Round is a Shape

I will never let my husband forget the time he commented about my muscle loss after giving birth to Sloan.  I was elated that I had made it to my pre-pregnancy weight and he informed me it was probably because I had “lost so much muscle”.  Thank you, love.  It’s been burned into my brain.  I really am on a mission to get in better shape, in all honesty.  And as much as I joke that “round is a shape” – now that I am no longer nursing Sloan I have no excuse to limit myself to strenuous exercise.  I do miss those extra 500 calories…

With that being said, I reached a personal best this week – I ran over 10 miles.  Something I haven’t done since getting pregnant.  I’ll never love running – but I am addicted to the way I feel afterwards.  Or maybe it’s the cookies that I eat afterwards that I am addicted to.  I will never know.  [PSST…Brownie Batter Oreos are OFF DA HOOK!] IMG_5163Tuesday Sloan had her 9 month appointment.  She has jumped from the 1st percentile in weight to the 7th.  She’s a whopping 15 and a half pounds!IMG_8820

We celebrated with milk and cookies after.  A bottle for Sloan and a Cutler’s sugar cookie for me.  It’s tradition – and tradition is important – even when you make health goals.  Also, she propped her bottle on top of that toy all by herself.  I was so impressed I had to document it.  Ingenuity at it’s finest…IMG_9593

 

That afternoon we met some friends at the new park that just opened at the end of our street.  Zach and I have deemed it the “Danger Park” because of the controversy it has stirred up in our neighborhood.  People are really hot and bothered about the rocks they placed in the play areas.  Sloan just got her swing on with her pal Parker.  The rocks didn’t bother her that much…

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We actually have visited almost every evening this week.  Sloan, in an act of defiance, even sat upon the rock for quite some time.

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Later in the week we drove down to Alder to help with the carpet tile installation and furniture placement.  The CEO of Alder has a connection with presidential hopeful Rand Paul and he and his campaign decided rather last minute to have an event at our building while visiting Utah.  We’re nowhere near done with the design of the space, but things are coming along [slowly] enough that we felt we were ready for the campaign visit.

I still am ga-ga over how the way finding turned out.  Wayfinding

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The custom reception desk was also installed and all the corresponding furniture was placed.IMG_4515.JPG

It was fun to see all the door decals that had been installed over the week as well.
IMG_1890After we left Alder I convinced Sloan to stop at Madewell at Fashion Place with me on our way home.  So to Madewell we went – with a stop at Hot Dog on a Stick, for good measure.

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Thursday Zach left for a golf trip with his friends.  Sloan caught her first cold [undoubtably from our doctor’s visit] and instead of staying in, just the two of us, we decided to have a sleep over at my parent’s house.  They are actually going through the process of selling their place – so our little slumber party might just be the last time I ever sleep in my childhood home.  It was nice to have my mom and dad distract Sloan from being sick.  She loves seeing them and sort of forgot that she wasn’t feeling well.  PS – This is her first bout with sickness in all of her nine months of life – breastfeeding really is magic.  If it wasn’t weird I would have nursed her until she was 12.

We loved hanging with my parents.  We played, ordered pizza, ate hot fudge sundaes, and my mom and I stayed up way too late going through old boxes of my belongings.  The next morning my mom ran errands with Sloan and I before we drove back home.

Meanwhile, the Rand Paul event at the Alder Headquarters seemed to be a hit.  It was fun to see my custom light fixture pop up in a few photos…

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Sunday I had a baby shower for a friend down in South Jordan.  I’ve been friends with Stacey since my days at BJH and it was so great to catch up with some old friends and celebrate her and her baby girl.

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Afterwards we had a healthy dinner at my parents.  We cooked some salmon given to use by one of Zach’s jet charter clients – fresh from Alaska.  We all had our first taste of Christmas Melon as well – Sloan was down wit it.
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Someone got a little too excited and puked all over themselves – so she went the rest of the night in her birthday suit.  Jumping on the tramp in nothing but her diaper was a major highlight.
Screen Shot 2015-08-30 at 8.57.24 PMWe’re glad to have Zach back.  Sloan gets the biggest heart eyes for him after her returns from being gone.  I’m glad to have him home again, too – but seeing her light up as he walked through the door was the highlight of his return for me.

