Baby # 2

Now that I have 2 seconds, I can talk a little bit about our newest baby- Oliver Dean Daily.

I went in to be "softened" on sunday night with the understanding that sometime on monday we would be having a baby. Things went very well with trying to get into labor and once my water broke at 6am, things seemed to go quite quickly.

I was pleased to remain awake for the entire process of birthing a baby- unlike my experience with James where both he and I were alseep during the final stage:)

So, really, it was almost (but not quite) like having a baby for the first time. Everything went so smoothly and we are so blessed to have had things go as well as they did. 

Oliver weighed a whopping six and a half pounds- what a chunker!- and was 18.5 inches long. I think he looks more like Drue although we think he has my nose- lucky kid:).

He's a great eater (its his favorite thing to do right now) and seems to have a pyrotechnic bottom... and I'll leave it at that.

James ADORES his little brother. We can't get him to leave Oliver alone for more than a minute. This makes me feel a little bit bad, because I'm CONSTANTLY telling James to "stop, please" touching, kissing, hugging, poking, just loving up his new baby. James can't really say "Oliver" yet so he calls him "Be Soft"- which is what we remind him to do around the baby- or when he really wants to impress, "Wally" which is James' version of "Ollie". Its cute.

Drue has been a trouper trying to let me have a few minutes of sleep where I can catch them by taking James away from me.

Amy came to visit for the weekend and it was wonderful to have her here. She got to spend time with James and today he asked about his "Mimi". That was sweet.

My mother, Stacy, also came to visit for a few days to help. We are looking forward to having Drue's mom next week!

The Lord has blessed us SO greatly with this new child and we LOVE LOVE LOVE him. Newborns are so special- and this one is no exception.

Welcome home, baby Oliver. We love you and are so happy to have you to hold at last!

Please joins us in welcoming Oliver Dean Daily into the world! He was born Monday, May 25th at 12:17 pm and was 6 lbs 8 oz and 18.5 inches long. More details to come (we have our hands full).

hail the conquering hero...

Drue has officially added another 2 letters after his name on his letterhead: M.M.

This was a big accomplishment for us and here are a few pictures I can share with you. Drue's mom and dad came out from CA for this, Jesse came up from Provo and we all had a great time together! So, here we all are after the Degree covers have been conferred.

This man is John Brackett- one of the most brilliant men I have ever had the opportunity of working with. He was my personal Theory instructor. He was also on Drue's advisory board. He is ALSO one of the toughest teachers I've ever had and Drue will second that. But a sincere and caring person- outside of class:) He said that Drue's defense was one of the best he had ever heard.

I'm happy we were able to get a picture with him.

This man is Miguel Chuaqui (choo-AH-key). He was Drue's composition teacher for the year he wrote his thesis. Drue has a lot of respect for this teacher, and admiration. He was very helpful to Drue in developing the ideas and musical techniques used in his composition. Plus, he's such a great example to us of how to make academia work for us- he's a "family man" and its nice to see that you really CAN follow the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth AND be an effective educator.

This is Morris Rosensweig. Don't you love his hair?! When not encapsulated under a tam, it is what every stereotyped professor has: grey, longish, frizzy, EVERYWHERE! Its awesome. Morris was another personal professor of Drue's and he really respects this man's knowledge and depth of understanding in the musical world. He conducted many of Drue's works and has given Drue some good performances.

This is Drue and his 9 months pregnant wife- Ashley. I instructed the photog to only get me from the waist up in an effort to disguise my burgeoning belly. Yet, some things cannot be hidden totally. See the lei Drue is wearing? Its from his boss, Luella Flores who is Hawaiian. She came to his graduation as well (so nice of her!) and presented him with this lei- its full of gold 1$ coins. So, Drue made $25 from his lei. Jesse and I were teasing him about getting him a flower lei- but this kind is FAR more practical!:)

The graduation ceremony was LONG- there were over 300 Baccalaureates to get through before we could even touch the Masters. And since it was for the College of Fine Arts, the list of graduating departments included Dance (and its variations), Film (and its variations), Art (and its variations), Theatre (and its variations) and Music (and its variations). Its a good thing we didn't bring James to this- he would have been SO antsy! And it was hard enough sitting in close confines in fold down theatre seats with a full bladder. But it was nice when it was all over- then the reality of it settles in. So, now Drue has a BS in Music from BYU-Idaho and a MM from U of U. Next on the agenda: DMA from UNL. Its nice to be done with this and we are looking forward to the next adventure!

Confessions...

We just got back from the Dollar Theatre. Yes, I know that means we're poor. BUT it also means that we are aware of our poor-ness:).

And, we saw this delightful film: Confessions of a Shopaholic. 

I realize that not everyone will enjoy this film, but- se la vie.

WE enjoyed it for so many different reasons:

1. No swearing

2. No sex

3. No scantily clad women doing inappropriate things.

4. DARLING shoes (thats for me:)

5. little love story (for the romantic in us all)

6. A timely critique of the American Capitalist system regarding the use and seeming necessity of debt to make the world go round, but the pain of re-paying said debt, AND the joys of saving and spending wisely.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my mom portrayed to perfection:) So, Mom, that means that as soon as you can, SEE THIS FILM and remember what its like to do GREAT thrifting!

But I have to tell you, when the film was complete, the lights came up and people were filing out. Drue (who came with me- he's such a good sport) looked around and made the following observation:

"I think I'm the only guy in here."

At which I looked around (in shock) and replied:

"yes, honey. I think you are!"

Drue:"I thought I smelled a bit of estrogen"

Me:"Well, now, you're not the only guy in here anymore- look, the Janitor has just come in!"

At which observation we both laughed out loud. Life can be so absurd sometimes!

But, back to this cute little movie. Its a safe movie for a date (kiss at the end), or an illustrative narrative about the problems of carrying consumer debt without being able to pay it off.

Also, THE SHOES ARE FANTASTIC!!!