "look at the baby" and pointed at Tate.  I think he was pointing out Tate's extremely fashionable outfit.  His hat is so trendy.  Or kind of dorky, in a cute way.  I like it cause it shades his face...and makes his eyes pop.

We factimed with my parents today.  Tate was performing his baby skills very well.  He was grabbing his monkey, smiling, holding himself up on his tummy, and talked (but only a little).  Actually, he was pretty quiet until we put him on his tummy.  Then he was whining a ton.  It really does sound like he is complaining or at least letting us know he is not happy with the situation.  He has a new obstacle in his tummy time...his right arm gets stuck behind him and he hasn't figured out how to bring it forward so its close to his chest.
Tate and I were jamming out to phil collins, u2, and coldplay today.  When a coldplay song came on, Tate smiled and started to talk.  I think it's because he recognizes the song, because when Tate was younger and would cry for hours on end, Josh and I would play coldplay.  So it probably reminded him of the not-so-good old days.  Okay they really were good days...just not all the time.

Tate loves when Josh comes home.  He looks at him and smiles and follows Josh (with his eyes)
everywhere he goes.  I think a small reason is because it is finally a new face, but mostly it's because Tate loves Josh.  I really understand how the best environment is with a husband and wife.  Guys and girls provide different kinds of love and nurturing, and kids need both.  I've never really understood that until we had Tate.  If it were just me, Tate would grow up wrapped in bubble-wrap and a helmet so that he would never get hurt.  If it were Josh, Tate would know how to do a backflip by his first birthday.  So we have a pretty good balance at our house.

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A Year Should Be 10 Months Anyway

 

Jogging has been frustrating lately.  I have been so up and down.  Last week I was breezing through miles and this week I take 10 steps and want to sit down.  At first, I thought it was because I was running with Tate and he has gotten heavier, but this morning I ran solo and it was just as hard and just as slow.  I still love running, but I really love it when it feels natural and goes fast.  We'll see how next week treats me.

Tate rolled over twice from his back to his stomach today!  But his arm gets stuck underneath him, so he quickly rolls back over.  He has been happy today, but has not wanted to go to sleep.  I think he is starting to realize he might be missing out on things when he is in his crib.  And he has great control with his hands, which makes feeding him with a bottle difficult.  Yesterday we let him hold his bottle and he instinctively put it straight to his mouth.  Then he realized milk was coming out of it and quickly spit it out.   Then he did it again and spit it out and did it again.  Then he was holding it above his head and squeezed the top and milk squirted him in the face.  We laughed and then comforted him.

Tate loves his baths.  He is starting to splash his hands and feet (mostly his feet).  I have a bottle that I use to pour water over him.  Sometimes he will try to hold it while I am pouring the water.  He likes to feel the water pour from the top of his head down his back.  It makes him smile.              
                                         

       

Today I had my hair in a braid and Tate kept grabbing for it.  Well, first he stared at it for a long time, then he started grabbing for it.  Eventually I let him get it, bracing myself for a hard tug.  But instead, he  played with the bottom of the braid in between his fingers.  He would grab it, but then let it fall through his hand or fingers.  It was so cute.

We've decided to wait a little while before we start the solids again.  We tried again today, and Tate didn't understand the concept.  So we are going to wait a week or two and then try.

Tate will be 5 months old next week! Which, as Josh says, "that's half a year...well no
it's not, but a year should be 10 months anyway."

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Another Eventful Day

I love how focused Tate is in this picture

I think every day seems eventful lately.  Tate is discovering and doing new things every day.  It is so crazy to think that he is the same baby from 4 months ago, when we would celebrate if he opened his eyes.  Before, only people that spent a lot of time with him got to see his eyes, now everyone does!  I remember my friend gave me some toys and baby utensils and bowls when I had Tate.  I seriously thought I would never use them.  Now Tate plays with toys every day...and today he used his utensils!

That's right.  Today he got his first taste of solid food.  That's not really super accurate, because the "solids" were just rice cereal mixed in milk.  So it was just grainy milk and was not at all solid.  But Tate learned how the spoon works.  He was doing such a good job at the end.  Josh held him and I was feeding him.  I would say "ah" and open my mouth as I brought the spoon to his mouth.  By the end he would actually open his mouth!  Then once the "solids" were in his mouth, he would kind of swallow, mostly push it out of his mouth.  But it was progress!  Josh and I were getting really excited and Tate liked all the attention.  

