more tricks and treats

Our ward Halloween party carving entry. It didn't win. We suspect foul play.

Had it with the party

pumpkin carving for non-dummies

Our first carving of the year.

Helaman and I love to carve pumpkins. It all stems back to October 2003 when my office building in Phoenix had a contest. We entered 5 pumpkins (hauling them all in to work was slightly embarrassing). One of them did win - I wish I had a picture of that one.

Pumpkin carving has come a long way.
This is me and my two older brothers showing off some classic Halloween gear.

Halloween Preview

Happy Fall!

We are really enjoying the fall weather here! Here are some cute recent pictures.

Showing off the thigh-rolls

Sonja teaching the ever crowd-pleasing "clap" at her birthday party

Higher, mom!

Hiding her big smile behind a nuk

I've been busy trying to organize Helaman's whirlwind tour of the southeast coming up as he interviews at Birmingham, Lexington, Dallas, Houston, Louisville and possibly San Francisco all in the space of two weeks. Keeping track of dinner and meeting schedules for each city and trying to get flights at just the right times (and for the right prices!) reminds me of my four-month stint as an executive assistant a couple years ago. No wonder I didn't last. Hanging out at the park with Charlotte is much easier on the nerves.

baby in the city

Last weekend Uncle Pete came to visit. The weather was wonderful out, and the restaurant manager gave Charlotte a balloon to attach to her stroller which she appreciated.

After trying about 8 different bottles, nipples and sippy cups, Charlotte made peace with the Nuk nipple. Since it is the same shape as the pacifier she's used since birth, that probably should have been my first choice. It is a relief to know she won't starve when Dad babysits.

First pair of shoes! I got some (ok - a lot) of fall wear for Charlotte she can't wait to try out when the cooler weather sets in. Who can resist little baby girl sweaters and skirts in pink and brown?

Ode to H

Helaman left today for San Francisco to attend the American Dental Association's annual meeting to present the research he has been involved with the past couple years. He got to go because he won the research competition that Columbia had in March the day after Charlotte was born. She was his good luck charm! We're so proud of him and his hard work. Usually this blog focuses on Charlotte but today we are going to solely brag about Helaman who we miss already.

1. Who is your man? Helaman

2. How long have you been together? We will have been married for 4 years in November.

3. How long did you date? 8 months.

4. How old is your man? He is a young one - 26.

5. Who eats more? He does - just watch him with a fresh batch of Choco-Baloccos.

6. Who said I love you first? He did - May '03

7. Who is taller? Helaman 6'3"

8. Who sings better? Helaman refuses to even try to sing.

9. Who is smarter? Hmmm ..... I think we are smart at different things (how is that for diplomacy?) But I think it is true.

10. Who's temper is worse? Mine! Helaman is one of the most easygoing people ever. I can count on one finger the times he has gotten piping mad.

11. Who does the laundry? I do - I have a hard time letting him do it after a certain favorite sweater of mine got thrown in and ruined.

12. Who does the dishes? I do. And we have no dishwasher, folks. Ahhhh!

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We like to switch it up.

14. Who pays the bills? I do. He doesn't have the temperament to yell at people when bills are wrong, which for some reason they often are!

15. Who has bigger feet? Helaman. Especially when he hasn't trimmed his toenails! Ewww!

16. Who has longer hair? I do.

17. Who is better at the computer? Helaman. Though I of course I am better at blogging.

18. Who mows the lawn? The teenagers or immigrants we plan to hire when we have a lawn.

19. Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time, but Helaman has a few recipes he likes to whip up so he can test out the tips he gets on the food network. Cooking together is my favorite.

20. Who drives when you are together? The MTA busdriver.

21. Who pays when you go out? Whoever bothered to bring a wallet.

22. Who is most stubborn? Charlotte - especially when faced with bottles.

23. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I always apologize, then say "aren't you going to apologize now?" And he laughs and it is all better. It works!

24. Whose parents do you see the most? It is pretty equal as they are all very far away.

25. Who kissed who first? Helaman kissed me our first week of hanging out. I can't even say first date because we hadn't gone on a real date thanks to the "hanging out" phenomenon of young singles in Mesa.

26. Who asked out who? I asked for a date and he came up with one.

27. Who proposed? He did on his birthday!

28. Who is more sensitive? I am super sensitive. I cry all the time especially at cheesy TV show moments.

29. Who has more friends? We both have a few really good friends we keep up with through the years.

30. Who has more siblings? Technically Helaman does counting his half-siblings (7) compared to my (5).

31. Who wears the pants in the family? We are good about sharing them.

Good luck in San Francisco H! We love you!

6 Months!

I can't believe our little girl is 6 months old! Charlotte is now 15 lbs. 8 oz. and 27 inches tall. For her half birthday, she got her own room! Last night was the best sleep I've gotten in a long time. After much rearrangement, she now sleeps in the hallway, which conveniently closes off with doors from the living room and the bedroom. She's enjoying her freedom to sing and talk at all hours as well as the balmy temperature, as opposed to the freezing cold we like to keep our room. Everyone wins! Except the stroller, I suppose, which is going to have a hard time getting down the hall.

open mouth, insert foot

I'd rather have a foot in my mouth than a bottle!

