Finally, an Update

Hello all. I've had some requests for a blog update. I have a hard time believing that you are all terribly interested in plain old me, but I understand that people want pictures of the baby. Since Emily is the cutest thing I've ever seen, I had to oblige. Nevertheless, I'm going to make you all suffer through a brief update on my life before I give you pictures. Since I last wrote, Todd had his graduation ceremony, my car died (we are in the process of buying a new-used Subaru outback), Emily learned how to sit, grab my hair, and (drumroll, please) crawl! Yes, next month I will have to make a project out of kid-proofing. Todd turned 28, we went on vacation, Todd's hours were cut, and I got a haircut. I'm trying to think of anything else, but not too many earth-shaking things have happened. So now I will bombard you with fun photos.

Who? What?

Four generations of great girls!

No, I'm not going to hold still for the picture...I'm too busy rolling!

Emily looks beautiful on her blessing day.

Out for the count!

Emily gives us one of her first grins.

Our little girl is growing up!

Emily can't be cuter in her Easter dress.

Todd graduates. Yaaaaaay!

We measure Emily at the cabin for the first time. Don't worry, little one. You'll get bigger.











Hey, Emily! You've got a little something on your face.













Emily multi-tasks.

Our little Ute fan.

Emily had a ball at the Centerville Fourth of July Parade.

Emily falls asleep holding on for dear life to her flag.

Gimme! Emily LOVES hats. She and Todd play as we wait for fireworks at Davis High.

Hey, blue eyes.

We tried to protect Emily's ears from the fireworks with three hats and two socks over each ear.

Oooooh, look at the giant bathtub! Emily tests out Yuba Lake...

...and has a blast!

That lifejacket is just a little big on our little bitty baby.

That's the kind of vacation I'm talking about!

Emily practices her smile as we are waiting to take family pictures at the cabin.

Nobody knows fashion like our seven-month-old.

Thanksgiving in January

This last month, I have felt overwhelmed with gratitude. Our little girl, Emily Rose Argyle came into the world on December 29th, teeny but healthy. At only 4 pounds and 2 ounces, Emily was three weeks early. Despite her size, Emily's lungs worked great. She emerged alert and kicking. And to show everyone how she felt about being outside of Mom for the first time, she peed like a little boy in the head nurse's face.

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Todd and I know she is a little miracle. When the doctor recommended inducing my labor early, we had serious doubts, thinking she would fare as well or better in the womb until her due date. Looking back now, I'm relieved that we listened to the doctor's good advice. After she was born, the doctor showed us the umbilical cord and the placenta. The placenta had started to calcify, meaning that fewer nutrients were getting to Emily than she needed. The doctor said that the umbilical cord should have been the width of a man's thumb, but it was only the size of my pinkie finger. We suspect she had lost weight. She stayed at the hospital for five days, but I was blessed to be able to stay with her until she started gaining the weight she needed to come home. It was amazing to see babies in the nursery who were big enough to eat Emily that were struggling with problems twice as serious. Now Emily is on her way to six pounds and thriving at home. Heavenly Father has given us the means to give our baby the best start possible. We had access to good medical care, means to pay for it, and best of all, an amazing and supportive collection of family and friends. If it takes a village to raise a child, Emily has a metropolis crammed with love.

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Our experience with Emily has also given me an increased appreciation for the plan of happiness. In the weeks before her arrival, when I was on bed rest and trying to make the decision of whether to deliver her early, I felt so much comfort from my knowledge of the gospel. I knew that if the worst should happen, we would still be sealed together as a family. Emily would always be our daughter and we would have the chance to raise her, no matter what. That's the best blessing of all.

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And now, on a lighter note, here are the pictures you've been waiting for!

Here she is!

Emily couldn't ask for a more adoring dad. Here's Todd with our late Christmas present.

I'm sure all you moms recognize this feeling:

Our happy family in our first family photo.

Merry Christmas!

Alright, I'm here with my monthly post, lol. It's been a busy month...I've only had a few days the whole month that I didn't have any plans. But it is holiday and baby busy-ness, which makes it fun. I've been wrapping all my presents...I finished my shopping before the 23rd, which is a personal first! Todd's almost done with school FOREVER. Yayyyy. Hopefully he will finish his last paper today. He finished with an A in his ergonomics class, so we're both thrilled. Now he can be stressed about a crying baby instead! We loved the cake Brent and Cindy sent us. The baby liked it too.

I'm starting weekly visits to my doctor, and everything seems well, except that she seems to be a little bit small. Hopefully it doesn't cause any problems with the baby. But I certainly wouldn't object to having a 6 pound baby rather than a 10 pounder! I'm also excited for some fun baby showers. All of this is helping me to be excited rather than scared out of my wits.

I have to send a shoutout to all my coworkers, even though I don't think any of them even know I have a blog. On the last day before people started going out of town for Christmas, they brought treats and a card that they had all signed for me, along with gifts for the baby. Although I won't miss talking to angry people on the phone or looking up lost permits, I will miss working here. My coworkers are awesome friends who have always tried to make me feel included and appreciated. So next time you call Commuter Services to argue about a ticket and get annoyed with the person you're talking to, just remember that he or she is probably really a very nice person who is just trying to do their job. :)

So here I am wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Hollidays!

