Lark & Lola HOUSE

We're moving!

2011-03-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

We're moving!!!

Not physically, no, we just signed on another year of our lease here actually and will soon be enjoying the 50,000 irises that bloom in our yard once again... they're already peeping up...

But what I really mean is, I'm moving this blog over to a new URL, with a new name and everything.

See, the whole, "heatherispreggers" part of this URL has embarrassed me for a while now. What was I thinking when I created this blog???

Plus, as of 4 weeks ago I'm not "preggers" anymore. {Honestly I've never even liked the slang "preggers"... why do I do these things to myself? Why?}

But don't worry - all the old posts, comments, and labels will still be viewable at the new blog. Everything has moved!

So, go check out the new digs - I'll explain what the new name means over there. AND I will finally be adding that birth video now that the new computer is here - Violet had the cutest little first cry, you must watch.

NEW BLOG HERE

The House Elf's Revenge

2011-03-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

{Naked pie!}

I had all intentions of posting Violet's birth video by now, but a certain house elf spilled water on my laptop. It happened in slow motion one day last week, whilst I has stuck on the couch nursing the new pie.

The house elf has become much more brazen and much less responsive to threats of discipline since the new pie came home. So when she was pulling the straw out of my's hospital-issued water mug, the "STOP! STOP!" I screamed from the couch meant nothing, and right before my eyes the house elf killed my computer. This was, no doubt, punishment for bringing home the new screaming pie.

The house elf "tickling" baby while mommy begs her to stop {it's rare Violet sleeps through a car ride.}

Until we work up the courage to spend the money on a new laptop, I'll have to blog with Justin's work-issued IBM. As soon as the edited video is retrievable from my hard drive I'll be sure to post it. {Don't worry, it still exists, the house elf is not crafty enough to know how to destroy that.}

________________________________________

After 42 pregnant weeks that seemed to last forever, I'm already in awe of how quickly the past 3 weeks of V-Pie's life have gone by. She is a really good baby, already sleeps through the night 95% of the time! We'll take it.

Daddy doing some "baby wearing" with the Moby wrap.

While Eis-Pie is still addicted to the pacifier after 2.5 years of life, V-Pie is of the opposite persuasion and refuses to let anything calm her except ME. I can easily spend 4 hours straight on the couch nursing her if I let her. She will reluctantly take a bottle, but it has been difficult for us {me, really} to get out of the house as Violet is not a fan of the car seat and is too much of a fan of my boobs.

This right here is why I could have 19 babies. RIP laptop...

You forget, even having done it before, how hard it is to have a newborn. But it is such a blessed time! Hard but wonderful. She will grow up so fast, this period of our lives is so fleeting that I am just trying to hold on to it as long as I can - even if it means spending 4 hours stuck on the couch helpless while the house elf destroys the home.

I know things get easier every day, too. Violet grows a little more independent each day and will continue to do so until someday she's moving herself out of the house or picking out a wedding dress. Eisley is already a reminder of how short this season of life is.

At my check-up for my doctor to look at my incision, I asked him how many c-sections were too many. I was sincerely curious: does it get to a point where 3 or 4 c-sections are dangerous? No, he said, you can have as many as you want {although he admitted, as I already knew, any surgery comes with it's risks}. We're not planning the next one yet, and have not even decided if there will BE a third pie, but I just know that before I blink Violet will be as old as Eisley is now and I might get baby fever again...

but maybe not. After all, like I said: this season is hard.

But wonderful. SO wonderful. Worth the 42 weeks & 1 day a hundred times over.

Does it scare you that right now it makes total sense to me why that Duggar lady has had 19 of them???

How can you blame me, when this is what I get to stare at all day:

That's one of the few times she's taken a pacifier... sigh...

Don't fear, I just keep telling myself 19 babies would turn into 19 teenagers.

Violet's Birth Story

2011-02-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, she's finally here.

Actually she's been here for 6 days now. The past 6 days have gone by like a swift breeze, a stark contrast to the slow weeks before when I would have sworn I was living my own hellish version of the movie Groundhog Day. Every day I woke up pregnant, for 16 entire days past my due date... longest days of my life.

Seeing as I was carrying the label of "gestational diabetic" {even though I still have serious doubts I really was a diabetic}, it's amazing my doctor "let" me go to 42 weeks. Most doctors insist on induction for GD moms at 38 weeks, as GD moms are at higher risk of having fat babies that get stuck in the birth canal. My doctor didn't bring up induction until I hit week 40, and we went so far as to schedule one at that point. But once the day arrived, I called and canceled. I had my heart set on going into labor naturally, along with a gut feeling that it wasn't time and I was also planning on a VBAC using the Hypnobirthing technique. Seeing as 40% of attempted VBACs are unsuccessful, however, I knew another c-section was a definite possibility.

Here is how Violet came to be:

Just kidding, that part is personal. Here is how she was born, 42 weeks later:

I'll spare you the grueling emotional rollercoaster of the weeks preceding her birth. I complained enough about that on Facebook, anyway. {Justin likes to refer to my recent moods as "hormotional".} I wonder how many people got sick of my whiny status updates and defriended me?

I went into labor on my own around 5am on Saturday the 19th! When I woke up that morning to the undeniable symptoms of early labor I literally did a happy dance. I was scheduled to be induced the very next night, at 42 weeks + 2 days, and had been panicking at the thought. Many might not think induction is so bad, but after weeks {months!} of research on natural birthing and the obvious benefits, I've learned just how tricky inductions can be and they are rarely free of complications and interventions.

Contractions came all day Saturday, getting stronger and closer together like they're supposed to, but very slowly. It wasn't until 8pm, after spending the day at my parents house which is minutes from the hospital, that I finally decided to call the doctor and see if I should head to the hospital. Contractions were 5-7 minutes apart, and getting more intense. I was using my Hypnobirthing techniques to keep myself relaxed and in very little pain, but it'd been about 13 hours since the onset of labor, I was eager to get things moving.

My doctor wasn't available that night, so instead I got a hold of the on-call doctor, "Dr. G". He was surprised to learn I was a VBAC {vaginal birth after cesarean} with {supposed} GD and had been "allowed" to go to 42 weeks. I explained to him that I really hadn't given my doctor a choice on the matter. {My recent research on natural birthing had made me feel all empowered! I believe women should educated them on the birthing process instead of walking into labor & delivery blindly trusting their doctor and allowing he/she to make all the choices. It is, after all, my body - my choice.}

Dr. G agreed it might be good for me to head to the hospital to see if Violet was descending and labor was progressing. If I was still in early labor, I could go home for the night.

I took my time, ate dinner, and tearfully said goodbye to Eisley. {Hormotional}. It was hard to leave her! I felt like I was abandoning her. We headed into the hospital around 10:30pm. I was torn between wanting to stay and wanting to go home. On one hand I hoped I would get there and be surprisingly advanced - maybe dilated to 5 or 6? Then I would be able to stay and look forward to the birth soon to come! On the other hand, I was going on 17 hours of labor at this point {albeit early labor} and was growing tired. The thought of going home and getting some sleep or taking a bath sounded really good.

I was one of only two women in labor & delivery when we got to the hospital. Unfortunately I was assigned to that nurse. The majority of the nurses in labor & delivery and also postpartum have been wonderful, in my previous experience. But there's always that one nurse you hear about. And just like last time with Eisley's birth, my first nurse was the one. Justin and I didn't like her at all. Just more reason to go home.

After 17 hours of labor & steady contractions, I was dilated to 1cm! The nurse tried to make a mountain out of a mole hill regarding one heart decel Violet had {tsk, tsk, using scare tactics on patients} and demanded I take a test to ensure my water hadn't broken {it hadn't}, but in the end I insisted on going home to get rest where I'd be more comfortable. Being only 1cm, it was obvious this might be a while.

She sure did take her time getting us discharged, especially considering I was one of two patients on the entire floor that night, but we finally left around 2:30 am.

By the time we got home, it was obvious labor was progressing at least some {I'd give more details, but it'd just gross you out}. My Hypnobirthing techniques had been serving me well up to that point, but now I was going on almost 24 full hours of zero sleep, so the relaxation and visualization techniques I'd been practicing for weeks were losing their effectiveness. The contractions were getting really strong, they were absolutely gripping at this point. I couldn't walk or move during them, nor could I talk other than select four-letter words. I'd been hoping that the 42+ week pregnancy meant I'd be rewarded with one of those fast labors, or at least one less than 12 hours like so many subsequent pregnancies end up with. Unfortunately mine was proving to be a long and difficult one, and I was starting to doubt my ability to go without drugs like I'd planned.

Unable to sleep with the contractions growing more intense, I got into the bathtub. I can certainly understand why so many women do water births! The warm bath served as a natural pain killer and probably cut the intensity of my contractions by 50%. Justin took the opportunity to nap on the couch, and I even enjoyed a glass of wine and just prayed that progress was being made. But all good baths grow cold eventually and by the time I was shivering I admitted to myself it was time to get out and see what happened next...

And what happened next was Justin & I in bed until 7am, him sleeping in four-minute increments and me clawing into his arm and moaning in four-minute increments. I'd given up on my Hypnobirthing techniques by this point, way too exhausted from 24+ hours of laboring to put in the concentration it took to put mind over matter and dull the pain. We knew, around 8:30am, that it was time to head back to the hospital - if not to hopefully give birth shortly, then to at least get some sort of pain relief.

If I was lucky enough to arrive at the hospital with advanced dilation, maybe 5cm or more?, then I would keep trucking, I decided. But if not, well, I'd decide when I got there...

I muttered a "few" expletives on the drive to the hospital.

