I've Been Tagged

My friend Jenna tagged me with this post, and I thought I would be a fun sport and do it. It is about Reed and I as a couple.


1. What are your middle names? Noelle and Michael

2. How long have you been together? about 4 years.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? About 8 months

4. Who asked whom out? It sort of all just happened. I thought Reed asked me out, but I guess everyone else in the "group date" just "bailed out" so we went on a single date.

5. How old are you? Reed is 28, I am 22

6. Whose siblings do you see the most? We see Reed's sister Amy frequently (now), but we used to see my siblings every few months. And I get to see them on the web cam each week.

7. Do you have any children together? Yes. Patrick is 7 1/2 months

8. Pets? Nope

9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Right now it is money and trying to find a job and not going crazy living with our parents.

10. Did you go to the same school? Yes, BYU-Idaho

11. Are you from the same town? No. I am from Nampa, ID and Reed would probably still say he was from Modesto, CA. I don't know if either one of us would say that is where we are from now though.

12. Who is the smartest? I think Reed is incredibly intelligent, but he always says that I am smarter. I do have more book smarts, but he has everything else.

13. Who is the most sensitive? Me.

14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? We love Wendy's dollar menu. Other than that, I'm not sure, because we really like to try new places since we have moved to a new area.

15. Where is the farthest you have traveled as a couple? We went to San Francisco about two years ago for a friend's wedding.

16. Who has the craziest exes? Definitely Reed.

17. Who has the worst temper? We are both pretty even tempered actually. No yelling.

18. Who does the cooking? Right now, mom does most of the cooking, but usually I do. Reed will when I let him. :)

19. Who is more social? Reed is more social most of the time, unless I am in a situation where I feel very comfortable.

20. Who is the neat freak? We are probably equally slobby/neat.

21. Who is more stubborn? I am more stubborn I think.

22. Who hogs the bed? I do. Or so he says.

23. Who wakes up earlier? I do.

24. Where was your first date? That is yet to be determined. We can't really decided when we had our first "date." Probably it was Ramirez food in Reed's apartment watching Real Genius.

25. Who has the bigger family? Reed

26. Do you get flowers often? No, which makes it more special when I do, and that is usually on my anniversary.

27. How do you spend the holidays? It depends on the holiday! There is always lots of food, I can tell you that much! We are starting our own traditions, though.

28. Who is more jealous? Neither.

29. How long did it take to get serious? About 2 months I guess. It is already starting to get blurry. Is that sad?

30. Who eats more? Uhhh . . . that's a toss up. I really need to watch what I eat though because of my diabetes.

31. Who does the laundry? I usually do, but since Reed is home a lot right now, he has been doing it more.

32 Who is better with the computer? Neither.

33. Who drives when you are together? Reed

I will tag Stacy Sorensen, Shantel Harmon, Hayley Cook, and Anna Cordner

Jobs

Well, a few things have happened in the last month. I have a job with a company here called Caption Colorado. They do captioning for financial conference calls, and I edit these calls. This job isn't going to pull in the big bucks, but it will help with bills. I am hoping to do this for a year or two so I can get the experience to get a different editing job that is a little more flexible for my schedule (well, let's face it--Patrick's schedule).

Reed has been spending several hours each days looking for a job, but this just isn't a good time right now. He has a job at a psychiatric residential treatment center that will start in March, but it doesn't pay enough for us to move out on our own, so he will work there and continue looking for something else. We are just keeping our fingers crossed and trying to figure out each day what the Lord would have us do. The way the economy is right now is making life frustrating for many people, and we are trying to be very patient, along with everyone else.

Patrick is just the happy-go-lucky kid he always is. He is trying really hard to cut teeth, but they are still being shy. He sits well now, but still doesn't have the motivation yet to move. He like orange foods, but I make him eat the yucky green ones so he doesn't turn orange. He likes to practice feeding himself, even though he makes a big mess. Patrick laughs and laughs and laughs and sometimes it makes me wonder if he knows something I don't.

