Bike-A-Thon 2009

So this is the third annual biking competition in our office. We started earlier than usual because Charlie was excited to get it underway. There are 10 participants this year. In 2007, I 'participated', meaning my name was on the tracking sheet but school made it difficult to ride. In 2008 I was again on the list, but maternity leave helped me justify not ever riding. Well, I actually rode yesterday. It was awesome! It felt good to ride. I haven't really been on my bike for any amount of time since my mission. Brought back a lot of good memories, and some not-so good ones (like the time the tow truck ran me off the road and down a rocky hill). Ah, memories.

Anyway, Jon dropped Tae off yesterday so I could ride on my own and scope out our route. There are only 2 blocks that don't have a bike lane. I've also figured out how to avoid having to cross traffic. I was a little worried about how many garbage cans and parked cars were in the bike lane... Next week I'm going to hook up the bike trailer and bring Tae with me. I'm a little excited and a little nervous, too. Reminds me a little of when we came home from the hospital with Taelyn. I was terrified that some idiot was going to hit my car and hurt my baby. We'll be so much more vulnerable and people in the city aren't very friendly to cyclists. I did get the brightest trailer I could find. I would still like to add a flag and a taillight to the trailer before we ride on Monday.

Back to the Bike-A-Thon, ranking as of today: Jenni-three-rides, Charlie-two-rides, and Tamaran-one-ride. The funniest thing is that is how we refer to each other at work! We are the only three that rode in February. We'll see what March brings. Hopefully many beautiful riding days!

Jon's New Calling

Did I mention that Jon got a new calling? High Priest Group Leader. The startled look you have, that is how I looked when President Thorp extended the call. I was totally caught off guard...Jon was too. We were expecting him to be called as an assistant. That is what we get for making our own guesses, I guess.

A Most Productive Weekend

I think this past weekend was the most productive 3-day weekend I have ever had. We got so much accomplished.

Before our Valentine's dinner, we spent 4 hours working on math. It is Jon's last math class, and we are determined that he will pass it the first time. After dinner we set up the baby crib in the living room. Here are pictures of her getting used to it before we moved it to our bedroom. Sunday, after staying late at church, we spent the afternoon with Riley. We finished the day by running to see a friend that is in the hospital.

Monday morning we did 3 more hours of homework. In the afternoon, I moved all the boxes that we haven't unpacked out of Taelyn's room and did some organizing. I had Jon and Riley move the storage closet, put together the day bed and move the crib to her new room. We vacuumed and baby proofed the room. Look how happy she looks to have her own room! That evening we did another hour of homework on the floor in Tae's room. In the middle of it, I noticed that Tae was standing next to me and not holding on to anything. I don't know how long she had been there. We are very excited, but I'm not sure that I'm quite ready for her to try to walk...
It took us a long time to get ready for bed because I was dragging my feet. Last night was the first night that Taelyn wasn't sleeping in the same room we were in. Jon teased me because it was so hard for me. He laughed because our room and her room are connected by a door. We closed both doors that open to the living room and opened the connecting door. He had to convince me that we would be able to hear her fine. With the 10 foot ceilings, the echo made it impossible to miss any sounds she made.

I was nervous because I usually wake up and check on her 5-6 times a night. Poor thing has gotten used to me putting my hand on her belly or back to make sure she is breathing. She even puts up with me putting my finger under her nose when the first option doesn't satisfy me. I was proud of myself-I only snuck in there twice to make sure she was alright.

Valentine's Day

For the past 3 years, Jon has made me dinner for Valentine's day. Steak and lobster tails, salad, potatoes, bubbly and candles. This year we decided to try crab for a change.

This is the first year that I haven't been in school or dealing with 'morning' sickness. I insisted on helping, but Jon only agreed to let me make the potatoes (twice baked-the lazy way!) and Italian Creme Cake (same as our wedding cake). He did the rest.

This year, we didn't worry about setting up in the living room. As you can see, we didn't even worry about cleaning of the table completely (Jon's math is in the background). Oh, and if you can't tell...Tae was part of the centerpiece (right where she likes to be!). She really liked the candles when we turned the lights down. I was amazed that she just sat there while we ate. Toward the end she got sleepy, so we put her down and enjoyed a little time alone.

Oh, and Fig, you would be proud of me! I eat my steak medium-well. I decided to be brave and tried medium-rare, and loved it! (Well 1/2 of it anyway-that was a huge steak!)

Our Nightly Entertainment

So I haven't yet tried to see if I can upload video taken by my camera...here is a sad attempt. I learned that I need to not rotate my camera because I don't have the software needed to rotate it. Please excuse the head-tilt required to watch the videos; next time around, it won't be required! This is Taelyn learning to stand on her own. This has become a game around our place and we are up to about 20 seconds.

The second is Jon making her laugh, which he does oh-so-well! Here he is actually throwing a water bottle into the air (the crazy background noise). Apparently it is pretty funny, sorry, no video of that.

Baby-Proofing a Little Higher

So we knew that if we stood her up in the playpen she could stay standing. This is a pic of her watching TV (Planet Earth, of course) and snacking on the playpen pad.
Then, the other day she decided that the bottom shelf was not good enough... I guess the view wasn't good enough this way because... This last pic is after da-da-da got worried and put a few blankets behind her. It was a great idea, because 2 minutes later she let go. As we have already found out, our hardwood floor is not kind to little heads during a fall.

9 Month Stats

Weight: 16.37 lbs (10%)
Height: 28.25 in (75%)
Head Circ: 44 cm (75%)

OK Nersey & C.M., its official. We all knew your kiddo is heavier, which makes for adorable smiles with his little dimples, but I would have never guessed it was almost by 4 pounds! When we stood them up on the table when we went to dinner, I thought they were almost the same in height. Nope. At least our 9 month old beats out your 6 month old in one area!

Aunt Lori's Book 2

I've already done a post on Aunt Lori's book, but I wanted to add the link to this article. It is in today's Deseret News Mormon Times. It gives a little more background on the Author and her project that became "Beloved Emma".

Teeth

So Jenni reminded me that I hadn't blogged about our teeth yet. Our first two teeth, bottom front, made their appearance on Friday. I tried to get a pic, but every time her mouth is open, her tongue is in the way. She keeps rubbing her tongue across her teeth. I can only assume she is trying to figure out what in the heck it is and why it is there. Pics to come once I can get them!

JAZZ TICKETS

We have 4 Jazz tickets for the game tonight. We are planning on going, but we were unable to find anyone to take the other 2 tickets. Our 2 tickets are close to, but not next to, the other 2 seats (that are together). Is anyone interested in going with us?