comparison

I heard this quote recently, and I really, really love it.

It's something I need to tell myself every day. Whenever I compare myself to someone else (or my baby to someone else's baby, or our home to someone else's home, etc.), I inevitably feel worse for it--even if I find myself on the (supposedly) better end of the comparison. Engaging in comparison will never make you feel better.

I've frequently heard people say that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others because we're probably comparing our weaknesses to their strengths, so it's not a fair assessment. While that may be true, that's not even the point! Comparison itself is what makes us unhappy, not the outcome of the comparison. Whether you are judging yourself to be better/smarter/prettier OR worse/dumber/uglier than someone else, the thought won't bring you real happiness.

I think it's part of human nature to compare ourselves to others, just like it can be in our nature to be rude instead of kind or angry instead of calm. So I always have to keep this idea in my mind: that comparison steals away my joy. And when I remember that, it's much easier to find joy in my own life and to be genuinely happy for other people as they find joy too.

the best baby toys

We've all heard this saying:

"The best things in life aren't things."
{Art Buchwald}

Well I have a new saying for you:

"The best baby toys aren't baby toys."

If you've been around a baby recently, you'll know what I mean. You can buy the coolest, newest, hippest, awesomest baby toys ever, but babies will always prefer things that aren't meant to be toys. Emerson enjoys his real toys, but it seems like nothing can hold his attention like a non-toy--remotes, cell phones, drawstrings--anything that's not really meant to be played with.

I present to you evidence. These were not staged. (And they weren't all taken at the same time, even though he is wearing the same Monsters, Inc. shirt a few times. It's just a cute shirt. Thanks, Grandma Lee.)

The diaper changing tub.

Our baby hygiene bag.

Don't mind the drunken face. Just playing with a nice shirt here

And, of course, the socks.

christmas 2012

This was our first Christmas (of five Christmases) as a married couple that Andrew didn't have to work on Christmas Eve! Or the day after Christmas! Or any day around it at all! And it was awesome.

We celebrated our new freedom by going to Utah for a week to see family and to eat yummy food.

We stayed with my brother Nathan and his wife, Kathryn, and their three kids.

Emerson hanging out with Aunt Kathryn (with cousin Caleb photobombing).

My whole family was there for the holidays, so Emerson got lots of attention.

Hanging out with Aunt Caitlin.

Eating his own mouth--a favorite pastime--while Grandma looks on.

Fun times with cousin Ellie.

He even got to play with his cousin Ryker, who is just one week his senior (and so much more active than Emerson that it's laughable).

Bonding over a nice plastic cup.

Emerson looks like a porker here, but I promise he's really not that big.

And then the food. Oh, the food. We saved up money just for this trip so we could eat at all the restaurants we've missed since moving to Oregon.

We got sushi (and non-sushi food for me) at Sushi Ya with our good friends, the Stringfellows.

Sorry for the yellow pictures. Blame my phone. Or blame me for always using my phone to take pictures.

Stolen from Ronnie--because I forget to take pictures of people!

We went to Cafe Rio with Andrew's cousins, Scott and Maran, and their three girls.

My mostly devoured pork salad.

We went to Mountain West Burrito and almost died because it was so delicious.

Seriously so good. Mmmm.

And we made a last-minute stop at Kneaders on out way to the airport for some famous french toast.

Before...

...and after.

Not pictured here (unfortunately, because they were also delicious):

Yes, we were a bit gluttonous. And yes, it was worth it.

We flew back to Oregon on Christmas Eve, and it actually wasn't too bad. We all got sick in Utah, so that was no fun, but otherwise, it was a wonderful trip.

To end this post, here are a few more pictures of Emerson.

Just being cute.

Playing with a new toy on Christmas morning.

This boy sure loves his Daddy.

52 things in 52 weeks

I've been thinking a lot about how I want to change and improve during 2013. I came across the idea of doing 101 things in 1,001 days and thought I'd give it a try. I've seen it described as a cross between a to do list and a bucket list, and it sounded fun.

Then I sat down and tried (and tried and tried) to come up with 101 things I wanted to accomplish over the next 2.75 years, and it was overwhelming. So then I looked around on the Interwebs a little more and found the 52 Things in 52 Weeks idea. Perfect! 

So here is my list of 52 things I want to accomplish in 2013. Some are small, some are bigger, some should be easy, and some will be really difficult.

Two of my goals are pretty personal, so I decided not to include them here. Not everything needs to be shared with the whole world, right? And for the record, when I say juice (#32 and #36), I mean fresh vegetable and fruit juice made with our juicer. Not like a crazy cranberry-juice-only diet. And yes, reading 10 new books and trying 10 new recipes will probably be challenging for me! Don't laugh.

Here's to goals and dedication and adventures and commitment. Happy 2013!

emerson's blessing

We were so happy to have my mom here for Emerson's blessing (way, way) back in October. Since she was visiting over General Conference weekend, we decided to bless him in our home. He was looking all fancy in his button-up shirt and corduroy pants.

He was so bald!

He also had an adorable pink paisley tie to complete his blessing outfit. But it turns out the boy has a giant neck and his shirt wouldn't button up all the way, and the tie looked silly with the relaxed-collar look. So you can just picture how the ensemble would've looked.

We were also graced with the presence of our wonderful friends, Brad and Ronnie.

And a big thanks to Ronnie for taking pictures of us on Emerson's special day and letting me steal them for this blog post. :)

I love my boys!