T minus 13 Days

It's official:

Ticket purchased.

July 29th - August 12th.

Take me home, Delta!

A few parenthetical bits of information:

• It'll just be me and Eliza. It's my first time flying by myself, but I guess I won't be flying alone because I'll have Lizie with me. :) Let's hope she does well!
• Hoping that the person next to us is some nice, petite grandma.

Long Live the Binky

Sorry, Babywise--I'm afraid I will be pro-binky until the day I die. Let me tell you about a funny little situation that happened last night...

Uncle Quinton (FYI Briggs Family, Quinton is out here in Texas on a summer internship at BNSF. With any luck he'll get a job offer and join us out here after graduation!) needed to study for finals for an online class he's taking and so he offered us a chance at a date night with some free babysitting. We took Eliza over to his place, chatted for a while, then headed off. On the date, it occurred to me that I hadn't really given him a full run-down of the routine. He's done it before though, so I figured if he ran into any questions he'd give us a call.

We get back from our bookstore date at Barnes and Noble (jolly fun) and I walk in the front door to see Eliza's pillow--which also has her blanket, doggie dog, and binky inside the pillow case--sitting on the floor. Assuming all heck had broken loose, I listened for some wailing or something. Nothin'.

Annie:  "Uhh, did she go down okay?"
Quint:  "Yeah! She didn't cry or anything! I went up to check on her and she was just doing the happy little babble thing and went to sleep a little while later."

Total amazement. Utter astonishment. Dumbfounded in the extreme.

I went upstairs to get her out, wondering if she was just laying in there still and quiet wondering where the heck all of her stuff was. But I open the door, and sure enough, she's snoozing away in a completely empty portacrib.

...  WHAT???? ...

We picked her up, she was in the usual dazed-coma state when she gets woken up, and we took her home. On the way home, Blake and I were talking about how shocked we were at the whole situation and decided to try putting her down in her bed without the binky when we got home. "Maybe she's not as attached [cough... addicted] as we thought she was."  WRONG.

She didn't drift right off to sleep like normal, but she did ultimately go to sleep. Score! Just when we thought we were out of the binky-woods with no scars or lacerations, 4:00 rolls around. Eliza stirs and decides: "Okay. I've put up with these shenanigans for long enough, you sneaky parents, you. Where in tarnation is my binky!!" We let her work things out on her own--over. and over. and over. until morning. But my goodness, I think we all "woke up" a little tired!

We went to church, everything was fine there, and as per usual, Eliza zonked out in the car. (Roasting car, one or two hours past nap-time, 20 minute drive, pretty church music. It's inevitable. I try to shout at her to keep her awake and make her say 'moo' at the cows we pass and look at all of the cars, but she's just too pooped.) I generally come home and put her straight in bed--I tried the same stunt today, still sans binky. Yeah. That didn't go over well. It's not like she throws a violent tantrum or anything, but sleep just was not happening.

She was tired, I was tired, and I was getting to the point that I was almost ready to suck the binky to help myself go to sleep. Honestly. I have no idea how we aren't in a world full of adults walking around sucking on pacifiers. (Maybe we are, and those pacifiers are just the straws of a Big Gulp. But that's for another blog post.)

I'm not sure when I'm going to have the fortitude to make her quit, but I'm just not ready for this reform yet. Long live the binky.

Nursery on the Radar

You know, it's when I take Eliza out in public or have her in settings with other children that I realize how great of a girl she is. I'm not saying that she's perfect, nor am I saying that my parent-friends have a bunch of hellians. I just love to see how pleasant she is socially. She does a good job in restaurants, generally does well at church (she for sure does well if we pass her off to someone else--she behaves extremely well for the ladies in the ward), and she's happy and content in social situations with other children. It gives me high hopes for nursery. Which, by the way, 5 more Sundays! Yikes! I thought I'd be excited, but it makes me panic a little as a mom--I just feel like she's so little! Even though she's not. I suppose if I were having to wrestle with her during second and third hour, I'd be really excited, but I go straight to the craziness of primary and one of the ladies in the ward pounces on her for second hour before another lady in relief society complains that it's 'her turn' to hold Eliza. :) We have a wonderful ward.

Our Stake President said something insightful in our Stake Conference about what you might consider "prestigious" callings... "Consider two young parents with their first child. They couldn't care less who the young women's president is, or the first counselor in the bishopric, or the highcouncilman. What's the calling they care most about?:  the nursery leader. They're hoping and praying that he or she is fulfilling and magnifying their calling."  True words! I'm grateful that I know the nursery leader a little--it makes me less apprehensive.

Bottom line, as per usual, I love my little girl. Nothing new, no headlines or breaking news, just the same old wonderful story:  I love my little girl.

