handmade critters

I can't believe I haven't blogged about these critters.

Let me back up. Every year for Christmas my mom pulls a giant rabbit out her hat. A thoughtful, usually handmade, and always time consuming gift. One year she compiled all our baby pictures, report cards, tithing slips, accomplishment certificates into binder(s). One year she gave Annabelle a phonics reading system. Like she wrote the system. Because why not?

This past Christmas, she was all giddy about a few boxes that she brought up, and she asked if the girls could open them while she was here (she was here just before Christmas). Of course I obliged and the girls were happy to open some early Christmas cheer. 

Out of those boxes came these critters. These homemade critters. Just like the blankies my girls treasure and trash with love, these little friends are crocheted, one by one, stitch by stitch.

They're ridiculous. It's the same kind of reaction you get when you see a tiny baby animal. Squeeeee. Both girls took a liking to their monkeys first and foremost. Annabelle named hers Jane and Lou's Jayna (creativity folks!). These monkeys even went to Hawaii with us. This morning I found them in their rooms playing with their Jane monkeys. And I couldn't resist some photos. 

I'm a sucker for handmade, thoughtful gifts. Especially the ones that come from my mama. These are the kinds of toys we'll hold on to forever.

After she gave them to the girls, I threw a minor tantrum because I didn't get any, and then convinced her to sell them in her Etsy shop. They're super durable and soft all at the same time. And the baby bird is a perfect baby shower gift, don't you think? :)

Oh hello mini Grandma.

it's been said

Belle: Lou, can I switch places with you?

Lou: Uhhhh...

Belle: Can I switch places with you? Can you say, "Yeah"?

Lou: Yeah! 

Belle: Okay, let's switch places!

+

{or alternatively}

Belle: Lou, can I have those dolls?
Lou: No! Mine!

Belle: Okay, after I say, "Can I have those dolls?" can you say, "Yes"?

Lou: Yes.

Belle: I can have the dolls?
Lou: No! Mine!

ANNABELLE 

Belle: Hey, can I have some jlmns?
Me: {sounding it out} Some julemenes?
Belle: Okay. Can I have some...J-O-O-S?

Me: {sounding it out} Some juuiiicce. Some juice?!

Belle: Yeah! Some juice!

Me: Yes, you can! Because wow!

{consequently, we have abandoned the real spelling of juice, 

and when referring to said liquid, she always says, J-O-O-S}

+

Belle: Can we go to the skirt party yet?

Me: Nope, remember, not til after dinner.

Belle: Well...can we eat dinner right now?

+

{doing some random tumbling move}

Hey Mom, am I reflexible?

+

{after her pen runs out of ink}

This pen is not useful.

+

{a random shout}
I'm the luckiest girl in the world! Because I was born first! 

I came out of your tummy first! 

Then came all the other babies out of other mommies tummies!

+

Home Depot and Lowe's are just small stores. 

I don't like those stores. 

I only like two Targets and two Wal Marts.

+

{while visiting our friend's apartment}

His kitchen is small. He should buy a bigger house.

{while talking with her dolls}

Doll One: We can use my water ski to float the bus!

Doll Two: Excellent idea!

+

Mom, if I get married to Dad when I get big, 
then you won't have a Dad....that's the problem...

+

{during a particularly hard day for me}

Mommy, I'm sorry things aren't working out today.

{she's the most tender thing}

+

{while at Grandma Lichelle's house}

Me: Why don't you go get some toys upstairs to play with?

Belle: It's just random junk up there.

{my mom's house is far from cluttered or full of junk, for the record}

+

Don Don: Do you want to rest in the other room 

so you don't have to listen to the dogs bark?

Belle: No, I don't mind the barkness.

+

Me: You need to try a bite of your baked potato.

Belle: Ohhh, okay.

{eats a bite}

Belle: Mmmmmm. Wow! This is good! 

I thought it was going to be gross, but it's not! 

{thus the one bite rule my dear! :) }

+

{while reading a Clifford book to herself}

Clifford is not like the other dogs in our ward.

Clifford is a really smart man....er....

+

{while watching a movie}

Belle: Hey, Mom? Can you re-forward this...er...

Me: Rewind?

Belle: Yes, rewind. Can your rewind this?

+

I just love the smell of the garage! 

The garage is perfect for my nose!

{side note: she regularly informs us she loves the smell of the garage. weird?}

LOU

{all the time}

I'm tide. {tired}

+

{while Annabelle stands on her chair at the kitchen table}

Sissy, sit down! Sit down!

{Annabelle sits down}

Goo guhrl.

+

Oh, I lub it! {toys, her blanket, etc.}

+

Juuuuiiiiccceee! Juiiiccceee!

