A long weekend

Life is gooood. The weather is warming, and big things are coming our way! Which is scary and awesome at the same time. It was such a great week, and I was really proud of myself for documenting our awesome weekend.

Actually, I started on Thursday. Ian and I got to go to a Wellness Workshop that Tom had to be at for work. I love these workshops! 

We had a great speaker there, and Ian did very well, sleeping most of the time. Our speaker is an R.D. (Registered Dietician) and was speaking on ways to improve your lifestyle. In discussing homemade things vs. store bought, she said that even if the things you make have some added sugar in them, it's still better than all the un-pronouncable ingredients in processed food. If it's not in your pantry, you probably shouldn't be eating it. Wise words, my friends!

FRIDAY! The weather was gorgeous, and we went on a run as a family. Ian LOVED being outside and fell asleep in his stroller. I think we just found our new go-to activity! Then we went to Idaho Falls to run a few errands and enjoy Chic-Fil-A, thanks to Tom's parents for the Valentine's gift card! It was Ian's first experience, and we're obsessed with Chic-Fil-A, so we took pictures. Ian hates hates hates being in the car/carseat, but he fell asleep after having a royal fit in Winco. Thank goodness that biology wins every time.

SATURDAY was Valentine's Day!! We had decided to not do much of anything for Valentine's Day except just be together, but I came downstairs to find Tom had been sneaky and got me a nice valentine anyway :) We ran the Valentine's Day 5K on campus, which was awesome. I'm not going to lie, I'm really proud of myself - I haven't run that far in almost a year, it was freezing, I was pushing Ian in the stroller the whole time, and it was one of my fastest 5K times ever. Running UP temple hill, for those of you who know the area. I was really happy with the whole experience. Plus Ian slept practically the whole time! Win win!

The rest of the day we just relaxed and took it easy, venturing out only to get some new clothes for Ian. He is growing way too fast! No shame, we buy his clothes from the D.I. We found a lot of really good quality, cute clothes for super cheap. That night I made a fancy dinner of steak, asparagus, and rosemary potatoes. It was fun to celebrate love with those I love more than anything else! Plus it was mine and Tom's 18 month anniversary, which is a fun coincidence :)

Of course, all the pictures from our fun day are on Tom's phone. Oh well.

SUNDAY was not the greatest day at first. Making big decisions and being poor are hard things. But I KNOW that Father in Heaven is aware of us! We can still be happy and live joyfully, even if the future is uncertain. Isn't the gospel such a blessing?

Side note, I was nursing Ian in the mother's lounge during Sunday School, and I was turned towards the corner so I didn't see who came in at one point. A few minutes later someone else came in and I heard her say "Oh, I'm sorry!", then a MALE voice replies "It's alright, you're good!". I was a little bit confused, was there really a dad in the MOTHER's lounge? You know, that place where MOTHERS come to breastfeed their babies? Well I quickly finished feeding Ian (luckily he was about done anyway) and get all covered up. I start to change Ian's diaper and look over and yes indeed, one of the daddy's in our ward was changing his daughter's diaper. He didn't say anything to me and I didn't say anything to him because, well, what do you say to someone who shouldn't be there? Oh goodness, I'm just glad I didn't know he was there for the whole 3/4 minutes before someone else came in, or I would have felt even more awkward. And it wasn't like he was just changing the diaper and leaving, he was playing with his baby for a few minutes! WHAT?! Not sure where that's okay but oh well, no harm, no foul I guess.

This guy is the real King of the Mother's Lounge:

MONDAY was President's day, so Tom didn't have school! We didn't do anything terribly fun - cleaning, homework, working, and job hunting. I know, I know, we're just a riot.

Ian is 3 months!

Ian has been on this earth for 3 whole months now!

I didn't know it was possible to feel this way. I just....I just love him a lot. Ian is such a sweet little baby, very easy going and mostly happy. He loves Tom and I, as well as his own reflection, more than anyone else which is validating and very right in my mind and heart. I know we may not always feel like we're his number 1, but right now we are the most important people in his life and I am so happy to be his mom.

