A Little Pre-Christmas Cheer

This is the best time of year. I can't help but feel nostalgic and smiley and excited and grateful around Christmas time.  I LOVE the ward and family get-togethers, the delicious smells and FOOD, the constant singing, the lights and decorations around town, Christmas Hymns in sacrament meeting, and remembering the sweet story of Christ's humble birth. And I hope that I can pass on Christmas' spirit to my daughter.  

 I think she's getting it.

We aren't buying Scarlett presents to open on Christmas because I already know that there are some wickedly excited family members on the job, and I figure she doesn't genuinely care about much besides cords and climbing and food (She's especially passionate about popcorn, so we allow her to eat an edited de-kerneled version.  She comes from a long line of popcorn lovers.)

She also loves remotes, cell phones, and specks on the floor.

However, I am excited to shop for Scarlett next Christmas and find something that she's really into.  Maybe she'll be into dolls, or horses, or tornadoes (my nephews had a ongoing obsession with tornadoes, so cute and so weird). Shopping for kids is fun.

And apparently, so is shopping for ourselves.  Brian and I got a few Christmas upgrades in our home.

 We got rid of our big entertainment center and got these shelves and wall mount for our TV.  It looks nicer and makes the room feel much more open.

Brian installed a bike rack so our first babies don't take over our human baby's room.  Hurray!

And we got a dog! Just kidding, anybody who knows us knows we would never get a dog.  Some of Brian's colleagues hosted a little Christmas party.  Ben's cute pup Aidy and Scarlett really hit it off. Last time they met she was quite afraid of her, but that evening they reconciled their differences and got into each others' personal space and didn't seem to mind. 

 Ben. Home owner, dog-owner, host.

 Micheal, and Anh-Vu being a crazy fun Vietnamese man.

 Natalie and Scar-child.

 Puppy love.

 Intimate party of 4 men, 1 woman, 1 baby, a dog and a cat.

We even got presents! I got a Swiffer Wet Jet, Brian got a bunch of steak, and Scarlett got a monkey leash.  So thoughtful, they're all too nice.

To me, Christmas is about spending time and appreciating the people you love, and especially about  the Savior, His birth, His message, and the hope He brings to our future.   I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!  Family, we are so excited to see you next week!

T-giving and Apes

Ever since we returned from Utah for Brian's sweet Grandpa's funeral, I've been in a sweet, lazy funk. It didn't help that I got very sick on the flight home which cascaded into a sick little family for the next week.  There was a nasty virus that hit almost every member of my family.  At first, we thought it was food poisoning since my mom, my little sister, and I all had the same rough night. But as it swiftly diffused through eight other family members, we threw away that idea.
  I haven't had too many post inspirations lately, and that last month flew by. I cannot believe that its Christmas season.  Also, I'm turning 24 (I think) on the 12th of December.  Happy birthday to me!  Brian got me a nice new Canon EOS Rebel xs for a sneaky early present.  In the near future I'm gonna litter this blog with fantastic photography, probably!  Not today though, still waiting for the SD card in the mail.  BTW, I would love any tips on editing, lighting, how to  actually use my camera, etc.

Isn't she beautiful?

Lately, I've just been enjoying cold weather and comfort food and new friends and baby teething.  The baby teething part is a funny ironic joke.  Scarlett's world gets turned upside down when she gets a new tooth, and it  especially effects her sleep habits.  Curse you, stuffy noses and little fevers and wakeful nights! We had a great sleep system down! Sleepless nights aside, it is all totally worth it for sweet moments like this:

 Scarlett loves her dad and her apes.  Whenever I call them monkeys, Brian corrects me. She has a few different species of toy apes, not just in the monkey family. I am thankful for his insightful distinction.

Our Thanksgiving was awesome thanks to our Utah-transplant-orphan ward.  When we don't have family around, we just get together and make a new one.  We had a Thanksgiving dinner with the institute the Friday before actual Thanksgiving, then another meal on the blessed Thursday.  Thanksgiving morning we played volleyball with our ward and a flock of sweet silly missionaries, and after our meal we ended up playing basketball after we cleaned up the gym.  It reminded me of home.  I loved it.
    On Friday we slept in and did some midday Black Friday shopping and finally found Scarlett a coat.  Looks cozy right?

        Its basically a straight jacket when combined with her car seat, but she doesn't seem to mind.  It puts her right to sleep.  And those cute boots are from City Creek's H&M from Grandma Green.  We had such a great time paloosing around city creek and looking at cool displays and stuff we couldn't afford.   I'm so excited to visit for Christmas!

Halloweek

The week before Halloween on Wednesday night, our friends Barb and Gavin Feller had us over to carve pumpkins.  Gavin is seeking a PhD in Communications at the university, Barb is on my volleyball team, and they have a 14 month old son named Miloh.  There was one week when I saw Barb for approx. 5 days straight at volleyball, playgroup, downtown, VB practice, Books for Babies, Farmer's Market, etc. so I figured we had similar interests. She figured I was following her around like a weirdo.  So, we are friends now.  Woohoo!  I got a great picture of the Fellers' backs.

 

 Brian made a Kitty Bat. To the Cat Cave!

 

Glooooowing.

 

      ...

     The next night, as Brian and I were preparing some delicious fish tacos, baby got fussy for attention.  So I picked her up to console her and held her on my hip as was figuring out what to put the black beans in....then Scar let out a big cry.  She had cut herself on the open can lid, and I felt like a dummy.  Nothing is worse than when your baby gets hurt. Often I picture my baby falling off a balcony while I'm holding her or getting clobbered by one of the pans I placed on the counter, and it is the eeriest feeling that makes me shutter. Maybe these visions are a part of my mom-mechanisms- to analyze the safety of the room and protect her from harm. I wish I had foreseen her cutting herself on a sharp can lid.

