christmas time

Corban didn't particularly love being on his stomach. Don't you love the cottage cheese legs?

Joe and I went to Green River on Christmas day. We opened all of our presents Christmas Eve except for the ones that Alyn and Nicole sent to Green River. Sneeky little devils. I had already, accidently, seen my Christmas present, so Joe was the only one surprised this year.

pics

As promised, here are some pictures of Corban as of late. The first picture is Corban taking a nap. He'll take his legs and bring them into the body of his PJs. The second picture is during feeding time. Joe is always trying to get Corban to hold his bottle. Corban will for a few seconds and then let it fall. The third picture is one of my all time favorites. Corban woke up from one of his Sunday naps and threw down a peace sign for everyone! 

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

Joe, Corban and I made a non-permanent move into my parent's old house. They are trying to sell it, so we are going to live in it until it sells! It's nice to have more space and two separate rooms for Corban and the computer. The only downfall is that we don't have Internet up there yet! 

Corban is growing so big! I had to pack away all of his newborn clothes and have even had to pack some of his 3 month old clothes away. Joe and I went to our friend's wedding on Thursday and had Peggy (my sister-in-law) watch Corban. She and my brother have four girls, so I think they all were a little taken back with having a boy in the house other than Chris! 

 Well, my boy is awake so I'll have to finish updating another day. And I'll definitely have more pictures to post. 

thanksgiving journal

After much ado ... drumroll ... here is my 2008 Thanksgiving Journal! It has music to go along with it (I made it with my digital scrapbook program) but I'm too computer illiterate to figure out how to make a slideshow and add new music. So, enjoy the images. If you're ever at my house, I can show you the real thing with music and everything!

mish mash

I have 20 more minutes while Corban is still asleep. I just finished going private and adding people to my blog. I hope it worked. I lost 5 more pounds! That means 15 more to go to get to my optimal weight. This being said while I munch down some Cheetos! Anyhoo ... I posted about a Thanksgiving project that my sister-in-law brought to my attention about scrapbooking 26 things you are most thankful for. I'm still working on it and I will post the finished project; hopefully in the next few days.

Happy Holidays!

isn't it funny

I noticed this when I was home with my parents and now I'm noticing it with Joe. Isn't it funny that men are on their own when they leave home where they feed themselves, do laundry, and basically survive, but when they get married those survival skills diminish and sometimes fade? Joe will still help occassionanlly and I love it when he does! This is just an observation.

what I would include

I asked this same question to Joe one night. It intrigued him so much that he grabbed his palm and quickly found how many people voted for prop 8 and how many members there are in California. Over 6 million people voted in favor of proposition 8 and there are over 750,000 members in California (keep in mind this number includes 8 year olds).

The above statistic isn't necessarily why I support prop 8, but it gives them a broader idea of how small a number 750,000 is compared to 6 million! That is 6,000,000 vs. 750,000! I would probably give them this statistic and bear my testimony. Hopefully one or the other would shut them up and hamper additional attacks on Latter-day Saints.

what would you say ...

Let's say that a person who did not support proposition 8 asked you why you did, what would you say? And keep in mind that they probably don't share the same belief system as you, so the religion card probably wouldn't satisfy them (if anything really did).

2 month checkup

Corban had his 2 month check up yesterday where he also got 3 immunization shots and 1 immunization "shot". He is now almost 13 pounds and is 24 inches long! I can definately tell he's gaining weight when I carry him around in his car seat. I'm gonna have sweet biceps in a couple of months! It was sad seeing him get his shots, but luckily Joe was there to comfort both his son and wife. The rotovirus now comes in liquid form, hence the "shot" comment above ... get it? Anyhoo. Corban's legs were a bit sore last night. He would move them and then whimper. He slept okay, but not the greatest. Hopefully today is better.

private eye

Maybe I have been scared a little about our identities being stolen, or maybe I'm just following the popular mass, but we're going private. Leave your email if you want access to our blog in the future.

shopping spree

To go along with said weight loss, my husband has agreed that I can go on an amazing shopping spree if I get into a certain pant size. Let's just say that I've never been in that pant size before. EVER! If I make it to the size just above, then I get to go on a plain 'ole shopping spree.

Wish me luck.

weight loss

You may or may not know this, but I gained 58 pounds during my pregnancy. I was fortunate enough to loose 38 of those pounds at delivery, but I have 20 pounds to go to get to my prepregnancy weight and an additional 10 to get to my optimal weight.

I'm confessing this in the hopes that y'all wil keep me honest in my newly started weight loss program. I only weigh myself every Monday morning, so I don't know how much weight I've lost (if any), but my wedding ring fits more normally; I can actually move it around my finger without fearing that my finger is going to explode!

