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I have a favor to ask you wonderful friends: would you please follow my giveaway blog? By that I mean become a follower via Google Friend Connect by clicking "Follow" on the right sidebar. You don't have to add me to your blog list or even read my blog (though I would prefer that; my ultimate goal is to gain readership by content not giveaways). I just need numbers so I can get more and better giveaways. Right now, though, is the best time to enter my giveaways since I have such few entries--higher chance of you winning something. Thanks!

A Sweet Surprise

On Justin's day off we usually go to a mall and look around. We rarely buy anything since we have little money, but there is the occasional need. For example, I have been looking for a simple black cardigan for the past two years, something to wear to church or other cold indoor places when it's otherwise warm. The black sweater I currently have is too bulky for summer and the hood makes it casual (and annoying), though I still wear it to church because it's my only option. I've been unlucky in my search for a new one. What I look for: light, fitted, preferably 3/4 or short sleeves, simple or no embellishments, reasonable price. What I find: thick, too big sizes, long sleeves, large and loud embellishments or grandma styles, expensive prices. Two years ago, I did find a black and a white cardigan on clearance at Papaya for $5 each. I didn't buy them and now regret it.

Yesterday we went to a new mall and I searched yet again, not expecting to find anything. We went into LOFT, one of my favorite stores, and were immediately helped. The sales lady asked what I was looking for and I told her. She came back with something that worked ok, but it had long sleeves, didn't come in my size, and wasn't available in black in petites. She seemed as desperate to make a sale as I was to find something, so she kept looking. She returned with the same style but with short sleeves and in my size. It fit nicely and looked cute. But I knew LOFT prices. It was $45 plus tax--too much for that little bit of fabric and buttons. Justin and I agreed to think about it. Too bad it wasn't my birthday.

We left the store and I actually started to cry. It had gotten to the point that I just wanted the search to be over, and it could have been. But I am always the frugal one. I will not spend over a certain amount of money on something, even if it is a need and not a want. I sniffled to Justin, "It sucks to be poor."

We headed to Motherhood Maternity so I could nurse Caden. Justin waited outside on the leather couches. He came back to get something from the stroller, taking it out of the dressing room instead of coming inside to retrieve what he needed. Fishy, I thought. Then I heard a noise I shouldn't have heard: the crinkly rustle of a plastic bag.

I came out and saw a corner of the familiar clear LOFT gift bag sticking out of the stroller. But I didn't say anything. I wanted to see how Justin would play it out. I changed Caden's diaper, asking Justin to get the diaper bag from the stroller and giving it back to him to put away while I washed my hands. When I came out, the LOFT bag was completely hidden.

We went on our way and Justin brought up the cardigan: "You know, $45 is too expensive. We probably shouldn't get it."

I couldn't help but start smiling and gave myself away. "You're a terrible liar," I said.

"What are you talking about?" Justin replied, but he was already smiling back.

"I know you got the cardigan. I heard the bag when you came back." Then I hugged and kissed him endlessly to show him my gratitude for what he did. Justin knows I normally would not approve, so he usually does not buy something anyway, but he could tell this was important to me. What a sweetheart!

*Photo coming soon!*

Valentine Adventures

We started our Valentine's week by going to the stake sweetheart dance. I was super excited to go since we haven't gone dancing together in a long time. We had two friends (my doulas/childbirth instructors) babysit Caden at our place. Here's the breakdown of the night

+When we got there we got our photos taken for free. Cheesy but cute.
+There were cookies and Thrifty ice cream (a childhood favorite) and a disco ball!
-The music was L-A-M-E!!!
-The DJ was obsessed with structured dances, even going so far as teaching everyone "Thriller."
-I ate too many goodies.
-I couldn't remember how to triple swing.
-We got a call from the babysitters after an hour saying they locked themselves out of the house. Apparently, Caden was really upset, so they took him out for a walk, forgetting to leave the door knob unlocked. Oops.
-They also admitted to spilling a drink on our carpet (ice tea, so no stain) and having naked ladies paused on the TV (it was a birthing video, haha).
-Caden was up for a couple hours before finally going to sleep.

