She Crawls!

The race is on! Parenting suddenly became a little more difficult. Nathan can no longer say: "She just sits there!"

**Please note Eliza crawls when the destination is the remote control. She makes no effort to crawl towards Nathan or me. An inanimate object is apparently more interesting than a loving parent. What else is new?**

Modern Day Rumpelstiltskin

Today at church, there was a list of the children's names who are in the nursery. Among those names was Goldberry. Seriously. If that is the name of your child or planned name of your future child, I am sorry if I have offended you, but really, where are the names of yesteryear!?  It's perfectly acceptable to be edgy and different, but Goldberry might be stretching it.

If you would like to see some other hilarious names given to Utah babies, please check out Utah Baby Namer.  And yes, I checked; Eliza is NOT on there. If you would like to look at the popularity of your name or names you like, you should check out The Baby Name Wizard. Many hours of my life have been wasted looking up countless names on this website. Thanks, Becca. You better name your baby something cool!

Or else I will submit it to Utah Baby Namer.

Me? Grow up?

Tonight, Nathan and I have fabulous plans. I have been sick with strep throat this week, while Nathan has been overwhelmed with finals. But tonight, we are doing something fun. And by that, I mean:

- We're playing this:

- Watching this (in our living room on our mattress in front of the big screen tv):

 

- And treating ourselves to some sweets:

None of these things require speaking (whcih I am unable to do) or energy (which Nathan has none of).

And as I type this, I hear Nathan breathing as though he is asleep. Typical.

Blessing Pictures

Finally! I have posted some pictures from Eliza's blessing. Her dress was adorable (courtesy of her cousin Ellie) even if she didn't like being in it too much. She was amazingly calm throughout the blessing. I had the horrible fear she would scream the entire time.  The Sunday was lovely, and we were lucky to have four of Nathan's five brothers present with their families.

The ladies:

The gentlemen:

And the star of the show:

                              

Eliza's New Favorite Toy

Please take note of Eliza’s newest prized possession:

Already, she has picked up some of our bad habits. She even gets frustrated when it is lost. Maybe this is a hint Nathan and I should stop watching television.

So Maybe I was Eavesdropping

As I clean tables at In-N-Out, I often overhear bits and pieces of various conversations. Last night, as I attempted to use a magic sponge to remove several insufferable stickers (we hand them out to children) off of the tables, I heard a hipster youth assertively tell his friends: "But really...what can you do with an English major?"

Well, I thought, you could scrubs stickers for half an hour and work at In-N-Out with me. Or if you wanted to work in an office, you could land a job in a finance department with me. Which option sounds best? Because I'm an English major and that's what I do for a living.

One of his friends, a young girl holding a copy of some paperback book (I didn't want to stare long enough to make out the title) and the obvious target of his disapproval, said: "But I LOVE reading, and I LOVE writing."

I walked towards a suddenly empty table to clear trays and resume cleaning, but continued to think about their conversation. There have been moments recently, well many hours and even entire days, where I have hated "College Celia" who decided to get a degree in something she loved over something practical. At the time, I believed law school was the long-term plan. I thought I could major in a subject I absolutely loved while on the road to my ultimate goal. However, plans change. Now that law-school is nowhere in the near future, I cannot help but think: "Why did I even go to college!? For what? So I could take orders or adjust financial accounts? This has nothing to do with English!"

But last night, I remembered why I became an English major. I love books. I love words. I love writing. When I am doing mindless tasks at work, like cleaning restrooms or restocking ketchup dispensers, I often write blog posts, memoirs, or any kind of story in my head. I love reading blogs written by friends and family members or even complete strangers, especially when they are well written. I get excited over literary passages, poems, and song lyrics.

Words have the power to change us. That is why I am an English major. With this in mind, I walked back towards the table. I casually asked the group if I could clear their trays, then looked at the girl. Without being too awkward, I explained how I had heard a bit of their conversation, the part about English majors in particular. I told her if she loved books, then it was a good major for her. I let her know of all the possibilities: teaching, freelance, writing, editing, and even law school. We had an overwhelmingly positive, yet small conversation. It wasn't awkward at all (like I thought it would be).

The boy, who had made the comment earlier, looked at me and said: "Dude, you're changin' lives here. I can tell from just how you talk that you've gotta be an English major."

The girl gave me a knowing smile and all was right with the world for a few seconds, it felt. They stood up to leave, and I recognized the book underneath the girl's hands: The Book Thief, one of my favorites.

So thank you, Blog and blogging friends. You are my literary outlet.

Upgrade

Last weekend, Eliza went from this:


To this:Before, she was all black and white and weak. Now, she's a superhero. How did it happen, you ask? She got her baby blessing! And while I am mostly kidding about the super girl thing, I'm sure there are some parallels.

BB, Cecil, baby and I went home for Easter weekend and so did most of my family. My brother Dustin and his family were the last of my five brothers -- and their families -- to meet Eliza. That's 7 months after the fact, so they got to meet wonderful, happy Eliza, instead of cranky, no-sleep, colicky Eliza. I think they liked her.

The details of the rest of the weekend elude me, but the important part is that after conference on Sunday we met at the church and I was able to bless Eliza alongside my dad, grandpa and brothers. There haven't been many more significant events in my life, and those are things like getting married, having a baby and being born. But not in that order.

I don't remember a lot of specific things we blessed Eliza with, but that's ok, we recorded it. I do remember saying that she'd be an example to her siblings. "S"! I'm not sure whether to read too much into that plural, but it may seem that God has a different amount of kids than two in mind. Maybe "sibling" comes from a Hebrew word meaning kids who are REALLY close to you or something. Or maybe we'll get to two kids and feel like we want to have six more. Bring it on.

At any rate. Eliza, welcome to the church and all that comes with it. Like super human powers.

Teeth...Ouch!

Consider yourself warned: Eliza now has teeth.

Two tiny teeth have broken through her lower gums. They are adorable....and sharp! Desperate to chew on anything (particuarly her own tongue or fingers), Eliza will chomp down on objects in her arms' reach: hard, yet delicious looking coffee tables, spoons, the side of her crib, towels,the shower curtain,and even any part of the body belonging to those brave people who choose to hold her (watch out, Grandma!)

If she is anything like me, Nathan and I are going to have to be careful. Apparently, I learned how to use biting as a weapon at a very early age. Let's hope Eliza is a peaceful child. However, given her demeanor over the past few months, I can't help but worry some.

Ewe are Loved

Happy Easter to our Little Lamb!Our weekend was hectic to say the least: two twelve hour rides in the car, numerous Easter activities, countless cookies and sweets consumed, three wonderful evenings with family, and Eliza's baby blessing to boot!