Anyhoo ... wish me luck. And if any of y'all want to go to water aerobics Thursday night around 8:00 p.m. at the SVHS swimming pool, let me know. I need a swimming buddy.

thanksgiving project

I got this idea from a sister-in-law and loved the idea. For everyday of November I will be taking a picture of the things I am grateful for. Her idea was to make a mini scrapbook on Thanksgiving day, but since I swore off paper scrapbooks, mine will be electronic. I may or may not share with everyone in the blogging world, but you should make your own thanksgiving scrapbook!

election 2008

Joe, Corban and I went and voted today. I thought for sure that there would be GINORMOUS lines to contend with, but we got there, waited about 1 minute, cast our vote and was on our way. 1-2-3-easy-peasy.

Joe and I voted at the same time, so Joe pushed Corban, who was in his stroller, over to the side right behind him. A lady behind us, took it upon herself to move the stroller closer to a lady who already had a baby in her arms! When I went up to Corban's stroller, the lady looked at me all surprised then asked, "How is your baby?" What the? Very weird.

Anyhoo ... be sure to vote today!

halloween '08

I must admit that Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays. That being said, Ihad a bad attitude about dressing up. Joe and I went shopping for costumes October 30 because he wanted to dress up at work. As we were looking, I bought devil horns and a tail. It was a pretty lame costume, so I didn't get any pictures.

This is Joe being Indiana Jones. The whip actually makes the sound and plays the theme song to the movie.

My two boys.


Don't let his expression fool you, he's a ferocious tigger.

all tuckered out

This is a photo tag and this is what you do:
1. Open up your picture folder
2. Go to the 4th folder
3. Open the 4th picture
4. Post the picture on your blog and write about it.

Denise and Skyler came to Logan in 2007. Denise had to use the internet to look for houses in Del Rio, Texas and didn't want to use my parent's dial-up. Joe still hadn't gotten up for the day or he had laid down again for a morning nap. Skyler fell asleep in the car on the way over, so Denise just laid him down next to Joe.

Aren't those two so cute?

pumpkin walk

Joe, Corban and I went to the North Logan pumpkin walk. I found the pumpkin hat and had to put it on Corban. Poor kid. Why is it that parent's insist on dressing their kids up in disaster clothes. Ralphy and the "Christmas Story" comes to mind.

My boys by the pumpkins.

What a scary monster! Never mind Joe's head in the background.

breast cancer awareness month

October is/was breast cancer awareness month. I think everyone knows someone personally or knows someone through somebody else, but one thing is for sure, we need to save the ta-tas!

corban's blessing

We blessed Corban yesterday. We had a pretty good turn out of family and friends and are so grateful to everyone for their love and support. My mom made his blessing outfit complete with little bow-tie! As Joe and other members of my family got up to bless Corban, Corban proceeded to fart in my brother's face. If you've ever smelled formula baby's farts, you'll understand why my brother almost fell out of his wheelchair! Joe did an amazing job blessing Corban. Our Father in Heaven's spirit was definately there as we welcomed our little boy into the Church.

coupon clipper

I guess it depends on what store you shop at and if they have a rewards card. I'm pretty sure that there are more websites out there that let you link your card to e-coupons, but I shop at Smith's. The company they work with to provide ecoupons is: http://pgesaver.com.

Happy shopping!

coupon savings

This is a pretty lame post, but I wanted to share with everyone is that you can put coupons right on your grocery store card! I'm sure most of you already knew this piece of wonderful information. And to those people I say ... why didn't you tell me this before now?!

all nighter

Corban slept through the entire night! He woke up around 12:30, but went right back to sleep and didn't wake up until 6:45! I hope this is a new pattern for him and not just one time thing.

corban

Just wanted to share some more pictures of our little Corban. He is a month old now and at his last doctor's visit he weighed 10 pounds and measured in at 22 inches.

His skin color is a lot better since he was first born; not so yellow any more. People are starting to tell me that he looks more like me. I know he has my nose and chin, but I still think he looks like Joe.

I know belly sleeping is not what doctors recommend, but sometimes it's the only way Corban will fall asleep. This is how he is positioned when I wake him up from his naps.

These PJs are my all time favorite PJs. That's probably why he invariably pees, poops, or pukes on them the first night I put him in them. I think he's trying to tell me something. No more pictures mom!

This pic is right after a bath. His hair gets all fluffy and sticks up every where. I kind of think he looks like the King in these PJs.

billy's ball tricks

My nephew and some of his friends spent hours and hours planning and executing these tricks. Take a look at their video on YouTube.

