Blaine

Dustinn's Uncle Kevan owns a cabin on Lake Blaine in Montana. Every August, the whole family meets there and spends the week skiing and enjoying one another's company.
Unfortunately, I can't claim that I took any of these beautiful photos--Jodi did. (She's amazing.)

Dustinn's brother Kevan coming in from skiing
Elisse, Dani, myself & Cami
Dustinn's sisters + me
This is Grams & Gramps. We love them... and we can tell they love us. =)
This is Elisse being catapulted.
One of my favorite people. This is Emerson.
Emerson again.
This is Dani's handsome son. Bradshaw's one and only cousin. They are only a few months apart. No doubt that they will get into lots of mischief together.

Playing on the jumpoline.
All of Curtis & Deanna's family

El Salvador

When I walked out on the dock yesterday, my little sister Lindy was singing and strumming on the guitar. It was so beautiful and calming--so I took a little video of her.

P.S. She just started playing the guitar and the music was brand new to her. Tiene muchos talentos.

bRad & I spent the last week of July in Utah with my family:

My sister Lou helping with a yummy dinner.

and of course lots of Guitar Hero for the boys.

10 Months Old

This is what our little guy is doing:

-His scoot has become a proper crawl
-He loves to clap and scream (at the same time)
-Bradshaw always watches me shaking up his bottles before giving it to him. (I shake it up to mix the formula with the water.) The other day, Bradshaw was drinking his bottle when he stopped, looked scornfully at the bottle, shook it several times, then returned to drinking.
-Also, Bradshaw does a funny thing whenever he sees food coming. Without taking his eyes off the food, he lowers his jaw and let's his binkie drop out of his mouth.
Don't most kids pull the binkie out with their hand? We don't know whether to praise him for his efficiency, or have concern for his laziness. Regardless, it makes me laugh.
-Moving (state-to-state & hotel-to-hotel) for the past month has destroyed Bradshaw's schedule and sleep habits. At night, he falls asleep in his crib, and ALWAYS ends up in our bed.
-From the ground, he can push himself to standing
-Last but not least, Bradshaw is showing a little verbal comprehension. For example, we say "Clap!" and Bradshaw claps...(we are not modeling how to clap or gesturing anything!) If I say "Kiss!" He'll usually give me one.
He also is using a few words. When I'm preparing a bottle he'll whine "baba baba baba." Also, he will crawl over to me and say "Mahm" and wait until I look at him; then he'll smile and crawl off. We are so proud of him.

Life in the District

At Lincoln's Memorial, the walls are engraved with his speeches. Our favorite quote comes from a speech given during the Civil War:

Both [sides] read the same Bible and pray to the same God and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any man should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces but let us judge not that we be not judged.

On a lighter note, here's Bradshaw lovin the roll-away hotel crib. And...

WE SAW AIR FORCE ONE!

(Note the 3 specks in the picture.)

home SWEET home

Sweet relief! We found an apartment.

The majority of our apartment-searching took place during a heat wave. Everytime I pulled Bradshaw out of his carseat his hair and back would be soaking wet. Then he'd start crying when I had to put him back in the carseat 20 minutes later. Repeat 30 times...and this is how he began to look:

The apartment is in Northern Virginia, just a 15 minute bus ride from Dustinn's work. It's a wooded suburban community with playgrounds, pools and a fitness center. The buildings are older but bright and spacious. And (drumroll please) our family has graduated to a 2-bedroom apartment!

We move in September 1st.

Scooty-Booty

Sadly, between several rental cars and several hotels and walking all over the city, my camera has gone missing.

Since we've last posted...Bradshaw has ridden the metro dozens of times, seen thousands of fireflies, got to visit his Grandparents over 4th of July weekend, received many kisses from an older woman (toddler) at Barnes & Noble and has been to the White House, National Mall, Arlington Cemetary, Smithsonian (dinosaurs, hope diamond, Betsy Ross's flag), Iwo Jima, WW II Memorial, Abe Lincoln, etc. This Saturday, Bradshaw's taking his dad on a whirlwind tour of possible apartments in the District and Alexandria. Yeah!!

Bradshaw has also gotten the new nickname Scooty-Booty. Still no official crawling but I was telling my sister Kate that I can stand in another room and call out "Bradshaw...Bradshaw" and then Mr. Scooty-Booty himself will appear at my feet.

Forgive the quality of these, I'm using my cell:

MEXICO

I'd be remiss if I didn't post pictures from Mexico!

Bradshaw & I went to a family reunion in San Carlos in the middle of June. My grandparents have 10 children & 80 grandchildren. So...there were a lot of us.

We played on the beach, swam, collected shells, shopped in the market, went sailing & snorkeling, the cousins exercised together in the mornings and played games late into the night and (my favorite part) each night a different family hosted dinner & a program. Sunday was Father's Day and the program was a tribute to my Grandfather. Monday we did Book of Mormon charades and fireworks on the beach. Other nights included games, skits, and latin-dancing.

It was incredibly fun.

