The Motts

I'm official!

2012-01-23T11:04:00.000-06:00

I made my first sale last week in my Etsy shop! Exciting, no?

All in a Day's Work

2012-01-18T09:41:00.001-06:00

Hi Mom. I noticed you're doing laundry.

He helped me with the laundry. Which is still cute behavior, because I can put the folded clothes out of his reach while he rolls around in the pile I haven't folded yet. We're not mobile yet.

Well, since you left it here. I'd love to help!

What pile do the long-sleeved onesies go in?

Bulldog face is mostly gone, but he's moved on to sticking his tongue out as much as possible.

He's concentrating very hard on something.

Later, he was making good use of his Bumbo.

Nom nom nom.

Teething much, Liam?

You caught me, Mom!

Going in for the bite.

Setting Up Shop

2012-01-16T13:26:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you all know that I'm a paper crafter, and that I like to make cards, banners, and other fun things for myself and my friends. Since I've had time recently to get creative and crafty, I've decided to open an Etsy shop and sell some of my cards and paper crafts. This is certainly a new adventure for me, but I've been working on it and preparing it for a while, and I'm excited to see how things go!

So click here to have a look over at my shop, the PaperSunStudio. I have a handful of things posted there now, and plan to add more throughout this week and the coming weeks. Have a look, and let me know what you think!

Will you help me spread the word? If you (or any friends you know!) are interested in hand-made cards and paper goods, you might find something you like. ;)

What We've Been Doing

2012-01-14T13:42:00.000-06:00

Here's what going on at the Mott house recently:

LIAM is about to pop out another tooth, so he's been cranky and making this face all week:

It's his teething face. I think holding is mouth like that helps his sore gums feel a little better. Luke says he looks like a bulldog. Liam is also getting better at eating solids and is sleeping like a ROCK STAR. We are really loving the six-month-old stage with our little man.

LUKE got his BAR CARD this week, so now he's really truly finally a licensed attorney. Hooray! It's been particularly busy at work now that everyone is back from the holidays, but things are going well. He's also been able to play basketball more with the guys at church recently, which he was really missing since we moved here, so that has been great.

I've been exercising consistently for the first time since my couch to 5k experiment and listening to audio books. I've also been working hard on a project that involves lots of paper-crafting. I'm excited to tell you about it, and I should be ready to share all the details on Monday or Tuesday, so stay tuned.

My Best Friend, Part 2

2012-01-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I started going through our wedding cards for a project I was working on. It was so fun to read some of the sweet and encouraging messages that our friends and family wrote to us as we were starting our life together. (And I found a gift card that we had overlooked, score!)

Some of the experiences we've had in the past two years have really packed a punch (living away from each other for a summer, practice court, my mom's illness and death, moving away from family and friends just as our first baby was born ... you get the idea) and it was good for me to me reminded of just how ... newlywed... we were before some of these things happened. It reminded me about the kind of wife I want to be and the kind of wife that Luke deserves. I find myself being tired, overwhelmed, and grumpy way too often these days. Even though hard things happen, I want to choose differently. Because I got a good life, friends. I got a good life.

What's So Funny?

2012-01-05T11:09:00.002-06:00

I posted one of these on Facebook, but wanted to put it here too. Plus there are a few more that are priceless. If you like watching red-headed babies laugh and laugh. Which I do.

Here's the story: I'd set him down on the floor to play while I was seven feet away working on something at the kitchen table, and he started crying for no apparent reason other than that I was doing something besides entertaining him. Since he rules the Mott house with his chubby little baby fist, I went over to him, and he stopped crying and started cracking up. Cue videos.

(By the way, if you notice the subtle differences in lighting, stuff in the background, etc, these are not in the order I took them. They're in order of how entertaining I thought they might be for someone besides me.)

The New Year's Post

2012-01-02T15:32:00.004-06:00

Last December / January I was so ready for 2010 to be over and to get a fresh start in 2011. We had a lot to look forward to in 2011 and, among other things, I planned to cry less and puke less that I had in 2010. Though I'm sure I've done just as much crying, I don't feel nearly as much animosity towards 2011 as I remember feeling towards 2010. It must have been all of that puking.

2012 looks to be a much less eventful year for the Mott family than 2011. We're looking forward Luke getting more settled at his job, continuing to rent our place in Carrollton, going on a couple of family trips, and savoring every moment as our baby turns into a toddler. (He'll be old enough to go into the nursery at church before 2012 is over.) A quiet year for self-improvement is just what we need here at the Mott house.

For 2012, rather than choosing individual words for the year (like we started doing here), Luke and I have chosen a word to work on as a couple. We plan to continue selecting a joint word and making our yearly theme a family affair as children start to grow up.

Our 2012 word of the year is PRAY. We both feel the need to work on our prayer relationship with Heavenly Father, and we look forward to improving our connection to Him as we focus on becoming more prayerful this year.

We have other family and individual goals as well, but maybe we'll share those in another post. For now, I'm realizing that I don't know much about your new year goal setting habits. Are you resolution people or not so much? Tell me about your big plans for the new year.

This post is NOT about another kitchen debacle.

2011-12-31T16:52:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to get it out of the way up front. No matter what it may seem like towards the end, this post is NOT about another kitchen debacle.

It's actually about our awesome Christmas Eve.

First, we braved the movies with Liam for the first time.

General Idea: Liam can sit quietly on our laps for a couple of hours like he does in church. We'll go to a movie that's been out for a while so the crowd will be smaller, and if he fusses too much Luke will take him out.

Reality: Liam slept through the first half of the movie on my lap and the second half on Luke's lap.

Result: Perfect. We both got to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 in it's entirety and make fun of it with each other under our breath.

After the movie we went to California Pizza Kitchen and walked around the mall a bit.

Back at home we made an ornament for Liam's first Christmas.

General Idea: Paint Liam's hand and help him put a print on a glass ball.
Reality: Luke held Liam while he grabbed a foam brush full of pain and squeezed it with his hand. Liam then tried to grab the glass ball. I pulled his hand off quickly enough that it only smeared a little but still resembled a handprint. Repeat.
Result: Not bad, actually. The prints really do look like his hands (sort of), and now we have a keepsake.

Later, after Liam went to bed we made steak for dinner. (Luke's family eats steak for dinner every year on Christmas, so we've kept the tradition).

General idea: Since we don't have a grill, we'll sear the steak in a hot pan and finish cooking it in the oven. Google says this is the most effective way to cook steak without a grill.
Reality: Searing the steak made so much smoke that it filled our entire apartment and set off the smoke detector upstairs. We turned on every fan and opened windows and doors. The smoke detector outside of Liam's room did not go off, and he slept through the entire thing. We ate dinner with the front door open.
Result: Our steak was AWESOME. We managed to transfer it to the oven and keep an eye on it while dealing with the smoke detector, fans, and doors. It was moist and flavorful from marinating for 24 hours, and came out perfectly medium (pink in the middle). While we were eating it, Luke said, "I wish we could put how this tastes on your blog." It was so good.

After dinner, we watched another movie together.

General Idea: Watch It's a Wonderful Life. (Like we do every year).
Reality: Turns out we've never actually watched our copy on the DVD in our DVD player. Luke bought it while on his mission in Russia, and we have always had to watch it on the computer and hook the computer up to the TV. The CD drive on our computer was broken, so no It's a Wonderful Life for us this year.
Result: We watched Star Trek instead. Is it ok that I was perfectly happy with this arrangement? Because I was.

All in all, it one of the best Christmas Eves that I can remember.

Luke and I have chosen our word for 2012 and settled on some goals, so stay tuned for out turn-of-the-year post in a day or two.

The Great Rainbow Jello Experiment

2011-12-29T15:53:00.000-06:00

We ate plenty of jello growing up at the Jackson house. Jello with fruit, every Sunday. But we never made rainbow jello - that's fancy stuff! Therefore, I was SUPER impressed with the perfect rainbow jello that Luke's mom made at Thanksgiving.

Just look at those little squares on our plates. Perfectly cut and solid and jiggly.

So when Chelsea asked me to bring jello to Christmas dinner I was way excited. Here was my chance to try out rainbow jello! (Because let's be clear - I had NOTHING better to do the week before Christmas and needed an all-day project to keep me from losing my mind.)

I made a nine-by-thirteen dish to take with us to Christmas and two little glasses for Luke and I to try out that night. It certainly wasn't perfect, but I was pretty pleased with the results of my first stab at rainbow jello.

couldn't be cuter, eh?

(blurry) proof that the rainbow jello DID look ok ... at first

And then. Oh, and then. Out the door on Christmas, and I knew it was having trouble when we got to the car. But by the time we got to Dave and Chelsea's it was a complete mess. A colorful, gross looking mess.

Yikes!

But a delicious mess. Everyone was really nice and ate it anyway and said it tasted like fruity pebbles and told me that no one really realizes how hard it is to make rainbow jello. Thanks guys. :)

Now all that's left is for one of you to become my rainbow jello Jedi master and tell me what I did wrong to make it so soupy. Too much water in the jello? Do I need to add extra gelatin to make it more firm? (That's what most of the recipes online do.) Tell me your rainbow jello stories and tips, because (clearly) I need all of the rainbow jello advice I can get.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T12:05:00.004-06:00

Dear friends &family,

To say that 2011 hasbeen a busy year for our family seems a bit of an understatement. Every turn has been full of new experiencesand opportunities for us.

Most excitingly, ourfamily grew as we welcomed our first baby, Liam Jackson Mott, on June 28^th. He arrived two weeks early and delighted uswith Luke’s red hair and Mary’s blue eyes. We have had great fun watching him learn to smile, laugh, roll, and chewon his hands (and anything else within his reach). He has bright eyes and busy hands, producesenough drool to water a small farm, and (much to Mary’s relief) seems to betaking well to our attempts to help him be a better sleeper.

Mary worked in the HumanResources department at Extraco Banks until Liam was born and has since beenable to stay home with him full-time. This is the first time Mary has not worked since she was 16, so it hasbeen a big transition with a lot for her to adjust to. Now she cleans more than she has in years,feeds Luke better than she has since the first six months of their marriage,and plays with Liam all day. She hasalso been able to devote more time to reading, writing, and crafting.

After three years ofdemanding coursework, Luke graduated cum laude from Baylor Law School on April30^th. His parents came downto celebrate the occasion, and after the party ended Luke got right to workpreparing for the Texas Bar Exam. Hetook the bar at the end of July (one month after Liam was born) and we moved toour new home in Carrollton, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) the followingweekend. Ten days later he started workat the Dallas office of Ernst & Young in their Human Capital, Performance& Reward practice area. We areadjusting well to big city life. Lukeenjoys working at EY, and spends a good deal of his time on tax law. Bar exam results were released in November. Luke was sworn in, and after paying exorbitant dues, has become a fullylicensed attorney. We were also able tovisit Washington in November to see all of Luke’s family for the first timesince we were married two years ago.

