"There is only one pretty child in the world...
and every mother has it." - Chinese Proverb.

(Quote stolen from my cousin's blog, and she obviously stole it from some Chinese person.)

One of my favorite blogs to read is A Gracious Home. I normally think these "meme" things are silly, but this one actually looked fun. Here it goes...

Aprons – Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?
I don't have an apron, but I've been really wanting one recently both for practical and silly reasons (silly being that they just look fun to wear). However, I haven't found one that I like, and I haven't wanted to spend the money.

Baking – Favorite thing to bake
I'm not picky, anything that tastes good!

Clothesline – Y/N?
No.

Donuts – Have you ever made them?
I haven't, but I have a recipe for no-fry donuts that I want to try.

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day
Clean the kitchen.

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
No, but it would be nice to have one someday. When I was pregnant with Joey, I made a ton of meals and put them in the freezer for easy meals after he was born. It was so nice, but my freezer was packed. Every time I opened it things would fall out at me. I would like to do more "freezer meals," but space in my poor, tiny freezer is definitely limited.

Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
Yes. I don't know what I would do without it. Andy says I use mine like a wood chipper. I've been known to clog it...ahem...a few times!

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource?
The internet!

Ironing – Love it or hate it? Or hate it but love the results?
I don't mind it. When I was in college and I would come home to visit, my mom would have a bunch of ironing for me to do. I would pop in a movie, and iron away. It was actually kind of fun. However, lately I've been trying to get clothes out of the dryer right away so it really minimizes the need to iron most things.

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
Yes, in our kitchen.

Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme
Nada-no decorating scheme.

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
I love feeling a sense of accomplishment when the house is clean, the laundry is done, and dinner is made. It's very satisfying.

Mop – Y/N?
Not too often.

Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
Wow, I haven't worn nylons in years. When I did wear them, I just threw them in the washing machine.

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check?
Open the oven.

Pizza – What do you put on yours?
Pepperoni. When we lived in Albuquerque Andy really liked his with pepperoni and green chilies.

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read my favorite blogs and check my email.

Recipe card box – Y/N? What does it look like?
It started out as a box and now it's a HUGE notebook. I can't stop adding recipes!

Style of house – What style is your house?
A stucco condo.

Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N?
Sometimes when I'm in the mood. When I was in high school I had a friend that whenever she wore a white shirt, she was sure to get a stain on it. Andy is the same way with tablecloths. His ability to spill food all over is uncanny, but only if there is a tablecloth on the table.

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland?
Pretty organized.

Vacuum – How many times per week?
About once or twice a week. At our house in Albuquerque the carpet didn't ever look dirty, so it was really hard for me to get motivated to vacuum. Our carpet now shows crumbs and such much more, so I vacuum more.

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week?
Before Joey: 1 or 2
With Joey: 6 or 7

X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?
I LOVE to-do lists. Sometimes if I've done something that wasn't on my list, I'll write it down just so I can cross it off. Crazy, I know, but it helps me feel productive.

Yard – Y/N? Who does what?
No yard. I'm sure I'll want a yard again someday, but for now it's kind of nice having a break from yard work.

Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
For those people who know me well, there is no task getting in the way of my sleep! I don't care what needs to be done, if I'm tired, I'm going to sleep!

Joey is a very easy-going, happy baby, that is until the dreaded "tummy time." This is the time when babies are supposed to be on their tummies to help develop their neck and arm muscles. If they don't get enough tummy time, their heads can get misshapen from spending all their time on their backs.

Unfortunately the little bugger does NOT like tummy time. When we first tried it he cried right away. I don't know exactly how long tummy time is supposed to last, but I figured 10 seconds wasn't going to cut it.

Well, he's finally doing better on his tummy. He holds his head up really high when I first put him down, and then he slowly gets tired. He still gets fussy, but we're up to 5 minutes now. Not fantastic, but I'll take it!

My little boy is 12 weeks old today! Of course I know he's growing, but it really hit home earlier this week. I went to get a hat for him to wear for our Farmers' Market Stroller Ride Day. I tried the two hats shown in his newborn pictures below, and neither of them came even close to fitting him.

It's also becoming more and more apparent that his nightly baths in the kitchen sink are coming to an end. He barely fits, and actually his legs haven't fit for quite a while. They just kind of hang over the edge.

So as I pack away all of his newborn clothes, hats, and swaddle blankets, I'm a little sad, but also excited about all that we have to look forward to: rolling over, sitting up, college...

