Sunny Days, Sweeping the Clouds Away

We took the kids to the Sesame Street exhibit at the Gateway. Not worth the money, but a cute picture nonetheless. It's always been my dream to go on the set of Sesame Street in NY so if anyone knows how I can do that, let me know!! I don't think I have any friends with special connections, but who knows!!

Potty Training

So, Alex is in the middle of potty training which is going very well I must say. I have very mixed feelings about all of it though. There is this side of me (the much larger side) that is letting a huge sigh of relief because of the hundreds of dollars spent on diapers and wipes. Also my nose is relieved not to have to endure any more changings! Then there is this other side of me that is feeling a bit melancholy at the idea of my baby not being a baby anymore. See, we are not planning to adopt any more kids so Alex is my baby. I don't think it matters if you have 2 kids or 20, the youngest will always be momma's baby. The diaper seems to be the final stage of a baby before they cross over to being a big kid. First they ditch the pacifier (or at least I think they should!) then goes the bottles, then the last thing are the diapers. Pretty soon he'll be in a big boy bed and out of his crib too. I went through all of this with Samantha but it's really getting to me more with Alex. It's both a celebration and a mourning for me. Pretty much just a celebration for Andy! We love you baby Alex just like we're going to love big boy Alex!

I've been trying so hard.....

To not let the public know what nerds we are, and in 2 little posts Andy screamed it out to the world!!! "We are nerds! We have Star Wars figurines and know what an RSS reader is!!! Ridicule us! We welcome it!". Thanks a lot babe. ;-)

Ignoring my homework

I started an MBA at the Thunderbird School for Global Management in January. We are forbidden from referring to it as an on-line program - our program is "on-demand". Well, as on-demand as their servers will allow. Everything's been running slooooowly for a few days. Anyways, I'm currently watching a video ONLINE (so there!) on the World Trade Organization, and just like in class, my mind is wandering, and I find myself here writing on the blog. In all fairness, we spent a week in January on campus in Arizona, where we were in class 12 hours a day, and we already had this lecture, but I guess I should be paying more attention to it...

Which is why I'm about to post this link. Kristi has her list of her favorite things down below. My favorite things will make random appearances in my posts. Kristi loves a website called Outblush. Ladies, if you haven't already, you'll want to check it out. Guys, if you know how, you'll want to re-route your browsers so that URL points into space, as it's sure to cost you a lot of money. However, it's very good check out whenever you need to buy a gift. If you can get over the stupidly expensive items, there are a few things on there she's sure to love. Just don't surf the site at work, because it's very pink, and you will get looks.

I think I said I was going to post a link, and got sidetracked. Just like while watching my video. I can't even focus on wasting time! Anyways, the link is a sister site (brother site?) to Outblush called Uncrate. This thing is even worse for giving you ways to waste your money - $500K watch anyone? But occasionally they come up with a real winner like this one. Being a true geek, I had one of these things long before these guys posted about it, but it prompted me to go buy a new one today. I wanted a Boba Fett to complement the Han Solo (which is weak, but was the only one they had when I bought it), but no dice. Toys R Us only had 4 of them, and Darth Vader was the best of the bunch. I'm really looking forward to the Indiana Jones collection coming out to ride the coat tails of this year's movie (don't miss the awesome trailer). Kristi wants Mola Ram with the awesome flaming heart accessory. Is there any wonder why I love her?

Heeere's Andy

Hi everyone - I totally don't know most of the people that read this site. I'm Andy, the one that's usually behind the camera so I don't have to be in front of it. Kristi has asked me to contribute to this thing, so I'll see if I can't do better with that in the future. In the short term, I'll be making some nerdy enhancements to the site. The first one is already there - the big RSS icon on the left (you have to scroll down). If you right click on that and choose Copy Link Location, you can paste it into your RSS reader and get notified whenever there's a new post. If you still insist on using Internet Explorer, you can right click and choose Copy Shortcut and paste that into your reader. Then you can click here to get your new browser.

