the month of ♥

our wedding anniversary AND valentine's day in 1 month?! according to chris that's almost (but not quite) as stressful as my birthday and christmas being in the same month. not to worry though- he made it through the celebrations unscathed and now has another year's reprieve before having to deal with the duo again.

"romance"... a word with such an ambiguous, subjective meaning. i looked it up on the internet and i swear the most common definition i came across was "a love affair". i was like- "well, jeez. that sounds fairly horrific to have go on during a marriage. let's try to find a different definition." and then of course, according to chris "romance" is an arbitrary term without any real definition- apparently people just pretend to know what it is and act accordingly. but, no matter what definition we're going for here, i'm just going to skip all pretenses and submit my opinion that it is a tad difficult to feel romantic in any sense of the word when one is very ripe with child. although i'm sure i could muster up enough energy to be coy and flirtacious if i really had to (and by that i mean really really had to), this year it felt much more appropriate to be straightforward and sincere. lucky for me, chris is all about straighforward sincerity (i love that man so much).

so on february 2nd we celebrated our first year wedding anniversary. chris was a darling and took me out to a trendy little restaurant that we frequented often back when we were first dating. not only was it SO nice to have a break from making & cleaning up after dinner (i had worked very long hours that day), it was also nice to reminisce about our first year together as marrieds in the place where we started out years ago. of course, all of this happened while i indulged in a giant bistro-burger and garlic fries... something i'd have NEVER done back when we were dating- you know, back when i had a dainty appetite and didn't feel like smelling of garlic the whole night (oh, how pregnancy changes things).
-oh yeah. and chris had a "bistro-pizza". because, you know, chris loses his super-powers if he doesn't eat pizza at least once a week.

for the celebration of our 3rd valentine's day together, we had an awesome date lined up at grossmont hospital's women's center for a new parent tour. we were the only ones in the group that evening (i guess people don't want to go to the hospital on valentine's day? how strange...), so it ended up being a more intimate experience than i anticipated, which was really nice. it was such a relief to be able to pre-register and take a dry-run of where we're supposed to go on the big day (preparing tends to calm a lot of my anxieties), and we were both impressed by the facility and the staff. as chris and i walked back out to our car he reached his arm around me and began planning our "for real" visit with tender excitement. it touched my heart to hear him. his presence with me at that moment was the sweetest valentine's gift i've ever been given.
-oh yeah. and afterwards we went to the souplantation. because i wanted to. ;)

so anyhow. back to "romance". i never found a conclusive definition. apparently, according to the internet, the general idea is that romance is some sort of ambient sensation that is relatively short-lived. meh. if that's the case, who needs romance anyways? i say a healthy base of good old-fashioned love is much more important. i promise that googling "love" renders much better results than googling "romance". love'll put up with essence of garlic-fries and voluntary hospital trips any old day. beat that romance!

taken 02/13/2011- the day before valentine's day.

january- 2011

time for new years resolutions... right? chris and i had a discussion new years day that went like this-

me: so, i think my new years resolution for this year will be... get back into shape. but procrastinate until march. i have a feeling like i might just spontaneously drop around seven or eight pounds in the middle of march for some reason. whaddaya think?

chris: what are you talking about? what the heck is a "new years resolution"?*

mmhm. real conversation. welcome 2011!

---

the recurrent theme for this month has been variations on "noel's brain doesn't work anymore"... never thought it would happen to me. but it has. and it has been rather pathetic. while i am getting worse and worse at what i am normally good at, chris is just functioning along just as well as he usually does. his new thing now is trying to see if HE can gain more weight. pah! gain weight. i got his weight gain right here:

(this was actually taken in february. i was a tad smaller back in january.)

