Blog Updates

**UPDATE below**
Because Babies Grow Up is excited to announce a new look for the blog as well as a shift from Blogger to Wordpress. I'm doing this all on my own (with Brent's help) and hope the transition is smooth. I have spent countless hours searching, reading, downloading, uploading and the like to get it right.

As a result, there will be a few changes to look for that may need your attention.

1. I will be offering an updated button to match the new look! If you have a button, please take a moment to update it to the new button.
   
2. Also, I will be changing the feed to a Feedburner feed. If you subscribe to the blog, please re-subscribe using the new feed to continue to receive new posts in your favorite reader. If I've done this correctly, which I think I have!, this is the only time your feed should be interrupted. No matter what else I change or do this feed should work no matter what.

**UPDATE**
This change actually happened several months ago. I have been posting, reviewing and giving away all this time. I'm sorry if you missed out on some of the great things that happened at the end of last year, but 2010 promises to be full of more great things, so come on over and get settled into the new place :) It's cozy there so I hope you'll be comfortable.

In fact, don't miss the giveaway for Roger Day's new album: Why Does Gray Matter? ...and other brainy songs for kids! It's a catchy, clever album you'll not want to miss.

Biggest Loser Week #2

At the second weigh in this week I lost another almost 2 pounds! That makes a total of 6 pounds so far. I love the accountability of the scale every week and looking my team members in the eye to tell them how I did. Definitely helps when I want to eat the entire batch of No Bake Cookies I made for Brent to celebrate surviving his first test in medical school! We got our T-shirts this week! I love the yellow because it's cheery and energizing.

The meeting this week was interesting, too. One speaker gave information about a study on sleep. They looked at how the body is affected by the amount of sleep we get each night. They found that 30 years ago people got an average of 8 hours a night (wouldn't THAT be heaven!) and 1 in 10 adults were in the obese category. Now the average is 6 hours of sleep a night (that would still be heaven!) and 1 in 3 adults is in the obese category. Wow!

Then a lady spoke who has lost 200 pounds over the last four years. She shared her story focusing on what got her to decide it was worth the work it takes to change. Four years ago she weighed 350 pounds and now she teaches Disco aerobics at a local gym. Amazing!

My goal this week is to step up the intensity of my workouts. I DVR'd an exercise program on FitTV that is 30 minutes long and does warm-up and cool-down with Tai Chi and the intense part is aerobic kickboxing. Super fun! There's also a 3 mile trail (6 miles roundtrip) that I want to walk and then eventually be able to run. Hopefully I'll keep myself so busy I won't have time to poke around the kitchen for snacks.

My Chance to Be the Biggest Loser!

**There are only two reality TV shows I like to watch: The Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance. Last week's season finale of So You Think You Can Dance coincided with the first night of a local church's Biggest Loser competition. I went back and forth about whether I should participate. Then I found out you had to be in teams of at least 4 and I hesitated even more. But, things worked out, I found my team, and I started this journey last week on Thursday.

The first week they took all of our measurements. From weight and inches to fat percentage and blood pressure. We picked a team name (Dedicated DCOM Dieters-since we were all associated somehow with the medical school) and our shirt color (yellow to keep us cheery and motivated!)

I spent the week being more aware of my diet and cutting out bedtime treats and finding ways to include exercise in my day. I ran with Brent, walked/ran with teammates, and found Belly Dancing of FitTV. Overall, I felt pretty good about the seek. Then the night before the weigh in we ate at a pizza joint in town and I felt yucky all night. The food was good, but my body told me it was not healthy. I was so worried I'd killed my goal. I had spent all week chanting "3 pounds, 3 pounds" whenever I wanted to eat a cookie or a bowl of ice cream and I was afraid I'd blown it.

But as it turns out, I was okay! I was by no means the biggest loser of the week (that was 8.34% body weight lost) or the highest number (20 pounds!) but I beat my goal! I lost 4.5 pounds and it felt great! I'm so glad I've committed myself to this competition because I have accountability, teammates and a clear goal. Now I've shared it with you so I'm even more committed to stick with it until I reach my goal! I'll report again next Saturday.

**Brent has such a knack for making me look so short! This is a picture taken over the summer and best represents how I look on a daily basis. Anyone want to nominate me for TLC's What Not To Wear? I'd totally love it!

To All My Mothers

Here is a tribute to the women in my life I am fortunate enough to call Mom.

To my mom who raised me so lovingly and continues to help me grow up.

To my step-mom who has truly been a mom for me, always loving and supporting me.

To my mother-in-law whose wisdom and generosity know no bounds.

To my grandmothers who are dear friends, not just relatives.

