Grant at Four Months

I don't usually take my kids into studios for their pictures.
But I'm glad I did this time.

And I never like bare feet in photographs.
But I do this time. Whenever I think of Grant as a baby, I think of the happiest kid I have ever known. He always had a smile on his face!

Nicole and Raggy

Nicole took Raggy everywhere.

To bed when she was one (and trying really hard to wake up from a lazy Sunday afternoon nap) ...
To the portrait studio when she was two ...
On family vacations to Arches National Park when she was nearly three ...

Raggy was Nicole's security and trigger to suck her thumb. Whenever Nicole was sad, bored, nervous and even happy, Raggy was always there for her. One day, in an attempt to get Nicole to quit sucking her thumb, Raggy magically disappeared. And Nicole pretty much quit sucking her thumb -- for a while. Nicole missed Raggy terribly and searched the house for at least three weeks. Not a day went by that Nicole didn't ask where Raggy was.

When Grant was born, Raggy came back and I worried that Nicole would try to hoard them. I was surprised when she didn't want anything to do with Raggy at all. I even handed her one of them once and said, "Look, Nicole, it's Raggy!" I thought she would be so happy, but instead, she threw it back at me and said, "That's Grant's!"

That was the end of Raggy.

Nicole's Baby Blessing

I still have deep regrets about not putting Nicole in a simple pink dress that my mom and I picked out together. The blanket behind Nicole is one of the famous few crocheted by my aunt. We still have this blanket (of course), and just yesterday Nicole told me that this blanket is "very, very, very, very, very special to her, and that's why Grant can't touch it."

I also have regrets about cutting my hair. I like this length here.
Confession: these pictures were taken several days after Nicole's actual blessing. The day of her blessing, I brought her home from church, changed her into something much more comfortable (probably made of cotton and spandex), and put her in bed while all of the family ate dinner. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I didn't have any pictures from the previous day. And to think, this was my first and only child!

All That Eating Makes Nicole Tired

The only thing Nicole did more than eat is sleep. Seems to be a pattern with my babies.

This baby slept anywhere ...

Like on the couch with her hands next to her face.

Or in her swing in front of the Christmas tree, listening to carols sung by a teddy bear.

And in her new carseat at 5 months. We bought this for our trip to Omaha. It looked so much more comfortable than her infant seat. Now, she could see us and out the window (although not much looking was going on ...).

And with anyone ...

... Cousin Quincy

... Daddy

... Grandma

... Piper, her guard dog

And in any position ...

In her small crib, but which seemed so big when she slept in it.
(This outfit is the newborn size, for babies who are between 5 and 8 lbs.)

Upright in the baby swing at six weeks.

With her feet through the bars of her crib.

Hungry Baby

Daddy feeding Nicole

Nicole eating baby cereal for the first time. I think she was about 8 weeks and we were trying to fill her tummy up with cement so that she would sleep through the night. Didn't work, but I think it made her sleep longer. Two weeks later, when before I went to bed for the night, I declared, "I will NOT wake up to feed that big, fat baby tonight," she slept through. Goes to show that babies are smarter than they appear.

Nicole learning to feed herself. Always such a joyful day in the life of a parent.

First popsicle.

Eating pizza and enjoying her first sippy cup. Notice Nicole's drinking water. I remember my mom saying to me, "You can't give a baby water. She'll choke. I can't believe you're giving that baby water. Why, I never! This is absurd. Babies are supposed to drink milk!" Do you get the picture? My mom was utterly flabbergasted.

Truth is, though, that Nicole inherited this trait from Clint and me both. The drought in Utah? Yeah, it's our fault. We each consume nearly a gallon of water everyday. We drink water first thing in the morning, and last thing before bed. We never order a beverage at a restaurant -- just water (the waiters hate it). Anyway, I think this was the point where Nicole refused good ol' cow's milk. It was her way of retaliating since I took her bottle away. She sure showed me!

For Halloween, Nicole Was A ...

... nothing really. She was only three weeks old -- clearly too weak to hold a pillowcase full of candy. Plus, that particular year, it was frigid outside, so a coat would have spoiled any cute costume I may have found to fit my 8 pounder.
So we dressed her in this onesie, took photos with the cousins who were old enough to trick-or-treat and called it a night.
Oh, yeah, we also dressed up the dog as a BYU fanatic (one of my old shirts). As a kid, we used to put t-shirts on our black lab all of the time -- not just for Halloween. That dog wore my dad's shirts, though, since she was overweight. (Each of us kids fed her a bowl of food daily -- but that's a whole 'nother story!)