On July 5^th,two years after her diagnosis with cancer and one week after Liam was born,Mary’s mother passed away. We arethankful to have lived close enough to see her often over the past few yearsand to be near as her health declined. We miss her, and hold on tight to the knowledge that our family can betogether forever, that this separation from her is only temporary, and that wewill get to be with her again someday.

As you can see, 2011has been a year of great change and growth for our family. Even the eagerly anticipated changes have notalways been easy, and the growth has certainly come with growing pains, but throughit all we acknowledge the hand of the Lord guiding and sustaining our family andpouring blessings out upon us.

As we celebrate thebirth of Jesus Christ this Christmas season, it is our testimony that He livesand is the Savior of the world. Oursincerest hope is that you and your families feel the love, joy, and peace thatare made available through Him now and always.

Merry Christmas!

Luke, Mary, and Liam Mott

Ordinary Days

2011-12-17T15:51:00.000-06:00

Liam and I have had a pretty low-key week. Since I've checked off a lot of the projects on my to do list, we've spent a lot of time rolling around on the floor and listening to an audio book. (My book group is doing Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth in January.) I. Love. His. Eyes.

He has been making little faces blowing raspberries with a vengeance recently; I think it makes his gums feel a little better. It's impossible to keep his chin dry, so I gave up and decided to take a video instead. My favorite parts are his little noises and the fact that he has drool pouring off his face.

I started taking pictures because I was trying to get a good one of the bald patch he has on the back of his head, but none from the other day turned out. This one with Luke is pretty good though. Liam rubs his head from side to side when he sleeps, so it may be a while before he has hair back there again.

His sitting has gotten pretty steady over the past week, and he's also started doing some pre-crawing stuff with his legs. Note the legs bent to push his little bum in the air. He's not going anywhere for a while, but I'm alarmed none the less.

I like his face in this one. Pretty sure he's alarmed by the BYU v Baylor basketball game from this afternoon. Or he's just ready for a nap.

My Best Friend

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

November 27, 2009

Though our celebrations were pretty low-key, I didn't want to miss mentioning our 2nd anniversary at the end of November and Luke's 27th birthday at the beginning of December.

I am so blessed to be married to Luke. He is patient, smart, hard working, strong, loving, funny, helpful, handsome, understanding, and everything else that a man should be. I will never understand how I managed to get married to someone so much better than I am. I am thankful for his goodness every single day.

Christmas in Texas

2011-12-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

I give you: Our Christmas Hearth:

Behold the Tree! We went with a live one this year, and I love our little four foot tree, but I'm totally paranoid that I'm going to leave the lights on and it's going to catch on fire and burn our house down. I'd like to thank my dad for the acute knowledge that dry Christmas trees are a fire hazard.

Behold the little tree! It's fake and has no lights on it, and is therefore not in danger of catching on fire.

Behold the stockings and garland! One day I'm going to sew beautiful matching stocking for all of us and we'll say goodbye to the red felt and glitter-glue ones. But that day is not this year. The garland? Real. Total fire hazard. And so lovely.

Behold the baby! He's getting pretty rolly, and has discovered his feet in the last two weeks. This has led to him pulling off his socks on a regular basis.

Oh my. The red hair! The blue eyes! He talks and giggles, and he's so cute I can hardly stand it.

Behold! He sits up! (Kind of.) He can only manage a few seconds on his own right now, but he gets steadier every day.

His two bottom middle teeth are just barely poking through his gums, and at the end of the month he'll be six months old. My friends, what are we going to do?

Thanksgiving in Washington

2011-12-12T18:30:00.000-06:00

We went to Washington for Thanksgiving and had an awesome time. It was the first time since our wedding that all of Luke's siblings had been together, and the first time ever that we had all been together with the kids.

There was plenty of hanging out:

Grandma Mott with Ava, Seth with Zander, Emi, Lindsay, and Keiko

Luke and Seth with each other's baby boys...

and with their own.

playing games one night

Grandpa Mott with Liam

Seth with Liam and Zander

Hanging out in the morning...

and hanging out all day long.

There was plenty of football and playing outside:

Luke likes his dad's face in this one.

Arianne, Meg, and Seth with some of the kids

Grandpa getting tackled

This is Addie. During our trip, one of the only things we had scheduled was to have family pictures taken. Addie was NOT interested in cooperating that day, but the photographer was amazing and managed to get all of the kids, including Addie giggling and having a good time. Then later, the truth came out. Addie said, "So I was thinking ... if I didn't smile, maybe she would tickle me." Brilliant.

And of course Thanksgiving, which was delicious:

Liam was an all-star with his first flights, slept for a lot of them, and didn't seem to have any trouble. On the way back we took this video of the ticklish, giggly little man:

Medieval Times

2011-12-11T18:52:00.001-06:00

Last month the Nielsons (our friends from Baylor) were good enough to come up to visit us for a little weekend fun. We spent the day talking and catching up, and then that night we got to go to Medieval Times! If you want to hear more of the details, Krista posted about it on her blog. But if you just want the pictorial version, here is is:

And if you're wondering if this place is serious, here's a story for you: On our way into the part of the castle where the tournament takes place, I was fixing my hair so that the ponytail wasn't getting in the way of the crown. One of the people working there spotted me with my crown TEMPORARILY off and said, "Put your crown on, my lady! This isn't Burger King, and you can't have it your way." Awesome.

Our knight was the red and gold one, but if we didn't have him, we would have wanted to cheer for the red knight, who Luke nicknamed "Thor." They're fighting here, and our knight came out on top!

And since he was the winner of the tournament, he got to crown the "Queen of Love and Beauty." Which turned out to be a cute little girl on the row RIGHT in front of us. So we're practically famous.

All in all, an awesome time. Thanks to the Lancasters for sharing your good luck with us!

Two Weeks

2011-12-07T14:51:00.001-06:00

It seems like forever and no time all at once. But after the last post we went to Washington for Thanksgiving, and when we got back I was just getting settled back in and our internet went out. For a week. So here we are, still alive, with over 100 posts in my blog reader. Not to mention a MILLION things to blog about.

Teaser:

Medieval Times
A Ticklish Baby
Christmas Decorations
Teeth. Yes, you read that right, TEETH.

What is the world coming to, my friends?!

On Knit Pants and Where We Are

2011-11-22T04:08:00.001-06:00

I knew before Liam was born that I didn't want to dress him like a little adult. To each their own, but I like babies in soft, simple, comfortable clothes that are easy to snuggle. I'm a sucker for onesies and footie pajamas. But thinking I wanted something a little different for Liam to wear on Sundays, I went shopping last week for church pants.

After looking at my options in several stores, I just couldn't do it. He's getting big so fast, but he's still a baby, and I'm perfectly happy to keep him dressed like one for as long as I can. I feel like I'm going to blink and it will be Christmas. He'll be six months old and starting to eat solids. How in the world can I have a baby that's ready for solids?! So yes, he'll be wearing knit pants for a while longer, thank you.

During the day we snuggle and rock a little bit before he gets into bed for each of his naps. And every day while we rock in our quiet little apartment I think about the girls in my ward telling me to enjoy it while it lasts, because pretty soon he won't want to cuddle with me any more. And I do enjoy it. Every day.

It's been hard at first with a new baby, without my mom, in a place where I hardly knew anyone. I spent my fair share of the first few months trying (unsuccessfully) not to feel lonely, tired, frustrated, and sad. And crying because I didn't feel the same way as my half-dozen friends who had babies in the months just after me and LOVED everything about their lives and their easy transition into motherhood.

But when a kind friend recently asked how I was doing, and I could tell from her eyes that she hoped the answer was "good" even though she knew it might not be, I wanted so much for her to know that I was telling the truth when I said that I am happy. That we like it here, and that we have friends. That I'm not lonely, tired, frustrated, or sad. And that I really do like my calling in in the nursery. :)

We are in such a sweet place right now, and I want to remember it. I want to remember getting back into bed after a midnight feeding and snuggling under Luke's arm with noise from Liam's sound machine coming through the baby monitor. I want to remember how in that moment everything was still and perfect, and how I couldn't help but think, "God is so good."

Something to Be Thankful For: Sleep Edition

2011-11-16T06:45:00.001-06:00

This morning I'm thankful that Luke got to see Liam before he left for work. Some days (like yesterday) he has to leave before the boy wakes up, and the boy is in bed before he gets home.

But this morning our boy woke up at 4:30 (!) and was WIDE AWAKE. A little pat-pat and "it's time to sleep" was not doing it for him. After a while we decided to cut our losses and just go cuddle.

So, it's no secret that we've had trouble with sleep. Waking every two hours. Short naps. Fighting every attempt to put him down. I tell myself that it's not that he's a bad sleeper, or that he doesn't like sleep, it's just that he likes being awake and seeing what's going on more. He likes to be with us.

(And all of you with perfect little sleepers, I'm not saying that your baby doesn't like to be with you.)

We finally ~~got so desperate~~ decided that Liam needed more of a chance to settle himself. (Read: we let him cry.) It was so so so so so crappy and hard. But it helped like nothing else had. So we aren't sorry we did it.

Around the same time that we started our night-sleep intervention (or lack there-of) Liam started extending his naps. Some days he even sleeps for TWO AND A HALF HOURS in the morning. Shock and awe.

Acknowledging that a "perfect" sleep situation would not be a reasonable expectation for us at this point, I will say that we are in a good place. Because he sleeps! Sometimes his naps are short, but he doesn't fight with me when I put him down. Sometimes he wakes up at random hours, but that is becoming the exception instead of the rule. What felt like chaos and left me completely uncertain before is slowly transforming into cycles and routines that I can (generally) count on and work around.

And I am so thankful for that.

Something to Be Thankful For: Journaling Edition

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I finished the last page in my gratitude journal. I got this cute little book about three and a half years ago when I was in Taiwan, and when I got back to America that fall I started filling it with things I was thankful for from each day.

I wrote inconsistently; sometimes I would record a few things every day, sometimes I would go weeks without writing anything down. But after a little more than three years, I have a little record (324 pages, 15 lines per page) of things Heavenly Father has blessed me with. People, experiences, feelings, opportunities, conveniences, pleasures ... so so many things. Here's a sampling of some of the things in my book:

Pink

Surprise phone calls

Mashed potatos

"Blackbird"

The Berhan Bunch

Family scripture study

Laughing together

Finding what I need

Reeses Pieces

Walks

The conference Ensign

Being waited for

Rain

Discretionary income

Fall colors

Pandora

Ice cream sandwiches

Having work to do

Being held & forgiven

Long sleeves

Crock pots

A quiet night

Progress

Extra time for Mom

Thought-provoking stories

Opportunities to improve

Sleeping it off

Lots of time with Luke

Salt water

The temple

Sisters

Clean bathrooms

I love having a book dedicated to recording blessings I have received. I'd written things down before, but never quite as extensively as this. I loved it.

And to your right ...

2011-11-08T20:12:00.002-06:00

A new slide show with some of our favorite pictures of Liam (or our squeaky little baby, as I like to call him). Hooray!

Show and Tell

2011-11-07T19:58:00.000-06:00

This is the part of the blog where I show you what we have been up to with my new toy.

