A BIG Weekend

The first weekend in February was a big weekend for Beth. Spencer blessed her (and did a wonderful job!). That was a wonderful experience where I felt, yet again, just how blessed we are to have her here and how happy I am to be her mom.

 The weekend also brought lots of other excitement...

Pops (Anna's dad) visited from Salt Lake.  He and Beth took some good naps together :) But, we also went on some adventures...

We rode the Sandia Tram (supposedly the longest tram in the US).

 

The views were gorgeous! Beth was such an angel, pretty much just sleeping the through it all. And I couldn't get enough of the fresh air and huge space, after a month of our comfortable but tiny apartment!

 

We also visited the beautiful Albuquerque temple.

 

Thanks Pops for making these outings possible! And for the babysitting, advice, laughs, walks, food, encouragement and everything else you gave while you were here!

Then, Nana and Opa (Spencer's parents) and Jake (Spencer's brother, fresh off his mission in Peru) visited, too.  

We took Beth out for her first restaurant experience.

  

She, like her mom, is especially fond of dessert!

  

Again, she was an angel! She slept through the whole dinner, letting the adults chat about everything from Peru to Downton Abbey :)

The actual blessing went really well, too. Beth was wide awake through it all, but didn't make a peep! She just stared around the circle, then charmed the congregation with her huge eyes.

 

The whole weekend was a dream come true for Spencer and me. Thank you to Pops and the Hansens for traveling and for making it so fun! (Thanks also to Grannie who would have been there if she hadn't caught a bug at the last minute--we missed you!) 

And thanks to Beth for making it happen!

 

FACES

So I keep saying this, but it keeps getting more and more true...when I took anatomy, we studied a crazy amount of facial muscles and I couldn't believe that anyone uses all those. But then Beth came along, and now I believe it! She can make more faces than I though possible! Here are just a few:

 

The "I'm not so sure about this" face

 

The "wake up" face (actually this video takes you through a whole bunch of great faces! But I love this double-chin scowl she makes when she wakes up)

 

The worried face

 

And, of course, Mom's favorite: the smile!

I think she's really catching on to the whole social smile thing and it melts my heart! Here's a video of one (sorry it keeps drifting off her face...I was paying more attention to her than the camera, obviously!)

 Pretty adorable, huh?

Photoshoot

 

A girl in our ward was nice enough to come do a photo-shoot for Bethany. It was pretty hilarious! Bethany was an angel as long as we had the vacuum going. She would fuss as we set up (with good reason--making her go naked and putting her in all these funny poses, you can hardly blame her!), but once she was all set, we would turn on the vacuum and she'd be happy as a clam! We actually blew out circuit 3 times throughout the morning, between running the vacuum and all our space-heaters, lamps, etc. But it was SOOOOO worth it to get these darling shots of her!

Week 3

 

 Yikes! I can't believe how fast time is going! Little Beth has already been hanging out with us for 3 weeks.  We have had SO much fun and I've never been happier!

I've also been pretty camera happy and just can't resist showing off how cute my girl is...

 

 

(Don't you love that bow?!)

 

My mom bought Beth this darling owl outfit and made her an owl blanket before meeting her. Little did she know, Beth's eyes look just like an owl's!

 

We were SO lucky to have a visit from Nana, Spencer's mom, this week. Bethany loved all the cuddles she got from Nana. Spencer and I loved the chance to talk to her and soak in her wise advice.

 

(This is a constant struggle Beth has--why won't both her hands fit in her mouth at once?!)

 

 

The other night, Spencer pulled out his guitar and played it for Beth. She was fascinated. Her eyes stayed as round as they are in this picture almost the whole time. I loved it, too! I'm excited for more nights of playing and singing together...Thanks Spencer!

 

 

 

We introduced Bethany to football a few nights ago. She took a very wise approach, snoring peacefully through it, but feigning a cheer with her hands up like this. Go Beth!

Anyway, that's all for now. All bias aside, is she not one of the cutest babies you've seen?!

(Also...special thanks to so many who have sent adorable outfits for her! I thought since we didn't find out the gender, she would be wearing green and yellow the first year. But, as you can see, she is well stocked with adorable pinkness. So thank you everybody!)

The Beginning or the End?

Published and paid for a short story. Can i call myself a "writer?" Maybe a bad time to pursue a second career, with medical residency and a new- born. But hey, drinks (soda) on us tonight, our place! All invited...

Week 2

 

We had a fun week this week! We...

  

Bundled up for chilly walks,

 

hung out with Grannie (aka "The Lone Ranger"),

did baths (which I really don't like!), 

 

snuggled with Daddy,

 

practiced "tummy time,"

 

  

and pretty much looked cute all day every day!

Welcome Bethany Maurine!

Our sweet little girl came January 1st--the perfect way to start our new year!

She was very excited--as you can see!

And so were Mom and Dad!

 

She's already been out for an outing, a Dr. appointment. Mom was a nervous wreck, but little Beth handled it like a champ!



We've been lucky to have Granny (Mom's mom) come help us transition home. She's spoiling us with cooking, cleaning, tending so Mom can nap, giving baths, and answering Mom's bzillion questions.

We are so excited to have you here, little Bethany! You are precious!