A Tradition Is Born

Nicole was born on the fall equinox, supposedly the ideal (perhaps only) time an egg will stand on its end. Nicole waited very patiently while Clint worked for 20 minutes to accomplish this. Nice team work!

Welcome Home, Baby

Thirty-six hours after Nicole was born, we checked out.

Here we are -- puppy and all. This dog, instead of being jealous of the new baby stealing her attention, focused her energy on protecting Nicole. She wouldn't let anyone who didn't live in the house near Nicole. Piper slept underneath Nicole's crib and when she heard footsteps approach, she barked like mad. Crazy thing is that the barking never woke Nicole. I have always attributed Nicole's love for dogs to the bond she shared with Piper.

Day Old Child

by Carol Lynn Pearson

My day old child lay in my arms
With my lips against her ear
I whispered softly, "How I wish,
I wish that you could hear."

"I've a hundred things to say
(a tiny cough and a nod)
Hurry, hurry, hurry and grow
So I can tell you about God."

My day old baby's mouth was still
And my words only tickled her ear.
But a kind of light passed through her eyes,
And I saw this thought appear:

"How I wish I had a voice and words;
I've a hundred things to say.
Before I forget, I'd tell you of God --
I left him yesterday."

Hospital Visitors

Everyone holding the new baby!

Cousin Sammie

Grandma Jen

Grandpa Carl was sick and decided to observe from a distance
while Grandma Chris posed for the photo.

Cousin Quincy

Cousins Sarah, Jenika and Audrey

The Story of Nicole's Birth

As Told by Newborn Nicole

Mom and Grandma Jen arrived at Ogden Regional Medical Center around 6:00 p.m. on a Friday night, the 20th of September, 2002. I was already making progress on my arrival, but the hospital was having trouble locating Dr. Starley. Grandma waited with Mommy for a couple of hours until Dr. Starley was contacted (he was on a trip in Idaho). After a couple of hours, Daddy and Grandma switched places so Grandma could go home to get some sleep. Over the next five hours, Mommy and Daddy mostly talked and told jokes to each other while I worked hard, yet fruitlessly slow. Mommy's epidural worked hard, too, so she wouldn't get worn out.

See that -- lots of smiles, no stress.

Dr. Starley's family vacation ended at 1:30 a.m. when he showed up at the hospital to take care of some business. And that's when things really started happening! Soon after his arrival, Grandma Jen came back to the hospital because she couldn't take the suspense any longer, and she never did get any of that sleep that she wanted.

Less than two hours later, I made my debut screaming at the top of my lungs. At 3:39 a.m., I was born an early-riser.
And hey, how about a pat on the back, or a bottle, to show your appreciation for all of my hard work?! I suppose I could settle for a squeeze tight from Mom.And Dad. But eventually, I'm going to need that bottle. That part is non-negotiable.

The nursing staff kept Daddy busy. First of all, they taught him how to put a diaper on me. (Lot of good that did. I think that was his last time doing that! Just kidding. I think there was one other time when he changed me. Can't be sure.)

For the record, here are my stats.
Finally, a family photo.

Before Nicole Was Born

Possibly the one and only pregnancy photo with Nicole in utero. Unfortunately, it happened to be taken only one month before she was born (eek!) and also before cool maternity clothes (a.k.a. mainstream blue jeans and shirts that don't resemble tents) surfaced (double eek!).

This was almost a complete family photo. Don't know when the last time was that the whole family showed up for the same camera. I think it's been at least 20 years, and I don't know if it will happen before 20 more years. Sheesh, I think it's time for a family reunion. I know, let's meet in Arizona! It's a nice, warm, somewhat central location, and we all know the way there ...

Back to the photo. Let's see who's there.

Back row (mostly adults): Eric, Jen (holding new baby Travis, whom we had no idea would grow up to be Nicole's best friend), Gary, Ann, Tom (standing behind Sarah), Sarah, Karyn, Bob, Mom, Dad, Shari, Matt, me, Clint (restraining our lab Piper)

On the ground: Tyler, Carly, Quincy, Nate (holding Steven), Michael (behind Kaley), Kaley, Sammie, Kalia, Susie

Our Wedding

And thoughts regarding the actual day ... more than seven years after the fact.

