Gender Wars

I read a couple of articles about "gender disappointment" before I got pregnant and thought it was pretty far-fetched.
{The sociologist in me has to make a disclaimer that this really should be called SEX disappointment, because it's the sex of the baby that is being discussed, not technically gender. But I guess that would make for a really weird title of an article}
I came across another article today. It meant something completely different to me now, having a child of my own, and especially having a boy. Now I realize that it's absolutely absurd. Apparently moms who are disappointed most often are those who found out they were having boys instead of girls.
Read it here if you like:
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/fetal_development/genetics_gender/article/overcoming-gender-disappointment

Seriously....you get pregnant {miracle}, you have a perfect, beautiful little baby {miracle}. And you're going to act disappointed that you can't dress it the way you imagined? Or you can't buy the toys you always pictured? Or because you swore it was supposed to be a girl and how did this mix up happen?

Am I opposed to having a girl? Absolutely not. I love the relationship I have with my mom and would love to have that someday if we have a daughter.
But will I actually go through depression if we continue to have boys?
I certainly hope I will have a little more perspective than that.
Maybe I'm way off base and tons of people feel this way. It really just never crossed my mind to have a true and honest preference to the point of being worried that I wouldn't get what I had pictured.

People always asked us before we found out the sex of the baby what we "wanted".
Well, we wanted a baby.
That's why we got pregnant.
And thank the heavens, the ultrasound confirmed that it was just what we always wanted.
A sweet, darling baby.

Who would be disappointed in this?

New Year's Resolutions

I decided that this would be my year for actually writing down and making a plan for keeping some New Year's resolutions. Austin and I set a lot together, and our first one is the most typical of all resolutions--to lose 10 pounds. Everyone says "I'm gonna lose weight" and then they just keep doing whatever they're doing and just act confused about why they're not making their goal.
So we are going to do it in 6 weeks, and do it by more closely following the diet we were given by our homeopathic nutritionist Cecelia.
I've been doing the diet for Mason's sake since the beginning of November, but with the move and the holidays it was really hard to keep it up as strictly as I should have been. Basically it's no dairy, no soy, no gluten. ALL organic-fruits, vegetables, seasonings, everything. Free range chicken and turkey and only grass-fed organic beef.
It's definitely a life adjustment, but I feel amazing when I'm sticking to it. And it doesn't feel at all like deprivation. I get to eat things I never would have when I was dieting before-like peanut butter, nuts, organic potato chips, etc. Eating this way has gotten me 6 pounds under what I weighed when I got pregnant. But as every mother knows, things still aren't the same as before, it's like everything shifted around. I'm pretty sure I will have muffin tops for the rest of my life no matter what I do. =)
Part of my goal is to start exercising on a more regular basis again. I was doing spin class again and I LOVE it, but we decided not to renew our gym membership cause it's so expensive. And it's hard with a 7 month old to find the time/motivation. Any moms have a good suggestion for me? Anything that's worked for you?
I figure writing out my goal on my blog will motivate me to actually stick to it. I'll give some updates on our progress as we embark!
What are you New Year's resolutions for 2012??

Our Town

Lewiston Idaho is a darling little town.
There are a lot of quirky, one of a kind things that we've discovered in just the week that we've lived here so far.
But it's also missing a few things.
Main Street is adorable, with the coolest old vintage buildings. There are so many spaces that would make for a perfect....

bookstore
breakfast cafe
dessert shop
clothing boutique
ice cream shop
vintage store
stationary/paper shop
organic foods store

Just to name a few.
I guess we'll have to live here a little longer and then see if we are brave enough to try to fill a niche with our own store.
I've always wanted to do that, and this feels like the perfect place!
Anyone want to encourage/discourage/tell me I'm crazy for even considering opening a business in this kind of economy?? I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.

We are obsessed with our baby

Two Idahoans and a Baby

I am totally lame. I'm sorry about the complete lack of blogging. Isn't it ironic that when nothing is going on in our lives I write more blogs because I have time, but now that a billion things have happened, I've written nothing at all? This habit coincides nicely with my journal writing, sadly. Which is why New Year's Resolution #7 is NOT to blog more, but to write in my journal more consistently.

Anyway, I have no pictures to post because we do not have a camera cord easily accessible as of late. But I will post later. For now, here's a little update.

