Santa Comes to Town.

Saturday was the church Christmas party. I was on the activities committee so I was at church a lot of the day. While I was gone, Dan made Sam a toy chest using some of his new tools. It's nice. He did a great job.

Santa came to the party and Sam got to say hello. Some babies cried out in fear. Sam couldn't care less. I was kind of hoping that Sam would cry - it's better for pictures. But he kind of just sat there and looked around. I guess after dealing with these guys:

Santa's no big deal.

(Sidenote: The planned Santa bailed at the last minute so the part of Santa was played by a 16 year-old boy.)

I made a cool cupcake Christmas tree but I forgot to take a picture. So here's a picture of me and Sam. He got pretty tired.

Pants are overrated.

Sam has been doing this thing lately where he opens and closes his mouth but nothing comes out - no sound, no food, no barf. It's just cute.

A Haiku

Titled "Sam"

Used to poop weekly.
Now it has changed to daily.
Tragic occurrence.

*snap* *snap*

The BRAINWAVE

Much like my obssession with bongo drums, Dan has been begging for a Brainwave (a head massager). Back when we lived in Provo from 2004-2005, Dan's boss got a Brainwave. He let Dan use it and ever since, Dan has been asking for one at each birthday and Christmas. So, for his birthday (which was Dec. 6) I scoured the web for it. The only place I found that had a Brainwave sold it for $30! $30?? That's insane. I wasn't going to spend that much for a battery-powered head scratcher. Not to mention, I had a $50 birthday limit. So I looked for alternatives. Finally I found something on ebay called the Ting Ting Uno. It looked basically identical so I snatched it up for a fraction of the price. I didn't notice until after I had already bought it that I had gotten it from an adult store! YIKES!

I gave it to Dan on Saturday and he immediately put the batteries in and went to town.

Although it's not the Brainwave, I think the Ting Ting Uno worked out well in the end.

We started off Dan's birthday celebration by going to Red Robin on Friday night so that Dan could redeem his "Free Gourmet Burger" coupon. It was really good. Minus the random bits of paper I found in my chocolate shake. Nasty.

Saturday we went to the temple, worked out, Dan took a nap, and we watched ELF. I love ELF. Probably even more than my dad hates it. He can't even stand to watch it. I think it's hilarious and it gets me in the Christmas spirit.

Here's pic of Dan with his spoils.

Happy birthday, Dan! We love you!

6-Month Stats

Weight: 75th percentile
Height: 50th percentile
Head size: 95th percentile

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This year we got to spend Thanksgiving with Dan's brother and his wife in Austin, Texas. Dan's parents also flew down from Washington so it was a big party. Thanks Adam and Yinelli for letting us crash at your place for a few days! Yinelli made an awesome turkey. I didn't get any pictures. Dan, however, got a mean shot of our niece chowing down on a turkey leg.

It reminded us of this guy we saw at the TexRenFest.Or maybe this guy:

Sam got a little too much tryptophan in his system...

We played Settlers (which I used to hate but has grown on me) and some super intense Monopoly. I did not win either game. No surprise there! I stink at strategic games.

The sunset on Thanksgiving was absolutely gorgeous.

On Friday, we drove back home with Dan's parents in tow so that they could experience the Houston Space Center and see some of NASA. We took a tour to mission control. It was pretty neat to see and also hard to believe that they sent people to the moon with such basic equipment. Sam did great the whole weekend! He is a dream baby.

All in all, our Thanksgiving was wonderful. I love to spend time with Dan. Thanks to his parents for coming to visit!

BABY FOOD

I'm guessing a lot of you already do this, but no one really talked to me about it, so I thought I'd share it with you other new moms and soon-to-be moms out there. Lately I've been into making Sam's baby food. So far I've made it out of carrots, green beans, apples, and sweet potatoes. It's really easy, doesn't take very much time, and saves money!

Today I took two yams (about $1.50) and pureed them with some milk and poured it into an ice cube tray. It filled the whole thing - 16 cubes worth. So that will feed Sam 16 times! A thing of Gerber baby food that will last 4 meals costs about $1 I think so I'm saving a lot!

A site that I've found useful is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/.