Trip to Idaho

Last week we took a trip to Idaho to visit family and friends. My cousin Luke is leaving next month for his mission, so that was a nice excuse to drive to Idaho. The drive was long, about 14 hours, but Patrick was very patient. We stayed with our friends Jordan and Bethany, and it was super fun to be able to hang out with our friends again. It made me want to move back to Idaho (for about 5 minutes) and then I realized that there was two feet of snow on the ground and it felt like 5 degrees outside. We even got to stay two extra days because of a snow storm that closed part of the freeway in Wyoming.

Patrick had a good time playing with Coralie. At first he was a little intimidated because he isn't around babies very often right now, but he quickly got used to Coralie running circles around him and accidentally trying to sit on his head. It was fun watching them take baths together, play together, and cry when the other baby started crying. My family also loved seeing Patrick. It was fun to have all the family together and see all the babies. We had all age ranges there, and all the babies were passed around.

Our trip to Idaho was nice, but I have to admit that I'm not itching to drive back any time soon. Patrick is really good in the car, but that doesn't make the road trip any more fun.

Warm Colorado??

I know I am bragging, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we are having an unseasonably warm winter here in Colorado. We have had a couple of good snow storms, but the last several days have been over 60, and tomorrow is forecasted to be a record-setting 71! Living in Idaho forever, I am having a hard time adjusting to this. Obviously, I love it, but I still find it very bizarre. Now, it IS still winter, because Sunday is supposed to be 39 and snowy, but come on, this is just fantastic!

I think I will change the background on my blog, because I just don't think snowmen are really applicable right now.

Some 6 month pictures of Patrick

Here are some updated pictures of Patrick. You might say to yourself, "Wow, he sure is getting big," and you would be correct. He is growing right before my eyes. I know every mother says that, so now it is my turn. This first picture is from Christmas. Patrick is getting to know his teddy bear that I made him for Christmas. The bear is almost as big as he is, so he doesn't play with him much yet.


This picture is of Patrick trying to roll over on our bed but struggling. Every morning I feed Patrick in bed while we read scriptures and then we play for a few minutes before breakfast. It is always the best part of the day because Patrick is blissfully happy in the morning. He does roll over really well on the floor now, but never of his own volition. Sometimes I block him on his stomach so he will stay there for more than three seconds. He can also sit up by himself, most of the time. He still needs someone sitting beside him, but he is definitely more independent now.
The last picture is to show you how tall Patrick is getting, and to show off his cute new red overalls. If you look closely, you can see how long his hair is getting and how tall it sticks up. I swear, I don't do a thing to his hair; it just sticks up all the time. He has a natural mohawk, I guess.

Christmas for the Haights

Sorry, I don't really have pictures of Christmas, but Patrick just wasn't too in to this year, and I don't think anyone cares to see pictures of Reed and I opening presents.

Reed and I had a very nice Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Reed and I drove to Amy's house and we helped here wrap presents they got for a family in their ward. I helped sew some pajamas for the kids, and Amy and Marco provided the family with a nice Christmas. Marco put on the Santa suit and delivered the presents to the family. Even though we were in the car, we could tell the family was very excited. That night we had our big dinner with Amy, Marco, Mom and Dad. We had prime rib, ham, potatoes, rolls, and salad. Later we ate tasty banana cream pie.

Patrick woke up Christmas morning around seven, and we woke everyone else up so we could open presents. Patrick sat in his bouncer chair while we opened presents because he didn't really know anything special was going on. He didn't care for the presents, but he did really like the bows. He would slobber on those until they were soaking wet. Reed and I kept Christmas simple this year (like we always do). Our tradition is to fill each other's stocking. I got Reed a couple $5 movies (Must Love Dogs and Superman Returns), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (I get him one each Christmas), Tales from Beetle the Bard (also from HP), and some candy and beef jerky. Reed got me Aladdin, candy, beef jerky and cheese in a can (all traditions in my stocking), and my FAVORITE PRESENT--PAJAMAS!! I always get at least one pair a pjs for Christmas, and this year was no exceptions. This year they have are blue with pink elephants on ice skates. I love them. Reed's parents also got me a nice sweater and black slacks, another pair of pjs, and a year's subscription to Paula Deen's magazine (whoo hoo!). I also got another pie plate and a pie cook book (I think that is a hint).

