Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Big Move
Today was the day! We left our home in happy valley to start our lives in Albuquerque. It started off in a crazy rush to finish all the unfinished cleaning and packing. After saying good bye to Brian, who will be following us with the car in a few days, we rushed to the bank and finally off to the airport. We were running a bit later than I hoped but we still made it in good time. We checked our bags and headed to security. The line was horrendously long. Sarah stayed with us for a while the said goodbye. Harold and I made our way through the line and he surprisingly did well through the whole security check. Since both mommy and Harold needed to use the facilities we stopped by the restroom. Once we finished there I finally checked the board for our flight. It was boarding! We made our way to the terminal as fast as a waddling pregnant lady could. We got there just as they made the call for final boarding. Harold was again very good while we made our way down the ramp and into our seat. We got situated and thankfully the seat next to us was empty which gave me more room for my "two" lap children. Harold did such a good job on the flight. We played with some blocks for a moment and then ate snacks. He took most of the flight snacking. He was such a great traveler and I was so proud of him. We soon made it to Albuquerque and to grandma and grandpa's house. And so we are here! Tomorrow we go to our apartment to check things out and sign the lease. So begins this next chapter in the adventures of the Pendleton family.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Albuquerque here we are! Part 2 - The Not-As-Little Harold
A few things happened in regards to Harold since we got here. First, he grew. Harold was already beginning to grow out of his 0-3 month clothes before we moved, but within a week he was completely out of them except for a few larger onsies. Since then, he has fully out grown them and is on his way to out growing his 3-6 month clothes (his pajamas are already a bit small). Currently he is weighing in at about 18 lbs. and 27 inches long.
Second, he started teething. Within a week of being here Harold's nose started running, his checks got a bit red and the drooling never turned off. He constantly wanted something in his mouth. So the teething began. We quickly went to the store to see if we could find some teething toys. He has continued teething to date but still no teeth broken through. His bottom gum has a nice swollen lump to it though.
The third new thing about Harold is his improved motor coordination. When we got here he was starting to successfully get his fist in his mouth and he could grab on to a few things. Now he is very skilled at grabbing anything within reach and equally skilled at getting it into his mouth. Also he has begun to chew on his thumb. (He doesn't really suck it, mostly chews it. I think this has something to do with his current teething.) Also, near the end of June, he rolled over on his own! Mommy was so proud and has been trying to convince him to do it again. Unfortunately he rather enjoys being on his tummy so he hasn't had much motivation.
Along with his improved motor skills, Harold has increased socially as well. He now enjoys playing peek-a-boo and prefers playing with Daddy over going to sleep. Unfortunately that means Mommy and Daddy have a hard time convincing him to sleep at night. He has also decided that when Mommy is singing him lullabies that he is to sing along and will often join with his own mono-syllabic tones. It's kind of funny because he will "sing" when I'm singing but then stop when I stop and wait for me to start up again before joining back in. He has also become quite the "talker" and will often ramble on to himself and anyone else who may be near by. He has also discovered how to razz and Mommy has been helping him by playing her trumpet. She is rather glad to encourage this behavior.
Second, he started teething. Within a week of being here Harold's nose started running, his checks got a bit red and the drooling never turned off. He constantly wanted something in his mouth. So the teething began. We quickly went to the store to see if we could find some teething toys. He has continued teething to date but still no teeth broken through. His bottom gum has a nice swollen lump to it though.
The third new thing about Harold is his improved motor coordination. When we got here he was starting to successfully get his fist in his mouth and he could grab on to a few things. Now he is very skilled at grabbing anything within reach and equally skilled at getting it into his mouth. Also he has begun to chew on his thumb. (He doesn't really suck it, mostly chews it. I think this has something to do with his current teething.) Also, near the end of June, he rolled over on his own! Mommy was so proud and has been trying to convince him to do it again. Unfortunately he rather enjoys being on his tummy so he hasn't had much motivation.
Along with his improved motor skills, Harold has increased socially as well. He now enjoys playing peek-a-boo and prefers playing with Daddy over going to sleep. Unfortunately that means Mommy and Daddy have a hard time convincing him to sleep at night. He has also decided that when Mommy is singing him lullabies that he is to sing along and will often join with his own mono-syllabic tones. It's kind of funny because he will "sing" when I'm singing but then stop when I stop and wait for me to start up again before joining back in. He has also become quite the "talker" and will often ramble on to himself and anyone else who may be near by. He has also discovered how to razz and Mommy has been helping him by playing her trumpet. She is rather glad to encourage this behavior.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Albuquerque here we are! Part 1- Moving in
I am repenting of my lack of posts and will now finally tell you about our Albuquerque adventures. Tune in throughout the week for a multi-part series of posts!