And here's to my two darling girls who, in calling me Mom, melt my heart everyday.

As women we bond, we share, we nurture, we love. We consistently find ourselves connecting with those around us. Today is a day to celebrate those women who nurture, those women who care and those women we love.

Today I'm also grateful for Brent who has worked hard to make today special for me. After I got up this morning he snuck my presents and cards from the girls onto my pillow.
He was also pretty sneaky about the present he got me. He had to talk me out of getting it myself because I was headed down to Goldsmith Jewelers on Friday to pick it up with my birthday money. Fortunately he was able to delay my plans until Monday without raising any suspicion.
I got my two little girls! I fell in love with these charms at the blogger event I attended at the end of April. I'm so happy to have them on my bracelet. Here's my bracelet to-date.

Happy Mother's Day! My hope is that each woman believes the difference she makes in another's life as she serves, befriends and loves. Each act matters. It really matters.

Nature Days and Other Utah Activities

I attended I Never Grew Up's Nature Day this past Monday. It was held at the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake. You may recall from this post that the Peace Gardens are on my to do list before we leave Utah. I was so excited to meet up with other reader's of Vanessa's blog and share an absolutely beautiful day at the gardens.

We traveled the world going from Korean gardens to Finnish to Italian and my personal favorite, the Swiss gardens. The little ones all had a grand time racing from one grassy spot to another. I tried to talk to Sammi about the countries, but she was more interested in the rocks and dirt! Another day:)

Two highlights of the day: 1) I won this adorable tee shirt for Sammi. The tee comes from beleaf, a company that combines organic and recycled fabrics with eco-education. Sammi's shirt says, "I recycled a cardboard box and built a fort today." She loves forts so it's a saying we stand behind 100%. We have already worn and washed the shirt twice this week! 2) Sammi made friends with another little girl among the crowd. The exhibited the Nature Day philosophy to the max. They played in rocks and dirt, with the lilac bushes and in the grass. The took off their shoes and ran through the damp soil then laid down on their stomachs and examined the blades of grass. The we lost in thier own world for nearly an hour before we coaxed them back to us for a little lunch before heading home.

Another activity from my list of things to do in Utah before we leave was to see the Walter Wick exhibit at the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University. Wow! What a creative mind. His photography is fantastic. I'm excited to check out his I Spy! books. Part of the exhibit comes from a Halloween poem and I'm saving that for October.

Things To Do, Things To Do...

After coming back from Tennessee, I realize there are things to do here in Utah before we leave for good! There are so many places, restaurants, parks and such that we love here that I've taken for granted. I want to make sure we love them all up before we head out. Here is my list of things to do in Utah before we move.

Things To Do in Utah

• International Peace Gardens
• Gardner Village
• Museum of Art at BYU (current exhibit: Walter Wick)
• Bean Life Science Museum (Home of Shasta the Liger)
• BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures (Friday 11 am they have a storytime for toddlers and preschoolers of Stories from Around the World)
• Discovery Gateway Children's Museum
  
• Hogle Zoo
• Temple Square
• See Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building
• Liberty Park, 6th East and 9th South, great playground for kids, historical buildings and
• Tracy Aviary (at Liberty Park)
• Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point (World's Largest Display of Mounted Dinosaurs)
• Utah Museum of Natural History
• Gossner Dairy Plant
  
• Scera Park Pools
• Eat at Texas Roadhouse (although not as desperate since we found two in Knoxville!)
• Teddy Bear Picnic in June at Orem Public Library
• This is the Place Heritage Park
• The City Library in Salt Lake
• Bountiful Temple (Where Brent and I were married)

These are mostly our favorites where we go again and again. But a few are things I've wanted to do and we haven't gotten around to them yet. Here we enter crunch time! We only have a month until Brent leaves for COT for a month and then we move 3 days after he returns.

What do you love to do in Utah or in your own area?

8 Is Enough Tag Game

I've been tagged by Princess Mommy of Princess with a Half Price Tiara to play "8 is enough" Here you go:

8 Things I am Looking Forward To

• Days at the park
• Picnic dinners with Daddy
• My birthday (just 2 weeks away!)
• Summer swimming
• Moving to Tennessee (but not to losing Brent to medical school)
• Finishing Cap'n Billy "The Butcher" MacDougall's Guide to Pirate Parenting
• Getting a Wii Fit (for my birthday, please!)
• Living in a house with a yard

8 Things I Did Yesterday

• Ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream
• Drove to the airport, twice
• Visited with a dear friend
• Did laundry at said friend's house
• Took a nap
• Played Mario Kart on Wii
• Sat at the airport
• Flew home

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

• Love to clean
  
• Love to exercise
• Have the stamina to grocery shop at several different stores to find the best deals
• Acquire a new wardrobe without the hassle of trying on clothes and then paying for them
• Play board games with my husband every night and still get everything else done
• Get everything done
• Get and stay organized
• Have a massage and spa day

8 Shows I Watch

• The Biggest Loser
• Monk
• Psych
• Numbers
• Iron Chef America
• Chopped
• House Hunters
• Hidden Potential

I'm opting out of tagging more people to play along. If you would just love to post your lists of 8, please do and tell us about it. Have a great week!

