Get 'em while they're young

One of things that I love the most about being married into the Judkins/Haight clan is that everyone is so dang active.  They organize family Ragnar teams, everyone camps, everyone hikes, and they bring things like adult pogo sticks to family BBQs.  It’s awesome.

For Pioneer Day we indoctrinated Eli with his first 5k along the parade route in Salt Lake City.  He managed to stay awake for the entire rite of passage experience and was the most popular “runner” on the route.  Even though I was there gasping my heart out trying to keep up with Zach all I heard was, “Look at the baby!  He’s beating his mom and dad!  Go baby!”  Story of my life.

 Welcome to the club, kid.

He's kind of a big deal

Occasionally there are times in your life where you receive a sudden flash of understanding and insight:

Your parents are actually pretty cool.

Impressive even.

Then one more rendition of the Idaho state song later and they’re back to regular mom and regular dad.

This last Tuesday was one such flash.  The right honorable Dr Magleby was asked to speak at the University forum- a big deal by all accounts.  

As I sat in the audience and looked up at my parents sitting on the stand, being introduced as professors of engineering and listening to a long list of my dad’s accomplishments (some of which I had no idea about) I suddenly saw my dad the way other people must see him.  Not as the guy that would wake me up by singing “Rise and Shout” before school, but the distinguished university professor and engineering expert who was about to speak to BYU and on live TV. 

He was pretty cool.

I was impressed.

We were all proud to bursting.

If you missed the broadcast you can go HERE to read the transcript and HERE for the article.

Small Controlled Explosions, Mainly

As long as you post about a holiday before the month is out it’s not considered TOO far behind, right?  Besides, “Baby’s First 4^th of July” was much too fun to skip over.  How can you not love a holiday about freedom, truth, beauty, and love?  Oh, and explosions and food.

The food part was fantastic.  We started the day off at Magleby’s Fresh (no, you don’t get a discount if your last name is Magleby.  Lame, right?).  Baby’s first try of syrup and whipped cream was hilarious.  You’d think that flavored gooey sugar mixed with creamy sugar would be a child’s delight, but nooooo.

 Post brunch we hung out at the Judkins BBQ where Eli’s career was predetermined for him by his Maymay.  We obviously have high hopes for this kid’s IQ and ambition.

In the meantime, he loved hanging out with his cousin Oliver, whose career has also been chosen.  So let it be on a onesie, so let it be done.

 

 

After two delicious barbeques we headed down to our traditional spot across the street from the Provo stadium to watch Kelly Clarkson on the big screen and lay on our backs to see the fireworks.  I was worried that the fireworks might be too much for Eli so late at night so it was with some trepidation and extra blankets for ear padding that we brought him but he handled it like a champ.  Didn’t even phase him.  

We spent the holiday weekend at a mini Allred reunion at our cabin.  Thanks to Hans and Laura and their  generous donation of weapons, ammo and expertise our time was dedicated to all things manly and fun: shooting, driving ATVs, hiking, gaming and constant eating.  What’s not to love?

 

Zach took to the bow and arrow and guns like he was born that way.  I’m not sure why I found it so comforting that he rocked it but I did.  Basic primate instincts I guess- my man is a protector.  On a side note, please ignore my hair.  We were at the cabin.  Hair is not a priority there.

 

 

This is an extremely rare sight.  Mom really isn’t IN to the whole gun scene and did her best to discourage her sons.  She ended up with one son in the army and one licensed gun totin’ enthusiast who is quickly corrupting the third.  Her own detour off the strait and narrow began when she realized that she could make a soda can fizzle and explode in one shot.  It was hard to make her take turns after that.

Our four-wheeling destination.  You know it's good when you come back with a dirt beard and eyebrows.

 

This was Eli’s first chance to commune with any kind of nature aside from the 20’x20’ lawn outside our apartment.  As you can see he was less than excited when he realized that he was not allowed to put any of it in his mouth.

And finally, for the official record, despite all of Zach’s manliness I did manage to kick his trash in ping pong five games to ZERO.   That's right.  I'm the guy on the far end.

Zach: and that video is why no American has ever won a gold medal in ping pong...

Never doubt triple chin-ability

Eli turned 4 months yesterday.  We celebrated by taking him to the doctor and holding him down while strangers gave him shots; all the while pretending not to notice the look of ultimate betrayal in his eyes as he screamed at the top of his lungs. He’ll thank us one day.

I can’t believe how much he’s changed in four months.  He’s gone from 9 lbs to 16 lbs, and from 21.5” to 25" (I used to wonder why moms found those stats so fascinating.  I get it now).  And no offense to his newborn self, but he’s WAY more fun to be around now that he’s entertainable.

Over the past four months of interacting with friends, family, and neighbors I’ve decided that most people fall into one of five categories when it comes to the way they act around babies:

THE PREDATOR: This baby hunter cannot withstand the sight of infant chub.  Their teeth clamp together and their fingers twitch as they resist (or not) the urge to pinch those chubby jowls and squeeze those rolly polly thighs.  They talk in suppressed voices through clenched teeth, usually about how fat the babe is.

