Cannon's Canon

Let's Wrassle!

2010-08-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Sadie and Grant at their finest. Who needs a TV?

Yinzers!

2010-08-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

So these next several posts are going in reverse chronological order.
First up, our most recent trip: Pittsburgh. We drove down last Saturday to visit cousins Stacy and Kristin and her awesome kids. Cameron was selling over in Altoona or someplace, and Spencer is still in Afghanistan. (PS - Stacy & Kristen please send pics since Nat did not take any good ones)

We spent Saturday afternoon at the Carnegie Science Center.

All the kids had a ball.

There was a cool submarine docked in the river that we got to explore. Most of us felt a little claustrophobic. Grant apparently enjoyed it immensely.

Although we don't have a picture, if you want to imagine Grant's face immediately after the very loud demonstration of the 10 ft tall Tesla coil, picture the exact OPPOSITE of the above. It was a little scary.

Now the title of this post needs a little explanation. "Yinz" is apparently a Pittsburgher contraction for the PA Dutch expression "you-uns", which is a distortion of "you ones", which is essentially a northeast rural version of y'all. So Pittsburghers are often called yinzers. I had heard about this but had never seen it in action. Until this trip. We went out to eat all together, and with 4 adults and 5 kids 1 1/2 to 7 it was a little hard to seat us. The hostess was very nice and kept coming over and apologizing and explaining that they were trying to get some tables together. At one point I swear, she used "y'all", "yinz", and "youse guys" all in one sentence. That pretty much made my night.

Of course, after dinner we made the obligatory dash through IKEA and found a b-day present for Grant. We all chilled at Stacy's place until late, hoping the kids would pass out once at the hotel and let us sleep in. Bright and early, 6:30 the next morning the kids woke up and started demanding breakfast. Four showers, a packed car, two unintentional detours, and a 30 minute wait outside IHOP later we were all satiated.

Tutti-fruity destruction

Tenille thought it would be 'fun' to visit the 'Cathedral of Learning'. Right, Nat thought, that'll be really 'fun'. :/ He ate his sarcastic words.

The internets took this picture. It is huge.

The Cathedral of Learning a functional classroom and office building for UPitt. It's basically Hogwarts inside.

There are 20 some-odd 'Nationality' rooms each decorated in intricate detail as an homage to a distinct cultural heritage. Really amazing stuff. Israel had a cool Qumran Isaiah Scroll replica, Wales had some illegible plaque in Welsh, India had carved stone columns, Englan had lots of stain glass crests, etc etc. Each one was like a mini-museum of cultural WIN.

Gryffindor!!! I mean Lithuania!

Grant gets excited to learn he is 1/32 Norwegian, in the Norway room.

"All stern of look and strong of limb," Grant takes in the noble African room.

Sadie slept through the whole Cathedral experience, so here's a consolation shot of her and her golden locks.

Rag-a-muffin

New sprouts

2010-06-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel is proud he has gotten the green back in his thumb. He swears it is the apartment living that turned it black. That doesn't account for the Springville garden disaster though... but that's another story. Here are some pics of the latest in tender vegetation around here.

Nathaniel's few-odd dozen Ginkgo seedlings after having spent the winter being cold-stratified in the fridge. He thinks he's going to be able to sell these on Ebay someday.

The half dozen Orchids Nathaniel bought and made us transport back from our last visit to Candace are all still alive AND they all have new growth!

Tenille is exceptionally proud of her first seed-grown plants EVER! Pansies, heh...

The piece de resistance... an 8x4 foot half-raised bed Bob helped Nathaniel build. It's all planted with a few kinds of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, zuccini, canteloupe, and various herbs! The tomatoes are already starting to fruit! Tenille is actually EXCITED to eat TOMATOES. This is huge people. Yoooge.

*Wink*

Sadie's newest favorite thing...

2010-06-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Our last post showcased Sadie's love of food. Sadie's other love is climbing. Chairs, couches, windowsills, cupboards, highchairs. Just earlier this week Nathaniel watched as Sadie figured out how to shimmy up the claw-leg of our kitchen table, hoist herself onto a chair, scootch across the seat until she could stand triumphantly at la mesa. Nathaniel decided to intervene as she swung her leg up onto the tabletop.

Here are some videos of her first real attempts at walking. Following those are some pics of her going to new heights... the powder room sink. Having congregated in the hallway after church we all turned around in surprise to see Sadie vaulting herself into the wash basin.

Hmmm... Here i go!

Uh-oh! Someone's watching me!

Oh! You have a camera! *pose*

A Few of Sadie's Favorite Things

2010-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sadie basically has two favorite things: EATING and CLIMBING.

First, Sadie loves to eat. Anything and everything she can get her hands on ends up in her mouth--toys, dirt, and sometimes food. She seems to prefer the salty to the sweet.

She's incredibly independent and insists upon feeding herself, which makes for a not-so-tidy clean-up. . . especially when she rubs macaroni and cheese in her eyes. I've started removing her clothes before letting her eat; the bib just wasn't doing a good enough job.

She also loves to climb. Lately she's taken to holding mom's fingers while she tries to walk up the stairs.

But life is always best when you can combine your two favorite things. In Sadie's case, this means climbing in the high chair while eating. Yes, I do buckle her in but she seems to be a mini Houdini. Needless to say, eating time requires some vigilance on our part.

Maybe someday my sweet little girl will learn how to obey when I tell her to sit down. For now, I'll consider myself blessed to have a cute little girl who loves food; although, I'm not sure where she puts it all.

Springtime Pictures

2010-04-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

None of the pictures do Sadie's hair justice; it's a curly mess most days. We love it!

Better than a puppy!

2010-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

It's funny how Sadie follows Grant around like a little puppy. She vacuums up every crumb or bit of lint we fail to sweep out of her path. She chews books and papers and shoes. She slobbers a ton, and if we're not careful she's been known to piddle on the rug. She even learns new tricks! Here's a few of her most recent achievements.

Pushing the fire truck (she bonks her head at the end, but she's OK!)

Waving, Soooo big, and folding arms!

One Last Post Before the Start of a New Semester

2010-01-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

Although I would like to say that I plan to post more this semester, I think we all know that it is not going to happen. But honestly, I would rather spend my free time with my kids. So, I'll post pictures whenever I get the chance.

You might notice that the pajamas on Christmas Eve are not the same as the pajamas on Christmas. We had a case of the Christmas Flu.

Sadie enjoyed the box that we gave her, but Grant still hasn't used his potty.

Not Quite the Memory I was Hoping to Make

2009-12-23T07:11:00.000-08:00

Christmas lights are one of the things that I love most about this time of year. The warm memories of visiting the lights on Temple Square and the candy displays in the ZCMI windows downtown still bring a smile to my face, and I want to provide my kids with the opportunities to create similar memories of Christmastime. So when I read about the Christmas light display at Lakemont Park, I knew that we just had to make the 45 minute drive to see the lights. Christmas lights on the lake! Train displays! Christmas music! What could be better? Surely the long line of cars to enter the light display is a good sign, right? I guess I didn't realize that when businesses have an opportunity to sponser a Christmas lights event, you might get Christmas displays like the one pictured below.

We got to see a weight-lifting Santa display sponsored by the local gym, Santa driving cars that he purchased from the local car dealer, and Santa driving a team of Clydesdale horses pulling a Budweiser sleigh.

On a positive note, Grant and Sadie loved the tunnel of lights and the train display. So maybe they were able to create some happy memories after all.

A Visit with Maureen's Goats and Sheep

2009-12-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Maureen's sheep had new baby lambs in November, and we took a few hours on a Saturday to make the long drive to visit the baby sheep. Grant was so excited when I told him we were going to see the sheep and goats, and he told me in his matter-of-fact way, "I want buy sheep."

Pretzels are the treat of choice among the sheep. Check out the horns on the ram!

Grant fed the goats dry leaves. In fact, both the goats and the sheep enjoy eating fall foliage. We can't wait for Spring when new baby goats and sheep will arrive at Maureen's home!

Grant also loved chasing Maureen's cat on the front porch and barking at Maureen's rather large dog.

Twelve Days to a New Year and the Perils of Crawling

2009-12-20T05:43:00.000-08:00

Sadie perfected her scoot just before she turned seven months old. Now my wiggle worm is getting into every thing and shows no fear. Unlike her older brother, she will climb up anything, crawl over or under anything, and climb into anything. We love our happy little girl.

Catching Up

2009-12-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

Now that the semester is over, it's time to blog! So here is the goal for my neglected blog readers . . . the Twelve Days of New Years. That's right, twelve consecutive days of blogging. Obviously, this theme would have been much cuter if I had thought of it one week earlier . . . but I definitely did not have time to blog last week.

Learning to be 2

2009-11-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

Cookie Sneaking

Grant helped me make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I put the cookies on the rack to cool, but Grant decided he couldn't wait to eat the cookies and helped himself. Unfortunately, his first cookie-sneaking experience didn't fair so well (for mom) and he ended up dropping the warm cookie onto the floor. Dropping the cookie on the floor presented only a minor set back for Grant who just sat on the floor to eat the rest of the cookie.

