Family Pictures

Just giving credit where credit is due: all these gorgeous pictures were taken by the incredibly talented Krystal (we were her first photo shoot EVER). I waited to post them until I could surprise my mom with them as her late Mother's Day gift. So if you live around here and need a photographer, Krystal is the way to go (even if she tries to be all humble and tell you she's not professional).

A New Blog

Just wanted to let everyone know that Scott & Mary have finally jumped on the bandwagon. Their blog is smbear.blogspot.com and features the adorable Rebekah (and lots of high-pitched Scott voices). Enjoy!

Thoughts on a Missing Wedding Ring

I love my wedding ring (as I should, considering I picked it out). It's gorgeous, and, since it was recently re-dipped, is nice and shiny. And I intend to keep it that way. Thus, to prevent scratching and general grody-ness, I take my ring off when I'm cooking or cleaning. Which means that I'm not wearing it very often (don't worry--I still have my band on so I don't look like an unwed mother).

As I was leaving for church this morning, I rushed over to the counter where it usually hangs out. It wasn't there. I was a little concerned, but was running late (as usual) and figured it was upstairs on my nightstand.

It wasn't. And it wasn't on the floor. Or behind the microwave. Or in the bottomless pit I call a purse.

At this point my mind started doing some strange things to me. I'm a fairly rational person, but I think I've seen too much television in my almost-24 years because I rapidly concocted the following scenarios:

Irrational Scenario #1:
Somehow my ring made it into the prize basket (okay, prize Wal-Mart bag) for my piano students. One of the girls must have chosen it as her prize, not realizing it wasn't a toy. And somehow she managed to get it home without either me or her mother realizing what it was (which is totally unlikey considering I watch the kids like a hawk while they're choosing prizes--mostly because I vividly remember stealing a prize from my teacher. Shame, shame.).

Irrational Scenario #2:
Someone broke into our house. They quickly realized that my crappy lappy wasn't worth stealing, so they grabbed the only other portable valuable in the house--my ring. That's right--the ONLY thing they stole in our entire house was my ring.

Irrational Scenario #3:
Marah (my little sister who's living with us this summer) has a recently acquired boyfriend who conviently lives just an hour and a half away in Virginia. He was up visiting that day, and the last memory I have of my ring is when I showed it to him and Marah after I found it in the dryer (I swear I don't usually do this). Sure, he seemed like a nice kid and he leaves on his mission in a week, but how do I know he's not a recovering kleptomaniac? Maybe he just couldn't resist that one, little ring. He snatched it, sold it, and will send a repentant letter to Marah in a few months confessing his crime (but the ring will be long gone).

The rational part of me was persistantly telling me that this was totally ridiculous and that I would regret thinking these things, but I couldn't restrain myself.

Of course, I found it not too long after this (in my pants pocket, duh). So I guess this is my way of making resistution--I confess my ridiculous accusations and swear I won't do this again. And Kevin, I promise this will all be really funny when you come home in two years and marry Marah. "Hey, remember that one day when you thought I was a klepto...?"

Seth at 10 months

Are there really only two months left until my baby turns one? Where has the time gone? A friend in my ward told me that after 6 months the time just flies. She's right.

This has been a pretty exciting month for Seth. He's still not crawling, but at this point he may just skip it and go straight to walking.
Seth's accomplishments this month include:

*Almost getting his walker down the stairs (I caught him when there was one wheel over the edge)

*Insisting that he must stand whenever there is a table, couch or ottoman he can hold on to and walk around

*Discovering that he does, in fact, possess the coveted Mikesell tongue (which appears when one is concentrating particularly hard)

*Rolling over BOTH WAYS! And we never had to go to baby physical therapy--he did it all on his own!