Today Tate and I went to the park...twice.  I know Utah isn't the hottest place in the world and lots of people don't have air conditioning, but being in this apartment at 85 degrees + was messing with my mind.  Our second trip to the park was so funny!  I put Tate on his stomach on the grass (usually we are on a blanket).  He seemed a little confused at first, but started to be okay with it.  Then he went to put his head down and felt the grass on his face.  His head bolted up and he looked pretty confused.  A long blade of grass was sticking up and it started to tickle his lips a little.  So Tate licked it.  Then Tate lowered his head and started licking the grass!  Every time his face got close to the grass after that, he would start licking it!  I was laughing so hard.  I could've watched it for hours, but a bee came near us.  So of course, I picked up Tate and ran for it.  I thought of Brian Reagan when he talks about how silly people look when a bee is chasing them or they walk into a spider web.  That was me today.                                                                  

Tate is getting really good being on his stomach.  Tummy time has been a struggle for us, because he really does not like being on his stomach.  But I think he likes it more now because he can lift up his head and look around.  Sometimes he'll have his head down and then look up at me and give me a huge melt-your-heart smile.  It is so cute!  And his checks kind of hang down when he is on his stomach, which makes him look even cuter.  

Tate laughed a lot today.  He is starting to laugh when we do things now, not just when we tickle him.  I love his little laugh.  He can be so happy, I love it!

Josh's family left for Europe today.  It is crazy because when they get back, Tate will be 6 months old!  He will be a totally different baby.

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Shots, Falls, and Smiths Grocery Store

Cameron at the Church Broadcast on Sunday

Cameron's picture doesn't really have anything to do with what I am going to write, but I thought it was awesome that he was shown on camera.  For those of you who don't know, my brother Cameron is serving a mission for our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or "Mormon" Church).  He is going to Cape Verde off the west coast of Africa.  He just flew there yesterday and is probably there now!  He is going to be teaching people about The Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If you are interested in learning more about what I believe, visit mormon.org.  I am also putting up a profile on mormon.org and I'll post that link once it's ready.

Yesterday was eventful!  Well, eventful with a baby is much different than eventful without a baby.  Tate had his 4 month check up, even though he is closer to 5 months.  He got weighed and measured, and he weighs 16 lb 11 oz and is 26 inches long, and his head is normal (that's the most uneventful stat).  But he is in the 75 percentile.  So that's good!  He has eczema on his back, and I had eczema when I was younger on the back of my legs.  But we put some cream on it (the free creams and lotions as nacho libre would say) and it already looks better.  Then he got his immunization shots. It is so cruel, because they start out with one that he is just supposed to swallow and Tate has liked it both times he has gotten it.  So it's all nice and he loves eating whatever they're giving him, and then they give him three shots in his legs. He cried really hard.  It's so sad, because his face gets really scrunched up and red.  He actually did a good job afterwards and was able to calm down and he was great until a few hours later when he started to cry (which happened last time), so we gave him some medicine the doctor said to give and he was fine.  And this morning he was happy!  So it ended well and hopefully he's already forgotten all about it.

Josh also had a painful experience last night.  We have a doorway that connects our front room to our kitchen, and Josh will grab onto the top of it and lift himself up and swing his legs forward to get to the other room.  So last night we were joking about something and Josh was being weird and he lifted himself up super high and went to swing himself to the next room...and the next thing I knew he was on the ground.  His hands had slipped and he fell really hard onto his back.  Usually when Josh gets hurt he laughs, which is totally weird.  But he was kinda slow getting up and he was not laughing.  In fact, he was hunched over not making any noise.  And I was trying to hold back laughs, until I saw that.  He just started walking around the room and he was still not laughing.  Once I saw him walk around I felt a little better and eventually I started laughing and he started laughing.  He cut his hand, and hit his elbow on the way down, and landed really hard on his hip/back. He got the wind knocked out of him, and he couldn't breath for a while, which is why he wasn't laughing. So we took it easy last night and sat on the couch.  But every few minutes I would just start laughing super hard, because it was so funny.  But it was scary at the same time cause he could have hit his head and really gotten hurt.  Josh was laughing too and we talked about it multiple times throughout the night.

Our third and final big event from last night happened at Smiths Grocery store.  I was waiting by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Tate.  We had actually just spilt salsa that we had bought and I was standing next to the spill.  A man in a suit walked up and almost stepped in the salsa but dodged it and went to the pharmacist and asked her a question.  As he walked by I thought, that looks a lot like Elder Ballard (he is a leader in our Church).  I turned and looked a Josh who was looking at me like he was thinking the same thing.  Then I heard his voice and it was definitely him.  Josh and I were surprised at how short he is, because during General Conference (a big meeting where Church leaders speak and we all get to listen!) everyone looks the same height.  So Josh and I saw Elder Ballard, who was buying something on Aisle 4.  And as we left, a woman got on the intercom and started saying "attention Smiths shoppers, at the front of the store we have..." and I swear I thought she was going to say that Elder Ballard was up there giving handshakes, but she ended up talking about rotisserie chicken.  So that was kind of disappointing.

