Best day of her life

Malone had the best day of her life yesterday. I think even she believed it. First, she slept in until 7:30am...in her crib. I know this doesn't seem like much to a lot of people, but it was a little piece of heaven for Cameron and I. Cameron woke me up at 7:30am and said, "Malone is still asleep. Should I go check on her? Is she still alive?" Right then she woke up. Then we went to church (she looked soooo cute!) and took her to the nursery for the first time. She stayed the whole time. They didn't even have to come and call us. Awesome! Then, she took an hour long nap IN HER CRIB. Unbelievable! Next, we hung out with our friends Marc and Beth and Malone was getting so cozy with them I thought she was a bit confused as to who her parents were. And throughout the whole day she was nothing but smiles and giggles. How appropriate that Thanksgiving is this week, because my heart was overflowing with it.

On with the update:

- It was my birthday last week! Happy Birthday to me. Thank you to everyone for the emails, phone calls, cards, presents and love sent my way.

- Cameron had to leave on a last minute mission for my birthday. I know...feel pity for me.

- Because my best friend, Sarabeth is the best in the world, she flew out here from Colorado to spend my birthday with me. It was such a good time. I would have been a sad little girl had she not been here on my birthday, but instead I was so grateful to have a friend like her. We went shopping, stayed in our pajamas until noon and ate the best roast chicken for my birthday dinner...that I made myself. Here's a picture of my roasted chicken and the finished product. Sooooo good.
Here's us girls in Seattle. Malone thinks we're crazy.

- I bought the most amazing coat from Anthropologie (ON SALE!!!) with my birthday money from Cameron. Then I combined a few other gifts and bought a new bread machine. I love it. I've made bread, pizza dough and tomorrow will be cinnamon rolls.
- We finally got blinds in our house today. Now, I feel like our house really does belong to adults. It looks amazing.

- Malone is a cheese eating fool.

- I'm running my first race on Thursday morning. Yes, I know its Thanksgiving but I am preparing so that I am able to enjoy my Thanksgiving feast without guilt. My friend Melanie invited me to run in the Tacoma Thanksgiving Trot. Its a 5K...aka 3 miles...not very impressive but exciting (and a feat) for me nonetheless. My dad was so cute when he said how proud he was of me and when I said, "Its only 3 miles, dad, nothing to be impressed over", he replied, "well, it is impressive. You will be the first on either sides of our family to ever run in a 5K race." Awww, thanks dad. You are great!

- Our dear friends, James and Sara Martin are coming on Thursday night to spend the weekend with us. It has now become a Martin/Schaefer tradition (they came last year to Enid). However, we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday because they will arrive late on Thurs. night.

Hope you enjoy your holiday. Eat turkey, take a nap and be thankful!

Likes and Dislikes

I dislike BBQ sauce

I dislike pride in being stupid

I dislike how the Internet can trap my time

I dislike the color blue

I dislike colds for me or Malone

I dislike bitter vegetables (anyone ever have Belgian Endive?)

I dislike feeling insecure

I dislike Butterfingers

I dislike not having enough time


I like oranges

I like the tenderness of God

I like when Malone laughs so hard that she looks at me like "Why are you making me laugh so hard"

I like the way I look in black

I like when Cameron walks in the door and says, "HEEEYYYY"

I like baking, it relieves stress

I like the discipline of the Lord, it makes me feel secure

I like reading a good book that makes me feel smart

I like when Cameron is home

I like when Malone tries to entertain me and make me laugh

I like family

I like photo shoots with Malone (look at those teeth)

Love/Hate relationship with Fall Back

I love sleep. I love the feeling of being gently woken up by the sunlight and nothing else. No alarm clocks. No one saying, "Wakey, Wakey, its time to rise and shine." I love when you wake up and you feel ready for the day. I love when you wake up early and realize you still have another 4 hours of sleep at your disposal. That's why I used to love Daylight Savings time in the fall. I used to love "falling back".

However, since having Malone, its just not the same. She doesn't seem to be enjoying the extra sleep available to her. So, this morning when I thought it was the ungodly hour of 5 am, her body was actually telling her it was the not-so-bad hour of 6am. The same weirdness went for her whole schedule today, eating lunch at way early or late depending on how you see it and going to bed at the time she would normally take a bath. Plus, she's been sick so everything is weird in anyways. So, an event that I used to love now has become a pain in my getting- firmer- rear.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this weird time change thing in terms of baby schedule?

Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing, it all changes.

On the upside, my birthday is coming up and I thought I was going to have to celebrate alone. But I have an amazing best friend who is coming to see me (hopefully, if it all works out). I love you, Sarabeth!! You put the BEST in best friend...hahaha...I'm feeling particularly witty this evening.

High/Low

When Cameron and I were dating, we used to play this game called high/low. Basically giving the high and low points of the day or week. Now my lovely readers, its time to play with you.

High: A free 18-month YMCA membership. The military/YMCA is trying a trial program and we (military folks of this area) are the lucky guinea pigs. Even though the closest Y is a little ways away, I couldn't pass up the FREE membership. They have swimming lessons, gymnastics, ballet and of course an awesome gym. All for free. We intend to fully take advantage of it all!

Low: Malone is the recipient of her very first cold. We've made it a whole nine months with nothing that resembles an illness. But here we are, at the crossroads of where our luck runs out. She really is a sad sight to see. Runny nose, her hair in every which direction, circles under her eyes (a mirror of mine, for sure!) and a little extra dose of craziness. On the upside, she is super nice and cuddly even if it is with her little baby snot running everywhere. I'm loading up on oranges as my defense (remember how I love those oranges?) Think that's enough? ....hold on, I have to go wipe her nose. How I wish she knew how to blow her nose.

High: The pretty new red shirt I bought. It was cheap and from Target, a fact that will make Cameron cringe. I just like it. And the fajita chicken soup/chili I have in the crock pot right now. I hope its going to be as good as it smells.

Low: Malone's lack of sleep last night= my lack of sleep

High: Its my little sister's 15th birthday today! Happy Birthday, Christelly belly! You are awesomely amazing!

Low: Running out of candy to give out last night. We have a lot of kids in our neighborhood. I had to turn off our light. But apparently not everyone knows about the "if the light is on it means we're giving candy, if the light is off, we are not" rule.

High: Playgroup at Melanie's house on Tuesday. Fun girls. Good food. What more could you need?

Low: Feeling pathetic as I anxiously wait for a special email from Cameron.

One last High: I've rediscovered the West Wing. Its an awesome tv show that sadly, challenges my intellectual tracking skills and makes me want to do something great with my life. Schaefer for President 2032!