*Recognizing the word 'light'--he'll immediately look for a light when you say the word

*Eating grown-up food basically all the time. He's way done with the pureed stuff

*He can go from sitting to his knees to his belly (as long as his feet don't get stuck because he sits with his ankles crossed). But no, he won't stay on his knees or try to crawl

*He's a pro in his walker. When it gets stuck he knows just how to shove it in order to get free

*Sometimes, on rare occasions, he will let go of the couch and stand independently for a few seconds. Once or twice he's even gone from standing alone to sitting with no problems

*Still has absolutely no fear of strangers. And still loves his Daddy best of all

*Babbles "da-da-da-dad" when happy, "na-na-na-nyah" when whining, and various strange noises at other times. Still no "ma-ma-ma", despite all my promptings

*Thinks that he needs to investigate the stroller wheels at all times. This is especially difficult when we're on a walk and the wheels are moving

*Loves, loves, LOVES the swings. If we walk past the playground in our cul-de-sac, he gets so excited. And if you pass by without stopping, he'll whine and crane his neck around to see the swings. We finally bought him his own swing for the back porch, and he is one content little monkey

*Went on his third (and worst) plane flight. Jon swears we're never flying with him again

*Finally cut those two blasted top teeth, after a month or so of pain, whining, and not sleeping. Grand Tooth Total: 4--two top, two bottom (which he grinds occasionally--gives me the jeebies)

*New favorite food: bread, or anything bread-related (pancakes, rolls, biscuits, crepes, etc.)

*I can pretty much count on him sleeping from 8:30 pm to 6am straight, then he wakes up to nurse and sleeps until 8:30am. Wonderful, wonderful

*He is almost as excited to see the ceiling fan as he is to see his dad

*I have to watch him at the grocery store now--if I get the cart too close to the shelf, he'll grab for things

*Throws tantrums occasionally when we close the door at night after we've put him down. They usually only last a minute or two, but they're impressive

*Asserting his independence in whatever forms he can think of--squirming in his carseat, pushing us away when he doesn't want to be held, rejecting food, poo-sploding when he doesn't like his outfit...

I just love this little man. He's getting to be so much fun, and I love watching his personality develop (even if it is a stubborn one). Being a mom is the greatest job in the world.

Things I probably shouldn't let my son do (but I do anyway)

#1: Eat dirt.
I took him out on our deck to check on our newly planted chives and tomato. Next thing I knew, he had taken a big chomp of chive-dirt. I figured this is a childhood rite-of-passage--all of us ate dirt at some point or another--so I let him chomp away on his clump of dirt. Unfortunately, now every time we go outside he thinks he has a right to dig in the chives and eat the dirt...

#2 Play with Easter candy and/or nuts.This is actually a series. We begin with the picture above, which is how this whole chain of events started. First, he loved to dig in the eggs. Then, an egg or two fell out and he liked how it sounded. Then he started intentionally dropping the eggs on the island. The grand finale involved pitching them off the island and onto the floor. Obviously, this made a giant mess:I tried to contain it, but it just didn't have that lovely "candy hitting Pergo" sound that Seth loves so much:Finally Jon had the clever idea to use the base of Seth's Jumperoo as a containment ring. It seemed to satisfy him (by this point the Easter candy had been replaced by nuts and golf balls):Unfortunately, now he thinks all nuts are made just for him to throw on the floor, even if we're at Grandpa & Grandma's:And yes, he did try to eat some of the candy. Generally I'd catch him before he swallowed, but I pretty sure he got a few jelly beans down, and I know he's enjoyed a few Robin's Eggs (I'll find pink or blue drool down his front). Luckily the nuts are too big for him to fit in his mouth--though that doesn't stop him from trying.

#3 Put his hands in other people's mouths.My only explanation is that he's really into teeth right now.

#4 Be immodest.We usually don't have this problem, thanks to onesies...

#5 Get a tattoo.See that adorable skull and crossbones on his chubby thigh? It's a good thing Aunt Kenna decided to slap that on AFTER Seth saw the Mikesell grandparents. Otherwise, that thing would have been scrubbed off the second Grandma laid eyes on it.

If he's this much fun now, I can only imagine what life will be like once he's mobile...

