Found It!

This smart guy has found out quite a few things, lately.

I haven't gotten a picture of it, but he now stands up in his crib- which is simultaneously hilarious and of utter annoyance. If we don't put him down when he is absolutely tired, he will just perk up and grab onto the sides so that only the top half of his face shows. It's so cute and you just want to take him out and play, but no can do.

Secondly, he has discovered that he is a boy! This also is a double edged sword. Ha. He squeezes that thing until it's about to pop and I have to slather it with Desitin to make sure it doesn't stay red and rashy! This picture was taken at the most perfect moment of discovery. It cracks me up- yet illustrates his feelings at the time so well!



He discovered that perching atop dad's little belly is also pretty fun.



And that splatting your hand in your million-degree-fresh-out-of-the-microwave baby food is something that should NEVER be done. It's hard to see, but he now has a blister that takes up the entire middle portion of his finger, and another red gash-looking would on his ring finger. It was heartbreaking, but he has yet to attempt it a second time!



Grandma helped him discover his love for paper bags! Man, if only you really could buy kids this cute from Sun Harvest...



He found his favorite hang-out place that he continues to go to time and time again at Grandma's house. The lower shelf with the ceramic pot full of chalk. I love when he gets in there, it cracks me up.



He also found that sharing his Puff treats is impossible. I asked him for one the other day while he had it in his hand and he extended it towards me as if to put it in my mouth, then psyched me out and quick shoved it into his mouth. Thanks for sharing.



And I have found that no matter how often I cut or file this baby's nails, they are still like needles and he LOVES to scratch! Ever since he was tiny he would find something to scratch. His covers, our skin (see picture!), boxes, toys... It's funny but it sure leaves a mark!



And last but not least, I thought this was such a cute picture. My dad was holding Titan and all he wanted to do was look over Chef Dad's shoulder and check out his cooking skills. My dad suggested we take a picture and I'm so glad we got one because these two are two peas in a pod. I love my Hargrove boys!

We have bed bugs.

It has been an eventful week of injuries these past 7 days.

Last week, my friend called me during church. I was confused because even though she was in Minnesota on vacation, she knew what time it was here and that I was in church. So I went into the foyer and called her back after receiving a message that said "please call, need help". Her son had fallen and cracked his head open so she asked if I could babysit her other 2 kids while her husband took him to the hospital. Poor guy was home alone with his 3 kids and I'm sure he was panicked. (Poor husbands). So instead of being at church, I played Toy Story 3 on the DS and ate fruit snacks (not so bad!).

Then on Friday, I warmed up Titan's lunch. I had him in one hand and the warmed up baby food in the other. I didn't realize that he had reached over me and stuck his hand in his WAY TOO HOT baby food. He immediately screamed in pain and continued to do so for about a half hour. I felt so bad for him and realized I couldn't handle it if my baby had been hurt any worse. Now he has blisters over his left fingers and it's terrible : ( Poor guy.

And the kicker. It was funny, actually. This morning, Derek and I were walking down the hall to our bedroom when Derek asked me a question and a few seconds later my brain turned off! I was a walking zombie. Derek says I grabbed onto our bedroom door handle and it obviously swung because it couldn't support my weight and I swung my face into the corner of the wall and passed out onto the bed. Haha. Sooo weird!!! He said he was shaking me, asking, "Lar? Lar?" and my eyes were twitching. Then I asked..."How did I get in here? And why does my head hurt?" Ha. I couldn't stop laughing when he told me what happened.

Oh, and we have bed bugs. I have a plethora of scabs on my legs to show it.

The End.

Pictures to come soon, I'm just a lazy person and haven't uploaded them. But they'll be good once I put them up!

Not limited to 100

I am thankful for...