Birthday Celebrating

This birthday was all about things that go: train set, train cake, and bike (plus a Thomas blanket and Thomas movie). What October birthday would be complete without some snow (like 6 inches)?Big-Boy Sleeping

We transitioned Grant to a "Big-Boy" bed, which means learning how sleep without falling out of bed, how to wake up mom in the middle of the night ("Mom get out bed"), and learning how to sneak down the stairs when I should be in bed. A two-year-old's logic is somewhat mysterious: Grant refuses to walk down the stairs during the day and will stand at the top of the stairs asking "carry you?", but somehow he is more than capable of walking downstairs at night after we have put him to bed.

Dinner Negotiating

Grant: How about ice cream?
Mom: No. How about carrots?
Grant: No, carrots all gone.

Sibling Laughing

Sadie rarely laughs for mom. Sadie sometimes laughs for dad. Sadie always laughs for Grant.

Halloween Trick-or-Treating

Sadie dressed as a ghost but skipped the trick-or-treating. Grant hasn't stopped exclaiming "It's Halloween!"

A Champion Sleeper and a Soon-to-Be Champion Sitter

2009-09-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

Afternoon church is not compatible with napping. Not only are we at church during Grant's nap time, but the drive home tends to lull Grant to sleep at 4 pm. This Sunday was no exception. We transferred a sleeping Grant from the car to his crib after church, expecting him to wake a couple of hours later. (We've learned from experience that keeping Grant up until bedtime when he misses a nap can be torture for the parents --- and probably Grant as well.) But Grant did not wake up. Nat woke him around 9 pm to change his diaper and clothes. Grant went right back to sleep. Given the fact that he went to bed at 4 in the afternoon, I thought that I was in for an early morning. The picture above was taken at 8:30 am Monday morning right before I had to wake Grant up. He sleeps like his dad.
Sadie is growing up way too fast. She's rolling over and scooting around the floor and is very close to sitting on her own.
I love watching my children interact with one another. Sadie adores her older brother and carefully watches his every move. Grant is very concerned for his little sister and makes sure that she has everything she needs. His concern for Sadie is captured in the picture below where Grant is graciously sharing Fox and fixing the music on Sadie's chair. Bath time on Sunday was particularly memorable. Grant has decided that he must help mom give Sadie baths. Interestingly enough, he has also determined that he himself no longer needs baths. Grant responded to my comment that it was time to bathe Sadie by running into our bedroom where Nat was watching Sadie and exclaiming, "Sadie bath!" while trying to pull Sadie off the bed. After a talk about not trying to pull Sadie off the bed, he excitedly ran to the bathroom while I got Sadie ready for her bath. Grant would laugh and talk and splash as I bathed Sadie; Sadie laughed, talked, and splashed back at Grant. I love watching the two of them interact and communicate without any intelligible words. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and dirty boys must bathe.

Rolling and Slightly Balding

2009-09-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Sadie's 4 Month Stats
12 lbs. 9 oz. (Weight)
24 1/4 in. (Height)
40.0 cm (Head Circumference)

Sadie starting rolling from her back to her stomach when she was 3 1/2 months old, and today she started rolling from her stomach to her back. She has no teeth, but lots of drool. Her favorite pastimes include smiling, flying on her stomach, cooing, laughing, and looking up to her big brother.

More Summer Pictures

2009-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

This collage captures just a few of our adventures this summer: playing with Sadie, discovering science, exploring Kirtland, playing in butterfly gardens, hiking with Fox, cleaning the car seat, and laughing.

Adventures not pictured: searching for a home, buying a home, and moving into our home. Maybe someday soon I'll post some pictures of our home.

The Mall

2009-09-07T18:12:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures from our adventures in Washington D.C. We had planned to devote all day Saturday to exploring museums and monuments. After dealing with two cranky kids in the Natural History Museum, we decided to walk the mile separating the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial in the hopes that the kids would fall asleep. It worked. Unfortunately, we took too long walking around the Mall and the kids woke up just in time to be cranky in the Museum of American History. No one wants to take pictures of cranky kids, so we only have one picture of Grant (who currently refuses to smile for the camera) and no pictures of Sadie. But we do have pictures of happy parents when the kids are napping.

Houses of God

2009-08-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Tenille had a conference for her math research stuff down in Maryland. We took the opportunity to take the whole family and enjoy a couple extra days of sightseeing. We visited with our cousin Stacy and her husband Cameron. (Thanks again for letting us crash!)

The first of our posts from the DC trip features two houses built to honor God: the National Cathedral, and the LDS Temple in Kensington.

The DC Temple -
This was Nat's temple growing up. As a youth he went to to baptisms and has fond memories of those group trips with friends from the ward. This time was special, since it was the first opportunity he's had to go through the temple as an endowed member. We actually went thrice; once with the kids to show them around and tour the visitor's center, once without the kids (again, thanks Stacy!) to go through a session, and once in Sunday best to tour the grounds. Here's some pics.

When we first got in sight of the temple Grants reaction was a mix of awe and excitement. He just stood there pointing and saying "Oooooh" for about five minutes.

In the visitor's center there was a really cool exhibit of Hubble telescope images. These were displayed with creation/universe-type scriptures (think Pearl of great Price kindof stuff). Above is a picture of Nat telling Grant about bar-spiral galaxies. The caption might read "Someday, son, all this will be yours." Fitting for the temple...

Fact: Most temples have cool doors. The DC temple is no exception. Here's a picture.

One of Grant's favorite bed-time songs? "I like to see the temple, I'm going there someday..."

The National Cathedral -
This national landmark is waaaay underrated. Nat had been to DC how many times and never even really heard of it? It is an interesting blend of old world orthodoxy and new world democracy. The founders nearly achieve sainthood in this cathedral celebrating both the gospel of Jesus and the birth of American freedom.

Saints Washington and Lincoln?

The burning bush and tree of life, perhaps? These windows face each other from across the nave.

The rose window makes a striking feature, heading a procession of the flags of the states. We liked this in conjunction with a line from Washington's War Message to congress, which is etched into a side chapel wall. He sums up the aim of American freedom as being to "bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free."

A final and futile supplication: "Lord open the King of England's eyes."

Grant in Trains

2009-07-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Lancaster and had a blast. While in Lancaster, we went to a train museum because Grant loves trains. I didn't take many pictures of Grant, but I did take pictures of the letters in Grant's name.

Just Enough Time to Post Some Pictures

2009-07-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Sadie Elaine turned two months old. She is cute and smiley as long as mom is holding her. We don't think she looks much like Grant did at this age. What do you think?

Grant got a hair cut. Here's his really cute before shot.I really miss the long hair, but I don't miss the puddle of sweat Grant's hair created every time he took a nap. Seriously, this kid's head can really sweat!

We wore the kids out on the Fourth. Sadly, we missed the fireworks and the 4K race. Oh well, there's always next year.

Stealing the Show

2009-06-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Grant sure loves his sister.

He holds her and talks to her.
He shares his toys with her.
He sits by her while she sleeps.I wanted to make a cute movie of Sadie smiling at her fish mobile. Unfortunately, I think Grant stole the show.

Who's Dressing This Boy?

2009-06-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

I started my PhD program this month which means we've been juggling the kids around. Currently, I get up before the sun to work on campus in the mornings and Nat gets to go to campus in the afternoons. This works out well because Nat can sleep in a little in the mornings. Unfortunately, it means that he is also the one dressing the kids.

In general, I would say that Nat dresses well. He even likes to give me fashion advise. But sometimes I wonder what he is thinking when he dresses the kids. Nat's had to learn a few hard lessons these past few weeks.

Lesson 1: The Top Button Goes in the Top Button Hole

My sister already noticed that Grant's shirt was buttoned incorrectly in the pictures in the 2 to 200 post. I come home to incorrectly buttoned shirts regularly, but I usually give Nat the benefit of the doubt because Grant can be kind of squirmy.

Lesson 2: The Fly Goes in the Front

So it's a little difficult to tell from the picture, but Grant's shorts are on backwards. Again, I think Candace gets credit for noticing this one when we got home from working on Thursday. In Nat's defense, most of Grant's pants have fake flies.

Lesson 3: Two Plaids? Really?

This is what I came home to today. I can't think of a valid excuse for my husband on this one; he's not colorblind.

From 2 to 200

2009-06-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

About 2 months ago, Grant could say basically two words: ball and apple. Okay, so maybe he could say a few more, but he still wasn't saying "mama" or "dada". He understood a lot, but he never tried to say anything. Things have completely changed over the past few months. Grant picks up 2 or 3 new words a day. It makes my life so much easier and enjoyable.
In this first video clip, Grant tells us what's for dinner and what he wishes was for dinner. It features the words: banana, peas, milk, apple, hi and bye.

This next video is a little long, but I thought that grandparents and aunts and uncles might enjoy it. I've titled it Grant Helps Mom Read a Book and it features the numbers 1-9 and the following words: bumble bee, more, fish, turtle, duck, frog, and home.

The first time we tried to video Grant "reading" the book, our camera battery died. Luckily we were able to capture Grant's first attempt at the word "turtle" before the battery was completely gone. I edited the video below to include just the fish and turtle pages.

The pictures were taken at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center during our Saturday afternoon picnic.

Memorial Day Cuteness

2009-05-29T11:14:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day in Boalsburg is HUGE! The town claims to be the Birthplace of Memorial Day and celebrates the holiday with carnivals, firetruck parades, reenactments, and much more. We began the weekend by visiting the massive war memorial. The above picture doesn't even begin to capture the size and majesty of this place. It was breathtaking!

