Carol Burnett

When my sister Amy was little, my parents nicknamed her Carol Burnett because she was so funny. Well, I guess every family has a comedian and ours is 7 months-old.

I know it is hard to imagine how a baby could be funny, but Cate is. It's difficult to describe and every time I get out the video camera, she invariably stops what she is doing and stares blank-faced into it. Maybe if I give a few examples . . .


Yesterday I had her on my lap and was singing "Baby Bye" to her while softly bouncing her on my knee. She stuck out her long tongue with each bounce/beat. Not just kinda moving her tongue around, but in-out-in-out with each beat of the song. Then later, I was feeding the babies applesauce. I fed Cate first and didn't wipe her face before moving onto Ellie. She sat restlessly for a few minutes and then started cleaning her face herself with her very long tongue. She was so excited, as if to say, "Mom, look, I found some more!"

Many times when I go to get her out of the crib, she has rotated her binky 90 degrees so it is sticking up and she is biting down on the plastic part. She just looks at me and laughs because she knows I am going to laugh. Her laugh is contagious.

Many people have commented on her facial expressions. She has many of them and they are funny! Ever since she was just tiny I could tell that she had a sense of humor. Isn't it amazing that these babies are pre-packaged with personality!

What is a lady?

I've been thinking all week about an article I read in the Ensign (March 2010, pg. 42). One part particularly struck me, although this is not really what the article is about. The author says as a child she was a tom-boy and loved sports, but her mother would tell her, "It's great to love sports and play ball, dear. However, remember that every girl who grows up will become a woman, but it is most important that she also learn to become a lady." Then her mother would describe a lady to her.

As I was telling Doug about the article, he said, "Well, you know it's your responsibility to make sure our girls grow up to be ladies." Down dropped a 10-ton anvil onto my shoulders. I started to think about the characteristics that make up a lady. I had lots of ideas that immediately came to mind, as well as others I came up with as the week went on. To broaden my opinion, I did an informal survey at work to see what others thought a lady was.

Some of the funniest responses were, "She makes people open doors for her", and "A lady smells good". Some people were of the opinion that a lady has to be wealthy. Some thought that a lady has to be "prim and proper". I took these responses, as well as my own thoughts of what a lady is and came up with this description.

A lady is a woman who shows respect for herself by being well-groomed, dressing modestly, having good posture, and showing confidence. She has a classic, timeless style, and while not getting too caught up in trends, she has individual style and flair. She respects others by being empathetic and compassionate. She shows grace by being genuine and warm. Others immediately feel comfortable in her presence.

She is well-read and educated and speaks appropriately. She doesn't cuss or yell. However, she has a sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously. She uses her time to develop talents and gain knowledge as well as to serve others.

I realize that my girls will learn much of being a woman, wife, and mother from watching me and that is quite daunting. Therefore, I am going to do my best to become a better "lady".

How would you describe a lady?

A time to Celebrate!

This is a fun time of year for me! This month we get to celebrate Doug's birthday, our anniversary, and my favorite season--Spring! This year for Doug's birthday I surprised him by taking the day off work and getting a babysitter (Thanks Olschewskis). It totally threw him for a loop since he likes to plan everything. We went down to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival. Afterward, I realized that this was more fun for me, since Doug sees beautiful gardens all day, every day. Then we went to jcw's for some yummy onion rings (we also got sandwiches and a shake). The next day was our 8th anniversary. Doug was able to get off work about noon and I met him downtown (Thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting). We went to lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Garden, and then did a session at the temple. They were doing sealings right after the session and since we had some family names, we stayed to do sealings. It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. Then Doug had to hurry off to school. Just 7 more weeks!

Doug's birthday ice cream cake. Luckily we had a "3" and a "2" candle from Max's past cakes.


Doug showing off his backside.

Me showing off my modeling skillz.

This was the name of the particular tulip. I just thought it was funny.

This tulip variety is called "Liz".

I have just decided to enter the world of bloggers everywhere. I know, I know I'm a little behind my peers. The reason I took the plunge--I'm hoping to be better about journaling and taking pictures of my little ones. It certainly doesn't seem like it right now, but from what everyone has been telling me, these years go by too fast and there's so much I won't remember. I don't have a lot of time for scrapbooking so this is my solution, hopefully.