After finally packing up the car and getting some lunch, we left Cougar land about 3pm May 26th and started towards the land of Sun. After a few stops to feed the hungry Harold we got to Montecello at about 9pm. We had already made a hotel reservation there and once we found the hotel we unpacked the things we needed for the night and tried to get some shut eye. Well, that was Mommy's plan, but Harold made sure to keep her up a while longer so he could play. After getting some sleep and the usual 2 feedings in the night, Harold decided he didn't have enough play time the day before and was wide awake at 5am. After playing with him for about an hour, he went back to sleep and Mommy got some breakfast while Daddy watched the snoozing boy. Once Mommy had eaten her fill she switched with Daddy and decided to take a nap while the little boy was still asleep. Getting enough sleep was important as the longer stretch of the trip was before us. At about 10:30am Mommy got up and ready to go and we were packed up and on the road by 11:00, just in time for check out.
We drove on, into Colorado and then on to New Mexico. We stopped a few times for food, both for the little boy and the big people, and made it to Brian's parent's house by 7pm. There we ate dinner and spent the night. The next morning we would start moving into our apartment.
After sleeping in as long as we could we finally headed over to the apartment. After taking a tour and going through all the paper work, we started to unpack the car. A couple of hours later Brian's parents brought over the things we had sent down with his mother when she visited us in May. Once everything was unloaded and piled in the living room we started sorting through it and unpacking the things we needed for the night. We spent most of the afternoon and early evening doing this until we realized we wouldn't be able to get things set up in time to sleep there that night. So we stayed the second night at Brian's parent's house and decided to finish unpacking the next day.
Well, we didn't finish the next day, or the next week. It takes a surprising amount of time to unpack things, even when you only brought a small portion of your belongings in the first place. Maybe it was because we only brought a portion of our belongings that it took so long as there were some rather obvious holes in what we needed (we had left all our furniture and needed some things like a bookcase for the books, a desk for the computer, etc.) The next three weeks found us figuring out what things we lacked, but needed (like chairs and such) and Brian's parents randomly showing up with things they found that they thought we could use. After about three weeks we had accumulated enough furniture to meet our needs--mostly from what Brian's parents had in storage or what they found at yard sales. At last we were settled into our apartment and we were beginning to settle into the flow of things here in Albuquerque.
After finally packing up the car and getting some lunch, we left Cougar land about 3pm May 26th and started towards the land of Sun. After a few stops to feed the hungry Harold we got to Montecello at about 9pm. We had already made a hotel reservation there and once we found the hotel we unpacked the things we needed for the night and tried to get some shut eye. Well, that was Mommy's plan, but Harold made sure to keep her up a while longer so he could play. After getting some sleep and the usual 2 feedings in the night, Harold decided he didn't have enough play time the day before and was wide awake at 5am. After playing with him for about an hour, he went back to sleep and Mommy got some breakfast while Daddy watched the snoozing boy. Once Mommy had eaten her fill she switched with Daddy and decided to take a nap while the little boy was still asleep. Getting enough sleep was important as the longer stretch of the trip was before us. At about 10:30am Mommy got up and ready to go and we were packed up and on the road by 11:00, just in time for check out.
We drove on, into Colorado and then on to New Mexico. We stopped a few times for food, both for the little boy and the big people, and made it to Brian's parent's house by 7pm. There we ate dinner and spent the night. The next morning we would start moving into our apartment.
After sleeping in as long as we could we finally headed over to the apartment. After taking a tour and going through all the paper work, we started to unpack the car. A couple of hours later Brian's parents brought over the things we had sent down with his mother when she visited us in May. Once everything was unloaded and piled in the living room we started sorting through it and unpacking the things we needed for the night. We spent most of the afternoon and early evening doing this until we realized we wouldn't be able to get things set up in time to sleep there that night. So we stayed the second night at Brian's parent's house and decided to finish unpacking the next day.
Well, we didn't finish the next day, or the next week. It takes a surprising amount of time to unpack things, even when you only brought a small portion of your belongings in the first place. Maybe it was because we only brought a portion of our belongings that it took so long as there were some rather obvious holes in what we needed (we had left all our furniture and needed some things like a bookcase for the books, a desk for the computer, etc.) The next three weeks found us figuring out what things we lacked, but needed (like chairs and such) and Brian's parents randomly showing up with things they found that they thought we could use. After about three weeks we had accumulated enough furniture to meet our needs--mostly from what Brian's parents had in storage or what they found at yard sales. At last we were settled into our apartment and we were beginning to settle into the flow of things here in Albuquerque.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Our little Harold and how he grew!