When we parked I got out of the car and stood there for a couple minutes, shivering in the cold, unable to move until the contraction subsided. {I'm really not trying to be dramatic here, people, does this sound over-indulgent in the pity area? I'm just trying to tell it like it was...}

This time I arrived in labor & delivery they were busier, and I was blessed to be assigned a wonderful nurse! She was Irish, from Dublin, and she was wonderful and suited me perfectly. {Nurses may not seem like a big deal, but when you're dealing with a woman who is helping you manage the discomfort and seeing/touching parts of your body even you aren't familiar with - to me their personality can make all the difference.}

I had been hoping for more progress, but at this point I was 3cm & 70% effaced. At least it was something. But seeing as labor was now approaching 30 hours and it seemed I had miles to go, when she mentioned my natural birth plan I started to cave. Who knew how many more hours I'd be in labor? And I realized I wouldn't do so well without rest, so the epidural was starting to look really appealing at this point, despite the fact that I'd so hoped to avoid it. If I knew at that point that it'd only be a few more hours, I'd like to think I would have pushed through. But I had no way of knowing how much longer it'd be, so I caved. I needed rest!

My wonderful Irish nurse, who started out her career as a certified nurse midwife, was so reassuring at this point. She'd done a natural birth herself, but also one with an epidural, she knew what I was going through at that moment and praised me for going that far - which in my hormotional state was so lovely to hear from someone at that point, bless her.

I forgot to mention - the most significant factor regarding my slow going labor at this point: Violet was not descending, she was still at a -3/-2 station {about as high as they can be}. This was exactly like Eisley's birth had gone, 18 hours of labor/failed induction she hadn't descended, which resulted in a c-section...

Now close to 30 hours of real labor - without any descent on the baby's part... not boding well for a VBAC.

I was surprised that the anesthesiologist came very shortly after I arrived, and the relief was oh so sweet. For the first time in well over a day, I could truly rest while my body kept laboring. The epidural, while not ideal for those who prefer natural, is still a wonderful invention. Contractions were coming stronger than ever, regularly 2-3 minutes apart and strong on the monitor. These were baby-having contractions, Irish nurse assured me. Hopefully they'd produce some progress soon.

Dr. G arrived shortly after the epidural, confirmed the slow progress and Violet's high station, and also discovered that my water had broken at some point. {I'm guessing when I was in the bath?}

I liked Dr. G, even though he wasn't willing to offer me much hope. "I'll be honest, if you can manage a VBAC at this point I'll be impressed." He was right, my labor was way off the curve, as he put it. 30+ hours with this little progression, specifically Violet's station, and considering I was a VBAC with GD and a previous failed induction, the odds were stacked very high against me by this point.

But since Violet was doing so well and I was now resting comfortably, we decided to see if the epidural helped relax me enough to produce some progress and gave it a few more hours. Dr. G could have given me pitocin to produce stronger contractions in hopes of forcing Violet down, but I was pleased that he wasn't thrilled with the idea since I had a uterine scar that could possibly rupture with such strong drug-induced contractions. {I am NOT a fan of pitocin, having done research on it.}

There are several possible reasons why Violet {and Eisley} did not want to descend, we're just not sure what exactly what prevented it. With both births now the doctors liked to think I was going to have huge babies. Eisley was estimated to weigh 9 lbs with a huge head before I gave birth {she was a mere 6 pounder with a little head} and the doctors assumed with Violet since I had {borderline!} GD & went to 42 weeks that she would be enormous. Dr. G said at one point, "If we do a c-section and she's a 9 pounder I'll be saying 'You're welcome!'" He was obviously concerned about the fact that I was a GD patient at 42 weeks... even though I wasn't.

But despite my lack of concern that Violet was large {I never thought she really was}, when 1:45pm rolled around - Sunday the 20th - and I was still at 3cm with Violet as high up as she could be, I seriously began to think c-section. Dr. G was not at all pushy, since Violet was still doing great considering my strong contractions. Both he & Irish nurse expressed their doubts on my ability to have a successful VBAC at this point, but they were willing to allow me to keep going. This was the same point I had reached with Eisley two and a half years ago. Ultimately, I made the decision. C-section it would be.

After 42 weeks, 2 days {I know, I know, I keep saying this - but seriously} and now 34 hours of labor and no sleep - I WAS READY TO MEET MY BABY!

Just like last time, I coped by going over the positives in my head. It wasn't as I'd planned, but focusing on things to be thankful for keeps us from getting bitter - that is what I believe, even though I don't always practice it.

First, I wouldn't re-break my tailbone which was broken towards my birth canal years ago after a fall from a horse {and now, 6 days post-birth, having spent hours on my butt recovering & nursing Violet, I've already experienced enough discomfort with my healed tailbone to be very thankful it's not re-broken from a vaginal birth. The doctor who'd x-rayed my tailbone years ago had warned me I'd break it again when I gave birth. The breastfeeding would just not be happening if it had, it already gives me discomfort as it is.}

Second, I already have the "battle wounds" from a previous c-section. Subsequent c-sections are notoriously easier to recover from, as they go through the scar tissue from before. It is possibly quite a good thing to not have "battle wounds" from a vaginal birth as well. Better one or the other than both, I suppose. Rumor has it you can suffer all sorts of unpleasantness such as incontinence, etc., after giving birth vaginally.

Finally, despite it being a major surgery with longer recovery, there are some added benefits to the cesarean. I'll leave it at that, but being a veteran of two now, I have to say they're not all that bad in more ways than one. Not the end of the world. Many women even ask for c-sections these days. I had hoped to do it the way God intended, but I prayed and it was not so. There must be a good reason.

I'm just blessed to have two beautiful daughters now after two successful pregnancies.

And so around 3pm on Sunday the 20th of February, I was prepped for surgery. This time around I wasn't even nervous! I knew I'd finally have my baby in my arms and I was looking forward to the 42 weeks, 2 days, and 34 hours of labor to be OVER. Once and for all.

Violet was born at 3:55pm.

She weighed a whopping 7 lbs 13 oz {haha! Take THAT doctors who tried to scare me with the "Your baby is going to be HUGE because you [supposedly] have GD and are at 42 weeks!!!" Obviously I'd been right to follow my gut. She might not have fared as well had I allowed them to induce me at the standard 38 weeks for GD patients. Momma knows best!}

Her apgar score was 8/9 - perfect for Colorado.

I would detail the birth itself, but this post is already entirely too long, AND why tell you when I can show you???

Within the next couple days here I'll be posting the video Justin took of the c-section & Violet's birth! Don't worry, it's not at all graphic {except for the part where Violet pooped herself}.

Until then, please enjoy some pictures of Violet's first days. We love her!!! What a treasure God has sent us. Again.

Our family of FOUR!
{Woo! I am seriously puffed up. Ya'll should SEE my post-cesarean cankles. Frightening.}
Another tiny finger this poor guy is suddenly wrapped around.
Don't forget to leave a comment at the end of this post! No account needed.
Do you think she looks like Eisley?
Ready to go home after three nights in the hospital.

Come back soon to see the video of Violet's birth!

Violet, where are you?

2011-02-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

In an hour I will be 12 days past my estimated due date. Or 10, if you go by the internet's EDD instead of my doctor's. Either way...

SERIOUSLY??? You're killing me, kiddo.

Earlier in this pregnancy I had some serious doubts I'd make it to February. Then I made it to February and I thought, "Will I make it to my due date on the 4th?"

And then the 4th came... and then freaking Valentine's Day. And still, this kid is not budging.

And I'm not so happy about it.

I know that I should be. I should just be thankful I'm pregnant and healthy and that Violet is healthy. But there is something about being 38+ weeks pregnant. Once you hit a point {I say around the 38th week} you go completely irrational in your thinking. It's like being insane, I know the logical side of all of this, but I'm still absolutely crazed with all sorts of wild thoughts that make no sense.

For example, I am sincerely convinced that I'm going to be pregnant forever. At this point, I see no other possibility. I'm stuck in this state. Three weeks of nightly false labor is not helping, either. By the time this is over, Justin could very well have more hair than me.

I also see other pregnant women and think completely nasty thoughts towards them. I have cat fights with them in my head, "You think you're more pregnant than me?! NO ONE is more pregnant than me!"

Then there are the totally well-meaning family & friends. God bless them, they can't ask the simplest question about me right now without getting my wrath. {I spent a wonderful afternoon with my parents on Saturday, but to be honest when they showed up at the door looking shocked & commenting at the size of my stomach, I'll admit, I had some fairly violent thoughts towards them in that moment... looooove you.}

I'm sorry. I really am. It's just hard to handle all the questions & comments right now when I'm questioning so much myself...

Like, Is this ever going to end? What if I'm broken? What if I never go into labor? What is wrong with me that she hasn't come out yet? After all, I've already had one c-section...

I'm avoiding a lot of friends & family right now, also not going to church these days. I just can't face the "You're still pregnant?" and the "Where is that baby???"

I should be in the hospital right now, actually. I had an induction scheduled for tonight. At my appointment last Thursday my doctor handed me a card. "8pm, Tuesday 15th" it said. He doesn't want me going past 42 weeks {which I will be as of Friday - or Sunday according to Mr. Internet}. At first I thought, well okay! Here is a light at the end of the tunnel. In a week I will be holding my baby for certain, they won't let me go much further...

But as Tuesday approached, I found myself growing incredibly anxious. I didn't like having a deadline. I had a breakdown in the shower on Monday morning. Valentine's Day and I was bawling my eyes out and crying to God to please end this torture.

I realized that being "put on the clock" was stressing me out. Additionally, they technically don't have a great reason to induce me. Believe me, I'd LOVE to get this over with. However, induction creates a whole new set of complications, such as a drastically increased c-section rate and longer labors, more interventions. When I really got to thinking about it, I decided I didn't want to do the induction. I don't want or need a deadline quite yet.

