first father's day

While I write this, here on Father's Day, Jeff is at work.

My dear husband works so hard for Brody and me.

I am so grateful.

Not only is he working full time right now,

he is also going to school full time while recieving some fantastic grades.

I've truly been blessed to be married to such a hard working man.

I'm so glad Brody will have such a great example to look up to throughout his life.

Jeff,

Thank you for taking such great care of us,

and always staying positive.

You make me feel loved everyday. I am so lucky to have you.

Happy First Father's Day.

I enjoy being able to share parenthood with you.

I love you.

Another great father figure in my life is my Dad.

As long as I live, I will never be able to express how grateful I am to be his daughter.

He is also so so hard working, and I have always had that awesome example in my life.

I know I would not have made half of the good decisions that I have without his guided influence.

Dad,

You are an awesome father. Quincy, Chloe, and I are all blessed to have you in our lives.

Thanks for always being there,

and for showing us how important it is to have a strong priesthood holder within our homes.

Thank you also for showing Mom so much love and care.

I know now, more than ever, how important that really is.

I love you.

shots

I laid Brody down on the bed that was covered with a thin role of white disposable paper. Only in his diaper, he smiled while still balancing his Seahawks binkie in his mouth. "Coooo," grinned Brody as he looked up at me with his sleepy eyes. He had just woken from a nap in my arms as we waited for the nurses to come in.

"Oh he is so cute!" exclaimed the older nurse, with the kind face.

"And oh my! He is just so long! Isn't he just such a long little boy?" asked the younger nurse, with the pretty smile.

"Oh yes, you are right! He is one long little guy!" replied the older nurse.

As they opened the sterile packages on top of the rolling cart they had just brought in the room, the younger nurse said to the older one, "Oh, how I hate this part. Remember, it's your turn to do two of them, I did two last time."

"I know, I know, don't remind me," replied the older nurse.

"Here, you just stand over here, and hold his little knees straight," said the younger nurse, pointing me over to the end of the bed. "And I'll stand over here," she said as she stepped over to the right side of my little boy lying innocently on the bed looking up at us curiously.

The older nurse took her spot on the left, and said in a caring voice, "Okay, now, on the count of three. Ready?" She glanced over to my nervous face. "Alright, one. Two. Three."

With one shot in each of his chubby little thighs, his happy, tired, curious face transformed into an expression that is almost indescribable. His little eyes closed as his body became stiff. His face, arms, and neck all became red immediately and there was a half second of silence.

And then there was the scream. A long, loud scream, that almost broke my heart.

The older nurse, quickly picked up the third and final shot, "Okay, one more. One. Two. Three." Brody continued to get redder and sadder looking as he let us all know how much he hated what was happening at the moment. Three tiny circle bandaids were placed on his little legs, and I was free to pick him up... finally.

Wrapping him up in his blanket, and patting his back, his scream immediately turned to a more recognizable cry, which sent some relief through my body. It's amazing how Brody's terrified scream made me so warm. I felt like we were in a sauna rather than a doctor's clinic.

"You can stay in here as long as you would like. You can feed him or whatever you need to do. Just leave the door open when you are all done, and we will know you have left," explained the older nurse as they wheeled the cart out of the room.

They closed the door behind them, and Brody and I were all alone. His cry was lightening down to little whimpers, and I wiped the small tears from his little innocent face.

What an experience that was. I know that it is for the better. I would never want Brody to become sick because I didn't choose to get him shots, but it was seriously so sad to see his face turn from so content to so terrified. I did not like it. However, the benefits definitely outweigh the negatives, so I just need to remember that. This is one of the many parts of motherhood that will teach me to be strong.

the sun and a bbq

I'm so thankful for the sun.
It is amazing to me how much happier I feel when it is out.

Summertime is here.

This means:
I graduate,
we get to spend a month in Washington,
my mom leaves for India for two months,
we get to visit both of my grandparents,
we move out of Idaho,
we move into Utah,
Quincy moves in with us,
& I begin my student teaching.

There sure is a lot going on in the next few months for us.

attachment

Jeff and I love being a family of three.
So much that it tends to create small arguments between us at times..
over who gets to hold him during church.
This gets especially ugly when it is time to go to separate classes.
Today it was his turn,
sadly.

It's funny how.. empty,
alone,
weird,
not myself...
it's actually hard to find a word to describe how it feels when Brody isn't with me.

I know it has only been two months that I have had him,
but these two months have created an attachment for me to him,
that I can't really explain.
Maybe it is due to the fact that it has technically been eleven months that he has been with me.

It is not that I worry about him.
I know he is with Jeff.
It is more that I just like being with him.
I like to know when he gets his diaper changed,
or when he gets hungry and has a bottle,
or even when he burps.
It's weird,
and probably sounds a bit crazy of me.

Gosh guys, I just love being a mom.

These tiny things have become my life,

and I am loving every minute of it.

almost two months

On behalf of him getting so old, 

we decided it was time to get him his own laptop,

 and let him watch his favorite shows on TV. 

brody with his first babysitter

It wasn't as hard as I had anticipated.
This is probably due to the fact that our babysitter of choice was a close friend named Jackie.
We love this girl.