Then it was off to the parade, which was hosted by the fire company. The adults enjoyed seeing the old fire engines. Grant was memorized by the firetrucks and a little perplexed by the candy flying from the engine. But once mom let him gather and eat the tossed candy, he began to cheer as each engine passed and loudly shout "YEAH!" when they threw candy to him. This shout of "YEAH!" was much like the shouts of "YEAH!" I hear each Sunday when I drop him off at nursery. I don't know if I should be happy that he is secure enough that I can leave him at nursery or if I should be worried that my son like nursery more than me.Sadie looked adorable in her Memorial Day outfits. I love to see her smile.

Blessing Dress

2009-05-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

We blessed Sadie on Mother's Day. We were happy to have both Grandpas here to participate. It was a wonderful and adventurous day.When we arrived at the meeting house Sunday morning, all the lights were out. The building was experiencing technical difficulties (this isn't the first time we've had problems, the heat on one side of the building went out in January . . . it was a cold Sunday for the Young Women). The lack of electricity in the building meant there was no light, organ music, sound system, etc. Ironically, the opening song for the meeting was "Teach Me to Walk in the Light". The absence of light caused me to reflect upon the source of Light in our lives. I am truly grateful for the Savior who is my Light and to whom I can turn when all other lights seem to fade and life seems dark.
My mother-in-law made the bonnet and helped me make Sadie's blessing dress. I debated for a long time as to whether or not to include the family picture because I still have my fat pregnancy face. Why is my face always the first thing to fatten and the last thing to return to normal??? Hopefully I'll have thinned out more by the next family photo.
This photo was too cute not to post. I love Nat's bony and hairy knees!

Sadie's Birth Story

2009-05-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Here's Sadie's birth story. It's kind of a long post, so here's the cliff-notes version: months of contractions, 16 1/2 hours of labor, no pain medication, pushed once.
So I started having contractions about 6 weeks before my due date. These were more than the painless and random Braxton-Hicks contractions that I had been experiencing for months. These were regular (2 to 3 an hour) and sometimes painful. Unfortunately, they were never enough to make me actually start dilating. My doctor told me to take it easy and rest whenever I started having contractions. I am not very good and resting and was not very faithful at following my doctor's orders. Not that it really mattered; I endured 6 weeks of contractions and never went into labor.

We tried everything to naturally induce labor: walking miles and miles, hiking Mount Nittany, and castor oil (gross). Nothing worked. The weekend before my due date, my contractions started getting closer together and more painful. I would go to bed at night prepared to leave for the hospital in the middle of the night. Although my contractions prevented me from sleeping, they were never painful enough and I knew I wasn't in active labor. Although I wanted as natural a childbirth as possible, I agreed to induction after that miserable weekend of contractions.

My doctor scheduled my induction for the morning of my due date. Ironically, I did not have any contractions that morning. He used cytotech to induce the labor. Cytotech is a vaginal pill that softens the cervix and closely simulates natural labor. I did not want to receive pitocin. Once I was dilated a little more, he planned to break my water.

After my experience with Grant, I knew there were several things that I wanted to be different about this labor. First, I wanted to be able to move around as much as possible; I hate being in bed. Second, I didn't want to have an IV (which I ended up having because they needed to give me antibiotics during labor, but I only had to be confined to the bed when I was receiving the antibiotics). Third, I wanted to drink liquids. Fourth, I wanted to see my doctor more than just during delivery and I didn't want to be pocked and examined every hour. Finally, I did not want an epidural. I hated the feeling of not being in control of my bladder and legs, and I always felt guilty for getting an epidural with Grant. My hospital and doctor were amazing and agreed to all of my requests.

They gave me cytotech at 8:15 am; I was dilated to 1 cm. Three hours later, I started having relatively painless contractions. At 1 pm, I was finally at 3 cm and my doctor broke my water. The path from 1 to 3 cm was so much better this time than it was with Grant. It took me 4 hours to progress from a 2 to a 3 having contractions that were 90 seconds apart and lasting for 90 seconds with Grant. The pain I experienced during those 4 hours was equivalent to the pain of my contractions when I was at a 7 with Sadie. I no longer feel bad about getting an epidural with Grant.

My water was perfectly clear and my labor started to pick up. Unfortunately, Sadie wasn't moving much and they wanted to keep me on the monitors. So I was confined to the bed. My labor continued to progress slowly, but the pain and frequency of the contractions was so much more bearable than it had been with Grant. I finally made it to 5 cm at 6 pm. They let me get out of bed, but I was too nauseous to roam the halls. I used the birthing ball in the room just in case I had to vomit.

I was starting to wonder if I would have this baby on April 29th, which happens to be Nathaniel's Grandpa Michael's birthday. When they checked me again around 7:30 pm, I was 7 cm and I knew transistion wasn't far away . . . or at least I hoped transistion wasn't far away. My labor began to slow. My contractions became less painful and further apart---I was able to nap between contractions. After two hours of this, my doctor said the dreaded word: pitocin. They gave me a small dose. An hour later, I was still at a 7. They continued to increase the dosage every 20 minutes for the next two hours. I was managing the pain fine until about 11:00 pm. Then it really started to hurt. I wanted to cry and my "mantra" became "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" I never said anything mean or started scream, but I definitely wined and complained a lot.

Finally, at 11:30 pm I had progressed to 8 cm. Sometime between 11:35 and 11:40 pm I started crying "I need to push". Nathaniel pushed the call button, but either the call button didn't work or the nurse didn't believe me. The next contraction sent Nathaniel running down to the nurses station as I screamed, "This baby is coming now!" The doctor rushed in, checked me and said "Don't push. This baby is coming on the next contraction." The nurse and doctor madly prepped the room, I pushed once and had a baby at 11:44 pm.

Then, in what was the scariest moment of my life, I heard the nurses and doctor say "Oh, no." I looked down and saw a bluish-gray, limp baby. Although my water was clear when they had broke my water, a ton of meconium came out with the baby. She had aspirated a lot of the poop and was having difficulty breathing, and thus crying. They put her under the heating lamps for just a moment and then Nathaniel walked the baby down to the ICU. Although I should have been terrified and scared, I felt calm and peaceful.

Aside from being extremely cold and hungry, I felt pretty good after delivery. I was able to walk and use the bathroom (which was so much better than my experience with Grant). Because Sadie had been placed on oxygen, I was not able to hold or nurse her for 24 hours. After they took her off oxygen, she still had to be on a glucose drip until they were confident that should could nurse without problems. I savored those moments of breastfeeding because I got to hold my daughter close to me. She was released from the hospital Saturday morning, but we had to return because she was jaundiced. My baby returned to the ICU for the second time in a week. Luckily, she is healthy now (although not as fat as the pediatrician would like).

Introducing Sadie Elaine

2009-05-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sadie was born on April 29 at 11:44 pm. She measured 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 in. As you can see from the pictures, we have had quite the eventful week. Sadie was on oxygen for the first 24 hours and on glucose and antibiotics for the first 48 hours. After brief visit home, Sadie got to return to the hospital and spend some time in her first tanning bed. We are happy to announce that she is finally home and healthy. I'll post more pictures and details about her birth soon. You can rest assured there are more pictures where these came from!

Every Little Bit Helps

2009-04-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

I had hoped to celebrate Earth Day with the arrival of a new baby. Unfortunately, it doesn't look that is going to happen. So here are a few of the other things we did today to try and do our part.

1) Used reusable shopping bags. So I try to do this anyway, but most of the time I either leave the bags (a) at home, (b) in the car, or (c) in my purse and I don't realize they are in my purse until everything has already been bagged and my son has had his fill of grocery shopping.

2) Ate leftovers for dinner. There's no sense in wasting food (something we do far too often).

3) Took a bath instead of a shower. I used a lot less water and the hot water heater didn't have to work as hard.

4) Went for a walk. It was a little overcast, but still nice to get out of the house.

I still used harsh chemicals to clean my bathrooms. The harsher cleaners just make the bathroom smell so much better.

Easter Highlights

2009-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We delayed the Easter Basket and Egg Hunt until the afternoon so that we could enjoy our church meetings and yummy dinner. The Easter Bunny gave Grant some books and an ABC puzzle. You can probably guess which item attracted his interest first. It took a little probing to get Grant to put down the puzzle and start hunting for eggs. He didn't really like the idea of putting his eggs in a basket; he'd much rather line them neatly on the floor. Grant may have got his love of showers from his dad, but he definitely inherited his OCD tendencies (lining up eggs, opening and closing doors, etc.) from his mom.

Like Father, Like Son

2009-04-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our family is very aware of Nathaniel's love of LONG showers. If Nat had a never-ending supply of warm water, then he would stay in the shower all day. Currently, we only have a puny water heater which restricts Nat to two hour-long showers a day.

Grant also LOVES the shower. He likes that bath, but loves the shower. When asked if he wanted to take a shower, Grant's response was to race down the hall to the bathroom, tearing his diaper off in the process.

Grant and His Foxes

2009-03-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

Grant loves Big Fox and Baby Fox. He won't go to bed without them . . . and he won't get out of bed without them either.