My blood pressure is fine, glucose levels good, baby is active, ultrasounds good, weekly non-stress tests are good... why rush nature? I'm also not considered "favorable" for induction, which is never a good place to start, and that definitely raises my c-section chances. Even though I'd really love to end this... I just... can't.

I don't think my doctor is really very happy about my decision, but I don't care. I have to be patient, so does he.

Speaking of patience, wouldn't you know this is something I've been praying for in recent months? Ha! My impatience is what I consider to be one of my greatest character flaws. I'm horribly impatient.

So I've been asking God lately to "teach me patience". Again, the irrational side of myself is kicking my own butt right now for requesting such a lesson. What is wrong with me? The logical Heather inside of me knows it's probably good for me, like vegetables, because this is some serious practice in patience.

The logical Heather also knows, you can't be pregnant forever. As Psalm 139 says, I am "fearfully and wonderfully made", I can do this by the grace of God. Violet will come when it's time, because "all the days ordained for [her] were written in your book before one of them came to be..."

Here's to hoping that first day is NOW.

Me, Pie, & the Nikon...

2011-01-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

at the park.

Seven Blessed Years

2011-01-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary

I've decided I'll have to make a tradition out of taking this sort of picture of myself when we go out to celebrate our anniversary. It wasn't until I got home and loaded my pictures onto my computer, I realized I did exactly the same shot last year, at The Oxford Hotel. Weird.

I have to be honest, Justin planned this little anniversary getaway 100%, he completely spoiled me, and I fought him on the whole thing, believe me. I didn't want to leave Eisley {clingy pregnancy hormones} and I told him we didn't need to do anything this fabulous, especially while I was 9 months pregnant. He reminded me that: 1. We wouldn't have a chance to get away again in quite a while, no thanks to Miss Violet and her expected neediness upon arrival. He's right, who knows when our next vacation might be? And our last vacation was well over a year ago... And: 2. Our first five years of anniversaries went uncelebrated.

I caved. And I'm really glad I did.

The first thing we did for our mini-getaway was to go see Cirque du Soleil's Alegria. It was, of course, magical. We've seen two other shows before, Varekai & Corteo. We have yet to see a CdS show that didn't leave us astounded. It's an art form on it's own.

They have everything: contortionists, trapeze artists, flame throwers, clowns {the artistic, non-scary kind}, out of this world costumes, tantalizing music... we love this art form.
Since Alegria was running down in Colorado Springs, Justin decided to make reservations for us to stay in nearby Manitou Springs - a quirky, hippie town that sits at the base of Pikes Peak. I've always loved a trip to Manitou Springs - it's the town Boulder can only aspire to be. Seriously. Gorgeous old buildings, history, amazing views of the mountains and rock formations - there is no town quite like it in all of Colorado. It's a CO gem, to be sure.

And Justin, he picked the most lovely place to stay: The Cliff House.

Except it wasn't all green & lush when we were there last week, for obvious reasons. This hotel was brought back to life just over a decade ago after a fire destroyed it's original body. Still, the hotel carries a sense of history with it, and still looks just as lovely as ever. Yes. If you know me, even just a little, you know Justin made a fantastic choice in staying here. Just like last year with The Oxford. The man knows how to aesthetically please a woman.

The Cliff House has suites named after the celebrities that have stayed there, such as Kathy Bates or Buffalo Bill. Ours was the Jenny Lind Suite -she was a Swedish opera singer, just like me.
To say the least, it was very nice. Too nice...
It was wonderful and superfluous. Wonderfully superfluous, I won't ever forget how lovingly my husband planned this.
A TV behind a painting! What the...? Take that, Holiday Inn Express...Our gift from The Cliff House. {So beats a shower cap. Even though there was one of those, too...}
Except there was no butler. We had to serve ourselves our own drinks. Lame...

No, but seriously, in case you have any doubts on the quality of this hotel...
behold! You know a place is really schnazzy when they provide you with Aveda products. When I saw these I knew we'd be okay... {but I still checked the mattress for bed bugs.}
The Cliff House, to my surprise & delight, was furnished with well over 20 {just from the rooms we saw} original Rockey paintings. Charles Rockey is a famous Manitou Springs artist. I love his work, and I recognized it almost immediately as my mother owns an original Rockey. She obtained it when she was living in the Springs doing theatre at the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama and Dinner Theatre. Today he's quite famous - it was amazing to get to see so many of his works up close.
The Cliff House was filled with historic items that I wanted to steal... but Justin reminded me that they had our credit card on file and this wasn't just some hotel bathrobe you can charge to your room...
Another Rockey of The Cliff House during it's restoration:
We didn't have too much time to bum around Manitou, but we did walk down the main strip just a bit. It's a very eclectic little village!

I panicked when I realized we'd forgotten to pack chocolate. But no worries, the local fudge shoppe had us covered.
Most of their little shops weren't "my type" of chic boutique, but interesting and lovely nonetheless.
We even took a stroll down Lovers Lane. Seriously.
And then headed back to our room {I labeled our room on the picture below}.

We got cozy and watched... The Fugitive. Most romantic movie. Ever.
Justin had made dinner reservations at The Cliff House's dining room. It was absolutely delicious! We had a dinner for two special with house salads, fillet mignon, and creme brulée. Although I did get really angry at myself for not bringing the camera down, especially when another couple a few tables over had the waiter snap their picture - I was insanely jealous. In the morning it was time to pack up and go home, leaving all luxury behind - but getting back to Pie was worth it. One last stop, however, was to get a couple's massage at the Columbine Day Spa. This was a first massage experience for both of us - and this sent our weekend anniversary getaway over the top.

It's a joy to look back on 7 years with Justin - and to look forward to many more. The weekend ended with me feeling like an incredibly spoiled wife, which is exactly what I am. But I still look back on last year's anniversary with so much fondness, I know the memory of this year's anniversary will last a long time as well. Next year I think we should just go to McDonald's...

The Violet Report

2011-01-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

In case you can't make out her face:
With just over 30 days left until my due date, I'm posting a Violet Report. I just got home from visiting the doctor, and I feel so blessed every time I visit and get nothing but good news & "everything looks good's".

Here are some stats:

Violet is currently head down {although that can still change}
So far, no dropping, no dilating, no effacing - which is all just fine
My BP is okay, but slightly higher than average - no worries there yet {and I did have a crazy day, so that can contribute}
Violet's heartbeat is 130, perfect
In another 4 days I can go into labor and they won't try and stop me!
I've only gained one pound since last month, which is especially great since they technically diagnosed me with gestational diabetes - even though I really don't believe I have it because my glucose numbers have been normal despite not changing my diet dramatically {I have to stick myself 4 times a day to test}, I haven't needed any meds like insulin, and the perinatologist I saw told me during an ultrasound, "If it wasn't for you failing the glucose test I'd never believe you have gestational diabetes." I really believe, if anything, I'm barely "borderline" gd. But anyway, one pound, and after the holidays no less - yay!

Please keep myself & Violet in your prayers if you think of us! Now that I go to the doctor every week until she arrives, I'll keep everyone posted on how we're doing.

{Don't miss the previous post - a video of Eisley's 2010!}

Hello 2011

2010-12-31T22:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Eisley,

This year was fabulous, but you probably won't remember the best moments as you're only 2. Please enjoy this video/slide-show of some of my favorite moments {set to a Flogging Molly song, oh my!}:

Love,
Mommy
P.S. You are beautiful.
P.P.S. Next year you'll have to share the spotlight.

Christmas Traditions

2010-12-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve, 2010. Just about an hour ago I woke up, picked up my phone, and checked a couple new emails. One from my mom has me thinking about Christmas traditions, and how much they mean to me...

"Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is on." was all the email said.

I know exactly what that is, of course. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has been on the radio for decades, every Christmas Eve, broadcast live from Cambridge, England. And my family has tuned into it for almost as many Christmas Eves as it's been on.

Not like we sit around the radio with perked up ears, don't get me wrong, but it was always a part of my Christmas growing up. Always there, in the background.

Something about holidays solicits families to create and carry on traditions. And you know, I really like this about holidays. Many of my best memories in life come from the traditions we celebrate.

For the most part. There was one other Christmas Eve tradition that wasn't my favorite. Growing up, for whatever reason, my mother always made borscht for Christmas Eve dinner. Borscht is a Russian soup made from beets, and thus it's dark red like blood with a little purplish hue. I love you mom, and I'm sure your borscht was wonderful as far as borscht goes, my sister and dad never had any complaints. It does not appeal to my palate, I'm sorry to say. I am admittedly a picky eater. It's just that, to me, beets taste like dirt and minerals. So, yum, dirt soup. Every Christmas Eve. I typically went to bed on Christmas Eve with an empty stomach.

And we're not Russian. Just sayin'.

Other Christmastime traditions include listening to my parents amazing Christmas music collection for weeks each year. Justin recently called me a "music snob", and he's probably right. But I just can't tolerate that pop music Christmas crap they have on the radios. My parent's collection includes The Christmas Revels, Mediaeval Baebes, and, true to our Lutheran heritage, a little Garrison Keillor. Those are just a few of my favorite artists out of their vast collection of Christmas CDs. These days, it's not Christmastime unless I hear me a little bit o' the Revels. The best part is that this music isn't about gifts & Santa & getting things - the Revels sing songs from the old world. Songs about Christ and history. Can you see why I find it superior? Yes, Virginia, I am a snob.

When Bea & I were kids, as soon as the tree went up we'd start checking our little personal ornaments that opened when you squeezed them. A little elf was known to frequent our house and leave Hershey Kisses in our ornaments each day. This year, my mom picked up a few box ornaments for her grandchildren. Now the elf can come back for them.

When I moved out of my parent's home as an adult, I missed the cookie baking & decorating we'd do each year, so I proposed a baking party. This year was our (5th?) year of doing the annual "Women of the Clan Bake & Take", as my mom has dubbed it. My poor mother usually ends up hosting and thus is left with the mess, but it is a good time, nonetheless. These days, the grandchildren are involved, and that brings new joy to have little ones experiencing this tradition.