We had a canvas made of one of Liam's baby pictures (that our awesome friend Megan took) to hang in the nurffice (which is quickly becoming one of our favorite places in the house). Then we cut his name and birthday out of vinyl with the silhouette to hang below. And voila:

And this is our Thanksgiving banner that we cut out with the silhouette. The little acorns say, "give thanks" and each night we write what we're thankful for on one of the tags.

Esquire!

2011-11-03T14:03:00.001-05:00

Luke passed the bar!

Congratulations, baby! I'm so proud of you, and so thankful to be your wife. Thanks for choosing me.

Birthday Wrap-up and Something to Be Thankful For

2011-11-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

After the weekend of baby furniture bliss, my birthday turned out to be a quiet, lovely day. I went to lunch with my two oldest friends (Kathryn and Tori - how fun that we all live close enough that we can do that!) and Luke and I had our own little celebration that night.

He made me this delicious cake (eat it in small amounts)

and gave me this handy toy (I've used it almost every day this week and am THRILLED that I may never have to use a REAL blender again)

and last but definitely not least, he got me one of these.

I know. Spoiled, right? But so exciting. I mentioned earlier that Luke was going all out this year in a sweet attempt to make up for the years that he was ~~pretty much gone~~ really busy during my birthday time, and he definitely did it. For as much as I tell him that he "doesn't have to," and that "I don't need it," he knows that in my little heart of hearts gifts is one of my love languages. And he really liked seeing me smile and clap my hands in delight when I opened the silhouette. I'm so thankful for how well he knows me and how good he is to me.

Which leads us into the next topic. You may have seen people who plan to post on their blog or on facebook something they're thankful for every day during November. I love the idea, so I'm going to try to post little things throughout the month as well. But Luke and I have also made a little banner for our house with tags to add every day as we think about what we're thankful for. I'm excited to show you pictures when I get it all set up and documented. Because it's cute, and because I made it with the silhouette. :)

So here's to a November full of remembering our blessings.

Keepin' in Spooky

2011-10-31T09:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

My First Birthday Presents OR A Few Tears Never Hurt Anyone

2011-10-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

We had been talking about getting ~~new~~ real nursery furniture for a while now. The squeaky consignment glider had gotten MORE squeaky, and its rocking was getting shady too. And Liam's night-time wiggles were a bit much for the pack-n-play. We felt like/hoped it might help him sleep more soundly if he was in a bed that absorbed a little more of his motion, rather than shaking along with him.

We were trying to hold off, since we didn't really NEED new furniture and there's always something else the money can go towards (hello, student loans). Then Luke came home on Thursday night and found me crying because I was exhausted and my back hurt and I couldn't get Liam to sleep and I couldn't rock him because of the horrible chair... and on and on. And that's how we got new furniture. Luke took me shopping the next night.

Old Rocker and the lovely Pack-n-Play

New Rocker and Crib

I LOVE that I can rock without squeaking and being afraid it's going to Wake Liam up. I LOVE not feeling like the chair is going to fall apart under me at any moment. I LOVE that I don't have to bend all the way down to the ground to put Liam in his bed. I LOVE that we have a changing table so I don't have to get on the floor for that any more either. I LOVE our new nursery furniture.

The Ghost of Birthdays Past

2011-10-23T20:22:00.002-05:00

Luke has been spoiling me big time for my birthday this year, and as we've celebrated all weekend long it's been fun for me to think about what we were doing (or NOT doing) for the past few years on my birthday, and why we're trying to go all out this year.

***

The year I met Luke he had just started his first semester of law school, and he was so busy with classes that he never came to hang out with the rest of the young single adults. His first ever law school finals fell the last week in October, so he needed to be particularly focused then, but he actually came to the birthday party that my friends threw for me that year. And then our first date was the next night.

***

We were engaged the next year (on my golden birthday) but he still had finals, and I had been trained not to expect anything during finals. Except that he still helped my mom throw a surprise party for me. And I thought we were really taking a walk by the river just to see the giant catfish on the back of a truck.

***

My first birthday after we were married was a doosy. Practice court. Mock Trial team competition that would put him in Michigan the week before and the weekend of my birthday, so I wouldn't even get to see him. And finals, of course! But his team got back to Texas sooner than expected and he drove from Austin on Saturday night to Dallas Sunday morning to be with me on my birthday even though it meant that he had to drive back to Waco that night for classes the next day. What a guy.

***

After three years of totally awesome but half-distracted birthday celebrations, law school is OVER and we've been having a wonderful time celebrating without the dreaded finals always following us around and spoiling the fun. And so, happy birthday to ME!

This One's for Grandma Mott

2011-10-19T20:16:00.000-05:00

One morning Luke and I were playing with Liam and I said, "he's so cute I'm going to explode!" True story.

But sometimes when I post lots of pictures and videos of Liam I think about the fact that not everyone thinks he's as cute as I do. Maybe it's boring to you. And then I tell myself that there's at least one other person that will always want to see the pictures and the videos - Liam's Grandma Mott. And so I post them anyway.

Thanks for giving me a reason to make this blog a shrine to Liam's cuteness. This one's for you.

Love This Season

2011-10-14T08:37:00.000-05:00

With just Liam and I at home most of the day, we have a pretty quiet life here at the Mott house. We are so so blessed. That Luke has a job he enjoys that allows me to stay home. That we have a beautiful, happy, healthy baby and that I have almost unlimited time to love on him. That things are simple and peaceful.

But on some days (weeks) my biggest blessings feel oppressively like trials. Long days away from Luke. Nothing required of me but to keep the little man alive. Hours upon hours of solitude.

Then there are the days (weeks) where I wonder over and over again, "Can't a girl get a break here?" and the answer seems to be, "No, no she can't." Babies that only want to sleep when they're being held. Cars that won't start when all you want to do is leave the house ONE time today. A feeling of defeat that makes laying down on the floor and crying seem a lot more appealing than figuring out the logistics of doing anything more that the mind-numbing bare minimum.

But I really really want to love this season, as C. Jane* put it, because I know it won't last forever. And I know it's a special time for our family.

So will you tell me something lovely? No advice, but maybe about what you did/do to stay sane and help you love this time a little more?

Thanks, friends.

*This was the first C. Jane post that I ever read, and now that I've read all of her posts, it's still one of my favorites. Probably because I knew I would need it.

Liam Takes the State Fair of Texas

2011-10-10T19:31:00.005-05:00

We came.

We ate.

We fell asleep on the train ride home.

Another successful year at the State Fair of Texas.

O. Baby!

2011-10-07T06:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Sar,

Thank you! We LOVE it so much that we wore it the very next day after it came and had a photo shoot so you could see. Behold the Jackie O. onesie:

For anyone that doesn't remember the Jackie O. maternity shirt, I blogged about it here.

Also. Crocheted balls with bells in them? Brilliant! I love them, and I can't wait for Liam to be big enough that he realizes he loves them too.

You are seriously the best, and I love you a ton.

Mary

Reflexes

2011-10-06T07:28:00.001-05:00

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

2011-10-03T10:41:00.002-05:00

Every six months, General Conference comes around and people start mentioning it in their blog posts and on Facebook. I always feel a little conflicted about mentioning General Conference. An announcement of, "this is what I'm doing this weekend" often seems a little too obvious or too self-righteous to be valuable to the people who read this little bloggie. But after listening to General Conference this weekend and reflecting this morning on how I feel about it, I do have something to share.

I love General Conference because it makes me feel strengthened, inspired, blessed, and motivated to be better. And it also makes me feel loved - because I have a Heavenly Father that cares enough about me and my success and my happiness to send living prophets to guide, warn, teach, and inspire me, and all of His children.

After listening to General Conference, I have a renewed determination to read and study the Book of Mormon more carefully, and work to draw closer to my Savior. I have a strengthened desire to live in a way that allows me to receive and recognize promptings from the Spirit in my day to day life and to be more deliberate about the feeling of love and peace that I create in my heart and in my home.

And after listening to General Conference, I have a renewed hope that I CAN do those most important things.

Planking

2011-10-02T14:38:00.001-05:00

Liam is so hip. Look at how he's up with all of the trendy things young people are doing these days.

They call it "planking." Never heard of it? OH. Here:

In Love + A Prize for 10k

2011-09-30T15:08:00.000-05:00

I am in love with this little dude more and more every day.

Those sweet, alert, blue eyes...

The constant stream of drool (or spit-up) ...

and his porcelain-doll skin.

He's becoming more vocal, which sometimes means he's fussy, but also means that when he's happy and I'm talking to him, he makes the most wonderful sounds back to me.

He loves to be upright and will keep his legs extended and "stand" as much as possible. And now that it's cooling off and he wears more than just a onesie, sometimes he looks like such a little man, standing there holding on to my hands. He's the best little man ever.

My hit counter reached 10,000 this week-- a milestone! If you're a fancy-pants blogger, I believe the appropriate thing to do in these cases is to host some sort of party or give away. I am not a fancy-pants blogger, but how about this:

I'll give anyone that wants it an afternoon with Liam. You can make faces at him and let him suck on your fingers, maybe even get him to roll over (if you position his arms just right). And while you enjoy your time with this sweet little man, I will take a nap.

Win, win!

Waco Babies

2011-09-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

While Luke and I were in Waco, we spent a lot of time with the other couples in our ward who were also in graduate school and didn't have any kids. Then I got pregnant. Then Lauren got pregnant. Then Lesli got pregnant. Then Krista got pregnant. And now there are babies (and pregnant women) all over!

We went down to Waco on Saturday for a baby shower Lauren and I were putting on for Lesli. Here's Liam with his new friend Quintin (Lauren's little man, born two months after Liam).

Liam's looking hungry and Quintin's saying, "get me out of here!"

And here we are with our babies.


Me & Liam (June), Lauren &Quintin (August), Lesli & June (due October), and Krista & her little man (due February)

It's fun to have friends to share your first-time pregnancy and mom adventures with. And now you can move to Dallas. :)

I just have to say...

2011-09-23T14:01:00.002-05:00

Image from: http://2.bp.blogspot.com

Since you care enough about me to read my blog, you probably know me well enough to know that I'm not into things that are flowery, romanticized, or over the top. I'm fully aware this means that (to some people) I come off as being disinterested, skeptical, or even scornful. Which is unfortunate, but sometimes that kind of enthusiasm seems artificial to me, and I'm just not into that.

So when my friend posted this on Pinterest, I though it was genius. Because it's not that I'm a total downer, apathetic, or that I don't get excited about things - I just like to keep a proportionate amount of sense and reason mixed in with all of the ... other stuff.

And so I just have to say thank you. I feel so understood.

***

In other news, Luke and I are going to Waco tonight to spend the day there tomorrow, and I'm TOTALLY excited about that. :)

Lately

2011-09-20T12:43:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to feel more settled into life here. I feel like I'm getting to know more people, and Liam and I are keeping ourselves busy with outings (walks, play group, trips to the store) and taking care of the house.

