Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was our 2nd anniversary. Aaron took me out to Tucanos and then we went and browsed Borders bookstore. It was so great to have a nice evening out and get all dressed up. Yes, my attempt at flair turned out like Shirley Temple, but at least I made the attempt! Noah was even good for our babysitters (thanks, Blake and Liesel!). Each year just gets better and better. Honey, I love you and I'm so glad I'm your wife! Muah! :-*

We found this card at Borders. I don't know if you can see the card in this picture, but it's a so fitting for Aaron. He has this quirky habit of asking me where something is before he even looks for it. When I tell him where it is, he tries to tell me it's not there, he can't see it, he already checked there, etc. Then I usually pull the item right out from under his nose. Funny, funny Aaron...

Spiking the Punch

(I attribute this brilliant inkling to my angel mother)

So Aaron and I have been wrestling with sleep deprivation for quite some time now, but thanks to Mom, we've achieved a breakthrough. I called Mom to debate the merits of using rice cereal to bog down Noah's digestive system, thus encouraging him to sleep longer. He's only 2 1/2 months old, so I thought it might be a bit much for the little guy. Mom suggested that I just put formula in a bottle of milk so as to up the caloric content, but not the volume or fiber.

We tried it out two nights ago, and eureeka! He slept for 5 hours the first night and 6 1/2 hours the second. Mom, you're brilliant! Thanks for giving me the great idea, and thanks for putting up with me through all hours of the night when I was this small. I love you!

Heaven by the Slice

When Little Law's Pizza in Cobleskill, NY went out of business, I think a little bit of Aaron's heart went out of business too. It was his all-time favorite hole-in-the-wall pizzeria with the best buffalo wings ever (so he says. I've never been a big buffalo wings person, so I'll take his word for it).

By a stroke of luck (and a very quick left turn that sent Aaron's would-be dinner of Lean Cuisine flying into the back seat of the truck), we happened upon a decent substitute for Little Law's last night: Nina's Original New York Pizza. This place is as close as you can come to real New York pizza west of the Mississippi. Nina even has a New York accent - it's that authentic. Thin crust, zippy sauce, fresh mozzarella, and every topping under the sun (including clams). I think Aaron's heart went pitter-pat when he discovered that buffalo chicken was a topping, and the rich, creamy filling of the crispy cinnamon cannoli sealed the deal. Aaron now has four loves in life:

1. Me and Noah

2. Hunting

3. BYU and intermural football

4. Nina's pizza

Unfortunately, Nina's doesn't sell wings. She's got a recipe, but she says she only makes them for catering. So I guess we're still in search of a buffalo wings substitute. That, or we're going to have catered parties a lot more often...

Sweet Baby Jack

After clinging to life for 1 1/2 months, little Jack Sisson passed away yesterday. He had complications from a lack of amniotic fluid in utero, and he wasn't expected to live past a few days. His time here on earth was truly preserved by the hand of the Lord. Unfortunately for us, Jack's mission on earth is complete and Heavenly Father has other work for him to do. We are sad at the loss of our nephew and Noah's cousin and would-be playmate; Jack was born about a month after Noah. Our hearts and prayers go out to Dan and Summer and their family at this hard time. Please keep them in your prayers.

How grateful I am to know that this life is not the end! There is more than the pinpoint in eternity that we call mortality. What a comfort it is to know that each person has the opportunity to have eternal life and go back to live with our loving, Eternal Father! What a comfort to know that Christ understands EXACTLY what we go through and is constantly reaching out, ready to help and comfort us. (For more information about this, visit http://www.mormon.org/)

Here is Jack at my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Jack, Jackson, and Noah. Sounds like a law firm, doesn't it? Three cute little cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Hello, Beautiful!

The Adidas Supernova. I've had my eye on these beauties for several months now, and now that I can run again, they're going to be mine, all mine! Just as soon as I can get to Runner's Corner to buy them...

Smile for the Camera

These light up my life!

Gifted and Talented

Every parent likes to think that their kid is better than most. That's why you hear parents talking about what percentile for height and weight their babies are in, when they started talking, what reading level they are at, etc.

Here's my brag for Noah - he was rolling over at 1 month old. Given I didn't have the video to prove it until he was 2 months old, but I think that still qualifies as gifted and talented.

Rise and shout, the Cougars are ...

... kicking trash! I'm so proud of my alma mater. For those of you that missed the greatest shutout in years, the BYU Cougars massacred the UCLA Bruins on Saturday 59 - 0. Look out, BCS - the Cougs are on the trail to fame and glory, no matter what the rankings say!

Rise and shout, Noah! He slept through almost the whole game. I think we might have to tape the noise and play it at naptime...

I think this is our first family picture. Fitting, since this is our favorite family outing. We got Noah a BYU T-shirt so he could join the fun. Gotta start 'em young...

Blake and Liesel - our football co-analyzers and partners in crime (and everything else)

Excercise!

As of last week, I am offically cleared for exercise - Yahoo! I don't have to be a bump on a log anymore! This week I've already run 3/4 mile twice because I was late for the bus. I also biked to work twice, once on purpose and once accident (I was going to just bike to the bus stop, but I missed the bus again). I think taking the bus is going to be a great form of exercise :-)

It's about 7 miles to work, so it takes about an hour and 30 min back on a bike. But it takes that long on the bus anyway, and I like combining my commute and my workout; I kill two birds with one stone. I may just ditch the bus altogether...

I plan to start throwing jogging into the mix soon. I really want to be in shape enough to run the BYU Homecoming 5K in October. I am not shooting to break any records, just to run the whole thing. Would anyone care to join me?

Hallelujah!

Noah slept for one four-hour stretch and one three-hour stretch last night! It might sound trivial, but this was truly a momentous occasion. It's so awesome to see a light at the end of the tunnel of sleepless nights.

Chub in the Tub

I promised Nona that I'd post more pictures of her grandson, so here they are. Noah is seven weeks old as of yesterday, and he's finally filling out a little. I've started to add a bath to his bedtime routine. While it's worked great for getting him to go to bed, I must admit my motives are a little selfish - he's just so darn cute in the tub!

This one will make great blackmail when he's 16...I told Aaron I wouldn't post nude pictures of our son online, so it's censored. I was fresh out of fig leaves, but this works.

All dried off! I think baby towels are some of my favorite things. Note that the red mark on his arm in this picture is not a bruise or a birthmark. It's a recurring hicky that he gets from sucking on his arm.