One year - after my parents got sick of waking up at 5am with overly excited children, opening gifts, and then making it to a church service a few hours later all dressed up - we decided to start attending the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church. It was a much more peaceful & relaxed way to attend a church service for Christmas, and now to this day I still look forward to that service after dark. Tonight in church as we sing songs like "Silent Night" I will hold Eisley close and thank God for our baby savior born centuries ago and who still is a light in the world.

Then there's the big fat guy, too. St. Nicholas, who brings toys & candy for the children. Now that we have children of our own experiencing this, a few family differences have been brought up. In my family, Santa always left our gifts unwrapped, in a well placed pile under the tree; displayed so that when we ran out on Christmas morning it was joy overload - our eyes taking it all in at once. In my husband's family, he remembers Santa delivered wrapped gifts. {He also learned something new this year, "Stockings are from Santa???" That's what happens when you're the youngest of four kids.} While I can see the benefits to both, I don't think Santa is up to wrapping Eisley's gift this year, so we'll probably continue in the tradition of sensory overload.

Which leads me to deeper understanding of my mother. I was always a little frustrated with her when I was a kid, that she would insist that we wake her up before going to see what was left under the tree for us. As a kid, I didn't get it. As a mom, I totally do. As the matriarch of the family, you spend weeks baking, composing Christmas cards, shopping, wrapping, cooking, decorating - etc. One thing that makes up for all the hard work is seeing your children's eyes light up on Christmas morning, seeing what Santa left for them. Kids, you owe your mom.

Finally, one tradition might have been started last year, when we made a little music video set to Bob Dylan's "Must Be Santa". Plans for shooting a quick video tomorrow at my parent's house is in the works... we'll see if it comes to fruition.

This is Eisley's first year of comprehending {at least a little bit} the joys of the Christmas season. And so for the first time in years, Christmas is as exciting to me as it was when I was a child. She doesn't understand the significance of the "baby Jesus" in her nativity set yet, but she can point him out when asked to. She doesn't know why suddenly this month she sees candy canes all over, but she knows they're tasty. She's not quite sure why we decided to put a big tree in the living room, but she has fun "rearranging" the ornaments.

She doesn't know what all these details {the music, the church service, the baking of cookies} are quite about yet, but someday she will know these tradition's significance. That she experiences them, each year, with the people who love her most.

"What an enormous magnifier is tradition! How a thing grows in the human memory and in the human imagination, when love, worship, and all that lies in the human heart, is there to encourage it." ~ Thomas Carlyle

Yoooooooooooooo.....

2010-12-01T17:21:00.000-08:00

...Gabba Gabba!

Yes, we met the Gabba Gang! And sadly this is my only decent picture {why, why, why did I not take my real camera that night?} since it was part of the VIP party package we paid a "little" extra for. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Where the heck is my 7 month pregnant belly?" Violet is camera shy.
{For those of you who are not aware, Yo Gabba Gabba is "the cool" kids show. The one parents don't hate or get overly annoyed with - ahem, Elmo & Dora, I'm talking to you. It's hip, it's full of celebrity guests like Jack Black & bands like The Killers, and it's fresh material.}

The Pie & Daddy wearing DJ Lance Rock glasses.
Maybe it made my day more than it made Pie's? I think she was a little shocked and in awe of the experience. The show was a lot for a 2 year old pie to take in.
But it was a great show. A giant screen, all the characters, confetti guns, thousands of balloons {Pie's favorite} released from above, and bubble machines. It was the ultimate rave for a toddler.
The crowd went wild when the Gabba Gang appeared.
And there they were, the friends we've been watching on TV since Pie was 10 months old, now right in front of us.
Eisley sang along to the songs, danced like...well, like she was drunk, and partied harder than a frat boy.
And I mostly watched her the entire time. The joy on her face was more important to me.
Although she did take a couple breaks to rest from the excitement during the show.
Here's a shot of "There's a Party In My Tummy!", in which the Gabba Gang cleverly entices children to eat their vegetables because the carrots & beans cry and are sad when they're not "invited to the party in your tummy." Clever, clever... and a little bit of a guilt trip.
Having VIP tickets, after the show we were invited into the lounge to meet the Gabba Gang in person!

Here we are with the guest celebrity, Leslie Hall! You know, LESLIE! Of the gem sweater fame? I kid you not, I'm a fan of this lady. Above all other humor, I most enjoy and appreciate those who are not afraid to poke fun at themselves, and not afraid to be ridiculous. Leslie Hall is a lady, only my sister's age, who brings humor to the world by dressing in outrageous outfits, collecting dated gem sweaters, and sporting a frumpy hairstyle. I love her. {She said I smelled good, and seemed charmed when I told her I was a fan and wanted a picture.}
Anyway. Back to the point.
Pie met Plex (the "Magic Robot") first.
...and Muno ("He's tall & friendly")
THERE - that's the face that made it all worth it.
Lastly, we met DJ Lance Rock. He is really nice in person, called Pie a sweetheart and kissed her on the cheek after this photo. She fainted. Just kidding. {Sigh... my cell phone actually takes really good pictures. Just the lighting in there was horrible.}

Razzle Dazzle!
{That's what the Gabba Gang would say.}

Halloween 2010

2010-11-08T17:37:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Halloween this year. I am excited to share Eisley's {creative? weird?} costume with you.

This was her third Halloween. In 2008, for her first, newborn Halloween she was a pig.
Last year, Halloween 2009 she was Alice, of the Wonderland persuasion.

This year I decided to make her costume to represent her nickname: Piggy Pie.

She wore a pig hat & a pie that I made out of felt with my trusty sewing machine. Most people didn't "get" it, but we had fun telling those who asked. Plus it was fun to see her as something other than the trashy witch & cartoon characters all the other kids dress as. This was probably the last year I will get to decide for her...
I would also like to share this recipe for pumpkin seeds. We carved 4 pumpkins & ended up with 4 cups of seeds. They did not last long... {and tip: I tripled the seasoning sauce but left the amount of seeds the same, as many other reviewers advised. Yum!}
I love decorating for Halloween but feel like I didn't get enough of it done this year. We did put up lights, though!
And I still had the gall to label myself "Queen of Halloween". Via doormat, no less. Oh, the audacity!
In a completely half-hearted attempt to spread Halloween cheer while taking The Pie trick or treating, Justin & I sported... ears & a hat. Oh yes, Queen of Halloween, I am.
The Pie, on the other hand, really did exhibit Halloween cheer to the fullest extent by jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves in full costume. {She always has to be the best at everything. It gets old, the little show-off.}
We went trick or treating around our neighborhood with The Cousins & Gramma Jan. With the Victorians & bungalows in our old Denver neighborhood, it really made for quite the picturesque trick or treat outing. {And I'll be honest here, I was totally loving having a chance to get to walk up to everyone's door and peek in their house without having the cops called on me for being a Peeping Tom. Just one more reason October 31st is one of the best days of the year...}
Strange lady who followed us the entire night, taking pictures:
Just kidding, Grandma, glad you came along :-)
As shown below, The Pie's cousin, Indy, is usually a blur of mysterious fairy dust. Sometimes you can get a clear view of her figure from the corner of your eye...
When the Piggy Pie had enough {candy in her bag, that is} we headed back to the house.
Where Pappa and Grandma were waiting {for the dinner, that is, that we had promised them for watching our house when the trick or treaters came soliciting candy. We made this, this, and drank Blue Moon's Pumpkin Ale. Yum.}
It was a lovely Halloween.

Little Sister Duties

2010-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

The Pie says she can't wait any longer for a playmate, but V-Pie isn't due for another 16 weeks. Luckily, Bella has agreed to "chip in" and take on some of the little sister duties until then.
As you can see, The Pie has gladly accepted her offer.
Because sometimes dolls just aren't enough.

{Yes, that is Bella and she is neither a rat nor a Chihuahua,
she is a purebred Italian Greyhound, fyi.}

{Notes on The Violet}

2010-10-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was pregnant I already knew what my child's name would be. It just so happened that I'm having a little girl {yay!} and so she will be named Violet.

Violet Brown was my great-grandmother, my mother's father's mother. I have no picture of her unfortunately, but I so like the idea of using family names. {Eisley shares her great-grandmother's middle name, and if I had a boy, he would be named after a family surname - Paxton.}
As it turns out, and I didn't know this when I picked the name - I swear, Violet is due in February which just so happens to have the violet as a birth flower! What's more - the birth stone for February is the amethyst - a violet colored gem. I had no idea, but I'm so glad it suits. Now she just better not be born early in January because that will ruin everything... ;-)
And when you see antique postcards with Valentine's Day themes - a February holiday, no less - they quite often feature violets on them. Which is perfect. I'm happy to call my little V-Pie "A Token of Love"... hehe...
Just as Violet is an old fashioned name, they were very popular on postcards back in the day, and I might just have to figure out a way to incorporate one of these in her birth announcement. Again, it suits, because everyone knows how much I love old things.
But right now Violet is still a squirmy thing in my stomach, I only have seen fuzzy black & white images of her. She has kicked me a few times, Eisley has kicked her a few times...

She is as long as an ear of corn, and I just hit 24 weeks, which means if she was born now she'd have a 50% chance of surviving. It's neat to hit that "point of viability" but, still, February baby! February!

The Creative & Amazing Photographer

2010-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we went with Great Grandma Sander & the three cousins from Justin's side of the family to get portraits for GG Sander's Christmas cards.

