Happy Birthday Dear Jennifer!

The 4th of July is a very special day in 2 regards. Of course we get to celebrate the birth of this glorious nation that we live in and all of the freedoms that we are blessed with, but we also get to celebrate the birth of one of my dearest friends, Jennifer. (I will refrain from using her last name since she probably would appreciate that I don't). Of course everyone is different and unique, but I can promise you that if you don't know Jennifer, you haven't met anyone like her... (and you are definitely missing out!

I met Jennifer when I started Synchronized Swimming. She of course was one of the best in our age group and even better than some of the older girls. I don't know how others felt when they first met her, but I seriously thought she was so cool. She didn't care what anybody else thought of her and she felt free to tell you exactly how she felt, no matter what. We must have been 9 years old and she invited me to her house for a Halloween party and I thought that was the coolest thing ever! From that time forward, Jennifer was a staple in my life. Her parents were my parents and even though we went to different high schools, we were inseparable. We swam on the same swim team in the summers around age 13, we had all of the same jobs, whether it was working the snack bar, coaching Synchronized Swimming or working at Sunflower.

I was talking to Dustin the other day about Jennifer because something reminded me of her. We were so different in so many ways. I have always been a people pleaser and she could care less what others thought of her, she was an extremely talented swimmer and Water Polo player (far better than me), she is so funny, she is so creative. She was everything I wanted to be and wasn't. The only thing that we were both really good at, was being each other's friend. In fact Jennifer is one of the best friends you could have. Some of my fondest memories in the world are with her and I am reminded of her all of the time by the most random of things, but they are memories that I treasure forever. Since she lives across the country, we don't get to see each other much. The last time was at my wedding which was almost 7 years ago, but no matter what, she will always be one of my very best friends. I am sure she is going to be so bugged when she reads this because she hates it when I write long posts. (I had to return the birthday tribute favor.) Honestly, you only have to read a couple of posts on her blog to get a glimpse of how funny she is and the places her mind goes. She is one of the most special people that I know.
I love you Jennifer and I hope you had the happiest birthday! Here's to joining the ranks of the big 3-0!

August of 1995 - Just before leaving for the famous WCSC Sausalito Dinner. Too funny that I spent my life with this girl and yet we have very few pictures together... or maybe I just need to track some down from my mom.

Catch Up

Well it's 1:30am and I can't sleep. I figured why not just catch up on Taylor since it has been way too long and maybe it will keep my mind off things.

So nearly a month ago now, Taylor turned 9 months. She has only grown an inch since her last appointment 3 months ago (I think she's going to be a little shrimp), but she did reach a whopping 19 lbs 13 ounces. I swear she weighed more when were in California, so maybe all of this crawling around has made her start shedding some pounds. Honestly, I love the chub and I'm not quite ready to see it go, but trust me, there is still a lot there to enjoy. Here are some of the highlights and some of her favorite things right now:

• She loves waking up in the morning, always has. She just laughs when I pick her up. However she hates going to bed. After almost 5 months of putting her down without rocking her to sleep, she usually cries for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Sometimes (like tonight) she cries for over 30 minutes so I whimp out and pick her up. Her manipulation works and then before I know it, it's 10 pm.
• She is crawling! It may not be the traditional crawl, more of an army crawl, but she can move quick. I was cooking in the kitchen the other day and I looked back to check on her in the living room and couldn't find her. It had only been a couple of minutes but she made her way behind the couch!
• We haven't swam too much, but when her daddy took her in the pool on Memorial Day, she was kicking and swimming all over the place! I knew that she loved the water, but I've never seen her that excited in the pool. Most of her water experiences are in the bath tub, with all the splashing, it feel like I end up taking a bath with her.
• She loves hair. I don't mean just touching or pulling hair, I mean eating hair.... ugh! With a shedding dog in the house, no matter how much I vacuum, she is always bound to find some and she loves putting hair in her mouth. It is sooooo gross!
• Honestly, Taylor puts anything and everything in her mouth. I did have to stick my finger down her throat a few weeks back because she was gagging on something. It was pretty scary.
• She loves dogs barking. Whenever she goes over to her Grandma TTs and their yorkie is barking, she will honestly belly laugh. So cute!
• She barely fits in the bumbo chair and the other day she actually popped out of the bumbo chair. I look away for a minute and when I look back she is on her stomach on the kitchen counter. It's like I can't even take my eyes off her!
• She loves our daily walks. We usually take 2 walks per day to accommodate Quique, but Taylor loves it! Now that the rain is apparently gone, we can hopefully enjoy the outdoors even more!
• She loves music. A lot of times she will start to almost dance a little when she hears music. The other night we went to Red Iguana (my favorite Mexican Food except for maybe some food in Mexico) and the two gentlemen who go around with their guitars came over and sang a children's song to Taylor. She was in between them in her high chair and she just kept looking back and forth from one guy to the other. It was like she knew that they were singing to her. I got some of it on video, but it just doesn't do the experience justice.
• She claps all of the time. It's funny because she actually does it when she's happy or she hears people laughing. I hosted our Dinner Club this last month and we were laughing in the other room and Dustin told me when she heard us laughing she started laughing and clapping her hands.
• She is just a happy baby. We are so blessed to have such a special and happy baby. She is so good and so sweet!