 

while i am sporting a belly, HE is still flaunting these-

- which is SO fair, right? doesn't look like he's having a baby whatsoever.

related story:

so back last april while chris was gone to west virginia i attempted to aqcuire a tan via sun-bathing at our apartment pool area. to document progress, i took pictures of myself- or whatever i could get of myself with my cell phone camera, which ended up being the midsection between the top and bottom of my sparkly, sequined black bathingsuit. i had forgotten that i had taken these until i searched my phone earlier this month and found them. i was pretty overjoyed that they were still there- i've got a pre-pregnancy photo of my abs like they never will be, ever again!!! how priceless is that??
after finding this image on my phone, i handed it to chris and asked, "hey. whose body is that?" he raised his eyebrows, handed the phone back to me very cautiously and answered, "i don't know, but i don't recognize it."
awww. "you mean you don't remember? that's my body before i got all pregnant by you."
snatching the phone back from me he said "that's you? woah............ when did you take this?"
"last april"
"woahhhh..... it's like... your stomach doesn't even poke out it actually caves in.... yeah, you definitely don't look like that anymore. you'd better save this so our kids will know what you used to look like."

haaaaaa. i love my husband- he's so honest. i told him not to worry. i aint never gettin' rid of that photo ever. but i'm not going to post it either- my mother would die if i posted a picture of my scantily clad torso on the internet (she thinks this blog and facebook are bad enough).

anyhow, enough about stories. back to new year's resolutions.
after defining the term to chris, i was informed that he "doesn't believe in those."
"there are no 'new years resolutions' in this house," he declared, "only lifetime resolutions. we don't set ourselves up for failure. you want to make a change, then do it. no waiting around until next year to start."
"oh...." i said, taken slightly aback. chris generally isn't prone to saying such bossy statements (that's usually a noel thing), yet his words were very valid, and made quite a bit of sense to my mind, even in it's pregnancy-ravaged state.
"well... jeez.... then how about... waiting until after the baby is born to get back into shape?" i asked.
chris looked at me, an amused grin spreading across his face.
"i will allow that," he said, authoritatively.
i thanked him for his benevolent consideration.
and then he asked me to make him some cookies. which i readily did for him. hey, gotta figure out some way to fatten that boy up a bit... so i don't look so bad. ;) just assisting him in his "lifetime resolution" to gain more weight. gotta be supportive. :)

*chris maintains that he actually really knew what a new years resolution was. he said he just didn't understand the context in which i was using the term at that moment. so we're all clear here.

coming up shortly...

arright. so i realize that things are happening a little slowly on this blog. this may be attributed to the fact that the author of this blog has been reduced to moving along at a glacial pace while still attempting to keep up with a lightning-speed life and ridiculously agile husband. needless to say, i'm laggin. BUT, it's all good. january 2011 post should be poppin up any day now. i just need to take a couple pictures.

for those of you wondering, this squirmy little babe inside of me is due to enter the world sometime around the 17th of march (that's next month! oh man...). quarters are becoming quite cramped up here in the mama hotel- i've got surprisingly strong little feets jabbin at my ribs, and what i'm sure is a cute little noggin consistently head-butting my bladder. it is my hope that our little fetus decides to be punctual. although i have got to say, taking into account the "discomforts" of the 3rd trimester- the leg cramps, the not-sleeping at night, the acid refluxing (yes, more oblations to the porcelain throne from this one), the duck-waddling, the inability to bend at the waist or breathe while laying down, the fatigue- these things are NOTHING compared to the agonizing morning sickness that haunted me the entirety of my 1st trimester, and half of my 2nd. so i'm good with this trimester. and as far as i'm concerned, it's the best part of pregnancy.

so anyhow. stay tuned. next post will be up shortly.

a year in our life. the 2010 review.

as if every post on this blog wasn't a monthly review anyways. but it's fun to put it all back into perspective. a lot of life-changing things happened in our lives this past year.

january: i was not so blonde this month. also, chris and i had some serious discussions about how waiting too long to get married when you're striving to live a chaste lifestyle is kind of a bad idea. and so we aimed to solve the problem by planning on getting married sooner rather than later.

jan 2010- at torrey pines

february: why wait any longer? we eloped. since we couldn't get married in the temple (chris was still a new member), i wanted to do it without the pomp and grandeur. we got married because we wanted to be together, and we didn't need a huge party to do it. the simplicity of that was- and still is- beautiful to me.

feb 2010- at the county clerk's office

march: chris thought this was a good month to a) severely injure his ankle during church basketball and b) get a 3 week long cold. therefore, it comes as no surprise that he was not a happy camper for the entirety of this time.

