Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy

For Christmas Brad got me a babyfood cookbook. For first foods it's pretty simple; steam or bake, then mash/puree/etc, and add liquid as needed. But it has some really fun and interesting recipes for older babies. The point is to get them used to different flavors and textures at an early age. I can't wait to try them out. After giving him rice cereal for a few days to get him used to it all, he got to taste his first real food - sweet potatoes. Since then he has had avocado, applesauce, carrots, and butternut squash.

Merry Christmas!!!

Ramblin' Wreck

For some of you this is old news. For some of you this is brand new information. But, just to make sure everyone is up to speed, Brad got accepted to Georgia Tech's Masters of Mechanical Engineering program. No we will not be moving to Atlanta, he will be attending via their distance learning program. I'm so proud of Brad! 1. Just for applying. I've considered getting my MBA several times but thought that it was too much to take on in addition to work...and apparently my active social life (this was before marriage and kids and all that). 2. For getting accepted to such a great school. Georgia Tech has been ranked in the top 5 engineering schools for the past several years. I know it will be busy, but I know he will do well in his classes - he'll just be taking one per semester at first.

So congratulations Brad!!! I'm so proud of you and will support you all the way. You will probably want to remember that in case I ever complain that you aren't helping around the house enough.

I guess now we are Cougar and Yellowjacket (and maybe a little bit Wildcat). The fight song sends quite a different message than BYU's does though, so that will take some getting used to.

Christmas is coming and Suz is getting fat.

That's all.

Goodbye Grandpa

My Grandpa (my mom's dad) passed away recently. He was 94 years old. My Grandparents lived in Southern California and since we lived in Missouri I didn't get to spend that much time with them, but in spite of that I do have some great memories.

My whole childhood they were always traveling to far off lands like Israel, Russia, and the Panama Canal. They also took my Mom to Spain. They always brought us back presents and my Grandpa told us great stories of the things they saw. Many times he used these trips to research our ancestors. His example instilled in me a fascination with other countries and cultures and in my heritage. He was always finding and keeping in touch with distant relatives to learn more about generations gone by.

Between my 7th and 8th grade years I spent the summer with them in California. We started out on a roadtrip in their RV from Utah to California. We stopped along the way at Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. It was my first time to any of those places but I think they had been to all of them before and went out of their way just to show me these amazing places. Grandpa always bought me soda and souvenirs along the way and let me sit up front while he drove and told me stories of his football days at NAU and working for the railroad. I can see why my Grandma fell for him. He was quite and impressive young man...and good looking too. I loved staying at their house. It was quiet and peaceful and they had the most amazing back yard. Grandpa would get up early every morning to work in the hard. They had such wonderful citrus and avocado trees. In fact, until I tasted one of their tree ripened avocados I thought I hated them. Now avocado is one of my absolute favorite things. I also loved the fresh squeezed orange juice.

That summer I also spent a lot of time at Gordon's house. My aunt Linda's niece, Eva, was staying there as well. Eva and I got to be good friends and have kept in touch over the years (although I'm not so great at it lately). When she got married my freshman year of college I flew to California for her wedding and stayed with my Grandparents. Being a poor college student the cheapest ticket I could find was to LAX. My Grandpa drove all the way out there to pick me up and take me to their house during RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. I have never seen traffic like that and I hope never to see it again. I had no idea what I had asked him to do. I know he did though but he agreed to pick me up anyway.

The picture above is at my wedding in Portland, Oregon less than three years ago. Even though they were in their 90's my Grandparents took the train (accompanied by my uncle) to go to my wedding and visit Portland where they had previously lived. I am so grateful that they were there and so glad that my Grandpa was able to lead such an active life up until the very end.

The last time I saw Grandpa was about a year and a half ago. I was in Fontana, CA watching Brad in a Forumula 1 competition for BYU. I called to ask when I could come visit. At the time my Grandma was recouperating in a care facility after suffering a stroke. My Grandpa said he went over there every day around 11. I asked if Gordon drove him and he said "no, I drive myself", even though I'm not sure he should have been. We had a nice visit. He told me stories and jokes and I got them caught up on the latest with my family.

Brad and I have lost three grandfathers in just the last three months. Although it's always sad to lose a family member, one thing that I can say is that each of these men led incredibly full lives and left quite a legacy.

