Erika tagged me.

I skipped just a few. =)


Where were you born? Santa Clara (California)
Middle name? My given name is Valery Lynn; it’s a combination of my two Grandmother’s names, Valene + Marylynn. Dustinn jokes that when we have a daughter, we should combine our mothers’ names (Bonnie + Deanna = Bonna).
Nicknames? Sheesh, my family is big into nicknames. Of course I get “Valerina.” “Veal” is the name my dad uses to call me to family prayer (usually with little echoes & snickering behind him.) I’m not sure where the name came from; maybe it’s the southern version of Val. I’ve also been called “Molasses” because supposedly I dawdle and get distracted easily.
Are you taller than your mother or father? Tête-à-tête with my mom; at my dad’s shoulders.
Do you cry often during movies?
Favorite color? Blue
Favorite foods? Chicken & chocolate (separately)
Favorite beverage? Water
Favorite cold cereal? Strawberry Frosted Mini Wheats
Favorite smells? Fresh laundry, cologne in moderation
Favorite time of day?
Favorite make-up products? No clue. As long as my skin is good, I only use mascara & chapstick.
How many pillows do you sleep with?
Do you play an instrument? Sadly, no. However, Dustinn makes up for it by playing many instruments.
Have you ever been skinny dipping? Yes
Did you do any sports in High School? Track & Field
What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
What is your favorite article of clothing?
What is your dream vacation?
What was your first impression of your spouse? I distinctly remember the first time I met him. Tall, slim, easy-going (actually, wearing his Colleyville Heritage shirt). I found it entertaining that he blatantly kept redirecting the group conversation to be about me.
If you could be an animal, what would you be?
What is your favorite "me-time" activity? Hmmm…probably, group classes at the gym.
Favorite TV shows? The Writer’s Strike fizzled this pleasure. It was Chuck.
What is your dream car?
What is one of your weaknesses?
What do you fix for dinner when there's nothing to fix? I make burritos or egg-on-bread.
If you could live in a different decade/era which one would it be?
What is the emotion you feel the most?
Do you consider yourself outgoing? I think so. I am energized by meeting new people. I agree whole-heartedly with Emerson that "Every man I meet is my superior in some way" and I enjoy learning from them.
What is something you are constantly working on? cleaning the apt./washing dishes
Any hidden talents? nope
What is a word or phrase you overuse? probably "I"
What is the best thing that happened to you this year? Bradshaw =)
What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? Moving days after the cesarean, trying to unpack boxes, clean, find a fridge, get food, learn to breastfeed & care for a newborn while extremely emotional, sleep-deprived and in pain....all while my husband was across the country. (Fortunately, my mom was with me.)
What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year?

I tag my cousin Laurel, Dustinn, Elisse & Janina.

Who Says Quack?

Bradshaw is uninterested in his books, except Who Says Quack?
For whatever reason, when I read this book to him, he is engrossed. His eyes never leave the pages. (It's like you can see the cogs turning.)
So today we took a little trip to see the ducks at The Water Gardens (sounds exotic eh? It's just a business complex...but with DUCKS!)

And it was a hit! This was the most I got him to look away from the action.

I also had an usual experience. I said to myself, "Look at the beautiful mallard." Then I realized, "How on earth do I know what type of duck that is?" (Albeit a common duck...I just don't know these things.)

Instantly, I was filled with respect and admiration for my dad. All growing up (in the Blue Hills, High Uintahs, Big Cottonwood Canyon, on the ranch) my dad would quiz us kids about the name of a plant or insect, or challenge us to spot a particular animal. My grandmother said, when my dad was a little boy, he'd find a dead mouse and pick it up and stroke it and keep it in his pocket. She said he'd always have a frog or something with him. When we were little kids, he lifted up some boards under one of the chicken coops and showed us a row of little pink baby mice, all nestled together.

