6 Weeks Old

Well, we missed a week, but here is the latest installment of the weekly video. She's been smiling a lot more lately, and making happy noises, but I didn't get as good of a smile in this video. Oh well. Sorry I sound ridiculous, it usually makes her just beam. Enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day!

Don't worry, the weekend report won't be nearly as extensive as the week.

Saturday

Clark was a cleaning machine in the morning, in preparation for all the folks coming down for Julia's blessing. Which was more work than it normally would have been due to the fact that we had been out of town for a week, and thus things hadn't been cleaned for a while. Oh, and we also had to finish unpacking and getting everything put away. And take care of a baby. And somehow we managed to cut Clark's hair. It was a busy morning.

At around noon, my Aunt Laura and Uncle Art stopped by on their way up to Salt Lake. It was nice to see them, and have them meet Baby Julia. She was mostly excited about seeing them, and only cried a little bit.

People started arriving in the afternoon, and took shifts hanging out at the apartment. By dinnertime, everyone was in town, so we all went to dinner at the Pizza Factory. Which was delicious, but very VERY noisy, and rather crowded. I would have preferred a quieter setting, but you know, it's hard to find a place that isn't crowded on Memorial Day weekend that serves good food that everyone will enjoy. So Pizza Factory it was, and it was good. We had 16 people in our party: My parents, Clark's parents, Clark's Grandma Meme, Clark's Grandma Stewart, Jessica, Whitney, Kim, Patrick, Brett, Sabrina, Adie, Clark, Julia, and myself.

Kim and Patrick stayed at our place Saturday night, and it was great fun to have them. Especially since we still had to go grocery shopping for the next day's meals, so they got to watch Julia for a little while. Here's a picture of her on Saturday with her Daddy:

Sunday

The big day. Blessing Day. Clark went to church early for Choir Practice. I opted to stay home so that Julia could be fed as close to Sacrament Meeting as possible. Today of all days we wanted a Happy Julia. Kim helped me get her all gussied up, and then we were off to church. Julia did so well during the meeting, up until the last 30 seconds. The closing prayer seemed to last forever. But we made it! And the blessing was lovely, Clark did a great job. I'm so grateful that he holds the priesthood, and that he was able to bless our baby girl. Here she is in her dress:


After church, we all came back to the apartment for some lunch and to take pictures. Unfortunately, I was running around, so I didn't get very many pictures at all. I'll need copies from everyone who took some, wink wink, nudge nudge. I did get a shot of Julia and Adie together, and one of the Millars and Blockburgers.

I look really short in this photo.

Sunday afternoon was spent hanging out, chatting, and recovering from the excitement of the day. We had a spaghetti dinner Sunday night (which was delicious if I do say so myself), and then more hanging out and chatting. At one point, I looked around the room and saw Sabrina talking to my dad about politics; Clark, Brett, and Steve talking politics (it was a popular subject in the living room); and all the ladies around the kitchen table laughing and having a good time. And I thought to myself, "I am so grateful to have all these people in my life." It was one of those moments where everything just felt so good.

Monday

The day of departure. We did manage to hit the St George City Cemetery with my family to visit the graves of our ancestors. And we had lunch at the In and Out Burger, which wasn't quite so in and out as it was the last time we went, but oh well. Still tasty. And then we went with the Millars to The Children's Place, where I found a swimsuit for Julia. And that was pretty much it. Everyone headed home, and they all made it safely there. And Clark and I had the rest of the afternoon to recover and get ready for another crazy week.

Yesterday and today have been pretty normal. Tomorrow Clark leaves for Youth Conference. He'll be back sometime on Saturday. I have a feeling that Friday will be a very lonely day, so if anyone wants to stop by. . . :)

And here are a couple of pictures that are just too cute to leave off the blog. My mom snapped them while we were in Salt Lake. She's just growing up so fast! 6 weeks tomorrow. . .

The Week in Review

One might say that the Blockburgers have been busy this past week. I would call that an understatement.

Julia survived her first vacation! She did so well with all the hustle and bustle, and she slept most of the time in the car. Let's have a little run-down (OK, there is nothing "little" about this, it's very long, so read at your own risk):

Sunday

After a crazy morning at church (courtesy of all our callings), we came home, packed up the car, and headed up to the Salt Lake Valley. Julia had to stop twice for feedings, once in Beaver and once in Provo, but other than that she was a real trooper, and didn't complain at all. We headed to the Blockburger residence to drop off Grandma Stewart, and to have dinner and visit. Julia got to meet Aunt Suzanne, and we even remembered to take a picture:

After that we headed over to visit Clark's Grandma Marty, and we snapped a 4 generation picture:It was nice to visit with her and her husband Jim, and I was really glad they got to meet Julia. Jim is 100 years old, so who knows how much longer he'll be around. And when you've lived 100 years, you've seen a lot of stuff, which is why I love to visit with him, he's always got stories to tell.