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I Think Our Baby is a Ninja

Yes, you read correctly.  I think Tate might be a ninja.  Then again, if he was I would never know.  This morning I put him in his crib for his nap (I am trying to stop saying that I am "putting Tate down" or "putting him to sleep," because it sounds a bit morbid).  We put him in the same spot every time - in the upper left hand corner at an angle.  So, Tate is starting to wiggle around places (not intentionally or with any real purpose) and in the past I have found him turned a different direction, or something like that.  But this morning was the best baby ninja wiggling he was done so far.  First, he completely kicked out of my swaddling job (that's the green monkey blanket).  Second, his head is facing the opposite direction.  Third, he is on the totally opposite side of the crib!

Needless to say, Josh and I are very proud.  It is a bit startling to go in and have him in a totally different spot.  But if he's comfortable and will sleep longer, than good for him.

This morning before his nap, Tate was playing on his blanket and I wanted to get a picture of him.  I was taking some pictures, and then I decided to lay down next to him and take a picture of him on my phone where you can see yourself on the screen as you take the picture.  So I did that so Tate could see himself.  And this is the reaction I got from him as he saw himself on my phone...

You may think I just reposted the same picture, but no.  He held that same expression the entire time.

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Either I'm Getting Weaker, Or Tate's Getting Bigger

This week has been interesting.  Tate has done such an awesome job (for the most part) sleeping during the night (which means only waking up two or three times) that I have gotten more sleep than I have in a long time.  But, of course, I am so tired when I wake up and end up taking one (or two or three) naps.  Which is why I haven't blogged anything for a few days.  My mental debate is between blogging or napping.  I usually fall asleep as I try to decide.

This week I have started to realize just how big Tate has gotten.  That realization came as I went to pick him up in his car seat...and it felt like Tate had five pound weights attached to his ankles and wrists.  He was so heavy!  I was walking with him in the carrier and my body was tilted at an almost perfect 90 degrees to balance his weight.  Needless to say I need to get back into some type of resistance training.  Let's just say, as a wise sponge once said..."This whole working out thing isn't working out."

Which isn't entirely true.  Jogging with Tate is way more enjoyable than I thought it would be.  One of my coaches at BYU gave me her old jogging stroller and it's awesome!  I don't know if Tate really likes it, but he doesn't cry so I guess that's saying something. And it seems like the citizens of Provo appreciate me bringing Tate along.  One time I was jogging with Tate, waiting to cross the street and a random Asian man came up and squeezed and shook Tate foot.  Then he walked away (in true ninja fashion).  Another time Josh and I were jogging with Tate and we passed a couple and as we jogged away the girl called out "You're baby is cute!"  And just the other day I was jogging with him and a grown man gave Tate a little wave and a smile.   I have tried to do resistance workouts.  If you've heard of crossfit, I am trying to do their At-Home workouts.  I have to do them outside on our front porch/lawn, since we have people living below, above, and next to us.  But, being outside is a little awkward.  Cars driving by and people walking in front of our house usually give me some weird stairs.  My next door neighbor Laurel came outside of her apartment one morning while I was doing burpees.  She was kind and looked past my awkward amount of sweat that was dripping from my face and said "Good job with your burpees!"

Tate rolled over from his back to his front this week!  He only does it when we are trying to feed him a bottle and he is trying to stop us.  So it's hard because I get frustrated that he is avoiding being fed, but at the same time it's awesome that he just rolled over!  So I end up just being happy.  In fact, the first time he did it I didn't realize it.  I was trying to feed him and I stopped and actually realized he was on his stomach.

Tate is also laughing a lot more.  We can tickle him and he will laugh.  But it usually only works a few times, and then we have to find a new tickle spot.  Tate loves spitting up on Josh.  I rarely get spit up on and I am with him all day.  And Josh can come home from work and 10 minutes later he gets spit up on.  One day at Church, Josh was holding Tate and he really spit up on him.  It was a ton, all over his pants.  I opened my water bottle and tried to get a rag wet, but spilled a lot of water all over my dress.  So Josh and I both looked like we had had little accidents.  And of course that was the Sunday we got trapped in the middle of our pew with multiple couples on each side blocking us from our escape.  We have learned that we have to have an aisle seat.

Here are some pictures of Tate over the past 4 1/2 months.

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