{thank you Annabelle for passing on your obsession}

+

{while picking at a hang nail, and this happens at least daily}

Lou: Look! 

Me: Oh, here, let me...

Lou: No, I cun do it!

+

Pojjy! {Potty!}
{when she wants to use the toilet - we aren't potty training, 

but we do cartwheels when she wants
 to use to toilet and does so successfully!}

+

Me: Lolly, who loves you?

Lou: Jeejus and Daddy.

+

{while coughing}
I choking!

+

Me: Do you want some mashed potatoes?

Lou: I do!

Me: You do?

Lou: I do!

{this is really excellent when you can hear it - I dooooo!}

+

{counting}

one, tree, for, fife, sis, seben, ate, non, ten, lellow 
{confusing the color yellow for the number eleven}, 
welve, turteen, foe-teen, fiteen

Me: What do you want for breakfast Lolly?

Lou: {always this answer} Um...eggs!

+

It mine! I hode it! My turn!

+

Lou: What doing Daddy?

Jess: Eating some licorice. Do you want some?

Lou: Lic-ish?

Jess: Yep, licorice. Do you want some?

Lou: I don't.

+

Watch me Mommy!

+

{all the time, which is adorbs}

Tank 'ou Mommy.

+

{after grabbing a bag of Wint-O-Green Lifesavers at the store}

I buy it.

+

{while Belle does some random death-defying trick off a chair}

Caweful Sissy!

+

Mere, mere. {Come here, come here.}

+

No! No talk! {Stop talking.}

+

Daddy lubs ewe! = Daddy loves me!

{she walks around saying this all day}

+

{whenever you ask her where something is, always the answer is}

Hind you. {Behind you.}

+

I like it. = I don't like it.

+

{while walking past the nursery at church, where she SHOULD go,

but instead comes to Sunbeams with me}

Me: Don't you want to go play with toys in there?

Lou: {thinking} No...I no like toys.

{riiiggghhhhht}

All photos taken at Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head, North Carolina 
(the Outer Banks). Jockey's Ridge features endless sand dunes 
(it's the tallest natural sand dune system in the east), 
perfect for hang gliding. Or maybe just playing. :)

dad's day

For years, I prayed for a husband who would first be faithful, and second, who would love his babies. Really love them. I prayed that his babies would know that their Daddy was their biggest fan and truest defender.

And the second that garage door roars open every evening, both of his babies jump up and down, shouting for Daddy, running to the door. And truth be told, he's jumping up and down when he gets out of the car as well.

He loves them more than he has words. Everything he does he does for them. They are his most prized possessions. I am incredibly grateful for a faithful man who not only kisses me on the forehead but also is his little girls' "gentle friend," the thing they count on every evening. Kisses and hugs and wrestling and everything he is - it is theirs.

This little Mormon Message has been around for a while, but I think it's perfect:

I didn't pray for a man who would take out the trash or do the dishes or fold the laundry. I prayed for a man who would love us and who would love God. And how blessed I am that prayers like those are answered.

Happy Father's Day.

random

+ I've been unsubscribing from random emails all day. Carter's. Children's Place. Southwest Rapid Rewards. Costco. The list goes on. And on. It's quite liberating to click unsubscribe fifty times in one day. Already my in box feels fifty pounds lighter.

+ I've dubbed these cookies Crack Cookies. Because once you start eating them, you will never stop. And they have no gluten. And just a few ingredients, so you can probs make them right. Now. And you should. (I use light brown sugar, and they're just simply the most addicting thing.)

+ Want to hear the easiest crock pot meal ever? Get some raw chicken (I trim the fat) and throw in some salsa. Any kind will do. And cook on low for 4-6 hours. Then shred and consume. Quickly. So as to create an instant food baby. Tonight I used green and red salsa. Such fanciness. For fun, add sour cream at the end. Makes a creamy taco filling. Delish. (Our girls usually eat it without a taco shell, and with heaps of guacamole.)

+ Our yard. Lest you're worried (I knew it!), we have photos. Lots of them. I think I'm going to do a massive photo dump one day when this saga is over. It's a lot of work. I'm getting really buff and tan. (Ha.) The patio (with its plant-y accouterments) is done. I've been fighting the Amazon all week (the weeds). Calluses and blisters much? And I think we'll either sod or seed on Saturday. Sod = moolah. Seed = not so much moolah, but much less of a guarantee. Quandary. 

