testing.

just testing how to make pictures bigger.
oh, and don't you love yawns?

throats that are sore...

ok, let's talk real life here for a minute.

when you have a sore throat, and you know it probably will be turning into a full fledged cold, what do you do? do you start taking decongestants right away? do you pop in a "throat lozenge", call it good, and wait for the inevitable? just curious to know if pre-emptive (sp?) measures, like taking decongestants, will make the cold go away before it gets too hairy.

And, while we are on the subject what do you take when? For example, when I was pregnant and sick with a cold, my doctor told me to take some decongestants, like Sudafed, AND also stuff like Mucinex. Now, I do not profess to know much in the medicine department, but don't decongestants help to (pardon the gross-ness) help to make the liquid dry up a little bit, and then doesn't Mucinex help to break up the yuck to make it more liquidy?

This is disgusting. My eyes are watering just thinking about it. And, does any of this make any sense?

So, my conclusion is to do one or the other... but taking both seems like nonsense. Any one want to enlighten me?

p.s. thanks to the Mucinex character. I thought you all would appreciate the sick picture.

good times. good times.

wow. let's give a round of applause for Aaron and his beautiful post.

let's take a time out in honor of his goodness.

***

this is us, taking a time out.

***

thanks, dude. xoxoxo.

now, I know. you keep checking, and you find nothing new. But, friends, there have been SO many things going on. It's CaaaRRAAAzZzY.

first off, thanks for all the well wishes on and around my birthday. It was a good one, and I am one lucky duck. There is a song by Elizabeth Mitchell (who is practically my favorite ALL around singer) that is entitled, "So Glad I'm Here." (just click on "Sunshine" and then click "Listen" -- it is the top song on the list. That's how you can hear the song in it's entirety).

That pretty much sums up my life at this moment in time.

I discovered this singer during my last year at BYU and did a few pieces of art with this theme "so glad I'm here." Maybe I'll post some of them one day. But, not today. Because there is so many other things to post. But, the sentiment rings true.

My friends, life is good.

Here are some images to prove it. Little Lizzy came down to Tejas for a little stay. So, that is why there are lots of photos with her too.

yes, lizzy is silly for tillie and tillie happens to be dizzy for lizzy.

baby shower goodness. here are some pictures to get excited for more babies in life!

these are from Erin Smith and Kajsa Nielson's shower. They are both having girls!

tags made by me. ribbon found by mandee. filled with delicious taffies and assembled by lizzy.

good work team.

incredible cake made by krista. you go girl. it was delicious too!

two diaper cakes for two deserving little mommas. one for kajsa. the other for erin. both made by mandee.

the cake balls I made were a disaster. nice that we spent about a GAZILLION hours on them too. love that. but, kristen made such WONDERFUL "savory" --- and plus we had this amazing cake and other goodies, so it was okay. Let's talk about what a great twist on the typical "shower food" when you add an Asian kick to it. Way to be, Kristen.

now onto the next event. we have been to Sea World a bunch this last little bit. Here are some pictures from a few of our trips.

lizzy wanted to get some action shots. after a few failed attempts, she handed the camera to the pro (Yes, that's me). Thanks, Shamu, for making me look like the pro photographer that I really am.

But, I had to hurry while taking it, because in the next shot, you'll see why...

yes, team. that is ME! I love to ride Shamu, especially when my friends and family come into town. The next shots show Tillie's reaction when she learned her mother's secret life as a "marine biologist" that gets to ride around in a Shamu-esque wetsuit all day.

She had no idea. How could she? She's just a baby. Duh.

the initial shock.

the terror! "Is the whale going to swallow my mom? or will she conquer him by climbing a top his beak thing?"

(i know whales don't have beaks,

but it kind of looks like they do. do you call it their nose? their mouth? it's combined!).

and finally, the relief! "Yes! she CAN do it all! and I CAN too!" she exclaims. what an inspiration.

(no killer whales were harmed in this fictional story.)

more photos of the darling child. all captured by lizzy.

this was at the beginning of an afternoon. Don't we look fresh and ready to rock? and let's talk about sweet Tillie's excitement shining through.

"Another kodak moment? I'll humor you people." That's what she said. Seriously.

This is after discovering the fact that her mom had a secret life. That's a lot for a little baby to handle.

She's a trooper. And, Aaron loves having his shirt off. :) All brawn, and all mine.