Oh! I almost forgot. I made Patrick a teddy bear for Christmas. I knew he didn't need much this year, so I just made him a bear. I also made our friends' baby Coralie and matching bear. Patrick likes his bear about as much as he likes the rest of his toys right now--it's a good thing to slobber on!

Overall, we a nice Christmas. The weather here in Denver was lovely. We would have loved to have been snowed in in Rexburg with the Wades, but alas, it was sunny and 50, so we went to the zoo. Because it was sunny, there we a lot more people there than I thought there would be, but we still had fun. I think that will become a fun tradition in our family. We came home, had some leftovers, and watched Mama Mia!, which is a very fun movie.

My mom and dad got us a web cam for Christmas so they could see Patrick and have more fun talking to us. We used it for the first time Christmas evening, and it was really neat! Patrick isn't old enough yet to realize that there are people talking to him, but he is starting to recognize his name, so I think he will catch on pretty sooon. Patrick is growing so fast! He has now tried peaches, and tonight he ate a whole carrot! My baby doesn't know when to stop eating though, and I think sometimes he gets a tummy ache because he eats too much. He just keeps opening his mouth like a baby bird for more food!

We had a very nice Christmas, and we hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as well.

Patrick Went Bananas!

Well, not quite, but he did like the bananas I fed him this morning. I tried yesterday morning, and he clamped his mouth shut tight, but today I tried again with just a little banana mixed in his rice cereal and he loved it. I am slowly starting to introduce new foods, but we aren't in any big hurry. My mom got him a booster seat/high chair for Christmas (thanks mom!), and we are using it early. I have a couple of presents under the tree for Patrick to open, and I don't think his attention span will last much longer than that, so some of his presents he is enjoying early.

What's New with Reed and Chelsea

This week we both got a calling in our ward. Reed is a ward missionary, and I have been called to be the CTR 8 teacher and the Activity Days leader (8 year old girls). I think Reed is excited, and we already met the missionaries because we had them over for dinner this week. (We had breakfast for dinner, which they LOVED because they don't get to eat a nice big breakfast very often.) I am mostly nervous because I haven't been in Primary since I was IN Primary, but I know that I will quickly get into Primary mode and then it will be tons of fun.

Reed is recovering from his sinus infection/bronchitis. His cough is lingering, but he is felling better. Tomorrow he is taking a test for a Youth Security Officer position for the state. Please everyone remember him in your prayers because we are really hoping he gets this job. He also has another interview on Thursday, so the ball is rolling. We are just keeping our eyes and ears open and enjoying the holidays.

What's New with Patrick

Patrick is still happy as ever. Grandma and Grandpa Haight got him an exersaucer for an early Christmas present. We found a really nice one at a consignment store. Patrick seems to like it, but he sometimes get frustrated because he is a little floppy in the seat still. He likes have something other than his bouncer chair to sit in during dinner.

Tonight we drove around to look at Christmas lights. It has been frigid today (-19 last night!) so we bundled up warm for the car ride. This is a picture of my favorite thing that Patrick owns--his adorable penguin hat. It isn't going to fit him forever, which makes me sad. It must make him sad too, because he looks sad in this picture, but he is just really tired.

Happy Birthday Reed

Reed's birthday was Sunday. He is 28 now. What an old man (well at least compared to his spring chick!) I think Reed had a nice birthday. He had gotten over enough of his sinus infection to feel alive and had more of an appetite for his birthday dinner. In our family, we have a traditioin that on your birthday you get to pick anything you want for dinner. This year, Reed wanted BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, creamed cauliflower, roast potatoes, and apple cheese crisp for dessert instead of cake. We had dinner with his parents and Amy and Marco. He opened his presents after dinner. His parents got him a nice vest, Amy and Marco found him some pants (badly needed) and a shirt. Patrick gave him some slippers, and I gave him a book, Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives. The book is from a Food Network show that we really enjoy.