random

The spelling and the scarf (mine) and the grown up girl she's becoming.

Sometimes Lou comes with me to help in Kindergarten. She fits right in, and it is equal parts adorable and frightening. Mostly adorable though. There's something about that giant pack pack and her sister's rain boots and that happy smile with her Cheney almond eyes that makes me want to just bottle her up and save this little age. My little partner in crime.  

I'll take a nap. As long as I can take my work with me.

Sometimes you just need a churro before bed. Fact.

Mittens on feet = awesome.

Distracted by a movie at Target. She really kills me.

Farfallina? Really Kindergarten?

The only good part about going to the doctor - the germy fish tank! That and the double raging ear infections that finally got properly diagnosed and medicated. Poor baby (Lou, of course).

Sometimes (always) she builds Legos by herself. Blows our minds.

"Helping" Grandma with her pin cushions. Thank goodness someone is teaching her how to sew, because heaven knows I can't even thread a needle.

I was getting ready one morning while Lou crafted downstairs. And she came running upstairs saying, "I so ess-ited Mom! Dis is for (Uncle) Tanner!" Complete with a T on the envelope. And then she carried it around for a full day before we finally got it to him.

Annabelle's rendering of Grandma Lichelle and herself. "I drew my eyes blue like Grandma's because we look so much the same!" (Annabelle's eyes are very chocolatey brown and Grandma Lichelle's eyes are the prettiest blue, but that's basically their only difference in appearance.)

These doodle and sticker books = LIFE SAVERS when dealing with never ending illness.

it's been said

Take a seat. Grab some popcorn. I've been stock piling these. 

They are basically the funniest people I know.

All photos from January's Home Depot Kids Workshop.

Lou: I not want to be Hiccup for Halloween. I want to be naked for Halloween.

Me: Awesome.

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{in reference to the actual actress on Star Trek who plays Troi}

Jess: What ethnicity is she? Where's that accent coming from?

Me: I think Greek. Or Italian? Or both?

Belle: Guys. She's half human, half betazoid!

{in reference to what the character's genetic code is}

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Belle: I'm soooo hungry.

Me: Okay, what do you want to eat?

Belle: Do we have chocolate?

{I've created a monster.}

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{while climbing into the Suburban we borrowed while 
waiting for our Highlander to arrive}

Lou: This thing is a beast.

{bahahaha - we were SO GRATEFUL for the beast though!}

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{while having a tea party}

Belle: Would you like oil or sugar in your tea?

Lou: Both please. Would you like spicy in your tea?

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{while Jess holds his head at church - he was suffering from the plague, aka a cold}

Lou, handing Jess a picture of Jesus: Here. Jesus will help you.

Me: Lou, find some shoes.

Lou: How 'bout these ones? (holds up white church sandals)

Me: No, you need something to keep your toes warm.

Lou: It'll be fine!

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{after Jess hands out big ol' bags of SWAG from a convention he attended}

Belle, hugging Jess: You're the BEST daddy in THE WHOLE WORLD.

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{singing The Cuckoo Song from Sound of Music}

Lou: And up in the muss-ee an a-sud little bud is plopping out to say cuckoo, cuckoo!

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{while choosing a Frozen coloring page}

Lou: That one!

(I click on it)

Lou: No. That one's lame.

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Lou: That railing just hit me! So I hit him!

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Belle: Mom. O and K at kindergarten know how to do this: ten, twenty,
thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, one hundred! And I don't! 

Me: Hey, guess what? You just did! You counted by tens!

Belle: WHAT? I DID? When?!

{hahahahaha}

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{while playing with Barbies)

Lou: Look Mommy! Tink's jumping on the bed naked!

Me: Oh she needs clothes! She's so cold!

Lou: No...she's jumping on the naked bed!

{awesome}

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{looking wistfully out the car window at her favorite restaurant}

Belle: I see Zupa's...we haven't eaten there...in like...24 days!

{Lou toots}

Me: Was that a toot?

Lou: That was four toots.

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Lou: Mom, can we play with play dough?

Me: Yep, after we clean up!

Lou: I not want to play with play dough...

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Lou: Watchoo eating?

Me: A Lifesaver.

Belle: Those do NOT save lives.

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Lou: Watchoo eating?

Me: A cinnamon bear.

Lou: I not want one. They make my mowf too minty.

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Belle: I just love nature. I want to be a nature spy.