A Visit from the Bloods

April 17-19, 2009

Now that we have an adorable grandson, we can actually get Jon's family out to visit for reasons besides bringing us furniture and/or moving us into a house. :) The Bloods were kind enough to sacrifice part of their Spring Break to come visit. We managed to fit them all in quite nicely--Timmy, James, Jacob & Joanna in the basement, Mom & Dad upstairs (on our brand new, REAL mattress!).

Seth loved every minute of the visit--he was more than happy to be the constant center of his aunt & uncles' attention. They were all so good with him--I wish I could give him that kind of entertainment every day. He gets so bored with just plain old Mom every day, all day...

And, because we haven't found a better place to take our family when they come visit, we hauled the Bloods up to Kilgore Falls for some hiking. Somehow Jon pawned Seth off on Timmy (thanks for being a good sport, Timmy). It ended up being a really nice day, and we had a good time hiking all around the falls (and through the water a few times). Of course, not all of us wanted to hike up to the falls.

This is Jakey, who spent the entire time wandering by himself at the base of the falls instead of climbing up top with the rest of us:And this is Mom & Dad Blood, who were apparently more worried about keeping an eye on the wandering Jakey than about their other three children who were running across the top of the waterfall with their grandson strapped to their back:Amazingly, no one fell in, and the only disappointment was Jakey's--he wanted to swim but didn't have a suit (we thought it would be way too cold--he disagreed).

We spent the rest of their visit just hanging out. Per the status quo, Jakey wouldn't eat a single thing I cooked. Luckily I was smart enough to buy cucumbers for him to eat the way most people eat bananas.

Seth loved his Grandpa & Grandma. Grandma had him in a giggle fit on the couch, and Grandpa's mustache was a source of endless entertainment. Seth concentrated very hard on removing it from Grandpa's face......but finally settled on stealing his watch, instead. We (Seth especially) really enjoyed having them here and are looking forward to our vacation to see them at the end of July--especially since the garden will be ripe for picking when we show up. Mmmm...Dad Blood's tomatoes...

Back on Board

Has it really been over a month since my last post? I would call myself a slacker, except that I can honestly say I wasn't slacking--I was BUSY! I swear! Now begins the joyful process of catching up...

Let's see how much I can get done before Monster Man wakes up from his nap...

Seth goes to Tucson

Mar. 16, 2009

Despite my fears of flying alone with Seth, things did not go nearly as badly as they could have. It wasn't pleasant, by any stretch, but at least he didn't scream too loudly or too long. The worst part was during flight #2, when the poor teenage boy next to us (who had so sweetly switched seats with me so I could sit by the aisle) whipped out his laptop. It was like waving a treat in front of a puppy and not letting him eat it--Seth was so worked up, and screamed at me because I wouldn't let him pound on this kid's computer. Eventually he gave up and fell asleep 15 minutes before we landed. He was NOT happy to wake up.

I was worried about how he would do in the pack-and-play, but he was an angel. In fact, he slept better in Arizona than he ever has at home (and believe me, I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out why, so I can repeat it. The heat? The fan? The excitement?)

Mar. 17, 2009

Babies don't believe in time zones, even if they did go to bed past midnight Eastern Time. So at 4:45am Arizona time, Seth was up and going. Luckily his grandma was up, so there was someone to play with besides boring Mom.

Seth also got to meet his cousins--the dogs (they're Kenna's babies, orphaned now that she's at BYU). He handled them fairly well, despite Bruce's attempts to lick his face off. I thought he'd panic when they started barking at a delivery truck, but no--he giggled. We took him out on a walk, enjoying the nice weather (can you say 80 degrees?). Apparently strollers taste delicious, especially when you are teething.
Seth got to meet the bunny Beth was pet-sitting (he terrified it so badly it was shedding up a storm) and Hilary Winfield Flake, one of my very best friends who hadn't met Seth before.March. 18th, 2009
Another early morning. We decided Seth was getting up so early just so he could see Grandpa before he left for 5am basketball (yes, my parents are both nuts. Who gets up that early by choice?).
Grandma was kind enough to buy a swing for Seth, which we hung up in the monstrous tree overtaking their backyard. He liked it so much Jon & I decided to get one for our backyard. We spent most of the day just hanging out together. That's the best kind of vacation, after all.