march 2010- chris has a hurt ankle

april: chris goes to west virginia for 3 weeks for a specialized training course. while he is there he celebrates his birthday alone in his hotel room amid the throws of food poisoning. poor guy. that was one of the most pathetic phone calls i've ever gotten. while he was gone i managed to rack up a tiny little tan and turn back into a blonde. he was quite impressed when he returned home (i was just impressed that i could actually tan, haha! obviously it didn't stick around for too long, as i'm not a sun worshipper).

may: road trip to ma & pa staples in arizona!! chris's parentals were so kind as to throw us a little wedding party, and we had a grand ol time. well, except for the driving part. chris does not do long car-rides very well. later on this month i aced my finals (hooray for stress relief!). commence summer vacation!!

may 2010- in prescott, arizona

june: we did a lot of working ourselves ragged this month between our respective occupations and obligations- which, we'd found, kind of sucks the life out of thriving relationships. therefore, we made it a point to make this the most epic date month EVER. fun times!

june 2010- at the del mar fair

july: start out the month with a mild bout of what i think is the stomach flu... and then find out that holy cow i'm pregnant. woah! (yeah, i guess that's what happens after having the most epic date-month ever. shoulda seen it coming). promptly, chris gets sent to arizona for the next 6 weeks when i start to feel really sick. divine intervention probably.

july 2010- at the san diego zoo (guess who's pregnant?)

august: chris is still in arizona. i visit him for a weekend and am sick the whole time. this month was THE WORST for my morning sickness- i dropped several pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight (dehydration = ouch). it was one of the most physically arduous things i have ever endured. i also had an ultrasound this month- the little fetus looked like a gummi bear with a tiny flickering heart in the center. my thoughts: "well. at least i'm sick for something." oh and PS: my braces came off! hooray for no longer looking underage!

september: chris came home from arizona! yaaaay! his plan at the beginning was to stay there for an additional 6 weeks on top of what he had already gone for, but ultimately decided that the first 45 days was quite enough for him. also this month- i'm still sick. pertinent thoughts: "why did i sign up for a morning class???" while running through grossmont to the ladies room to puke.

october: STILL sick to the very end of the month and pretty tired of it. me to chris: "seriously?! the books said this would go away like, last month!" chris was pretty tired of it too- i was keeping him up all night long with my trips to the sick closet. we hid from halloween because we were so exhausted.

oct 2010- at the la mesa oktoberfest

november: hey... i'm starting to feel better! only intermittent nausea throughout the day and that's it- thank goodness!  just in time to move to an awesome new apartment! mid term ultrasound at the beginning of the month also, wherein we find that we're having a healthy girl. kind of amazing how much they grow in a few months (although those months felt like forever, especially being sick the whole time). also of note: we got a washer and dryer this month... heaven! no more laudromats for me.

nov 2010- thanksgiving

december: hello holidays and birthdays... well, my birthday. :) the combo kind of stresses chris out, but he managed to do good this year. we were able to take part in a lot of festivities this season despite chris's crazy work schedule. that's all anyone can really ask for- is the holidays with their loved one. :)

dec 2010- christmas eve

there we have it! 2010 in a nutshell. we're now looking forward to 2011 with great anticipation- we've got a few things in the works that could be potentially promising. :) happy new year everyone!

december

oh december... always such a busy time. potentially very stressful. which kinda makes me think that the dude who sings "it's the most wonderful time of the year" didnt quite know what he was talking about.

CHRISTMAS TREE: or, rather, "the saga of the christmas tree" because the probability of things going according to simple plan is apparently zero in our lives. i am going to spare the gory details of the crisis and just mention that it seriously took 3 days for us to get the thing upright and decorated. the good news is that it all ended well, and the result was rather charming- although i realized after the fact that all of the red ornaments i bought made our noble fir look like it was sprouting apples. i found that amusing.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: who doesn't love christmas shopping? all the stress, spending, herds of people, lines for restrooms, and outrageous traffic. mmm. holiday cheer at it's finest. i personally enjoy the wrapping of the gifts more. i like the sight of presents under the tree. it's so exciting.

CHRISTMAS BAKING: a delicious marathon by yours truely. and yes, i sacrificed and accumulated an extra few pounds by taste testing every single thing that i made, for the good of the people. i shall remember it fondly when i'm working it all off post-partum.