Me: Well, that sounds awesome. What does a nature spy do?

Belle: They explore in nature and find unique things.

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{after we return home from St. George, where all the aunts were}

Lou: Mom, will you put on my horse necklace?

Me: Sure, but why did you take it off?

Lou: I didn't. Kristen did.

{Aunt Kristen, who by this time is in Houston}

Me: You did so good in tumbling!

Lou: Yes! I did! I not even wiggling around!

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{while we drive around looking at Christmas lights}

Lou: The lights are so colory!

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Me: So do you want to come to Sissy's class with me to help?

Lou: TO KINDERGARTEN?

Me: Yep, we're going to go help make crafts in kindergarten.

Lou: CAN I TAKE MY PACK-PACK AND PUT PAPERS IN IT LIKE SISSY?

Me: Sure!

{five minutes later}

Lou: Mommmm. Can you not come to kindergarten with me? Can you please leave me there?

{She wants to be big so bad!}

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{singing Hard Knock Life from Annie}

Belle: It's the heart of life. For us!

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{as we drive past the State Liquor Store}

Lou, pointing: Mom! Dat looks fun! I wanna go in there!

{I don't even...}

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Belle: I don't know where Lou came from, but it must've been a good place.

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{while walking past Starbucks in Target}

Lou: Smells like poop!

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{after building a Lego car by herself}

Jess: Wow! Good job Boo!

Belle: You guys. I've been dealing with Legos my whole life.

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{while singing The Twelve Days of Christmas}

Lou: And a partridge in a pantry!

They earned their Super Star (for completing ten workshops)!

twinkly

On the very last day of the year, I silently lamented to myself the fact that we hadn't made it down to Temple Square to see the lights. We'd been sick so much and it got cold so quick, it just never worked out. And then Jess randomly said, "Hey. Why don't we go down to Temple Square right now?"

So we did.

It was beautiful and freezing. We spent a bunch of time in the visitor's center, and we watched the He Is The Gift video about fifty times (me crying every dang time). It was just the perfect way to end the year. When we got home, Jess suggested we go back at night. I was like, "Um. IT'S THE NORTH POLE OUT THERE."

Found a Korean Book of Mormon for Aunt Whitney!

Side note - ever since getting my thyroid regulated, I'm so cold. Like normal cold. But before my overactive thyroid provided an excellent internal heater and I was regularly hot. But now I'm keenly aware of winter and hypothermia and HOW DO YOU ALL SURVIVE?

Anyhow, we decided we'd do it (even though we were dealing with sub freezing temperatures). We put the girls in full snow gear, plus some and waddled around Temple Square. It was of course magical. And yes freezing. But magical. We met the cutest pair of sister missionaries and soaked up the reality of the new year dawning. 

Aunt Kimmy was the only brave soul to join us.
And then she piggy backed our kids all around.
What would we do without our aunties?

Temple Square has such a good spirit floating about it. Especially with the nativities lit up under the sparkling canopy of trees. It's as though renewal and hope and the good to come sort of floats through the air there. Even the freezing air.

Welcome 2015. You're going to be a good one. I'm just sure of it. :)

christmas-palooza!

​Who is ready for a giant Christmas-palooza? Because dudes. So many photos. So ready set go. 

We had Christmas Eve dinner at Papa's house. And Santa came! What makes this special is it's the very same Santa that came to Jess' Christmas Eve dinners when he was a child. A tangent - Once Santa brought an elf with him (his daughter). She called herself Dweezle. And Grammy never tires of telling us the story of how young Jess was smitten with Dweezle. It's just the cutest story, and I never tire of seeing Jess get all blushy. The cutest.

Also, this is the first time in the history of ever that the girls willingly sat on Santa's lap. Lou needed a bit of persuasion, but they did it! Also, please note that Santa is holding the hair out of her face - oh he's the cutest.

After Santa left, we had a grand nativity. Grammy brought her old fur coats for people to be animals, and everyone grabbed props and threw it together. It was lovely (and also hilarious). Here are my shepherds, and little Mary. Mary's holding a baby Jesus that has lived at Grammy's house for decades.

And then on to our little family's tradition: Legos! Every Christmas Eve, we open a box of Legos and assemble it together. In years past, it's mostly been Jess putting it together with a little help from Annabelle. This year, Annabelle legitimately built that little car she's holding by herself (they also built a larger set from The Lego Movie), and Lou's getting really good at spotting pieces. 