Mar. 19, 2009
I'm a cruel mother. Not only did I make Seth go on a super-long plane flight across the country and back, I also made him (and my sweet mother) spend 4 hours in the car driving to Mesa. But it was for a worthy cause--to see Alicia!I got to meet Natalie, her new baby, and see how big Weston has gotten. I can't believe my friends and I are married and starting families. It doesn't seem like that long since we were all in high school and being generally ridiculous.

Our drive home was rather eventful. Seth finally fell asleep (after refusing to on the drive up) and Mom realized we needed gas. We pulled off at what looked like a gas station, but couldn't find the road to the station. Positive we would find a station, we kept driving. I can't even remember the name of the little town we drove through, but there sure wasn't any gas. By this point we were getting desperate and decided to head back to the freeway. Except we couldn't find it. We ended up taking this little podunk road all the way into Casa Grande, where we coasted into a gas station. The tank hold 13 gallons. I filled it up with 13.18 gallons. How's that for a miracle?

This was also the day Aunt Lori, who gave me & Seth the tickets to come visit, was supposed to fly in. Well, that plan was shot down by President Obama, who flew into Orange County and blocked her flight from leaving. She didn't end up getting here until Friday night, after spending all day in the airport on standby...

Mar. 20, 2009We needed a day to relax after all the driving the day before. Seth happily pounded on his extra keyboard and whacked his globe--what could be more fun?

Mom insisted that I needed some new pants (considering I'm still too skinny for all of mine) and took me shopping. We found two pairs of cute, long shorts and were back so quickly that Beth was very impressed.

Seth had some quality bonding time with Aunt Bethany and Grandpa (who had the day off of work--hallelujah!). I have to say--it was a strange feeling to be at home without Kenna & Marah. I kept expecting them to walk in the door.

Mar. 21, 2009We spent the morning hanging out with Aunt Lori, who finally made it to Tucson to see Seth. That afternoon we drove down to the U of A to watch our friend Colin perform in the musical Oliver! I have to say, I was terribly impressed. The performance was by a Christian Youth Theater Group, and some of those kids were extremely talented. There were a few times I forgot that this wasn't a professional production. Good show, Colin, good show! Seth enjoyed the songs where the whole cast was out singing and dancing, but he was pretty bored with the rest. I spent the first half of the play letting him slap the walls in the back of the auditorium. Mom was kind enough to take him for the second half.

We had a chance to visit with the Flannerys before Seth fell apart. I can't believe how old Beth & Colin have gotten--Mom used to babysit Colin when he & Beth were toddlers. I guess if I'm old enough to have a baby, they can be old enough to go to high school (aah!).
Seth was quite the star that evening, getting pampered by Grandpa & Aunt Lori. Grandpa gave him his bath in the giant tub while Aunt Lori was in charge of the clean-up. He went to bed quite a happy camper.

Mar. 22, 2009
Our last full day in Tucson. It was so fun to take Seth to my family's ward. They recently were reorganized, and a lot of my friends' families were put back in the ward. I hadn't seen some of them since Jon & I got married. Seth was generally adorable. He was even kind enough to take a nap during Sunday School while Grandpa held him.
After church Seth got to talk to his dad on the phone. It was so funny--as soon as Jon started talking, Seth would go into hysterical giggles. I asked Jon if he was making funny noises, but no--he was just talking. That made Jon feel better. He'd been so worried that Seth was going to forget him while we were gone.Seth had a great time helping Grandpa barbeque for dinner. I'm impressed Dad could barbeque at all, when one arm is occupied with a squirming baby determined to grab the grill.
Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Aunt Lori. We didn't have nearly enough time with her, but she's planning on coming to Maryland to visit Seth soon. Thank you so SO much for flying us to Tucson!