Their First Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu8SWD08Ajg

Their Second Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIgL7PB9LX4

They got so many hits on YouTube that they got their video played nationally on TV and the four of them got $1,000! Unfortunately, two of the boys took all the money leaving my nephew and another boy with ZIP. Joe and I gave him the idea to send the video to Coke as a TV commercial. They could even send it into AFV or Mythbusters (people think the tricks are fake).

crazy eights

8 Favorite TV shows...
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. Toughest Jobs
4. How It's Made
5. It Take a Thief
6. Dirtiest Jobs
7. The Biggest Loser
8. The Price Is Right

8 Favorite Restaurants...
I ate out so much when I was pregnant that I've kind of lost my love of eating out.

8 things that happened yesterday...
1. Chatted with family from out of town
2. Conspired with sisters for parent's Christmas present
3. Fed, changed, played with Corban all day
4. Went out to dinner with Sarah and Carrie
5. Cleaned the bathroom
6. Did the dishes
7. Had a BBQ with the fam
8. Cleaned my apartment

8 things to look forward to...
1. Conference
2. A full night's sleep
3. Christmas
4. Thanksgiving
5. Halloween -- Troll
6. A more interactive Corban ... I love the cuddles and the "babiness" of him, but it's kind of boring.
7. Corban's baby blessing (October 26: let me know if you want to come!)
8. Joe Graduating by 2014!

8 things I love about Fall...
1. The fall line-up!
2. Cooler weather.
3. Fall foliage.
4. Pumpkins.
5. The North Logan Pumpkin Walk
6. Christmas
7. College Basketball
8. Holidays

8 things on my wishlist...
1. Clothes
2. Shoes
3. An electric razor
4. Graduation - Joe
5. Job - Joe
6. Better understanding of the gospel ... not really a wish, but a goal
7. Better understanding of my husband
8. No more talk about the economy or the presidential election

8 people I tag...
1. Peggy
2. Liz
3. Lindee
4. Cassidy
5. Megan
6. The 57th Ward
7. Wendy
8. anyone else ...

bugged out

I went to change Corban's diaper the other day and happened to look into the diaper before I put it on him. Low and behold, there was a little knat wedged in between layers of the diaper! I called the company of the diapers and explained what had happened. They got my information and I will be getting a coupon in the mail for a replacement bag of diapers. The only trouble is that I do not like the diapers that the knat was found in! Yikes.

on becoming babywise

First of all, a big shout out and thanks to Liz and Tammy for referring this book. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Corban and I went to the doctor the other day for his two week check up. He is 10 pounds 1 ounce and 22 inches long. Apparently, his weight is good, but borderline bad. The doc put him on a 3 ounce every 3 hours diet. The doc also gave us a goal to shoot for: get Corban to sleep through the night at two months. With the help of the book and the 3 ounce meals, Corban is sleeping 5 hours in the night; a full night sleep for newborns! We put him down around 9:30 last night and he didn't wake up until 2:45! I feel really rested today and hope that he will continue to sleep well during his naps and at night.

I know this little review isn't doing the book justice, but read the book if you want help or suggestions on how to get your baby on a routine.

tagged

What is his name: Joseph Christian
What is her name: Amber
How long have you been together: 2 years
How old is he: 26
How old is she: 26
Who eats more: Joe -- I did out eat him when I was pregnant
Who said I love you first: he did
Who is taller? Joe
Who sings better? Joe -- I'm a Griffin
Who is smarter: we both are
Who does the laundry: I do
Who pays the bills: he does
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: Joe, we barely switched after Corban was born
Who mows the lawn: we don't have a lawn!
Who cooks the dinner: me
Who drives: we both do, but I want him too all the time
Who is more stubborn: we are both equally stubborn
Who kissed who first: Joe tried to kiss me first but I dodged him.
Who proposed: I kind of did "unofficially" but Joe proposed for real in Vegas
Who is more sensitive: me by a long shot!
I tag: Liz

more pics

My doula came over last night for our postpartum/exit interview. She dropped off a cute letter she wrote to Corban, describing his birth from her perspective. She also dropped off a cute cute onsie and pics that she took of the birth which I am now sharing with all of you. Don't worry, they aren't yuckie/nudey pictures. If anyone needs/wants a doula, Liz Maurer is great!

pics

I'm sitting here trying to catch up on the WWW with Corban asleep on my lap. He's making the cutest little noises right now.

Here are just a few pics of our little Corban. They are from the hospital and at home.

what do you do?