A Great Weekend

Our fun weekend started off on Friday because Andy had the day off. He didn't have President's Day off since he was flying to Philly for work so he took Friday off instead. We got going early to get my car up to the Honda dealer by 9 am for a 10K mile check-up and then took Andy's car up to Ruth's Diner for breakfast. Now, if you live in Utah and have never experienced Ruth's Diner, you're really missing out. They have the best biscuits in the entire world!! Possibly one of the best things I've ever eaten. All the other food was delicious as well and the kids ate great which always makes a meal out even more fun. We then took the kids to the children's museum at the Gateway which was showing a special Sesame Street exhibit on the body. It wasn't quite as cool as we expected and was just expensive! The kids weren't that entertained by it but had fun in the rest of the museum. It got past nap-time so we picked up the car and rushed home for naps.

Saturday we did a little shopping at a fantastic place called Steve and Barry's. I'm a little hesitant to tell everyone about this store but it's too good to not share. EVERYTHING IN THE STORE IS $8.98!!! Now that is with a "sale" going on right now, but I think in general nothing is usually over $15 or $20. Sarah Jessica Parker has a clothing line sold here as does Venus Williams. I bought 4 pairs of pants, a jacket and a shirt. Andy got 2 shirts and a pair of pants. We also bought the kids a scarf each and our total bill was $92! It was a lot of fun. On our way home we stopped by a new frozen yogurt place called Red Mango. I got the Fruity Pebbles with Raspberries. It was delicious!

Sunday night we FINALLY had our neighbors over for dinner. It's only taken us 16 months. They are a very busy, young married couple with no kids. We had a great time getting to know them and it turns out that we all get along just lovely. The kids adored them as well and showed off in their usual fashion. We now have plans to have them over to play games or to play the Wii. It's always nice to find new friends.

We posted this video on YouTube almost a year ago and thought we'd post it here for those who haven't seen it. Yes, Samantha did cry after she fell but as soon as I showed her the video of herself singing and dancing she laughed it off. Enjoy!!

This afternoon Samantha and Alex were fighting (surprise, surprise) as we were getting ready to leave for IKEA. I believe Samantha hit Alex for doing something he shouldn't have, so Alex pushed her. This really upset Samantha and she was on the verge of crying when she stomped into the other room huffing and puffing and said "Alex, you're a bad ol' putty tat". I sense they're watching too much Looney Toons! But I don't care, I cracked up and thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever heard.

With Andy gone as much as he has been lately I try to think of the positive things about him being gone.

1. The house stays much cleaner. Not sure why. He must be a dirty boy!
2. I get to eat cereal for dinner every night without Andy getting mad at me.
3. I get to cry out loud at whatever commercial or episode of Supernanny that I want.
4. KING SIZE BED......ALL TO MYSELF!!!!!!

It's still better to have him home though. I miss you baby! See you soon!!

We got these great chairs for the kids at IKEA for Valentines Day. I love that they are the kids perfect size and they look good in the house. It's like we have 2 stylish dwarves living in the house! Good ol' IKEA.

Have any of you seen my sweet baby Alex? Because in his place seems to be an obnoxious, devilish 2 year-old who defies anything and everything his momma says! I miss the old Alex. I hope he comes back to me some day.

Both kids are up in their beds screaming their heads off because they need naps so badly, but don't want to take them. I love being a parent! I wish I could put up an audio clip for you all to hear the joyous sounds of a typical day in the Higham house.

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Andy will be super happy to hear this since we are looking to move to London when he finishes MBA school. Rock on London!

The kids and I were just watching a Looney Tunes cartoon before bed. One where Sylvester the cat fell into a fire after a failed attempt of eating Tweety Bird. With his behind smoldering Samantha laughed and exclaimed, "He's grilled like a hot dog!". Funniest kid I know!!

Yesterday as I was getting Samantha ready for church she said "Mom, I'm going to try not to get sick in Primary today". It seems about every time we take her to Primary she develops a cold a couple of days later. She then misses the following week of church and then the next week the cycle begins again. I wash her hands and do the best that I can to prevent the sickness that seems to live in our house, but if idiot parents keep bringing their sick kids to church we will never get over these colds. Please people, if you or your kids are sick, STAY HOME!!