1. My five senses and how sharp each one is

2. Thick, green grass

3. A save haven when the busy day comes to an end

4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ

5. The ability to be a mother, naturally

6. The opportunity to breastfeed my child

7. A husband who is everything I'd ever wished for and more

8. My education

9. Parents who raised me well

10. Generations of men in my family who have served their country

11. Dogs- especially Bulldogs, Great Danes, and Weimeraners

12. Tortillas and cheese

13. Fluffy carpet

14. The sunshine

15. Warmth when it's cold

16. My standard transmission 1997 Honda Civic that runs like a champ

17. Good smelling laundry detergent

18. My husband's imagination

19. Laughter and its contagiousness

20. Fruit- especially Ruby Red Grapefruit and strawberries

21. Being blessed with ambition and mental and emotional strength

22. Shoes- for practicality and fashion

23. Trees and the shade they provide

24. The beautiful southwestern sunsets

25. Longboards and skateboards, even though I never use them anymore

26. The mountains

27. The little gut that I have left over from having a baby. And eating junk food.

28. The friends I have made from a simple crossed path

29. Onion and garlic salt- I think I season everything with it

30. Pictures

31. Being able to work for my family, even though I miss them when I'm gone

32. Kisses and hugs

33. Super Mario Brothers

34. Sheridan's unborn baby- a new future addition to the Hargrove & Sikora side!

35. Books- especially books with pictures

36. Knowing how to swim

37. Laws and how they protect us

38. The complexity of the human body. Proof that God exists.

39. My MacBook

40. The mind and how much knowledge it can contain

41. Confidence

42. Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream

43. CSI: Las Vegas

44. Bananas and how easily squishable they are so I can make baby food with them

45. Math- it was always my favorite subject.

46. Sudoku Puzzles

47. Cops and other authorities who keep us safe from harm

48. The prophet, President Thomas S. Monson

49. The cold side of the pillow

50. Prenatal vitamins and how healthy they keep me

51. Titan's nap time- and when he sleeps for more than an hour and a half

52. Date nights with Derek

53. Prayer. I never run out of long distance minutes to Heavenly Father.

54. Temples and being worthy to enter them

55. A good wubbie (blanket) to cuddle up with

56. Ice in my cup with my beverage

57. Cilantro

58. Gummy worms from Sun Harvest

59. Being able to communicate in more than one language

60. My age

61. The old chairs my parents gave me since my $19.99 Ikea ones broke

62. The stars in the sky

63. Music

64. When somebody lets you go ahead of them in line

65. Dancing- and dancing goofy for Derek so he laughs

66. Peek-a-boo

67. The moon- especially when surrounded by clouds at night

68. Bright countenances

69. The Ensign

70. People who can relate to you

71. A good working pen

72. Visiting teachers

73. Vacations- and the opportunity to even go on them

74. Grandmas and grandpas

75. Bath time

76. 1990 Pennies

77. A cool breeze

78. Halloween

79. Picnics at the zoo

80. Christmas music

81. My J-Lo bum being gone. Thank you breastfeeding baby.

82. Remote controls

83. Socks with the grippers on the bottom

84. When things just fall into place (a.k.a. Heavenly Father worked it out for you)

85. Feety pajamas for Titan that keep him warm at night

86. Frozen food

87. Lady bugs

88. My diamond-less, $400 wedding band that I wouldn't trade for the world

89. Teething tablets, Orajel and Baby Tylenol

90. Being able to share all of my secrets with my best friend, who is also my spouse

91. Joseph Smith, for paving the way for the 13 million Latter-Day Saints today

92. Walks around the neighborhood

93. A good towel to dry off with after the shower

94. Being an Activity Days leader at church. I love those girls

95. Derek & Titan's wild bed head, inherited from Grandpa Porter

96. Taylor, Arizona and the amazing people that live there (See #97)

97. My in-laws!

98. The Reflections of Christ video

99. Being able to learn how to sew

100. The opportunity to be here, today...a woman, a mother, a daughter, a niece, grandchild, sister, wife, co-worker, advisor, and United States citizen.

These are so few of my many blessings and they are by no means in order of importance. This has been a wonderful thing to sit down and do. Hope you do it also! It's liberating.

Aaaaand...I'm thankful for you. Thanks for reading my blog. : )

Lucky Us...

How amazing is it that I am born into a wonderful family. A family that is close. A family whose parents are not divorced.

How blessed am I that I am a citizen of the United States of America...the wealthiest and most coveted country in the WORLD.

How incredible is it that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints...the only true church on the face of the EARTH.

What a gift it has been, to have had the opportunity and ability to go to school and learn ever since I was a child.

Thinking of these things reminds me of how blessed people like myself truly are. And how much we take these blessings for granted. I know I used the word "Lucky" in the title of my post, but when it comes to things like the above mentioned...I do not believe in luck. We aren't LUCKY. Things didn't happen to us by CHANCE. We are, however, BLESSED. And we were given these things for a REASON.

I am not the best missionary. But I should be. I have so many interactions with others throughout my day. A while back, I brought a stack of old magazines to put in the waiting room of our office. They included Outside, Parents, Costco Connection, and The Ensign. And I cannot believe how many people read The Ensign in our waiting room! I'm ashamed to say it but...I'd probably put it down and read a different one. Would you?

