Good Morning Baltimore!

The last two weeks have been quite the adventure for us.  Just as we started feeling like we were getting into the groove of things here, we got some new exciting news....news that David has dreamed of since we have been dating.
David has been on the job hunt for the last year.  He had a job, but he didn't enjoy working with a cranky lady each day.  He had interviews here and there and we kept hoping he would be able to move on to a better job, but nothing worked out.
At the beginning of August David started interviewing for a job at one of the Big 4...there are four accounting firms that are the kings of the accounting world.  David had his first two interviews over the phone.  Then after a month of this, he finally heard that he was going to be flown out to Baltimore for an in-person interview.  He was just a tad bit excited.  While we were still aware that he didn't have the job yet, we couldn't help but think that as long as he didn't do anything socially wrong, he was hired.  They probably don't just fly anyone out for those interviews, but what if they did?
We went and got David a brand new suit and trimmed his hair and he gave me a preview of his interview attire to check for my approval and so he was looking so good!  He packed his bag, studied up on interviewing skills and was off to Baltimore.
He assumed he was going to be grilled and that this would be such a tough interview for such a big company and was very surprised...and relieved that it was casual Friday and his interview seemed to be just as casual.  He loved it!
He loved talking to people that he would be working with that were actually young and in the same stage of life as him.  People that had similar interests and that he could have an enjoyable conversation with.
But now the wait began.  We wondered how long it would take before he heard if he had the job or not.  He met up with my brother and went out to eat and they tracked down the Ravens NFL stadium...top priority I guess :)  Then he flew home and dreaded the thought of going back to his old job and possibly getting turned away from the new big and fancy one.
Monday came and we mentioned that it could be the day.  The first business day after the interviews that he could hear back about the job.  I was checking the phone and his email constantly for any news....and there was something.  They emailed him and wanted to chat with him about the interviews.  We only had one phone between us and I had it so I rushed on over and he gave them a call.
They had the best news he could have imagined...he got the job!  He got the new job with a huge pay raise, 10 times better benefits, and 1000 times better future job potential.
We are mostly excited to be heading out east.  We are on the hunt for a place to live...(too many places have bars on the windows...YIKES, no thank you!), trying to sell some stuff we don't want to haul across the country on our drive, and trying to figure out what we want to keep.  I will be leaving my soccer team, but they will only be without me for a couple weeks and my assistant coach is okay with finishing off the season for me.  I am sad to go, but it isn't worth it to stick around here to coach.  David also started up his window washing business a little over a month ago...he is sad to leave it since it has been doing really well and it picked up really fast, but we know there are bigger and better things in store for us in Baltimore.  This will be quite the adventure, but we are ready for some changes and for the big opportunities we can find out there.

Fire Ninjas

I am quite the super hero!  A couple weeks ago I realized that it was almost soccer season and I thought it would be fun to coach a kids team.  So, I emailed around to the different soccer clubs around here to see if they were in need of any coaches.  Coaching is 100% volunteers and usually one of the parents of the kids on the team steps up to coach, so it wasn't very likely, but I thought I might as well ask.

Lucky for me, there was a team that was in desperate need of a coach.  Apparently the club had called through the roster of kids to beg the parents to coach.  The called a meeting hoping that they would have better luck convincing a parent to step up if they talked to them in person.  If no one would step up and be willing to coach that season, then the team would be dissolved and done with.

This is where I came in!  They had called the meeting and were sad that this team was about to be done, and then they got my email.  They were thrilled but wondering who I was and why in the world would I want to coach "just for fun".  We chatted a bit and they realized I wasn't crazy and that they had a willing volunteer!

At the meeting they introduced me to the parents and my new team.  They were all grateful that I wanted to help, but I was so glad that none of the parents wanted to do it :)  We all got what we wanted!!