CHRISTMAS LIGHT-SEEING: off of old pepper drive in lakeside. here is how it went down this year: we parked, started walking, got up a couple streets before my back started spazzing out, and then we went home. do i sound like a pansy? it's because i am. i can't even walk up hills anymore. how pathetic.

this house was my favorite: absolutely nothing except for a grinch in front of it. awesome.

FINALS: for noel. so painfully stressful. we shall not talk about them here.

NOEL'S BIRTHDAY: being born close to christmas is kind of a hassle. luckily i've got a good family and great friends who take the time to remember it amid all of the holiday tumult. dear christopher ordered me birthday flowers this year. i was quite impressed that he managed to remember my favorite flower and my favorite color- and put both in the same bouquet! oh i felt so special and loved! because everyone knows that just saying "you're special and i love you" doesn't quite communicate it like something as indirectly metaphorical as flowers (yeah... we women are all crazy, i know). and then, of course, we had a tiny little party at my family's house.

at the logan house... with choco cupcakes.

GIVING BLOOD: by chris only this year, because i am preggers. ;) not to worry though, for tradition's sake i went with him- and the dude taking his blood told us a story about how he changed his son's diaper in his trunk one time and the kid peed all over the upholstery. fun times. i'll have to remember that one if we ever have a boy.

CHRISTMAS EVE: which was actually when chris and i celebrated our christmas day, since he had to work on christmas this year. we had the morning together to open the bounty under our tree, and in the evening we partook of the glorious feast-party that was provided by mi madre. awesome awesome day. i loved it.

at my parentals. in front of their gigantic tree.

CHRISTMAS DAY: was like old times for me. chris marched off to work early in the a.m., and i went over to my parents to witness christmas morning as i always knew it. all seven of us kids were home again- probably for the last time- and i am grateful to have experienced all the magic again. to top the day off, we were able to spend time with some of my dad's family who we haven't seen in forever. it was a good time.

COMMENCEMENT OF 3RD TRIMESTER: which is rather interpretive, since i've seen 3 benchmark weeks that could be considered the beginning of the last trimester (as if pregnancy math isn't weird and confusing enough). whatever the case really is, december was it for me- and i'm looking unmistakably pregnant now. i think it's kind of funny- it took me so long to actually look pregnant, and right when i started thinking "oh there it is", my bump started growing at hyper-pace. and let me tell you, i'm getting pretty stealthy at 7 months pregnant... with my parabolic protrusion knocking stuff all over the place, and me mistakenly thinking i can still squeeze through tight spaces, i am THE epitome of poise and grace, right here. just to think i've got 2 more months of getting bigger to go!!

a little bit about christopher.

i realize that most of the people visiting this blog probably don't know my darling husband, because i am assuming that most of the people visiting this blog do it via the link on my facebook page. in all reality, i'm not all that certain that he really even knows what a blog is- he just knows that i made one about us and i post junk on it. so, just for kicks, i thought i'd write 5 things about the man:

#1: where is christopher from?
 christopher staples was not born in california. not anywhere near it. as a matter of fact, he was born in the most opposite place you can get from california. christopher was actually born and raised in maine- yeah, that place all the way over on the east coast, by the canadian border (like, woah...). he tells me stories of these crazy things called blizzards, ice storms, black flies and mosquito swarms... all of which sound fairly horrific (i've never personally experienced any of them myself). if you were to ask him whether or not he'd ever like to return to live in his home-state again he would emphatically answer "no". christopher is definitely a fan of southern california... apparently the weather is much nicer, and instead of black flies and mosquitoes we've got katy perry and snoop dog prancing around in forests of chocolate and gumdrops (which isn't too bad of a trade off, assuming katy perry's still on autotune). PS: chris hates the song "california girls", and thinks the music video is ridiculous- just so everyone is clear here.

this magnet is on our freezer door. i think the implicit wit is brilliant.

#2: what is chris's favorite color?
chris's favorite color used to be green. that is why he has a green car. when chris and i first met he also had green towels, a green bathrug, and an awful green toilet-seat cover (side note: WHY were those ever invented?? even in the most meticulously clean bathroom, they're wrong and gross). anyways, if you were to ask chris what his favorite color is today, he would say: "well... it used to be green. before i started to wear a uniform everyday that was green. now it's just... too much green." and so if you were to ask him again what his favorite color is- because he will always lament the loss of his old favorite color the first time you ask him instead of actually answering the question- he'll go "well... i don't know. i guess blue. i like blue. blue's an okay color." and so: blue is his favorite color.