+ I signed my Belle up for preschool this week. It's been a decision I've been laboring over and fighting for months now. Fact of the matter is, I'm not at all convinced of the necessity of preschool. In fact, the only thing I'm convinced of is it is unnecessary. But I do know that my sweet - timid and cautious - Annabelle needs to know that she can be brave without me there. Otherwise Kindergarten will be a nightmare for her. We went and met her teacher - who was adorbs - and looked at her facility. I think both Annabelle and I both immediately felt at home. And I signed on the dotted line right away. I still fear Kindergarten, but I'm feeling good about Preschool.

+ My girls turn four and two. Next month. What the?

+ Speaking of the girl who turns two, the poor soul isn't done teething yet. Is this normal? I feel like this is NOT normal. And results in sad baby. Kind of breaks my heart. 

+ So I haven't worn foundation or base or whatever those types of products are called for years. I was trying to cover old acne scars, and one day I decided I didn't care. Well, my sister showed me this product. Guys. It really is a magic potion. Like real live witchcraft in a tube. Go buy it.

Photos courtesy of Aunt Don Don, via her i phone. But her digital and film photography is here. You must go check out the cute little one-year-old she shot (or photographed, for a less violent verb). I want one!

lighthouse lovers

So I love lighthouses. It's not really rational. I can't explain where the love comes from, especially given that I grew up in an entirely landlocked state. And the particular part I hail from is basically dry desert. The exact opposite of any lighthouse climate. But love them I do.

North Carolina's Outer Banks are home to some of the most widely recognized Northern American lighthouses, as well as the tallest one in North America - Hatteras. (Apparently Poland has the tallest lighthouse.) We visited these lovely landmarks when Belle was a baby (and carried her to the top of one). And we visited again with two babies.

This time, Annabelle surprised us with a fervent plea of "Can I pleeasssse climb to the top?" I was hesitant because they're tall, she's short, and she tends to whine when "her legs are soooo tired." But I snapped out of it when it hit me: ANOTHER FELLOW LIGHTHOUSE LOVER?! She met the height requirement within a centimeter, so climb we did. 

She climbed to the top of Currituck (the all brick, my favorite), Bodie (pronounced "body" with straight black and white stripes), and Hatteras (with swooping black and white stripes).

And every time she climbed, she was thrilled. It was such an adventure, and reaching the top was a giant victory. These pictures here aren't posed; it's me just pretending that my baby isn't hundreds of feet in the air and shooting pictures from the hip so I can simultaneously block her from falling.

In reality, it would be impossible to fall. But you know. Paranoia. Me. We're best friends. 

It's always fulfilling when you have this idea in your head for your kids, and it actually works. We try to create little experiences like this for our babies, and they often bomb. But this time it worked. And it was particularly awesome to see my baby loving lighthouses like me. By the end of the trip, she'd scaled three lighthouse towers, by herself. She knows them all by name and has declared Hatteras her favorite. ("Is that okay Mommy? I know Currituck is your favorite. Is it okay that Hatteras is my favorite?")

Of course. Because fact is, you have a favorite in the first place. Welcome to the club baby. :)

sisterhood

Well, we'd been home for far too long. It'd been like a week. So I packed my bags, threw a bunch of toys in the car, strapped the girls in, and headed to St. George. Yes, I know I still have NC photos to post and stories to tell (oh, do I ever). But let's just talk about this:

The reason for the trip? All the sisters were together. One sister lives in Texas, two live in St. George (where my mom also lives), and I'm in Salt Lake. So we are rarely all together. And while it's never enough time, let me tell you what. I am one very lucky girl. To have that beautiful woman for my mother (SERIOUSLY WHY DOESN'T SHE AGE?). To have those beautiful girls for my sisters and my ever-constant friends. (Also, please note our carbon copy faces.)

We're growing up and changing. But our sisterhood never does. No matter the differences, no matter the changes, we get together and find the common ground of love and laughter and chocolate. No lie, that stuff runs in our veins. 

These photos are by the lovely Jostlyn of Roz Photography. Many thanks to her for capturing us so perfectly. (Find Roz Photography on Facebook here or check out her blog here.)

washed away

The ocean. I never get tired of it.  Sometimes I feel like if I just stand and watch and listen long enough, my worries and anxieties, the silly things I bottle up, get washed away. They're deposited in the sand and whisked away by the tide. Just like that, with the rhythm of the earth, so many of the little things that plague a paranoid mind like mine are swept away. And anything that does remain has been been tumbled about just enough to remove the sharp edges. 

Of course, the girls loved the sand. Even our "won't touch a toe to that icky stuff" baby dared to venture forth this time. And loved it. We've got two beach babies on our hands it seems. They take the sand. I take the tide. And Jess takes the seashells. If Jess is near an ocean, you will find him at dawn, camera gear tied about him, eyes sharpened and looking for beautiful shells to bring home to his babies.

And in the end, it's a win win for everyone.