 

 

 

Vegas, Baby…

Yes.  We are “those people”.  Who brought their baby to Vegas.  I have basically been begging Zach to take me to Vegas since Decemember ever since Shake Shack opened at the New York New York Hotel.  We decided to make it a family affair and go down for a long weekend.  I felt weird about bringing Sloan at first.  Visions of pushing Sloan down the Strip in her stroller gave me an icky vibe.  Luckily that vision never came to fruition.

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We left Thursday afternoon and I was dreading the flight.  It was the first time we were planning on flying that I wouldn’t be able to nurse Sloan.  She’s always been a dream when it comes to air travel and I knew that not nursing her on ascent would make her a total fussball.  To my surprise, she continued her streak and slept the entire flight.  As soon as the engines started up she zonked.  She even managed to sleep through our next door neighbor opening and closing his window shade 73 times and the percussion of his nose blowing.

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After arriving and checking in to our hotel we decided to take a walk over to the Belagio.  We stopped at a little gift shop and filled the stoller up with Diet Coke and treats and then showed Sloan the aquatic display.  She could barely look at either of us the entire time because she was totally mesmerized.  She also got bombarded by a group of Japanese tourists.  Appartenly there aren’t many blonde haired blue eyed babies over in Japan…

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We walked back to our hotel, gave the girl a bath, put her to bed, and ordered food up to our room for dinner.

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When Sloan woke up the next morning she was still on Salt Lake time.  We fed her breakfast and then Zach let me go to the gym while they hung out in the room.  When I got back we all got ready to go down to the pool.  Not that many people are at the pool in Vegas before 10:00 am, which is a major perk for our little family.  Zach and Sloan lounged in the shade until she couldn’t contain herself any longer and tried to dive in the water herself.    IMG_8810Processed with VSCOcam with a5 preset

We went back to our room, showered up, and made our way over to the New York New York for lunch.  It was honestly the only thing I requested the entire trip – Shake Shack.  I have been craving it since our last visit to NY when I was 30 weeks pregnant.  I find it cruel that the closest one in the entire country is Las Vegas, but it’s doable.  It didn’t disappoint either – and Sloan had her first crinkle fry.  Well, she crushed it to smithereens in her hand.  But it blew her tiny little mind…

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We took a power nap back at the hotel before moving over to the Paris for our dinner reservation.  I gave Sloan her first taste of a macaron.  Not as good as the real deal, but I’ll take what I can get.
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We ate dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Steak.  The line was out the door before the place even opened and I was grateful for Zach’s PPP [prior proper planning] so we didn’t have to wait.  All the hype was worth it.  The food was as good as I hoped it would be.  Besides, I am a huge Master Chef fan.  I would have ordered the Beef Wellington…but it required an extra 45 minute cook time.  IMG_8766People were surprised when they saw a little miniature person sitting at our booth – she was concealed between us the entire time and was the picture of perfection.
Processed with VSCOcam with a5 presetWe skipped the dessert menu and decided to hit up the market at our hotel for ice cream and sodas.  Sloan was exhausted.  Her first full day in Vegas wore her right out.

Processed with VSCOcam with a4 presetThe next morning we caught a cab over to Fashion Show Mall to do some shopping.  Sloan was entertained the entirety of our visit with the mall directory map.  That’s how we found out the Zara was closed for construction…

Processed with VSCOcam with a5 presetWe ate lunch at the food court [a tradition for us for some reason] before heading back to our hotel for Sloan’s afternoon nap.  When she woke up we decided to go to the Forum Shoppes.  We browsed for a bit and then had dinner at Nobu – Zach’s only request of the trip.

Processed with VSCOcam with a5 presetWe were across the street from the LINQ so I convinced Zach walk across the Strip for some Sprinkle’s Cupcakes for dessert.  We saved them for after we put Sloan to bed.  You can’t go wrong with the red velvet – it’s the only flavor I ever get.

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Our last day we had an early afternoon flight.  I got to pick lunch – so we had round two at Shake Shack.  I am not kidding…
IMG_8793I would have eaten there all three days, but Zach couldn’t hack it.  It’s the only red meat I really eat, so I have met my year quota.  We then grabbed a cab to the airport, smelling of crinkle fry heaven.  ‘Till we meet again, Shake Shack…

I think a lot of people figured a baby would crash our party – but we really didn’t do anything different than we would have done if it was just the two of us.  I know taking a baby to Las Vegas doesn’t win us any awards in the parenting department, but I’d be lying if I said that Sloan didn’t love every second.  She didn’t have time for toys or other distractions – she was completely content watching all the flashing lights and interesting people.  I thought for sure she’d be Ms. Ornery Pants on our flight home, but she put me in my place again by sleeping the entire way home – in almost the exact same position as she did on the way there.

