oh-see-dee

So she's got a little OCD going on. Have I mentioned that? I mean, mostly she's a regular kid depositing babies and toys and socks and whatever she might find intriguing at the moment all over the apartment. But sometimes she has moments...

Yeah. Not normal. I love that she not only lines them up, but also folds them so precisely.

I wonder where she gets this from. Certainly not from the parent who plans a party with a multi-sheet spreadsheet. Certainly not the parent who can't sleep unless her t-shirt matches her pajama pants.

Certainly not. :)

the green dinosaur

At 5:15 this morning, I was very sharply awakened by Annabelle's piercing scream. She was terrified. This wasn't a lonely or hungry cry. This was fear. I literally ran into her room where she was waiting with arms up for someone to rescue her. When she finally settled down, she was able to tell me what was wrong: "A green dinosaur chouched me. He chouched me on my neck." A nightmare.

I explained that there wasn't a dinosaur anywhere, that it was just Mommy, Daddy, and Lydia in the house. But she was sure. She looked around her room for the green dinosaur and told me again and again that the green dinosaur "chouched" her neck. I took her into both Daddy's and Lydia's room to show her that they were safe and sleeping. I gave her some milk and told her she was safe. When I put her back in bed she started to whimper and cry and frantically begged me to go see Daddy "so he won't fall."

I took her into our room, where she got wrapped up in a two-sided snuggle and assured that Daddy was okay, that there wasn't a green dinosaur, that she was safe in our snuggles. Wrapped up in Daddy's arms, she was able to fall back asleep. But only then.

When she woke up a few hours later, I didn't mention the dinosaur, not wanting to remind her and figuring she would have dismissed it from her sleepy memory. Not so. About an hour after she woke up, she suddenly recalled it. And she recalled more details: "The green dinosaur was on Lichelle's {my mom} stairs. He was in a box. And he was crawling like this. He said, 'Ggggrraaawr!' and I cried at its face, and it chouched my neck. I said, 'Don Don.' I was looking for Don Don {my sister, to save her I assume}." And she keeps telling me about it. No amount of persuasion will convince her that the green dinosaur does not exist: "No, Mommy. I sawd it! It chouched me!" She keeps mentioning it, and we keep talking about how she's safe and I will never let a green dinosaur get her.

It kind of breaks my heart that she knows how to be afraid. We do our very best to protect her and shield her from the dark things of this world. She'll get to them soon enough, and honestly I don't think a two year old can be too sheltered. But something* crept into her mind and turned into something scary. I hope she knows that as long as we are able, we will protect and defend her. I hope she knows that there will be scary things in life, but that we will always always be there to hug the scariness away.

* I'm guessing the green dinosaur came from Toy Story. He's not even a scary dinosaur, yet her mind knew to change him into one. So interesting as we don't have TV or dinosaur movies or even dinosaur toys.

Photos by dc photography.

belated thanksgiving

We had decided we'd go to St. George for Thanksgiving if my sister had delivered her baby by Wednesday (the day before). If she hadn't, I was going to wait until she popped and then head down. Rissa went into labor Sunday night (before Thanksgiving). After an agonizing Monday spent staring at my phone, practically willing it to announce that baby's birth, little Lise was here. And so off we went.

On Thanksgiving morning, long before the sane humans had even thought of waking, Jess was on the road to Bryce Canyon. He caught sunrise...

...and then "a few" other shots like this...

We loved on the new little baby...

I just want to say that I wouldn't be at all sad if I aged like this woman does.
She's my mother. Not my sister. Just a clarification there. ;)

We had our traditional meal of untraditional Thanksgiving food because really, who needs a turkey when you can just eat carb-loaded homemade rolls? I discovered and cultivated a new love of Jalapeno Cheetos (seriously - don't try them if you don't want to gain a few pounds of Cheetos weight). And on Friday, Jess and I hit some Black Friday sales.  Annabelle entertained us with her randomisms...

Belle: I want my roll back Daddy.

Jess: Where is it?