I never took all the stories about how "children grow up before you know it" too seriously until now. He sure does grow fast! Of course, if I increased my height and weight by 20%+, I think everyone else would notice too :). We're pleased to report that he's now 23 inches and somewhere around 11 pounds. And hungry, very hungry. And also slightly squirmy. But rather happy overall.
It's certainly been an adventure so far, but we're staring to get some things figured out. We're rather tired and sleep deprived, but hanging in there pretty well so far. We're so happy to have him as part of our lives and we're enjoying getting to know him better. We're very grateful for all the help that we've received from kind neighbors and friends. It's really helped out. You don't know how much help you need until someone shows up and gives you a hand. Thanks to all of you!
So, how is he? Well... as mentioned previously he sure grows fast! We'll try to get some updated pictures up soon. He's very long, with a long body, long feet and long fingers, but he's starting to get some more baby fat and his cheeks are filling out a bit. He's also a pretty strong little boy for his age. He can hold his head up when he wants to and can push up a bit on his hands a look around when on his tummy. He can rock himself back and forth pretty well and turn mostly onto his side when he feels like it. He likes his stuffed doggy and octopus, but mostly he likes to be walked around and look at things on the wall or ceiling.
As it turns out, his name is rather conveniently alliterative. He can be a Hungry Harold or a Happy Harold, but sometimes he's just a Harold squirm-a-saurus (inspired by his dinosaur onesie). He's pretty even-tempered so far. He fusses sometimes, but mostly when he has a reason for it and calms down when you take care of it. He's also getting quite a bit more sociable. He likes to smile back at us and has recently started cooing a bit. For some reason he thinks whistling is hilarious, so I've taken to whistling songs to him sometimes.
I've had the chance to stay home and watch him in the mornings while Rebecca finishes out the school year as a kindergarten aide. It's been nice to get to know him a little better and have some more time with him. We sure love him a lot!
-Brian
It's certainly been an adventure so far, but we're staring to get some things figured out. We're rather tired and sleep deprived, but hanging in there pretty well so far. We're so happy to have him as part of our lives and we're enjoying getting to know him better. We're very grateful for all the help that we've received from kind neighbors and friends. It's really helped out. You don't know how much help you need until someone shows up and gives you a hand. Thanks to all of you!
So, how is he? Well... as mentioned previously he sure grows fast! We'll try to get some updated pictures up soon. He's very long, with a long body, long feet and long fingers, but he's starting to get some more baby fat and his cheeks are filling out a bit. He's also a pretty strong little boy for his age. He can hold his head up when he wants to and can push up a bit on his hands a look around when on his tummy. He can rock himself back and forth pretty well and turn mostly onto his side when he feels like it. He likes his stuffed doggy and octopus, but mostly he likes to be walked around and look at things on the wall or ceiling.
As it turns out, his name is rather conveniently alliterative. He can be a Hungry Harold or a Happy Harold, but sometimes he's just a Harold squirm-a-saurus (inspired by his dinosaur onesie). He's pretty even-tempered so far. He fusses sometimes, but mostly when he has a reason for it and calms down when you take care of it. He's also getting quite a bit more sociable. He likes to smile back at us and has recently started cooing a bit. For some reason he thinks whistling is hilarious, so I've taken to whistling songs to him sometimes.
I've had the chance to stay home and watch him in the mornings while Rebecca finishes out the school year as a kindergarten aide. It's been nice to get to know him a little better and have some more time with him. We sure love him a lot!
-Brian
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Secret Menu Club
It was 8pm a night as we pulled up to the drive-through. We were full of tension and excitement. This was the first time we'd ever been to a drive through. Would our secret mission be a success? The huge red pickup in front of us pulled forward and it was our turn. We edged our way forward to the order window and waited for the voice on the other end, "Welcome to In-N-Out, what would you like today?" We paused, and nervously repeated the order we'd decided on: A double double animal style, a 2 x 4 mustard grilled with grilled onions, cheese fries, a Neapolitan shake and a root beer float. Not a single item was on the regular menu, would this really work? "Sure" came the voice on the other end and repeated our order back to us. Whew, we made it. We pulled forward, grabbed our food, and peeled out. Well... as much "peeling out" as can be expected from old Daisy. In the end we just made our escape at slow respectable pace. We turned to each other and breathed, "We did it. It does exist!"
We decided to go have a "cultural experience" for date night yesterday. As you may know, In-N-Out opened some stores in Utah awhile ago. There was a huge amount of excitement and hype. People waited in their cars for hours to go through the drive-through when it first opened. But not us. You see, we're not really fast food people. In fact, we began the descent into food-snobbishness long ago (but that's another tale) and reading Fast Food Nation didn't help either. Besides, there's so many other places where we can get some very tasty food (mmm... pizzeria 712). But In-N-Out is ok in our book. They pay decent wages to their employees, don't franchise, cook with fresh ingredients and are generally non-evil. We resolved to try it eventually and see what all the talk was about.