She went hard in Vegas…

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Dairy Freestyle

Sloan turned 9 months old on Monday.  Normally, this kind of stuff doesn’t phase me…but this week entire week has given me heartburn.

Zach and I officially made plans and travel arrangements to go out of town [just the two of us] for our anniversary.  I decided that I should slowly start to wean Sloan in advance.  I figured I would just replace a feeding with a bottle here and there.  She only takes a bottle one time a week – when the babysitter watches her on Saturday nights – or when Zach puts her down if I am randomly gone.  I’ve heard horror stories about weaning babies from nursing, so I figured I would take it easy.  Sloan had a different plan, though.  She basically weaned herself after one bottle feeding.  After giving her a fast flow bottle of formula she didn’t care to nurse.  Not only that, but she has completely switched to formula, dropped an entire feeding, dropped a nap, learned to say “ma-ma”, and started standing all by herself.  All over the course of 48 hours.  I know I should have been relieved, but I was crushed.  Nursing has been something I have had to work really hard at from the very beginning.  If I am being honest with myself, this whole transition to bottle feeding was harder on me than it was for her.  It went WAY too fast.  I already miss nursing her, but she was obviously ready because by her second bottle she wanted nothing to do with me and decided that she was just chill doing it all on her own.

IMG_8412I think the hardest part was realizing she didn’t need rely on me for that comfort anymore.  Nursing was the one weapon in my mom arsenal that I had that never failed.  It’s been hard for me to imagine that this phase of her life [infancy] is over.
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I basically smothered her the entire week – forcing her to love on me every chance I got.IMG_8358-1

Tuesday we drove down to Orem to check in on the progress at the Alder HQ.  Sloan’s favorite area of the entire building is the collaboration lounge.  She’s the best Junior Designer I could ask for.  IMG_8378Half of the way finding I designed has been installed.  I did all the directories for the buildings – my favorite application has been on the concrete walls.  It is coming together as planned and it’s such a relief to check these items off of my list to do.IMG_8365

Sloan slept the entire way home.  She loves the sun roof in Zach’s car [my car was being serviced] and zonked out watching the sky pass by above her.IMG_8376I am pretty sure Sloan has Zach’s balance.  She acts like standing is something she’s been doing for the last 9 months.
IMG_0997And since I was already on the brink of an emotional cliff [and it felt like Sloan kinda gave me and my boobs the middle finger] I thought I would pack up all of Sloan’s newborn supplies.  I managed to make it through the whole process without any tears, so I’d say it could have been worse.
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Mid week Zach had a hockey game down in WVC.  Normally his games are at 10:30 [wayyyy past Sloan’s bedtime] but this week he had a match at 6:00.  Sloan got to witness her dad in his element and was completely zoned in.  If it weren’t for her little head darting back and forth from side to side I would have thought she had fallen asleep.  She loved every second of it.IMG_8400The icing on the cake was Zach scoring the game winner with 30 seconds left to play.  He’s a real ringer, that guy…
IMG_8407The rest of the week was packed full of work stuff.  I managed to clean my house – not like Sloan contributed at all.  She gets really slothful when it’s time to do chores around the house…IMG_8422Friday the girls in my family decided to have a ladies night since some of the men were on a Fathers/Sons activity.  We went to dinner at From Scratch and went shopping at City Creek afterwards.

IMG_8438We ended the evening at Baskin Robbins.  Never a bad idea.

Saturday we met up with Zach’s family for a reunion down in Riverton.  We shared lunch at a park and got to catch up with a few people we rarely see.

When we got home from our get together Zach and I got ready for our date night.  It was Zach’s choice – so he went all out and treated me to a corn dog from Hot Dog on a Stick and a movie at the Megaplex at the Gateway.

IMG_8467In all seriousness – I would spend an entire Saturday night just talking to Zach, nothing more, and be completely happy.  Date Night was a success, even Straight Out of Compton was a winner.  It left me wanting a Raiders hat in the worst way.  And I LOVE Ice Cube, so…you know.