THE SOOTHER: This type is especially attracted to crying babies, and they base their value as baby caretakers on their ability to make the child fall asleep in their arms (the ultimate goal).  They can be seen swaying, swaddling, smushing, and talking in low, deep voices.  Most mothers develop this characteristic through habit, as exemplified by any mother’s inability to stand completely still.

THE SQUEALER: This person maintains a high pitched, rather loud voice when within a five foot radius of the baby, known to extend to up to 30 feet upon sighting.  It is related to the common “baby voice” syndrome, but louder, more unintelligible, and sustained for longer periods of time.

THE TIMID WORRIER: These are the people who are scared to make the baby cry.  They’re not entirely sure how to hold them, worry the whole time they might be hurting them, and if the baby utters so much as a peep while in their arms they feel judged as a terrible future parent.   They often quickly learn that babies cry no matter what.

THE SOCIALIZER: This one loves to put the baby through their paces.  Look at me!  Can you smile?  Can you stick your tongue out?  Can you grab?  Let’s go look at all the items in the house!  Let’s go outside!  Let’s explore!  This is an especially popular characteristic in grandparents.

I’m so glad that Eli gets all these different types of attention and love.  There can be no doubt in his little mind that he is adored.

Happy Father's Day!

Growing up our house was stocked with every Calvin and Hobbs comic book that was ever written.  I loved it.  My brothers and I would read and read until we had them memorized and then quote them at each other all day long.  Some of my favorites were the DAD PERFORMANCE reviews:

 So in honor of Father’s Day, I created my own performance review of my dad over the years:

Clearly my dad has always been awesome, whether I appreciated it at the time or not.  

And now because of his influence in my life I married a guy who is now an awesome father himself.  Zach and Eli are best buds and my heart pretty much explodes when I watch them together.

And now, just because I can’t resist the cuteness of my nieces and nephews, I have to share our gift to Randy for Father’s Day:

Yeah, they're irresistibly adorable.  You're welcome.

 

Thank you to all the dads out there.  You make the rockin’ world go round.

I'm out of excuses

Now that Eli is over 13 weeks-old I can no longer be considered as “recovering” from child birth.  His schedule is pretty consistent, and I have free time.  My gym pass doesn’t expire until July, we bought a jogging stroller, and we traded in our speedy race bikes in for a more family friendly bike ensemble complete with kiddy trailer.  There is absolutely nothing to keep me from exercising except myself, and  I’m completely out of excuses.

 Thus it begins.  We’re counteracting my strong tendency towards laziness with an even stronger tendency: competition.  In addition to signing up for a half marathon (in Zach’s case a FULL marathon) in September we have challenged our good friends the Cowarts to a “Healthy Lifestyle Competition” (in other words, who could out-survive the other in the zombie apocalypse).  Zach being the genius trainer and nutritionist that he is, has developed a point system for our rivalry below.

10 min running: 1 pt
15 min Yoga, sports, biking: 1 pt
Weight lifting session: 1 pt
20 min walking or hiking: 1 pt
One week of no sugary treats or soda: 15 pts
5 servings of fruit & veggies a day: 2 pts
1 lb weight loss: 15 pts

Every month the losers will contribute to buying a book or movie for the winner's library and at the end of the summer the losers pay for the campsite.  But let's be real.  It's all about the bragging rights.

Here's to losing those double chins.

 

Seriously, SO BLESSED

Our babe is now legit.  Socially initiated.  He has been blessed.

In most Christian faiths babies are baptized soon after birth, but because we Mormons wait until children are at least eight years-old to be baptized we have a sort of naming blessing for them in Sacrament Meeting to introduce them into the records of the church.  One thing we miss out on: godparents.  

Zach:  I'll be honest, the only thing I know about godparents is that I think Rafiki was one and that they can be guilted into free babysitting.

Rafiki about to beat up some hyenas.  Not necessarily a godparental duty. 

  I love the idea of godparents.  To have someone other than the parents chosen to take an interest in the child's spiritual upbringing and personal development seems like a marvelous idea because, as I’m already learning, we parents need all the help we can get.  We chose my cousin Anthon and his beautiful German wife Melissa (you thought we weren’t serious, didn’t you guys?) as Eli’s godparents.  In addition to being spectacular people, they can offer Eli serious culture that Zach and I (both born and raised in Provo) might be lacking.

Coincidentally, it was Melissa who took these amazing pictures at Eli’s blessing.

The mini man of the hour

Newly minted padres

The Judkins grandparents

The Magleby grandparents

Eli with cousin Oliver.  They'll be more thrilled about each other later.

I love this picture.  I love that baby.

Apparently we are allowed one more Godparent, so applications are still open.   The prerequisites, as seen, include being pretty awesome and able to take cute pictures of Eli so we can gush about him in our blog.  Oh, and free babysitting.