Also, today Sam is 6 months old! I can't believe it. It's gone by so fast. He's such a fun little guy.

TRIP TO UTAH

You know that really annoying baby on your flight who screamed and fussed the entire time and made you want to throw yourself out the window? Yep, that was Sam. Sorry about that. I tried everything but he was so cranky! The flight back to Texas was right during his nap and he only sleeps well in his crib so it was a recipe for disaster. Oh, well. The rest of the trip was awesome!

Wednesday I arrived in Utah and met up with my mom to head down to Provo. We got to see my sister for a little bit and then I left to meet up with my old roommates. I love these girls! It had been a long time since I'd seen them, but whenever we get together, we have so much fun! Thanks to Britt for picking up the grub and to Julie for hosting!

Thursday we went to BYU so that Sam could meet his Aunt Erin. He loved her and it was nice to see her. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of the two of them together! After visiting campus, I went to one of those beauty schools to get my hair cut while Mom watched Sam. It took almost 2 hours! Holy cow. She did a good job though and it was super cheap. After grabbing some lunch and an incredibly thick and delightful chocolate shake, we went to visit my grandparents. Grandpa was so cute with Sam trying to get him to smile and play with him. Sam liked him, too.

We met up with Candice and Craig for dinner and then Mom spoiled me by getting me some clothes. Thanks, Mom!!!

Friday was the big day for my cute cousin. The ceremony was really nice and she looked beautiful! They make a great couple. I got to see many of my relatives and they met Sam for the first time. When I got home, Dan greeted me with beautiful flowers. It was a great trip!

PROJECTS

I've made a few projects since we got here. This first one is footprints from when Sam was 10 weeks and handprints from when he was 20 weeks. I couldn't do his handprints at 10 weeks because he always kept his hands clenched.

This second one is a shadow box with the hat the hospital gave him, a polaroid the hospital took, the card that went in his cart thing, and one of the bracelets he had to wear. All of these things say "Boy Kristen Durst" because we didn't know what his name would be yet. Just thought I'd share!

TEN THINGS ABOUT ME

I was feeing left out when everyone was typing their "50 Things About Me" but I don't have time to type fifty, so I'll type 10.

1. Sometimes, when I'm walking down a long hall and I'm all alone, I pretend like I'm a model on the catwalk.

2. I was the secretary for my eighth grade chess club. Yep, you read that right. It was awesome. We met every week or so and had pizza. Mind you, I had never played chess before, and the chess-crazed kids stomped me, but it was still fun.

3. I LOVE Oreos. I could eat and eat and eat them. I don't think I've ever stopped eating them because I've been full. I just have to stop when it's no longer socially acceptable to eat any more. It makes me sad.

4. To eat my Oreos, I twist it apart, scrape out the cream and put the sides back together. Then I dunk them until they're soggy then devour. It gets on Candice's nerves but that's really the best way to eat them. I encourage you to try it. (I only eat them that way when not in public b/c it gets stuck in my teeth.)

5. When I was little, I didn't really watch cartoons or anything. My favorite shows were Saved by the Bell and MacGyver. MacGyver was a hunk.

6. I also decided in either second or third grade that my favorite artist was Vincent Van Gogh. I thought he was just misunderstood. I felt like if we had been friends, I could have gotten him to not cut his ear off.

7. I had appendicitis when I was little. Two weeks later I got an obstructed bowel from the scar tissue. I was out of school for a month, but thanks to Mrs. Johnson, I passed fourth grade.

8. I tried out for the cheerleading squad in high school and didn't make the team. Ouch. But it's probably due to the fact that I'm the LEAST flexible person I know.

9. I didn't have a date to my senior prom but went anyway. Me and another girl with like 10 couples. Lame. What a waste of time and money!

10. My favorite job was also my most disgusting - working at the MTC cafeteria. Sometimes, if I was really hungry, I would eat off of the plates that came through the dish line. I mean, those missionaries wouldn't even touch their donuts! That's insane!

Here's a video of me and Sam playing together:

It's Official! (Finally...)

Last night, Dan was sworn in as a Texas lawyer. (Pending he pays all of those pesky fees. Did you know there's an occupation tax? Ridiculous.)