Sunday after church we dined at home, just the three of us.  Zach scored some salmon fresh from Alaska from one of his clients and we barbecued it for dinner.  Sloan enjoyed her first taste of fish and to our surprise, didn’t hate it one bit.  Screen Shot 2015-08-16 at 8.15.51 PM

Nine months old?  She might as well be nineteen.  And hopefully she’ll still love me (minus the lactation).  9 months

 

 

Freaking Football Season [Already]

Monday I made two friends – Jenn and Lindsey – go shopping with me down at the mondo Forever 21 at South Towne for a Ladies Night.  We dined at the Wild Zucchini Grill beforehand.  I am not a salad lover, but I had not one complaint about this meal and can’t wait to go again.  PS – I didn’t know it was a chain created by the previous Cafe Rio Owner…Screen Shot 2015-08-09 at 8.06.50 PM

 

We braved the chaos that is any F21 store and then made our way back home.  I love spending time with those two – they just get me.

Tuesday Zach had a rendezvous planned for some Utah Football season tickets after work and Sloan and I decided to join him.  He asked for season tickets for his birthday, and I agreed he could get them if he found good seats for a good price.  In true Zach fashion – we met the guy in a sketchy gas station parking lot.  He showed Zach the goods and the deal was done.  I was shocked when I found out that Zach had finagled his way into getting FRONT ROW TICKETS between the 30/40 yard line AND made the dealer agree to sell him the same seats next year.  Zach always seems to maneuver things just right and you would have thought that he won the lottery with that grin…

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Wednesday I went visiting teaching with my companion and Zach and Sloan set off for the park.  Sloan loves to swing – the park is her happy place.  Zach snapped this photo mid squeal and looking at it makes my ovaries hurt.

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I picked them up on their way home and we grabbed some grub for dinner.  In-N-Out Burger, if I am being specific.  IMG_8195

That night the weather was cloudy and cool.  I decided last minute to go on a run [even though I had a gut full of cheeseburger] to take advantage of the cooler temps.  I have to laugh at myself, because the stars usually have to align for me to have a good run.  My iPod has to be fully charged, shoes adjusted, my favorite headband on…you get the idea.  This literally was the unluckiest I have ever been on a run in my entire life.  I left a little bit later than usual and it was already dark outside.  Everything just kind of went downhill from there.  I got bit by mosquitos [later to discover three GIANT dime sized bites on the back of my legs], got sprayed in the face and mouth by a sprinkler, had a bug buzz straight into my right eye – leaving it to water for the remainder of my route, had to hop over a vinyl gate when I got lost in the dark, got spooked by a creepster cat, ran my face into a low-hanging branch on Chidester, nearly stepped on a rotting vole on the trail, splashed my whole right leg in a puddle, almost ran into a curb when someone flashed their brights at me [thanks a lot ya hoodlums], my shuffle went dead at the end of mile three, and I swear someone was cooking breakfast for dinner at 9:30 because I had to run downwind with the smell of pancakes and bacon teasing me!  Basically it was a recipe for disaster since the sprinkler got the best of me.  However – I pushed past 6 miles, something I haven’t done since getting pregnant with Sloan.  IMG_8298

Even though I was a complete [cold and soaked] train wreck, I accomplished something that has been nagging at me for months.  Everyone is different – but once I can crack 6 miles it is usually a cake walk to put on extra miles on top of that.

We laid low the rest of the week, got a bunch of work stuff checked off my to-do list, and even pampered ma girl.  She got her toes painted her favorite color and has been obsessed.  She didn’t move a muscle the entire time I had the polish out. FullSizeRender

Since the weather wasn’t as hot we spent every extra second outside.  Walk after walk after walk…IMG_8209-2

Friday we stayed at home.  We made dinner, had a good cuddle sesh…Sloan Sleeping

…and put Sloan to bed so we could enjoy a red box and some ice cream.

Saturday we drove up to East Canyon to meet my family for a day on the lake.  We knew the weather could take a turn for the worse, but we decided to go for it.  We were there for 20 minutes when it started to rain and then hail.  Sloan took solace in letting me swaddle her in a beach towel.  I secretly loved it and plan to do it until she won’t allow me to do so.
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The storm got pretty heavy so we pulled the boat off the lake and made our way over to the resort’s pool.  We hung out in the baby pool with Sloan.IMG_8261

Sloan even got her first swim lesson from grandpa Gary.  She thought floating was relaxing but did NOT love holding her breath under water.  She’ll get used to it, though…IMG_8264

After our pool party we had to rush back home in time to get ready for our date.  We all showered up and once the babysitter came Zach and I went out for a fancy dinner.  We’ve decided we are using our date nights to do things that aren’t as kosher with a baby – like dining at restaurants with white linen table cloths and such.  IMG_8277

We wandered over to City Creek afterwards to do a little browsing and ended our night with a vanilla cone from McDonald’s.  We had THE best time.  But it didn’t stop me from creepin’ in to Sloan’s room while she slept and giving her some cuddle time.