First Yard Sale of the Season: One Great Find

2009-03-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

The weekends of sleepy Saturdays are over. I dragged a groggy Nathaniel out of the house at 8 am yesterday so that we could do a little rummaging through stuff other people no longer want to have cluttering their house. So, was getting up and out early worth it? Definitely. We found this cute kids chair that was still in its IKEA box. And just in case you have forgotten, We Love IKEA! We got the chair for just $3.
Grant showed his Dad and Grandpa how to put the chair together. He spent the rest of the day practicing getting in and out of his stylish new Adirondack!

Strategically Located???

2009-03-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

We often joke that State College is "strategically" located equidistant (plus or minus 2 hours) from several major cities. This past week we gained new insight into what it means to be in the "middle". We were eagerly anticipating a nice long Spring Break, something we had yet to experience in our extensive collegiate careers, and we planned to visit Tenille's amazing sister in Columbus and get in one more temple session before the arrival of number 2. Unfortunately, thanks to a closed temple (Columbus), lots of early contractions (Tenille), and food poisoning (Nathaniel and Tenille), we decided to forgo the planned excursion. We were not the only Spring Breakers planning a trip to the temple . . . many ward members planned to attend a temple session over the Break. After hearing about all the different temples visited, we now know that we are "strategically" located equidistant (give or take) from many temples.

Columbus Ohio Temple: 5 1/2 hours
Detroit Michigan Temple: 6 1/2 hours
Palmyra New York Temple: 4 hours
Boston Massachusetts Temple: 7 1/2 hours
Manhattan New York Temple: 4 1/4 hours
Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple (coming soon): 3 1/2 hours
Washington D. C. Temple: 4 hours

Here's an interesting comparison: when we were living in Provo, we would pass seven temples on the one hour drive to my parents house.

3.14 Happy Pi Day

2009-03-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Even though I am a math FANATIC, I really just use pi day as an excuse to eat . . . PIE. I love being a mom with time to plan extravagant holiday menus. Here's today's menu:

Brunch: Quiche Lorraine
So it took me a year of failures to finally perfect my quiche making skills. This morning's quiche was fabulous. Grant even enjoyed the quiche.

Dinner: Pizza Pie
Sorry, no recipe. Pizza courtesy of Brother's Pizza, our favorite local pizza joint. We were suppose to have Chicken Pot Pie, but I was tired of cooking. Besides, pizza is one of Grant's favorite dinners.

Dessert: Grasshopper Pie (the cheater way with mint ice cream and oreos)

Sweet Successes

2009-03-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder how much Grant gets out of FHE, family prayers and family scripture study. What can a one-year-old understand about prayer, love, and the atonement? Whether or not Grant understands much is a non-issue; we just want to establish a habit of spirituality in our home. Grant only says a few words, but he seems to understand a lot. And I think he understands more than I ever imagined.

1. During our lesson on showing love to our family I asked Grant, "How can you show Mommy that you love her?" His response was to climb into my lap and give me a hug. Perfect answer!

2. Grant sometimes sits quietly during prayers, but most of the time he doesn't want to sit still. The other week we were saying morning prayers and Grant climbed into my lap and folded his arms all on his own. Now he folds his arms whenever he hears "fold arms" or "say prayers".

3. Grant can point to Jesus in pictures. We will look through the new nursery manual together for pictures of Jesus.

4. Grant has favorite songs and he resquests them by actions. For example, if he raises his arms above his head he wants to sing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". If he craws his fingers up his leg he wants to sing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". Clapping hands means he wants to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It". But his all-time favorite song to sing is "The Wise Man and The Foolish Man". We really only sing the wise man verses. He can now do all the actions by himself. I recorded it for my mom to watch. I'm singing and I don't have the greatest singing voice, but I think I managed to stay in one key for this song . . . I think. Anyway, if you decide to watch it I would recommend muting the sound.

30 weeks down . . . 8, 10, or 12 to go

2009-02-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

This picture is mostly so my family can see my pregnancy progress. I'm not a big fan of taking pictures of me during this time of my life.
Mom and baby are doing well. The doctor said my glucose test results were excellent and the baby is growing well. I've gained almost as much weight during the first 30 weeks of this pregnancy as I did during the 38 weeks of Grant's pregnancy! Any suggestions for not eating everything in sight during the last two months of pregnancy?

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of our fun Valentine activities.
(F.Y.I. I still can't find my camera battery charger, so I had to take these pictures with my old digital camera. The quality isn't the greatest, but I really wanted to capture the memories.)

Cute Hanging Hearts
Super Valentine Presents
Nathaniel gave me flowers and Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones, a super cute book with lots of baby projects. I can't decide which project to work on first: crib set, booties, snuggle blanket, or stuffed cat.
I gave Nathaniel a cute coupon book with rides to campus, sleep-in Saturdays, guilt-free game play, and a gift card to our favorite grocery store. He loves to buy super expensive food (which usually doesn't fit in our budget) to make exquisite meals.

Romantic Dinner and DessertThe meal consisted of pan-cooked chicken in a white wine (alcohol removed) mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, rolls, and asparagus. I used the little bits left in the chicken pan to make a quick gravy. I used romaine lettuce in the salad and added cranberries, almonds, goat cheese, and mandarin oranges. I combined lemon juice and olive oil for the dressing. The meal was yummy and Grant-free (who now asks to go to bed between 6:45 and 7 at night).
For dessert we enjoyed Warmed Chocolate Cake. I got to enjoy leftover cake on Sunday . . . Nat got to enjoy a bite of my leftover cake on Sunday.

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart (I think).

Serves 6 (I halved the recipe and served it in two ramekins.)
4 ounces 60 - 75% dark chocolate bar, chopped
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for baking dishes
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar, plus more for baking dishes
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
confectioners’ sugar, for serving

In a medium heatproof bowl, set over (but not touching) simmering water melt together the chocolate and butter. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together cornstarch and granulated sugar. In another medium bowl whisk together eggs and egg yolks Remove chocolate from heat and whisk in cornstarch mixture, then whisk in egg mixture until well combined. Transfer to a refrigerator until chilled, up to 3 days.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter six 6-ounce ramekins and coat the insides with granulated sugar, shaking out any excess. Divide chilled batter evenly between ramekins and place ramekins on a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to oven and bake until cakes are just set (they may still be a little liquid), 12 – 16 minutes (mine took about 20 minutes). You can tell that they are done when they puff up and look dry around the edges, a bit of cracking on the top.

Dust cakes with confectioners’ sugar---serve immediately.

Finding Joy Now

2009-02-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of pictures . . . Grant hid my camera battery charger.

Last week one of my not-so-pleasant pregnancy symptoms (nasal congestion) mutated into a man-eating monster---attacking my nose, throat, ears, and eyes. This physical unpleasantness combined with my oppressive guilt over having to ignore my precious and loving son left me extremely discouraged. While in the throws of not-so-endless torment, I found myself reflecting on the Young Women lesson I missed last Sunday and wondering, "How am I suppose to find joy in this?"

And so I have compiled a list of things to smile about (see An Invitation to Young Women). One for each day I've been sick, so far . . .

1. Interesting Typos
A yummy recipe suggests: "Stop by your favorite Chinese food restaurant as a time saver and purchase a cartoon of sticky rice." I think I need to find a new favorite Chinese food restaurant because mine doesn't sell cartoons of sticky rice.

A clip-art CD advertises: "thousands of color-and-black and white images". Personally, I prefer the color-and-black images best; I have a hard time seeing the while images.

2. Baby Giggles
I find that I am willing to try just about anything when I am sick and pregnant (e.g., visit the doctor). Saturday's natural remedy consisted of gargling salt water to relieve my burning throat. Grant thought the gargling noise was hilarious. We both laughed and laughed as I gargled the disgusting salt water.

3. Valentine Candy
Of all the artificial candy holidays, Valentine's Day is definitely my favorite.
Conversation hearts: not as yummy, but definitely funny
Sweet-tart hearts: the sour taste forces you to pucker-up
Cinnamon hearts: the best of all worlds (cinnamon flavor, chewy texture, romantic shape)

4. Free craft patterns on AllPeopleQuilt.com
One of my favorite craft magazines is distributed by Better Homes and Gardens Creative Collection, and I have been frantically searching for one of their back issues. Luckily, last week I happened upon this amazing website that has many of the patterns available as free downloads. Here are some I can't wait to try.
Soft Baby Blocks
Covered Journals
Messenger Bags

5. An eternal student for a husband
Although I would love a bulkier paycheck and a house, the flexible student schedule has come in handy this week. It has been very nice to be able to have Nathaniel help out a little more while I have been under the weather. He has cooked, run errands, picked up toys, and even washed dishes a few times. He has taken such good care of me that I barely miss my mom who has been diligently taking care of Candace.