We were fortunate to have that sort of creative, artistic photographer for our session. He directed the kids so wonderfully, and as you can see {below} we got some really amazing photographs. I want to give you a recap of how professional and creative he was in directing his subjects - I only hope I can recreate the magic of the session just a little bit. Here are some of the brilliant directions he gave as he was working his magic:

"Okay, Eisley, give me your best vampire look for this shot -
YES! Show me those fangs! Work the fangs!"

"Noah, you're drunk at the bar and a beautiful woman just sat down next to you, show me drunk lust - YES! Perfect!"
"Eisley, I just informed you your puppy is dead - you're shocked and in disbelief, give me shocked!"
"Okay for this group shot, I want to capture the essence of family. Eisley, you just passed gas and you think it's funny. Grandma and Moriah, act repulsed, but Noah, I want to see you pointing the finger at the offender. YES! GOOD!"
"Turn around, Eisley, and scowl at Noah for pointing you out.... Noah you're uncomfortable now, show me uncomfortable! Moriah, you're worried!"
"Eisley, give me disgusted! You're grossed out, you're gagging! Work it! YES! BEAUTIFUL!"
"Noah and Moriah, give me sleepy... but, Eisley, show me delighted - what's over there? - show me how great it is, yes! Make us wonder, intrigue us! What's over there and why do your cousins not care? YES! WONDERFUL!"
"Moriah, I want to see sophisticated, thoughtful, good! But Noah and Eisley - you're unsure about what's going on to your left. Yes! Amused yet awkward! That's great! BRILLIANT!"

"Eisley look poignantly upwards, yes, you're thinking about God and life and deep thoughts. More deep thoughts, show me more! You're pondering the meaning of life! Moriah! Box your little brother's ears - YES! WORK IT!"
"Eisley, you're sucking on a lemon! Show me how sour it is! More sour! More sour, it's unbearable."
"Let's get Grandma back in here, Grandma, I want you to watch adoringly as your grandson picks his nose... Eisley, I want to see the 'my puppy just died' face again! PERFECT! Moriah, you're in control of the situation, you're calm amid the chaos - YES! BRILLIANT!"
As you can see, it was intense, artistic and insightful! We just went in for a Christmas card shot, but what we got was just pure art!

Okay I've had my fun... but really, we did get some good ones...

Family Outing No. 1 1/2: Black Hawk

2010-09-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Papa Erickson,

A couple weeks ago you recommended going to see Central City & Black Hawk. You told me about how the old mountain mining town had turned into a mini-Vegas with mega hotels and that it was really a sight to see.

In fact, you said, "Go up there some afternoon just to look around and get an ice cream." Those were your exact words.

So today we did just that, promising ourselves & Eisley an ice cream. We got to see the aspen starting to turn on our way...
Central City was still quaint and had that Old West feel that so many Colorado mountain towns do, Black Hawk {literally down the street} was another story. Mostly thanks to the new & huge Ameristar hotel. It is a Goliath of a hotel/casino, springing up unnaturally from the Rocky Mountains. 33 stories.
We parked in the 10 story parking garage {upon exiting the car, I could smell the $5.99 prime rib every hotel advertises on billboards for miles before town} and wandered the hotel, Eisley was not allowed on the gaming floor. It was a grand hotel. We went to the 32nd floor to look out a window.
It is like Vegas, only a lot classier with less smut {does that make it better or not as good as Vegas? Honestly, I'm not sure... the vulgarity being part of Vegas's charm, you know. If you don't understand that, you haven't been there.}

Having seen that, and not willing to lose any money on gambling, we headed back up the street to Central City, here is the courtyard at the Central City Opera House. There were definitely some pretty sites worth seeing here.
But two things bothered us about our day trip.
1. There was no ice cream to be found. This town is 100% casinos & saloon style restaurants. Even the clerk at the grand Ameristar hotel didn't know where to direct us when we asked her to recommend a place. She asked 5 co-workers and finally told us to go to Cook's Palace - a saloon style bar. For ice cream. We were told there would be ice cream. Papa, you owe us an ice cream.

2. This town is devoid of children. It actually gave us a weird feeling. We were freaks that stood out toting our two year-old along. We saw three teenagers walking home from school - does that count? You don't realize how strange it feels to be in a place with zero children until you find yourself there and realize how unearthly it is. I kid you not, it made us a little depressed, and we came to the conclusion that a world without goofy, silly, whiny, excitable, stinky, smiley children is no place we could ever call home.

What's usually the demographic that fawns over Eisley the most - the retirees & elderly, who were all out gambling on a Tuesday afternoon - passed her by as if she was a common houseplant. At Great-Grandma Sander's retirement community we practically have to pry them off of her - they act as if they haven't seen a child in 1,000 years and she is the Chosen One, surrounding her like vultures and making all three of our heads swell. It was probably good for us to be humbled this way, actually. We're sort of jaded by how much attention she gets in public sometimes... What do you mean she's not the center of your universe? Go figure.

But seriously, Black Hawk made Vegas look like Kiddie Land.
Here is the only sign of any family friendliness we saw in the entire town. Yes, Dostal Alley actually went so far as to post it on their window - they have pizza, beer, and also allow children! Wow. In spite of the warm welcome, there were still no children in there. {I imagined walking in with Eisley and the bartender eyeing her and saying in a gruff voice, "We don't take kindly to your types 'round here."}
In fact, it was so eerie, so strange to us - the way people looked at us & Eisley and the way we stood out in her presence - that I seriously would not have been at all surprised to see this guy come around the corner. I was pretty much expecting to see him at any moment:

Creepiest. Guy. Ever.

And I'm fairly certain Black Hawk hires him to keep the kids out of their casino town.

Anyway, it was still a good time, just to finally see Central City where - despite being a 4th generation Colorado native {or is it 3rd? I always forget about great-grandpa Erickson...} - I have never been before. We left hungry and feeling guilty that Eisley hadn't been at all entertained. So we sought solace in Idaho Springs at a little place dear to my heart: Beau Jo's. There they had a kiddie menu, a booster seat & crayons waiting for us. Along with other children also dining nearby, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Thanks for the tip, Papa Erickson! We did enjoy. But don't think we're letting you out of an ice cream date...

Love,
Heather

Family Outing No. 1: The Aquarium

2010-09-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

I have 3 family outings to share with you -
all of which took place in the last couple weeks.
We've been busy, trying to get the most out of
summer and our time together.
So a couple weeks ago, on a cool Tuesday night, we wanted to take Eisley somewhere fun. Our little threesome hit up the Downtown Aquarium in Denver. It was the perfect time to go, not busy at all - I think we passed maybe two other groups while there. Although I do hope that was an anomaly because I would hate for Denver to lose this attraction.
It's a fantastic place to take a toddler.
Eisley was in heaven.
We couldn't get her to look away from the fish
long enough to get a picture of her smiling.
The exhibits they have are very cool,
if you haven't been lately you really should go soon.
Some of the fish were HUGE.
Like this guy, sitting next to the shark...
I adored the seahorses.
I could have stood and watched
these graceful little creatures all day.
But this black & white fish was my favorite. I had to take a picture & share. When I see marvels like this in nature I can't help but roll my eyes at evolution theories & the whole "big bang" idea. This momma believes in creationism, all done at the hands of a magnificent God. Big bang? How can anyone believe that? Look at this fish! This guy was designed, just like you & me...
Eisley was just as mesmerized by
the aquatic creations that God gave us.
Like these guys:
And here I am about to throw Eisley to the stingrays...
This was our favorite part, at the end of our tour we walked into a room with a shallow pool swarming with stingrays! They let you pet them as they swim by. They are just too cool.
One of the greatest joys I take in being a mother is seeing my daughter discover & explore some of the delights of this world.
We had a grand old time.

Next up... Family Outing No. 2: The Brewery

Stardust

2010-08-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

It's about darn time I update my blog. Sorry, folks, but lately I just haven't been up to it. Not blogger's block or anything - I just haven't felt like it. But by golly, I have not poured myself into this blog for almost 3 years now just to burn out and stop posting. Never.

It's 10:30am. Eisley and I just woke up at 10. I went to yell at the dog's for barking - we have an unusually high number of pedestrians in this neighborhood, most of them walking their dogs. Our dogs have to bark & howl at every. single. one. of. them. But this time it was Justin they were howling at, he ran up the walk and presented me with a white bag, which can only mean one thing, kissed me on the cheek and said, "Have a good day, I have to go!"

Just like that he was gone again.

A white paper bag means: a croissant from Trompeau's Bakery. If you live in the Denver metro area and have never been to Trompeau's you're missing out. A little hole in the wall, right across the street from DU, run by a real Frenchman - thus, he knows how to make a croissant like nobody's business. You MUST visit the hole in the wall and delight yourself with a ham & cheese, or perhaps a pear & chocolate.

Or pick one up in the morning to surprise your wife with.

So, me with my warm croissant & Eisley occupied by playing the piano with her butt {a daily morning ritual}, I now have a chance to update my blog and I must do so.

I give you: Stardust.
{The small one on the left.}

Eisley's first pet. We spent some of her birthday money on this little setup. Of course, after the pet store I read online that 1/2 a gallon is far too small for a betta {then why do they market this tiny betta kit???} so we'll have to upgrade Stardust's house here pretty soon...
Which is too bad, because it's so lovely to have a tank that mounts on the wall. Out of reach for small, curious hands, if you get what I mean.
Eisley loves her new pet, and feeding him has become part of our daily schedule. Now that she's two we're trying to create more rituals & routines in her day, such as brushing teeth & Lord's Prayer before bed. Feeding Stardust is a pre-nap routine.

My grandmother gave my sister & I each our own pet fish when I was about two years old. It's one of my first memories.

Cheers! Let's see how long it takes me to post again...

Eisley's Carnival!

2010-08-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today my darling Eisley was born!

Above is the party invite, which I got here.

Today was Eisley's Carnival - to celebrate her 2nd birthday! Over 30 of our dearest friends & family were there to help us celebrate.