After that, we headed over to the Andersons' new house, which is beautiful. Here is the outside of the house:Seriously, I love it, and I loved staying there for the week. And let me just say that the piano sounds so good in that house, it gives me chills. Now I want a piano, but alas, the budget won't allow. But in any event, we arrived pretty late Sunday night, and went to bed.

Monday

I took Clark to the airport in the morning. As a side note, he took the camera with him, so all pictures in the rest of this post are courtesy of my mom. After we got him off, we had a busy day of running errands, having lunch at Jamba Juice (can you believe that they don't have a Jamba Juice in St George?), and cleaning the house in preparation for the evening's festivities. Oh, and of course feeding Julia. That takes up a lot of time. Monday night we had the Hurst clan over for FHE, so they could see the new house and the new baby. I love my mom's family, so I was really happy to see everyone that came out. And I think Julia liked to see all the new faces, even if it did get a little overwhelming near the end. We also snapped a 4 generation picture with my grandma:

"Four generations of red-heads," as my grandma says. Of course, who knows what color Julia's hair will end up being, but I'm thinking there is a real chance it could be red. This makes me happy.

Tuesday

Tuesday was a little more low-key. We went shopping for a blessing dress (and found one!), and spent most of the day just hanging out. Grammie (that would be my mom) got lots of Julia time in. Oh, and I watched American Idol by myself. Which is actually pretty normal, courtesy of the Young Men activities. Oh, and we didn't take any pictures.

Wednesday

Plans got all shuffled around due to a vehicular mishap (not my vehicle, the M's vehicle). This means that I didn't get to see Sabrina, or Adie. :( But Julia did get some much needed sleep, since she didn't take a single nap on Tuesday, and it was kind of nice to be inside with all the cold and rainy weather going on outside. I think Julia was cold for the first time in her life! Much of the day was spent with Grammie. I was also going to meet up with Al and Ada, but alas, there was illness present, and thus it didn't happen. :( But we did talk on the phone, which was nice. I don't call people nearly enough. Meaning ever. But just know that if I'm not calling you very often, you are not alone.

I did get to go to lunch with Karen and her daughter Sarah, which was so much fun. Karen made quite the trek down from Syracuse, and I was so grateful she did. She got to meet Julia, I got to see how much Sarah has grown up, and we got to chat, which was wonderful. Oh, and Panda Express has delicious food.

In the evening we got to visit Amber and Tyler, which was very fun. Amber has a very cute bump going on, and I can't wait for the arrival of her daughter in just a few more weeks!! And you know what I love? I love that I can go months without seeing certain friends, and yet when we get together it's almost like no time has past. I LOVE that. And it kept happening on this trip. I love all my friends. I really lucked out with all of you.

Because I would much rather be visiting Amber, I did not see the American Idol results show, but I hear it was pretty good. Hey Megan, did you tivo it? Can I invite myself over to watch it?

Thursday

More plans were shuffled today due to ill health (not my health, the Porters' health). This means that I didn't get to see Danielle, or Laneah. :( This was especially sad because it's been such a long time since we last got together. But I'm hoping that we'll get to play soon, and then Brandon and Clark can be there as well. And I did get to chat with Danielle on the phone, which was nice. Remember that thing I LOVE (see above)? Yeah, it applies here as well. Good times.

I did, however, get to visit my cousin Jana and her new baby boy, Alex. He is awfully cute, and it was fun to see the babies side by side. Oh, and Lynlee is delightful. Such a funny girl! Jana took some pictures of Julia and Alex together. Hopefully I'll get a copy of those :)

And Clark's cousin Katie came to visit with her daughter Hailey. Hailey brought Julia a "baby" of her own, which I thought was so cute. Here's a picture of us all, Hailey is holding Julia's "baby":

It was so fun to see you guys, thanks for coming to visit. I wish we lived closer, because I'm pretty sure we'd be hanging out.

