Emma's first post

Hey everyone, Emma here. Mom is knee deep in bottle-washing and laundry-doing so I decided to take over her blog today. She’s also pouring herself another glass of purple stuff. She gets much louder when that happens. It’s tough taking care of her. She’s a mess.

So life is pretty good over on these parts. I am almost four months old now so I feel like I pretty much have stuff figured out by now. I mean it’s not like I’m two months old or anything. I started school a few weeks ago so that’s been cool. Not to brag or anything, but I m really good at laying there and playing with my toys. I can also hold objects and drool all over them. I’ll start calculus in a couple weeks. No autographs please.

Dang it you puffy owl you. Stop rolling away.

I don’t want to sound like a square or anything, but it’s been cool living with my parents. They don’t charge rent and the milk flows free. They mostly smell good and pick me up whenever I “cry”. Don’t tell them, but I’m not always serious about it. What does a girl have to do to get some attention around here?! My favorite drink is milk straight from the tap, but domestic bottles will do. Seriously, have you guys tried it? It’s fantastic. 

I’ve been doing all my workouts lately. I roll back to front and front to back. I do some push ups and leg raises. I’m working on some good muscles. Now if only I could coordinate my arms and legs at the same time. Then I could start crawling…and maybe be the next ninja warrior. Fingers crossed guys.

Check out these leg muscles. Don’t tell me you’re not impressed!

I think there is some serious wizardry going on over here. Mom covers her face with her hands and disappears. I’m totally serious. It’s wild. Something about peak-a-b…or whatever. But it’s crazy. I also like this game where dad throws me up in the air and then mom yells. It’s HILARIOUS. Mr. Seahorse and I laugh about it all the time.

OH. Have you heard about these things called baths? Holy sweet pumpkins, they are heavenly. I love to splash in the water and they always have nice smelling soap for me. Plus, you can just pee whenever you want. It’s not like I don’t do that all the time anyway…

I was attempting my best batman impression. Mom said I looked more like Professor Snape.

My hobbies include watching sports, keeping up with current events, and eating my own toes. I have many and varied interests. I obviously have to start thinking about my college applications. I figure I will probably be walking by then so I’m good. Mom keeps saying she can’t wait to move away to college with me and live in the dorms together. I keep telling her she’s insane. I’ll let you know who caves first.

My toys and I have a pool going for when Auntie Grace is going to give me a cousin. My bet is on 6 months. I wish I could see my Auntie Mariah more. She keeps saying she is going to take me to get my first tattoo. I’m thinking a Socrates quote, you know, something classy.

Yes! My feet almost touch the floor! …And I may not have best spatial awareness.

We are going to Lake Tahoe next weekend. Good thing because I am in need of a vacation. I am exhausted and moody. Mom says that I’m teething. If that means gremlins are punching my gums from the inside and making me want to gnaw on everything I see, then yes, I’m teething. Semantics.

Okay, I need an opinion. What is funnier? Spit up in mom’s hair or all down dad’s back? I mean they are both pretty classic, but I am going for the evil genius baby award.

This woman is so clueless to my master plans. Mwahahaha.

Welp, it was fun chatting with you guys. I think mom is wondering where I’ve snuck off to. She probably thinks I’m “sleeping”. Speaking of sleeping, writing this post was pretty exhausting. I think I’ll take a nap.

A day in the life of the husband / Part 2

Today, in his second post, my husband is sharing a few of his thoughts. Check out his first post here.

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Being A Supportive Husband

Each relationship requires different levels and elements of support from the husband. Over the years of our relationship, I have discovered some of the most important ways I can be a supporting hand to Samantha in her personal and professional life. Here are the ways I do this!

Make sure she is fed! Samantha is a workaholic and doesn’t always find time or remember that she needs to eat. Seems silly but this happens to me too! During the week, when I know she is busy studying or has had a long day in the clinic, I know I need to be prepared to either make us a meal at home or get us some take out. It is always recommended to make the decisions on meals before she even asks. Having a plan to make sure she is fed always goes a long way in making a happy relationship!

Keep things cleanly. One of the interesting things I have picked up over the years is that even when I think things are clean, they probably aren’t. Guys, including myself, do not usually see the dirt and grime around the apartment or house. I have learned to always take a second look or just clean over a surface even though I do not see anything. Make sure things are tidy and cleanly around the house is something she will truly appreciate.

Take time out of the day/week to hear what she is feeling. It obviously is important to know how your significant other is feeling emotionally but this isn’t always clear in every relationship. Whether you are extremely consumed by work or anything else personally, it always is necessary to regularly check-in with her on how she doing emotionally. In all relationships, communication is key. The man should show maturity in making sure his wife’s feelings are heard which will make her know she is loved and cared for. This should happen regularly and even if you are unable to provide answers to issues she is having, it is always important for her to have a listening ear.