We have had our first week of practice and it has been really fun.  They are all 8 and 9 years old so most of them have the basics down.  There are a couple of air heads, but what team doesn't have those :) At the end of the first day, one boy came up to me, gave me a hug and said, "I love to play soccer so much and I am so happy you will be my coach.  Thanks a lot."  He is the sweetest boy, but he is serious about soccer and he is a really good player.

We weren't assigned a team name and so I let the boys decide on what they wanted.  I kept pushing for the Fireballs since that was my team name when I was little.  They liked it since it wasn't girly.  The boys submitted their favorite team names and we voted.  I had them vote with their eyes closed...they still peeked.  Some of the boys had their hands over their eyes with their fingers cracked so they could see and every time I would say a team name the boys who liked that team name would raise their hands.  The ones that were peeking would swing their head around and see what people were voting for...really sneaky :)  I was a little tempted to sway the votes and say Fireballs won the vote, but it came in a close second.  The majority wanted to be the Fire Ninjas.  I was surprised to see that the Killer Kittens came in 3rd...goofy boys!  These boys crack me up and I have already been karate chopped by one boy when I asked for a high 5 :)  It will be a fun season!

Mud Run

Over the weekend we went up to Bogus Basin, but there was no snow. ..luckily!  We had a friend watch Katelyn so that David and I could run the Dirty Dash.  It was pretty fun!  

We were running through the mountains on the slopes and there were obstacles about every mile over the 6 mile course.  Some of the obstacles were muddy and others weren't.  The first one was some hay bales that we jumped over.  They were 5 foot tall bales on an uphill.  By the last one were were getting tired and didn't realize how scraped up our shins and knees were.

Then there were some balance beams along the way.  Then we came to the tires.  The tires were tricky for me because there was a girl in front of me and to the side of me that I was trying to steer clear of and not land in the same tires as them.  David took his time through the tires, just taking them one at a time :)  We were a little bummed with these "boring" obstacles, but we knew the good ones were coming!

 The first "good" obstacle was nice and muddy!  We climbed over a slippery/muddy hill which seemed impossible to stay on your feet and it dumped us into a shin high mud soup pit.  Then we climbed through the swampy mud through some tunnels.  Then there were poles that you could either climb over or duck under.  We went over which we thought would be easier but we just got a lot of mud between our legs every time we straddled the pole to get over which was NOT good for more running.  We were nervous about rubbing our thighs raw, but they were just fine :)  Our shoes and our shorts felt a lot heavier after that mud pit and our shorts had a hard time staying on!

The next obstacle was this wall.  There were a few of these and some were 4 feet tall and some 6 feet tall.  We definitely didn't train for these!  There was mud sloshing around at the base of them where we were trying to jump from to get up.  The walls were really slippery and muddy too and one time David went to jump off and his feet slipped out from under him and he rolled nicely into the mud pit on the other side.  He didn't get hurt and I got a good giggle out of it!

 At the top of the mountain there was a beer chug, or for us there was a root beer chug.  They had a couple water stations along the way and those were nice and refreshing.  But root beer is not the refreshing drink you want when you still have 2 miles to run!  I drank half of mine before I realized how bad of an idea that was.  The last 2 miles were all down hill and we were burping and pulling our shorts up and mud was flinging off our bodies as we probably sounded like a pair of laughing elephants trudging down the mountain.

As we came to the finish line there was this huge slide.  I loved it!

 David was in the next lane over sliding on down.

 After the huge slide, we were greeted into the huge swamp of mud with kids all around the outside chucking mud at the racers.  One of them nailed me on the side of the head and took off running but I got him back :)

 I had to make sure they could see my number!

We made it!  This was such a casual race as they weren't really recording times...thank goodness!  There were teams that would dress up in costumes and had fun with capes, armor, tutus and waldo outfits.  It was such a fun, non-competitive race and we cleaned up pretty well in the freezing community showers.  I donated my muddy shoes to a show company that was collecting them to clean up and give to those that need them.  Such a fun race but I can't wait to run a real race soon to see how my running has paid off.  