We returned a few days ago from a week long trip to San Francisco. Andy had to do business there and so we decided to tag along and enjoy the free hotel and rental car (hey, he had to get them for work anyways). Andy's family still lives there so we enjoyed some time with them and our friends the Richards. Matt was even kind enough to take me on a date while Andy stayed in the hotel with the kids and did homework. Thanks Matt! Brandon and Claire invited us to dinner at their house one night and the kids played so well together and had a great time. Abby, Brandon and Claire's adorable 5 year-old loved Samantha and came up with all sorts of fun things for them to pretend. She even told me that Samantha "is so pretty and looks just like an angel". I couldn't agree more! Aunt Cathy was a saint and took us somewhere fun everyday to get us out of the hotel and having fun. We went to a trampoline place one day and I've never seen Alex so happy in my life! That kid had a smile on his face the entire hour. Samantha was a little more hesitant and only really jumped around and had fun when the male worker watching over the place looked at her and paid attention to her. She loves the attention of males. Yes, we are in serious trouble!!
We went into the city on Saturday with Andy and enjoyed the chill and rain. I guess that's what winter in SF is like. Still, MUCH better than winter in Utah. The kids loved the sea lions.
Another afternoon we went to the beach with Cathy and Julie and let the kids play in the sand. It was windy and cold but it didn't seem to stop them from having fun. We don't make it to the beach much so I think they just take every opportunity to soak it in. I prefer my beach with a lot of sun, but I try not to be picky.
Although the kids got a slight cold on the trip we still had a nice time. The hot tub at the pool was a favorite and they both did great on the flights. Andy is taking every opportunity possible to get the kids to be good travelers since he has his sights set on a family trip to Brazil in 2014 for the World Cup. Start saving your pennies Andy!

3 YEARS! 3 years since the last post. Now that's just funny! Life does get a bit busy with moving a couple of times and having a couple of kids. We used to be the only people I knew with a "blog". In fact, we were probably the only people who knew what a blog was. And now everyone has one and I think it's a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. I enjoy prying into everyone's lives so hopefully people will enjoy a peek at ours. I'm sure Andy will post about school (he's in MBA school), work, travel and food. I'll mostly post about Samantha and Alex and our fun-filled days at home together.

Is anybody surprised at how long it's been since we've written in our blog? I'm certainly not. Instead of silly excuses, let's just cut to the highlights, shall we?

Looks like the last time I wrote was in early February. So we'll pick up from there.

On 11 February 2005, we went to court in Provo, UT to finalize Samantha's adoption. It was an amazing experience. The judge was very kind and offered us some sound advice. The next day we had Samantha sealed to us for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Sadly, the sealer spent most of his time telling us about the geography of the temple instead of potentially talking about the importance of the ordinance he was about to perform, but his priesthood authority was what really counted I guess. I blessed her the next day in Church, and remarkably she didn't cry at all during the blessing.


Later on in February we went to the USS Intrepid museum, which wasn't nearly as impressive as we'd hoped. It was cool to see the inside of a Concorde though - man those things are tiny inside! And it was funny to walk through Times Square on a Saturday afternoon, with Samantha completely passed out. What I wouldn't give for her to be able to do that now..... We also went up to Boston for a weekend. I had to go up for work, so Kristi and Sam tagged along for the drive up. We had a good time walking around, but MAN was it cold. I guess that's what we get for going to Boston in February. The best part of the trip was that ESP picked up the tab for the very nice Westin Copley in Back Bay, and we had a very high room for free! Samantha had her first pool experience, and again she exceeded expectations by not crying one little bit. On the way home, we drove through Newport, RI to check out the fancy mansions, and Kristi drove home from there. She was kind enough to take us on a short detour through the Bronx, but it was just a quickie, and we didn't even get shot at! Wow, February was a busy month!

I don't remember too much that happened in March. We went to the Auto show, which was pretty cool, but that was about it. Or at least, that's the only place where we took pictures. Samantha is crawling now - not sure if she started that before or not. There are plenty of cute pictures from March, so I'll just post some of those for your enjoyment.

Messy Eater

Bath Time

Samantha likes to play a head butt game with Mommy

The famous old man face

In April we flew back to UT for Kristi's birthday and a Loveridge family trip down to Moab. We had a good time hanging out and hiking around Arches Nat'l Park.