Liam is 12 weeks old today! He has been extra wiggly lately (even more than usual). And thanks to what I'm assuming is a three month growth spurt, he's also been extra hungry. And he's always extra pukey. He also made the move downstairs to the nurffice, so our room upstairs is feeling HUGE without his bed and the rocker in it.

He has such an expressive face. This is one of our favorites:

We call it his "turtle face."

AND, this one's for Caleb. I looked out the window the other day and saw this:

My neighbor told me that there is a little colony of rabbits near us in the apartment complex and that you can see the babies running around all the time. When I told Luke about it, he said we can teach Liam the Fibonacci sequence. Awesome.

Baby Skills

2011-09-16T11:53:00.000-05:00

Get this! Our baby has a skill that DOESN'T involve looking cute or spitting up!

(Video 1 is cuteness and build up. Video 2 is the actual action. It's divided for those of you that like to cut to the chase rather than watch another person's baby drool. Unless you like seeing Liam drool. I do.)

Untitled from Mary Mott on Vimeo.

I feel like he's WAAY too little to be able to do things like that (and google just confirmed that hunch) but I think he dislikes being on his tummy so much that he's willing to do anything to get out of that position. He hasn't been able to duplicate the trick since, but what a fun surprise for us earlier this week!

Evolution

2011-09-14T14:39:00.001-05:00

The other night I was trying to go back to sleep after feeding Liam and I started thinking about what was happening in our lives this time last year. I though about how the person I was sleeping next to was one of the only things that has remained the same-- everything else has changed (including which side of the bed we sleep on).

In that reminiscent spirit, I read my blog posts from the past year yesterday. Last September Luke was home from the summer in San Antonio. We were in practice court. He didn't have a job yet, and I was still busy at mine. We were almost thinking about babies, almost. And Mom still had enough energy to be up and about some.

I didn't think I was really that different from the me of a year ago, but as I read my posts I felt strangely detached from that life. The memories have a sort-of hazy quality about them, like I'm seeing myself through a scrim, or in one of those weird dream sequences in an old musical. It's me, but it's not me. (Have you ever felt that way?)

Over the past year, even though we knew big changes were happening for us, we just tried to live our lives in the moment we were in at the time. And while I focused on what we needed and wanted to do in those moments, I was changing slowly and imperceptibly, until two nights ago when I glanced back and realized that I'm somehow a different version of myself than I was twelve months ago. That all of those changes that were happening to me really did happen, and they happened to me, not just around me.

This personal evolution thing is tricky though. I don't know that could identify exactly what has changed about me over the past year, but I hope that no matter what else has changed, the experiences of the past year have made me more patient, more compassionate, and more like the person I want to become.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Liam spent his first Labor Day weekend celebrating how hard he does NOT have to work to look cute. It just comes so naturally to him. The Motts came to visit us for a few days, and on Sunday my dad came up, along with several of my brothers and sisters to be there for Liam's blessing day.

Kicking it with Grandpa Mott.

Our family after church, where Luke blessed Liam.

Sometimes being cute is exhausting.

Do I need to say anything about this cuteness?

Charming Grandpa Jackson. (Look closely at Liam's face. It makes us laugh.)

Getting ready to eat his new cousin, Eliza. Who is trying to rally the other babies to come to her aid. Power to the babies!

Daddy makes faces.

Liam makes faces back.

September

2011-09-07T15:30:00.000-05:00

Dear September,

Thanks for kicking off with a bang; we had so much fun with our family over the long weekend that we're having a hard time recovering. But that's not your fault. You're looking quite promising, and I'm confident that we'll be back in our groove in no time.

It's so good to see you. I'm realizing now that I under-appreciated you before, sandwiched between August and October like you are.

I didn't know you had it in you, but that cold front was really something. I guess you knew it would take dramatics to rescue us from the dog days of August. Thanks to you, hope is here (in the form of 80-something degree highs).

I promise that I don't just love you for your cooler temperatures. You are I are going to have a good time, September. I can feel it. Here's to our adventures, and the start of a new season.

Affectionately yours,

Mary

2 Months

2011-08-30T16:03:00.002-05:00

Liam is 2 months old! He just keeps getting more and more darling.

He has a very sweet little personality. He usually doesn't fuss unless he needs something, and he is easily soothed. I LOVE his red hair (which he has lots of in the back, but not so much on top) from Luke, and I'm pretty sure he's going to have my blue eyes. Our pediatrician has commented about his super-white skin (that would be from both of us) every time we've gone in.

According to our doctor he's had textbook-average growth since he was born, which puts him just above averages for two-month-olds (since he was just above average when he was born). His tongue is always sticking out, he is a great kicker, and he'll be graduating to his OWN room in about a week.

Hurricane Irene, Anyone?

2011-08-27T10:29:00.003-05:00

Baby Forever

2011-08-25T08:40:00.006-05:00

The start of school usually gets me feeling all nostalgic and excited for fall, but not so much this year. We have an obvious lack of students in our household, and it's still very summery (read: HOT) here, so we're not feeling the fall quite yet.

What all this talk of back-to-school HAS done is make me think that Liam should be a baby forever. He's just way too cute the way he is to ever grow up and go to school and be a KID. Baby forever, that's what I say.

Cue photos.

Enjoying (not really- he doesn't like it at all) tummy time.

In the lion towel after a bath.

Dressed in his Sunday best (thanks Mattie!) for his first trip to the temple. He's saying, "I love to see the temple, Yo!"

Close-up of the cute onesie, and the cute face.

Taking a nap with Mommy.

All's Quiet on the Carrollton Front

2011-08-22T11:12:00.003-05:00

Our internet went out Thursday afternoon, and TWC can't send someone to fix it until tomorrow (!) so Liam and I are coming to you from the Starbucks parking lot down the street from our house. He's napping in his seat, and I'm checking in with the world and looking for no-cook recipes. Because have you heard? It's been a million degrees ALL SUMMER LONG! Every day Luke and I talk about how much we're looking forward to cooler weather so that we can go for walks in the park across the street from our house. And until then, I'm trying not to turn on the oven or stove. Good thing we like salads, no?

Anyway, when our internet is back up we have some awesome pictures to share from tummy time, Liam rocking the lion towel, and his first trip to the temple. Until then, know that we're doing great.

Thanks for Nothing, Aesop

2011-08-17T15:23:00.003-05:00

Last Wednesday was Luke's first day of work. He had a half-day of training in the office here, and then flew to Houston that night for two days of training there. So Wednesday was my first official day of housewifery, with just Liam and me at home.

Luke was only gone for 6 hours, but I was almost in tears when he got home. I wanted so badly for it to be a good day, but after barely getting to take a shower (during which Liam woke up and started wondering where I was very loudly) and eating nothing while Luke was gone (my hands were full) the idea of have two more days (and nights) without any help from Luke pretty much reduced me to a whimpering heap.

I was feeling pretty somber, and before Liam and I took Luke to the airport for his flight we were spending some time just being together. We decided to read one of the stories out of Luke's giant Aesop's Fables book, and thought "The Crab and His Mother" would be a nice, encouraging story about the beauty of motherhood. Here's what we got instead (this is the whole story):

An Old Crab said to her son, "Why do you walk sideways like that, my son? You ought to walk straight." The Young Crab replied, Show me how, dear Mother, and I'll follow your example." The Old Crab tried but tried in vain, and then saw how foolish she had been to find fault with her child.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, we opted for a good laugh. But really, Aesop? This is how you answer in my time of need? Thanks for nothing.

Not that every post has to be about sleep...

2011-08-15T08:55:00.002-05:00

Thanks everyone for your sweet comments and advice, and mostly for being interested in our lives at all. You guys are the best. I definitely don't want our blog to be depressing, but I do want to keep it real. And so that's what we try to do, with proportionate parts about the hard stuff and the happy stuff, and as much honesty as possible (without over-sharing, because no one likes that).

And of course, since my last post Liam is doing a little bit better about going back to sleep after he wakes up to eat, and he has even slept through a feeding a couple of times, giving us these crazy SIX HOUR stretches of sleep. What a good boy he is.

I get VERY grumpy when I'm tired. Luke will tell you all about it. So last night as I was holding Liam before bed I was pretty negative, and the list of things I hated about life was dangerously long (things like summer heat making me miserable and my squeaky chair being annoying). But by about 6:00 this morning (after maybe 5 hours of sleep in 2.5-hour increments) I was feeling awake and much more positive. Not only is it amazing how my definition of "a lot" of sleep has changed (oh, how I used to love my 8-9 hours) but it's also amazing how a little bit of sleep can make a world of difference for me. I know that I'm not the only one that's like that, but it's still amazing to me.

Are you excited to hear all about how housewifery is going for me? I know that you're riveted hearing about our sleep habits, but we'll try to get into some of the other fabulously thrilling things that we have going on as well and see if we can mix it up a bit. Love to you all!

Questions for Mothers

2011-08-09T01:42:00.002-05:00

I wanted to call my mom yesterday.

I wanted to call her and ask, "What do I do? What do I do when my six week old little man wakes up to eat in the middle of the night and then is wide awake for the next three hours? Is that normal? I don't think his days and nights are confused, because he is awake plenty in the day too. Am I doing something wrong? And when he actually does go to sleep, how can I keep him from waking up five minutes after I put him in his bed? What do I do?"

I have no idea what she would have told me, except maybe that I probably wasn't doing anything wrong, but that I should talk to my sisters, because they have done it all so much more recently than she has. But it still would have been nice to ask her.

So sisters, and friends, will you tell me what to do? He is a very cute little guy, but I wish we were both sleeping right now.

Our New Life

2011-08-07T15:48:00.003-05:00

We are all unpacked and moved in at our new apartment in Dallas. Luke's mom came to help us last week, which was awesome. I don't know how long it would have taken us to get settled without her help.

One day, while we were unpacking and listening to music, Michael Jackson's Thriller came on. When I went to go check on Liam, this is what he was doing:

Look at his dance moves. He's a natural.

Things we love about our new house:
- More space
- Our new couch (which Liam has puked on several times, so we definitely don't regret getting leather).
- Having a washer and dryer
- Having a front door
- Our nurffice (nursery/office)
- More windows and natural light
- High ceilings
- Our new bed (it's a king!)

Luke starts his new job this week, and then all of the parts of our new life (as big-city people) will have officially begun.

Big City People

2011-08-02T21:39:00.002-05:00

We made it! We are in our new place in Dallas. Luke's mom is here, which has been a huge help. We love our place, Liam is an angel, and things are great. More details when we are a little more settled.

It's over!

2011-07-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

The bar is over! Hurray!

Oh yeah, and our son is one month old today too. Happy monthiversary Liam!

Out of the skillet and into the fire...

2011-07-26T10:05:00.002-05:00

You have to go look at these pictures that our sweet, talented friend took of Liam. They are to die for. Click here!

This week is the climax of our busyness, with the bar starting today and our move right afterwards this weekend. I would go into all of the details about how hard and stressful and potentially emotional every aspect of this week is, but that's not necessary, is it?