She was able to endure my extended apartment tour of places things were kept for Brody..
from his nose sucker,
to his extra diapers,
to his reserve of ready bottles,
to the buttons on the microwave,
to extra swaddlers & pajamas..
She was also able to put up with my constant texting throughout the entire Bill Cosby Show.

The night was nice though,
however I'm sure I would have laughed a little more,
and worried a little less,
if it hadn't been the first time leaving Little Bee.

But we got through it, and still had a fun night out.

We came home to a swaddled Brody in Jackie's arms.

Thanks Jackie.
You and Brody are official BF's now.

Kay Meet Jay: Part 1

For Kay Meets Jay: Prologue, click here.

The night was finally slowing down and we were beginning our closing routine at Red Robin.
Hosting on Friday nights always left me sweaty, impatient, and exhausted.
My hands felt sticky as I wiped down the pile of ketchup covered menus with a wet bleach water towel.
The end of the night couldn't come sooner.
I was ready to get out of there.
However, I still had 3 hours left of my shift. Great.

The front door opened and in came my friend, Ashley,
and a guy I didn't know.
Must be her boyfriend, Kurtis, who I had met only once before, I thought.
He's cuter than I remembered him to be.. huh.
The boy was wearing a flat billed baseball hat, t-shirt, and shorts.
He was tall, like I remembered her boyfriend to be..
So yeah, this must be her boyfriend.

Me: Hey Ashley!
Ashley: Hey Karli, how's your night?

My hair is a mess.
I'm tired.
I'm ready to go home.
I smell like hamburgers and french fries.
I still have to go clean the bathroom tonight.
I have stains on my shirt.
Uhh...

Me: Oh, it's alright. Just another busy Friday night. What are you guys up to?
Ashley: Oh, not too much. This is Jeff by the way. Jeff, this is my friend, Karli.
Jeff, huh, so this wasn't her boyfriend.. hmm, interesting.
Jeff: Hey, how's it going?
Me: Oh hey, nice to meet you.
Ashley: I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back.
Oh great, leaving me with someone I don't know.
I hate weird situations like this.
Jeff: So... how's it working at Red Robin?
Me: Oh, it's fine.

Kurtis and another girl come walking into the front doors.
Oh, good, no more awkward forced conversation.

Jeff: Hey guys! How's it going?

They continued to have some small talk while I figured out where I would sit them.
One thing I have learned about working many different jobs,
is that I don't enjoy having people come to my work that I actually know.
There is always a weird grey area between staying professional
and being friendly.
Things like if I should hug them goodbye,
or how long I should stop working to talk to them,
or they expect me to get them special discounts..
Hosting was especially weird in this way.
Plus, I was always walking around the restaurant,
doing odds and ends,
while I can just feel those eyes watching me.
It is just awkward,
and I have never enjoyed it.

Ashley returned from the bathroom, finally.

Ashley: Hey guys! Oh, Karli, this is Kurtis,
my boyfriend.
And this is Kenzie.
Oh I got it now, a cute little double date.
Karli: Oh hey, well I can seat you guys now, if you would like.

I sat them in a booth, not too far from the front lobby area.
For the next half an hour, I experienced the same old awkward staring feelings
and me trying to avoid the area that they were seated in.
Except this time it was slightly different.
I was curious
about this boy, Jeff,
who I had just met,
and this girl
who I didn't know.
Were they girlfriend and boyfriend?
They weren't holding hands or anything.
They didn't seem that close.
Hmmm...

Don't ask me why I was so interested,
I just was.

Forty five minutes later, they got up to leave and were heading towards the door.

Ashley: Well, it was nice seeing you Karli. We need to get together soon.
Me: Yeah, we do for sure.
Ashley: Well, have a good night. I'll text you soon and we can get together.
Me: Okay, sounds good. See you later!
Kurtis: See you later.
Jeff: Nice meeting you, Karli.
Me: Yeah, nice to meet you too.

He has a nice smile.

Seattle. That same summer.

I noticed, as the four left the restaurant that Jeff and the girl still weren't holding hands,
and Jeff paid more attention to Kurtis than anyone else.

Later that night..
I got a text from Ashley that said: "Is it alright if I give Jeff your number?
He told me he thinks you're cute."

Well, I guess that answers my question about if those two were dating or not.

Oh, but he is one of THOSE guys,
the ones that text random girls they don't really even know
just because they think they are attactive.
Well, he should know, I'm definitely not one of THOSE girls,
the ones who are desperate enough to hand out their number to any guy,
let alone respond to them.
Yeah, no, he cannot have my number.

However, my mind and my fingers had differing opinions.
Text back to Ashley read:
"Yeah, sure."

Rainiers Game. Me, Jeff, & Ashley. That same summer.

Stay tuned for Kay Meets Jay: Part 2

I got this love story idea from here. This is a blog I have recently found, and am loving.