After a long day, Seth fell to pieces. Grandpa took him to his room, and held him until he fell asleep. I thought for sure he'd be up again that night, but no--I had to wake him up to leave for the airport. Beth & I spent that last night making a cake. Okay, I made the cake and decorated it--Beth helped ice it. I wrote 'Beth loves Edward' on it after she tried to make me watch Twilight TWICE that week. Not happening.

Mar. 23, 2009
Home again, home again. The flights were okay, and it was good to be with Jon. When he picked us up, Seth was a total mess. He was hungry, tired, and screaming. But when Jon picked him up, he immediately stopped, gave him a big smile, and kicked his legs in excitement. He hadn't forgotten his daddy.

I'm so glad we were able to go visit. It's so hard living so far from my family--I wish they were closer so they could watch Seth grow up. Plus, it might be nice to have some willing and eager babysitters nearby... :)

Now if only Tucson would share some of the sunshine. I don't think I've seen it since I got back (okay, maybe a day or two).

Easter and a Checkup

Our Easter was fairly mild--just church (where I survived my much-stressed-about Young Women's lesson on 'Patriarchal Leadership in the Home') and then Seth's Easter basket when he woke up from his nap (thank you, Mom, for providing Seth with an Easter basket and Jon & me with Easter candy). Obviously he's still too little to get much excitement out of it, but he did enjoy banging the eggs together and throwing his book around. He didn't enjoy having his basket on his head, but Jon & I did.

Seth and his loot (and no, the Cadbury Cream Eggs aren't his. He just likes banging them together).

"These are my eggs."

"What the...Puffs?! Where's the candy?!"

"Oh yes, very clever, Mom."

"Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off..."

Seth never puts things in his mouth, so I thought it was safe to give him the Cadbury eggs to play with. Apparently he's no fool. He used those two little teeth to scrape through the foil and taste the chocolaty goodness before I snatched them away.

"I must dedicate all my intellectual resources to the study of this great tome."

Seth & I enjoying the niceish weather. I look good in this picture, but Seth's not looking...

...and Seth looks good in this one, but I look like a dork. Jon didn't want to take pictures with Seth. Killjoy.

Seth had his 9 month appointment yesterday, which thankfully didn't involve any shots. He officially weighed in at 19.46 pounds and is 29 inches long (goodbye, infant carseat). He didn't gain nearly as much weight as I anticipated. His pediatrician said it was no cause for concern--most babies slow down their gain between 6 and 9 months because they've become mobile.

Except Seth's not mobile (unless you count his walker). The kid still doesn't even roll over. Dr. Chasnow was not so happy to hear that. So now I have to start giving Seth 3 solid meals a day, and Seth has to get some baby physical therapy. He's definitely making progress, but he either has no desire, or no idea how, to get up on his knees. Dr. Chasnow thinks he's just stubborn or lazy (or both), but thinks it's best to have him get some therapy anyway. Infants and Toddlers, here we come...

Personally, I think he's just stubborn. He has other things to do, and crawling is not one of them. But hey, if it's free, there's no harm done. And now we can pester him for the rest of his life about having to go to baby therapy...

(Oh, and I'm really not starving my baby. I forgot to mention to the pediatrician that Seth refused to eat for almost 3 weeks while he was teething. He was even skimping on his nursing. Thus the minimal weight gain. Not my fault--you can bring the food to the baby, but no stinking way are you making him eat when he doesn't want to).

Part 8: Preparations

I really don't think Jon could have planned things any better. Instead of the typical groom's attempts to weasel out of wedding preparation, he had a catch-all excuse--he was hundreds of miles away (and didn't care about details anyway).

So I did it all, which really didn't bother me. I found my dress with the help of Kenna and Val, I got it altered with Val's recommendation, and I owe the Carnahan grandparents so incredibly much for driving me to and from Salt Lake in order to make the arrangements. They also had the connections that got our reception in this adorable house in Salt Lake called Anderson Commons. This was my one insistence--I absolutely refused to have our reception in a church gym, regardless of how cheap it would be.