15 Months of Baby Steps

2009-01-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

I still need to do an Arizona Christmas post, but today Grant turned 15 months and I had to get this cute video posted. Here are two of Grant's favorite things:

1) Stairs. I think Grant spent 90% of his time at our parents' homes climbing up and down the stairs. Although the animals at the zoo were interesting and deserved some intense pointing and "oo-ee-oo"s, nothing at the zoo quite compared to the stairs leading up to the lookout deck. Nat refuses to take Grant to Elder's Quorum lessons because Grant only wants to climb up and down the dangerous stage stairs. Really, Grant just loves climbing in general, as can be seen in the I Looked at the Window post and the Still Enjoying Thanksgiving Leftovers post.
2) Oranges. Grant loves eating oranges. If he happens to be near an open refridgerator, he will find an orange and hand it to me, indicating that he wants me to peel the orange for eating. Once he was too impatient for me to peel the orange and decided to try eating the unpeeled orange. The face he made was one of our favorites. His love of oranges was further confirmed in Arizona when he discovered the orange trees in his grandparent's backyard. Unfortunately, we never got a picture of Grant and his orange trees, but we did get about 40 different pictures of cacti we saw on our hike to the Wind Caves. Words Grant can say: ball, book, "ba" meaning food, up, more (sometimes), hi (sometimes)
Animal sounds Grant knows: dinosaurs (and most other animals) - roar; cows - moo; sheep - baah; dogs - woof; pigs - oink (sometimes they roar)

Commands Grant will follow: Up/down, turn around, walk, eat, say "aah" (very useful when he refuses to swallow the food he doesn't like), "so big", tickle-tickle (he tickles his tummy), give hugs, give kisses, blow (mouth), blow your nose, change diaper (runs away), clap, throw, wave "bye-bye", go night-night, and so much more
He still doesn't follow the "no" or "stop" command . . . I'm not sure if he doesn't understand "no" or if he chooses to ignore me. Given that he tells me "no" when he doesn't want to do something, I think he is probably choosing to ignore me.

Body parts Grant can identify (on himself and others): bellybutton, toes, nose, mouth, ears, head, hair, hands, and teeth

Grant may be a late walker and talker, but I am so impressed with his problem solving and fine motor skills. We have been playing with his pet puzzle for the past few days. I recorded this video this morning. Prepare to be amazed.

He definitely knows where each piece belongs. Sometimes I have to help him turn or slide the puzzle piece, but each day he gets better at figuring out how to move the piece so it will fit. He also organizes stacking toys by color, and he is very close to figuring out how to put the rings on the peg in order from biggests to smallest. He can put three rings in order, but he is still working on ordering four rings. His strategy seems to contain a lot of trial and error, but some more advanced strategies are beginning to emerge. And for those of us unfamiliar with development milestones (I include myself in this group), my book listed "sorts toys by color, shape, or size" under the advanced skills of a 17-month-old, and "does simple puzzles" was listed as an emerging skill amoung 22-month-olds.

The Joys of Visiting Home

2009-01-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

During the Utah portion of our vacation, we got to enjoy all the things we have desperately missed while living in Pennsylvania.

1) Fry Sauce! We've tried all the traditional (ketchup) and non-traditional (ranch dressing, tarter sauce, Wendy's Frosty) substitutes for fry sauce; and nothing really compares to Utah's own fry sauce (not even the homemade kind). Thanks to our favorite little North Ogden drive-in (Kirt's), we were able to get our fill of fry sauce for the next year.
2) Mexican Food! Nat claims he had plenty of Mexican food during our trip to the West. I, however, can always eat more Mexican food. Unfortunately we were only in Provo on a Sunday and so we weren't able to enjoy our favorite Provo Taco Joint: Diego's Tacos. Yum!
3) Temples Everywhere! It was nice to not have to drive four hours to the nearest temple. It was also nice to have free babysitting. Thanks Mom!
4) Family and Friends! We were happy to see so many of our loved ones while we were in Utah; and we were sad that we weren't able to see everyone. We love and miss you all!
Here's the recent picture of the growing Berrett clan. We have added two new members to my family since our last family photo (Nat and Grant) . . . and this one will be out of date in approximately 3 1/2 months!

Although we had a blast during our long vacation, it sure is nice to be home. We were already starting to miss some of our Pennsylvania favorites: pizza, Backyard Burgers, hills, trees, great football (if we block out the January 1st game), and new friends. It's great to be home. Hooray for no more traveling (we spent 8 of our 23 vacation days traveling thanks to broken planes, weather, flat tires, and lost keys)!

We're having a GIRL!!!

2008-12-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Grant was very obliging during his ultrasound. He gave us a clear picture of his manhood and a beautiful profile of him sucking his thumb; and he has been working the camera ever since. Click here to see Grant's ultrasound pictures.

"Sadie", on the other hand, was not as obliging. She was rather modest and stubbornly refused to uncross her legs for quite a while. And instead of a beautiful profile picture, she gave us this shot.
In case you can't tell, it's a picture of her face. Good luck making out the eyes, nose, and mouth in the Rorschach.

Here's a picture of Tenille 21 weeks into this pregnancy.

If at first you don't succeed . . .

2008-12-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

I have learned more about life, love, and the Gospel from my son in the last year than I did in the twenty-six years that preceded his birth. Today's lesson: PERSISTENCE. Grant spent an hour learning how to stand, take a step, fall gracefully, and do it all again. Before I knew it, he was walking across the room. He is such a great example!

I Offer This as Proof

2008-12-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

Some days I really do think that I have the best baby in the world. While this is really more of an example than a rigorous proof, it illustrates a typical bedtime with Grant.

Seriously, this is how happy Grant is most nights: he lunges into the crib, grabs for Fox, and kicks and giggles as we put the blankets on him (he needs several because it is freezing in Pennsylvania). We turn off the lights and close the door and don't hear from him again until early morning (usually between 5 and 6). If only nap time were this pleasant . . .

Still Enjoying Thanksgiving Leftovers

2008-12-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

I let Nathaniel be in charge of the stuffing this year. If I allow Nat to prepare more than one dish, we end up with way too much food. Unfortunately, I did not do a very good job of limiting myself and we still ended up with too much food. We're still enjoying Thanksgiving leftovers thanks to:
14 pounds of turkey
20 cups of the most delicious stuffing ever
6 cups of mashed potatoes
3 pies (my apple pie was amazing)
3 1/2 eaters (Tenille, Nat, Candace, and Grant)

Grant wasn't much help around the kitchen, but Candace did an excellent job keeping him from climbing in the drawers by distracting him with the camera. Here's Grant in what we affectionately call his Charlie Brown Sweater.

Another cute video

2008-11-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

I recorded this video of Grant while we were visiting family in Utah. He loves having his feet tickled and always asks for more.

13 months: does this count as walking?

2008-11-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

Nat got Grant to do this on his first try.
Nat: "Hey hon, look what Grant can do!"
Tenille: (rolls eyes) "I've been trying to get him to do that for weeks!"

3 Reasons I'm a Slacker Blogger

2008-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

3. Nat's little brother Josh returned from a mission in India
Josh had a long layover in New York, which resulted in a quick trip to the city for our family. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of Josh on our trip, but we got some cute pictures of Grant pointing at the dinosaur bones.

2. Tenille's little brother Preston returned from a mission in Brazil
Tenille and Grant flew to Utah to see Preston; Nat got to stay home and go to school. We had lots of fun visiting family and eating Mexican food. Grant changed so much over the week and learned so many new things: crawling down stairs, saying new words, and sliding down ramps.

1. We are going to have another baby in April
Hopefully this explains why I look a little fat in the pictures :). We are very excited to have another sweet spirit join our family. The baby is expected the end of April (Tenille is currently 16 weeks). Many of you are probably wondering if this baby was planned. The answer: it depends. We wanted our first two kids to be close together in age (2 years), but it took four years to get Grant and we weren't sure how long it would take to get another one . . . so the kids will be 18 months apart and we couldn't be happier! And happily, Tenille is almost feeling better.

One Year and Some Change

2008-10-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

We are now the proud parents of a one-year-old. Grant has such a happy spirit and is joy to have in our home. To celebrate his birthday, Grant and mom went on a walk to enjoy the fall foliage and play in the (somewhat damp) leaves. We got some great pictures of our camera-loving Grant and the beautiful autumn colors.Grant's current hobbies include making a mess and trying to clean it up, hiding his food and toys in unexpected places (shoes, baskets, under couches, bookshelves), eating, coloring, reading, and babbling.Grant is an expert babbler, but we are still working on saying words. He can find and point to mama, dada, fox, ball, belly button, toes, and bunny when asked, but the only word he actually says is "book".We made Grant a blue caterpillar cake, which is not pictured because both the cake and the picture turned out poorly. I am definitely not a baker. Grant loved playing in the cake, but it took him a minute to figure out that he could actually eat the cake. Here is a video of Grant not eating his cake. I'm not sure that I would actually recommend watching it; it's just four minutes of Grant making a mess. I posted it for the grandparents to enjoy.

Here's another video of Grant actually eating the cake. Again, it's fairly boring unless you are a parent or grandparent, but Grant makes the cutest face at the end of the video.

I Looked at the Window and What Did I See . . .

2008-09-29T13:21:00.000-07:00

Grant climbing on the sill and smiling at me! Grant loves to play by the window in the front room. His initial window play took the form of licking and blowing bubbles, which later evolved when he discovered that it was the perfect play place for his toys. The window sill worked well for small toys like Baby Fox and Bunny, but it presented a challenge when it came to larger toys like his laptop. There were many frustrated cries until he finally managed to get his laptop on the window sill for optimal toy enjoyment.But the many uses of the window sill do not end with toys. Yesterday, I watched Grant climb onto the window sill and announce his great achievement to the neighbors as only a one-year-old can: in a squeal of delight and satisfaction! He was so proud of himself.

