merry christmas to all

what's for dinner?

best christmas present ever--braces off!

11 lbs 10 oz of baby goodness

2 month stats:

11 lbs 10 oz, 45th percentile

22 3/4" long, 40th percentile

pace is already so active--i think he's going to start running before crawling or walking. if we lay him down on a blanket, his legs start kicking a mile a minute. his favorite letter is "o" and he's learning to say "goo"--he'll repeat both to us with a huge grin if we say them to him. nights are going great, i think. he always sleeps from 8/830pm until anywhere between 1230-230am, and then after that he's up every 2-3 hours. this little guy cannot have chocolate milk...any time i eat chocolate, even just a bite of something, he's a mess the next 24 hours. any baby weight i've lost in the last 3 weeks i think is due to cutting chocolate out of my diet, not the exercise...ha ha. overall he's an incredibly happy little man. lots of smiles, coos, and giggles. he even seems to chuckle to himself as he's falling asleep, like he's telling himself a great joke. so fun!

a few of our favorites

"whatch'ya up to?"

"you said church is three hours long?!"

"staring contest?--you're on!"

"i'm strong to the finish 'cause i eats me spinach"

"we're having lunch soon, right?"

our little pace cadet

after 35 hours of this:

we finally met this little guy:

(it took us a couple of days, but we finally named him)

Pace Andrew Coombs

Born: 10.14.2010

7 lbs 7 oz

20"

he is definitely his daddy's son: brown hair, brown eyes (brown from birth, no newborn blue!), a smile to die for, cheeks you want to kiss and snuggle. he is mellow, peaceful, and so, so precious.

pace did not like the bright lights, camera flashes, and cold room when he was born. wailing and flailing--he was very uncomfortable. david walked right over to the warmer and began talking to him. pace immediately calmed down, and tracked david with his eyes until he could "see" david (or at least look in the direction david's voice was coming from), and locked his gaze on david for a full 3-5 minutes. david reads out loud to me while i'm cooking dinner, so we're sure pace got to know david's voice in utero. i am so glad these boys have taken to each other--what a special bond to have from birth. i'm one lucky girl.

pace loves a good snuggle. i tried to convince my orthodontist to take my braces off before i had the baby, so i wouldn't look like a 13 year-old in labor...didn't happen. you might get better smiles in the next month or so...

i tried doing a cute photo shoot today, but pace just got a more and more worried look on his face. welcome to two weeks old, little pacemaker!

alice

david says the only reason march is the favorite on our girl name poll is because i failed to put alice up there, as well. i didn't know that name was still on the plate for discussion, but it apparently is. so we're adding another girl name to the poll--vote if you love alice...

the countdown is on

3 weeks to go until baby coombs makes his/her appearance...but who's counting?

essentials are ready:

1. we can bring baby home from the hospital, although david says "we won't need" the newborn padding insert in the carseat (good up to 11lbs)...he also asked me what the average length of a newborn is, and i told him between 18-21". he kind of smirked and said, "ours is going to be 24." so in david's head i'm going to birth a 12+ lb. 24" newborn...now that's fatherly pride!

2. a full hamper of laundered gender neutral onesies and sleepers. if baby really is as "above average" as david thinks, we won't be needing half of this hamper.

3. we are ready to change baby's bottom. at least for the first 24 hours. we will be getting more of these essentials at costco--nice coupons on diapers and wipes this week!

4. a place for baby to sleep. baby's room is still empty...we are planning on doing the big baby spree when we see a reimbursement check from aflac. until then, baby can camp out next to our bed.

5. baby's room is painted...just waiting for all the fun stuff...

all that's left? your vote! are we having a boy or a girl? which is your favorite name from our list? stay tuned!