I know I'm leaving out so much, but I do have one mommy highlight (at least I will only write one, but of course there are many many more):

• Less than 3 months of formula and then we are on to the real stuff! Our bank account will be so happy!

The only other update is Father's Day. I know that we are well past that special day, but this year it was so special. Dustin was actually ready and wanting kids long before me, but he waited until I was ready and then who knew it would be such a process! Whatever the case, he is such an amazing dad. Taylor lights up whenever he enters the room and he can make her laugh so hard. He is so good with her and the love those two have for each other is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. I am so grateful for a husband who is such an amazing dad and I am grateful for how hard he works and all of the sacrifices that he makes so that I can stay at home with Taylor. I'll be honest, staying home has been quite a life changing event for me, but I am so glad that I have the opportunity to do it because of Dustin. Dustin will be so entertained by her some times and he will say "I know you get to see this all of the time, but I love this"! Watching Taylor grow each and every day and watching her personality blossom is a miracle that I get to watch almost every minute of every single day and I'm so glad that I get to be a part of that. Who knew that this sweet little bundle of joy could fill our lives and to fill some of those empty spots in our hearts in ways that I can't even begin to explain. I love you DT! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Trip to Cali

I won't bore everyone with all of the details, but we had a great trip to California. Dustin came out for a few days and then Taylor and I stayed another week. My mom got us tickets to Wicked so Dustin got to see it for the first time, we spent time with my dad and Cary, hung out in San Francisco, ate lots of wonderful food and we were able to visit some friends. All in all it was a great trip. We watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" while I was home. There is a great line (which I am totally paraphrasing and will totally butcher at the same time). Brad Pitt is talking about coming home after many years of being out to sea and says something to the effect of when you come home, it looks the same, smells the same, and even feels the same. The only thing that's changed is you.' This is so true but it made me excited for the time when Taylor is older and I can come back and show her all of the places where some of my most wonderful memories are and to see the people that I share those wonderful memories with.

Wicked - Hands down my favorite play, although I did like Glinda better the first time... before they toned down her part, but the costumes were much better the 2nd time. Dustin enjoyed it too! But maybe not quite as much as me. But before the play we had to eat at House of Sake for some sushi. My mom has been going there for so long that they give her a 15 or 20% discount every time she goes. How awesome is that!

While we were at Wicked, my dad and Cary watched Taylor and seemed to have a lot of fun! Thanks to Cary for the great pics!

Grandpa and Taylor.... love it!

My dad is one of the best cooks I know and he and Cary made us paella one night. It was excellent. Here we are hanging out at Grandpa and Cary's house!


Cary is a huge horse lover and has and awesome saddle set up in their house. Taylor is starting early... :)

Taylor's first lemon... she loves it! Her Grandma Ann will be so proud!

My dad and Cary's amazing Paella and always beautiful presentation!

Taylor loves it when daddy blows in her face. And thanks to Cary for all of the beautiful pictures she took and for allowing me to use them on the blog!