#3: chris has... tattoos?
yeeeep. as you may have noticed. he has four of them. many of you may know that i come from a very traditional family with very traditional expectations. i personally couldn't care less that he has em- i've actually grown quite fond of them myself (just don't tell my kids that in 18 years, ok?). when chris and i first started dating, i couldn't tell you how many people asked me, "oh he has tattoos??? wow... how does your dad feel about that?" well, chris heard exactly what my dad felt about it when he forgot to wear long sleeves over to my parent's house for the first time (oops). in all reality, it was bound to happen sooner or later... and dear ol' dad promptly offered him "free tattoo removal" with a belt sander in the garage. you can imagine my father's disgruntlement when all of my younger brothers began to examine chris's ink with express fascination. after a few months, and a stern talking to from my mother, my dad finally let go of the tattoos thing. and now chris and the pops spend time talking about the UFC, wrestling, jiu jitsu, guns, shoulder injuries, and other man-topics instead. brotherly bonding at it's finest i suppose...

it's kinda like watching "the gladiator"... starring chris's bicep.

#4: what is chris's favorite thing to do?
chris is by nature a very energetic being... he is not unlike a dog that needs to be walked every day in order to drain excess energy and maintain a healthy state of mind (dog whisperer anyone?). as a matter of fact, chris's mother mentioned that during road trips their family would have to stop every so often to "run chris" so that he would be more tolerable in the car. hence, it comes as no surprise that he has adopted a very active lifestyle... nothing makes him happier than a good, challenging workout. the harder he's breathing and the more sweat he's dripping the better (don't say "ew", he showers afterwards. he's not a complete barbarian).

#5: chris likes youtube.
a lot. especially the channels that re-mix already preposterous videos into even more ridiculous songs. why is this? i do not have an answer. and i stopped searching for one a long time ago.

the end.

*note: all information contained in this post has been reviewed and approved by chris himself, and has been deemed "accurate and irrefutable". just so we're all clear here.

november.

the trend seems to be that the closer the year is to ending, the more exponentially busy things get. november exploded upon us with a ferocity this year. happenings include:

ULTRASOUND- (yeah, i kinda mentioned this in the previous post, i know) looks like daddy's gonna have a little yoga buddy. :) she's already a pro at garudasana.

MOVING- whaaaat? oh yes we did! OUT of the modified barracks where we had been living and IN to an actual apartment. the improvement is glorious, holy cow! however, moving is still moving... it's always kind of an all-encompassing hassle, and it always takes way more than a few days to get everything situated. add to the mix that i've become incapable of lifting anything relatively substantial anymore (for reals- i tried it and in doing so i realized that my formerly strong, sturdy back had instead become all bendy and unstable like a slinky. it was painful and pathetic). this created a futuristically comical, but presently exasperating situation, as i very much dislike being helpless. i've been raised to be the princess that slays her OWN dragons, thank you very much- but this time, i kinda had to rely a little bit more on prince charming than i had initially intended... dang it. how embarrassing.

VETERANS DAY- good day to honor the veterans. and my dad, since it's his birthday (cake anyone?). also, since chris had the time off, his parents came by that day for a thanksgivingish sort of visit, and stayed for the weekend. mmm... nothing like a pre-thanksgiving to load me up for the holidays.

taken on veteran's day weekend. bump = 22 weeks.

SCHOOL- for me, not chris. for some reason, the month before finals gets freakishly busy. projects are assigned and exams start happening more frequently. i personally think this is all because many professors- like many students- are procrastinators. tsk tsk.

THANKSGIVING- at my family's house! mmmm... more food for the pregnant lady (haaaa... except i'm being quite serious). for reals though, every year i find myself more and more thankful for my mother, and not just because she is one of the most fantastic cooks of all time. :) and chris surprisingly got the day off, so we were able to celebrate together. hooray! my gramma took pictures, bless her.

 aww, acting like we love eachother. ;)

bros and sisters all home this year! check it out!

PREGNOID UPDATE- no more morning sickness! AT LAST! i can EAT again!!! it's so wonderful!