Update

The Two-Hour Flight:
Hazel did better than expected. I packed a bag full of crafts and new toys, which kept her happily occupied most of the time. And the lady at the check-in desk did us a huge favor by placing us in the bulkhead next to the ONLY empty seat in the entire plane. It was awesome to have that extra space to spread out onto. Haz happily strung pasta on pipe cleaners, squished playdough, investigated a new sticker book, and was pumped full of snacks. There was a half hour in the middle where she started to lose it, but she calmed down when she was standing on my lap looking back at all the people on the plane, as I quietly sang "Old McDonald" into her ear. Really, she was a champ. Thank goodness for direct flights, though.

The Wedding:
Scott and Caprice are now happily wed. I'm so glad I got to go. You wouldn't know it by the contents of my camera, though. I took not a darned picture of anything but Hazel. My sister Emily did take a few shots of our little family, however, and I am thoroughly pleased to have an up-to-date family photo. (Check out the header.) But anyway, it was fun to see them so completely mesmerized with each other. So cute!

Todd:
Todd was in Alabama up until the day before the wedding. He asked for a layover in Salt Lake on his flight back to Cali, and hopped off. He met us at the hotel we stayed at Friday night. (My parents live in Logan, the reception Friday night was in Payson, and events started in Salt Lake at 8:30 Saturday morning, so we booked a couple rooms at a hotel a block away from the temple and had a big family sleepover.) Hazel was [almost] as excited as me to have Todd back.

Todd caught the same flight back to San Jose that Hazel and I were on, and boggled my mind by getting Hazel to fall asleep in his arms a few minutes before we loaded the plane. Hazel napped in his arms for over half the flight, which really helped things go better.

Random:
Todd came back from Redbox a couple nights ago with "New Moon." I know I'm totally behind on this, but I've got to say it anyway. Edward's chest disgusted me. Maybe it was the stark contrast to buff, tan Jacob, but when Edward took his shirt off to step out onto the Italian plaza and reveal himself as a vampire, I recoiled at his patchy hair, his super white/gray skin, and his complete lack of muscles. How could Bella choose him over Jacob?

Random Thoughts When I Should Be in Bed

Hazel is obsessed with THIS song. (There weren't any super sweet videos on youtube, so sorry you have to bear with the American Idol footage.)Every time it plays on our iTunes playlist, she bounces around and begs me to pick her up to dance. She seriously gets stoked when she hears it. It's darn cute.

I'm gearing up for a trip to Utah for my brother Scott's wedding. I'm super excited for him and his fiancee Caprice! And it will be a blast to get together with my family, especially my sister Emily who I haven't seen in nearly a year. But I am scared of the plane ride with the monkey. Hazel's always been an awesome traveler, but last time we were on a plane she could barely walk, and now she practically does flips off the walls. Pray for me on Tuesday!

Todd's in Alabama for two weeks for more military training. I'm tired of not living with my husband. It's so old. Hazel asks where he is every day and it breaks my heart. I haven't ever sat down to crunch numbers, but he's already been gone one year out of five. Then there have been weekends every month, weeks here and there, and even a couple stretches where we've been apart months at a time. I bet we've been together about 7 out of every 10 days since we've been married. Not cool. I demand more man time!

I made ginger cookies tonight and only ate 6. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. ;) Good luck making it through the rest of the weekend without gaining a few pounds!

I'm trying to read "The Ropemaker." It was recommended. I feel weird about it. I've had it over a week and am less than halfway through, so that's already a terrible sign. I like it when I open it, but I never want to open it. I'm debating whether or not it would be worth bringing to Utah, or even keeping. Should I just return it to the library? I have another book on the hold shelf.

Okay, time to sleep.

The Latest Trick

Hazel has started a little skip and a jump move, appropriately debuted amongst puddles after the rain yesterday. She displayed her new skill repeatedly today, indoors and out. She is delighted with the air she can catch (and the reaction I give her, I am sure!). It's pretty amazing to think that this time last year we were cheering her on as she mastered rolling over.

Overstimulation Equals Money Saved, Not Spent

I went to the mall last night and hated it.

Why am I surprised? Every time I go to the mall I hate it. Which may help explain why I haven't been to a mall in two years.

It's a combination of overstimulation and expectations destroyed.

I think to myself, The mall will have a bigger selection. Which is true, to a point. But not a larger selection of what I am looking for, which is just reasonably priced, modest and classy clothing.

Most of all, I hate weaving through the thick throngs of people amid the noisy music and the bad lighting.

But there was one thing I saw that actually brought a smile to my face. True, it was because of its disgusting absurdity. But I giggled a little and took a picture on my phone.
HOW is that mannequin supposed to make me want to step inside that store???

And where does everyone else go to shop for clothes?
Target ain't doin' it for me no mo'.

Happy Easter!

Yesterday we had an Easter egg hunt at the park with some friends. We've spent the last few days practicing egg huntin' in the house so Hazel would know what to do. She has loved searching for the little eggs, whether or not there is a treat inside them. The past 48 hours, more often than not she's had Todd's basketball basket in the crook of her arm, walking through the house to the sound of little plastic eggs jangling and plunking against each other. This game should keep us happy and busy for at least a week more.

Daring Dad

No one should be surprised that when the garage was open and we had 10 minutes to spare on Saturday, Todd decided to throw our baby on the scooter and give her her first ride. I never would have thought she was old enough for something like that, but she actually held on with both hands and carefully kept her feet on the scooter and absolutely loved it. She begged to get back on when she saw the scooter the next day.

My favorite part of the video is when Todd says "Let's go" and Hazel hums the sound of those words back at him like she wants to say it, too. She's so close to talking!

Soccer Diva

Hazel's latest fetish is to kick absolutely everything: balls, toothpaste tubes, stuffed animals, hair bows, scraps of paper. She is in love, and I think she's got quite the knack for it.

Triumph!

Maybe it was a gag, maybe it'll be the only time she does it for a long time, but this morning Hazel called ME Momma. She did it five or six times over the course of a couple of hours, always as she put her hand on my chest or my leg, and every time accompanied by giggles, like not calling me Momma has been part of some grand scheme of hers that she just finds too funny.

Girly

Hazel's starting to love her femininity. She runs up to babies at the park and loves to tote her baby doll around the house. She brings me receiving blankets and asks me to tie them around her waist, towel-style, so she's wearing a "princess skirt." She knows she's extra pretty on Sundays and preens, pointing at her cute dress and her pink tights. And her latest trick is to request that Todd or I adorn her in every single hair bow she owns, all at once.

A Curious Hobby

I thought the door to my bedroom was closed when I left Hazel to her own devices for several minutes while I got things done in the kitchen. When she'd been quiet just a bit too long, I got suspicious and discovered that she was, in fact, in my room. Can you tell what I found Hazel playing with?

Am I a bad mom for not taking it away from her?

Instead I whipped out the video camera and tried to get some footage. This clashed, however, with Hazel's new-found activity of begging me to take videos of her and then wanting to watch them repeatedly.