I've now been home from work with Corban for two weeks and am getting BORED! What sort of activities do y'all do when you're at home?

breastmilk vs. formula

Thoughts?

as promised ...

I'm finally getting back on my feet and doing little things around the house. Kudos out to all the mothers out there, especially the ones with more than one kid. I don't know how much detail to share, so I hope I don't gross anyone out or offend. This is going to be kind of a lengthy one with ZERO pics, so bear with me.

After the barrage of people telling me that first time moms NEVER go early and because I was only dilated to a one, the day I had Corban I went to work like any other day. I started contracting around noon. I wasn't feeling the greatest, the contractions were coming pretty close, and they were starting to hurt a little. So, I went home. I told my work, "I may or may not be back in today." =) I went to Smith's Marketplace to do a little shopping (last minute items I needed for the baby) and had lunch with Joe. By this time, they hurt bad enough that I teared up in the store. That kind of freaked Joe a little bit.

I went home and called my doc when the contractions were 4-8 minutes apart. They suggested that I go to the hospital. I called Joe, called my doula and took a shower. Joe insisted we go to the hospital when the contractions were 4 minutes apart. It's a good thing we packed our hospital bag the night before. :)

I checked in at 4 or 5 o'clock and labored until 9:30 p.m. The contractions were pretty intense and I was exhausted. I even puked all over my bed and the floor. They checked me again and I was a 4! Only a 4?! Holy crap dang .. by this time I had had it and got myself an epidural. My doula asked if I wanted them to check me again before the epidural. No thanks. Just give me the drugs. The contractions were pretty dang close by this point and they expected me to hold absolutely still while they juiced me up! The anethiseologist did have a good story. He delivered a baby that they named Shithad (pronounced Shith-ad).

After the drugs started working, they checked me. I had finally made it to a 10! Oh happy day. My water had not broken yet, so the nurse paged my doc to have him break it. Dr. Noorda was just checking things out when my water exploded! It seriously sounded like a freaking water balloon bursting. I don't think it got on my doc, but it sure surprised him!

I started pushing around 10:45 p.m. and delived Corban at 11:31 p.m.

Mother-/Fatherhood is a HUGE adjustment, but it's getting better. Joe is so cute with our son. I think he is the proudest papa around. Joe has also been a huge help to me. I think he'll be glad when my emotions taper off a bit and I can actually talk to him without crying. =)

Corban Joseph Beck

Introducing the newest member of the Beck clan ... Corban Joseph Beck. He was born Monday night around 11:30 p.m. I'm watching my son in the swing beside me and think he's pretty special. More details to follow. Thanks for all your prayers in getting him safely here.

baby update

I went to my weekly checkup and ... nothing new to report. My doc kept telling me to look at the positive side of things and remember that I am having a healthy pregnancy. That is very hard when every joint in my body is aching. He said that at the latest, I will be pregnant for 2 more weeks. That would put things around September 16.

shower

My sister-in-laws threw me a baby shower last Saturday. There was a lot of good good food and fun games. I usually HATE baby/bridal shower games, but these were pretty fun. Anyway, don't we all look nice? I think this was the only picture where everybody's eyes were at least part way open! =)


Peggy made me a diaper cake! Isn't it cute? I've seen a couple of pictures of these things and deep down inside always wanted one.

Zillia was my little helper throughout the shower. She was playing with the toys, helping me unwrap gifts, and handing me the gifts she wanted to open next! What a cutie and such a little ham.

Thanks again to everyone who came and helped out!

baby survival

Now that things are starting to calm down a little for me, I'm on my way out to do a little baby shopping. What sort of things helped all you new mothers with your new babies? What did you LOVE having that made life a little bit easier.

golfing anniversary

This past weekend was our anniversary. We went to Sherwood Hills where we ate at their restaurant and played a round of golf. Joe gave me a journey diamond necklace, explaining that this would have to suffice for the next four years while he goes to Pharmacy school.

I gave Joe golf balls. For those of you who know his nickname, it was only befitting to get him Nike MOJO golf balls. Sadly, he lost one of those balls in the forest at Sherwood Hills.

While we were at Sherwood Hills, we got to experience all sorts of nature. We only got to play four holes because we were going to SLC for our family reunion. I did pretty good and shot well. I even sunk a 20 foot putt! I'm pretty much amazing and the best golfer ever. This is my first time adding movies to this thing, so I hope it works.

family reunion

These are two of my nieces and they're sisters! Joe told me that this picture of Lily (pictured on the left) would be a good Powerade commercial. Audrey (pictured on the right) was learning how to wear shades.