Surprises! I like to try and keep Samantha on her toes and sometimes this can be a huge challenge for me. One reason for this is my lack of creativity but I cannot let this hold me back in planning regular surprises for her. Whether it is a spontaneous weekend trip up to Lake Tahoe or picking up flowers in downtown on my bike ride home, I believe it is essential to surprise your woman. Make sure you really think about what makes her happy before you surprise her with something. It doesn’t always have to be something expensive but it must be thoughtful! Some of the best surprises I have given to Samantha have been the small thoughtful things.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, these are things I do to be supportive and present in my relationship with Samantha. Each relationship will have their own set of needs and you will need to figure it out and stick to them. It is always important for each person in a relationship to discover what support they need. Your significant other should want to help you in these areas!

Hope this personal insight can be of help to anyone out there.

Paulie

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A day in the life of the husband

I asked my husband to do a guest post for me and boy, did he deliver! I hope you enjoy what he has to say as much as I did. 

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Hello Substance and Soul blog readers and all you anonymous folks!

Samantha has mentioned me several times in her blog but for those who do not know me, my name is Paul Wetterholm! I am the Husband who loves and supports Samantha in her endeavors.

I grew up in Bakersfield, CA with my mom (Beverly) and dad (Mark) and two brothers (Joel & Neal) and big sister (Amber). To those of you who don’t care for Bakersfield, I don’t care for you! Not really, but I did enjoy living in Bakersfield all the way up through high school. I am a jock who loves to follow many sports like baseball, basketball, and golf but my favorite sport of all is tennis. I started playing in high school and went to Cal Lutheran to play with my brother! If it weren’t for my brother’s positive influence on me, I would not have gone to school there and would not have met Samantha. I got to meet Samantha in my junior year and my life changed for the best.

Samantha and I were married in July of 2011 and it still seems like yesterday. I wanted to write and give you all a perspective of what it is like to be me and be married to a dental student/blogger/artist/music lover. In upcoming posts, I also want to share some of my perspective on how to be a supportive husband, and finally I want to maybe talk about some weird things because I have always been a little weird. Since I do not read many blogs, I do not have a clue on how to do this but I am going to give it a shot!

Here are the pleasures of marrying my lovely dentist Samantha (insert smiley/shinny teethy face here): 

Opportunity to go somewhere new. Being married to Samantha meant I knew I was committing to a life of new experiences involving our style of living and where we lived. At first, I did not like the idea of her looking into dental schools all over the county from Boston to Fort Lauderdale but then I asked myself, “When else would I get the opportunity to live and adapt to a new environment and experience this?” I am someone who is close to family and certainly would like to at least have the opportunity to visit on weekends whenever I chose but marrying Samantha gave me more priorities in life and a new perspective. My hesitant thoughts switched to those of opportunism and I gave Samantha the green light to pick whichever school/city would work best for her career. My career as an Accountant allows me to have some flexibility in where I work because there seems to be a need for my work everywhere! San Francisco has been a great experience so far with Samantha and for my career. I have worked at a non-profit chartered school district called Aspire Public Schools since we moved up here and they really like me here!

My teeth are obviously going to be taken care of! Samantha’s skills as a Dentist are growing so rapidly at the moment as she has taken of the task of working every day in clinic treating patients. I have had to opportunity to visit her on two occasions for check-ups and they were wonderful. She is very thorough in her analysis of not only my teeth by my health has a whole. She is very gentle and makes you feel comfortable and helps you understand what exactly she is doing when she is examining you. I think this is what makes a good Dentist, someone who cares also for your well-being and makes you feel comfortable. I know she will take care of me for years to come and will also have a positive effect on the many others she will get to treat.

Yummy meals and desserts! Samantha is quite creative when it comes to making a dinner for us or an exquisite dessert. She knows how to take a recipe and make it work even if we don’t have the exact ingredients needed. I am consistently satisfied with the meals she has put together and I only wish she had more time to put together more! Samantha is also able put together one mean dessert. One of my favorites has to be her crêpes! They are so delicious with Nutella.

Great Photographs and Art. As many of you blog readers know, Samantha has knack for taking a great photo or creating art projects. This is one area where we would be lost if it were me making the decisions. I have very little creativity when it comes to creating a work of art and I do not have skills in photography. If you know us well, you know Samantha will rarely allow me to take a picture of us or anything! Back to Samantha…she is able to provide us with great tangible memories we will be able to have forever. Whether it is one of the many scrapbooks she creates or the wall art using our cards, they all are so fun to look at from time to time and will be there whenever we want to remember a special occasion. I am especially thankful for this pleasure she brings to our lives because I know it is not something that comes easy.

Well thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next time, Paul. 

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