Thursday night we (Dad, Mom, Whitney, Julia, and I) headed down to Provo so that Julia could meet her Auntie Kim and Uncle Patrick. We had a delicious meal, and a delightful visit. Here are Julia and Kim:Julia adores her Uncle Patrick. She was smiling so big when he was holding her! Here are some shots of her with her new boyfriend:

Friday

Clark's plane was slightly delayed (something about not having a pilot, like that's a good excuse), but he got in around 1pm. We were both so glad to have Daddy come home! Friday afternoon and evening were spent packing up and heading back to St George so we could be here when everyone trekked to our neck of the woods for Julia's blessing. We did caravan down with the M's, and had dinner together at the Wendy's in Beaver, where I almost lost my cell phone (thank goodness for kind people in this world). And now, this post is far too long and I have a baby to feed. Stay tuned for the weekend update!

Weekly Quote 5/26/08

"We watch the season pull up its own stakes
And catch the last weekend of the last week
Before the gold and glimmer have been replaced
Another sun soaked season fades away."

This is from the song Stolen by Dashboard Confessional. I thought it was beautifully poetic. This has been a busy week, followed by an even busier weekend. I promise I'll update soon; I'm just too tired tonight. New quote up!

Weekly Quote 5/19/08

"I never planned in my imagination
A situation so heavenly.
A fairyland where no one else could enter,
And in the center just you and me."

This quote is from Julia's favorite song, "Stars Fell on Alabama." I like it. Look at this, there's a new quote up, and I'm even on vacation!

Julia's First Vacation

For those of you who live in or near the greater Salt Lake area:

Julia and I will be up there next week! Clark is going to D. C. for a business trip, and leaving us in the care of my lovely parents. Yes, we're excited. And yes, we'd like to see you! So, if you want to either meet up somewhere or stop in for a visit, just let me know. We'll be there from Monday to Friday. Oh, did I mention that we'll be staying at my parents' new house? Yeah, that's right, their gorgeous new house in Daybreak! I can't wait. So yeah, hopefully we'll get to see you soon!

4 Weeks Old Video

Yay, we have video! Poor thing has some baby acne on her cheek, but she's still pretty cute. Also, I realized that she is wearing the same thing she was wearing on the last video. I promise, we change her clothes!

4 weeks old, and no video to show it

I was going to try and post a video today, but I didn't manage to take one. That's probably because most of the day was spent either running around, feeding Julia, or trying to get Julia to calm down and sleep. Not really conducive to taking a video.

Julia decided today that she didn't want to sleep while the sun was up. You might think this is an exaggeration, but it's not. She woke up at about 8am, I fed her, and we went for a walk. She fell asleep for part of the walk, probably about 1/2 hour. Then we came home, I fed her, and we went to the park. She slept during the ride over there, so maybe about 15 minutes. Then we visited Clark at work; no sleeping was involved. Came home, fed her, and went to visit Megan. No sleep there. Came home, fed her, made dinner, Clark tried to lull her to sleep, but to no avail. I fed her, and she fell asleep for about 1/2 hour. She finally actually fell asleep at around 8pm. Yeah. About an hour and a half total of sleep over a 12 hour period. I have a feeling she'll sleep well tonight. And I have a feeling I'll sleep well, also. Actually, no, let me recant that. I'll probably wake up numerous times in the night and run into her room to make sure she's breathing. Because that's what I do. But at least I can check on her and then go back to sleep, rather than staying up for another hour feeding her.

In other news, The Office season finale was tonight. It did not disappoint. If you are the person who called at around 8:45, I'm really sorry, but I was not about to miss one second of this show. I mean, wow. Goodbye Toby, hello Holly, goodbye Ryan, hello mini-Jan, fireworks, ferris wheels, proposals, and Dwight and Angela?!! I couldn't tear myself away for a phone call. And I'll say it again, if you don't watch this show you are missing out. After a long and busy day with a somewhat fussy baby, it helped me feel cheerful again. I can't believe we have to wait a whole summer before another new episode. Stupid summer.

The Greatest Gift of All

This was my favorite Mothers' Day gift (ignore the unmade bed in the background):


Ah, I love little girl clothes!

"Dear mother, all flowers remind me of you."

My Mothers' Day was lovely. It started off with feeding Julia (shocker, I know), but then Clark made me chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Yum! Then we went to church, and only had to be there 15 minutes early because there was no choir! Not that I don't love choir, but sometimes it's hard to get there an hour early, especially now that we have a baby. Anyway, church was lovely; Julia made it through Sacrament Meeting without having a meltdown. Being the organist, I kind of have to stay through the whole meeting, so Clark is in charge during that hour. But he managed to keep her quiet, and she even slept some of the time. Then I fed her during Sunday School, and someone else held her during Relief Society. Originally Sister Stewart held her so that I could lead the practice hymn, but then Julia fell asleep on her arms, so she just held her for the rest of the meeting. It was very nice of her.