We went to Salt Lake City last weekend for a Griffin family reunion. My dad's brothers are making it an annual tradition so all of they're kids can get to know each other. It was fun to get out of the house and spend some time outside.

hospital bags

Going into labor and having a baby is becoming more and more of a reality to me. What kinds of things did you pack in your hospital bags? What did you wish you had brought but didn't think about?

mawage

"Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday.

Mawage, that bwessed awangment,

that dweam wifin a dweam...

And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...

So tweasure your wuv."

Two years ago today I married my best friend. The best thing that ever happened to me was marrying Joseph Christian Beck for time and all eternity in the Logan LDS Temple on August 15, 2006! Reminiscing about that day, a few things that I remember about that day is when we got to the sealing room, I had his ring with a tissue strung through it on one of my fingers. While the sealer was chatting with us, Joe reached over and grabbed my hand. Apparently I had been fidgeting with the ring and tissue, turning the tissue into confetti. Joe had a huge smile on his face and tears in his eyes as we kneeled across the alter from each other (there's no need to explain what I was doing--if only I had that darn tissue). It was if everyone had melted away and it was only the two of us. The family dinner and reception are kind of a blur. I do remember getting booed when we fed each other a piece of our cake. Needless to say, people were cheering as I stuffed cake into his face and up his nose! Joe, ever the romantic, hired a horse and carriage to take us away. What a romantic way to end an unforgettable day.

Happy anniversary baby! I love you heart, mind, body and soul.

snoring

I guess, among other things, snoring has become yet another side-affect of my pregnancy. The other night I had barely fallen asleep when this loud, awful grunting sound echoed through my mattress. I gasped a couple of times, and sat up in bed.

"What was that?"
"Uh, that was you."
"Oh."

I'm glad that I am at least Joe's nightly entertainment.

toes, reunions, vandalism

Don't you just love long boring days at the office? It's 9:00 in the morning and I'm completely out of things to do. So, naturally, this post is going to be a monstor blog. Consider your self warned and happy reading.

Joe's family reunion was last week in Sandy. Before we left Friday night, I stopped by the salon and got a manicure and pedicure. Aren't those little toe sausages cute? I blame it on the prenatal vitamins, but my pedicure is history. Is it possible to get sick right after a hand/foot massage? I don't know, but I'm gonna blame that night's bathroom episodes on the pedicure and manicure. I was so sick that night. I had to keep running to the bathroom in the dark in a strange house. I'm pretty impressed with myself that I didn't run into any walls or walk into an in-law's bedroom! Wouldn't that be something?!

While were in Sandy, we decided to go to the Heritage Farm up by the University of Utah. The farm is basically old pioneer buildings that were relocated to this central place where all the employees pretend they are really back in the 1800's. The day before we went on the Heber Creeper. I told them I didn't care what we did the next day as long as it was out of the sun and in air conditioning. I guess I got out voted. I was so hot. Joe was pretty good with staying with me in the shade or the air conditioned stores. He had a bottle of water that he kept splashing me with. I even had to go into a bathroom, wet a paper towel and keep it wrapped around my neck. A lady under an awning saw me walking toward the bathroom and about crapped her pants. "Oh! I don't know HOW you're handling this heat! I wouldn't be caught dead out here when I was as pregnant as you!" Okay lady.

We stopped by a cabinet shop and got Joe fitted for a coffin. I think I'll have to shorten him a bit before we can fit him into the box.

Joe's family has a tradition where they do a fun run/walk at the reunions in honor of their dad's new outlook on life with his new heart. This year, we made T-shirts. Joe was gracious enough to decorate both of ours. And it only took him a little over an hour and a half to finish them! Good job baby. I didn't participate in the run, but I dressed up for it any way. I'm such a good sport!

I live for this kind of stuff! Joe sold his little brother his car and accidently held on to a spare key. We were going to mail it to him, but then we found out that Joe's little bro was getting married! We put glitter all over the dashboard and into the vents, toilet papered the inside of the car and put ballons in the front seats. We cheese-whized sayings on the windows, put oreo cookies all over the place, saran wrapped the doors shut, put PB under the door handles, smeared PB all over the car, added more glitter to the stickier foods, and tied plastic water bottles to the the back of the car! What a masterpiece.

Steve and Anna thought they had the perfect solution to not getting their car decorated. They parked the car a couple of blocks away from the park where they had their reception and rode off on a bicycle-built-for-two. Needless to say, with the help of a reliable source, we found the car. Sorry guys. It's a tradition that everyone has to experience at least once in their life!

The happy couple, Steve and Anna, feeding each other cake.