Andy's parents came to visit this weekend. The last time they saw Joey he was only three weeks old, so it was fun having them see how much he has changed. Joey cooperated by showing off all his new coos, squeals, and laughs.

Saturday was great because we were able to just hang out and relax. That evening we went to Killer Pizza From Mars to watch the Eagles play the Saints. It was great pizza, but not such a great game as the Eagles lost. The good news was that Joey slept the whole time in the magical sling.

Andy's parents left Sunday morning, and we had another laid back day. Joey slept a lot, I read, Andy played video games, and we watched the Chargers get beat by the Patriots. Another bummer!

Andy's dad took this picture on Sunday before they left. It's now the background on our computer. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

Look at that face! Isn't he adorable?! I know I'm not supposed to gush publicly about my own son, but I can't help it. It's really bad when someone tells me how cute he is. I try to limit myself to the gracious, "Thank you," but what I really want to say is, "I know, isn't he the cutest baby you've ever seen." Somehow I don't think that would go over so well.

When Joey gets a little older, I would really like to have scheduled activities on certain days of the week. For example, maybe Monday will be library day, Wednesday can be picnic at the park day, Friday might be craft day, etc.

Well, Joey and I have our first official day! Tuesdays are now going to be "Farmers' Market Stroller Ride Day." (Yes, that is quite a mouthful, but that's part of the fun!)

Every Tuesday in downtown Escondido there is a Farmers' Market, and Joey and I finally made it down for the first time. I love how it's within walking distance. It was so fun walking around and looking at all the delicious food and beautiful flowers. I bought a little basket of gorgeous plump strawberries, this delicious avocado cilantro hummus, and homemade pita bread.

I can't wait until next Tuesday!

Very scary! It looks like I have another video gamer on my hands. Andy is teaching him all the secret moves. I think he's getting him ready in case we ever have a reunion Albuquerque Halo party. Oliver, Grant, Dan, Dave, Brent, Cody, Erika...be prepared!

The Christmas season finally feels like it's over. Last night Andy, Joey, and I went over to my parents for dinner because my sister Rachel is flying back to Grove City today, and my brother Benjamin is flying back to Valparaiso tomorrow morning. It has been fun hanging out with them for the past couple of weeks, and now Joey has met all of his uncles and aunts.

When Joey was a newborn, my wise mother-in-law said that it's easy to fall into the trap of looking forward so much to what your child is going to do (like "I can't wait until he can crawl, walk, talk, etc.") that you forget to enjoy them at the present. What great advice! I have to admit though that I did break it one time...I couldn't wait until Joey started to smile.

Well, he's been smiling for a while now and it's just so precious. The best is when I'm not even expecting it. There are times when I go get him out of his crib in the morning or I'm changing his diaper, and I'll look down and he's just beaming at me.

Now it's awesome because he's starting to laugh. Sometimes he's lying on the floor while I'm in the kitchen doing dishes, and I'll hear him laughing by himself. I think he's telling himself jokes.

Here is a picture of my family on Christmas Eve.

For those of you who know me well, I am not the best at keeping in touch with people. I am trying to get better so recently I got together with two old friends Jennifer and Ronya.

Jennifer, Ronya, and I grew up at church together. We all went out of state for college and met our husbands at school. Then we all got married in consecutive summers. Jennifer got married in 2000, Ronya got married in 2001, and I got married in 2002.

Next thing you know, now we're all having babies. Jennifer actually just had her second daughter in July, Ronya had her first daughter in May, and of course then Joey came along in October.

I was able to get together with Jennifer and her two daughters right before Christmas. She lives pretty close by so Joey and I went over one day for lunch. (Thanks again, Jenn!) Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so no pictures.

Ronya and her daughter came over a couple of days after Christmas. They live near Chicago and are out visiting her family. This is a picture of Joey, Cailin, and Ronya. It was so nice to have a chance to catch up with two old friends!

I always get so disappointed when I go to someone's blog and there aren't any new posts. Well, I have been sadly guilty of blog neglect. I apologize to those few faithful people that check here regularly.

I know it's not my witty writing that keeps you coming back for more so I thought I would give you what you really want...a couple of pictures of the cute bug! Enjoy and don't worry, there's more coming...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been enjoying the Christmas season by doing a lot of baking. I volunteered to make a pumpkin pie for Christmas because it's Andy's favorite pie, and since in the past we have always traveled for the big holidays, I had never made one before. I was very proud of myself because I even made the pie crust from scratch! I know it's silly, but little domestic things like this somehow make me very happy.