Cereal Prizes

2008-09-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

I fondly reflect on the good-old-days when boxes of cereal contained exciting prizes such as miniature action figures or glow-in-the-dark whistles. Nothing quite compares to the thrill of finding a prize as you fill your cereal bowl. The free prizes of long ago have now been replaced with "free" mail-in offers, but only if you collect 25 proofs of purchase and send $5.95 for "shipping and handling".

Today I discovered that some boxes of cereal still contain a hidden surprise. I was preparing my usual breakfast of Raisin Bran and milk. There was barely a serving of cereal left in the box, so I had to dump the box into my bowl. The vigorous shaking yielded quite the surprise: a large, harry SPIDER. Needless to say, I did not have Raisin Bran for breakfast this morning.

Photography Requires Patience . . .

2008-09-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

. . . which is something I don't have. Grant has taken to towing his toys as he crawls. He reminds me of a mama cat, holding his stuffed bunny or rubber ducky in his mouth as he crawls around the apartment. I really wanted to share a video or a picture of these adorable moments with you. I set up the camera, gave Grant a toy, and waited for Grant to stuff the toy in his mouth so that I could capture the moment. Unfortunately, three days and many hours later, I have been unable to snap a picture at the right moment. These were the best I could do. You will have to use your imagination if you want to see Grant's impersonation of a mama kitty.

New Adventures

2008-09-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel and I received our first visitor, Candace, this weekend (you may visit her blog for more pictures and a detail description of my Wii boxing skills). As hosts, we planned an educational excursion to Hershey's Chocolate World where we learned about the importance of milk in chocolate making from three singing cow puppets as well as how to see, listen to, smell, and taste (but not eat) different chocolates in the delectable Chocolate Tasting 101 course.

We also explored downtown Harrisburg where we strolled along the banks of the Susquehanna River, visited City Island, ate fried veggies at the fair, and cheered the adult rowing team to victory against the youth team.

Moving Supplies

2008-08-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that most of you have given up on this blog, but it has not been abandoned. I was simply swamped with moving chores. I have now unpacked most of the boxes and can breath easy in middle-of-no-where Pennsylvania. Just in case any of you are preparing for a cross-country move, I've compiled a list of a few must-have moving supplies.

1. Lots of boxes2. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
3. Super glue for the moving casualties4. Wood glue for the other moving casualties
5. Expert packing friends (you know who you are)
On a somewhat related note, I am running out of bookshelf space. Our three small shelves are basically full of books, but I still have to find a place for all these remaining books. Nat wants to save our money to buy some nice Amish bookshelves (and do who-knows-what with all these books in the meantime). I think I'll go insane if I don't find a place for all these books soon. ;)

Uinta Camping Highlights

2008-07-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel, Grant, and I went camping with my family in the Uinta Mountains this weekend. It was one of the best camping trips ever!

1. Eaten by mosquitoes
Tenille's mosquito bites: 27
Days of itching: 3
Camping memories: eternal

2. Trying out our new baby backpackHours searching for backpack: 12

Number of stores visited: 15
Exploring nature with our son: priceless

3. Hiking Bald Mountain
Elevation: 11,943 (highest peak in the western Uintas)
Round-trip miles: 4
View at the top: breathtaking

4. Spotting Ute Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes diluvialis)
Number of Ute Ladies' Tresses in the world: ??? but they're a threatened orchid
Number of Ute Ladies' Tresses we spotted: approximately 50
Nat's excitement: unparalleled
(F.Y.I. Nat would love to study the evolution of different orchid species at Penn State.)

5. Finding a nesting Bald Eagle on our hike to Hoover Lake
Number of Bald Eagles: ??? also threatened
Miles to the lake: 2
Times I said I would miss the Utah Mountains: infinitely many

9 months and growing

2008-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Grant turned nine-months-old yesterday. He is getting so big, I can hardly believe it!

Birth weight: 7 1/2 lbs
Current weight: 19 lbs
% change: 150%

Grant is in the 25th-percentile for his weight. I know, that's not very believable considering his thunder thighs and knee-rolls. Perhaps being in the 10th-percentile for height holds some explanatory power for the thighs and knees.

Birth length: 18 in
Current length: 27 in
% change: 50%

Hmm, interesting comparison.Favorite activities: crawling, standing, babbling, and playing with his bathtub. I know it's weird, but he could sit in his bathtub for hours.

Missing Our Old Apartment

2008-07-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Many of you are aware that we had to move out of our old one-bedroom apartment and into another crummy one-bedroom apartment. Our contract ended May 31, but we were knee-deep in thesis writing and didn't want to leave the area until mid-August. Due to a change in management, it would have cost us an additional $800 to stay in our apartment for two more months. So we put boxed up our stuff, put it in storage, and moved into a friends' apartment while they were gone selling pest control for the summer. We've been living here for a month and a half, and we terribly miss three things about our old apartment.

1. Our Red Couch. I tried to get all of our current living room furniture in this picture. The only piece of furniture that belongs to us is the dark brown piano; every other piece of light tan furniture belongs to our friends. So, I miss the color of my beautiful red couch (it has been featured in other pictures on this blog). Sometimes it's difficult to determine where the floor ends and furniture begins in this place. I also miss having a couch that doesn't require a slip cover.

2. Our Dishwasher. I didn't think that I would mind washing dishes by hand, but I hate it! It's a never-ending task; it seems that there are always dirty dishes in the sink. Oh how I long to have a dishwasher again.

3. Closet space. Number of closets in our old apartment: 7. Number of closets in our new apartment: 1/2. Seriously, there are 1 1/2. There are a stack of boxes in our bedroom because there is no closet space.

Luckily, we will have a three-bedroom apartment in PA. What will we do with all the extra space?

Save the Date

2008-07-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

What: Farewell to Utah Party
When: Thursday, August 14, 6pm
Where: Tenille's parent's house (call or email for directions)

If any of you will be in Layton on this date, we would love to have you come!

Word Count Winner

2008-07-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

My thesis had 37,109 words! Congratulations Jen A. for your awesome guess. What was your strategy? I'll talk to you about your prize later this week! Thanks to all who participated!

One Fine Week

2008-07-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

A few things to :) about this week:

1. I passed my thesis defense with no tears! It actually went very well and I even received a few nice complements from my professors. I am so excited to be done with my master's degree (almost)! If any of you are thinking about pursuing a master's degree, I would recommend the non-thesis route. However, all the hard work was definitely worth it! I love the high I get from working hard and succeeding! It's addicting.

2. I ran my first 5K race within my goal time! I just wanted to finish in under thirty minutes and I made it! According to my watch, it took me 29:51. According to my shoe chip, 29:33. It was awesome and I am ready to run again! Thanks Melissa for all your encouragement and for running with me each week. Here are some pictures (unfortunately Nat didn't get a picture of me crossing the finish line, I guess I was too fast for him)!3. The Fourth of July! Grant loved the parade and the fireworks.

One-legged Crawl

2008-06-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

Grant played with his friend Gabe a couple of times this week. After watching Gabe move about the room, Grant decided that crawling might not be so bad. He refuses to get on his hands and knees . . . but this version of crawling certainly gets him where he needs to go! Good thing I'm almost done with my thesis!

Word Count

2008-06-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

The draft of my thesis that I turned into my committee consisted of 132 pages of text (5 chapters, references, and 2 appendices) plus 21 pages of front matter material (title page, abstract, table of contents, etc.). Can you guess how many words, according to Microsoft Office, were in this draft of my thesis?

All applications must be received via comment on blog by July 3, 2008 at 8 p.m. MST to be considered. The person who correctly guesses the number of words without going over will be declared the winner. All estimation techniques are permitted and encouraged. The prize is dependent on the winner. Possible prizes include: baby quilt, retro-apron, 5-course dinner, organ/piano lessons, etc.

Good luck!

Contest Announcement

2008-06-07T16:42:00.001-07:00

I just opened a bottle of Virgil's rootbeer in celebration of a completed thesis rough draft! The preliminary stats include: 5 chapters, 126 pages, 1544 hours, and 431 dirty diapers. I still have lots of editing to do and I need to add bits here and there (a couple of tables and figures), but it looks like I might actually meet the graduation deadlines!

To my dedicated readers who continued to check my blog when it appeared to be abandoned:
I am announcing The Word Count Contest. Here are the details: I'll post the number of pages in my submitted thesis around the 20th of June. You will then have approximately two weeks to post your comments guessing the number of words in my thesis (according to the word count tool in Microsoft Word). On the date of my thesis defense (hopefully around the 2nd of July) I will post the number of words in my thesis along with the subsequent winner of the contest! The grand prize will include a free copy of my thesis! Just kidding. It will probably be some crafty thing that I have been dying to make for the past couple of months.

Grant Eats the Classics---Vlasic Baby Dills

2008-06-07T16:32:00.001-07:00

This is Grant's second pickle-eating adventure.

Sisters

2008-05-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Candace came home to visit! We also got to talk to my brother Preston, who is serving in Brazil. I use to think that Taylor and I looked the most alike, but now I am not so sure. Which sister do you think I look the most like?

MeChel

CandaceTaylor

On the Move . . . Almost

2008-05-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Grant is getting close to crawling. His newest trick is to bounce when he is on his hands and knees! I don't know if I am ready for a mobile baby. . .