Kiddos got a bag for holding their treats, with a balloon to decorate.

Games were set up, at which they could win prizes:

Ring Toss prize was a "pet fish", or a gold fish toy in glycerin soap!

Spin-A-Prize treats included one of the following:

From the Duck Pond game they won a gumball machine.
A fortune telling booth -

- kids got a fortune cookie & mood fish.
The "Tattoo Parlor", with temporary tattoos!
And finally, we put up a photo booth! Complete with photo props.
Belle, our adorable neighbor:
Moriah, Ayla, & Indy - Eisley's cousins:
Peter & Angela - Eisley's godparents:

Friends Dalley & Aaron, expecting their own precious daughter next month!

For background music, I got this old timey carousel music on Amazon! Justin said it would drive him crazy, but it added so much to the atmosphere.Here is the carousel cake I made Eisley! It was made from chocolate cake, buttercream, marshmallow fondant, royal icing, and color flow horses I piped myself.

Cotton candy & animal crackers
Peanuts!

Piggy Pie:
Popcorn!
Circus peanuts, served on a ferris wheel.
We made about 35 caramel apples, and they were a hit.

The Birthday Girl totally pigged out on peanut M&Ms.

Eisley LOVED opening presents!

Both of her Great Grandmothers were there, which was really special

Happy Birthday Eisley! We love you so much, we hope your party was special for you, it was for us.

PS - Family & friends, I'd love some better pics of Eisley & guests if you have them!

Also - I wish I could take credit for all the ideas, but many of them came from these AMAZING carnival parties at Kara's Party Ideas & Under the Table and Dreaming.

Cravings

2010-07-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

{Meet my new boyfriend, Mr. Canada Dry}

They say all pregnancies are different, and at first with Pie #2 I thought it wasn't different at all but now I completely agree.

This pregnancy has been more nausea, more acne, and more cravings. INTENSE cravings.

And the problem with me being pregnant, something that makes me constantly grumpy, is that I am {most days} in a state of constant hunger. But with absolutely no appetite.

Hunger pangs hit me at least every 30 minutes, no matter how much I had to eat at my last meal. Eating is usually something I enjoy very much {too much}, but when pregnant, it becomes an absolute chore. A chore that I dread. About every thirty minutes I have to stop what I'm doing {because pregnancy hunger pangs are at least 10 times more intense than they are for non-preggos, trust me} and head off to the kitchen. "Ugh, I have to eat - again!" Not only that, but I have to find something to eat that won't make me vomit, and that is not always an easy task... I'm talking to you, Cheerios.

The good news is, since I have entered into pregnancy both times now a full figured woman, that my typical cravings for things like chocolate & junk food are replaced during pregnancy with cravings for healthy stuff {mostly}.

Fruit sounds better than baked goods.

A smoothie sounds better than a milkshake.

A salad sounds WAY better than a hamburger.

This is a good problem. This is how I managed to gain only 15 lbs when I was pregnant with Eisley, and dropped a whopping 45 after giving birth {here's to hoping I can pull that miracle off again, and perhaps keep it off this time? This time, I'm prepared, having been enlightened by one Ms. Geneen Roth.}

But then there are the weird cravings. Things that make me feel freakish. My husband still teases me about my habit during gestation #1 - soaking apple slices in Fresca before eating them. {It was soooo good!}

This pregnancy has brought on a passion for Canada Dry Cranberry-Lime Sparkling Water. I'm obsessed with Panera's French onion soup, and have it about 3 times a week on average. If my mister mentions grabbing fast food for lunch I scowl at him, "That's too greasy! Yuck!" {This is something I would not say were there no baby inside of me.}

But they're not all healthy cravings. Last night, 11:45pm, we had just crawled into bed when I sat up and announced, "Ooooh, pizza by the slice sounds SOOOO good right now!" He looked at me like I was crazy, and for a moment I did sincerely feel possessed. {Wait, what did I just say? That wasn't me!}

"Totino's?" He suggested.
I looked at him as if he'd just suggested I dye my hair green, "That's disgusting."

You see, very particular, pregnancy cravings are.

Yesterday also held in store for me an intense craving for Dr. Pepper, a drink which I have always loathed my entire life. Can't stand the stuff - but knock me up and Dr. Pepper is the new man in my life.

I mused during the first pregnancy at how you feel like a totally different person when you're pregnant, and I still stand by that belief.

All that said, sorry for another boring pregnancy rant/post. But - well - it is my blog. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find something to eat...

Baby Envy

2010-07-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

It is a good thing Pie² is in the oven, I'm telling you. Eisley keeps rubbing it in my face that she is not a baby anymore.

Today I was in my towel robe, post shower, putting on makeup - I heard a rattling noise coming from Eisley's room where she was playing. I immediately stopped applying mascara and went to check on her.

She was in her crib, rattling the side rails and looking very proud of herself. Most certainly because I didn't put her there, she had apparently climbed in by herself.

A little bit later she runs up to me, hands me her bottle, gets a firm grasp on my finger and pulls me to the kitchen. This is her newest trick, to pull mom or dad towards what she wants. She points to the sink. She wants me to wash and refill her empty bottle. I think, what happened to the days when she simply cried, and we had to guess if it was food/comfort/change that she needed? Now she tells me, in her own adorable way, exactly what she wants.

So I fill her bottle, taking my payment via a long, smoochy kiss on her cheek {which is less puffy than ever, might I add, as she is turning into a child and losing her baby fat} and then she's off once again.

She scampers down the hallway to her bedroom, points to her crib and says "nite-nite". Is my almost two year old telling me she's ready for her nap? But first, we direct mommy to close the blinds, of course.

And so now she is napping, and now that I have a moment of peace to think about it, I'm feeling more grateful than ever that Pie² is coming soon.

I'm so proud of Eisley & her toddlerhood achievements, but it is so bittersweet to see the infant fading. She needs me a little less each day. And this is a good thing, but I won't say I don't miss her being a helpless newborn. Of course I do.

These days she climbs in and out of the car by herself, sings along to songs she hears, yells at the dogs when they bark, and sometimes can even get her clothes on without help. She used to sleep soundly in her car seat through a grocery trip, now she insists on riding in the cars attached to the carts, and has a conniption fit if we pass the free cookies without stopping to get her one. At night she holds her baby doll up to us, so that we can kiss the baby and put her to bed as well, each time making me think, "This isn't my baby, Eisley, you're my baby. I want to rock you to sleep."

I marvel at Eisley but I also can't wait to have another little baby to snuggle and marvel at. In fact this was a big motivating fact when we decided to try for Pie², with Eisley growing more independent each day, I was growing severely jealous of other moms with new babies, and more impatient to have one of my own.

Even though Pie² will undoubtedly grow up on me, too.

But I'm not done being a mother to infants yet.

Peony Petals - a photo post

2010-07-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

{Disclaimer: I would never advocate the destruction of a perfectly good peony ;-), the petals were taken off peonies that were well past their prime & already browning.}

PS - Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately...

When I was your age...

2010-06-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

{Dear Eisley & Pie #2}

I grew up hearing all about things from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Parents love to say "when *I* was a kid..."

So now I would like to share with you how different technology was during my youth. The 80s & 90s.

Here is what my first cell phone looked like. It was just a phone. There were no calculators, alarm clocks, texting, or fancy ringtones. If you were to see a side view of this baby, you'd see it's about the size of a brick. This was when I was 15. Prior to that, if you were out and about and wanted to make a call, you had to find a quarter and a payphone.

I watched TV during my early years on something just like this. Yes, ours even had a faux wood box {to match your furniture!}, turn dials, and {WHAT?!} no remote!!!
The first computer I ever used looked like this. Mind you, there was no internet quite yet. No searching Google for this or that. Instead we'd pull out the phone book to find a good plumber or the local pizza delivery.
Your Auntie Bea & I both begged for this one Christmas {and got it}, our first Nintendo Gameboys. This was how we played video games from anywhere, on a pixelated black & green screen, roughly 1.5" square.
And when people in my day wanted to listen to music "on the go", there was this handy invention - the Sony Walkman. You'd just pop your tape cassette in there, press play and - viola! - you're listening to music anywhere! If you wanted to repeat a song, all you had to do was hit the rewind button.... and hold it for 2-3 minutes. But *THEN*, my dear, was yet another great invention, one that came along when CDs overtook tape cassets: the Sony Discman! With this portable CD player, all you had to do was pop in a CD and press play. Later versions had skip protection, and that was a good thing...
And computers really got high tech when the Mac Classic rolled out. Notice the sleek mouse on this baby:
I remember how big a deal it was when we got our first caller ID! Now we could tell who was calling when the phone rang. It was utterly amazing technology.
And when someone called and we didn't have time to answer it, our handy-dandy answering machine allowed them to leave a message for us:
Mommy's first car was a 1986 Honda Civic. My arms got toned that year from the lack of power steering.
When we wanted to watch a movie, there was no pay-per-view or on-demand place to simply download it. Instead, we hopped in the car and headed here, a video rental store:
And we rented this, a VHS cassette:
And we popped it in this, our VCR:

We've come a long way, Pies 1 & 2.... a loooong way.

{Little Baby}

2010-06-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

{The pregnancy test I was given at the doctor - hugely positive, yay!}

{Dear Little Baby #2 - Whoever you are...}

I love you.

Up until now this blog & my life as a mother has been mostly all about Eisley. But now you are on your way as well, another sweet blessing in my life among all the others.

It is still hard at this point to imagine loving another being as much as I love Eisley, but I know they say it is possible, and I know I will. Heck, already do. Don't ever forget it. Your momma loved you since the day she saw that faint pink line.

You & I have something in common {other than DNA} in that we both have a big sister. Another thing in common is that we both have really wonderful, amazing big sisters. How lucky are we?