We moved to Lewiston, Idaho one week ago. The drive took 16 1/2 hours (10 1/2 at normal speed) because we had the truck hauling the car and had to go super slow. Siara and Tyler are saints and drove up with us so that I wouldn't have to drive alone with the babe. Mason was a little trooper. I think he cried about ten minutes of the entire trip. He slept, played, ate, and enjoyed listening to the Republican debates in New Hampshire with us. We made it safely and were able to unload the truck and unpack a good portion of the house while Siara and Ty were still here. Austin LOVES his job. He works four 10 hour days, so we have 3 day weekends permanently. And his commute is about 3 minutes, so we get to see him for his lunch breaks too. We love the town so far, it's extremely reminiscent of Camas, WA where I grew up--even has a paper mill and a little downtown theater called The Liberty! And thankfully, our townhouse is nice. We were concerned since we decided to rent it based only on pictures and not having seen it in person. We are adjusting well to the area, I haven't cried in 4 days. =) I don't miss Utah, just the people there. Particularly my sissy. I've never lived anywhere that she wasn't there with me. And that's all I'm going to say about that cause I might break my 4 day no crying streak.

Little Mason man is 7 months old now. He weighs 20 pounds even and I'm not sure of his length because I haven't unpacked my sewing box and don't have a measuring tape. =) But he is definitely a chubby, healthy baby. He is starting to crawl, getting on his hands and knees and scooching around. He can make his way all around a room gathering his toys. And as I'm writing this he made his way up to the couch and is currently trying to pull himself up. Uh-oh. Better babyproof ASAP! Our little night owl still doesn't sleep through the night, but it's tolerable. And I just read an article that says that gifted children have a hard time sleeping through the night because they can't "tune out the world that they are so interested in learning about". We'll just pretend that's the case here. It will be my one solace, that possibly I'm mentoring a genius at 4 am every day. He typically only wakes up once, and he has a cold and is teething and we just uprooted everything he was familiar with to move to a new place. So I can see where he's still struggling. He is an absolute delight to play with, he is so curious and interested in everything. He loves books and will pay close attention while he's read to. He LOVES to be sung to still. Anything will do, as long as we sing it really enthusiastically. And he still loves Taylor Swift, she saved us a few times on the drive up. He's eating solids regularly now, his favorites are peas, avocado, potatoes, pears, and bananas. He's not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes and carrots, but we are working on a good variety of veggies so he still gets them in the line up. He has two teeth, the two bottom front, and he likes to chomp your fingers with them. He's babbling more word-like sounds now, and I secretly tell him to say "mama" all day while we're together. =) He is a seasoned little traveler as well. He had been to 6 states by the time he was 6 months old, has been on a plane three times, and one looooong road trip.

Okay that's all for now because we have a huge day ahead of us running errands and finishing setting up the house. I LOVE this new 3 day weekend schedule! We can get so much more done!! Which I'm sure is exactly what Austin is thinking....=)

The Vintage Pearl

I love love love the Vintage Pearl. They make the most incredible and unique jewelry and gifts. All of their items are handmade and so beautiful. We have given them as gifts to my mom and mother-in-law. They make perfect little keepsakes. Go here to shop their store!

http://www.thevintagepearl.com/categories/simple_c4

I can't believe it's been this long since I've blogged. There will be a 6 month Mason post to come soon. For now, here's a little shorthand list of everything that's been going on!

*We have a place to live in Lewiston. A darling townhouse that's only a few minutes from Austin's work and about two blocks from our church building.
*Mason is officially 6 months old as of last Sunday. Time is FLYING!
*Even though we are trying to pack for the move, we decided we needed to get a Christmas tree for Mason's first Christmas season. So our home is filled with holiday cheer and lots of boxes.
*Scott, Nicole, Bailey and Norah are staying with us for a few days and it has already been a house full of toys, books, Disney movies, and playtime galore! And not much sleep trying to coordinate three little ones' bedtimes. But we are having a blast! And having our eyes opened to what life is like with multiple children. =)
*We are leaving in 8 days to spend a week in North Carolina for Christmas. We are so excited to celebrate Mason's first Christmas with our east coast loved ones!
*Spencer and Adrianna were married in the Portland Temple and we were lucky enough to be there with our whole family. It really is a piece of heaven to be all together.
*Siara and Tyler are saints and are going to drive with us to Lewiston and help move us in.

And....that's about it!! Pictures and more to come soon.