Grandma and Taylor at Tadich Grill in San Francisco

Dustin and I with our bibs, getting ready for the best cioppino. Dustin and I were so excited that we didn't even take a second to take a picture of how great it is!

Taylor riding the carousel at Pier 39

Sorry for the blurry picture... I was able to visit one of my dear friends, Heather and her new baby Roman. The picture doesn't even begin to show how cute he is.

All in all, great trip and lots of fun! Can't wait to do it again... although it was nice to come home.

A Perfect Evening

Last night was just one of those night's that was just perfect! The birthday celebration continued last night with just the two of us (Dustin and I, of course). Dustin had planned to go to a hotel in Midway, but I think since I've been out of town, I was feeling like just staying at home. Anyway, bless Mark and Sarah's hearts for taking Taylor for the night so Dustin and I could just enjoy a night to ourselves. We went up to Park City and did a little bit of shopping at the outlets and then we were off to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse since the one in Salt Lake closed. Ruth's Chris is one of my two favorite restaurants in Utah (Cucina Toscana being the other one). Anyway as always the food and service were perfect and there was also some entertainment during dinner with a guy playing a keyboard with his 16 year old son playing the bass, and his 18 year old son singing. Right after we sat down they started singing "The Way You Look Tonight" (which was our song at our wedding). This 18 year old kid's voice was like listening to Michael Buble... it was just perfect! It was almost like we had our own private concert because our table was so close to them. I forget how important those nights are to spend just with Dustin because it was exactly what we needed and it would have never happened without Sarah and Mark and the kids. Thank you so very much!!!

P.S. Once I'm not so lazy I'll post some pics and a cute little video of Taylor from Cali. She is really developing quite a personality!!!

Surprise, Surprise!

Well, Dustin pulled it off! He managed to throw a surprise party for my big 3-0 and I didn't have a clue. I've been visiting my fam in Cali for the past week and a half (hence the lack of blog posts), but I'll catch up on that later this week.

So... Taylor and I were supposed to get in around 9 last night, but Dustin called me Sunday night to tell me he had changed my flight. He said he wanted to spend some extra time with Taylor before she went to bed and since our sweet angel has her daddy totally wrapped around her finger, I totally bought the story. I definitely kept Dustin on his toes because my flight got in earlier than expected (by like 30 minutes, when does that ever happen) so he had to stall and a little and I still had no idea. It wasn't until we were pulling up our street, that I noticed a couple of familiar cars and then Dustin was rushing me in without my luggage and I opened the door to our small family room packed with some of our family and closest friends. Dustin had embarrassing pictures of me all over the place, and a beautiful collage with the #30 splattered everywhere and what is a party without food and cake. (Thanks to my friends for bringing some of my favorite goodies). Dustin has been working hard all week to fix up the yard, clean the house and totally keep me out of the loop. He didn't even call me on my birthday, I had to call him and then he kept rushing me off the phone. I think he just didn't want to blow anything at the last minute. It was honestly one of the sweetest and most thoughtful things that Dustin could have done. And not only because of the party, but I know that he was totally outside of his comfort zone planning a party, but like everything else, he put his whole heart into it (he even sent out e-vites with music from 1979). It was a very very special day!

Yesterday gave me time to reflect about my life. Except for being in California, it was like any other day, I would have never known it was my birthday. But as I was saying so long to my 20s it made me kind of glad they were over. I started off my 20s with an identity crisis. I didn't really know who I was or where my life was going and to be honest I didn't really love who I was. But after 10 years of some of the highest highs and some of my lowest lows, I couldn't ask for a better way to start my 30s. I am starting my 30s as a mom of one of the sweetest angels in the world, I am married to the love of my life whom I love and adore more and more every single day, I have a family, actually two families that I love being a part of and I have some of the very best friends that I could have ever asked for. Walking into a house with some of my favorite people in the world (minus a few of course) I can't imagine a more perfect way to end my 20s and step into another 10 years of what I'm sure will be a lot more ups and downs, but I'm starting off on more solid ground. I can hardly wait!