I have thought a lot recently about how it is that we get the help that we need to deal with the events of our lives, and on a practical level, exactly what divine help looks like, and what it doesn't look like, when it comes.

Yesterday, in the the moment when panic was rearing it's lovely head and I was trying not to have a melt-down about how in the world I am going to handle my life (and it was a really inconvenient time for a melt-down), help came in the form of a song playing at the right moment. Which may not be as obviously helpful as, say, my insurance companies not making it incredibly difficult just to pay my bills, but it was the help that I was given, and it really was a tender mercy of the Lord, and made me mighty unto the power of deliverance.

Last night while Luke and I were talking about priesthood blessings, he reminded me how many people are praying for us right now, and how much power there is in that. Power that we need, because all of our everyday sources of comfort and stability (like having a house that doesn't look like a tornado came through it, or getting a good night's rest) have just about dried up in these crazy days. We are thankful for a source of help and power in our Savior that never runs dry, and thankful to you for petitioning the heavens so that we can have more than our fair share of that help right now.

And so, we take the bar, and take care of Liam, and we pack, and we move away from Waco, and we are all going to be ok. More ok than we can even imagine.

A Day For Adventures

2011-07-19T19:35:00.007-05:00

It would seem that Tuesday is the day for adventures around here.

Mary's adventures included:

-Packing for our move, including saying goodbye to some OLLLLD clothes that I have been holding on to for sentimental value. Among other things, the I <3 NY shirt that I got on my high school senior choir trip to NY had seen better much days, and it was time to let it go.

-Retrieving my house keys, which were lost on yesterday's adventure, but luckily found soon after.

-Laundry, and teaching Matthew how to hold a baby (yes, together).

Luke's adventures included:

-A dead car battery, which was also one of yesterday's adventures. But it was back with a vengeance today, and escalated into a tow truck and a visit to the car doctor. And it will require a follow up at the car doctor to get a new alternator.

-Studying for the Bar, which begins ONE WEEK from today (I told you Tuesday was a big day around here). And all I have to say about that is BOO on the Bar. But we are managing.

For your viewing pleasure: pictures of our man, because he's so cute:

Power to the babies!

Fat and Happy

2011-07-15T21:51:00.003-05:00

Our little man is sweeter and sweeter every day. Wednesday of this week was my actual due date for him, and on Thursday we had our two week doctor's appointment. Liam is looking good, and has gained a full pound over his birth weight, putting him at 9 pounds and 2 ounces. Apparently he's getting enough to eat. :)

And now, a video of the little man hiccuping in his sleep.

Untitled from Mary Mott on Vimeo.

On a Tuesday

2011-07-12T11:42:00.005-05:00

The heat has been oppressive here all through June, with temperatures that we usually don't see until the end of July of the middle of August. Between trying not to do too much myself and keeping Liam away from too many public places, not wanting to brave the 100+ degree temperatures has been like the icing on the cake of isolation.

But we needed a little break from the the apartment, so Liam and I went for a walk this morning. When we got to the edge of campus I realized that we could go to the Armstrong Browning Library. Because it is mostly open on week days, I have not been able to visit the library in the entire time that we have lived two blocks from it. But here it was, 10 a.m. on a Tuesday.

In the collection there was a letter that the founder of the library's wife wrote to her friends after her husband passed away. She said, "You have helped. Words do not mean so much, but love puts props under frightened souls and courage into timid hearts, and you have given that in your note."

Isn't that beautiful? What a perfect way to express the thanks that I feel to all of you right now. Your emails and comments and messages have propped up my soul and helped me have courage that I can do what I need to do. Though I still have plenty of moments when the panic and anxiety and sadness well up in me, for the most part the spirit has weighed heavily on me in the past two weeks, calming my fretful worries, and I know that is because so many of you are praying so diligently for us to have peace and help and comfort right now. Please don't stop - it's working.

I've also had plenty of time to read, and wanted to share some things that have been particularly meaningful:

Come What May, and Love It

The Abundant Life

Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds

2 Nephi 4 and 5

Matthew 6

Going Home

2011-07-06T08:25:00.003-05:00

Mom left us around 7:30 last night. We obviously don't know for sure exactly what she was doing after that, but we like to think that she had a lovely reunion with her father, who passed away when I was little.

We love her, and we'll miss her, but we're so happy that she doesn't have to hurt any more. And we can't wait to see her again.

Blessings

2011-07-04T15:17:00.006-05:00

For the past week, my hands have been full in the most literal sense of the expression. Having Liam here is so all-consuming that it seems like the entire world outside of our little home barely exists any more.

But I know that it DOES exist, and that there's a lot going on right now, and a lot of people thinking of us and our family. And so it's important to me to share some of our blessings with you, who love us so sweetly and pray for us so diligently. Thankful is not a strong enough word for how we feel.

Liam and I were released from the hospital last Wednesday, and we went straight to my Mom and Dad's house so that they could meet their 18th grandchild.

It was such a tender and special moment to see the way my mom's eyes lit up when my dad took Liam to her. "He's so beautiful," she said.

My mom and I had talked about the very real probability that she would meet our little man before we did. We talked about what she should tell him (mostly just to be a good boy). Clearly, Heavenly Father had something different in mind for us. And perhaps because we were not expecting to introduce our son to both of my parents, this blessing was that much more sweet.

Heavenly Father really has given my family so much. I would love for you to read this post from my sister Sarah's blog. It's about our mom, and will be well worth your time.

Sar has been visiting from her home in Idaho for the past few weeks and, in addition to holding other things together at my parent's house as revolving door of family and friends blaze through, she has done much of the care-taking for my mom. She has been an amazing right-hand lady to my dad.

You are amazing too. Thank you a hundred times over for reaching out to us. Liam is here and Mom is still here as well, so I promise to keep keeping you posted. After all of the blessings we have recived (many in large part due to your service and prayers and influence) it's the least I can do.

Introducing...

2011-06-29T07:09:00.006-05:00

We'll post more details about what happened later on, but we couldn't wait for you to meet:

Liam Jackson Mott
June 28, 2011
6:38 a.m.
8 lbs. 1 oz.
20.5"

So much for a July baby! Our little man made his debut a couple of weeks before his due date, and we're so excited to have him. He has his dad's light red hair and his mom's Jackson feet/toes. And he is perfect.

June Happenings

2011-06-21T19:54:00.004-05:00

Just a few other things that have been going on around here in the past month:

On June 3 my youngest brother graduated from high school, making him the 11th and final Jackson to graduate from Midway. My mom was able to attend and see him sing with the choir and walk across the stage. That Sunday he gave a sweet talk at his Seminary graduation and was also ordained an Elder. He will be attending BYU this fall, and will serve a mission after that. Matthew is such a good boy, and I'm really proud of him.

The next weekend we went to Dallas to get the keys to our townhouse up there. Here we are outside of our lovely future home:

Eric, Dave, Dan, and their crews came to help us and check things out, so they got to see our new digs too. Blake spent some time trying to get into Luke's pockets for the camera, because she wanted to take pictures.
And we loved this picture of her (Blake) so we had to post it as well. Feel free to ignore Luke and me in the background.

We won't officially move in for a little while and I'll give you an official tour then, but it's nice to be getting things ready. And speaking of getting ready for things, baby Mott is 37 weeks. I'm dilated a little, effaced a lot, and feeling pretty big and slow. We've made it clear to the little man that he's welcome to come as soon as he'd like.

Mom has been receiving a lot of visitors, but none as anticipated as her mom, who will make it to Waco tonight. She's been looking forward to my grandma's coming, and though she's tired and weak, has been quite alert.

A Good Sunday

2011-06-19T20:56:00.003-05:00

Mom, me, and her most recent grandchild (our namesake) MaryEllen

Today was a good day. We went to Mom's house right after church and spent several hours visiting with my siblings (8 of the 11 of us were in and out at different times today), my mom, and my dad.

Though she is still very sick and weak, I can tell how good being at home is for Mom. She was even feeling good enough this afternoon to come out to the living room and sit with us there. She was alert and without pain and nausea for quite a while, and I read all of your messages and comments to her, along with my recent blog posts and my sister's. She got to see several of my nieces and nephews today, and even got to change MaryEllen's diaper. Pretty exciting stuff.

Luke has been reminding me that we still need to blog about my youngest brother's high school graduation, as well as packing phase 2 and our new place in Dallas. So more pictures and posts to come this week.

For the Fathers

2011-06-19T07:00:00.003-05:00

I think my dad might be one of the biggest unsung heroes in my family. On this Father's Day, especially with everything that is going on with my mom, I wanted to be sure to honor my dad and all of other other awesome dads in my family.

My dad and Luke's dad at our wedding, November 2009

Through everything that has been going on with Mom, Dad has been amazing. He is so brave and is handling everything so well. He is a tender and capable head nurse to my mom, and has carefully learned everything he needed to from changing her ostomy (which he's been doing for two years) to giving her medicine through her port (Friday's lesson). He understands what she needs and how to take care of her in ways that my sisters and I can't. He is the best best friend to my mom. I'm thankful for my Dad's courage and his testimony. I'm thankful that he, with my mom, taught our family the gospel in our home and helped us learn how to find answers to our questions through the scriptures, prayer, and just living the gospel. My dad is the kind of man who effectively does what needs to be done without a lot of fanfare or parade. I really respect that. I love you Daddy, and I'm thankful to be your daughter. You are an awesome dad.

I'm proud of my big brothers and what good dads they are. It is so sweet to see Dave give kisses to his daughter, and he is amazingly patient with some of his son's crazy antics. Eric and William are so good with their little girls, and they are just a good with other babies. In the past day, each of them has taken my sister's crying baby from me, swaddled her like a pro, and put her to sleep. I'm proud to have brothers that help their wives equally in raising their children. I love my bothers so much.

I have so much love and respect for Luke's dad. I'm thankful for everything that he has taught Luke, both in word and by example. My father-in-law seems to have a natural knack for balancing strength and tenderness, humor and reverence, work and play. Luke has told me that he wants to be just like his dad, and I would definitely feel blessed if he was.

And Luke. He is the best husband, and he is going to be the most wonderful father. My nieces and nephews (and the rest of my family) have loved him since they met him, and he is so good with them. I look forward to seeing him with our little guy, who I hope turns out to be just like his dad. I'm especially thankful for the disciplined and loving way that Luke honors the priesthood he holds, and I'm thankful that he will be able to bless our home and our children with that power. I couldn't have picked a better man.

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads in my life! I love you!

From Hospital to Home

2011-06-18T07:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday mom transferred from in-patient hospice care at the hospital to hospice care at home. She has wanted to come home all week and it was a rough go figuring out how to get her home and comfortable. But yesterday afternoon she got to come, and my dad and some of my sisters and I learned how to give her her medication through her port. After seeing her feel pretty terrible at some points in the hospital this week, all of the figuring it out and learning and ...stuff... was so worth it to see how happy Mom was to be at home.

Thank your for all of your sweet comments and Facebook messages. You are the best.