Ian is so much fun! This month he became much more interactive, which is a blast for Tom and I. I read to him several times a day (usually before each nap) and have been so grateful that he sits still and looks at the pages. His two favorites are "I Love You Through and Through", and "Goodnight Moon". There are a couple others that he will tolerate sometimes, but he has a very distinct way of letting me know which books he doesn't like, and it's hilarious! I wish I could know what's going on in that brain of his.

He still loves being around someone all the time. I hope that he becomes more of an independent person, but I love being the one he wants to be with all the time. If he's awake but I'm still trying to get things done, this is usually how he looks:

just propped up on a pillow on the bed so that he can see me as I walk around the room cleaning, folding laundry, etc. As long as he can see me/hear me, life is good for little dude.

Milestones of this month:

- Smiling! A lot! Oh it melts my heart

- Laughing! This is so so fun for me, even though I probably look really silly trying to make him laugh all the time

- Teething! He just started on Friday. I hope it happens fast and that it doesn't get drug out for a long time, poor baby!

- Rolling over from tummy to back. The first time I came to get him in the middle of the night and found he had rolled over, I was ecstatic but thought maybe it was a fluke. But he consistently rolls over and is getting really quick at it, at least rolling to the right. We'll work on the other side eventually :)

- Grasping things really well. He likes to grab this mole I have right by my collar bone (is that gross? It's not gross) and one day he scratched it really bad and it hurt! I'll need to have that removed soon. He loves to grab my necklace, and he's finally enjoying his jungle gym! It keeps him occupied for a few minutes at a time which is helpful for me.

He still loves bath time, and has actually started to like having his diaper changed because he likes being naked as much as possible.

Ian loves his binky and sucking on his hands. I hope he takes to his hands more than his binky eventually.

And because it's been mentioned by a few people, I just have to talk about his comb-over. When Ian was born he had a LOT of hair, and we found through experimentation that we really liked how he looked with a comb over. And his hair naturally parted to one side so it was perfect. Now if we ever do anything else, he just doesn't look like our Ian boy, so we keep the do all day, all night!

Happy 3 months, baby boy! I love you more than words could say!

I am exhausted

Simply exhausted. We had such a fun weekend but it was one of those times where you feel like you need a weekend to recover from your weekend. Ya feel me?

Tom's parents and sister Kenna came into town! We are so happy they live not too far away, and are trying to soak up as much family time with them before Kenna leaves on her mission and we head to Texas.

They arrived on Friday night, and we had found out that Ian was teething a few hours before, so it was a long night. We stayed up late chatting, and then Ian woke up several times during the night - very unlike him. He normally only wakes up once, twice if it's been a bad day. I knew it was a special circumstance though, so I cuddled him a lot and tried to be a comfort to him. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep before our busy day on Saturday, but oh well. Such is the life of a mom, right? :)

Saturday morning, Tom and I participated in the Try-A-Tri here on campus! We've done a few of these before but never have I had a baby and then tried to do one. Let's just say I haven't worked that hard since giving birth to Ian. But it felt so good! I beat my goal of doing it in 40 minutes (I did it in 37:11) so it was a success in my mind. It included a 300 m swim, a 6 mile bike, and a 1.5 mile run. Nothing too intense, but it was quite a workout!

 

After the Try-A-Tri, Tom had the first Team Challenge for the Biggest Winner program he works for. I love it when we all get to go to work with him! It was a super fun challenge to watch. I was a little bit bummed that I didn't get to participate but I was, as has been stated twice, exhausted. I was happy to watch from the bleachers this time around :)

This is Ryan, one of Tom's friends/co-workers. He's hilarious and loves Ian! They were having a great time dancing, and this is the least blurry picture I got so pardonez-moi!

The rest of the (unpictured) day went like this:

I conducted some interviews for work.

We ate at Pizza Pie Cafe (praises be!)