     She was bleeding like crazy and the cut was pretty severe for her little baby finger, so I held the wound closed while Brian calmly and swiftly figured things out.  The nearby clinic was closing in half an hour so we scrambled over there while I kept pressure on her finger.  Scarlett fell asleep soon after we started driving, little sweetie. When we arrived to the clinic, they told us they couldn't see her because she was 4 days shy of 6 months old.  We were a little bummed as we headed to the ER, but not mad, the cut-off has to be somewhere, right?   The Medical Resident (who happened to be from Orem, Utah) cleaned and glued her flapping finger tip shut.  I think Scarlett hated that her hand was being held immobile more than any pain she felt, more stubborn than sad.

 They put tape across the tip of her finger where they glued it.  Despite our careful efforts, she chewed/ripped the tape and glue off that same night and it started bleeding again.  We fixed it ourselves with a band-aid and athletic tape and that seemed to work.  Dr. Mom and Dad right here.

 We had to change it once or twice a day or she would do it herself.  It was stressful, but I'm happy to say that its completely healed just a week and a half later.  Babies are amazing little suckers.

...

      That Saturday we had our ward Halloween Party.  I was granny, Brian was the wolf, Scar was Little Red Riding Hood.  Yeah, we didn't really get the story right.  The wolf is supposed to dress up as granny and say things like, "The better to eat you with my dear" but oh well, I'm proud of them regardless. We put our costumes together in 20 minutes, because we slept in so late.

 I poured baby powder in my hair, and it smelled great.  Some people told me they didn't recognize me.  I mean, what a complement on a day like Halloween!

 I just drew a wolf-kitty face on Brian with eyeliner, and I asked him a couple weeks ago to start No-Shave-November early for his wolf persona.

 That's Barbara F. in the background.  Hey Barb!

This Halloween party had it all.  There was a chili cook off, cookie decorating, a costume parade, photo booth, and a trunk or treat. "The better to celebrate with my dear."

My mom purchased and customized this rad Little Red Basket for Scarlett.  Consequently, there were no questions asked who this girl was dressed up as.

 We were part of the costume parade. Miloh is a puppy.

 

 On the real Halloween it was rather wet, so we just walked around the Feller's apt. complex because there are a gaggle of cute children that live there. We even got ourselves some candy, and I found out I'm a big fan of Mott's fruit snacks.  Hurray for Holidays!

Stuff We Do Wed-Sat

Wednesday: Twice a month, one of the ladies in our ward takes a turn hosting Playgroup  in the middle of the day.  Its a great chance for me to talk to other human adults, and for Scarlett to learn how to share toys and germs.
If we aren't getting ready for that,  Scarlett and I lounge about and I usually give her a chance to take a nice, long morning nap around 10:30 before going anywhere.

 She really likes the one shoulder look.  This happens a lot, even though Brian is trying to teach her about modesty through the gentle, weird direction of his brother Jeffery.

When she's up, we go grocery shopping.  Last Wednesday we decided to go to the Central Discount.  Its sort of like Carl's in Ogden, but less ghetto.  It's in Amish country where they sell expired or damaged packaged goods.  The 20 minute drive goes through beautiful farmland and  cornfields; I love it. We bought cereal for 90 cents a box and  Halloween candy from last year.   We like to keep it classy. 

When we got home I attempted to photograph Scarlett in her fall attire in fall surroundings.  Somehow I failed to remember she really likes to eat leaves.  Oh well, her bow looks cute. It took my 10 minutes to re-tie.
Brian gets home late (around 6ish) from an Ethics Class so Scarlett and I usually prepare something scrumptious for dinner. The other day we made this

 with this.

 Thank you Pinterest. Their own my Yummo board if you'd like to try.

Thursday: Depending on Scarlett's sleeping patterns, we sometimes head to "Books with Babies" at the Coralville library at 11:15.  I like it because I learn all kinds of jingles and games to make Scarlett laugh, and I meet a lot of other parents in the community and we compare children.  Not in a malicious way, just in a developmental, size, behavioral, teething age sort of way.  Its very enlightening.

My sister, Sarah asked me if Scarlett sits up on her own now.  I dumbly said, "I dunno."  She had never stayed in one spot long enough for me to tell if her sitting up was just a fluke. Alas, last Thursday she sat balanced and unassisted for the first 20 minutes of class. Solid.

Friday: Scarlett and I wake up after dad has gone, and get ready to go downtown.  Brian gets out of class at around 3:00, so we often wait for him on campus (in Iowa City, campus=downtown). We usually go to the gym first around noon. We get our exercise on- Zumba, Yoga, or Spinning- and then jump in the pool. 

 

When I don't feel like putting her swimsuit on, just to take it off in a few minutes, she swims in her unisex swim-diaper, AKA boys' speedo. I usually don't correct strangers who say, "He's so cute."  It makes them more embarrassed than I care about revealing her true gender. Babies don't have facial hair or shapely curves, you couldn't have known.  Its fine.  Really.
  Friday night we start our weekend.  Once a month the Institute holds a Marrieds Dinner Social and Fireside.  Sometimes we hang out with Brian's fellow PhD students. They call Scarlett a few affectionate names such as Lebron, Babby, Simba, and Scar.  Last Friday they decided it was movie night at our house and brought us A TON of food and played Super Smash. They are cute.
Saturday: We go places. Amish country for cheese curds.

 Super cool Cyclo-cross races.

  Downtown to see the masses for football games.  Every home game, the institute throws a student breakfast. And we usually hit the Farmer's Market for some yummy fresh produce.

And hopefully the Nauvoo temple next week.

And that is what the average week looks like for the Green family.  Now you know.