About My Mom

2011-06-15T15:59:00.003-05:00

Friends,

My mom has been admitted to the hospital again for what we anticipate to be the last time. The pain and digestive complications from her cancer are severe, and she will probably not be with us very much longer.

She is my mom, but she is also my friends. It's hard to see her hurting and uncomfortable, and I know that I'm going to miss her very much when we are separated. But I also know that our separation is only temporary.

There is so much peace in knowing that my family can be together forever because of our Heavenly Father's plan for us and the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that they love us, and I know that they have been with me and my family in every detail of the past few years, and that they will continue to give us peace, strength, and guidance in the time to come.

It has been quite a while since I posted, and I will definitely do better to keep you updated both about my mom and about our little man, who is due four weeks from today.

Love,
Mary

Are you ready?

2011-06-01T17:44:00.004-05:00

Look at those swollen feet. Thank you, pregnancy (and Texas summer).

Today is June 1st, which means that next month, baby Mott is coming! We are definitely excited.

My least favorite thing to have people ask me is, "are you ready?" What is that even supposed to mean?

Ready as in, have we bought a bunch of stuff and so our baby will have a place to sleep and clothes to wear? I guess so.

Ready as in, do you feel swollen and hot and want to not be pregnant any more? Sometimes.

Ready as in, your entire life is about to change in the most permanent way possible and there's no way that anyone with half of a clue about what becoming a parent involves would feel ready? Of course.

So usually when people as me if I'm ready, I shrug and say, "sure."

Are YOU ready to see a video of Elijah? He is so fat and cute and I love him.

Untitled from Mary Mott on Vimeo.

Packing - Phase 1

2011-05-28T13:43:00.005-05:00

We started packing this morning. If you're ever going to move between being 8 months pregnant and having a month old baby (like we'll be doing) it's super nice to have a few other things going for you as well:

1. Own minimal furniture. We'll only have to move a few bookshelves and a table to Dallas. The rest we'll get up there. So nice not to have to mess with that this time.

2. Be married to Luke. I know I don't have to tell you how great I think he is (or that it's not just my opinion- it's the truth!) but he has taken care of everything. This morning he packed half of our house, and my job was to sit on the couch and fold the laundry. And then to read him funny blog posts. He really is the best.

We're moving in phases, so it's not all going at once, but pretty soon it'll just be boxes around here.

And NOW We Can Have a Baby

2011-05-24T21:15:00.002-05:00

Because this was our last week of childbirth class (or baby class, as Luke and I like to call it).

Our real baby could take out Luke's sympathy belly baby any day.

I'm sorry this picture is so blurry. But isn't it great?

Our little man is due in less than two months!

The Patient Makes a Move

2011-05-19T20:58:00.003-05:00

After two weeks, Mom is home from the hospital and recovering there from her surgery. We'll keep you posted.

The following post is brought to you by my new birthing/exercise ball. I love it.

2011-05-17T17:23:00.005-05:00

How do we feel about this picture? It's from a Habitat for Humanity build that my work sponsored and Luke and I helped out with a week and a half ago. As you can see, I'm very pregnant. I was going to get a new wristband, because the one I had on was cutting off my circulation. Thank you, swelling.

And now a few items I'd like to share with you:

1. Mom is still in the hospital recovering from her surgery. No official word on when she will be released, but from what I know there haven't been any major setbacks, so it could be in the next few days.

2. I'm proud to report to you that I have eaten pizza every day since last Tuesday. That's eight consecutive days. I'm even more proud to tell you that this has nothing to do with me being pregnant. I just love pizza that much.

3. There are less than two months until my due date. How's that for coming soon?

4. A couple of weeks ago my little man nestled into the lower right-hand side of me and he has not change positions since. Is that normal? He's totally settled in, and happy the kick/punch/elbow my right side and only my right side. No matter how much we poke him. (Which is not that much, but sometimes we push back. Just to say hi, you know?)

5. Tonight is our second week of childbirth class (out of three). Last week we met the other people and watched a video about the stages of labor. This week we get to have a tour of the labor and delivery area of the hospital and probably practice some breathing exercises. Baby class is awesome.

OH and at the hospital Luke and I are delivering at they have special parking places for pregnant women, which they do NOT have at the hospital that my mom is at right now. And I don't need a special place when we go to the hospital for baby class in the evening, but I could use a special parking place when I go see my mom at lunch and I have to park a mile away and walk to the entrance in the heat of the day because their building is under construction. Under construction for what, you ask? A new women's and children's wing. To take care of pregnant people like me. Again, so ironic.

Mom Update

2011-05-14T21:40:00.002-05:00

Isn't it funny that I can go for long periods of time without blogging and not really knowing what to write about, but as soon as I REALLY want to blog and update you about something... well we all know what happened to blogger this week. Oh, the irony.

I mentioned my mom being in the hospital, and we are so thankful for your faith and love and prayers for her and her doctors and our family. She and my dad and an army of doctors decided on Wednesday that she needed to have a surgery, which is something that we were not expecting at all when she went into the hospital the Thursday before. They decided it could be done in Waco, (as opposed to Dallas, where she had her initial surgery two years ago) and they were able to schedule the surgery for the next day.

In surgery, they were able to do some important work on my mom that will allow her to go home from the hospital in similar condition to how she has been throughout her treatments these past two years. They were also able to see clearly exactly what effects the cancer is having inside of her. As we have learned more about the kind of cancer my mom has, we have also learned that (as my dad put it) she has far surpassed the expectations of any in the medical profession, and she has been living on the Lord's time these past two years. I know that's true, and I'm thankful to Him for how good and generous He is with our family. I know that He loves us, and is intimately involved in this experience.

Luke and I spent some time with her tonight. She is recovering beautifully from the surgery, and was in good spirits. I think she'll be able to come home soon, and when she has recovered enough from the surgery, will probably begin more chemotherapy treatments.

About Moms

2011-05-09T18:52:00.002-05:00

Dear Our Moms,

You are great.

We Love You,
Luke & Mary

Dear Everybody Else,

My mom had to be in the hospital on Mother's Day- how lame is that? We think (and hope) that they are making progress getting her fixed up so that she can leave, but we'd love it if you remember my mom in your prayers this week along with your own mom. She's a good one. :)

Thanks!
Mary

Graduation Weekend - More Pictures and Details

2011-05-04T19:22:00.006-05:00

Our Waco weekend didn't work out quite as planned - the Mammoth site was closed when we were going to go, and so were some of the restaurants, but we still had a fun, busy time.

So so proud of Luke. Law school graduation was on Saturday morning, and he is a genius and graduated with honors!

Here's his graduating class after the ceremony:

We took pictures, gave Luke his law school ring, and showed his parents around the law school:

That afternoon we went to my parents' house to visit with my family and have a celebration dinner. No pictures from that, but it was great to see some of my brothers.

The weather started cooling off on Sunday, so after church (and after icing my swollen feet) we took a walk around Baylor campus. It was perfect weather, and Baylor is a gorgeous school - different than BYU, but totally comparable in loveliness.

To get the picture above, Luke's dad stood on a fire hydrant. And then showed off his crane skills.

I love the science building and the scripture on top.

On Monday morning we went to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and even though I can't stand and walk around for a long time, I CAN jump more than 80 times with the jump rope. And don't you love Luke's face here:

Look at how they're wearing jackets! By Monday it was 50 degrees and drizzly. And the cooler, wet weather was more than welcome.

We did some shopping and went to a movie that afternoon, and Luke's parents headed home on Tuesday morning. It was great to have them here - the last time we'll see them in Waco, and the last time before the baby comes!

Luke wants to call this post: "Baylawr"

2011-05-01T13:50:00.005-05:00

It's official! Luke graduated, and we are having a great time.

Do you know who this is?

Lorraine, this is my new dress. Also, do I always look this pregnant?

Luke's dad is a very serious (pretend) judge.

More to come next week!

A Very Waco Weekend

2011-04-29T17:19:00.002-05:00

Luke's parents will be here any time, and we're so excited about our weekend plans!

George's
Cotton Palace Pageant
LUKE'S LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION
BBQ with our families
Church
Texas Sports Hall of Fame
Waco Mammoth Site
Mama Baris

It's going to be a very exciting and a very Waco weekend. We'll post pictures next week!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-04-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

I said it on Tuesday (your real birthday), and I'll say it again. No matter how much chemo they make you have, you're still a very young 58. I'm glad I got to hang out with you on your birthday this year.

You were making a funny face in the picture we have of you blowing out the candles in your jello, so I'm posting a picture of Eli "eating" his first solid food instead. Remember how he had open-heart surgery two weeks ago? He's a total champ, and I think that he gets it from you.

I love you, and I hope you had a very happy birthday.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T18:16:00.004-05:00

We had the most wonderful Easter weekend. I got half a day off on Good Friday, and the extended weekend was much needed. After a few days of celebrating and focusing on what matters most, I was much more prepared to go to work this week.

On Saturday Luke and I dyed Easter eggs together using ties (with the tutorial found here, on one of my new favorite blogs).

Here's documenting the process. My motor skills have been seriously affected by pregnancy (not only am I clumsy, but I'm starting to swell a lot too) so Luke got the tying job shortly after the picture of me was taken. And then he was so strong and tying so tight that he cracked one of the eggs. Hence the sad face. Do you think they look like little mummies?

Here are the before and after pictures of the ties and how the eggs came out. Our favorite was the blue and green one in the bottom right.

On Sunday church was lovely, and we got to spend most of the afternoon and evening having Easter with 5 other couples, some of our friends from church.

(We only got a picture of the Nielsons!)

(And us.)

It has been a little while since we had seen some of these friends, so it was really nice to talk and laugh and catch up on what's going on. And towards the end of the evening we read the Easter story from 12 eggs that my mom gives to each of us when we get married and have our own family. (If you've never heard of it, this site tells how to make one.)

Luke and I feel that we have been so richly blessed, and at the top of that list of blessings is our Savior, and our testimonies that He lives. The gospel of Jesus Christ means everything to us. We hope that you were able to feel joy we did/do as we celebrated His life and resurrection this Eater.

Thoughts for Thursday

2011-04-21T20:42:00.004-05:00

Today I went to the lab to be tested for gestational diabetes. While we waited, Luke and I got on the subject of having our wisdom teeth taken out. Remember when he had his out? What you probably don't remember (because I didn't tell you) is that when I was driving him home in his semi-lucid state I told him that I loved him, and he responded by burping at me. Yes, burping. Awesome.

Another highlight of today was having a Passover Seder with some friends. It was the second that I have ever done, and we enjoyed it very much. Including the part when I was moving behind someone's chair and said, "It's ok- I'm really skinny." See:

Remember when I THOUGHT I was starting to get a belly? HAH! (This was in December. Also, does anyone else dislike the phrase "baby bump?")

And here is Luke, making his "I'm not pregnant" pose:

Luke is officially done with classes, and David Sterling has come out for his last stint as Luke's study buddy. He has been a faithful companion for all but Luke's first set of law school finals.