Eisley is sometimes lonely and bored for a playmate and I know she will benefit so much from having you in her life.

Little Baby #2, you were planned and you were so wanted. I feel incredibly blessed to have conceived two "first try" babies. I have known of too many deserving women who did not experience this "luxury" and so I do not take that fact for granted. And so I thank God for your existence and His plan for your life. Even if you are making me sick and exhausted. And overly-sentimental. Blame the hormones. They make me cry at every little thing...

On the day I found out you existed I thought to myself, "God has smiled on me today!" I was just so excited and grateful.

You are like a smile from God in my eyes.

{Love, Mom}

{Heaven on Earth}

2010-05-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I can't help it.
I must share this beauty with you all.
These were all taken in our yard:

Thanking God today for flowers.
The beauty is not missed on me...

{This Day}

2010-05-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

{Dear Eisley}

Today was a good day.

We all got out of bed at 9, and took daddy to work.

Came home, you watched your program whilst I finished some paper crowns. When I was ready we drove off to Cherry Creek Mall where I sold them to a lovely boutique I've been working with. $10 a pop.

You charmed the shop owners. They call you 'Sugar'.

They said you were welcome anytime...  I wondered if they'd say that after seeing one of your famous almost-two tantrums?

But my main reason for being there {selling the crowns was a lovely bonus} was to deliver a garland to their employee {her son's name, for his first birthday}, who is one of the sweetest people I've ever met and she made me feel like a million bucks by hugging me three times and flooding my ears with flattery and encouragement. She made me feel embarrassed, in the embellished, Sally Fields sort of way.

We left, picked up daddy, grabbed lunch with him. Used a rockin' coupon. {I love coupons.}

And then it was naptime, and daddy left with the car to go back to work. Good day for him as well, about $3k in sales. I feel it's safe to say we are officially over the "slow season" with his work. Which is good because at one point this month we had $13 left in our bank. {When I had told my family that his commission this month was enough to pay bills and nothing more, I meant it.}

But the Good Lord keeps putting finances in our hands {even though, so many times, we have mucked it up in the past}. I've been called for paying studies twice this month, and that very day we realized we had $13 left, the retailer called and demanded more crafts. Are these things luck? Coincidence? I think not. I know they're not!

During naptime I crafted even more, this time for the market, which I'm already having nightmares about... Then I spent two hours cleaning, dragging  myself away from Twitter because I knew that later I'd be mad at myself if I didn't. In all honesty, I mostly like cleaning... don't tell your daddy that.

So daddy came home to a mostly clean house, and you woke up. Then suddenly, the best bread in the world was in the oven {a 3 ingredient, 5 minute recipe that tastes delish}, Pioneer Woman's baked beans cooking on the stove, and kabobs on the grill.

For once it's our house that is making the rest of the neighbor's mouths water {usually it's us}.

We have our beers to drink and you have your $1 glow sticks from Michael's, running around the yard in the dark, cool almost-summer night.

And then I look at you and you're so beautiful and cute and perfect....

and this whole day,

this life,

this charmed,

undeserved life,

but mostly you -

it all makes me think

in a overly corny, Hallmark card type way...

This is the life.

These things can change in an instant, though, I'm old enough to know that. So I'm savoring this beauty that is life while I can. But...

... perhaps someday, just like Laura Bush, I will watch you walk down the aisle...

looking lovely like my only cousin did last week at her wedding...

and again I will think -

"This is the life."

once again.

?

{Love, Mom - aka 'The Sentimentalist'}

{Eisley & Dad - Spring 2010}

2010-05-20T23:29:00.000-07:00

Daddy's girl much?

{The Cousins}

2010-05-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the rest of my family took off on a last minute trip to California for my cousin's wedding. While it was unfortunate that Justin, Eis & I couldn't go with, we did have the pleasure of having The Cousins {Ayla & Indy} stay with us. For Eisley, having two playmates was heaven on Earth.
They helped out a lot, like doing Eisley's hair in the morning so I didn't have to. :-)
Justin made French toast, which went perfectly with a rousing game of Peek-a-Boo.
Eisley loves her big The Cousins so very much.
We walked to the new playground at the park a couple blocks away. Ayla pushed Eisley, which was fine until Eisley noticed...
that Indy held Daddy's attention. That made for one very jealous Eisley.
I'm so happy for Eisley that she has a whopping 4 cousins living nearby. My one cousin lives in CA, and so obviously we don't get to see each other enough. So it makes me very happy that Eisley will have a lot of close family as she grows up.

We love you, The Cousins!

It's been busy...

2010-05-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've been a neglectful blogger lately. It's been busy! I'm not used to being so busy. I come from a family that values its leisure time, so the go-go-go vibe is difficult for me.

I think there is a happy medium, as with most things. Too busy and overworked, you get burnt out and lose yourself and end up neglecting relationships. You end up missing things.

Too lackadaisical and you turn into a person who can't handle the minor stresses of life and rarely achieves anything major. This is my theory, at least... and striking a balance can be hard. I think most of us are wired one way or the other.

Just from the past few weeks - I know exactly what a decapitated chicken feels like.

"I'm running out of time and I don't know where to run next!!!"

A couple weeks back I crafted until the wee hours of the morning to get orders together for this store, and then this store. One right after the other. And that first one just called and needs more because she's sold out! That's a happy problem, no?

And then Justin & I stayed up late one night, working together to upholster a chair. You can see more of the chair on my Lark & Lola blog here.
And then up until 2am another night last week, making a certain 1 year old's birthday cake. Whew. This was especially hectic, finding out I had to add another tier just hours before I needed it done! {Happy Birthday Miss Mara!} See more here.
And in the pressure to get the home looking good for guests, we tried to spruce up the porch. That meant another late night painting this bench we made, and turning my antique Ball jars into hanging vases. I still have more plans for the porch...
Today, Mother's Day, I hosted a lovely party with lovely guests and it was just a lovely time. In my humble opinion. ;-)  Of course with parties I throw I always end up thinking about all the things I didn't get done. That's bad, though. I wanted to create a lovely atmosphere for the ladies in my life and I think it turned out pretty well. See more here.
I am not complaining about being so busy! I'm so fortunate, that if I must be busy, I'm busy for things that I love. Party planning, arts, decorating, crafting.

If I'm going to put down my pretty magazines, if I'm going to give up my "Oprah Hour" {aka naptime} to work, if I'm going to deprive myself of sleep - at least it's all for that which I love.

My Jobby

2010-04-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. The time of year I stay up into the wee hours of the morning because it's my only good chunk of time to get things done.

It's Paris Street Market season! This year, I'm doing June, July, Sept, & October. And thinking about applying to a couple other shows but we'll see...

Mark your calendars & save your monies. Word on the street is that this year EVERYONE applied to be a vendor in the market. It was competitive. Especially to get my corner spot - but I did ;-)   So it should be a very good year at the market.
Wish me luck. Luck that I don't go insane from lack of sleep...

For the Weary

2010-04-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

I first heard this song on Grey's Anatomy. Then Bea recommended it for my Mother's Day mix CD, and so I bought it on iTunes.

I just want to share this song, and the lyrics, first because it is beautiful. And also because it's about my God. And I find this comforting when I'm in a funk. While it's not Scripture, her words do a decidedly excellent job of describing God's love. It reminds me I'm beloved, and sometimes we need reminding of that...

Play the video below to listen, and read the lyrics below that while you do:

I Will Show You Love by Kendall Payne

"I will show you love like you’ve never loved before
I will go the distance and back for more if you just say the word

You will come alive again and call the trying times your friend
The pain that you have suffered through will never get the best of you
You will hope in something real that won’t depend on how you feel
When you call my name then I will answer, answer

I am on your side though the wind and waves beat against your faith
You were on my mind when the world was made
Trust in me my child, Trust in me my child

Walk out on the water where you have no control
So scared to death of failure you sacrifice your soul, please let that go

You have climbed an uphill road, You have worn a heavy load
You have cried through endless nights and nearly given up the fight
Watched your dreams like falling stars the heartaches made you who you are
Now looking back you see that I have always been there

I am on your side though the wind and waves beat against your faith
You were on my mind when the world was made
Trust in me my child, Trust in me my child

Where you gonna hide? Where you gonna hide from Me?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go that I can’t see?

I have heard you cry and it breaks my heart for I love you so
I would never lie, this is not the end there is still a hope"

I am on your side though the wind and waves beat against your faith
You were on my mind when the world was made
Trust in me my child, Trust in me my child

© 2010 Kendall Payne

First Chore

2010-04-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

Recently Justin & I sat down with Eisley and had a little talk.

"It's time you start putting in some effort around here young lady," said Justin. "How about you start contributing to the household chores?"

"I think your father is right, missy! We've been way too lenient on you lately, and you're old enough now that you can chip in around here and do some chores."

To which Eisley said, "Awwwww man! Do I have to?"

To which WE said, "Yes!"

And so we assigned Eisley her first household chore. Her first duty that is all her own.

I will say, she takes it quite seriously.

Behold Eisley's first chore for the household. Walking the dog.

Okay, really, she loves it. It's not really a chore. In fact, we get yelled at if she doesn't get to do it. Surprisingly, she and Bella walk quite well together. We've let her walk Bella several times now without incident.

And yes, we always hold hands when crossing the street.

What NOT to do in life...

2010-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

{Dear Eisley}

I want to tell you about a few mistakes I've made in life. As your older & wiser mother, I want to share this with you so that you do not make some of the same mistakes I have made. Hopefully I can save you some grief in life. I want to list some, lest I forget!