Belle: In Miley's mowf. {the dog}

And Lou entertained us with her baldness...

But mostly, we just sat around giggling til our guts hurt. (Or was that the inordinate amount of rolls I consumed?) And we just had the most lovely time. If driving alone with two babies didn't give me ulcers and a nice sheet of acne, I'd be back tomorrow.

As close to a family photo as we could get.
My husband was with his other wife. His camera.

 

Photos of the girls by dc photography.

little miss annalise

My baby sister had her baby. After something like 24 hours of labor (although she'll only concede like 14) and pretty much going through world war womb, Rissa got to meet her sweet Annalise Lichelle. (The first name is just pretty. The middle is my mom's. Together, it's just beautiful I think.)

She's a little beauty. And oh that hair. Ack!  

I know, right? I spent considerable time petting and coveting that mohawk. My poor bald babies.

I'm so happy for Rissa and Carl. And I'm so unbelievably proud of Rissa. They make a beautiful little family. And they made a most beautiful little baby.

that time of year...

This time last year, I was still in the death grip of nausea, hormonal insanity, and exhaustion. I was so very grateful then for the Legos fun Annabelle had with her daddy while I lay on the couch dying. (Or was that just pregnancy?) This year, I'm still wallowing in hormonal insanity, but the nausea and exhaustion have gone the way of the wind. In their place came a tiny little creature baby that made all that dying worth it. But the Legos have still come out. It's that time of year when going outside becomes less of a good idea every day and indoor activities become creative. And the little Lego friends are at it again.

P.S. Did you click that "Legos fun" link?" Check out Belle's chubby toddlerness. And her sparse whispy curls. My, how time has changed her!

four months

Little Lou Lou:

I'm happy to say that your fourth month seemed to pass a little slower, as though time slowed just a tiny bit, and the days became more tangible. That said, you're still growing into six month clothes faster than any of us prefer. You're tall and long and simply lovely.

In your fourth month, you developed a superb thumb chomping habit. Not sucking, mind you, chomping. We tug it out repeatedly, which I think is part of the appeal to you - it's a funny game now. You love your binky lots and lots, especially when you're tired. You love your sister way lots, and not just when you're tired. You love to be wherever she is, and you watch every little thing she does. You're a mama's girl, and your mama wouldn't have it any other way. :) You love your daddy too, however, and especially love resting in the crook of his leg while he works.

You talk and whine and scream quite regularly. When you smile, you almost always stick out your pointy tongue. You love playing with soft toys that you can really grab, especially soft books. When there's something in your reach, you shimmy around by kicking and rocking/rolling until you can get it. I've seen you taking your binky out and putting it back by yourself, and you love to hang on to my necklace with your L (and Annabelle's A).

You rolled over from back to front once and often rock from side to side when you're playing. You love to stand up as well, and you've got the cutest little chicken legs I've ever seen. You're mostly a cat napper. But I try not to complain too much because you let me sleep at night. You nap much longer if someone is holding you. You love your white crocheted blanket, and you pull it on your face both when you're sleepy and when you're playing.

 

You're stealing our hearts right and left. And we wouldn't have it any other way. Happy four months little creature.

All my love,

Mama

Here she is at one month.

Here she is at two months.

Here she is at three months.

how pinteresting

1. I love pinning thoughts and quotes. I've always loved things smartly said. I love it when words are used perfectly. I love it when they're used correctly. And I love finding little bits of inspiration.

2. I will not pin a quote if it looks ugly. Or if it has blatant errors. I've forgiven a few punctuation errors when the quote has been good enough. But I have literally passed up some serious witticism beause I find the error too obnoxious or the design unappealing.

3. All those dang braid hair dos that look ahhh-mazing are frackin' impossible when YOU HAVE NO HAIR LIKE ME. The sock bun? Big fat joke. (Also, watching that little sock bun tutorial will lower your IQ instantly. Holy crud.)