And in case you haven't had enough of my with my hands on my hips yet, here we are getting frozen yogurt to celebrate the end of Luke's classes FOREVER. We were excited to find out that
Baylor students (that's Luke for one more week!) get 1/2 off on Tuesdays.

AAAAAND, end scene.

Nice, Quiet Times

2011-04-17T19:25:00.002-05:00

I've been wanted to blog since Wednesday, but I haven't been able to think of anything I wanted to write about. Earlier today Luke asked me what my "back-up" is when I can't think of what to write about, but since my answer was/is "not blogging" there hasn't been any news around here recently.

Our one big thing is that Tuesday is Luke's last day of class FOREVER. Unbelievable, right? Other than that we're just holding down the fort, enjoying our last few months in Waco.

Also, Eli's surgery went well and he's recovering as expected. Nothing can keep that little guy down. :)

Three Babies

2011-04-10T13:42:00.004-05:00

First things first:

My newest niece was born early on Friday morning. Welcome to MaryEllen Svedin and congratulations to Matt, Sarah, and Jill!

My nephew, Elijah, has been growing strong for five and a half months, and it's time for his second heart surgery. Please remember him, his doctors, and his family in your prayers this week. His big day is Thursday.

And now:

Baby Mott is doing well and we're getting ready for his arrival in a few months. Here's the squeaky glider that we proudly got at a consignment sale (but would happily allow someone to re-cover for us.)

And here's our new kitchen table that he will sit at to eat (just kidding! Luke just mentioned putting a picture of it up so that our parents could see what it looks like.)

AND, here's the blanket that I made for him! I'm very proud of how it turned out, and thankful to my mom for the help and moral support (since I'm not a very confident seamstress yet, even on just sewing straight lines).

There Is Hope, and There Is Joy In the Journey

2011-04-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

Last night for part of family home evening, Luke read a favorite scripture from Abraham and asked how we have seen the hand of the Lord over us since coming to Waco (about two and a half years ago). The verse we read made me think of one of my favorite talks, and a favorite song (just listen- don't worry about the video) as well. We talked about all the ways Heavenly Father has guided and timed the events of this portion of lives: everything from when we came to Waco, my job, my mom's cancer, other family events, all the way to Luke's graduation, our baby coming, and him starting work this summer. It's so clear how Heavenly Father has been with us during this time.

Tonight I finished writing in the journal that I started just under two years ago. The first entry is from June of 2009, the a month before Luke and I got engaged, before we found out about mom's cancer, and right in the midst of a lot of other things that were happening for different members of my family.

It was interesting to not just think about what events have happened, but to read some of the day-to-day things I wrote. The past two years have certainly been eventful and exciting, but they have also been downright hard and exhausting. Thinking about what has happened during the time we have been in Waco reminds me of how pivotal these past two (and a half) years have been in the events of my life, but reading in my journal gave me a chance to think about it on a different level. These years have not just set the direction for events of our lives, but I hope that some of the changes and difficulties have brought about personal refinement and growth in me as well.

It's more difficult to measure the changes that take place in our personal character and our relationships than it is to count the number of jobs, degrees, and children we have. But I'm thankful for the sweet reminder that all of the experiences in our lives are designed for us by the one who knows the end from the beginning, and if we have faith in Him, He'll give us something so much better that what we would have chosen for ourselves.

The Speed of Time

2011-03-30T20:57:00.007-05:00

1. Luke and I have been thinking about General Conference coming up this weekend, and tonight I commented that it has been a really fast six months. When Luke suddenly realized that I've been pregnant for 6 months. I'm telling you, FAST.

2. Luke graduates from law school one month from today. April 30. CRAZY!

3. I just realized that my recent desire to do sewing projects (like this one and this one) and actually start getting some of the baby stuff we need might actually be nesting. Who knew?!

Oh, and I never updated you, but I did end up dying my hair red. (You can kind-of tell in the pictures I posted last time.) And we did find a place to live in Dallas.

At Emily's Request

2011-03-28T20:14:00.003-05:00

Preggo pictures. And for the record, I feel pregnant in real life. I feel big when I look at these pictures (mostly just the second one). Very different feelings.

ps - do you like my rad walking outfit?

Teach Me How to Jimmer?

2011-03-23T22:06:00.002-05:00

I would just like to say that I'm tied for first (with three others) in the March Madness bracket tournament challenge at my work. And I'm the only one of the top 4 that picked BYU to win tomorrow night.

So until then I'll leave you with this video. It's one of those "so bad it's good" type of things:

Baby Related

2011-03-21T20:38:00.004-05:00

1. (Luke really wants you to know this one): At the grocery store on Saturday, there was some woman there representing a photographer and soliciting business. After multiple failed attempts to get us to talk to her, she took it to the next level: "Have you had your pregnancy pose yet?"

2. I had a scary dream last night. The baby was here and through some weird course of events Luke and I left him somewhere- just forgot him. After realizing what had happened and frantically looking for him, we found him in his carrier by a door: cold and wet and very sad. I was so worried about how sick he was going to be; and then I woke up. It was a strange way to find out just how attached I already am to the little guy.

3. Which made me think about a conversation I had with a friend about a month ago. She was telling me about her pregnancy feeling a little weird and unreal, and how she didn't necessarily feel the attachment to her baby that a lot of people describe. She and I also talked about choosing a name, and I think the way naming has turned out for us has surprised me more than any other part of pregnancy so far, and really contributed to our attachment to him.

I never thought I would by the kind of mom that had a name picked out before the baby was born. But because there's a pretty small set of names (we're talking less that 8 total, boys and girls) that Luke and I both really like, we have had a pretty good idea from the start of what we think we'll name our son. And (I'm fully aware of how strange this may sound) we've been calling him by that name for 5 months now. So even though we reserve the right to change our minds completely when we see him in person, and we don't want anything with a name on it until after he's born, I think that the fact that we have been calling our little guy by a specific name had really had large influence on our feeling connected to him and shaping his identity for us. It's been interesting for me to experience and think about.

4. He is making me big. Today someone told me I looked like I swallowed a basketball, which I don't have a problem with at all. But now that we're moving into growth prime-time I've started gaining weight faster and the reality of exactly how much I'm going to weigh at the end of all of this is setting in. Yikes.

And that's all the baby stuff I have. Now that I've written it, are you completely uninterested in all of this? Just curious.

Grandpa Dean

2011-03-16T19:40:00.003-05:00

My Grandpa Dean passed away this week, and I wanted to share the sweet post that Sarah wrote about him with y'all. You can read it here.

I don't have a strong memory for most things, but I can hear Grandpa Dean's distinct voice in my mind: calm and slow, gravelly, and often with a little bit of laughter mixed in as well. I am so thankful that he and my grandma were able to take care of each other for the past 17 years, after Grandpa Dean's wife and my Grandpa Phillips died. I love him very much, and will miss him.

When I started writing, I had no idea this post was going to get out of control. Consider yourself warned.

2011-03-05T08:39:00.005-06:00

I used to go running on Saturday mornings. Now I stay in bed and watch C. Jane's vlogs while Luke gets up and does something important like take the MPRE. Which is he doing this morning. I ate an ice cream cone in bed and read some of Eats, Shoots & Leaves this morning too. Just FYI.

This is the beginning of a LONG weekend for us! When Luke gets back from his test we're going to go to Dallas. In Dallas we will:

1. Go to the Temple. Because we really like to do that.
2. Hang out with my brothers and their families. We really like to do that too.
3. Eat Chipotle. Because we have a coupon.
4. Look at apartments and townhouses.

Why are we looking at apartments and townhouses in Dallas? Oh yeah, because Luke will be starting A JOB in Dallas later this year! Can you believe that I failed to mention that this important piece of information until now? Amazing, no? This is all happening quite fast, so let's recap: later this year the Motts will be REAL LIFE people with a REAL LIFE job and a REAL LIFE baby and will NOT be in school. Woah.

Are you overstimulated by this blog post yet? Because I think I may have managed to get a video on here. For context's sake, most of my nieces and nephews can quote the entirety of If You Give a Pig a Pancake and the other If You... books. In the video, Luke and Claire were discussing said book. Other useful information: pupcakes = cupcakes (not to be confused with pancakes). Enjoy!

About My Hair

2011-03-02T21:36:00.004-06:00

Do you ever feel like you should blog, but don't know what to blog about? Is that the life of every blogger, or just half of the bloggers?

I did just decided that I like my hair long so much more than I liked it short. Though this development has been coming on for a while now, its solidification as a permanent preference is a sort-of recentish.

Also, I've been thinking about dying my hair red again, and I need to know what each and every one of you think about that. And if you think I'm kidding ... I'm just not. I really do want to know, ok?

For your consideration: me, the last time I had red hair (2 years ago):

In other news, isn't life wonderful? I have been holding out some seriously lovely things that I want to tell you about, which is ironic, considering the fact that I didn't really know what to blog about. But I will probably share in a few days.

Until then please tell me what to do about my hair.

EPIC Post of Weekend AWESOMENESS!

2011-02-27T13:58:00.005-06:00

Have I every told you that I sort-of have an aversion to the recent over-use of the word "epic" by teenagers and young adults? It annoys me. The Bible is Epic. The Odyssey is Epic. Lord of the Rings is Epic. Your mom knocking over a potted plant is NOT an "Epic Fail."

But apparently Nat the Fat Rat has found a comfortable place in the sub-conscience, because that's the only post title I can come up with. And speaking of frozen yogurt: Chels- We bought a box of go-gurt to put it in the freezer and ate the entire thing in a week and a half. How fast do you let Bentley go through them?

Photo evidence of us eating the last two frozen go-gurts. And that we like to wear our hoods.

Where were we going, you ask? To Whoville, of course!

This awesome artist visited Waco last year and created these for the 100 year anniversary of Cameron Park. Needless to say, they are very cool.

After said visit to Whoville (during which Luke predictably beat me a bacci ball) we met up with some peeps for bowling. Hi peeps!

I now present you with my first five frames (I'm the 4th one down):

That's right. Nothing. Nothing. Strike. Nothing. Nothing/Spare. Beautifully inconsistent, wouldn't you say?

In other weekend news, I have some videos I want to post but I haven't been able to get blogger to cooperate with me lately. I've semi-reached the conclusion that I have to put my videos on Viemo or Youtube first, and then I can put them on here. Is that right? (I'm looking at you for answers, Rebecca and William, and Chelsea.)

But until I work that out, have some photo teasers of what we did on Saturday night:

Friday Photo

2011-02-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Earlier this week I accidentally took this picture with the camera at work, and it makes me happy. Because you can see my peaches that I was eating for breakfast, and my tape, and my post-it notes, and my roll-a-dex, and my pink scissors, and my shark pen that Lisa got for me one time when she went on a cruise. His name is Sammy and he doesn't work.

I'm half way there, folks!

2011-02-21T19:33:00.008-06:00

Hi all! Just wanted to tell you how much I like being pregnant.

Reason #1 it's awesome to be pregnant:
I get to wear the official sister maternity shirt! We thought it might have been Grace Kelly, but the current consensus is Jackie O. Feel free to weigh in on the discussion. (And it's on the way to you, Sar!)