May was a big month. We moved from Jersey City down to Woodbridge. The move was quite a process. For the week leading up to the big day, I hauled down one or 2 loads every night in the Brentmeister General. Then on Saturday, Maile came and took Samantha, and we loaded up the truck. We had some help from the missionaries, one of the guys in the ward, and 3 of the Young Men. Unfortunately, those Young Men were the only ones that were able to come down to Woodbridge and help us unload. One of them was a champion though, and really made up for the other 2 not being too much help. The new apartment is amazing - 2 whole bedrooms! We don't have to lock ourselves in the bedroom when Samantha goes to sleep! Samantha took to the new arrangment right away, and now sleeps 12-14 hours/night. Yes, we do love that, thank you very much. We also can actually cook dinner for ourselves, and speak in a normal tone of voice. It's like a whole new world has been opened to us.

Maybe I can get back in the swing of this...

Is anyone surprised that I've started a few entries, only not to post? Me either.

We've been a little busy. Samantha can be quite a little handful. But we love that handful OH SO MUCH! Lots has gone on with her recently. She rolls over like a champ now. She mostly sleeps through the night (usually wakes once to feed and once to cry). She has her first 2 teeth, which are absolutely adorable. She has brought so much joy and love to our home.

Hopefully one of these days I'll get together a bunch of pictures, and those will jog enough of my memory to put together a good long post.

Andy
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Sent from my Treo

Well Andy wasn't kidding in his last blog about us being parents!! 4 days after he wrote that blog our little girl, Samantha Janell, was born. First of all....she wasn't supposed to be born for another 2 weeks. Second of all...she wasn't supposed to be a she at all! Sara had an ultrasound that indicated a baby boy! That technician needs to be fired! Thursday the 29th of July I got a call around 5 pm from Sara telling me that I was a mom! I was in complete shock and insisted that she was kidding and playing a cruel joke on me. Her story was just too unbelievable....an early baby, a girl instead of a boy, and she delivered in her bathroom at home!!! Come to find out, she wasn't kidding! She gave birth at home around 11.30 am and she and baby Sam were taken to the hospital by fire truck! Our little girl sure has a great story to tell. She was 9 lbs 5 oz and our little chunk is now 2 months old and 11 lbs 8 oz!!!
Andy and I flew to Utah the next morning and drove straight from the airport to the hospital to meet Sara and Samantha. Sara was so sweet and handled the whole situation so well. Samantha was a beautiful baby that didn't look like a newborn! She never looked like a newborn but rather a month old baby! We suspect she wasn't in fact early, but late in her arrival. There were some complications simply from timing since all of our paperwork hadn't been approved yet. We weren't going to be able to take Samantha home with us right away or even take custody of her until some things were done. Our amazing lawyer stepped in and managed to get a judge to sign an order on a Friday afternoon to allow us to take custody of her for the time being. We were very relieved and grateful. We didn't want to stay in a foster home with people we didn't know as we began our parenting journey. We felt much better that we were going to my parent's home to stay until all of the other paperwork was done. We weren't sure how long that was going to take and it ended up taking a lot longer than we thought. Poor Andy couldn't stay in Utah with us forever so he had to go home to work which made all of us sad. He was able to come back for a weekend but sadly missed the majority of his baby's first month of life. I was in Utah for a whole month before being able to fly home to New Jersey with Samantha. It was a long wait, but as I look back I'm so grateful for the help that my mom and sisters gave me. And so, Samantha and I flew home August 27th.
Those are the main details of how we became parents. There was a lot more involved and Andy may add some things into it, but now I'll just jot down some of my feelings about it all. We weren't expecting to be parents so quickly and while I thought I was ready for it....I don't think you can ever be totally ready for the life-changing event that it is. You suddenly forget all about yourself and you forget your needs and your whole life is wrapped up into this little, pooping, crying, eating, fussing, adorable infant. I had a rough first couple of days coming to terms with the whole adoption. I felt so horrible for Sara. I felt like I had stolen something from her. She never gave me any indication that she felt that way, but that's how I felt. I broke down one night and so I received a blessing from Andy with the help of my dad. I felt a lot better after that. I still thought of Sara everyday and I still do. She is an amazing girl.