Sam and I were invited for the occasion. We even got our own name tags. Pretty sweet deal.

After lots of various speeches, Dan held up his right had and repeated after somebody that he basically wouldn't be a crooked lawyer. We celebrated by picking up some Taco Bell on the way home.

Major flash in this picture, but aren't his eyes beautiful? I used to hope he'd get green eyes like Dan and me, but now I kind of hope they'll stay blue. We'll see what happens.

The Latest

The other day I went walking with a girl from our ward and a girl who used to be in our ward. They heard that Dan passed the bar and one of them kindly offered to watch Sam while Dan and I went out to dinner to celebrate. Sam has never had a babysitter before other than once when Mom watched him so I could go see Batman. (Thanks, Mom!) Dan had been wanting to get a babysitter for a while so I thought this would be a good opportunity. Friday night we dropped Sam off right around his bed time and headed to the Olive Garden. Dinner was great and our waiter was really nice. Dan and I had a wonderful time! When we went back to pick Sam up almost 2 hours later, it was clear that he had basically been crying the ENTIRE TIME! They promised us that he hadn't been that bad but they started saying things like "Well, he fussed a little so we showed him the fish tank. He liked that a little bit but then got bored [aka screamed] so we did such and such..." I felt really bad. I never thought Sam really cared who he was with let alone cares when Dan and I are gone! He was even doing the pathetic kind of hiccup crying for a while after he had really stopped crying. It was really sad. I guess we should have started getting babysitters earlier. We gave them a gift card as a thank you.

Yesterday we went on a hike in Lake Houston Park. I would call it more of a nature trail. The elevation never really changed. We saw such exotic animals as butterflies, lizards, squirrels, and frogs. Very wild, I must say. There were tons and tons of mosquitos but I am happy to report...
MOSQUITO COUNT:
Kristen - zero
Dan - ten.
I guess my blood is just too sweet for them to handle.

The park had a swing set so Sam gave it a go.



After that, we drove around the suburb of Crosby, Texas to see what it was like. Not good. Unless you're a trucker. They had a lot of trucker auto shops and stuff. Now we can cross that one off the list.

100th Post

This entry is very fitting for our 100th post.

DAN PASSED THE BAR EXAM!!!

Once he is sworn in on the 12th, he will officially be a lawyer. I am so proud of him. He has worked so hard and it was especially challenging for him to study with a new baby at home but he did it! Sam is very proud of his dad.

TAGGED

8 shows I like to watch
The Office
The Biggest Loser
Ellen (Can't wait for her to get off her Obama soapbox)
Oprah
AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS (Seriously, I could watch that show for hours. So stinkin' hilarious.Here's a halloween-esque montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2feau4U7N9o)
Seinfeld
Project Runway
Home shows like Flip That House

8 things I did yesterday
Slept in (Thank you, Sam!)
Worked out in the apartment gym while Sam fussed the whole time
Showered
Finished reading These is my Words (I'd recommend it)
Had Family Home Evening with Dan
Played Mariokart with Dan
Made sausage egg mcmuffins for dinner
Took Sammy on a long walk

8 places I love to eat
Anywhere someone else is cookin'
Fuddruckers
Cafe Rio (See you in two weeks!)
Cheesecake Factory
In-N-Out
Papa Johns (Well, I don't eat there, but you know what I mean.)
Red Robin
Anywhere with Dan

8 things I am looking forward to
Losing the rest of my baby weight (So close, but yet so far)
Getting a mini-shopping spree when I lose the rest of my baby weight
Going to Utah in two weeks for my cousin's wedding and to see some friends and family
This weekend - maybe going camping?
Going to Austin for Thanksgiving
Going to Virginia for Christmas
Getting a new book to read
Dan's birthday

8 things on my wish list
A wagoneer
Short lines when I go vote today
A fun vacation with Dan
A home that's not too far from Dan's work and doesn't cost like a million dollars. Or half a million dollars.
Learning how to knit
Good (read: warm) weather when I go to Utah
For Sam to be good on the plane rides to and from Utah
That the laundry would miraculously do itself.

I tag anyone who wants to do this!