Andy, Charlotte's first boyfriend. She was enamored with his thick red hair.

Puttin the moves on Lincoln.

all smiles

First time on a swing!

Charlotte loved the swing at the park this week. What a great smile! One thing she's not loving: bottle training. I've never seen such a picky baby and it's driving me a little nuts. More on that later.

So Helaman has interviews so far at Dallas, Lexington, Atlanta and Birmingham.

weekend in pictures

can I please have an ice cream cone?

This week Charlotte and I went to the park. While she's not ready for the monkey bars, she does enjoy watching the squirrels and seeing different scenery (as do I).

Didn't Mom tell you to shave?

Charlotte loves to feel Helaman's stubbly face. Her skin is so sensitive that it gets really red when he kisses her!

Too much partying

On Saturday, I had two baby showers to go to celebrating Stacey's little boy and Emma's little girl. Charlotte sacked out during the first one, though she thoroughly enjoyed being there as one of the girls.

Cold (and windy) outside!

The temperature rapidly dropped this weekend. We thought it would be fun to eat our dinner on the roof on Friday and watch this great sunset, but it was too windy! Luckily Sunday was a little better and we were able to get together with a bunch of friends for a roof BBQ - where was my camera?

happenings

Greeting a trusty old friend

I love taking pictures of Charlotte, because one out of every hundred or so turns out really great! The summer is over, as evidenced by the empty neighborhood streets and playgrounds (yay!) It's our last fall in New York, and we're going to love every minute of it. Charlotte has rolled over a few times, but usually Houdini-style, meaning she's on her back and then I turn around for a minute and the next thing I know she's on her tummy. She's also mastered her rice cereal - starting each dish with a decided grimace, but gobbling it up nonetheless. Next stop - veggies!

Exciting stuff, I know. As for us - Helaman's applications for his oral surgery residency have been delivered, and so far two schools have invited him for interviews. Congrats H!

a reluctant eater

Never shy about making her feelings known... looks like we have a drama queen!

Mom, is this poison?

Looking for an escape route

All done!

Utah Vacation 2007

Last week we went to visit Helaman's parents in Sandy, Utah. I was really excited when we got there because it was really chilly out, but that was short-lived unfortunately. Charlotte was excited to meet her other grandparents and a whole group of relatives who adore her!

View from Park City ski lift.

Helaman was shocked that I lived in Utah for four years and never went on the Alpine Slide. So in the fast-becoming-a-tradition of hanging out at ski resorts in the summer, we headed up to Park City and rode the slide as well as the newer Alpine Coaster which we were able to ride together. It was faster which made us both feel a little queasy for the rest of the day. Are we getting old??? I used to be able to ride coasters all day and not be fazed.

Silver Lake. Somewhere in "The Canyon". Nice to be out in nature!

Dueling babies.

While in Utah we visited my old BYU roommate Christianne. Her baby Dylan is just two weeks older than Charlotte, and he certainly likes his tummy time a lot more than she does! Here she is trying to pick up some pointers.

The pool sure looked good in the blazing heat we braved to see the aerials show in Park City. Olympic athletes and hopefuls put on a show every Saturday in this summer training facility.

It was really cool to see all the aerialists jumping at the same time - sorry I didn't get a video of that but this one gives you the idea. Afterward we went on some ziplines that went down alongside the ski slope and the Alpine Quicksilver. T hey were all fun but I got majorly burned out in the sun my skin hadn't seen in years!

Charlotte with Grandpa and Grandma E

Early birds

We are taking advantage of the fact that Charlotte is at a very portable age. She is great when we take her out on the town and charms the residents and tourists of New York and patiently sits while we have dinner. The other week Restaurant.com was having a sale - $25 gift certificates for $3. Pretty good huh! Especially around here where inexpensive eating out is hard to find. The catch is that the restaurant selection isn't that great. You never know what you're getting into really. Tonight we went to Sortie, which is actually a Bar/Lounge complete with couches and low tables. We felt a little silly wheeling Charlotte in, but didn't really care since we were the first ones of the evening there at 6:30pm. Going early to restaurants is essential with a baby - no one minds, they are desperate for customers at that hour and you can sit anywhere. Not to mention you can get the tyke home for her 7-8pm bedtime. Luckily a table opened up out on the patio which was awesome since today it cooled down to 60 degrees!! So we sat out there and had a lovely dinner. Nothing beats sitting outside for dinner on a cool evening.

Believe it or not Charlotte's hair is coming in nicely but is very light.

Hot doggy days

How can you say no to a face like this?

We are ready for another vacation! Charlotte and I are keeping cool indoors this August which has turned out to be a scorcher in the city. She likes to pretend she can stand up like big people. Last week we did get to the pool though. The water was a little cold at first which made her nervous, but after a few minutes in the hot sun she eased into the water with the other kids. She even got so relaxed that she fell asleep in my lap while we sat in the pool! I wish I could have gotten pictures but didn't want to bring my camera to the public pool.

To celebrate Helaman's birthday on Saturday, we met some friends for crepes, since we had watched a Bobby Flay crepes challenge on the Food Network and they looked good! We even tried our own at home tonight and Helaman perfected his spatula-free crepe flip, after only ruining a few.

I also entered this contest to win a new TV from Best Buy. Check it out, you never know!