A New Camera

2008-05-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

For my anniversary/wedding/graduation present, Nat gave me a new camera! Our first digital camera was 4 years old (88 in camera years). Here are some of the features that I like.

No More Blurry Pictures
(kind of)

Better Focus
(this was too close on my old camera)

Smile Shutter
(takes the picture when everyone is smiling)

Excuse to Take More Pictures

Video with Audio
Coming Soon

The Best 5 Years

2008-05-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Today is our 5-year anniversary and we are taking the day off (mostly)! Since I didn't appropriately laud my husband's thoughtful Valentine's Day surprises, I thought I'd take a moment to celebrate the wonderful guy I married. Here are 5 things I love about Nathaniel (one for each year)! 1. He remembers all the important things in my life (except maybe a birthday here or there). :)
2. He listens to my day and comments appropriately.
3. He is a loving father.
4. He inspires me to be a better person.
5. He fits 80% of the "Guy I Will Someday Marry" list: intelligent, handsome, priesthood holder, guitar player, and at least 6 feet tall.
Please note: The above list is not exhaustive.

I love you Nat!

Picture Time

2008-04-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

Drink Your Milk in a Mug

2008-04-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a suggestion for a low-fat economical lunch or snack. I use low-fat cold-cuts and cheese. You can cut out the bacon to make it even better.

Chef Salad Wrap
Mix together Dijon mustard and plain yogurt. Spread on a flour tortilla. Layer with spinach, ham, turkey, and bacon. Fill with hard-boiled eggs, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and green onions. Roll, slice, and serve.

Our Growing Boy

2008-04-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

Grant had his 6-month visit today. Here are the stats from his 4-month visit:

Weight: 14.2 lbs. (38%)
Height: 24 in. (20%)
Head Circumference: 16.1 in. (21%)

Here are the changes:
Weight: 17 lbs. (37%)
Height: 25.8 in. (22%)
Head Circumference: 17.2 in. (48%)

The nurse even measured his head twice to make sure there wasn't a mistake in the measurement. The kid's head grew a ton! To put it in math terms: his weight and height follow a logarithmic trend, his head circumference is linear! What do you guys think?

Word of the Day

2008-04-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Tenille's word of the day is ennui because today she learned how to correctly pronounce the first syllable.

Nat's word of the day is depleted because he finally finished his term paper. Now he only has a 100 page thesis to go!

Grant's word of the day is da, da, da, da, da which he heartily sang all day long. He occasionally through in some of the other sounds he knows.

Grant may look like his mom, but he acts like his dad. Here's a habit he picked up from Nat. I'll fix the picture tomorrow.

We Love IKEA

2008-04-20T13:30:00.001-07:00

It's no secret, we love IKEA! But who would have thought that a stuffed animal from IKEA would become a baby's best friend? Grant is attacking Big Fox in the pictures. We also have Baby Fox, who has been so thoroughly drooled upon that his fur is a little crusty. I used to wonder if a six-month old would exhibit toy preferences; I no longer wonder now---Grant definitely prefers Big and Baby Fox to any other toy!

The Parable of the Lost Keys

2008-04-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

In an effort to bring sanity into our lives, Melissa and I meet twice a week to run a few miles and gab about our lives. While enjoying our fifth lap around the track at BYU, a man asked us if the gray sweatshirt his son had grabbed belonged to one of us. Melissa claimed the sweatshirt and the man kindly returned it to where his son had taken it. Melissa then wondered aloud, " I hope he didn't take my keys." Naturally, we failed to act on this prompting and continued running. Much to our chagrin, we later discovered that the nice family had absconded with Melissa's keys. We assumed the keys were lost forever. Even if the family wanted to return the keys, how would they even begin to find Melissa? Melissa (in true amazing-Melissa fashion) remained remarkably calm. I probably would have broken down under the stress. Luckily Melissa had a spare key at home, so all was not lost. However, she could probably kiss that automatic starter good-bye.

Today Melissa used her automatic starter to start her car. So how did she get her keys back? Well, Melissa had a Smith's Fresh Values card on her keys. The mom of the boy called Smith's, explained the situation, and Smith's contacted Melissa. The moral of the story is: Always carry a Fresh Values card on your key chain.

The Countdown Begins . . .

2008-04-13T21:41:00.001-07:00

Our "babies" are due by July 3rd. We're putting in long hours and praying for an early "delivery". We are thinking of naming them The Mathematical and Pedagogical Knowledge Student Teachers Use to Design and Modify Worthwhile Mathematical Tasks and Its Impact on the Cognitive Demand of the Task and (first name) The Origin and Evolution of the Bicupin Storage Proteins (middle name) Quantification and Analysis of Quinoa Seed Globulin in the Bolivian Core Collection.

Grant's First Rice Cereal

2008-04-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

We celebrated that approach of Grant's six-month birthday by feeding him his first rice cereal mush. I don't think much of the mush made it to his stomach; he pushed most of it out with his tongue. I'd love suggestions on how to get your baby to like the rice-mush better (warm/cold, water/juice/milk, etc.)!

Although Grant didn't actually eat much of the mush, we got some good laughs. He smiled and laughed for the flying airplane and cried when the plane of food landed in his mouth.

We took a video, but there's no sound. I think you'll still get the picture.

For Candace

2008-03-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

I promised my sister that I would update my blog with more pictures of Grant. Here are some pictures that totally show his personality. I know what you are thinking about the first two pictures: What a chubby baby!

There and Back Again...

2008-03-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

For Easter Vacation this year, we flew down to sunny Arizona. We played by the pool, got some sun and culture, and enjoyed the family. Here are some pictures and highlights.

Grant discovered kitchen toys while we were down there. We packed a bunch of his toys with us, but he took a liking to this collapsable measuring cup and a wooden mallet he swung around like a wand. EVERYTHING goes into his mouth!

We attended India Fest at the Pheonix Art Museum. There was delicious food, spectacular dancing and music, but no water bottles were allowed inside. Even empty water bottles will be confiscated by scary security men.

We also enjoyed participating in traditional Easter activities, such as dying and searching for Easter eggs. I have featured my new favorite way of dying Easter eggs: the silk tie method. Simply wrap raw eggs in pieces of a silk tie and boil for 20 minutes. Even the not-so-artsy can create beautiful eggs. Other good methods included marbled Easter eggs and lace Easter eggs (both methods are still undergoing refinement).

We also played with friends and hunted for Easter eggs. The eggs were hidden in Grandpa Michael fashion . . . novice level (so Tenille could find them; Nat did not even try).We had friends over, including the Davises from New Jersey, who now live in Mesa too. Grant made a new friend in Tyler, who is 8 months (?), and Jeff and Laura's most recent (and unexpected) addition!

It was time for some new family photos. We were ecstatic that Grant cooperated. Nat tickled him to get him to laugh in all the pictures. Tenille absolutely demanded that Grant wear his sailor outfit. It was the first and last time.

Here's a really nice Cannon family picture. Josh is missing though, and will be serving in India for another 8 months... When will we ever get the whole family back together?? We think everyone should just follow us back East!

We hope everyone else enjoyed the Holiday!

Happy Pi Day!!!

2008-03-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

3.14 is Pi Day! Here are pi-squared ways to commemorate this important math holiday!

1. Read 1 Kings 7:23
2. Run 3.14 miles

3. Play with new circle toy to find pi (Nanna had no idea how appropriate this toy was for pi day)
4. Visit The Joy of Pi website

5. Read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi
6. Write 3.14 pages for your thesis (It should be more, but I was too busy celebrating pi day)

7. Read Life of Pi (which has nothing to do with the number, but is a fabulous read)
8. Ride a bike (note the spokes)
9. Eat things that are round (pies, pizzas, quesadillas, oranges, etc.)

I've also included my favorite pie recipes for you to tryout.

Banana Blueberry Pie

8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. whipped topping
4 bananas, sliced
2 9-in pastry shells, baked
1 can blueberry pie filling

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping and bananas. Pour into pastry shells. Spread with pie filling. Refridgerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh blueberries, mint and sliced bananas.

Vanilla Cream Pie

2 baked pastery shells
4 eggs yolks
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch or 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 c. milk
1 T. butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla
Whipped topping

For filling, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat till thick and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks with fork. Gradually stir 1 c. of t he hot filling into yolks. Pour egg yolk mixture into hot filling in pan. Bring to gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour filling into baked pastry shell. Chill for 3 hours. Serve with whipped topping.

Variations: cover pastry shell with bananas for Banana Cream Pie; or add 1 c. flaked coconut with butter and vanilla, garnish with toasted coconut and almonds for Coconut Cream Pie

The New Media

2008-03-04T21:22:00.001-08:00

Recently Elder M. Russel Ballard, and Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave some talks in which he highlighted the importance of spreading accurate information about the church through the internet. He urged members to set up blogs, and engage in other online activity, discussions and so forth. Through these outlets we can share testimonies, answer questions, disseminate media, and serve to balance out the overwhelmingly critical and negative voices that abound regarding Mormonism.

I've been tossing some ideas around as to how I can contribute (e.g. a gospel oriented blog, becoming a regular contributor to some bigger & better blog, serving as a responder to questions on church websites, you can even do MTC online chat now for those in the Provo/Orem area). I'd be interested if any of you have had any success with this, or if you have any suggestions.