I even remember when one of our cats caught a little mouse outside and I rescued it and turned my fisher price kitchen into the mouse's mansion (sorry Mom! I know I shouldn't have brought it inside! It was the only one I promise.) Anyway, I digress. My point: my dad's innate nurturing of nature has trickled down. Because of my dad, not only can we recognize a few things but, more importantly, we (kids) have a deep reverence for the nature around us.

Play time!

This boy really loves his playmate Kaylie!

Today is Deanna's (Dustinn's mom's) birthday!

A birthday tradition (while gathered around the cake) is to go around the room and each person says one reason why they love the birthday boy/birthday girl.

Since we can't be with you in New Jersey, we'd still like to each share one (of the many) reasons we love you.

Dustinn: "I love my Mum because she'd checked me out of school to hang out."

Valery: "I love Deanna because raised such a good son."

Bradshaw: "I love my grandma because she flew here to visit me and love me."

Cry for Help

I desperately need sleep.

Bradshaw used to sleep through the night really well. I don't know what has happened since that point. (Perhaps I've unconsciously taught him bad sleep habits?) Here's a typical night:

8pm I lay Bradshaw down in his crib and he goes to sleep
11/11:30 Dustinn and I go to sleep (he works a lot of hours...this is when we see each other)
2am [it begins] Bradshaw's binkie falls out of his mouth. In his sleep, he immediately panics; [queue his desperate cry.] I jump up and put his binkie back in.* This repeats every 2-15 minutes until 4am.
4am-5am Bradshaw sleeps normally
5am He's starving and awake for the day.

*If I remain in bed (i.e. do not replace the binkie) his cry escalates until he is wide awake and inconsolable. The times I have tried this it seems like the whole building is also wide awake (well, minus Dustinn, who is skilled at getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep 364 days a year. Quite a blessing so we can pay rent.)

Bradshaw has been on Babywise's sleep method for a while. He follows it perfectly during the day.
Any advice?

ADDENDUM:
I'm horrified I sound like such a grumpy complainer! I feel SOOOOOOO lucky to have Bradshaw. He (and Dustinn) make my life wonderful. He is more than worth every sleepless night. ...But I do think there are things I could do to help him (and me!) sleep better. So many of you are so wise. I love advice. There are priceless pieces of wisdom that I never knew until asking. When we moved to this apartment I asked my mom some cooking, cleaning and budgeting questions. Her answer were magical--options I didn't know existed. My-mother-in-law explained how to combine coupons with weekly ads and we gotten free food/toiletries ever since.
Share your wisdom!

Around the town

Of course, we had to show Joe, Katy & Lindy Santa Monica! It's our home.

(I wish I knew what they were talking about here...) Performers on the 3rd Street Promenade
We saw a very moving anti-war (Afganistan) demonstration

Hanging Around Home

And of course we spent a lot of time adoring Bradshaw, playing games and eating good food (Joe made us amazing carribean steaks. yum!)

He's just SO fast! (It really hurts when he grabs your hair.)
(Showing off his 6-pack)

Hollywood Walk of Fame

We saw Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dr. Seuss, George Burns, etc. Of course, I had to take a picture with my first love (back in the days of Grease) John Travolta.

Gross samples
Grauman's Chinese Theatre (all the celebrity handprints, foot prints etc.)
Home of the Oscars

Chinatown

Katy, Joe & Lindy came from Utah to visit us over President's Day weekend (I took a bizillion pictures so there will be several posts). Did you know LA has Chinatown, Koreatown, Fillipinotown, Thaitown, etc?

The girls 女孩

The boys 男孩

Ho Tai will grant your wish.
他祝愿了什么?

Just playing around....

The dastardly deed: Puke on Face

The guilty culprit

Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow

Happy Valentines Day!

On a serious note, my cousin has a baby boy who is a little over a year old. He was born without being able to hear. He just received a cochlear transplant. After the surgery, his sweet mother held him and softly whispered to him--and he began screaming!! The family celebrated all evening playing the piano and singing to their little guy. Dustinn and I are so happy for this wonderful family that is deserving of every blessing.