4. I have actually tried - or am in the process of trying - several of the things I've pinned. Some are Christmas presents. Some are stupid things like the sock bun. Some are delicious food recipes. Some I used for Lou's blessing (the balloons). I try really hard to not just go pin crazy and pin junk I won't ever do. That said, I've pinned my fair share of useless things. I ain't gonna lie.

5. I never knew I wanted a pair of Toms until I saw them on everyone's style boards. Now I'm pretty sure they belong on my feet. And no, I will not wear skinny jeans with them. Skinny jeans don't belong on fat calves. They don't.

 

6. People are obsessed with running. I'm jealous of their obsession. Gosh I miss it.

7. I get an intense sense of satisfaction when someone repins my stuff. Validation that my ideas are bomb.

8. I'm fascinated with repinning. I think one day I'll look at some random pin and follow its path back to see how many times its been repinned. I think Pinterest is an amazingly visual representation of social interaction and peer pressure. Do I really want to eat those tamales or do I want to eat them because they've been repinned 608 times? People could study social trends through Pinterest. Seriously. Fascinating.

9. If I could really have my dream home the way my dream home board illustrates, it would be pretty freaking amazing. Also, I'd need to be a millionaire.

10. Sometimes I find myself scrolling through Pinterest without knowing how I got there. Usually at midnight. It's an illness at midnight. Really, it is.

sisters

The Christensen girls, circa 1999(ish). Go Doc Martens. And please note that my hair has not really changed.

I'm very blessed to have three sisters. No brothers. And who needs 'em anyhow. I'm married with two chicklets, the next is in Houston living the semi-single life (she's got a boyf), the next is having a baby of her own any minute (and is also married), and the youngest is a freshman in college. We all look eerily similar, although Rissa doesn't match completely with her blonde hair. (The other three have dirty brownish hair - we all dye it dark.) Number two and number four look practically like twins, and I've thought one was the other on multiple occasions. With my mom, these girls are my very best friends. In. The. World.

The most current photo of all of us together. Sad, right?
I had bangs and Belle was just a tiny seahorse in my belly.

People often ask how difficult it was for our parents to raise FOUR GIRLS. Oh, dread! We think it's hilarious because we weren't very typical I suppose. There wasn't hair pulling or plate throwing. Of course, there were occasional bits of drama fueled by monthly hormones, but the fact of the matter is, there was more getting along and eating ice cream at midnight than anything else. We are the kinds of friends that only sisters can be, the kind of friend that lets you be angry or irrational without thinking twice. They're the most honest kinds of friends too, and the ones that you can be the most honest with. I love them so much. I love that I can be myself with them, more than with anyone else. I can be angry, sad, happy. Fat, skinny, annoyed. They don't care. In fact, they just understand.

We didn't know if Lou was a boy or girl until the minute she popped out of me. And in that minute, I remember sinking back onto my bed and saying with almost relief, "It's another girl..." It isn't that I don't want a boy (although raising one sort of terrifies me). It's simply that in that moment, my heart realized that my Belle just received her very best friend. What I didn't expect, however, was how early this friendship would begin. There must be something in us that recognizes something in our siblings. It's like the same instincts that govern development also govern love - I don't have to teach Lou to suck her fist, just like I haven't taught her to love her sister. She just does. I find it fascinating and lovely all at the same time.

When Belle wakes up in the morning, she asks first where her Daddy is (sometimes at home, sometimes at work) then where her sister is. She frequently shares her blanket with her by letting her snuggle in it, which is seriously huge as that blanket is her only earthly possession that she really cares about. She loves to {attempt to} hold her and hug her and give her kisses. Lou, in turn, is enamored with Belle. I'll often hold Lou on my lap while Belle runs around singing Sound of Music songs, and Lou's little head will rotate round and round, following that sister's wild dancing. When she comes near her to shout a lyric or two, Lou squeals with happiness. I often catch Lou just staring and smiling at Belle, hoping Belle will return the grin. Lou reserves a special kind of sister smile for Belle - it's so unbelievably adorable.

My friendships with my sisters mean the world to me, and I have every confidence that these girls will feel the same way about each other as they grow up. And that makes me so happy.