Finally a New Post

Yes, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. The problem is that nothing very interesting has happened in a while. And I haven't felt energetic enough to write about random things. But I'll give it a shot, if only to give you something to look at other than that rather unflattering photo of Todd.

I'm very proud of myself. I know many of you will feel the same when I tell you that I actually finished a just-for-fun project I started. I've been doing a cross-stitch, and I'm rather notorious for not finishing things like that. If you don't believe me, my mom can show you a sewing basket of mine with an unfinished quilt square and a knitting bag with half of a hat. Granted, this latest project was only a bookmark. I guess the trick is accomodating my short attention span with very small projects. I bet I'll get along famously with my baby girl...infants have no attention span either.

In other news, Todd and I plan to make a second attempt at a homemade pie for Thanksgiving. The Linfords might remember the apple pie we brought last year. We actually made two pies, but the dough got so crumbly for the second one that we couldn't save it. The first one would have been good, except that the store-bought apple pie filling we used wasn't a big hit. We're going to do cherry this year, so we're hoping for the best. It might turn out to be quite the adventure, though, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Finally, next time you reach for ketchup, just remember that it was derived from an East Asian sauce made from fermented fish. Yum.

Pictures

I know you're all dying to see the shiner I gave Todd, so feast your eyes on this really flattering picture:

The lighting in the photo makes it kind of hard to see, but look closely at the side of his eye to get an idea of his midnight battle wound.

I have to say that this Halloween was somewhat disappointing. I would guess that the number of little ghouls and power rangers that showed up at our door totaled less than 20. Todd and I even dressed up in some super spiffy costumes and stayed in with a pizza instead of going on our usual Friday night date. If we hadn't told the last group of teenagers to take a handful each, we'd be as hopped up on sugar as the kids! I suppose Halloween loses some of its magic as soon as you turn 12. Oh well. But since we didn't get to show off our spectacular costumes and pumpkins to the kids, I'll show them off to you. Please contain your excitement...

Surrender to Zorro!

Look closely to see my baby bump.

And let's not forget our masterful pumpkins:

Now that you've had your fill of picture fun, I have a question. For any of you with kids, I'd like to hear your opinions on epidurals. Especially if you have tried it both ways. I'm leaning toward getting one, but I want to know just how bad it really is if I chose not to. Let me know what you think!

Early Morning Adventures

I've finally done it. I've become a violent sleeper. Anyone who has ever shared a bed with me knows that it's no picnic, but I don't recall inflicting any lasting damage. Until now. I gave Todd a black eye in my sleep last week. Still mostly-asleep, I had propped myself up on my elbow to rotate my pillow to the fluffier and cooler side. Since Todd likes to sleep nice and close to me, he had his head right behind mine at the time. With the rotating process complete, I flopped back down, whacking the side of his face with my head. I must have come down pretty hard, because for the next week, poor Todd had a bruise, and I had a pretty good goose egg.

I've heard scarier stories about people punching their spouses or hitting them with pillows and things, but I never expected it to happen to me. I know my habits of kicking, tossing and turning, stealing pillows, and sticking my feet in other people's faces make me an annoying bedmate, but until now, I'd never injured anyone!

In other news, we thought maybe the stork had come early when we heard crying outside our window yesterday morning. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We didn't see anyone out the window, so we got dressed and investigated. Outside, we found a toddler wailing in the bushes, huddled against our front wall. She was in pajamas, barefoot, and clutching her doll. She could just walk, but couldn't yet tell us her name or where she lived. We know most of our neighbors now, but we don't know all their kids. So we walked around with her, knocking on doors until another neighbor saw us and told us who she was. It turns out she had escaped from the house right across the street. When we knocked, her mom opened the door looking panicked. Apparently, this little mischief maker had just learned a new trick: operating doorknobs. She had started letting herself out and wandering around by herself. A few nights earlier, her mom found her up the street in the middle of the night!

Our experience gave us a peek of the adventures of parenthood! I'm sure our little one will get herself into all kinds of trouble when she comes. :) I can't wait to find out what...

Broken Meters and Tuna Sandwiches

I'm going to tell everyone all about what's happening right this very second. It's 9:42. I'm eating a tunafish sandwich. It's edible, but not nearly as good as the killer tuna Mom makes. Yeah, I know it's a little weird so early in the morning, but I didn't get breakfast! Officer #32 is patrolling in lots 82 and 74, meter #14 is broken, and somebody has a flat tire. It's still pretty cool outside, but I have the air conditioning on. I thought I wouldn't have hot flashes for another 30 years or so! Ted and Geri are talking about an officer that ran into a bus the other day. The bus didn't hit him...he rode into a moving bus! I think that almost beats the time I ran into a stop sign. That had to be the most effective stop sign I've ever encountered. :)

Alright, I'll stop boring everyone now. It's sometimes difficult for me to comprehend, but I do realize that not a whole lot of people care about broken meters and tuna fish.