(by the way, if anyone knows how to change the color of the poll lettering so it isn't grey on grey, let me know...)

what the womens are for

the biggest perk of working part-time nights now instead of full-time days is that i get to have lunch with david every day. i'll pack a fun lunch and we'll have a picnic in the park during his lunch break. one day last week he was waiting for me to arrive and an old hispanic man struck up a conversation with him. david told him he was waiting for me to bring him lunch. the man smiled and said, "ahhh, that's why God put the womens on the earth!" i think it was doubly satisfying when he saw i'd prepared fajitas.

a few things before the summer ended

i couldn't believe it was september 1st yesterday. i figured that meant it was time to post another catch up blog about the end of our summer. i'll start with the hardest bit of news, to get it over with.

we had our sweet little birds, tumnus and lucy, for five years. they were as loyal and cuddly as dogs, full of personality and attitude, and were certainly a part of our hearts. the closer we are to having this baby, however, is making us re-evaluate the type of environment we'd like to have for him/her.

about 2 years after getting the birds, i developed an allergy to them--everything from sneezing, itchy, runny nose/eyes to itchy welts on my skin where their talons broke through/scratched. although david wasn't allergic to them, he does have asthma, and any sort of allergen in the environment isn't the most conducive place for him to be. we figured we were pretty much in the ballpark in terms of passing something on to the baby, and we didn't want to be responsible for worsening a condition because we didn't want to get rid of the birds.

then looking ahead, all i could see was the baby toddling around, putting the birds' food remnants in his/her mouth, picking up dried bird poop, etc. yuck. we also weren't sure how the birds would handle a baby. they don't do well with children in general; tumnus always sounded his alarm squawk when he saw a stroller, baby, toddler, etc. lucy's been a little nippy lately, too, and we definitely didn't want the alarm squawk waking up the baby, or having one of the birds bite the baby.

so, as hard as it was, we found the wasatch avian society, an adoption agency for birds. they act as a rescue society for maltreated birds, but also take in birds that the owners want to surrender, and readopt them out. they treat it like a human adoption--home visits, strict adoption screening, etc. they would do the sort of screening we would do for our own birds. it was a very emotional couple of days for us after jim came and picked them up. they are very healthy and happy birds, and we were assured they would stay together in the adoption process (it's too traumatic to break up a bonded pair), and would keep their cage/toys/etc. we trust they will be placed in a loving home.

phew. it's still hard thinking about them...

my dad came to visit and helped us with a couple projects around the house. we started with the baby's room. i painted the room before he came, and he helped us put up bead board while he was here.

before:

after paint and awaiting bead board:

pretty much after:

we are still waiting to hear back from the builder so we can paint the bead board the same tint white as the floorboards. we've primered it, but it still has to be painted. we are very pleased with the project! and by the way, just because the room is blue, doesn't mean we think we're having a boy.

project #2: kitchen backsplash.

before:

during:

after:

again, we are very pleased with the end result. we'd like to tile the master bath next! thanks, dad, for your help! we learned a lot and felt like good homeowners able to improve our home.

we took a week off and went camping with david's parents in montana. it was beautiful and cool at 9,000 feet, and we had a good time. i will never forget watching david fly fish in his floater on the lake. he said it was the most relaxing thing in the world, just floating along and thinking of nothing but the cool water and peace surrounding him.

a few more photos of the lake/site we camped at:

we went to a neighboring lake for more canoeing fun, and i caught and released my first rainbow trout! i am very glad i didn't have to clean any fish guts.

and of course, we couldn't skip going into yellowstone, as we were camping right outside its door!

a beautiful waterfall hike:

a grizzly searching for some sort of treasure he'd buried...

as always, lots of bison

i quit working full-time and now just work a few shifts a week doing after-hours clinics. it's nice to take the mornings slow, and nap during the day if i need to. it's been nice getting back into our routine, and we are eagerly awaiting this little person to join our family...6 weeks and counting!

a first time for everything

11:47 pm saturday night. david is still working on his lesson for sunday, and i am reading. the character in the book i am reading pours a bowl of lucky charms (magically delicious), and it hits me like a ton of bricks: i would like some cold cereal. we already have raisin bran and healthy flax-flake-granola stuff at home. but i know i need something else: sugar cereal. i'm not craving a particular cereal, brand, or type; any cold sugar cereal will do.

i announce to david i am going to the store for cold cereal and i ask if he has any requests. "frosted flakes," he replies. i head to smiths, arriving at 11:57 and discover they close at 12am (i thought they were open 24hrs...nope). so i head to walmart. my least favorite store in all of utah valley, especially on a saturday night at midnight--the student/family rush before sunday. but cold cereal is on the line. the parking lot is packed, and the store lights are on and the doors blissfully opening and closing.