Oh, and I received a most lovely gift from the Clarkster - a Children's Songbook! Yeah, we didn't have one before, which is pretty unbelievable. But it made for the perfect Mothers' Day gift! Good job, Clark. And he also got a present for Julia - a new journal! So now she can record the events of her life, like how much she weighs and how long she slept last night (5 hours in a row!). What a sweet husband I have, eh?

And I have to take a moment to say how grateful I am for my mother. She is an amazing woman, and I love that I can call her everyday and she doesn't mind. She got me through those terrible first 3 months of pregnancy with daily encouragement. And I swear she knows everything. I love you, Mom!

On a completely different topic. . . I am a redhead, and thus I sunburn very easily. And yet about once a year, with the dawning of summer, I forget this important fact. Last Thursday I went for a walk and came back with some sunburned arms. My annual reminder that I have to wear sunscreen at all times when I'm outdoors. I'm so not ready for summer.

Weekly Quote 5/12/08

"And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face? Now I see it every day, and I know that I am the luckiest."

I felt it was appropriate to have the lyrics to our song on our anniversary. New quote up!

A little of this and a little of that

I've been thinking of blogging for a few days now, but Julia has required a lot more attention this week, so it just hasn't happened. Here are a few random things that that have been going on around here:

1. I bought some canvas grocery bags from Harmon's. They were only $1 apiece, and you get 5 cents back per bag each time you use them. I bought 4, so that means I only have to go to the store like 20 times and they will pay for themselves! But really, I bought them because it feels good to help the environment in some small way.
2. While we're talking about helping the environment, I would like to point out that we live in a world where talk of global warming is ubiquitous, and people are always looking for ways to save the planet, yet most stores are not pedestrian friendly. I decided to walk on over to Michael's the other day (since I needed to go to the store and go for a walk, why not combine them?), and was reminded yet again that it's much easier for a car to navigate their parking lot than a pedestrian. I mean, seriously, I felt like I was in the middle of the road some of the time, right in everyone's way, but there just wasn't a sidewalk to be found.
   
3. I've been pulling out all my pre-pregnancy clothes this past week. They just don't fit right. But don't you go thinking that I'm just whining about my pudgy belly and wider hips, no sir. Those things were to be expected. I just feel like all the shirts are too short. Is it possible that I got taller with pregnancy? No? Then did I just go around with short shirts before? Maybe. Or I just got so used to the gloriously long maternity shirts that it's almost impossible to go back. In any event, I might need to go shopping for some longer shirts. Oh, and it's a lot harder to wear layers when you are nursing. Also, it's not fun to wear layers when it's hot.
4. It's hot. I don't like it. We're only in May. I'm doomed.
5. I've rekindled my love affair with NPR. "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" + midnight feedings = happy Shannon.
   
6. It's Mothers' Day this weekend. Happy Mothers' Day! My first Mothers' Day as a mother. And while that is great for me, I can't help but think of all my friends without children, whether it's because of infertility, finances, or life circumstances. My heart goes out to all of you. I'll be thinking about you this Sunday. Hopefully everyone around you will be sensitive to your feelings. And I'll be praying that things will start going your way soon.
   

3 Weeks Old

This is swiftly becoming a weekly thing. Not that there is anything wrong with that :)

Julia Goes to Church

And because everyone loves pictures, here is the documentation of Julia's first week at church (I really like that dress):

Anniversary Adventures

As I mentioned earlier, Monday was our anniversary. Yay! 4 years! And as you may have noticed in the comments from that post, we had a babysitter! Matt and Cheryl were so kind to offer their services. And now they can say that they were the first to visit Julia in the hospital, and they were her first babysitter. Clark was in charge of the festivities this year. (We take turns so as not to put too much stress on any one person. We also trade off with Valentine's Day.) So we went out to dinner at Slice of Tuscany, a new pizza place here in town that I've been wanting to try for a few weeks now. They have a special consisting of 2 slices of pizza (and we're talking big slices, folks), a side salad or soup, and a fountain drink for only $5.95. And for the pizza slices, you can get cheese, pepperoni, sausage, or the pizza of the day, which happened to be Vegetarian Pizza on Monday. So here's the weird thing: Vegetarian Pizza sounded so dang good to me on Monday that I got a slice of that and a slice of pepperoni. And I LOVED it! It had mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, zucchini, eggplant, and sweet peppers, and the sauce was a ricotta cheese. I picked off the peppers, but I ate everything else, and it was so delicious. And the pepperoni was excellent as well. And I had minestrone for my soup, which was also very good. All in all, I enjoyed it.

