Things I learned this weekend

-Motherhood isn't nearly as limiting as people make it seem. I can take Violet anywhere. If it's loud, she falls asleep. If it's outside, she is too distracted by the scenery to care.

-I really shouldn't worry about looking like a mom because two sixteen-year-old girls told me how much they love my shoes. They said they liked how shiny they are.

-Fifteen quarts of feijoada goes a long way, and dad enjoyed making it almost as much as he enjoyed making Violet smile.

-If you ask for Mom's help, she does the whole thing for you. I didn't have to do a single thing this weekend.

-Violet loves her sling, and so do I. It is great to have 2 hands again.

-Brandon can sleep through anything, so I don't even leave the room to feed her at night anymore.

-Dad will do pretty much anything to not have to get a hotel. I still can't believe they slept on our tiny couches all weekend.
-Poodle is never satisfied. But since her birthday is this week, I'll post more pictures just for her.

Violet's blessing

Violet had a really fun time with Reed and Papa this weekend. She was smiling a lot for Papa (she thought his gray hair was funny) and it made Reed jealous, because everything is a competition for her. Violet has made me really appreciate the great outdoors because any time we go outside, she stops crying. It doesn't matter if it's 30 degrees out; she doesn't seem to mind. Only Cooper gets more excited about going on walks. Here she is posing like Hulk Hogan.

Today was her blessing day and it was great. She looked very cute for it, but her legs are so long that the dress looked more like a shirt on her.

Here is one of our first family pictures, even though Brandon doesn't know how to smile.

And this one is from the luncheon-- I have never seen a girl as excited to be an aunt as Mia.

It was a great weekend. Thanks for helping out, mom and dad!

Baby blue

Here are those big blue eyes that Brandon was talking about. She looks a little puzzled here. She is very alert. The ladies in the geology office always come and oogle her when we bring lunch to Brandon. They told me that I have to keep bringing her every day so they can see her grow, but I warned them that I won't be able to walk to campus anymore when it starts snowing. At least we can enjoy the mild weather for now.

Brandon is going on a field trip tomorrow, so we get to have "girls' night in" all weekend. It will be fun. I think I am going to eat soup and ice cream every day and go shopping for some non-maternity jeans. Violet will probably have no clue what's going on, but I can pretend that she enjoys it.

Right now she is starting to wake up from her nap. I can always tell when she is about to wake up because she grunts and farts. It's really funny, she will grunt and fart for about 5 minutes before she finally opens her eyes.

Help

If I cut my hair short(ish), would that make me look like a mom? Because I think it's time for a change, but I really don't want to look like a mom. Being one is quite enough for me.

Decisions, decisions

Brandon is starting to apply to grad schools. We could end up in a number of places: Houston, Austin, Utah, Colorado, or Wisconsin. Each place has its advantages. Texas is close to family, Colorado focuses exclusively on geology, Wisconsin has great cheese, and BYU is a favorite with recruiters. It will be interesting to see where we go, but ultimately I want him to go to whatever school makes him the best offer. Too bad it will be several months before that happens.

Halloween!

Our Halloween was great. We were in charge of a cake walk at our ward party and we won the award for spiciest chili in the chili contest. Since I wasn't up to making any costumes, I went generic and decided to be a kitty.

Today Violet looked really cute in her little dress. We tried to take a picture of it, but she was hungry so she wasn't being very cooperative.

And here she is as a little mummy. I can't help it, I just think she is adorable.