On Valentine's Day Justin came home straight from work instead of practicing golf. We didn't want to spend money, so we agreed to not eat out or buy each other gifts. Instead, we were going to camp out in our living room. We didn't really do that, but we did make tin foil dinners and dessert. We watched You Again; it was a cute and funny movie. The only disappointment was that I asked Justin to write me a love note as my gift since he hasn't written me one in a long time He didn't do it. Nor the next day even. :0(

ground beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions

Funfetti cake in a hollowed-out orange

Thursday we went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday's because they emailed me an irresistable coupon. Dinner was yummy and Caden slept for half of it and was calm when he was awake. It was very enjoyable. Since Caden was in such a good mood, we decided to browse Best Buy for fun. We ended up playing the Kinect for like an hour. We bowled (I lost barely because Justin got a turkey at the end) and did track and field (I lost because the last race I was holding Caden). The playback video was really embarrassing. It was a fun free activity--highly recommend it.

Friday we had dinner with new friends in the ward. I made ravioli and meat sauce, garlic bread, and salad, and they made dessert. The first time I ever made ravioli was for my friend's anniversary. It was a disaster and I was so embarrassed, so this time I bought it premade.

When he started rolling like crazy

Caden's update: He rolls around the living room and already gets into stuff, like wires. I need to babyproof this house! Ever since he discovered his feet he has been pulling on his socks. He's back into his squealing stage. He's signed potty correctly a couple times, but he forgot how to sign milk. He's sleeping better at night and nursing less, but he does wake up a couple times to go potty. Last night, after five hours, his diaper was dry! But he sure did fill up his potty chair. He can go on a regular toilet too but prefers not to. He takes a pacifier a lot more often. He loves to dance--definitely his mother's son. He's so big now I have to get more clothes out of the storage closet because nothing fits him anymore!

p.s. I am limiting my time on Facebook and therefore no longer posting pictures there. This is the link to my new online album of Caden. Here is the link to the 2011 album.

Any Dream Interpreters out There?

Last night I dreamt I was back in school but rarely attended classes. The one day I went, I sat down in a humanities class and discovered that the final exam was moved to that day. I panicked, not only because I hadn't studied, but also because I wasn't even sure what the subject of that class was.

I have had countless dreams such as this: I'm in school but not going to classes, and then when I return there's a test I'm unprepared for. I usually know what the class is, though (most often Spanish, sometimes math or biology). It's been a while since I've had these dreams. I had a lot of them several months ago--can't remember if it was before or after Caden was born. I am wondering why last night that dream came back. Any ideas?

Jinxed

My last post mentioned that Caden rolled from his back to his tummy but has not done it since that first time. Well, twice today when I left the room to empty his potty, I came back to find him completely on his stomach, pushing himself up to look around!

When I changed his diaper again later, I left the room and then peeked to see if I could catch him do it. He just lay on the floor and sucked his fingers. I tried another time to catch it. I ran, emptied the potty, and ran back--but he had already rolled over. Finally, I tried one last time about 15 minutes ago. He started to roll, then stopped. I waited. Then it happened: he rolled over with no effort at all!

Making Progress

Over the past month, Caden has been making progress in the following areas:

Sometimes he sucks his fingers in his sleep!

• He can almost sign potty. The sign is shaking your fist with your thumb between your first two fingers. Caden puts his thumb inside his fist and slowly moves it back and forth. I no longer confuse it with milk. He also likes to sign milk when he is tired and just wants to nurse himself to sleep, so I think he is ready to learn a new sign: sleep!
• He is nowhere near crawling, but I can tell he wants to. He pushes his head into the ground, pushes off his toes, and tries to scoot himself forward that way and gets frustrated when it doesn't work. It's really funny.
• Caden is such a gabber! He loves blowing spit bubbles too.
• He has been sleeping a lot longer at night. I hope it's not a phase or only because he is sick. I am enjoying the sleep I'm getting! He also does not nurse every time he awakens and sometimes falls back asleep on his own.
• About a week ago he rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time! He has not repeated it since.
• He loves to grab everything, including my hair. Ouch!
• A couple days ago he discovered his feet and loves to grab them while I change his diaper.