Jon and my mom were both concerned when I told them our colors were going to be black, cream, and green. Specifically, they thought the idea of a bouquet of black roses was a little goth. I thought it was pretty fabulous, but I compromised and threw in some cream roses, too (and looking back I wish I had stuck with the black--it would have looked so cool!).

The cream color is what threw Mom Blood. The very first time I talked with her (over the phone--she was in West Virginia), a good portion of the conversation was spent debating whether her dress, which was "a masking-tape color", would match the flowers. As luck would have it, she ended up matching perfectly.

Jon & I managed to see each other once a month after our engagement. In September he flew to Tucson so Dad could take our engagement pictures (and so Jon could be an unwitting participant in my bridal shower). In October he flew to Provo for a few days to distract me from my schoolwork. In November he came with me to the Carnahans for Thanksgiving, and then I didn't see him again until two days before the wedding.

The situation being what it was, the majority of our communication at this point was over the phone. Yes, I was that lame engaged roommate who just hangs out in her room, talking to her fiance. Actually, I wasn't too bad--since Jon's free minutes didn't start until 9pm his time (7pm my time), and since Jon was usually falling asleep by 9:45pm, our conversations weren't too long. They did, however, lead to some hilarious results. The following are actual exerts from our conversations, as Jon was falling asleep:

Jon: “Why didn’t you become a vocal performance major instead of an English major?
Then you wouldn’t have to destroy your bass.”
Megan: “What are you talking about?”
Jon: “You know what they say—leave redheads alone.”

Jon: “I feel bad. All these people doing things for me while I’m sleeping.”
Megan: “Who’s doing things for you while you’re sleeping?”
Jon: “The hospital.”
Megan: “And what does the hospital do for you while you’re sleeping?”
Jon: “Takes care of my bushy eyebrows.”

Jon: “I wish I had a trumpet.”
Megan: “You wish you had a trumpet?”
Jon: “No. Maybe it was an oboe.”
Megan: “An oboe?”
Jon: “You know, like ‘I scraped my oboe (elbow)’?”

Jon: “I can’t remember which one’s positive?”
Megan: “Positive?”
Jon: “Cause there has to be a positive and a negative. Otherwise where does it go? And I
know that I’m not positive.”

Jon: “Well maybe YOU could find the square root of eleven!”

Jon: “Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re going to prove us aaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll wrong when you take this challenge test.”

Jon: “That’s what you get.”
Meg: “For what?”
Jon: “I don’t know. Shaving your legs?”

Hilarious as these conversations were, I usually ended up being quite frustrated. Here I was, trying to have a serious conversation with my fiance, who I only get to talk to for an hour every day, and he's falling asleep! I suppose the benefit was that by 8pm, I was home, in my room, and with nothing better to do than homework.

At first, I spent a lot of time pitying myself--I was the only girl I knew who's fiance wasn't living within 30 minutes. Most of the time I felt like a bit of a loner--I missed having someone to sit with at church, to come over to dinner, or just hang out and chat. Luckily my roommates kept me fairly entertained. Warnick, specifically. Not only did she help me pass the time by constantly letting me watch her artsy films or teaching me how to cook, she also designed our invites, got them printed, found black envelopes for them, and then helped me address them. Warnick, I will love you forever.

My other support came from my co-worker, Christine. She got engaged just days before I did (and called me to gloat) and then married a month before me. She helped me get everything figured out--she was my Dear Abbie when it came to weddings, bridal showers, and honeymoons. I would have been pretty hopeless without her.

Looking back, I've decided that long-distance engagement is the way to go. You miss out on a lot, but it was definitely a good experience. We got to know each other in a different light, since we were forced to communicate through phone and email. Since our time on the phone was limited, not only did my schoolwork NOT suffer, I think it actually improved. We never had to worry about spending too much time alone together, because we never did. But I still missed him like crazy. And I was irked that he was spending Christmas with his family instead of with me--selfish, I know.

FINAL INSTALLMENT