Getting Skinny

So, we're going to get skinny now. We bought an elliptical yesterday. We bribed some friends with a truck to help us get it home. It only took 2 hours to put it together. We like it.

To motivate ourselves to actually stick with this once we get tired, bored, and discouraged, we are going to post our progress on our blog. So you all get to know exactly how much we weigh. We're not shy. We'll weigh in on Friday mornings and post our weights every week. Most of the time, we won't make a regular blog post--it will just be over on the right side of the blog. So you can ignore it if you don't care.

Here are some "before" pictures. We will wow you with the "after" pictures in April, right before we go to Hawaii. Don't forget to check back.

What did you expect?

Dorian is getting his first lesson on modes and chord functions.

Tummy Time

I don't know why tummy time inspires me to get out the camera. I guess I'm just so darn proud of how high he can hold up his head.

Working Mom

When I got pregnant, I knew I had a decision to make. I had been working at the Art City Music Academy for 9 years–that’s nearly one third of my life. Chris and Yvonne Blonquist have become like family to me. I ran their school for so long that I had it down to a science. I taught piano lessons for so long that my students became my family.

I have always wanted to be a mom, and always wanted to be able to stay at home with my kids. It was easy to decide that I wouldn’t continue working full time after the baby was born. The harder decision was whether I should stop working completely, or keep teaching part time? Many people told me I would relish the time out of the house and away from the baby. Others told me I might resent the time away.

I decided I would keep two afternoons of teaching. I made the decision knowing that I couldn’t really know until I got there whether or not it would be okay. But I felt like I had something important to offer my students. And I have spent so many years of my life becoming a great teacher; I didn’t want to just give it up.

I have been back to work for two weeks now. When I am teaching, it’s almost like my life hasn’t been completely turned upside down. In the back of my mind, I know I have a baby at home, but at work, for 6 hours my life is not governed by whether the baby is hungry or tired or needs a diaper change. My existence is not carved into 2-3 hour slices delineated by the sweet babe’s hunger. I tuck his smiles and soft skin into the back of my mind. At work I am helping other mothers raise their children, and it feels...comfortable...to be doing what I have done for 9 years.

Then tonight I came home to a baby that had been crying for so long that even as he fell asleep in my arms, he kept breathing in with little sobs. Russell is really great with him, but he doesn’t like taking a bottle, and by the end of the day, he has just had it.

The truth is, I don’t resent the time away from my baby. But I also don’t need the time away from him. Being a mother is the most natural thing in the world to me. I don’t need a break from it. But I do love teaching.

Am I doing the right thing?

So, here is the promised video.

Texas

We went to Texas last week to visit Randy, Kayla, Will, and Jack. Randy is Russell's cousin, and when they lived in Utah we used to hang out with them almost weekly. Russell and Randy had grown up as good friends, so when Randy and Kayla went to Texas for law school, Russell and I decided we would like to visit them once a year so that our kids can know each other and hopefully be good friends. When Kayla and I had our babies one day apart, that clinched it. We had to go see that new baby. We were a little nervous about the plane ride with a 6-week old, but Dorian was great for the whole flight. Here they are! "Baby Dor" and "Baby Jack," as Will calls them. Playing together already.

Dorian, Jack, and Will. This was one of the few times when all 3 kids were happy, and no one was crying. We thought we had better capture the moment. Randy made us these awesome steaks for dinner on Sunday. Russell's was as big as his plate.

We decided to eat out on the porch of the Mexican restaurant we went to, to avoid a long wait for dinner. This frog decided to join us. Next time we'll eat inside.

Kayla and I spent a lot of time like this, since neither baby wanted to keep sleeping if we put him down. Who wants to put down such a sweet baby anyway?

Dorian liked his new friends. I'll post a video of our failed beach attempt, if I can figure out how. Next year I think we will try to make our visit when it's not hurricane season. Is there a time of year when it's not humid in Houston?

Growing up so fast

July 20th, 3 weeks old. Dorian wasn't super happy about the photo with mom. But he had more hair then. :) July 21st. There's my happy baby. July 23rd. Don't worry, he sleeps on his back. But he falls asleep like this after he eats. He's a little narcoleptic, but the sweetest thing in the world. July 27th, 4 weeks old. Playing with his bear on the blanket Hannah made him. August 1st. Astonished face. I don't know what is up with his hand. August 3rd, 5 weeks old. Sad face. He looks like Carol.