Better Late than Never

My Mom was in college during the 60's, so the prime age to have been a part of the social uprising of that time. But no, she never participated in one single protest, sit-in, or demonstration. That is, until now*.... Now she is in her 60's and finally got the chance to protest. Congratulations Mom, I'm proud of you for standing up for something that you believe in and for becoming part of the controversy...finally.

*This picture was actually taken the day before the election but as noted in previous post, these days my current events posts are not so current.

Thanksgiving and 4 months old

I've been fairly absent from the blogosphere lately but I figured I couldn't, in good conscience, not have a Thanksgiving post and a baby update. Here goes....We went to Logan, UT for Thanksgiving. It was Squeak's first plane ride and he did great. It was also the first time he got to meet his cousins on the Borchert side and tons of other relatives including his great Grandma Forsberg. I think he had a really great time even though he didn't get any turkey or pie. Oh wait, he maybe got a little chocolate pie. He swiped his hand into the whipped cream while I was holding him and getting my plate ready. We had a really great time too. The good thing was that we left the day after Thanksgiving so we didn't have to worry about overindulging (again) on Thanksgiving leftovers. The bad thing was that we didn't have any Thanksgiving leftovers to overindulge on.

The Monday after we got back we went to the doctor for a 4 month well-check visit and shots. Squeak weighed in at 16lbs 15 oz and was 26 inches long. He also only cried for a minute after his shots and when we got home he ate a big lunch and took a big nap. Not a bad day overall.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's birthday. Here are a few things that I love about my Dad.

1. If you need someone to rope a calf for you, he is your guy...lasso and everything.
2. He has two nicknames for my Mom, beautiful and bug (I wonder which one she likes best)
3. He taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow. I even had my own little red bow. And he brought home cardboard boxes for us to shoot and took the tips off of the arrows so we didn't hurt each other. I only almost accidentally shot my sister once.
4. When we were little, on Sundays before we would get in the car to go to church he had to "hug all the pretty girls". It made me feel special.
   
5. He taught us the importance of earning money and created jobs for us to earn it. Shining his shoes was $0.05, sewing a button $1.00, car wash $5.00, mowing the lawn $20.00 (of course these prices haven't been adjusted for inflation).
   
6. When I broke my arm in 6th grade he bought me a new sleeping bag to make me feel better, and it worked.
7. He always has a German Chocolate cake mix on hand in case I ever come home to visit.
   
8. He loves genealogy and loves to find the best place to transfer all of his information - like when we are trapped in the car or making dinner.
9. He coined the phrase "pretty doesn't matter in the wilderness" while taking me shopping for hiking boots before my first backpacking trip. I wanted something with a little more pizazz than the typical brown boy boots. I still use the phrase frequently even though I still disagree a little.
   
10. He always makes sure we have enough pies at Thanksgiving.
    

He's a lover not a fighter

We spent the first three months or so telling the dogs "no, no, no, leave it, leave it, leave it". But now we are starting to let them explore the baby a little more under close supervision. I'm not sure which one likes to cuddle more.

The Heat is Out

We woke up Sunday morning to find our downstairs heater on the fritz. Luckily the upstairs one works just fine so our bedrooms stay nice and toasty. Luckily it's been sunny and 60+ degrees so we haven't frozen our bums off. But luckiest of all, we have fun hats too keep us warm.

As a side note, I totally love this highchair. It's Evenflow but I don't know what model because I bought it super cheap at a consignment sale. The seat raises and lowers and even reclines. It's really easy to wheel around too so even though little Squeak isn't eating solid food yet we can put him in his highchair and let him hang out with us wherever we are...eating dinner, cooking, working on the computer, etc.

Baby Love

My friend and college roommate, Sue, lives in Columbia. She happened to be in town today so she and her family came to church with us and then over to our house for lunch and to visit for a little bit. She has a seven week old baby girl who weighs about 9 lbs. I can't believe I ever had a baby that small but I did - even if it was just for a couple of weeks.

Our little guy is turning out to be quite the flirt already. Within minutes he held her hand, put his arm around her, and almost kissed her (but I didn't get that on film).

Moving On...