I have a ONE year old!

I have often heard that your first and your last birthday have a lot of things in common.  You need help blowing out the candles on your cake, someone chooses who your friends are and does all the inviting, and you don't know what's going on during your own party.  

We celebrated Katelyn's birthday and we were definitely more excited than she was about the whole thing.  Well, I think I would have to say that I was a little more into it than David was once he realized she really didn't have a clue what the big deal was.  

Some people rent their own circus with a balloon-animal-making clown, bounce houses, carousals, water slides and invite half of the world.  We almost did that...you know us!    Just couldn't find the clown so we called the whole party off :)

Here's how we celebrated her special day...

This cake and cupcakes...writing with frosting is stinkin' hard!  I do not have a steady hand and those cupcakes were for family only because I used my fingers way to much and licked them every single time :)  The cake was safe to share though!

I made very attractive party hats.  They did a wonderful job of emphasizing any "extras" around our jaw lines being sure to let everyone know about our double chins.  Katelyn didn't dig in like I wanted her to.  She was very careful with the cupcakes and didn't even make a big mess.  She also didn't blow out her candle.  We tried to practice the whole week before, but she didn't get the idea of blowing.  She better be a pro by her next birthday!  

She was very thoughtful of others and wanted to share her cupcakes with Dad.  I don't think he minded at all :)

So sweet!

 The party hats weren't that flattering but we all wore them because I wanted them so badly.  Katelyn even wore hers to the store too :)  She sort of figured out that these bags had stuff in them...

...and she wanted to make sure Dad saw her new clothes as she tackled him :)

We love this little girl so much and never realized how happy she could make us.  We love having her around and being constantly entertained by her.  She may have drop dead stinky diapers that have to go directly outside, but she is so sweet and playful and we can't get enough of her!

I love that face of hers!  Such a precious girl looking so grown up and not so much like a baby any more!

Look what I Made!

I inherited a beauty of a sewing machine.  Well, no one died for me to get this, but my mom has her own fancy one so she gave me this one.  It is pretty old, but that makes it so much better...maybe.  But the important thing is that it works!  It can sew strait lines and that's all I know how to do so I'm happy!

At a yard sale there was a ton of fabric for super cheap so I grabbed a bag full for just $5 and have gone to town.  It has been fun so far!

David wasn't so excited to get this as it comes with the desk and I put it up in our room.  He knows that this crafty space won't just stay within the boundaries of the cabinet/desk so he worries how fast I can make a "mess with this stuff" (that's what he thinks it is).  As I started on my first project, he was excited that I was actually using this sewing machine and it wasn't just hogging space.  He warmed up to the little thing and wanted to try it out himself!  He watched a couple intro to sewing videos on YouTube and then went for it.

and this is what he made...

 ...a fun little toy dice for Katelyn and it even has a homemade rattle in the middle of it :)  Here's how we made it...Cloth Blocks Tutorial

I have been addicted to this site...http://www.makeit-loveit.com and some other crafty blogs and have followed tutorials to make all of the things I've made.  You can learn almost anything on the internet for free!  Hooray!

Here is my first project...Diaper and Wipes Case...  I first covered a wipes case to make it pretty (no sewing) and then I made a case to hold diapers so I don't have to swim through the diaper bag anymore looking for a diaper.

This is my most recent project and I almost ruined it and threw it away but I saved it and made it work and I love it!  This dress is pretty simple...Braided collar dress...not too shabby!

 I couldn't get Katelyn to look at me...or smile.  She was perfectly happy and giggly and then once I turned on my camera Katelyn was so distracted.

 That cat kept on inching forward and at first Katelyn was ok with it but it kept on getting closer and closer and it started to scare her.  I have never been a fan of cats and this one annoyed me just like they usually do.  And this is the cat that has torn up my welcome mat...:(

I also made some of these ...Bandana Dress...this pink one, a black one and a blue one.