I thought I'd pass along an interesting link. It seems the leaders of the church are taking their own advice. Check it out: http://blog.moregoodfoundation.org/224. The link Elder Nelson refers to is JesusChrist.lds.org.

Grant Dances to the Classics

2008-03-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Grant is mobile! Well, he can roll from his tummy to his back (although rather inconsistently). After several takes, this was the best video we could produce. If you use your imagination, you might be able to see Grant roll over at the end of the video.

Along with his new found mobility, Grant has discovered that life doesn't always go as planned. Case in point: That which the hand can grab, the mouth may not chew. We posted some before and after shots to illustrate. Here is Grant enjoying his swing (and his beautiful quilt Aunt Candace made him), wondering if he will ever be able to reach the pretty orange fish. After moments of deep concentration, SUCCESS!! This period of triumph is briefly enjoyed, only to be followed by . . .. . . anger and frustration when he couldn't pull the fish to his mouth.The moral of this story is: don't put food, drink, research papers, necklaces, earrings (especially still attached to earlobes), phones, cameras, or Christmas decorations (thanks to Karee for putting away my decorations away this weekend) anywhere near the baby!

Grant-i-locks and The Three Beers

2008-02-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

The nail-biting day of the 4-month well-baby visit approached. An anxious mother worried that her son, who was most often described as "such a big boy" in a tone of shock and awe, may have jumped to the 75th percentile in weight while simultaneously dropping to the 25th percentile in height. Two months ago, Grant weighed in at 12 lbs. 1/2 oz. (which the nurse wrote as 12.5 lbs. and entered into the computer as 12 lbs. 5 oz.), placing him somewhere in the 60th percentile. Now, with more rolls and his mother's chubby cheeks, Grant balances the scales at 14 lbs. 3 oz. and measures 24 in. in height. That puts him in the 45th and 40th percentiles respectively. Not too big, not too small, but JUST RIGHT.
His extra weight may be a result of his father giving him apple beer . . . check out Grant's "drunken" expression. (FYI: Grant didn't actually drink the apple beer; he just posed for a picture with the bottle which he grabbed with great exuberance.)

Remembering the SLC Olympics

2008-02-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

We started dating during the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics. So every year around Valentines' Day, we take the opportunity to reflect on our relationship and the event that brought us together. During those fabulous two weeks, we attended three concerts (Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters, and Air Supply), one Olympic event (cross-country skiing), and one week of no school! We'll never forget those great memories.

Now, six years later, we are approaching our five year anniversary. We are still living in the same town that we pledged to leave after a year of marriage (but we will likely be headed to State College, PA this fall). We are working on our masters' degrees (not a dental degree). And we have one wonderful son (instead of two or three). I'm so glad that life hasn't turned out the way we had planned. God's plan for us is always better than our own.

Just a comment on the picture. This is one of the first pictures of the two of us together. It was taken by one of our best friends, Kristen. We didn't have a digital camera at the time, so I "digitized" this picture by taking a digital picture of a printed picture (hence the pristine quality). I am also wearing my Russian hat, which Nathaniel HATES and refuses to let me wear now. I think he hid it from me; I haven't been able to find it this winter.

Calling All LDS Bloggers

2008-02-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Most of you are probably aware of Elder Ballard's technology talk given at BYU-Hawaii's commencement ceremony. Just in case you haven't had a chance to read it yet, I've included a link. Sometimes I forget how amazing the internet is. Just think, the invention of the internet is comparable to Gutenburg's printing press---with comperable spiritual ramifications (for good and evil). We can and should use the internet to spread the gospel. Consider this: On Monday, February 4, I was able to find an updated article about President Monson on Wikipedia just minutes after the announcement; I watched the parts of the press conference that I missed and rewatched the parts that I liked; and read several journal articles for my thesis without setting foot in the HBLL (BYU's library). What an amazing age we have been blessed to witness!

Here is Grant enjoying Scripture Scouts online. I particularly recommend the Hooray for Babies! video.

Top 10 Reasons it Took FOREVER to Vote

2008-02-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

10. You strategically waited until after 5pm to be part of the peak voting hours.

9. You waited in line at the high school only to discover your precinct was moved to the middle school.

8. Expecting record-high voter turnout, they decreased the number of polling places.

7. You spent an hour looking for the end of the line.

6. The person in front of you let every relative, friend, and ward member cut in line with them.

5. You stood for an hour in one line to confirm your affiliation and an hour in a different line to vote, only to somehow end up in the line for the bathroom.

4. Everyone pretended to take their time weighing their choices even though they had loudly announced in line that "Romney was The Man."

3. There was only one giant book for everyone to sign (but six voting machines).

2. I don't know why, but it definitely was not because all six voting machines were being used at the same time.

And the number one reason . . .

1. It took forever to explain to the nice eighty-year-old lady recording your name and affiliation that you were voting Democrat even though your spouse was voting Republican.

Grant Reads the Classics

2008-02-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

Upon attending a literacy course at the Provo City Library about emergent literacy, we have renewed our efforts to help Grant develop a love of reading. Here is Grant reading Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. He loved looking at the pictures, unless Mom was in the room. It took a little trickery to get Grant to look at the book instead of the camera. His current favorite book to read together is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? illustrated by Eric Carle.

And just in case you wondered whether or not Grant is spoiled, he is. Who could say no to this face?

And I go the way of all the world

2008-01-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

Friends,

As we mourn the passing of our beloved Prophet, I am reminded of those bittersweet words recorded by Nephi of his father Lehi, another great prophet, towards the end of his life. The words found on the dust jacket of one of President Hinckley’s recent publications are also particularly poignant; “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Cor. 4:16. I am grateful to have been lead by such a kind, faithful and unwavering man of God as was Gordon B. Hinckley. With his passing may we reflect on his singular life and example.

May we also look forward with faith, our prayers turning towards those charged with bearing off the kingdom of God. He has said "This is His work in which we are engaged and there is no more important work in all the world... No people have been charged with a greater, more inclusive mandate than we have, you and I." Remembering President Hinckley's words I hope we can each strive to stand a little taller, as he so often urged.

With Love,

Nathaniel Cannon

Grant Sings the Classics

2008-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

With the discovery of his voice, Grant has become a non-stop jabberer (as opposed to the occasional grunter he was in the past). We love the two-way conversations! However, whenever I play the piano or organ his voice becomes qualitatively different from his normal talking. Watch the video to hear Grant sing along to his mom's piano playing . . .

Go Cougars (or Nitanny Lions?)

2008-01-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know, the mascot of Penn State is the Nittany Lion. Mount Nittany (the term "mount" is used loosely back East) was once part of the eastern range of the North American Mountain Lion (aka cougar). Hence the name and mascot. I've been out here in State College for the last few days interviewing with faculty and visiting the campus. We're excited at the possibility of coming out here for PhD. work in the "Genomics and Bioinformatics" program, with a focus on plant molecular evolution. Maybe the Cannons' will remain cougars... State college is also situated in what is locally referred to as Happy Valley. Coincidence?

Penn State has a nice campus. Lots of red brick and white columns. The aptly named State College (yeah, that's really the name of the town) is composed of some 45,000 students with a total of about 60,000 in population. It shows. I thought Provo was a college town. State College is funny. Everyone always says everything is 10 minutes away. There's a small ski slope on the other side of the valley, ten minutes away. It takes ten minutes to walk over to the stadium, but on game day it takes ten minutes to drive. "Well ain't this place a geographical oddity...." Ulysses Everett McGill

Spreading the Joy of Mathematics to Children Everywhere

2008-01-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

For my technology and mathematics education class, we compiled a list of useful math resources. I was in charge of the section for younger kids and mathematics (you'll have to scroll down to find my section). I assembled links to sites with great resources for helping your child (even infants and toddlers) learn mathematics. It's never too young to start. And if you aren't too keen on mathematics, most of the sites have information about other subjects as well.

I strongly recommend the PBS site (thanks Kristi) and the Department of Education site.

And for those of you who just check this blog to see pictures of Grant Quayle, here's a picture of Grant after doing some fun math!

Fashion Math

2008-01-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the current count of clothes Grant can wear:
Sweatshirts/Sweaters: 11
Shirts: 25
Pants/Overalls: 20
One-piece: 8
Jammies: 12

That makes
12 jammie-outfits
8 one-piece outfits
88 one-piece/sweater combo outfits
500 pant/shirt combo outfits
5500 pant/shirt/sweater combo outfits

For a grand-total of 6108 different outfits. If Grant wore a different outfit every hour, how many days would it take him to wear all of his outfits?

Special thanks to all those who made this math problem possible: friends, family, and especially grandmas. We love you all!

Mrs. Munns Would Be Proud

2008-01-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know Mrs. Munns (which is probably most of you), she was my high school sewing teacher. I made this baby sleeper my junior year and I have been waiting these past nine years for someone who could wear it! It is finely crafted if I do say so myself. Grant certainly seems happy to wear it.

Ultrasound Pictures

2007-07-02T14:36:00.001-07:00

Grant's Ultrasound

2007-07-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

So, we've been calling him Grant, but we'll have to wait and see if that fits when he gets here. For now I think he kind of looks like a Grant. Warning - some images may not be suitable for all audiences. Well, just the first one.

Timid steps quietly into the ether(net)

2007-07-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

A first post without much fanfare. More to come from this interesting pair.