Happy Birthday Matt

I'm going to take the liberty of bragging about my husband. It's his birthday, so that is as good as any excuse to do so.
First of all, Matt is an amazing husband. We met in 10th grade at Riverton High School, and although I wasn't really into him at that point, he never gave up on me and we were best friends. He would and still would do anything for me. He is always putting me first. Yesterday he opened his birthday presents and I sort of spent a lot of money on one of them. He said that we should take it back and get something nice for me instead. He is always thinking of me.
Second of all, Matt is super smart. He can figure out how to do anything. He is especially good at teaching himself. About 2 years ago he worked for this mean old man in a mansion. The man made Matt run his businesses. Even though the man was mean, Matt learned a lot about accounting so Matt then started his own bookkeeping business. It wasn't too profitable so he got a job as a "junior accountant" at skincarerx (his current employer). Matt made all sorts of important contributions and they were so impressed that when they fired the controller they promoted Matt to take her place as accounting manager (a position that usually requires a degree). Among other things, Matt taught himself how to make a website. He bought textbooks and read them so he could do it. The website isn't finished (Matt is busy), but it is still pretty impressive. Check it out the search function. Matt even created the logo. www.gearsaving.com.
Matt is very ambitious and busy. Since Matt's promotion, he has been very busy at work and yet he still finds time to do everything else. He has full-time school at the university of phoenix and every tuesday he has class for 4 hours plus hours of homework. Matt is also very dedicated to being healthy. He usually wakes up at 6:00 to go running or will bike to work plus he goes to the climbing gym on lunch break. Matt also has the calling of ward clerk which means hours a week at the church. He is busy, but he saves every spare moment to spend with me.
Matt is a great father. He doesn't get to spend much time with Parker during the week (he doesn't even see him on some tuesdays), so he takes advantage of the weekends. Matt loves to take care of Parker during church on Sundays. Also, even though Matt is busy and wakes up early, he won't hesitate to help with Parker in the evening if I'm worn out. He loves playing with him.
Matt is the best and I thank Heavenly Father everyday that he is in my life.

My Health Advisor

Drumroll please...dun dun dun dun (is that how you would spell a drumroll?) I have a new blog called My Health Advisor. I'm sort of obsessed with health, fitness, nutrition, and all that jazz. So I decided to do something productive with all the stuff I have learned. I specifically want to focus on the science of health, but not in a difficult "I didn't understand a word you just said" sort of way. Science can be like that sometimes. Anyway check it out at http://myhealthadvisor.blogspot.com/ and be sure to add comments or suggestions. If you want me to research a certain health topic, let me know.

It is a work in progress, but hopefully I can help some people learn about health.

Parker sucks...and I mean that in the nicest way possible

Parker is growing so fast and learning so much. Now he loves to grab things and then he immediately puts them in his mouth. So yesterday I got my face really close to his and he digs his little fingers into my face and tries his best to eat me. He was unsuccessful, but I thought it was hilarious. I showed Matt this new trick. So Matt decided he wanted to try it. Parker was a bit more successful this time. Parker actually latched on to Matt's face. It wasn't even for very long... but long enough to give Matt a hickey on his face. I thought it was so funny, so I took a picture. Matt didn't think it was as funny as I did, but then again he is the one he has to go to work with it on his face

Vote for Parker

I entered Parker into a baby contest online. Please follow this link to vote for him: https://www.greatamericanphotocontest.com/voter1/index.aspx?referid=EmailFriends&p=1086716&x=.jpg the winner is based on popular votes for this month.

Please, please vote for him!!

THANKS!

Peak of Chubbiness

Parker just went in for his 4 month appointment yesterday. Can you believe he is that old already? I try to hold on to every precious moment I have with him. The doctor, as always, was impressed with Parker's size and health. Now he is 17 lbs. 1 oz. (87th percentile) and 26 in. (86th percentile). At his two month appointment he was in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. He is leveling off. The doctor said that he has reached his peak of chubbiness and will start to thin out and become more "average" ... then Parker peed on him. (true story)

It is so much fun to see Parker learn and grow. He can grab objects now and immediately after he grabs something, he puts it in his mouth. It is easy to get him to laugh now which makes it that much more fun to play with him. He loves to "talk" and sometimes does it loudly during the most inopportune moments like sacrament meeting. We love his big smiles.

I decided I needed to take some pictures to show off Parker's chubbiness while it lasts. He is so handsome. His big beautiful blue eyes are striking and his hair is getting more red as he gets older. I know I posted a lot of pictures, but you should have seen how many I took. This is a small sampling.

Temple Square

I know, I know...these pictures are a little old, but I thought, "Better late than never." I want you to notice how darn cute Parker is.

St. George 5K

Last weekend, I ran my first 5K. It was in St. George, so we also were able to spend time with Matt's sister Sarah and her husband Eric.

For being in St. George, I was cold running the 5K. Well, most of me was hot, but my hands were icicles. Matt's dad, sister, and brother-in-law ran it as well as Matt and I. I got the worst time out of everyone, but I still beat my goal. My time was 29:02 for the 3.12 mile run (9:20/mile pace). Matt did awesome at 25:27 (8:11/mile pace). Everyone got addicted to the racing idea.

I got to use my Christmas present that Matt gave me: Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch and heart monitor. I love it.

Afterward we went mountain biking on the Bear Claw Poppy trail. You're probably thinking I'm really hardcore, but don't. I did horribly. I was too scared to go down the big hills and too tired to ride up them. I still had fun...in a really slow type of way. I haven't been on a bike for over a year, so I'm going to cut myself some slack.

Next race we are planning on doing will be a 10K around the end of March. If you know of any, let me know.