Friends and Fevers

My friend since middle school, Francine, came to visit me and meet Caden this past weekend. She came Thursday and we hung out all day. Once Justin came home we went out to eat at Carrabba's, a very nice Italian place. The waiter had eyes only for Francine, which we thought was funny but also rude. The food was really good, but Justin and I are still searching for a new favorite Italian restaurant. All our old favorites have been disappointing us recently.

Aunty Francine and Caden

Friday Francine and I went running with Caden. She thought she wasn't going to be able to keep up. Instead, she pushed me to my best average pace, not only since I started running again in over a year but also when I was running all the time before I got pregnant (granted, this was a shorter distance than I ran at that time).

Next was my favorite activity: thrift store shopping! Francine's good-luck-charm effect on me continued: I found a ton of Agatha Christie books and on sale! I got two that I'd been looking for for a long time and another one I liked--for 50 cents each! I also found 50 thank-you cards for $4 and Old Navy yoga capris for $2. I haven't had success like that in a long time. Excited, I decided to try my luck at Ross. I didn't find any dresses that fit perfectly. One came close, but was a little short, and even so, wasn't nursing friendly. Funny how much a baby affects your life! I did find running pants in the petite size (no hemming necessary!) for $8. I just tried them out this morning and love them. They're lightweight and comfortable and fit perfectly. My old running pants were too thick--which was nice for winter in Utah but not anywhere else--and too long, slid down my hips all the time, and had holes. Besides, I'd had them since high school, maybe middle school, so it was about time they were retired.

That night I cooked dinner--Parmesan chicken and rice pilaf, Justin's favorite--and we watched Secretariat. Cute movie. Saturday I made pancakes for breakfast. Francine joked that she felt like she was getting 5-star treatment with me cooking her three meals a day. I enjoy cooking and hosting!

We worked on Caden's room, sorting through clothes and toys to pass along. Caden has so much stuff! Then we took a walk since the weather was so beautiful. I love how quiet our neighborhood is. I only wish they would fix the bumpy, cracked, potholed roads.

Saturday night was stressful. Caden woke up with a terrible fever and didn't want to nurse, a first. A few weeks ago he had a high fever and we took him to the ER. They found nothing wrong with him and let him go home after a huge dose of baby Tylenol since he was still eating, was hydrated, and was otherwise acting normal. This situation was similar, so I wanted to wait before taking him in. I gave him fever reducer medicine and rocked him back to sleep. In a few hours he awoke hungry and no longer feverish, fell back asleep for a few more hours, and woke up at 6:30. I wasn't prepared for him to stay home from church, so he came just to sacrament meeting, I fed him, and Justin took him home.


Francine helped me with Nursery stuff the second hour and then we went to Relief Society, my first time in that ward since I moved in 2 years ago. It was a special, and very corny, meeting about visiting teaching. I went visiting teaching after church, accompanied by Francine and Caden. By the time we got home after 3, I was starving, so we had dinner early. Justin had prepared his famous butter yaki, a family recipe of butter-fried vegetables and meat dipped in a soy-based sauce. It was very delicious and enjoyable since Caden was napping. We ended the day with Kung Fu Panda and brownies. Francine left early Monday morning.



Playing with Caden on the potty



It was fun having her here and introducing her to Caden. She was great with him. He especially loved playing peek-a-boo with her and hearing new songs. Unfortunately, he is still sick. His fever comes and goes and he is very congested and has a horrible cough. We're taking him to the doctor this afternoon. I hope it's nothing serious!