Last week Squeak learned to roll from his tummy to his back and then from his back to his tummy. He still needs a little encouragement but if he really puts his mind to it he can do it.

Sad

I'm a little sad today and it's not just because we won't be seeing Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL anymore. I'm sure it's no secret that I'm a Republican and a Conservative but more than that I am a capitalist. I can understand how people have different views about the war in Iraq, environmental issues, abortion, etc, but when it comes to economics, to me it's just about how the world works and how it doesn't. I took three economics courses in college and I loved them all. And what I learned is that if you truly want to increase the standard of living for a population, you want to decrease taxes (across the board not for some while raising it for others) and get rid of unnecessary government regulation that gets in the way of a free market (I do concede that some government regulation is necessary). This spurs competition and investment in new ideas and leads to an overall increase in production and wealth.

I hope I am wrong, but I am afraid that too many people took the bait of a "tax decrease for 95% of Americans" and assumed that meant that their life would get better. And in the short run it might. However, my concern is how businesses will react when their taxes are increased. Corporations have a *fiduciary* duty to maximize profits for their shareholders. So what do they do when taxes are raised?

1) Absorb it - profits decrease, dividends and share prices decrease and there go our 401(k)'s and IRA's. Especially bad for retirees or those soon to retire.

2) Decrease expenses such as payroll or investment in new technology. Neither of these bode well for increasing the standard of living. (Especially if jobs are actually cut and some will win the grand prize of the biggest tax decrease of all - the one that comes with having zero income).

3) Increase prices - meaning that all of that tax decrease will be spent in acquiring the same good and services that households do today.

Based on the fundamentals of macroeconomics that I have learned it seems that at best this tax decrease will be a wash for the middle class and could actually end up hurting them in the long run...probably just in time for a Republican to take office and get blamed for it.

On a separate note (and this is opinion) I don't think that corporations or people making over $250K should be punished for doing well. We already have a marginal tax system so those individuals are already paying higher taxes, I don't see the need to increase it any further. I also don't believe that those making more money necessarily have a higher standard of living. Based on number of children, what part of the country they live in, how long their commute is, how much in student loans they are paying back, etc, a person making $75K could actually have more disposable income than someone making $250K (just an example). And lastly, although I do wish that some of the more noble professions such as teachers, firemen and policemen were paid higher salaries, doesn't everyone have the choice of their profession? The approximate salaries of those professions are known and factored into the decision and probably weighed against the other benefits, such as more family time for teachers, pensions for police officers and so forth. So why should those who chose a profession that makes more money necessarily pay more than those who *chose* a lower paying profession?

I read a really good quote by Abraham Lincoln on the subject "Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built." -- March 21, 1864 - Reply to New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association".

And I'll leave it at that. To all those Obama fans out there, I hope we can still be friends.

Halloween

We celebrated Halloween for at least a week. Here is the condensed version.

Corn maze... apparantly not everyone loves a corn maze as much as me

Pumpkin carving...I did the bat and Brad did Jack from Nightmare before Christmas.

Halloween party at church...

Halloween Night... who knew a bat could be so cute?

Catching up...

It's been too long so here is a mega post of all the stuff we've been up to lately.

About 2 months ago we had newborn photos taken. I got them about a month ago but I'm just now getting around to putting the pictures up and showing them off. Here are some of our favorites.



Last weekend was beautiful so we went to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch/corn maze/petting zoo to pick apples and get a few pumpkins.
The fruits of our labors (plus some applesauce)

To celebrate my last official paycheck as a professional we splurged and got a Wii. I have to admit that I typically don't like video games but the Wii is pretty fun. Brad gets way more use out of it than i do though.

Today was also a beautiful day - and by beautiful I mean a little chilly. We had a picnic in the backyard and Squeak looked so cute all bundled up we had to get some pictures.

Happy Birthday Sister

Today is my big sister Rebecca's birthday. Thanks to her I can still name all the members of Duran Duran and the other member of WHAM!. Also because of her, the movie "Night of the Lepus" (about killer bunnies invading the town of Ajo Arizona but at the last minute they save the town by sending an electric charge through the railroad tracks and killing the bunnies) makes me feel warm and fuzzy instead of creeped out and disgusted like it should. I think we were both home sick one day and found it on TV and couldn't stop watching it like you can't help but watch a train wreck (I guess - I've never seen a train wreck - it's just an expression).

