puppy love

I grew up with dogs. Starting with our shetland sheepdog, Bluff (named for the bluffs surrounding St George, UT) and culminating three additional dogs later in the current four-legged residents at my mom's house, Chamine - a fifteen-year-old keeshond and maybe the world's best dog, not to mention most beautiful, and Miley - a three-year-old pomeranian (seen here) whose yips make my brain rattle but whose love saved my mom in some hard times.

Growing up, I always knew my kids would have a dog simply because their presence in my life as a child and a teenager was really that important. Now, of course, I understand my mom's (former) resistance to these furry friends - the mess and the hair. Yuck. Not to mention the barking. That said, my mom now lets a little yipper sleep in her bed. Dogs are quite literally a part of our family, and a part even my mom wouldn't take away.

We don't need a dog (or cat for that matter) right now - not until Belle is a little older at least (and I'd love to be done with crawling babies as the thought of dog hair in their mouths makes me gag a little). And Jess doesn't want one at all. He didn't grow up with one and doesn't know how much you can really love a pet. But I know we will have one, even though Jess will resist even more than I. Because I know these girls will put on their puppy dog eyes, and Mommy will explain how simply amazing it is to have a forever friend around, and Daddy will cave.

Because really. Look at this girl. And it's not even her dog. P.S. Lou loved Miley too. I'm so sad we don't have photos of Lou giggling her guts out at Miley and trying to give her head bumps. Sorry Daddy. There's a dog in our future! :)

All photos by dc photography. That said, all post processing was by me. In Picasa. Because we're ghetto like that. And I'd hate for her to get blamed for my sweet photo editing skills. :)

wake up call

The best way to wake up Daddy from his Sunday nap is to send in Lou Lou. Because I'm telling you what, Jess is not an easy riser from his Sunday naps. He gets to that dead sleep place, where making eyelids uncover one's eyeballs becomes a near impossibility and sleep becomes the only solution. However, send in Lala, and you've got it in the bag. Because really, it's impossible to not smile around this kid. Even when you're tired. Even when your thyroid is strung out leaving your body limping behind with a side dish of exhaustion. Because seriously. Girl makes everyone happy. So happy we have her.

matchy matchy

Shortly after I had Lou Lou (as in minutes), my father-in-law mentioned how I could have matchy-matchy babies. I nearly jumped out of my hospital bed in excitement, and were it not for the IV still stuck in my arm, I probably would've. Because I hadn't even thought of that yet! MATCHY MATCHY! The next day he showed up at the hospital with some matchy matchy outfits and a warning to never go to Carter's if you didn't want to leave broke. :)

The trick about these matchy girls is one is very tall and stocky (especially for her age), and one, while she's ridiculously long for her age, is relatively skinny. (It's all relative to us - after our chunky Belle, Lou is a comparative shrimp. Others seem to think she's big, however.) Because of their disparate proportions, I have seriously had issues finding outfits that match in the right sizes. The ones Papa brought only fit together for like a minute. And at Christmas, I tried my best to find something adorable for them to match in. No luck. (At least within my cheapskate price range.)

We went to St. George last week, and of course had a little mini Christmas while there. My mom, being the ridiculously amazing person she is, managed to whip up a few dresses for the girls. That match. AND FIT. I've been in matchy matchy heaven all day. Usually I change the girls out of their church clothes as soon as we get home. But today I'm pretty sure they'll be wearing these pretty little numbers until the sun goes down.

Tanks Mama. They were admired by all.

getting serious about those last ten pounds

So my cute sister-in-law, Kimberly (the other redhead, seen here), and I challenged each other to an "eat healthy, lose weight before Hawaii" challenge. We're headed to Hawaii in about two weeks, and although she really hasn't a pound to lose, I sure do. I've been stuck at these last 10-15 pounds for-evah. But mostly, both of us just wanted someone to stick with, the comfort of knowing someone else was passing on those yummy sugar cookies.

And truthfully, I haven't done half bad. And it really does help when I wake up at the buttcrack of dawn and just want to sleep, to know that Kimmy's trying too. And so I drag myself out of bed and, of course, always end up feeling better for it. Here's what I've been doing:

1. No sugar or white flour. Except for snitches of Nutella. I will concede a few other random snitches as well, but never a cookie, piece of cake, or chocolate bar.

2. I do some form of work out 5-6 days a week (I always take off Sundays but try to get something in Saturdays too). Most days I spin for thirty minutes (my tendons are super iffy right now and I don't dare to do more), followed by 15-20 minutes of resistance training with a resistance band, and some leg lifts for my tendons. When I was in St. George and Miss Lydia Lou didn't permit much sleep, I didn't roll out of bed as planned, but instead I tried this random pin (above - and the day I did four cycles nearly killed me). Let's just say I could barely lift my 17 pound child for a few days, and lifting the 40 pound child was out of the question. It may not be heavy cardio, but it kicks your toosh good.

3. I drink more water. I'm not even going to pretend that I drink enough. But I drink more. I hate water. It's just so...tasteless. I do love it when I'm working out, but during the day it's like pulling teeth to get me to drink it.

4. I've upped my veggie and fruit intake. Without cookies and chocolate to snack on, I've been resorting to the yummy fruit alternatives. And when I need a salty fix, I eat some sort of veggie. I've created a tomato-zuchinni chip kind of thing that is a little bit to die for. Perhaps I should post a tutorial and pretend that I belong on Pinterest? Yes, I think so.