They are cute, but not my favorite.  You can see the short and the long spots...those are supposed to be there I promise.  But it makes it tricky for Katelyn to wear with her walking, crawling  and standing and getting caught on the long parts as she moves.  Right now the short spots make it too short for dresses, but the long spots make it too long for skirts.  I might trim the long spots off and turn them all into skirts.  

Here is a cool project that is surprisingly simple.  I made this neat scripture cover ...Scripture case tutorial...and I even modified it since my Bible is separate from my Book of Mormon combination but I still wanted them to be together and only have one set of straps.

It has been fun and I have plenty of fabric left to make some more cute stuff.  I love that I have been able to make things that I can actually take into public without being completely embarrassed :)

Today's a Big Day

This day is a special day for a few reasons.  My not-so-little little brother is another year older!

He's a cute one!  But he's got himself a girl he chases after already...sorry this stud is taken :)

 I can't believe he is a Senior this year.  That makes me feel so old...Yikes!
 Luke shares his special day with one of my other brothers.  Chad and Amber are celebrating their 10th?..maybe 11th anniversary today.

They make cute kids too!  It must run in the family because so far they have all turned out pretty good looking :)


When I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Katelyn my dad started up a guessing game so everyone could put in their prediction of when they thought she would arrive.  I think everyone was wrong with her coming a week late...silly girl.
Today was my sister's due date.  A week ago we started putting in our guesses.  I thought maybe a couple days over and the baby would come on the 20th.  Others thought the 22nd, the 16th, 19th, and so on.  But we should have all been a little suspicious when Tracie and Ryan put in their guesses early for the 14th and the 15th.  I think they knew something we didn't or maybe they just really wanted that Blizzard prize :)

This cute little boy made his arrival late Sunday night and Mom and David cheated and tried to snag those time slots for the Blizzard once they heard Tracie was at the hospital.  This family will do anything for ice cream!  

 These are the cutest little kids!  I have been looking at these pictures all week!  I am glad baby Jake didn't wait until today to come because I have loved  seeing these pictures of him with his brothers and sister.

Such a precious little guy!  Katelyn has been fascinated with him in all the pictures and I think she is okay not being the youngest little grand child anymore.  I am not sure how Morgan, the new big sister, is taking this new addition, but Easton and McKay seem to think having a tiny little brother is pretty neat!

Oh happy day!

She's Taking Off

This was written up at the beginning of the month...whoops!

The last few weeks with Katelyn have been so fun!  She has been doing and learning so many new things and we love it!  The way she moves and plays and talks and thinks seem to be so different than they were before.  I don't think any of these things are record breaking events, and some things might be advanced for her age and others might be behind for her age but I am fascinated by watching her mind go to town.