Anyway, some of you don't know Rebecca so in honor of her birthday here are some fun facts:

• She was the first one in our family to get SCUBA certified
• If memory serves, she rappelled aussie style down the stadium wall at SMSU (now MSU). If memory doesn't serve, then it's still a cool story.
• She makes the best Mini Beef Wellington, Tandoori Chicken and we love her potatoes so much that they have affectionately been named "Rebecca Potatoes"
• She is the only person I know that plays the harp.
• At one point she spoke (I don't know how fluently) German, French, Spanish and of course English. Did I miss any?
• She won lots of awards in highschool for her dramatic interpretation of Sophie's Choice.
• She has met Alan Greenspan - or at least been in the same room as him.
• She is spoiled rotten by her husband Andrew but at least for today she deserves it.

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Almost Famous

Fifty Schrute bucks to anyone who saw Brad on BYUTV between the first and second session of General Conference on Saturday.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Everyone thinks they have the cutest baby. And they are probably right. That's why I can say with complete confidence that on this day...in this outfit...when he's not crying...I have the cutest baby ever.

For further proof, everybody says so.

Heavyweight Champion

Squeak turned two months old last Saturday and had his two month check-up on Monday. He weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs 11 oz and was 23 3/4 inches long. Can't believe it???? Here's some evidence.

1 day old 2 months old

Here's a closeup of where all the chub is going. Check out these fat rolls. He's particularly proud of the one on his forearm.

It's no wonder though, considering his couch potato life style.And a few of our favorite pictures from the last couple of weeks.

In Memory Of...

My Granddad Jarvis passed away on Saturday. He was 93 and I think he had been ready for awhile to be with my Grandma. Today is his funeral and since traveling across the country with a two month old didn't seem like such a good idea, I'm not able to be there. So instead, here is a list of memories and things that I love about my Granddad.

• He was a real life cowboy and had the best cowboy stories.
• He taught me how to mow the lawn.
• When we came to visit him when we were kids he would always hug us (too tight) and pinch our cheeks.
• He was also pretty strict (i.e. we were not allowed to slide down the stairs in sleeping bags while he was home - we had to wait until he left and Grandma would let us).
• He always knew who I was. That doesn't seem like such a big deal but considering that he had something like 26 grandkids and who knows how many great grandkids I was always amazed that when I would go to visit after not seeing him for several years he would still recognize me and be able to talk about me and my family and what was going on with us
• He made the best egg gravy on toast.
• He was very witty and had a fun sense of humor. He liked to joke around with his grandkids.
• He always had room for cake (or any dessert for that matter).
• He loved his family (huge family) and did whatever he could to take care of them however he could.
  

Mischief

Finally, a baby post

Here is what Squeak has been up to for the last week or so....

Tummy time

Practicing sitting up (or really tolerating mom propping him on pillows)

Learning to hold his head up.

P.S. it is super hard to take a picture of a baby holding his head up while you ar holding him.
Sleeping lots
Kicking back

Going for walks

And just being cute in general.

He's also been working on making new sounds besides just cries and squeaks which he has known how to do since the beginning. My favorite is kind of a gremlin like growl sound. And on Tuesday he rolled over - from his tummy to his back - it was an accident but it still counts. He had pushed himself up with his arms, then one arm gave way a little bit and he ended up rolling onto his back.

Dogs, Dogs, everywhere

Last week Brad's parents came to visit us. Somehow I didn't get any pictures of that, but Marge did so I'm hoping to see some soon and maybe I'll have to revise this post then. We had such a good time eating good food, walking around downtown Greenville, and watching coverage of the Republican National Convention. They had to leave Saturday morning so to distract ourselves from the void we felt after they left we went to the Waterpark... But not for the people to swim, for the dogs to swim!!!! Every year after Discovery Park closes they open it to dog owners for a water doggie park day. The proceeds go towards development of dog parks in the area. Bonus. It was a challenge keeping track of two crazy dogs. Luckily Weezer likes people more than he likes dogs and kept coming back to "check in" with us. Blink ran everywhere and was hard to spot in a sea of black dogs. Both dogs seemed to like the land more than the water though. They had fun anyway and Aidan slept through all of the excitement.