Back to Work

I went back to work full time today (for real, not the 13 days I went back in June), and good thing! We got a letter in the mail from our beloved insurance company (No, neither one of us has a job with health insurance benefits... yet... fingers crossed!).
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Dear Mr. Snow,

Thank you for choosing [our annoying company]. You are a valued member and we take the responsbility and trust you've placed in us to provide you with quality healthcare coverage seriously.

[Blah, blah, blah... Therefore,] The new monthly rate for your health plan is $1,105.

[Blah, blah, blah again]

We constantly strive to provide you with the highest standard of [heart attacks and vomit-inducing rates] in everything we do for you.

Sincerely,

[someone who is making a lot of money from you]
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Okay, so maybe my bracketed changes were a little different from what's on the page, but I'm pretty sure that's what they meant.

ANYWAY, I hate our health care system. I love our doctors, but insurance stuff just makes me want to scream.

Also, should I get the whooping cough vaccine? Aiden will have his third dose in a few weeks.

Speaking of Aiden, here's a video of him learning to sit by himself. He's still slumpy and fairly unsteady, but he's practicing!

Out of Control

I am actually reading/working with all but two of these. BoM is a daily retreat. Eragon is one my students love that I just find a little boring but am trying to read anyway. I am reading a Parents magazine when I only have a few minutes here or there. Understanding Exposure is my effort at getting more prepared for my 7-week photography workshop that begins Monday. I just got Mockingjay Tuesday, and I am about halfway through it and enjoying it! I finished Queen Bees and Wannabes but am writing a paper on it for a class I’m taking this summer IS, and Three Cups of Tea is the second book I am doing for that class… it’s a lot more boring and taking longer… I am reading the next few chapters of Gospel Principles to prepare for my lesson in a few weeks. I have Eat, Pray, Love and The Help from the library because I was on a waiting list for both, and of course they came available NOW… I may have to take them back without starting them! (sad) Finally, I am trying to prep baby food since I start back to work full time tomorrow, so this Feeding Your Baby book is helping me figure out how long to cook the sweet potatoes, etc.

Did I mention I start back to work TOMORROW? Yikes.

Meanwhile, this little guy has had a cold this week, and Isaac might be going out of town for work next week. GULP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He may come home to find me buried in student papers and that pile of books.

and maybe baby snot.

We’ll see.

My Duet Partner

Today I sang a solo in church. Thanks to my very talented friend Danielle, who was willing to play for me with little notice, it was not a disaster. It was not the first time I’d sung in church, but it was as scary as ever, and I shook like a leaf. I also had to contain my laughter because of this little guy. Okay, he looks pretty sleepy in this picture, so you might not guess that he would be a performer, but trust me: he is!

The whole time I was singing at the pulpit, Aiden stood on my mom’s lap, stared at me, and tried to sing right along. Loudly. I had numerous people tell me how funny they thought he was because he clearly recognized that it was me singing, and he was ready to participate in the musical number!

Here’s a little more character. Next time, maybe he can take my place!

Mandy is Eighteen!

We threw her a surprise party, and it was amazing. She was completely surprised, which absolutely made my day.

Lots of friends from seminary and school came, and of course, we boring family members crashed the party. You know. Someone older and wiser needs to be there to chaperone. and eat. and critique the karaoke.

We’re important.

This was more than one blow, in case you can’t tell. She was laughing too hard.

Now she’s off to BYU, leaving tomorrow. What will I do without my (little?) sister around?

Family Photos

We took family pictures while we were in Tahoe. My family went up Wed-Saturday, and we were there Thurs-Monday, so we took photos at the beach while our trips overlapped. It was the first family photo since Isaac and I got married five years ago, and Mom wanted another one at Tahoe like the family photo we took 8 years ago at an Anderson reunion because she wanted to have Isaac and Aiden and the dogs in it. It’s tough to get a photo where everyone including dogs and baby is looking at a camera sitting on a tripod without a person waving around to get their attention, but this one was okay.

and the Snows at the lake… Ignore Isaac’s funny face; we were making jokes, lol.

5 Months Old!

Here are some notes on our growing boy:

-He is about 15 and a half pounds (45ish percentile) and 25 inches long (25th percentile), but he is just above the 50th percentile in weight for length, which I guess means he is proportioned normally but a little tiny bit small for his age. Does that sound right?

-He rolls back to front but not front to back. Mostly he just cries when he’s on his tummy if he is not lying on a person.

-He likes to hold onto his toes now

-He is getting more steady sitting up without support.

-He smiles right away when he sees me or Isaac or Sophie, and he is pretty quick to smile at other people he knows or even strangers who talk to him when he is in a good mood.

-He likes to bury his face in my shoulder when other people are talking to him and making faces at him.

-He laughs the most when we bury our faces in his tummy and make funny noises.

-He sort of eats solids, but he isn't super wild about them.

-He sleeps 8-9 hours or more at a stretch at night and takes three naps during the day, varying in length from 45 minutes to two hours. He is not perfectly consistent, but I think he is getting moreso all the time.

-He likes baths but not being dried off. He is growing out of our sink.

-He is such a sweetheart, we adore him even when he’s crying. We just prefer when he isn’t crying. ;)

Our Summer Vacation

Our summer vacation of four days to the beautiful South Lake Tahoe took a turn for the chilly the night before we went home…

It hailed!

Needless to say, we scrapped our original plan of hiking by Emerald Bay. We hung out and played cards and just enjoyed being together and away from work for awhile.

I should add that the two days before this provided gorgeous warm weather in which we were able to take a trip to the beach a few miles away and a day excursion to Virginia City, NV. This was just an odd evening…

Keeping Cool in Virginia City

Mom, that ice cream looks pretty delicious. Can’t I have just a little lick? Please?

I’m ready! Pass me the ice cream cone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was seriously delicious, Mom. It was also scarily cold. Still, why can’t I have more?

Disclaimer: Aiden does not normally eat ice cream. He also does not normally dress like this, but when you pee on your clothes, you get to wear whatever extra onesie happens to be in the diaper bag…

Why I Love Isaac

He is the best darn-tootin’ camel racer I have ever met. We had a lovely trip.

;)

Just Happy

Sometimes it’s good to celebrate just being happy on a normal day under normal circumstances. I love being home with Aiden now while he is small and learning so much. Even though he’s a lot of work, I’m trying to just enjoy it while it lasts because I know that it’s only a few short weeks before I go back to work full time, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to be a big bummer. So for now, we’re just happy and enjoying the way things are.