• She is understanding the purpose of most toys.  She stacks rings on their stand, holds, hugs and "kisses" (eats) teddy bears and dolls, she shakes things that make noise, puts the phone to her ear...or shoulder...and jabbers away, pulling the toy on a string like a dog on a leash, and she rolls balls and chases them all around our place.  She likes to just play with her toys and it is cute to watch her ways of doing things.
• She is learning different signs.  When I started showing her the signs she didn't show any interest and never did the signs from 6-9 months so it was frustrating and it was hard waiting for her to respond to them.  Now she can pick up on a new sign immediately and within a day she will have it down so if I say a word like "all done" then she will do the sign.  It is neat that we can communicate with her a little bit even though she can't verbally talk yet.  We mostly use the signs for feeding time so she knows when to do these ones on her own: "more", "all done", and "eat" (I'm hungry).  I love that she knows "all done" so she doesn't have to smack the spoon and food out of my hand to tell me anymore.
• Sometimes we don't know the real sign so we make one up and she picks up on it.  We have bath time each night...which she now loves and she turns into a little wild monkey crawling and splashing and climbing around the tub laughing and jabbering and singing away....and we have now idea what the sign is for bath, so we "wash our hair" for our sign.  We did it one night and then didn't think to do it for a few days and then one night I told Katelyn it was bath time and she did the sign!  I couldn't believe she remembered what I showed her the few days before.  
• She loves drinking out of water bottles rather than her sippy cups.  Not a big deal, but it is just cute to watch her lift the heavy (for her) full water bottle and prop it up to drink out of it.
• She chooses to walk more and more. She chooses to walk most of the time but still crawls sometimes too. She is still very unbalanced and falls often but seems to like walking and gets back up.  Often when she could crawl one step she will take the time to stand up and take a couple little shuffle steps and then squat down or sit and get what she was going after.
• Her teeth came in rapid fire and didn't give her a break.  She has 6 teeth now.  She had her little fangs for a week or two and then the top and then the bottom front teeth started coming in one after another.  She has been okay with teething.  Most days she is normal but the days the tooth is ready and pokes through she is a cranky beast!  
• She talked with Grandpa Rudd for 30 minutes on the phone.  She kept interrupting him and wouldn't let him talk very much.  He is quite the talker, but I think Katelyn will give him a tough time for that title in the family :)
• She loves cheerios.  She only likes the complete round ones though and will pick through and leave the ones that aren't whole.  Goofy girl!
• She figured out how to use those teeth to bite off pieces of a banana.  
• Often times we have our clean pile of laundry in the hallway before it gets put upstairs.  Lately Katelyn has been fascinated with David's underwear (they are clean, remember?) and will find a pair in the pile and then come back down the hall with them over her head ...sometimes walking which  makes us laugh so hard because she is already wobbly as she walks and with underwear over her head she tries to look around to see where she's going and she falls and gets turned around easier... and then plays "peekaboo" with them! I promise we have not taught her this,  We have only played peekaboo with blankets or behind walls/around corners/around furniture...not underwear!  We have no idea why she keeps choosing the undies when there are all sorts of other things to choose from but maybe she knows how funny she is and likes the laughter and chuckles she gets out of us.
• She is wiggly and doesn't like to sit still much.  She tries all she can to climb out of her high chair, stroller, or shopping carts.  When she is done being in there, she always figures out a way to get through the straps and buckles and start climbing out.
• She is also fascinated by the stairs.  We didn't want to buy a gate for our stairs and we just had a box in the way so she couldn't get up.  She figured out how to push the box out of the way so then it became a battle.  We were trying to figure out how to keep her downstairs but still be able to get down ourselves safely even when holding Katelyn.  So David filled two boxes with books thinking that would definitely be heavy enough.  It wasn't.  She pried that box away and headed up the stairs.  Then we put the tool box in the way as well.  She was able to hold onto the box full of books or the tool box and put her toes on the tiny little piece of the stair that hung over and climb up and over the barricade.  David ended up putting a huge box over the top and then wedged it with the basketball.  Finally Katelyn couldn't get through...but neither could we without nearly twisting our ankles and we had to hand Katelyn off at the bottom of the stairs so we wouldn't drop her trying to get past the wall of stuff.  We gave in and bought a gate that night and the problem is finally solved.  We were outsmarted by Katelyn and we finally gave up.
• She likes giving things to us.  This has been the most helpful when she puts something she's not supposed to have in her mouth.  If we ask for it, she will spit it out and hand it over...much better than fishing through her mouth and getting chomped on with her sharp teeth!  There are way too many bugs around though so a few times it has been really gross!
• She has finally figured out how to fall asleep without being held.  I love snuggle time, but I also love that I can put her in her crib when she's getting droopy-eyed and she will go to sleep.
• She gives good kisses now to us.  If we pucker up she will climb up or do whatever it takes to come claim her kiss. She doesn't pucker up her lips, but she will lean in and just touch you with her lips and it is so sweet.  We LOVE her sweet soft kisses and we can't get enough of them!