Hands

In celebration of the American Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I would dedicate a post to the thing Jared is most grateful for: Hands.
This is how he would always be if he had his way.


In consequence of all the drool, my hands are already chapped and it's not quite December yet!

Frumpy Mom vs. Sloppy College Student

Saturday was a busy day. I did laundry cleaned up around the house. Took care of Jared. A little socializing outside while going to switch the laundry. Company came over for the Game (Woohoo, by the way). We went to In-N-Out just before half time. Now we got home around five o'clock. I look in the mirror and there was no makeup to be found.
Hm.
I guess I missed that step.
Anyway, I went out and apologized to Ken for doing this. (Note: Ken doesn't care. At all.) I felt that after the first month or so of being a mom I was getting enough sleep to throw on a little makeup. Now, I'm not talking about the full get up or anything. My usual routine since my early high school days has been mascara and concealer.
At this time I realized I was in a room with two other women, who are college freshman. And one of these sweet ladies doesn't wear makeup often and the other doesn't wear a lot. It made me think about the difference between not wearing makeup as a busy college student and not wearing makeup as a busy mother.
The best conclusion I came up with is that college students get breaks. Perhaps it is assumed that once the paper is written, the midterm has passed or finals are over that they will get back into their routine and will be restored to their former glory. However, mothers are well known for the lack of breaks. If I never have any more children I'll be a full time mother for at least another 17 years and 7 months. Add any more children onto that and I'll be off in 2035. So perhaps people believe that once you begin the downward slide, there is no going back!
In conclusion, I won't believe that is true. I have never been one for too much habit. I've moved around our furniture enough to prove that. Just because I didn't wear makeup on Saturday, Thursday or Monday, doesn't mean I didn't today or won't tomorrow. I'm not going to worry about looking like a frumpy mom who doesn't take care of herself just because I wear sweatpants on occasion. I do exercise for crying out loud!
And on another note, I do like looking good. It makes me feel energized to get dressed, put on some makeup and even a necklace (although this is a hazard to my health with a baby on my lap). It is part of what makes me feel in control. Ken (again, couldn't care less as long as I haven't slumped into a depression) has helped me learn that this (the feeling of control) is an important part of my happiness.
So to the mothers of the world, don't let yourself feel judged and learn to do what makes you a happier, healthier mom!

Camera Shy

We've tried to get video of Jared gabbing (he does so very loudly, most especially during church), but he is a little camera shy. However there is one thing he does very well on camera.

Eater

Jared loves to eat. Everything. He of course it at the age when everything goes into his mouth. His hands, our hands, his feet, toys, our food, paper, etc. And he gets whiny if his dinner is late.

I know his face is blank in these pictures, but he just gets real serious about his food.

Sometimes he get (unknowingly) a little aggressive with his eating!

No Pants?

Jared has not worn one outfit for an entire day once this week. This is the time in his life of leaky diapers. Most days are two outfit days, but once in a blue moon we get three or four outfits per day. Good thing I'm working to improve my attitude about laundry!
You think I would learn from this. However, I was optimistic this morning and only brought a replacement onesie to church. By the end of Sunday School, he was only wearing the onesie (long sleeved at least) and socks and shoes. Aaaaaaaaaaand today was a day when it snowed.
So he came home from church like this:


Another lesson learned in being a parent.

Cereal

Jared had his first taste last night and loved it! It was a lot messier than his usual meals, but about half of the spills were Ken's. It was Ken's first time too.

Halloween Party

Getting ready to head to the party. (He's a spider, I'm a web.)

The Muellers from the movie UP

The Bullocks

The Pettersons as National Geographic explorers and a gorilla

Hannah Karl

Jeff and Crystal Netto

The Nelsons. Props to them for a costume I've never even imagined!

Pie eating contest. You can see Ken's wings in this picture. (He's a fly.)

While not the official winner, I feel that they all deserve mention for the mild humiliation of having pie all over their faces.

Lauren Atherton

Alan Atherton is clobbering the competition by catching by far the most candy corns in his mouth. It doesn't hurt that he and his wife met at juggling club.

Round 2

Thanks for the Office reference, Brian!

Family photo

The Hepworths in their dream costumes. I'm so glad they made it happen, yet sad that they didn't bring their dog as Chewbacca.

Mummy contest- the Atherton/Howes team

Hepworth/Peterson team

The finals

The Shelbys

The Mangelsons (hosts of the night)

Bottle before bed

Happy Halloween!

4 monther

Jared has his 4 month check up today! It was really great. I found a great, helpful pediatrician at the Student Health Center, so the visit was really enjoyable.
Jared has a head circumfrence of 41 cm (about 25th percentile).

He is now 25.5" long (75th percentile)!


And he weighs 12 pounds even (5th percentile). He's dropped quite a bit percentile-wise, so we're going to see what we can do about this!

I guess he does look a little scrawny compared to other kids his age (with his friend Wally and a monkey).

So besides a bit of eczema and congestion he is a super healthy, super curious, super friendly 4 month old!

(P.S. He can roll over now all by himself!)