After dinner we picked up Julia (and felt very old: "Well, time to pick up our daughter from the babysitter. . ." yikes), and came home to watch Enchanted. And I LOVED that, too! I thought it was so funny watching Amy Adams run around New York being a dingle-brain. Good work. Apparently numerous people feel that I look like her. I don't really think so. I think it's just the red hair. What do you think?

Oh, also, I got about halfway through the day before I noticed that there was a lamp in our living room. A lamp that I've been wanting for months and months. Clark got it for me and set it up before he left for work in the morning. I had no clue. It totally made my day. Well, that and the fact that it was our anniversary. Really, it was a fantastic day. Thanks, Clark, for making it so wonderful!

Weekly Quote 5/5/08

"Hey Pam. . . .
Will you wait for me one second while I tie my shoe?"

I LOVE The Office. I love Clark like Jim loves Pam.

New quote up!

Thank yous

Thank you, BYU Housing, for putting us in the same ward.

Thank you, red convertible owner, for driving your car into a moat.

Thank you, Larrie Campbell, for having a birthday.

Thank you, Charlotte Bronte, for writing Jane Eyre and giving us something to talk about (and disagree on).

Thank you, Jon Arnett, for making me want to walk in the rain with someone other than you.

Thank you, Susie Richardson, for breaking up with Clark.

Thank you, Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, for writing the Friends episode about "backups."

Thank you, Natalie Williams, for giving Clark the courage to take a chance.

Thank you, weather, for being so beautiful on May 5, 2001, and letting us play frisbee.

Thank you, Boogie House girls, for having a party.

Thank you, Amie Tuggle, for spilling the secret.

Thank you, Val Kilmer, for giving us The Saint.

Thank you, Steve and Christy, for not killing Clark when he was home past curfew.

Thank you, Correios, for sending Clark's mail and delivering my mail (or at least most of it).

Thank you, Sister Taylor, for delivering a very special package on May 5, 2002.

Thank you, all my ex-boyfriends, for not working out, despite being generally nice people.

Thank you, Guster, for reminding me that, "It'll be OK."

Thank you, Sabrina, for carpooling with me to Provo.

Thank you, Brett, for carpooling with Clark to Salt Lake.

Thank you, Salt Lake Temple, for being available on May 5, 2004.

Thank you, Ben Folds, for writing an awesome song.

But mostly, thank you, Clark, for making the decision so easy.

Because of all of you, this happened:


And I've been ridiculously happy ever since.

I love you, Clark. Happy Anniversary.

2 Weeks Old. . .

. . . and very cute.

The Big Sleep

I was thinking of blogging yesterday, but Julia had other plans. She is a newborn, right? 2 weeks old. Newborns are supposed to sleep a lot, right? Apparently Julia didn't get the memo. At least not yesterday. She seriously took one nap that lasted 1.5 hours, and two naps at .5 hours apiece. That totals 3 hours of sleep. From 7am to 11pm. And, of course, when she was awake, she wanted to be held. Which isn't such a big deal, I realize, but it was so uncharacteristic of her to be awake all day. And not just awake, but alert! I am very very very grateful that she wasn't fussy all day, just in small spurts, and it was kind of fun to watch her check out the world around her. And I am incredibly grateful that I'm not a single parent, words cannot describe the joy I felt when Clark walked in the door and held the baby for a while. Not to mention the fact that he made dinner. What a great husband!

So I was feeling all sorry for myself that she didn't sleep during the day, but then it became nighttime. I put her down at 11. At 5am I woke up and realized that she was still asleep. Actually, I woke up in a slight panic and ran into her room, chanting, "Please be alive, please be alive," in my head. Don't worry, she's alive. I would have just let her sleep, but all I could think of was the pediatrician's advice that if she hasn't eaten in 5 hours, wake her up to feed her. And here we'd gone 6! Anyway, I fed her, and then put her down again, where she slept until 7:45. I just couldn't believe that she slept for so long! It really made up for yesterday. In fact, more than made up for it. I got 6 hours of sleep in a row! I got to dream that I was doing science-y research in a lab with Jason Castro! Amazing. And no, I have no idea what that dream was all about.

On an unrelated note, Julia has a favorite song. Every time I sing it to her, she calms down and listens. Other songs just don't work as well, I've done a lot of experimenting. What is her favorite song? Stars Fell on Alabama. I thought that was kind of funny.