I challenge you to write down 100 things you feel you are BLESSED with. I will, too and I'll make it my next post. Until then...

Happy Labor Day!

It turns out that in the late 1800's, two labor-union activists wanted to raise awareness about how much people in the manufacturing industry worked- so they dedicated a day for people to enjoy the fruits of their labor (www.keyt.com/news)

To me, we live such fast-paced lives in the U.S. And for what? Tomorrow will still come and work will always be at our doorsteps. My dad said that in his company, they are no longer allowing un-used vacation time to roll over into the next year. They consider it a liability. They said that vacation time is there for employees to recharge their batteries and give themselves a break. What an idea! : ) I'm grateful for vacation time. Even if it means lounging around, watching old episodes of Arrested Development on Netflix and eating crap. (Crap= Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tortillas & Cheese, Pineapple sorbet, Papa Johns Pizza, Homemade Fudge, Popcorn and other assortments of junk).


If you haven't seen Arrested Development and you like dry humor, this will most definitely keep you entertained.

Happy Labor Day! Take a break!

Dear Mr. Hargrove...

I cannot put into words how much I love this guy.

*I love that he gets crazy bed-head when he wakes up.

*I love the way he's constantly complimenting me on something, anything.

*I love how understanding and compassionate he is.

*I love how incredibly genuine and real he is. He's the person closest to godliness that I have ever met.

*I love how he can pull anything from our fridge or cupboards and make a meal more delicious than I've ever tasted, every time.

*I love that he is always teaching me something new, and desiring to learn more himself.

*I love that he believes in me and wants me to be my best. He is, in turn, also constantly striving to be his best.

*I love and am so grateful that he is such a good listener...and he's always on my side. : )

*I love how goofy he is and how goofy he allows me to be. We are laughing all the time.

And last but not least...

*I love the way he loves me. I have never in my life felt more loved by anyone, even by members of my family- who I feel love me very much! He treats me with respect- always. He would do anything and everything for me. Derek is the love of my life and I know there are many who don't believe in Soul Mates but I do. And he's mine.

Love,

Lauren.

Oh, Balls. Here we go again.

Speaking of balls, we are babysitting THIS guy...
...and Scooter. My parents and Sheridan went to see Garrett graduate from Army Basic Training in South Carolina. So here we are, back at my parents' house! Except this time, there aren't a million people here- so Titan actually takes naps (because it's somewhat quiet in the house) and it's easier to not feel like you're in anyone's way. Also, we live down the street- so if we need anything, we can just run home.

Since a few of my last posts have mostly included words and no pictures, hopefully I can make up for it with this post of plenty! Over the last few months, we've done some fun stuff! First, we went to the El Paso Museum of Art. It was pretty cool! There are a lot of strange & modern pieces of art, but I really enjoyed it.

The museum gift shop had these beautiful flowers in little tubes, so I picked one up and sniffed it, then put it back and kept walking around. My sister saw me and asked, "What's on your FACE?", then Derek came up behind her and looked a little weirded out and asked the same question. It scared me, because I thought I had a bug on my face or something, so I quickly wiped my cheek. The result? The above picture. So to make me feel better, Derek went and sniffed a flower, too. What a guy. : )

We decided to give vacationing another shot. So instead of going a great distance, we went to Albuquerque for a weekend. We visited grandparents and went to the Zoo. We also visited an old family friend of ours and ate at Dion's Pizza and OF COURSE...Boba Tea. De-lish. Delivers every time.




The above picture is how I found Titan while walking next to his stroller. He doesn't always like to be strapped in, but this is where the line must be drawn! He's so energetic and lively- I love it, except for that I'm always finding him in strange places. For example:

Standing by grandpa while we bowl. (Not such a strange place, but he loves being independent)

Climbing into his toy bin after bath time.

Hiding in a shoebox we keep his toys in.

Perched atop his car seat base.

And lest we forget...holding onto parts of our faces. This has become a new thing for him. He'll grab onto your ear while you walk around with him in your arms, he squeezes the heck out of your flesh with his needle nails, honks on your nose, pulls your hair...the list goes on. But he is so much fun. And he has 2 teeth now!

And last but not least, Jordan has left for BYU-Idaho. Titan definitely loves his uncle Jordan. When they meet again, Titan will be only 2 weeks from his first birthday. Good luck, Jord! We love you.