The first thing you have to know about our wedding is that it took place in December. And I, no longer being a teenager (by a couple of months), yet still possessing a typical know-it-all demeanor (no offense to current teenagers, but let's just stick to the facts here), insisted on wearing a short-sleeve dress. I used to have issues with long sleeves. By issues, I mean that I felt like my clothes were going to suck the life right out of me if I had them covering every inch of my skin. Now, in the bridal shoot, the short sleeve dress wasn't an issue. For starts, the pictures were taken earlier in the year (say, November?) and they were taken indoors. So not only was I warm, but no one could tell which season it was, so a short sleeve dress didn't look so ridiculous. Funny thing is, on our cold, snowy December day, I wasn't cold at all (must have been that hot love) . OK, enough stalling. Here's the dress (and me trying to look like I'm contemplating the roses in my hands, but really I was thinking, "I hate bridal pictures without the groom."):
Oh, look! There's the groom. This is the picture that I had on our wall for many years. Now I have no wedding photos on any walls because I can't decide which one I dislike the least.
This is the photo that my mom picked out for her wall. Can you see us? We're those smudges between the trees and in the middle of the snow. Yes, in my brand new white leather heels from Nordstrom, I hiked (and I'm not known for my hiking) in the snow to get this photo. Still wondering if it was worth it. For the record, that's the Bountiful Temple behind us. Clint let me pick our wedding location, and this is, by large margins, the most beautiful and easily spotted edifice in Northern Utah. It sits way high on the hill in Bountiful, and if you drive down I-15 at night, you can't miss it all lit up. It's even more spectacular up close.
Our photographer was a little out of control, and kept asking us to do weird poses and kiss all of the time. Don't know what he was thinking -- us being newlyweds and all. Anyway, here are some of those photos (turns out they weren't too bad).

This one would have been way cooler if we were on the steps leading to the Montmartre neighborhood in Paris.
Not the typical shot with parents. Hmm ...
I'm laughing. Clint's not. I don't know why. I suppose I should have written about this photo seven years ago instead of today.
For the longest time, my dad had this picture on his desk at work. Knowing my dad, it's probably still there because he doesn't like change. My mom's in red because my wedding colors were red and white. I always thought red roses were so romantic. Actually, I still think that. Maybe my husband will bring some home for our upcoming anniversary (hint, hint). My only sister is not in red because we didn't have a wedding line with everyone in coordinating clothes. Don't you hate going to weddings and having to pretend like you're interested in meeting a bunch of people you'll never see again? Us, too. And moreover, don't you hate having to buy/wear a really ugly dress that someone else picked out that isn't right for your body style that you plan to donate to goodwill on your way home from the reception? Me, too. So for our reception, we greeted our guests at the door and let our family dress, mingle and eat according to their whims.
Here's our wedding party. Let's see if I can still name everyone. Just kidding, that would take too long and you would get soooo bored. Instead let me tell you some things that I think of when I look at this picture now.

• My brother Tom was regrettably and most unfortunately out of town.
• Next to Tom, I only have one brother and sister-in-law missing from my family.
• Since hardly any of my family lives in Utah, most of the other people that were invited from my side are really good friends.
• Quincy, my niece who's practically all grown up now, was only five years old in this picture, and she's standing right next to me.
• Clint's grandma Euvola is pictured here, but has since deceased.
• My brother Gary brought a date to my wedding. He is now married to someone much lovelier.
• My sister-in-law Jen has hair shorter than mine. That's not such an anomaly, except that her hair hasn't been that short since, and neither has mine.

After most people had left (I don't know where they went, but probably in search of shelter and hot cocoa), our photographer took this picture. Even though you can't see our faces, I like it. It reminds me of two naive people looking out at the great big world (or in the case, the Salt Lake Valley) ahead of them, and not knowing at all for what they had just bargained. I still feel that way -- hopefully more than half of our lives still to go, with each other, but not knowing where all of that going will lead us. We have our hopes/plans, but we all know how that goes. If even one percent of what Clint and I had imagined for our lives would have gone according to plans, we would be living in a 70-year-old, three bedroom house (with a rented out basement apartment) in Murray with a dog, Nicole, and ... well, we didn't get much past that. But I can tell you this, Clint never planned to be a doctor, and I never thought I'd be married to Clint as a doctor. And that seems to be the biggest event that caused our plans to deviate. I'm so glad our plans failed us. What kind of quality of life would one have if everything went according to plans? Well, stable for starts, but also boring and unadventurous. Wow, what a detour. Here's that photo with the great vast nothingness in front of us that sparked this introspective analysis:
I don't know who took this picture, but bless their little heart because I really, really love it. Even though we're looking straight at the camera and obviously smiling for that reason, the smiles feel more genuine. And what says I love you more than a genuine smile?How about still loving the person you married nearly eight years ago? Yeah, that probably compares.