Sunday I had a total mom-fail and forgot diapers, but we managed to not alienate too many people during sacrament, so I call that a success.  churchAfter church we drove up to Ogden to have another delicous dinner at Mark and Jeanene’s.  I have never had a halibut kabob, but I want to make it a regular thing from now on.  We visited for a while until we made our way down to Farmington to stop at Zach’s sister Lori’s house for a quick visit.  Pre-Season Football has officially started – so we had to head home in order to put Sloan to bed and so Zach could sit six inches away from our television and watch the game.

I love/hate football season.  I already miss Zach… 

 

 

Friday Light Hikes

Monday night after Zach got off work we drove up to Zach’s brother’s house to help him with some plans for an office built-in he is doing.  Sloan and Zach enjoyed the kiddie roller coaster while we measured up the space.  Sloan already adores her cousins.  IMG_8165

Tuesday we drove down to Orem to see the progress on the Alder Headquarters.  A lot of the furniture has shown up [now it just needs to go in the proper locations] and way finding and signage starts going up this week.  Progress is happening – it’s just coming slow.building 1

On our way back we dropped by my brother’s warehouse to visit Blake and my dad.  Sadly, Blake was on a delivery and we barely missed him – so we played in his office instead.  We enjoyed our lunch with my dad before heading back home for Sloan’s afternoon nap.  IMG_8004

We also made our weekly visit to the splash pad.  After work is the prime time to go – there are considerably less people and Sloan can run the place as she sees fit.
FullSizeRender-4IMG_8040We were a bit concerned about the little fellow behind Sloan in this picture [red shirt / blue swim trunks] – he didn’t move for a solid 20 minutes.  Good thing he was just taking a breather…
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Thursday Sloan decided she was too cool for her afternoon nap, so we drove down to Fashion Place early to do some shopping.  We had plans to meet my design friends for dinner later, but hit up the shops to kill some time. We dined at Brio, at which Sloan only broke one plate (it was a bread plate…so it could have been worse).  I love spending time with these friends.  They are some of the sweetest and most creative people I know.  What I don’t love is this photo – but beggars can’t be choosers.  It’s tradition that we take a terrible group photo…IMG_8090Friday morning Sloan decided that she would try her hand at standing all by herself.  It almost gave me a coronary, but she thought she was so huge and grown up.  She’s a pretty rad chick.    FullSizeRender-2Friday evening we had plans with family up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  We decided to make the drive up to Silver Lake before our dinner, just the three of us, for a little hike.

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We loved the views and the temperature was so refreshing.  75 degrees is my happy place, I’ve decided.  Sloan just loved hitching a ride with dad and taking everything in.
IMG_8108-1 IMG_8109I am thinking I am going to make Friday day hikes a tradition – even if it’s just Sloan and I.  We’re going to call it Friday Light Hikes.  Almost as good as Friday Night Lights, but sans Tim Riggins.

Saturday we had the most relaxing day.  We slept in, read Sloan’s new favorite book 10 times…

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…ran some errands, grabbed fish tacos at Lonestar…IMG_8110…and made it back home in time for Zach and I to get ready for date night.

IMG_8111I must admit:  Date Night was hard for me at first.  The first few times leaving Sloan and having the babysitter put her down for bed absolutely crushed me.  But I’m so glad Zach pushed so hard for a weekly date night, because it has been so fun dating Zach again.  It has gotten easier, too.  Especially since we found a babysitter that I really like and trust.  We had the best dinner at Settebello and then caught a movie in Sugarhouse at the new remodeled theater.  It’s nice not having to drive up to Layton for the AMC with the recliners – now the former ghetto dolla theater has the reclining seats as well!

Sunday was very low key.  Church was interesting – Sloan has found her voice and has made it a personal vendetta of hers to sing LOWDER than each hymn in sacrament.  I secretly love it, though.

IMG_8123After church we relaxed at home and took a long scenic drive.  We drove up the Bountiful Temple and then around and up to Fruit Heights.  We had dinner at home, just the three of us, with a walk before putting Sloan down for bed.

Is it too early to be anticipating fall?  Not like I want to shoo summer away, but it is my favorite time of year.