And of course, I feel muuuuch better. I'm not groggy, my stomach isn't bloaty, I feel healthy. And for the grand weight loss total (we started this December 26)?

Get ready...

...make sure you're sitting down...

...ONE POUND!

On a good day.

If I'm sucking in.

And put one floor on the ground and one foot on the scale.

Seriously. The comedy is almost tangible. I'm trying really hard to lose weight. And yet, the weight stays. Oh well. I feel good about my effort, and I feel better about my body, even if its size isn't changing. And I told Kimmy I would stick to my guns if she would. And so I will. Just like the pounds are sticking to my gut.

it's been said

Shauntel: Boo, are you hungry?

Belle: Uh-huh.

Shauntel: Do you want a quesadilla?

Belle: No. I want hot chocolate.

+

I wanna go footbare.

+

Let me help you, my dear. {while doing a puzzle with me}

+

Shauntel: So, what are you thankful for?

Belle: Um, for people.

Shauntel: What people?

Belle: Um....for people that shop?

{she's an economist, what can I say?}

+

{after I ask her to throw away her garbage}

Shauntel: Annabelle! This isn't putting your paper in the garbage!

This is putting paper on the floor! I need you to come put the paper in the garbage!

Belle: {as she throws the paper away} Thank you for asking me to throw my paper away!

{Seriously?}

+

Shauntel: Who's your favorite mommy? Is it Lydia?

Belle: No....

Shauntel: Is it Don Don?

Belle: No....

Shauntel: Is it Kimmy or Whitney?

Belle: No....it's my best friend Mommy!

{and there goes my heart}

+

The fun cart is peeing! {giggle giggle giggle}

{the shopping cart - the huge version, fun right? - was spitting rain water off its tires}

+

Belle: Mommy! There's a monster in the laundry room!

Shauntel: Really? Is he doing the laundry?

Belle: No. He's hiding behind the laundry.

Shauntel: Figures.

+

Will you remind me and take this out of her hair? {will you remind me = do you mind}

+

{after we get ready for church}

Shauntel: You look so cute Belle!

Belle: I know.

+

Shauntel: Do you want another piece of chicken?

Belle: No, I'm fullish.

+

Shauntel: Who are your babies?

Belle: Clarissa, Rosie, Suzy, Sammy, Caterpillar....and Caterpillar's pants!

+

What is that that I smell? {any random thing - something cooking, a car's exhaust, etc.}

+

{after she hears the front door open, from her room}

Belle: Mommy?! Who's here!?

Shauntel: It's a stranger!

Belle: A STRANGER?!

Shauntel: It's a stranger with red hair!

Belle: IT'S DADDY!!!???

sleep

Every night, before I go to bed,

I check on my girls.

Sometimes a few times.

I stand and watch their chests rise and fall.

I love the way their faces

relax into sleepy perfection.

And I try to memorize them.

And most times

my heart starts to get all squishy.

Last night, I found this.

And I went and retrieved Jess.

Because I knew he'd want to see

the beauty of this lovely moment.

I know that technically

we are raising children.

But I'm often quite certain

that the blessings are all ours.

Oh, my heart.

christmaspalooza

Well, it was a success. Christmas was as lovely (and exhausting) as I imagined it would be. I walked into Annabelle's room to retrieve her Christmas morning (she's still in that blessed crib), and told her that Santa had come. She peered into the hallway and asked, "Is he still here?" I told her he wasn't, that he came while we slept. She then asked, a little concerned, "But did he leave me presents by the door?"

Lucky for her, the presents were nicely laid out on the couch. This is the first year she's really understood what's going on, and it was really so much fun. We bought her a kid's digital camera, and she loved it as expected ("Look! A cram-rah like yours and Daddy's!"), but it only held her interest until she noticed the kid scissors that had slipped unnoticed out of her stocking. She then spent the rest of the day cutting.

No really. We were up at Grandma and Grandpa Cheney's house, and while the other kids opened presents, she cut paper.

For her part, Lou did an awesome job chewing paper.

 And looking really cute. And bald.

One of my favorite gifts we (Annabelle) received (so far, we still have a St. George Christmas coming... :) ) came from her Grandma and Grandpa Cheney. At the beginning of December, Jess and I attended the opening night of The Festival of Trees. Among the trees and wreaths that are up for auction, there are also several centerpieces, which can consist of anything from a nativity set to a painting to random Christmas crafts (all donations). As we perused the centerpieces this year, both of us were stopped in our tracks when we came to this painting:

Because there was our Belle. Her hair is a little too dark, but her face reminded us so much of our little curly-haired beauty. Of course, the painting's starting bid exceeded anything we could afford, but we bookmarked it in our minds and thought perhaps we'd purchase a smaller print for Christmas. A few days later, my father-in-law asked if he could buy it for us for Annabelle's Christmas present. We heartily said yes, both because she has enough toys to last her a few lifetimes and because this is the kind of gift that really means something.

I realize that Annabelle doesn't really understand the beauty of this painting right now, but it's something we - and hopefully she - will treasure forever. Because this is what it is all about. That little baby Jesus whose birth we celebrate this time of year grew up to be our Savior. And He loves each of us just like He loves this sweet little girl in the painting. And when we mess up, when we drop our pitcher and it spills, he picks up the pieces and wipes our tears. And I'm so grateful for that knowledge and this visible reminder.

Having babies around during Christmas makes it so real and tangible and meaningful.  I already miss the magic and find myself wishing it were Christmas again with just about as much fervor as my six-year-old self. Merry and magic indeed.

Cue the excessive photo sharing. :)

merry christmas!