Problem Solving 101

Problem Number 1: Blake does not roll over onto his back once he is on his tummy. I realize that there are much worse and more serious problems that exist with many babies. However, for us, it really has been a struggle for the past couple of months. Blake immediately rolls onto his tummy whenever he is put into his crib, gets tired and mad, and forgets that he can roll back over. He has trouble falling asleep and staying asleep because of his rolling difficulties. Every baby has their "thing" and this has been Blake's.

Solution: I taught him how to do it (or at least I like to take the credit). I practiced with him all week by rolling him with a blanket. I pulled up the edge which made him roll by himself. He actually thought it was a fun game, and today, all of that rolling practice proved to be very worthwhile! He has been rolling in both directions continuously. Every time I have gotten him up from a nap, instead of the mad, exhausted grunts of struggle that he usually exhibits on his tummy, he has been happily laying on his back with a smile. Hooray Triumphant Blake!

Problem Number 2: We have an apartment lease that we are trying to get out of early because we are moving.

Solution: I posted it on Craigslist today. Apparently married housing is a hot commodity because within 2 hours of my posting, I received 41 phone calls, 3 people looked at it, a deposit was made and a contract was signed. It was CRAZY! Everytime I had a break in between phone calls to check my voice mail, I had 7 or 8 new messages. I had to stop answering my phone and change my voice mail to say the apartment had been rented. I had no idea it would be snatched up so fast! It's no beauty by any means, but married housing is so hard to find that people from out of state were even making commitments to put a deposit down today. We're just glad it is off our shoulders. Blake is also glad that he gets his mommy back from phone call mania. Until packing mania begins...

Problem Number 3: Blake is very ticklish.

Solution: Make a video of his giggling and share it with all of you.

7 Months on 7/7

...and busier than ever.

Happy 4th of July

Since I was a little girl, the 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday.

It was a big deal in my hometown in Michigan.

We woke up early to line up for the big parade that went down the main street of our town. I was usually dressed up as a character of whichever community theater play I was in. The best year was when I played the part of the fiddler from Fiddler on the Roof, and as I was waving from the float, one child shouted, "Look, mom, he's a girl!" When I got older, I performed stunts and gymnastics with my cheerleading team in the parade and did back-handsprings down the hard gravel of Wilson Ave. 

Then there was the art fair, three on three basketball tournaments, and the penny carnival that I worked at to save money for camp. There were elephant ears, hot air balloons, and concerts. Sometimes my family did a matinee community theater performance. We always topped off the afternoon with a big American barbecue with my cousins, aunts, and uncles and took a quick dip in the pool.

Finally, we covered ourselves in bug spray in an attempt to avoid the mosquitoes, and caught fireflies on our walk to watch the town fireworks. We sat right under the barn where they launched the fireworks, ooo-ing and aaah-ing over the lit up sky. There was something so special about our whole town being out that day and seeing so many familiar faces.

I hope that our children will one day be able to experience the magic of freedom and festivities.

Unfortunately, my husband is a little bit of a holiday killer. Little bit is probably an understatement. He hates parades, fairs, and fireworks (don't even get me started on Christmas). I had to coerce him for a half an hour to get him to watch the fireworks with me. I raved about how romantic it would be, and how we could talk and hold hands. However, it was finally his mom that gave him the ultimate guilt trip to convince him to go. I am hoping he will catch the spirit in future years. Because my love for the 4th of July is not going away.

House Hunt

Well, it's official. We made an offer on a house over the weekend and it was accepted. We are so excited. We absolutely love the house and think it will be a perfect fit for our family. We have been looking at houses since last November, and seriously looking this whole month. We've looked at around 75 homes, and are thrilled to have finally made a decision. We actually were pretty interested in another home just last week, but neither of us felt completely settled about it.

The home that we are buying now was only on the market one day before we saw it, and we moved quickly! We just happened to find it at the right time, and we knew it was the right home the minute we stepped inside. We thought we would check out the ward before making an offer, but on Saturday morning Troy and I woke up feeling so good about it that we didn't want to wait. Our realtor didn't think it would last through the week and he was probably right. It is in great condition and far exceeds our list of requirements. We are going to be closing in 30 days which means this will be a very busy month. We consider this home to be an incredible blessing for us and it will be so nice for Troy to not have to commute anymore. We are excited, a little nervous, and completely grateful to soon become homeowners.

One of my favorite features is the master bed and bath. Among my other favorite features are the pantry (I just kept opening and closing it because I was so excited), vaulted ceilings, and an unfinished basement for lots of storage space.

Little Fishie

Blake and I took a local mommy and baby swimming class. We went everyday with 9 other moms and babies for the last two weeks. It was basically more for fun than to teach Blake real swimming skills, but we both enjoyed it. We sang songs, splashed, kicked, and tried to attempt blowing bubbles. Blake is such a water boy. Even when the water was chilly, he could care less and was happy to be splashing around. It was a really nice break for me too because it has been in the 90's here everyday.