After several months we did. It was ok, but still a fast food burger. We could do much better with the grass-fed local beef in our freezer (yet another tale). But then, I ran across an article about The Secret Menu and were strangely intrigued. We had an inexplicable desire to order something "animal style" just because we could. Now, I'm sure most of you were already aware of said secret menu, but it was news to us. So, last night we decided to go have our "cultural adventure." We opted for the drive-through to get the full experience, that and we had Harold in the back.
It was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed ourselves. It's quite satisfying to order something not printed on the menu. And the food wasn't bad. The "animal style" was a definite improvement, as was the root beer float. So, are we going back soon? Probably not. There are still so many other tasty places to eat, plus we can cook pretty well ourselves. But we're glad that we went, and a good time was had by all (except maybe Harold, who was starting to get hungry). I'd definitely recommend trying it out at least once.
And that's how we became members of the secret menu club.
We decided to go have a "cultural experience" for date night yesterday. As you may know, In-N-Out opened some stores in Utah awhile ago. There was a huge amount of excitement and hype. People waited in their cars for hours to go through the drive-through when it first opened. But not us. You see, we're not really fast food people. In fact, we began the descent into food-snobbishness long ago (but that's another tale) and reading Fast Food Nation didn't help either. Besides, there's so many other places where we can get some very tasty food (mmm... pizzeria 712). But In-N-Out is ok in our book. They pay decent wages to their employees, don't franchise, cook with fresh ingredients and are generally non-evil. We resolved to try it eventually and see what all the talk was about.
After several months we did. It was ok, but still a fast food burger. We could do much better with the grass-fed local beef in our freezer (yet another tale). But then, I ran across an article about The Secret Menu and were strangely intrigued. We had an inexplicable desire to order something "animal style" just because we could. Now, I'm sure most of you were already aware of said secret menu, but it was news to us. So, last night we decided to go have our "cultural adventure." We opted for the drive-through to get the full experience, that and we had Harold in the back.
It was a lot of fun. We really enjoyed ourselves. It's quite satisfying to order something not printed on the menu. And the food wasn't bad. The "animal style" was a definite improvement, as was the root beer float. So, are we going back soon? Probably not. There are still so many other tasty places to eat, plus we can cook pretty well ourselves. But we're glad that we went, and a good time was had by all (except maybe Harold, who was starting to get hungry). I'd definitely recommend trying it out at least once.
And that's how we became members of the secret menu club.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Introducing Harold Benjamin Pendleton!!!
*applause**applause*
We're pleased to welcome Harold into our family. Harold was born at 10:11pm Monday March 21st. He was 19 inches and 7 lbs 15 oz. He has a very cute chin. Both mother and baby are doing very well. It's been a very busy week for us! So many new things to figure out and learn and get used to.
We love him so much already and we're very pleased to have him in our family. We'll try to post some more details about the whole adventure, but he's keeping us rather busy at the moment. Besides, his cuteness if very distracting :-).
We have lots more pictures as well, email us if you'd like to look at them.
-Mommy & Daddy Pendleton
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Chanticleer
Wow! What an amazing concert!
A little over a week ago, we had the chance to listen to Chanticleer (choral group) at BYU. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We had thought about getting tickets earlier, but didn't because we didn't know when baby was coming. So, the day of the performance I got an email with upcoming arts events. I called Becca to see if she wanted to go and got tickets. I'm very glad I did!
The concert was wonderful and we both really enjoyed it. Chanticleer has a very clear sound and amazing technique and range. They performed a variety of different styles, all very well done, including new works that they had commissioned. I really liked how they performed both classical pieces and new modern works. The theme for the concert was "out of this world" and featured songs about stars through the ages. I especially enjoyed the "Observer In the Magellanic Cloud", which is one of the new pieces they commissioned. Maori legend says that their souls ascend to the stars after death and the song tells the story of a satellite passing through the cloud. It start with spacy satellite-type sounds (sung!) and then maori chants fade up in the background, harmonize with the other sounds and then fade out again. It was very fun to listen to.
Music expert I am not, but I very much enjoyed it. It seems that other people did as well. I think that's the most excited I've ever seen an audience get at BYU. They were giving standing ovations before the concert was even over :-).
If you're interested, check out http://www.chanticleer.org/. They have an online store where you can listen to samples. And if you have the chance to see them in person, definitely go!
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