Living the High Life

Once a year, the finest restaurants in LA offer 3-course menus at significantly discounted prices as a thank-you to the city. Dustinn and I thought we would take advantage of this and went last Friday. The restaurant we chose was on the 17th floor of a fancy hotel and overlooked the city (our table was the second from the left.) It was so romantic. (Bradshaw was very cooperative and slept beside us in his carrier.) For the main course, Dustinn got lobster and I got steak. We're definitely going to do this again next year!

Scream II

My brother & sisters are coming to visit this weekend and I've tried to warn them that Bradshaw has become very audible lately:

The video makes it look like he is cantankerous, but he is still sweet.

Tagged

Cyndi & Julie tagged me. This one is about my husband.

What is his name? Dustinn Michael Jackson (named before Michael Jackson became infamous)
How long did you date? 1 year 3 months
How old is he? 26
How old are you? 26
Who eats more sweets? Me…definitely. To my ruin, I’m fueled by sugar.
Who said I love you first? Dustinn
Who can sing better? Dustinn has an amazing voice! When we were dating, he learned several songs on the guitar to sing to me. Oh, and when we found out we were pregnant he surprised me with Danny’s Song.
Who is smarter? Dustinn =). This was a prerequisite for the person I married.
Who does the laundry? Mostly me; sometimes Dustinn. He feels badly when I do it because it’s difficult to lock up and get there carrying the baby, baskets, soap, etc.
Who does the dishes? Hehehe we don’t have a dishwasher but I enjoy cooking so we always have plenty of dishes to be washed. Dustinn works really long hours but when he can he does them.
Who pays the bills? I pay rent & tithing and Dustinn pays cell phone, electricity, and Internet (because I’m unreasonable about these costs.)
His guilty pleasure? He devours ESPN.com
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Weird question…I sleep on the right side to be next to the crib.
Who mows the lawn? In my dreams we have a little house and a yard…but nothing to mow for now.
Besides you, who is his best friend? His mum
Who cooks dinner? Me! I like to. Our latest obsession is various quiches.
Who is more stubborn? It’s a tie. We’re both pretty stubborn.
Who kissed who first? Dustinn kissed me first. I had a boyfriend at the time—so it was really bold of him. But he had told me previously that if I didn’t see myself with this other guy he wanted a chance (which was very romantic to me.)
Who asked who out first? Dustinn asked me out right after I met him. Also bold.
Who has more siblings? I have 7. He has 4.
Who wears the pants? We both have things we are controlling about; but I would say Dustinn wears the pants because he ultimately takes care of Bradshaw & I.
What is your favorite thing about him? I can be 100% myself around him. I don’t have to fear that he’ll stop loving me when I’m bratty. When I tell him my worries (no matter how many times I’ve told him the same thing before) he doesn’t brush them off but he listens and understands. Magically, he makes better. It’s these moments that I am completely, crazily, girlishly in love with him.

I tag Erika, Dani, Angie, Deanna, & Aya

I heart craigslist

I'm addicted to skimming the free section in craigslist. I pick out what furniture I would get if I had a truck...and apartment space. (What's better than free?) Yesterday, I saw a posting for a high chair. Dustinn & I were planning on getting one for Bradshaw anyway and the owner lived only a few minutes from us. Perfect.
However, it was the epitome of "saving pennies to lose dollars" because on the way to get it our car broke down. =(
But the high chair's a hit! Today Bradshaw sat in it for over an hour playing:

Super Tuesday

I really don't like to draw attention to myself, but this is a worthy cause.

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Since Californians are voting in the primaries today, Bradshaw and I went out walking all over Santa Monica yesterday.

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I nervously anticipated that someone would ask me about an issue I am not familiar with...or at least ask why I think Mitt Romney should be our next president...but everyone just smiled at us (or maybe at Bradshaw, who dutifully filling his role, was smiling and making puppy-dog eyes.)

Teeny Fingerprints

Mid-diaper change, Bradshaw pulled Dustinn's glasses right off. Dustinn's been dreading this day...it was hIlariOUS!