Jackie O (Kennedy), anyone?

Or Grace Kelly?

Reason #2 why I like being pregnant:
Now that I'm not sick all the time, I'm a little bit glad that I was at first. And when I told someone at work last week that I'm about half way, they told me that I looked great for being that far along. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are some people at work that see me and wonder if I'm pregnant or if I just have a belly. Which I think rocks. This gives me a little bit of hope that I won't gain a million pounds and then have a million pounds to lose after the baby comes. Also - I like people telling me that I'm cute. Apparently a lot of people think pregnancy is cute.

Reason #3 why being pregnant is fun:
Cute fabric! This is what I'm using for rest of the baby blanket formerly known as t-shirt. Darling, no?

Luke is also benefiting from my pregnancy.
We had a normal pillow and a flat pillow, and being the good husband that he is, he lets me have the normal one. But he recently got a new pillow when I needed to commandeer the flat one to sleep with so my back would hurt less.

And so, all is well with us and the little man.

The Marshmallow Challenge

2011-02-17T07:32:00.000-06:00

A few Sundays ago we were at Mom's house for dinner with the Woodsworths. While some of the food finished cooking, the adults sat at the table and talked. We were joined by Claire, who is usually one to hang out with the adults rather than her brothers.

About 10 minutes before everything was ready the hunger pains set in. (She was, after all, sitting at the table, and didn't understand why it wasn't dinner time yet.) Not wanting to feed her too much before we all sat down, we gave her a bite or two to hold her over. Except that didn't work. At which point Rebecca had the brilliant idea of having Claire do the marshmallow challenge, a la President Uchtdorf.

It was clear that Claire was an experienced marshmallow challenger and knew exactly how things were going to go down. She requested a pink marshmallow, and was promised that if she could wait 5 minutes to eat it, she could have her marshmallow AND an entire plate of dinner.

There was almost a crisis when big brother swooped in and tried to steal the mallow off her plate, but it was recovered and all was set right. After 5 minutes and the prayer, Claire proudly declared that she, and she alone, got to have an entire plate of dinner. But she didn't seem to mind that we all went ahead and ate with her.

Victory.

Can there be too many red-heads?

2011-02-15T21:52:00.003-06:00

Can you imagine the world with another one of these running around?

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
We hope that our little boy has red hair, just like his dad.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T21:00:00.004-06:00

Dear friends,

We sure do love you.

Will you be our valentine?

Love, the Motts

PS - stay tuned for news about whether baby Mott is a boy or a girl!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2011-02-09T18:18:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Khai (Luke's law school buddy) we Motts were able to ring in the year of the rabbit in style. Style = free Pei Wei, the Lion dance, and the Baylor Asian Student Association. AND a Hi-Chew (singular, shared by Mary and Khai).

Khai and Luke

The Motts and the Lions

This is probably my favorite part of the evening:
All of the kids in the Asian student association were wearing these rad shirts, and I really wanted one. And I also sort of wanted one for the baby. Since he (or she) is going to be born in 2011 and will be a Rabbit and all.

And so I was ecstatic when we found out that they were selling them. But then I was devastated when the only size they had left was XL. And so we decided to buy the extra large and I'm going to make it into a baby blanket for our little rabbit, much like unto the one that I made with Chinglish shirts from Taiwan. Except smaller. And with only one shirt. I'm pretty stoked about it.

And speaking of our rabbit, we fin out if it's a boy or a girl on Tuesday! Register your guesses now. :)

Hibernation

2011-02-03T12:28:00.004-06:00

It's been like, way cold here. And everywhere else, of course.

So cold that all you want to do it read a book in your pajamas. And now that Luke is done with his finals for the quarter, he totally could (even though he's not going to).

I have to go to work, so I only get to read books in my pajamas when I get home. Which is still not too bad of a deal.

But since it's too cold to do anything but go to work and finish finals and read books in your pajamas (or go through some files and watch sports, if you're Luke) I'm not blogging. Clearly.

Maybe we will have some more lovely things to tell you when we come back in the spring?

Note: When Luke read this, he was concerned about being in hibernation. "You're not blogging any more?" Rest assured I'll be back within the week. It doesn't stay cold THAT long in Texas. :)

Mott State of the Blog Address 2011

2011-01-26T21:17:00.003-06:00

Part- not quite all- of Luke's reading for Practice Court.

Innovation! Education! Jobs! Reducing the deficit!

Though it appears that President Obama created his 2011 agenda for congress based on the 2011 agenda for the Mott household, we won't hold it against him. Worth goals, we say.

Innovation! Creativity! Did you see the card that I posted on Saturday? 'Nough said. Not enough? How about creating a little human? We're on a roll here.

Education! Luke has finished classes for the quarter, and the only thing that stands between him and graduation is finals, another quarter, and finals. Goodbye, practice court. As for my education, I paid my $0.90 fine at the library yesterday so that I could check out some more books. Bring on the knowledge.

Jobs! I have one! Aren't they such a blessing? We like to think that Luke will have one this year too! No news yet, but rest assured it's on our 2011 agenda.

Reducing the deficit! Much like the federal government, we like to think of it as an investment. Unlike the federal government, we have plans for ours to be completely gone within the foreseeable future. It all starts with 2011.

This is our Sputnik moment! (Ok, maybe not.) But we are going to win the future! We do big things!

Thanks, Mr. P.

Best line of the night.

2011-01-24T19:34:00.005-06:00

Just when I think I know just how silly Luke can be (and I'm sure I know this better than anyone else), he surprises me and makes me laugh uncontrollably.

Me: "Did you see the article about [insert cheesy story here]?"

Luke: "Yes-- I had kind of a mixed reaction. [pause] Part of me wanted to puke and part of me wanted to jump-kick something."

Ah, I love this kid.

This is an incoherent rambling of things I've been thinking of telling you/asking you about this week.

2011-01-22T10:31:00.007-06:00

You're getting it as it comes, people. Exciting, no?

I realized that I haven't posted any pictures for a while. Not that any of my posts are all that wordy anyway, but it's nice to have something to break up the monotony, right? So here you are.

Going to card exchange this week made me particularly happy, since I hadn't been in about 4 months. I'm the proud creator of this card:

Luke finished his big trial for practice court! All that's left this quarter are finals, and then it's OVER. Somewhat related to this, we went for frozen yogurt yesterday. Check out his rad outfit.
Yes, those are dress socks, remnant of the suit he had been wearing earlier in the day. Incase you're wondering what kind of yogurt I got, it was yellow cake batter with cooking dough chunks and almonds on top. I get it every time. Except for the times that I don't get it, and at those times my froyo inevitably disappoints me. NEVER get lo-fat anything. It tastes like aspartame. Gross.

So, every time I cross my right leg over my left, one of the muscles on my right leg starts twitching. It's been going on for two days straight. It's annoying. Has this ever happened to you? According to the internet I might be able to get it to stop if I increase magnesium. I need to eat almonds and bananas.

This kid cracks me up. Double Drat? Where does she get this stuff? And do you think she'll still be as adorable when she starts to talk normally? Also: pink one-piece pajamas? So cute.

And congratulations to my precious on earning his Eagle Scout award. Good work dude.

Also, would any of you like to recommend any intelligent and thought provoking non-fiction books about parenting and newborns, preparing for motherhood, and things like that? Thanks.

Journals for Yesterday, Lovely for Today

2011-01-18T17:04:00.005-06:00

I was going to blog yesterday, since Mr. MLK was kind enough to let me off work for his day. But I didn't. So I'm blogging today.

Shout out to Tori, because I'm super excited for you and your new job. And I liked what you said about your success journal.

Yesterday Luke was my personal success journal, because I haven't started that good habit on my own yet like Tori has. And so even though I did all kinds of successful things like made muffins and bought cereal and visited my mom for a few hours and saw some other people I don't see nearly often enough these days, I forgot all about those things. I just thought about how I didn't scan pictures for my mom, and I didn't work on my RS lesson, and how I did watch Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and ate banana pudding for dinner. And so I felt like a naughty girl who had been making bad choices, which was exacerbated by the fact that my RS lesson is about making good choices. And see why I didn't blog?

But this is the part where Luke comes in as my success journal, because he reminded me about the muffins and my mom and the other stuff, and then he helped me scan the pictures, and then I didn't feel so sad anymore, so I worked on my RS lesson. And that's why being married is great.

Do you think it would be weird or too cheesy if I started telling you about lovely things that happen to me? I'm going to. These lovely things happened today:

Lovely #1 - Razzmatazz is better than I remembered.
Lovely #2 - My mom was home today and I didn't think she was going to be.
Lovely #3 - I had an extra piece of my boss' letterhead out, and we ended up needing it after all! It's the little things.
Something else lovely was discovered to me today too: this blog.

Was that too weird? Would it also be too weird if I asked you to tell me about some lovely things that have happened to you recently? I hope not. Because I just did.

Good! Because I didn't want to be a Virgo anyway.

2011-01-15T11:04:00.002-06:00

Did you hear about this?

Luke and I have been highly entertained as we've read a few articles online about the big shift of the western zodiac. According to these folks, I should be having an identity crisis because (turns out!) I'm really a Virgo and not a Scorpio. And Luke? He didn't even HAVE a personality before now, because he's really an Ophiuchus! What are we going to do?

So of course I was relieved this morning when I started looking for articles to link for this blog post and the first one I pulled up quotes NYC's foremost astrologer, Lawrence Grecco. He says it's ok, and I'm still a Scorpio after all. Thanks, Lawrence.

ps- I noticed that I could be the first of my facebook friends to "like" the Lawrence Grecco article. How weird that none of you have read it and liked it yet. :)

Pregnancy makes you lose your mind and your keys.

2011-01-10T18:46:00.002-06:00

When I tried to leave home for work this morning my car keys weren't hanging on the hook by the door like they usually are.

So I checked my coat pockets (where they are when they're not on the hook). Nothing.

Purse (the only other place they live consistently). Not there either.

Floor by my night stand and the bed, where I emptied out my purse last night. Just books, no keys.

Floor behind the shoe rack under the hook (sometimes I miss the hook and they fall). Nope.

And so while I went through my purse again, I called work (since I was already late) to let them know that I would be there as soon as I could, but I didn't know how long it was going to take me to find the keys. Or if I was going to have to call someone to come take me to work, since Luke was in Dallas. (He reminded me tonight that we have a set of spare keys in the desk that I had totally forgotten about.)

Then I went into the closet to check the pockets of my other jackets. From the closet I called Luke, because he can help me remember things (and just in case he had my keys. You never know).

"Luke, I can't find my car keys. Oh wait, here they are."

Sitting on the water heater in our closet, somewhere I would never put them unless I was totally out of my mind. But in the moment when I looked down and saw them, I did remember setting them there last night. And apparently didn't pick them back up again.

I don't have a great memory under regular circumstances, but I think this morning's search was somewhat vindicating for every person who has ever said something about pregnancy brain. You may have been cliche, but you were also completely right.