Pretty cute stuff. Let's move onto the next subject of darling babies. Yes, Matilda, of course, is included in that list. But here's another little darling, Easton. You can meet him more on his family's blog. He is two months younger than Tillie, but they are looking more similar in size by the minute! We had to lay them down to compare! Sorry about the flash, little ones. Luckily, they won't remember the damage done by my camera!

and last, but certainly not least, meet my husband, the exterminator. Yes, this is how I found him as he went to be a real manly man to kill the hornets that had been making a home near our garbage cans on the side of the house.

Little known fact? Yes, he is allergic to hornets. They make him puff up real big... he compared himself to "Violet!! you're turning violet!" on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (you know, the one who eats the candy that tastes like a full meal and starts turning purple/blue and starts filling up with berry juice, and has to be rolled to the juicer? Yeah, that's the one.)

Well, Aaron compares that gal with him being stung. Wow. No wonder he wasn't in his swimming trunks with no shirt for this event, eh? Get a load of my little superman.

the end. for now.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

All of my favorite things in one picture! Matilda, Melissa, and the "Journey to Atlantis" ride. Ok, ok, not the JTA, but melissa and matlida are my favorite things in this whole world.

I can't ever describe how great it is to have melissa in my life. I spend too much time at school, too much time in the yard, or maybe too much time reading, but melis is always in love with me no matter what.

That's the great thing about being married to her, she's always unconditionally in love with me. And that's why she makes me the luckiest husband in the world.

I love that i can talk to her about anything. I love that i get to be with her always and forever. I love that being around her makes the whole world a better place. From day 1 that's been what attracted me to melissa. Everyone is happy around her, she doesn't even try, but whenvever you hang around with melissa she'll put a smile on your face and a warm fuzzy in your heart.

Fact is, the whole reason the two of us got together was melissa's glow that she emits. We were both at a mutual friend (thank you spencer/natalie johnson (monson))'s "white trash" theme party. I don't really like "parties" or "themes", so i was hanging off to the corner and there was melis, helping good ol' glenn stucki with some math homework. And I thought to myself, now there's a good lookin' girl that is helping someone out and she's glowing. So I talked to her and next thing I know it's 2008 and we have a baby! -ps, she's the one that asked me out on the first date.

Anyway, I love ya hun. I still can't believe you chose me and I get to be with you. I love that I get to come home to you. I love that you make our house my favorite place to be. I love that your mine, and i'm yours, and matilda's ours. And i love that you are willing to try out so many new foods and go to china with me and you let me watch the jazz games even when i probably shouldn't.

ok, anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

at long horn cafe ( you can see the delicious cupcakes melissa made in this one)


I told matilda it was mom's birthday tomorrow and this was her reaction



we were going to longhorn cafe with chocolate cake and muffins and we invited some peeps to join in on the party. it was a good one!

the big news!

"hungry? why wait?" just grab your hand.

yeah, she loves her hand.

this is what happens when I moved her hand. is she confused or what?


the elephant shirt. i was messing around one day...
it's dangerous giving me a blank onesie. but, this turned out to be a good crime.


feelin' good in the neighborhood. This is where she just performed the trick
of LaUgHinG for the very first time! Too cute!
p.s. the darling quilt is made by my wonderful mom. of course!

For the BIG announcement that I eluded to in the last post (thanks, Margaret, for reminding me!)---Matilda rolled over! On her 3 month birthday, no less!!

So, no, we're not pregnant and we're not moving or something crazy like that... we're just nuts over this little girl and every tiny thing she does! :) hA!

So, sorry to disappoint if you were thinking it was something even more glorious than that! Don't worry, team, I totally caught it on film. Be impressed. We always have our camera at a moment's notice. And, only if you promise to turn the volume down completely on the video, then you can watch it. Seriously, I remind myself of a chipmunk and don't want you to have to subject your ears to it. But, what can I say, I guess I am a dweeb. Luckily, Tillie doesn't know any better. So, it's all good.

Here she is on her 3 month old birthday! We decided to celebrate by reading a book for the very first time. We thought this one would be the most appropriate. Sweet Laura, one of Em's BFF, sent this book to us!! And, it is out of print, so she had to look extra hard for it! We LOVE it! Matilda was enthralled the entire time. And, being that last night was the first time she laughed when Aaron was tickling her, we thought it was eXtRA special. Thanks, Laura!

she's biting her nails in anticipation! "Who tickled Tilly??"