More April Fool's Day Fun!

Something else you should probably know about me: I'm a linguist. I received a master's in Applied Linguistics from the University of Utah in 2005. (That's not the joke! Wait for it... Wait for it...) This is a little exercise in morphology if any of you are interested! Virtual High 5s and hugs all around for those who get it!

(Now this is the joke)

mato buol "your mother runs"
baku keol "his dog eats"
matil seol "my mother plays"
bua "I run"
bue "you run"
apro buol "your father runs"
see "you play"
bakil seol "my dog plays"
kea "I eat"
apru keol "his father eats"
matu buol "his mother runs"
foa "I walk"
foe "you walk"
bako buol "your dog runs"

How would you say "My father walks"?

My Favorite Posts so far

Since this blog is fairly new, any post I include in my list of favorites will seem recent to you. I am really enjoying this blog so it's a hard choice. But there are a few that stand out for me so far. These posts really capture for me the reasons I chose to start this particular blog. Enjoy!

1. My New Campus is my absolute favorite. It was the first time I was able to capture my epiphany and the emotions of it in words. "I find myself in the pleasant predicament of living in the same area as my Alma mater. From time to time I run over to the campus for one reason or another. A couple of weeks ago I wanted to drop off some German and Bulgarian books (so they could find a better home) and took the girls with me." Read the full post here.
2. A Slippery Fish has to be in this list as well. This is the first song that I learned after I started attending the library's Laptime program. It was the experience of not being able to remember the tune or all the words when I was home that led to my desire to have a video segment for Musical Mondays. See the video on the post here.
3. Jumping. "Indoors or out, jumping is a fun activity for toddlers. Many times a day I hear my toddler's voice, 'Mommy, want to see how I can jump?' She's so enthusiastic about it every time that I can't help but join in with her energy and do a little jumping myself!" Read the full post here.
4. Babbling is another where the purpose of this blog shines. It's not just about what kids learn, or how they develop. Rather it's seeing how the combination of physical changes, development and parent interaction all roll together to produce the little ones we love so much! Read the full post here.
   
5. Board Books captures the love of reading so prevalent in our home. Sammi loves to read books with me, to me, to her dolls. She also loves to listen as I read chapter books aloud. Some of my favorite books and resources are in this post.
   

My Messy Messy Desk

I'm taking on @RobynsWorld challenge to share the current state of our desk. She said no cheating and it's obvious I didn't! Here it is, in all its glory, the place where I work. You can see the baby doll and book (so I have something within reach to distract the toddler). You can also see my breakfast bowl. I love cereal! Everything else is basically paperwork. I hate filing about as much as I love cereal. I love my desk and would like to see more of it, but for now it serves its function. Maybe one day I'll get to enjoy its beauty as well. Thanks, Robyn for the challenge!

How does your desk look? If you're brave enough to share, post a pic and leave a comment for me and one over at Robyn's blog. I'd love to see some organizational tips in action, or just another messy desk so I know I'm not alone!

About Me

Welcome to my energetic and often chaotic corner of the world! I am Amber, the mother of two girls, a toddler and a baby. We pretty much spend our days playing and cleaning. I know mothers are biased, but I think my toddler is rather brilliant for her age. It has required a lot of creativity on my part to keep her not just entertained but also engaged in her own development.

Before embarking into the realm of motherhood, I was a professional research assistant (sounds fancy, huh?) on a research project involving assessing infant development. In a nutshell, we played with babies engaging them in specific tasks to evaluate how they were progressing in their development. A lot of the games I play with my children come from these assessments and have given us hours of enjoyment.

Currently we participate in a Music Makers class and are beginning our own in January 2009. I also volunteer as a laptime teller at our local library. A lot of the songs and fingerplays you'll see here come from these experiences.

I look forward to sharing info, activities and products that will help you find fun ways to encourage your child's development. To cover the spectrum, I'll be posting about physical development, cognitive development and rhythmic development.

Please email me with any ideas you'd like to share or questions you'd like answered! I can be reached at becausebabiesgrowup [at] gmail [dot] com. I look forward to hearing from you!

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