Feeling Juvenile

This is the most outrageous thought I've had today:

I, Annie Hull, am teething.

You know how you all thought I was an adult? Joke's on you... turns out I'm still cutting teeth like a child. My back molars have been hurting so I stuck my finger back there today to check things out and found the sharp edge of a wisdom tooth poking through my gums. The fact that I haven't had my wisdom teeth removed is only additional incriminating evidence that I'm still practically a minor. I'll be calling around this week to find a dentist/oral surgeon to see if we can pop these betsies out so I can actually graduate to adulthood. It's about time, wouldn't you say?

Our fourth 4th

Yesterday, Blake and I were reminiscing on the July 4th's we've spent together:

2011 - We drove home together from Washington after the Packard Family Reunion--one of the best weeks of my life and the trip that 'sealed the deal.' Little did we know that we'd be married just one month later! We stopped in at Syracuse on our drive home to spend time with Mom and Dad Briggs before continuing on to Provo.

2012 - That was the summer we spent a lot of time in Syracuse with Blake helping on the farm. On the 4th of July, we climbed up on top of my parents' roof and watched the city firework displays from a few different directions. And then I'm sure we made a few fireworks of our own. (Yes, Dad Briggs... that was for you.)

2013 - By this point we were in our apartment in Bluffdale. The Hull Family was gone (Packard Reunion?), but we invited our good friends Justin and Shelly to meet us in Highland so we could enjoy being out of a tiny apartment and in a home. (The little things that can give you a thrill when you're poor college students!) We met at Five Guys for lunch (on coupons, of course), then played games to our hearts' content in Highland. Poor Eliza wasn't exactly on board with the festivities though--it must have been a bad milk day or something. We were going to try to catch some fireworks that night, but decided to get Eliza home in her own bed instead.

2014 - The Fourth in Texas! On July 3rd, we kept Eliza up way past her bedtime to introduce her to fireworks, which she thoroughly enjoyed. We just happened to see some people congregating on a remote grassy lawn (far removed from the real park where the fireworks were launched) on our way back from the library, so we decided to join them. The atmosphere was perfect--we didn't have to fight crowds of people and we were far enough from the fireworks that the booms weren't overwhelming to Eliza. It was so cute to watch her experience it for the first time. Her little oo's and ah's and wow's just made me melt. She didn't quite have the attention span to be riveted clear through the entire show, but I think she enjoyed it. Blake and I sure did. Why are some things so much more fun with kids?

Yesterday, we did Belgian Waffles for breakfast than did some work at home. For me that meant tackling a mountain of laundry... I'm getting back into the swing of homemaking after being sick sick sick for several weeks. For Blake that meant changing the oil in the car--a job he has learned he will never do again after 8:00 AM in a Texas summer. Hot, hot, hot! 

After we'd finished up the chores, we went over to Kevin and Alene's house to hang out with Quinton. (K&A are out of town again so we had the house to ourselves.) We went out to lunch together (still on coupons - ha!), played Acquire, watched the last part of the Brazil-Columbia World Cup game, and went swimming with Eliza. After dinner and Eliza was down for bed, we watched a movie in the theater room (hello, bluray and the most HD HDTV known to man). A fun, chill day with fun, chill people.

Happy Birthday, America. We sure love you!

A Little Bit of Life

Hi again, family. I'm back once again from the dearth.

So, we moved! We're in our house, we're unpacked, and things are starting to feel like home. (Although Blake felt immediately at home the second he drove both cars into the garage. Hooray for cars no longer taking on hail damage!) The walls are so big and our picture frames so little that decorating is proving to be a bit of a challenge. All of that will come in time, and when the budget is ready for it. :)

We had the extreme pleasure of having Mom Hull and Brynn come out to visit. Mom and I talked each other's ears off for 4 days straight to make up for all of the kitchen chats we've been missing out on for the last 6 months. (Yes, friends! We've been in Texas for half a year!) Brynn was the absolute best baby charmer of the world. Seriously, she and Eliza were two peas in a pod and even me, Blake, and Grandma would get the cold shoulder from Eliza--she just wanted Brynn! I tell you what, Utah people... Keep Brynn on your sights for potential babysitters. I seriously did almost nothing by means of baby care while Brynn was here--diapers, baths, dressing, nighttime routines, putting down for naps, feeding... Brynn is seriously one impressive babysitter! During naps, we took it easy watching chick flicks, making cookies and popcorn, and we enjoyed one heck of a party over at Uncle Kevin and Aunt Alene's. You guys were WONDERFUL company, Mom and Brynn! Honestly, come back ANY time!