Warming up before the big roll.

video was supposed to go here, but i can't work the internet.

p.s. Aaron was wondering if I had made it harder for her by making her roll on the bed. Is seems like it is easier to me. What do you think? Would the floor be easier? Well, she's a champ, either way.

Now, before you view this last picture--- No, it isn't how our bathroom looks everyday. Let me explain. Remember Hurricane Dolly? yeah, we do too. Only because the newscasters told us that because of it, we'd be getting tornadoes. Yes, I said tornadoes. First we were on "tornado watch" --- which has happened many times since we've lived here. But, then they said that we were having a "tornado warning"--which is a much bigger deal. Then the map on the tv said it was heading right in our area. Next thing I know, the weatherman is telling us to go into the innermost part of our homes, and we'll know if it is there if we hear a "train like" sound outside. He suggested the bathtub with a blanket on top is one of the safest spots to go. Yeah, the warning was up/on for a few hours. Can we say "scared"? yes. thanks.

Well, being Matilda's 3 month birthday, I wanted to make sure she lived to see her 300 YEAR birthday, so I didn't take any chances. Here's the bathroom. Kajsa and I kept texting back and forth during the storm. I eluded to the fact that I had a few "emergency essentials" in the bathroom with us, but I don't think I told her that I had our 72 hour kits in the hall too (it was a big box and didn't fit comfortably in the bathroom with us).

Team, I was afraid. I am not a dork. Take special note in the picture below a few "essentials" like our extra hard drive, cell phone charger, file of important papers, cds with more photos, scriptures for some light reading, :) , diapers, toothbrush & paste for fresh breath and some comfy blankets and pillows. You can never be TOO comfortable in a tornado, right?

Well, the storm passed and I didn't have to duck into the tub with my baby. But, it made me think twice about what I would do in an emergency. I need to assemble a 72 hr. kit for Matilda! I don't think she'd eat the granola bars in mine at this point. :)


wow. big post. hope you enjoyed the craziness.

calling all parents of kiddos!

Hey team,
just saw this neat thing that Regal Theaters are doing.
Free Family Film Festival.
FREE movie for kiddos and parents on these days during the summer. All's you do is select the state and it lists all the theaters doing the free movie showings.
Check it out.

and for all of you without kiddos, or super mini kiddos like us... I bet you could go too.
p.s. read the top paragraph on the link. details are listed there.

p.p.s. big news in the wood home. we'll post hopefully later today about it! I gotta get downloading pix and fiLm! oh, and remember how we're under tornado watch today... this whole Dolly business is not cool. It's nutso outside.

my, how she's GrOwN!

ok, so here is Matilda in numerous photo shoots throughout the month of July (her second month of life!). You see, since it has taken me FOREVER to post all the pictures from Utah, we now are making up for lost time. So, even though I, as her mother, feel like each of these shoots should be their own post (because of the cute-ness factor), I will buckle down and post them all together for one POWerFuL-RoUnD-hOuSe-KiCk to your face and heart.
team, enjoy the goodness.

playin' around. discovering her tongue.

yaaawn. "it's tough work being so darling."

"yeah, i'm workin' it."

"tip your hat! the camera LoVes me."

"how 'bout this pose for glam?"

"daAAaad, quit messing with my hair. are you finished yet??"
p.s. aren't you all so impressed that aaron takes part in these shoots? yeah, talk about involved father!
do we suspect a future Pagaent father?? hA! not likely.

"i have a question... are we done yet?"

that's my little firecracker! LoVe this smile! One of the first REAL ones we caught.

Sick family picture on the 4th. All three of us were sick with a cold. This was taken at the end of the day just for "recording" sake. Our day was spent indoors sneezing, blowing noses (or sucking noses, in Matilda's case), and watching movies. Please don't take special notice of my lacking make-up and sportin' the scrounge look. I swear, at one point in the day I was ready. Oh well. In that shot above, Tillie is looking toward her bright future. Go America.

a little blurry, but I think she still looks so sweet with her sad sick eyes.
And, yes, I tried to make a firecracker bow... it was a little crazy and pieces kept flopping in her eyes.
Darn, still trying to harness that skill.
(oh, and yes, since i live in Texas now, I can use "rodeo/farm talk"
like "harness" in my everyday jargon. yee haw for that.)

