Sleep in heavenly peace

This may very well be just a phase that won't last longer than it has, but I am excited about it so I'm posting it: Azure has been sleeping for 12 hr stretches for almost 2 wks now! Sometimes even up to 14 hrs. What is the reason for this you ask? Her thumb. I witnessed this great moment by watching her wake up, fuss a tiny bit and then jerk her little thumb into her mouth and suck until she drifted off to sleep again peacefully. Then after 12 hrs of sleep I again went in to check on her and she still was sucking on her thumb sound asleep. Beautiful! On to Christmas festivities... It snowed on Saturday and was a great way to start off the Christmas season. Even though I'm not a big fan of snow it was beautiful and I was grateful for it. We set up our little 4 foot pre-lit tree and are still in the process of decorating it with ornaments. We have been listening to Christmas music and Azure enjoys dancing around with me in the kitchen while I sing to her.
Other things we're doing to get ready for Christmas: We are taking family Christmas pictures this week, going to see A Christmas Carol with friends, participate in Angel Tree, sing and listen to the Hallelujah Chorus at our stake Christmas fireside, read scriptures about the Savior's birth "under" the Christmas tree, drive around the south, spend time with family and friends, and probably other stuff I can't remember right now.

As I've mentioned before, every night before bed Charles and I sing hymns to Azure. We've started singing Christmas hymns and the other night while singing Away in a manger my heart was touched at the humility of our Savior. As we sang the words "no crib for his bed" while looking at Azure in her cozy crib I was filled with gratitude for the worldly possessions we have.
"The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay", how great of the God of this universe to condescend below all things and sleep on hay. "Stay by my cradle till morning is nigh". And I love the 3rd verse: "Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me I pray. Bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there." How grateful we are this Christmas to have a beautiful daughter, truly a gift from God, who teaches us so much about the pure love of Christ.

Excuse me sir, your daughter's nose is bleeding

If you have read this blog and asked yourself, "what is that thing on Azure's lip?" don't worry, you are not alone. Whatever the outing may be, we are regularly confronted with persons donning facial expressions of concern and horror, who empathetically quote the title of this post verbatim. Aparently, the public wants to know just what is up with this child's nose. At this very moment, your question will be fully and entirely answered. It is a hemangioma. Some people call it a strawberry. Others a mango. Still others call it a bad omen. I prefer to call it a कारण-कब पाइप. Whatever you want to call it, just don't call it a bloody nose. The social safety net has struck again and we are pleased to know that if we ever needed assistance countering our daughter's epistaxis, it would abound. To the world and perhaps somewhat reassuringly to ourselves, we once again assert: Azure does not have a bloody nose.

Rolley Polley

Whenever we put Azure down on a blanket or under her playgym these days it only takes a few minutes before she rolls onto her tummy and then returns to her back.

For the past month now whenever I go to get her out of her crib after a nap or in the morning, I find her exactly opposite of how I put her down. Here are some of her favorite positions:

1) Her feet are at the headboard

2) On her side, curled up against the bumper

3) On her tummy, feet at the headboard

4) Head in corner, laying diagonally

Maybe Azure gets her flexibility from me; I did lots of stretching exercises with her in the womb. I took a flexibility class at BYU my last semester (almost 3 yrs ago) and it was probably one of my favorite classes ever. We got to take power naps in class! It was there that I was introduced to Pilates and have been a huge fan since. I currently go to Pilates classes once a week at the gym after we put Azure to bed. Sometimes Charles is alarmed at some of my stretching techniques!

Asleep in the swing. I love those lips!

This is my new favorite picture! Who needs turkey? This plastic bee is a delicious treat!

Morning exercises

Pie Plate Eyes

Happy Trails Ahead!

Last week was exciting for us. Charles has been offered 3 interviews for Pharmacy School in FL, GA and NC! And what's even more exciting is that I get to go along with him for 2 of them and accompany him on a road trip through the south. And I get to see my best friend Evelyn in NC too!
Azure news: we gave her a sippy cup for the first time yesterday since she still won't take a bottle, but she didn't quite understand how it worked. We also continue to experiment with rice cereal, but again, she just doesn't grasp the concept of swallowing. She'll be 5 months on Wednesday and continues to grow, mostly vertically, not so much horizontally which is fine I guess, she's long and lean, what girl wouldn't like to be long and lean?
Azure likes to pull down her headbands over her eyes like a bandit. This happens on a regular basis.

Provo Canyon Weenie Roast 2007

Friday night we had a bonfire up Provo Canyon that was long overdue. We used to do it quite frequently but haven't for over a year now. Bonfires are great! And so is Provo Canyon. We have some great memories there including our first date and engagement. Azure loved watching the fire and was mesmerized by it for most of the night. Of course we had hot dogs and S'mores. We invited some friends from our old wards since we now have 2 of them which we are referring to as our "old, old, ward" and our "old ward". Thanks to all who came, it was fun!

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of our friends, just the fire!

An awesome surprise!

I helped out with the Economic Self-Reliance Conference on BYU campus on Thursday. My previous job (before becoming a full-time mother) gave me the opportunity to meet lots of amazing people in the non-profit world. I was unaware who was speaking at the conference this year but browsed the program to see who I knew and had heard speak before. Imagine my intense shock and excitement to see the name of a man from La Paz, Bolivia, one of my favorite people from my mission, as a keynote speaker!

I immediately rushed through the building to see if I could find him. He was just as surprised to see me! It has been almost 5 years since I last saw him. He said he was planning on contacting me that day to see if I was still in UT. What a crazy coincidence! I called Charles to tell him the exciting news and he came after work to meet him. The Lord is amazing to have planned all that out so that we could see eachother again!

You can see my bangs in this pic :)

5 new things

Some new things for us this week:

1) Azure is becoming more aware of her voice and has begun screeching like a bird of prey.

2) I got bangs cut yesterday for the first time since 7th grade.

3) Charles has finished his job shadow at the pharmacy in the hospital where he was relieved to observe pharmacists who don't work at Wal-Mart.

4) We found out today that we have been going to the wrong ward for the past 2 months. Ha!

5) We have switched to using ground turkey instead of beef and pork.