i grab a cart and head straight to the cereal aisle. i walk up and down a few times, throwing whatever looks good in my cart. lucky charms, cookie crunch, apple jacks, cocoa puffs, pops, cracklin' oats, malt-o-meal bags, the requested frosted flakes. i think it's probably a good idea to get a couple gallons of milk, since we only have one left. it isn't until i head to the check-out that i realize my cart is overflowing with cereal--only cereal--nothing else. i feel slightly embarrassed, but don't feel any particular need to put a single bag or box of cereal back on the shelf. so i start to line up my boxes on the check-out counter.

the guy in front of me looks back and says, "are you having a breakfast party tomorrow?" i laugh and say, "sure looks like it, doesn't it?" the check-out guy raises his eyebrows as he's scanning and says, "what's with all the cereal?" i look back at him and say, "i have no idea!" and then it hits me: this is what they are talking about when they ask if i've craved anything weird during the pregnancy. i am feeding my first pregnancy craving. i start laughing and the baby does somersaults.

i drive home, unload seven bags of cereal and two gallons of milk and proudly announce to david i've had my first craving. he comes out to inspect what i've purchased and we both start laughing. i pour myself a bowl of cocoa puffs. baby swims back and forth, kicking thank you, very happy with the choice of the night.

this morning for breakfast? cottage cheese, a nectarine, and a slice of wheat toast...

note to self regarding plum and frangipane* tart:

next time a recipe reads, "Although sophisticated in taste and appearance, it takes only minutes to make.", make sure you purchase the called for 1 cup blanched** almonds rather than blanching them by hand, and also have the "Rich Tart Pastry"*** already made...otherwise, it takes minimum 180 minutes to make...

*frangipane

**blanch = to scald briefly and then drain, as peaches or almonds, to facilitate removal of skins

***Rich Tart Pastry (courtesy Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon heavy cream

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, confectioners sugar, and salt. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture and toss with your fingers or a fork to coat with the flour. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms large, course crumbs the size of large peas. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks with the fork, then stir in the cream until blended. Drizzle egg mixture over the flour until the dough is evenly moist and comes together in a smooth mass. On a work surface, shape the dough into a 6-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 45 minutes or for up to overnight.

logan utah temple

as the ms ride was on saturday, we decided to take friday off and drive up to logan and enjoy the day together. we had a picnic lunch, and then headed to the temple. this is the first "pioneer" temple we've gone to, rather than a "modern" temple--it is full of history.

the logan temple was dedicated in 1884, after taking seven years to complete. it is built with siliceous limestone, a hard and compact stone, just right for load-bearing--it isn't simply "glued on" for cosmetic appeal. when they wanted to have finer details etched into the outer architecture, they used sandstone, a softer stone for carving and molding. the limestone was originally whitewashed so the temple would be completely white on the outside, but the paint was allowed to chip off, and today we see the beautiful original rock texture and face. the windows are still the original pioneer design and wood, but the glass has been updated. instead of a moroni on the top spire, there is a weather vane.

we learned two things from this temple. first, we liked the idea of using two different types of stones. the harder, denser, load-bearing limestone vs. the softer, easily-shaped sandstone. the Lord definitely needs us to be like both these stones. when we have a testimony, we need to remain firm in it, putting our foundation in Christ. we need to be load-bearing so that when we are converted, we can then strengthen our brethren, as Christ admonished during the last supper (luke 22:32). we also need to be like the sandstone. we need to be teachable, moldable, shapeable, allowing the Lord to improve us and use us in the right time and right place. demonstrating the ability to be shaped (humility) is the ultimate reflection of Christ in our hearts.

second, we liked the pattern in the windows. this pattern--the overlapping "v" shaped lines--was repeated throughout the temple. it may have been a traditional pattern in the 1800s, but it reminded us of the godhead. It was especially neat to see the keystone at the top of this pattern. the godhead is composed of three separate beings--God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. their mission/wills/powers intersect and intertwine, and they are capped by the power of the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. without that keystone, we would crumble.