Aaron thought it would be "rad" to create the Super Baby look.
I think I was supposed to crop him out of the shot, though. Sorry.
(but secretly not sorry, i think it looks funny).

And, take notice to Aaron's lack of facial hair.
He decided to take his Independence (yes, good pun) to a new level and shave his face without telling me. He does this all the time, walks out of the bathroom after being in there for a while, and comes out with a whole new look.
I am totally great with him making his "grooming" decisions, but I need a little warning.
It takes me a few days to recognize him after the transformation. But, in our many years together, I've noticed a trend, he shaves his head or face right after a big test. I think it is his way to decompress.
And, now, thinking back, he took his Boards exam the day before... so I should have anticipated the change!
Well, that's that. He looks great no matter what he does. And, I have to say, once our Mom's found out about it, they were cheering! I think we heard them all the way from Alpine. :) Now, back to the little cutie.

In the car on our way to a San Antonio Mission's Baseball game. She was SO happy in the car.
Too bad she doesn't like to prove that when I have the camera out.

It was GrEat weather for the baseball game. Here is one of their mascots.
Erin and I weren't sure if the other mascot was a green pepper, a green chili, an amphibian of sorts, or just a pickle.
Too bad I don't have a picture so you can help us decide.

We went to the game with Jake, Erin and little Luke Smith. It was pretty cool. We paid for the "grassy berm" section (whatever that means?) but saw empty seats in the Air-force section. Since Jake is almost full-blown Air-force, we thought "why not?" (Okay, really that much thought didn't go into it. They were open and instead of hoofin' it to the other side of the field, we sat down here!)


the big reason we went was for the FiReWoRks! We were sad that we didn't get to do them on the 4th, so here we are, making up for it! And, man, it was a GREAT show! We were all worried that after the game the 3 they shot up with the final hit was it... but, thankfully they had a big show with LOTS of great ones! Good work, Team Baseball People!


End of the night. Fireworks over, I'm super happy (and apparently sweaty for that matter)
and the headband has come off of Miss Tillie.
Wow. Nice shot. Oh, well. We were there and had fun. Thanks, Smith family!

looking confused in yellow.

she was whispering, "is it time for me to smile yet?"

ok, I am in love with this dress. we took MANY photos with it on. It matches her eyes PeRfeCtly.
love love love it. And, pretty dainty that she is crossing her legs on her own!?
I've already taught her the proper way to wear a dress. Man, I'm a good mom, right?

i'm such a sucker for her!

She wanted to make sure I recorded her doing her "Stayin' Alive" routine.
Remember, she may be little, but she still knows how to get her groove on.

and here she transitioned into the infamous "Sprinkler" move. wow. Go Tillie Go!

Too bad my fingers are in this one! (and they look a little sausage-like too. sick.)
---regardless, i am in LooooOVE with this picture. You can bet it will be framed.

***A special shout out to all the generous people in our life that provided this darling girl with such darling threads to wear. We are in love with all these outfits you've given us!! You know who you are, and we are SoOooOo grateful for your kindness!!!

So, there you have it. A few photo shoots of her second month of life. Pretty rad. Oh, and for "record's sake", she weighed in at 11 pounds and measured 22.5" inches. Apparently she is in the 50-75th percentile which means pretty "normal"--- but we all know that she is much more wonderful than "NoRmAL" right? Right. Glad we all agree.

Oh, and let's talk about her sleep schedule. This is a fun thing to report. We put her down to sleep around 10-10:30ish at night, and then don't hear from her until about 7:00 a.m. (just as the Today Show is starting. Matilda is in love with Matt Lauer and the gang). So, I feed her while we watch the morning's headlines and then I wrap her up and lay her back down and she drifts off to sleep on her own! Then she wakes up around 11:00ish. Now, if that isn't AmAzIng, then I don't know what is!?

Luckily, I, myself, have great sleeping talents and apparently it was passed down to her! Of all my skills that she inherited, this is a great one, don't you agree? Now, I know, many people say that their babies were great sleepers at one point and then totally switched gears (like when they started to get teeth)---so I am just BASKING in the goodness each day! Trying my hardest not to take it for granted. But, let's give THREE CHEERS to the Wonder Child.
Way to be, Tillie!! Hip, Hip HoORaY!