Kenna, Tom and I went to the temple while Grandma and Grandpa Cook watched Ian. The temple was amazing. We accidentally showed up in time to get in to the Spanish session, whoops! But it worked out well. I haven't been to a session since I was...probably 7 months pregnant, so it's been way too long. I LOVE the temple!

We hung out and snacked through the evening and then made a whoooole lot of stove top popcorn for our movie night: Steel Magnolias. That scene at the end of the funeral gets me every time, guys.

Then on Sunday we had a great time at church (Ian had his first public pee-out, but Tom graciously took care of it), and choir practice went much better this time! I got called as the Ward Choir Director and was pretty nervous about it the first week. But it was great, and I am really excited to perform next week in Sacrament Meeting. Pray for us!

It was a wonderful weekend. I am sore and super grateful, two signs of a fulfilling weekend if you ask me. It's always hard to come back to real life after vacations/visitors, but we're taking this week head on!

Life Lately

Lately around here, things have been gooood. Really good. I feel like I'm getting the hang of this. To say I live a balanced life would be an exaggeration because oh boy I have a long way to go to figure out how to get everything done well and in a timely manner and with my hair done.

Tom has a second interview for a job in Texas today! I am so excited for him. This is scary big kid stuff and he's so ready for it! I love watching him experience this and also feel grateful that it's not me. We are sad and excited to move to Texas (moving from Rexburg will be hard!), but are ready for this next adventure. School continues to go well for Tom, as well as his work with the Biggest Winner program.

I feel so grateful. Every day I try to read my scriptures and pray first, and putting that as a priority has been a source of strength. I've started training for my first half marathon (!!!!) and am so grateful for Tom's support and help as I try to reach that goal of mine. I've been working more lately, which basically means that most of Ian's nap times are filled with calls and emails. I'm so grateful to have this job that is as flexible as my schedule needs to be. Other things get put on the back burner (like cleaning the bathroom), but right now my priority is first family, then work, then keeping a clean home. Some days they switch around, but isn't life all about doing what needs to be done THIS day, and not dwelling on the past or worrying about tomorrow? Really I feel like one of the biggest lessons I'm learning as a mom is to BE PRESENT. When Ian is awake, I try to really be with him. I know he's not even 3 months old, but I want to really be there. I'm not always good at it (HGTV is my weakness!) but I'm trying. When he's asleep and I'm working, I need to WORK. When Tom is home and we have a few minutes alone, BE WITH HIM. Listen, talk, look in the eye, etc. I feel so blessed to be learning these things.

I had to post that picture from today cause he's just so dang cute!! And I'll end with a story:

It's no surprise that Tom and I are poor college students. And we will be poor people for a long time, which is fine because we are so in love with our life and realize that we have so much more than we need, even as things are right now. The other day I forgot that and was stressing about money. "What can we sell? How can we cut back? Can I take on more hours?" and other questions were running through my mind as they do a lot. I was getting so down about it. 

Meanwhile, Ian was having tummy time while I did the dishes. Ian HATES tummy time. He recently started rolling over and I want him to keep getting better/going both ways, etc. so I put him down to practice. As I worked, he was grunting and making noises of frustration. I kept saying "you can do it, bud! Keep goin!" very absentmindedly. Then it hit me, and I felt closer to Heavenly Father. Here we are down on earth, frustrated and struggling and all the while He keeps trying to tell us we can do it and show us how. Usually, my understanding is limited or I'm throwing too loud of a tantrum to hear Him. He always provides a way - whether it's because He let us struggle long enough to figure it out, or because He metaphorically flips us over and gets us out of the situation, He is always there with the perfect way. And then afterward He is there to rejoice with us! He will provide as He always has.

And I'm really grateful for that. I'm grateful for all the lessons that parenting teaches me, even in little moments like that. I'm grateful that God loves me perfectly and is always there for me. I'm glad to know that He is aware of our lives down to the smallest detail and has a plan. I rely on that and trust in that more and more every day.