Pajamas haven't been a tradition in prior years, but when a certain five year old started feeling so sad about the fact that she could no longer wear footie pajamas, someone had to remedy the situation (Carter's sells them up to size 7). And now I'm pretty sure pajamas + Legos will be the new Christmas Eve tradition combo. 

As most of you know, we've had a fairly dry winter. I know many people who had been praying and hoping for a white Christmas. And welp. We got it. Here's the view out our front window Christmas morning.

The girls woke up and patiently waited for Jess to muster the courage to open his eyelids. I make the girls "line up" and close their eyes, just like I did as a child. However, my kids are NOT required to get dressed and eat breakfast and shine the floors MOM AND DAD. (We really did have to do that before we were allowed to see Christmas! Torture!)

I love this picture because usually it's Lou who's the big ol' cheater and Belle who is unfailingly honest. But look at that little sneaky peek.

That there horse in her hand? Oh she wanted it so bad. Sooooo bad. 

Now, a little explanation. We went and saw Big Hero 6 a few months ago. We absolutely loved it. And the girls left the movie insisting that they NEEDED a Baymax (the big lovable robot). They needed him so bad. Any time anyone asked Lou what she wanted for Christmas, it was "A Baymax who's soft and a tiny horse." And then the person (Santa included) would go, "Wha??" Luckily, this Santa got online and found him in China on Ebay. Go China. Here the girls are opening the long awaited Baymax!

Lou's face. Bahahhahahhahaa.

For the love. Christmas is fun.

The girls received so many great gifts this year from family members. And these girls were so much fun to watch. They get so excited for everything. I just love it.

Aunt Marissa found a friggin' Maria dress. You know - MARIA -  from the Sound of Music, still easily the most beloved show in our house. Belle was at first confused and thought it was an Anna dress, but then realized it was Maria and started stripping immediately to become Maria. No lie. And then little Lou made the most perfect little Tink. 

I didn't blog about this last year because I'M A BAD DAUGHTER, but my mom made all of us - grand daughters and daughters - a homemade, crocheted Lalaloopsy. (The very last photo on this post, top left - that's Belle's.) They are so loved by my girls (and me). This year, Grandma made them mini Lalaloopsy dolls. And well...

My dad sent Cabbage Patch dolls. In case anyone was wondering, yes, indeed they do still smell amazing. Like my childhood all sealed up in a box. 

And another back story. Lou's friend Layla has this little Leapfrog kid laptop majig. Whenever she plays with Layla, she hoards that little electronic device like nobody's business. So imagine her excitement when Aunt Kristen SENT HER ONE for Christmas. When she opened it, she yelled, "I KNEW I WOULD GET THIS. I! KNEW! IT!" (Aunt Kristen basically helped us dodge a big ol' bullet - thank you!) She now totes that thing around all day, pausing to do a little business here and there. (P.S. It's a great toy for learning letters and animals and such. Highly recommend. Love.)

Okay, so then we paused and ran up to Grammy's house. We'd left some presents up there to open - both for her and for us. 

The girls picked out this bright pink fleece coat (soooo soft) for Grammy. Because pink is her favorite color, and Grammy's always cold. This is Grammy opening it. Do you just love her? She's so great, and having a little mini Christmas at her house was just the best.

We then went up to Papa's house for some more present opening. And I have searched over ten memory cards and our phones for photos, all to no avail, although I know I took photos. A back story will have to suffice. A few months ago, I pulled down my American Girl doll (which was given to me when I was 25 by my mother in law, and yes I was as excited as if I were five years old) to show the girls. They were starry eyed and Annabelle wished with all her heart that she could have one. She started including her wish in her prayers. Oh man. I was already done Christmas shopping and didn't have plans to add an American Girl doll to the mix. But when Grandma and Grandpa Cheney got wind of her prayers, they made her wish come true. I had done a pretty good job of convincing her that she wouldn't get one and what about Baymax? So when she unwrapped a big box to find Caroline, the very one she wanted? Oh the shrieks of joy. (Lou got Rebecca, pronounced Ree-becca by Belle.) 

And so when Christmas was done and the babies were tucked safely in their beds, visions of sugar plums and probably Baymax dancing in their heads, I made my nightly rounds as I do, and I found this. Basically the perfect picture to end a perfect Christmas day.

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