Right when I got home from taking Mom and Brynn to the airport, I got hit with pinkeye and a pretty severe cold. The pinkeye cleared up with antibiotic eyedrops. The cold still has not, and has grown in intensity. I finally got on an antibiotic hoping that it's a sinus or respiratory infection that will clear up with some meds, but if not, I guess I'll just have to tough it out.  I'm on Day 12 so far, and if the cold doesn't kill me, the cabin fever might. :) Blake and Liza picked up the cold, too, but haven't been hit as hard as I have been. Eliza knows how to handle illness: sleep 16-17 hours a day. (She's been sleeping in an hour or two and consistently taking 3-hour naps, only to sign to me a few hours later that she's tired and ready for bed. Incredible!)

Blake got a new calling:  Ward Executive Secretary. Just a few days in and I can already tell this will be an incredibly busy and rewarding experience for him. I'm grateful for the opportunities we have to learn and grow in the church. And it's a wonderful thing to be needed here in Texas.

Miss Eliza is doing quite well. She sprouted some molars in the back so she can now shovel her food in at even greater speeds, which she enjoys. :) Her particular favorites right now are banana bread, cheerios (always!), pizza, and crackers. That list was tough to make because she just sort of eats everything without question. (I know that's not fair, Mom and Dad. I suppose I'll have to endure karma with one of my other children.) She also loves brushing her teeth--months into it and it's still a thrill every morning.

Eliza loves swimming which is convenient because that's about all that's remotely fun to do outside in Texas summer heat, or so we've heard. June has actually been incredibly mild--we think it's hot, but compared to what it normally is, we've gotten lucky! July is right around the corner though, so we'll see what it and August have to offer. I have a feeling swimming will become a daily ritual for me and Eliza.

Eliza is also loving her books - her current favorite is Over in the Meadow. She also loves expressing herself verbally and through sign language. It's amazing to me how much she knows! She loves to communicate, which is a total thrill to me because I'm the same way. Someday sooner than I know the little babbles with recognizable words will turn into full run-on sentences that never stop. I'm loving every stage.

Some recent pictures:

"Organizing" the tupperware. One of her favorite pastimes. She's been sad that I won't let her help with unloading the dishwasher/organizing tupperware since she's been sick.

This face is in response to one of the following directives:
"Eliza, can you show me the happy face?"
"Say cheese!"
"Show me your teeth."
She cracks us up and keeps us smiling.

Helping Daddy wash the car.

Swimming - this was her first swim back at our old apartment.

We've got more pictures on Blake's phone--I'll see if I can figure out how to get them on here. Until then, stay healthy, be happy, and embrace your own daily enterprise!

Brief Update

I have been neglecting the blog, which has been a pity because our life has been fraught with adventure and enterprise over the last little bit. Without further adieu, a much needed update:   [Sorry no pictures... they'll come later!]

We are the proud owners of a 2009 Toyota Sienna! Minivan for the win! I never imagined I could like a minivan so much and enjoy driving it, but I do. She's a great little machine and we're glad she's joined our family. Now all we need to do is fill 'er up with 5 more kids...

More visitors. Beth and Mom Briggs came to visit as soon as tax season was over, which means Eliza had possibly the best week of her entire life. During tax season, I worked hard on brainwashing Eliza into knowing Beth's name and recognizing her picture, because Eliza proved to be such a balm to Beth's poor over-worked soul. We'd call her up and I'd say, "Liza, can you say 'Beth'?"  "Beh. BEH! BEH!!" It's the cutest thing ever. Anyway, Eliza's wildest dreams came true when she woke up one morning and sitting on a queen mattress in the living room next to her toys were two of her favorite people ever: Aunt 'Beh' and Grandma.

Last Friday, I got a call from Blake at work: "Do we have any plans tonight?" Not particularly. Why? "Good! Dad Hull is passing through DFW on the way home from a business trip and his connecting flight to Utah got cancelled." Woohoo! Spontaneous visitors! I felt bad that Dad didn't get to be home in his own bed after a long business trip, but as he said, "If you have to be stranded somewhere, it's pretty great to get stranded where your kids are." We called the Taylors (our Texas family) to be our last-minute babysitters for Eliza, and we picked up Dad and went out to eat together. It was so fun! And I didn't even cry when Blake took him back to his hotel, which I feel like is a sign of progress for me. :)

And now, drum roll please.......

WE'RE CLOSING ON A HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON. It's official, friends! We're in our last few days of apartment living! We found a house we love that's in our ward boundaries and close to Blake's work and we're actually going to do it! Home-buying has been an interesting, foreign, and sometimes stressful experience, but it has certainly been a wild ride worth taking. Hooray for equity instead of torching a rent check every month!