Plane People

Yesterday (Wednesday) felt surreal.
Everything was normal when we woke up. Bradshaw’s toys were strewn across the floor in the front room. Some dishes sat in the sink waiting to be washed. Dustinn opened the balcony door to let in the breeze. I took a long shower.
But at 9am the movers showed up and by mid-afternoon, the apartment was barren minus a few dust bunnies blowing across the floor.
We loaded our suitcases into a taxi and said goodbye to California.

Today (Thursday) we took a one-way flight across the country. We arrived in Washington D.C. at night. And something about the thick forest; the dark, empty roads and light reflecting off the Potomac made me feel like I’d entered the Legends of Sleepy Hollow.

Bradshaw seems a little anxious sleeping in a new place but otherwise we are settled in. Dustinn will take the metro to work and we’ll live at the hotel until we find a more permanent home.

Pull strap to tighten

9 MONTHS OLD

My friend Julie does a monthly "birthday" post about her daughter. (How cool is it that she will be able to look back and remember exactly what her baby was like at each age?)

Anyway, I think it is such a great idea! So, I'm going to start the same tradition with Bradshaw who just turned 9 months old.

BRADSHAW:

-has 4 teeth

-eats every 3 hours (breakfast, lunch, dinner + 2 bottle-snacks)

-loves to babble and make high, shrill noises

-can scoot to things he wants (his friend Kaylie taught him)

-is quick to smile and laugh

-spends about 45 minutes in the bathtub everyday

-can eat a whole apricot on his own

-unintentionally pinches really hard and pulls hair

-naps for 2 hours in the morning and 3-4 in the afternoon

-loves to lean against people, lay his head on your shoulder & give open-mouth kisses

-wiggles his whole body and slaps the ground when he gets excited

-is very ticklish (neck, chest, armpits, legs)

-loves to stand (and goes stiff as a board when you try to make him sit

-lunges out of my lap or arms for whatever he wants

-sleeps on his stomach

-reaches his arms up to you when he wants to be held

Top 7 Things...

...we will miss about Santa Monica (in no particular order)

1. Night Serenades
The most exotic birds sing in the middle of the night. I remember the first night I heard them. Around 2am Bradshaw woke up crying and hungry. After I finished feeding him, I pulled the covers up around my neck and just lay awake listening to the beautiful song in pitch dark. I felt like if I got up and checked out the window, I would be in a bungalow in the top of a jungle tree with monkeys and toucans nearby.

2. THE BEACH
You can see the ocean from the street we live on. We've tried to take advantage of its proximity by taking evening walks along the boardwalk and watching the sunset, attending weekly ward playgroup (at the beach) and running along the overlook in the morning. We will really miss it.

3. The way the palm leaves glitter
You have to walk west on Wilshire in the late afternoon and you'll see what I mean.

4. Carillon bells
Saint Monica Catholic Church is right by our house and we hear the bells everyday at noon & 6pm

5. Close proximity to EVERYTHING
There is a grocery store on the other side of our block (not a mini-mart; a huge, high-quality grocery store.) There is a post office on our block. We can walk to the dentist, endodontist, Bradshaw's pediatrician, our family practitioner, Subway, the library, 3rd Street Promenade, Old Navy, Gap, Forever 21, etc.

6. Dustinn says "The Monitor Office."
It is also within a 15-minute walk; and Dustinn has walked to and from work everyday for 8 months. It towers over Santa Monica. Nothing impedes it's view in any direction. It is right on the shore looking out over the ocean.

7. Frienda & Family
Janina & Julie are close in Westwood. Our siblings: Katy, Joe, Lindy, Elisse, Dani, Seth & Lorin are all close enough for a weekend trip. Dustinn's grandparents and his Uncle Kevan & Aunt Swan live in California.

Swimming at Kaylie's

beautiful friends =)

(Janina is 4 months pregnant!)

Hey Uncle Nelson: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Giving kisses to Tiger (sorry folks, no sound)

Always chewing on this finger

Bradshaw is not mobile--not at all--but he did manage to get himself wedged under the couch 3 times today.

Ndaba

That's Zulu for news.

We're moving to Washington D.C. during the 4th week of June.

It all started a month ago when Dustinn received an email that he was being considered for a unique case. The position was competitive, so they couldn't guarantee him the spot but just wanted to know if he would be interested. We weighed the pros and cons and prayed about it and then said, "yes." We didn't tell anyone about it because it was so uncertain. But just a few days ago, after several interviews with a variety of people, we found out they want Dustinn for the position. His first day will be June 30th and the case will last between 18 months and 2 years.

I'm REALLY going to miss being close enough for weekend visits from family and Julie & Janina (our LA family.) But we are excited to live close to Dustinn's parents and for this excellent career opportunity.

Baby's First Haircut

BEFORE & AFTER

"Awww...I don't know if I like this mom..."

"OK!OK! I love it!"

Beach Bum

The weather has been fabulous! (Not too hot or cold and the water feels great.) Dustinn said he can tell if it's been a beach day because Bradshaw'll have sand in his ears and diaper.

Everytime I pull out my chapstick he begs for some

THE TURKEY MONSTER

He loves meat & potatoes.

The other day I boiled some potato chunks in beef broth and the way he devoured them I could've sworn his mother never feeds him!