So, my dear daughter, don't do the following:

1. Fart in front of your pastor and blame it on another kid. He knows.

2. Seek fun with your friends by driving up to shopping carts in parking lots and pushing them with your car, working up speed, and then brake and watch the cart soar across the lot. Hitting another car with the speeding cart is inevitable. I know this from experience. {Note: Especially don't do it just weeks after getting your first driver's license. And ESPECIALLY don't do this when there's a beautifully restored classic Ford Mustang in the lot.}

3. Stir the pot for fun. Even though it often is amusing, it's also mean.

4. Dress the pets up in your nicest dresses and parade them through your parents bedroom when they're still asleep on a Saturday morning. Believe me, they'll think it's a lot funnier if you do it after they wake up and have had some coffee.

5. Cut up your mom's sewing projects in attempt to make even better sewing projects. She won't be impressed.

6. Go to college and: take multiple prescriptions known to cause weight gain, wear only lounge clothes and never your sized jeans so you don't realize when they don't fit anymore, not work out in rebellion for the last 4 years of forced high school gym class, not have a full-length mirror, and let yourself splurge at the college dining hall one too many times (to be fair, the salad bar WAS disgusting). Trust me -- recipe. for. disaster. It's okay to gain a little weight in college but if you do all of the above you're soooo asking for it.

7. Let friendships dissolve just because you want to prove a point {even when you're right ;-) }

8. Not save at least some of your money.

9. Get credit cards. They're the devil. Seriously, watch this if you don't believe me.

10. Stop learning a musical instrument once you've started. You'll regret it...

11. Set booby traps for Santa.

12. Go too far with your sense of humor. Your 2nd grade teacher might not find it as amusing as you do when, say, you draw a "Kick Me" sign on Martin Luther's back when studying the Reformation. {Post edit for clarity: I'm talking about Martin Luther the theologian. NOT the civil rights activist.}

13. Climb up cliffs without adult supervision. Especially when staying with grandma. Thank God she didn't have a heart attack that day.

14. Run from a horse when it charges you.

15. Try and reason with your philosophy professor in college. Especially if he looks just like Snape. That should have been my first clue not to contradict him.

16. When sledding, and your dad is at the bottom of the hill watching you come down and you *think* he's saying, "Steer towards the tree! Steer towards the tree!"... he's probably not.

And that's all I can think of right now. We all make mistakes, but if I can save you from a few of the ones I've made then I've done my job.

Love,
{MOM}

Editing My Life

2010-04-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'm guilty of being a certain type of mommy blogger. I only want to post the best pictures. I skip over the ones with messy undone hair, clutter and messes in my house, my chins, my husband's bald spot, anything that's not "ideal".
A lot of homemaker/mommy bloggers are criticized for this. In part because other's see it and compare your seemingly charmed life to their real one - the one in which they know messes and stress exist. Most of the time, what you're seeing folks, is the edited version of my life. The parts I'm proud of. Even when I post about "the bad" it's not really that bad... not in comparison to the real bad.
Soon here, I'll have to do a "this is my REAL life" post. I'll show the mess & unflattering pictures of myself & my family. But soon enough I'll have wrinkles and gray hair...
So can you blame me? These are the moments I want to remember. These are the shots I want to look back on, when I'm old and fading. When Eisley is grown up and beginning to realize the hard truths of the world, the veil of childhood being lifted from her eyes. I want to remember the best. The half-truth.

I know that at any second of the day, life can change drastically for the worse. So I'm savoring these happy moments. I caught myself writing a "I love my life" post the other day and thought, "You can't post this..." and now it's part of my collection of posts I'm too embarrassed to post.

But why not? In my current state, I'm mostly happy these days. My life is far from perfect, but I choose to focus on the best of it.

Maybe it's a survival thing? Or a coping thing?

We all do it differently but this is how I chose to:

"Here's the best... let's not think about the bad."

Not today at least...

Ecclesiastes 7:

¹⁴ When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future.

My Community

2010-04-14T17:42:00.000-07:00

I've joined BlogFrog.

You should see a widget to the left
of this linking to "My Community".

Hope you can join the discussions!
There are a lot of great blog communities and I've
been having so much fun over there I decided to join
in and start my own.

Cheers,
Heather

{Easter 2010}

2010-04-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our Easter this year.
Eisley is still confused by the idea of an Easter bunny & basket.
But she enjoyed it nonetheless.
When The Cousins got here, we held an Easter egg hunt in the yard. {LOVE their girls dresses this year.}
Kids get a little wild-eyed when it comes to Easter chocolate.
Indiana Sophie:
The Cousins, I tell you what, were SO good to "Baby Eisley" during the hunt, and helped her find some eggs of her own.

Wait for me!

And later we had a really delicious dinner and enjoyed the lovely weather.
More Easter pics are over at my sister's blog.

The True Meaning of Easter

2010-04-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

My kindergarten teacher told this story about me for years, maybe she still tells it from time to time? The last time I heard it again was as a teenager, when the praise group I was in did chapel at her school one day.

It was the first day of kindergarten at my Lutheran elementary school in Denver, and we were having a lesson on our recently purchased school supplies. "Mrs. K" {sometimes we called her Mrs. CareBear} would ask,

"What do we use to write with?"

"A pencil." Some student would answer.

"What do we use to measure things?"

"A ruler." And so on.

At some point she asked,

"What do we use when we make a mistake?"

I raised my hand. I knew this one! She called on me so I answered matter-of-factly:

"Jesus."

Of course she meant an eraser, but my 5 year-old brain was on something better, the bigger picture. Children can have the sweetest outlook on God & Christ, so much more faithful and earnest than adults at times. They can really teach us a thing or two...

My friend, Melissa, posted this on Facebook yesterday and it really warmed my heart:

"Was at an Easter play tonight...heard one little boy yell at the Roman soldiers during the crucifixion scene...and then yell for Jesus to come and hold him at the resurrection scene. Love children!!"

Isn't that sweet?

Tomorrow I will be too busy to post, but we will be celebrating Easter.

It is the day Jesus became our eraser.
For our mistakes.

2010-03-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

{Dear Miss Eisley}

You are not a baby anymore, have you noticed? You're quite the little girl, in fact.

A little girl who loves to chill in front of the TV for her favorite shows...

... a little girl who sports her love for mom proudly {hehe}....

... a little girl who loves to run in the yard...

... and says "Hi!" to all the people passing by walking their dogs or taking their kids to the park...

... a little girl who sits still while mommy paints her toenails purple.

You love post-bathtime dress up with mom's jewelry and hair accessories...
... you love all sorts of dress up.
That includes experimenting with unique hats. This one is your favorite, and you get angry if we take it off:
You love music, dancing, and insisting on climbing onto the piano bench 50 times a day to "practice".

This is all great and wonderful... but mommy misses having a tiny baby.
Maybe you'll have a playmate someday?

Adrenaline

2010-03-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Today, a couple hours after Justin left for work, Eisley was tired so she settled into the couch.

Cheerios & sippy cup in hand, she became engrossed in an episode of Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends. She usually hates that show, so I knew she was tired.

Not to miss a rare chance for a moment to myself while she's awake, I sat down at the table to read emails & the blogs I catch up with every day.

All was well.

Until, after about 20 minutes, Eisley left the couch to find me. She was limping. Slumped over. She looked lethargic...

and her left leg was swollen about three times it's normal size - looking ready to burst through the seams of her footed pajamas. The pajamas were still zipped & buttoned, but her leg was deformed and enormous.

I was absolutely alarmed. I read horror stories on other blogs all the time. True stories. Recently one about a boy who drowned in the tub and was technically dead for over 12 minutes {he's okay now}. Another about a little girl who was not so lucky, after a fainting spell she landed face down on a toy and suffocated. {Why do I read these things???}

And if you know me, you know I'm not the calm, collected, laid back mom who brushes off worry and anxiety.

So as I took in this sight - my child hobbling towards me with a horrifically swollen leg - my adrenaline glands intoxicated me.

Now - a lot of people don't mind adrenaline. It's fun! It's the reason we ride roller coasters, right?

UNTIL you become a parent, and then suddenly there's another side to adrenaline. It's evil. It means your child is in danger. This is, beyond question, the worst feeling in. the. world.

It makes you sick.

It makes you want to scratch your skin off.

It makes you physically ill.

When you are a parent this kind of adrenaline is liquid dread, 100 proof, injected directly into your marrow.

I've never experienced anything like it until I became a mom.

So that's what happened today, adrenaline shot into my body as I reached for Eisley.

I admit this, I didn't stop and think logically. I reacted. I panicked. I assumed the worse. {And I hate assumptions!}

Now here is reason #243 why moms are most certainly superheroes in their own right:

In that millisecond it took for me to reach down and grab my child - a mom can think one million thoughts in an instant. Our brains go into overdrive.

Here's a few of those thoughts, to give you an idea, that my supermom mind thought in the fraction of a second it took for me to lean over:

"Oh my gosh!!!"
"What happened?!"
"Did she break her leg?"
"Did she get a spider bite?"
"Why is she lethargic?"
"She looks distraught!"
"What am I going to feel when I touch her leg?"
"Is it black and blue?"
"Is she going to live?"
"Do I call 911 or do I rush her to the hospital?"
"The doctors are going to think I'm a bad mother..."
"Did this happen after she fell off the bed this morning
and it's been swelling all morning?!"
"What if she has to have her leg amputated?"
"Why isn't she crying? Does it hurt?"

{Note: I have heard that toddlers & babies can break their bones and show very few signs of distress, some parents don't even realize it for a few days.}

Did I overreact? Yes. {It's me, I always overreact a bit. I'm an excitable person. I will not apologize for this, however. I like having strong emotions and vibrancy in my heart. Most of the time.}

Sick, achy, and dreading what I would see & feel - my hand finished the journey towards her leg and gently squeezed.

Eisley looked up at me.

"Shuh-sha?" She said. Hardly distraught.

I pushed harder, since it wasn't hurting her.

Squish!

The tsunami-sized adrenaline waves receded within my veins.

Left over was a faint numb feeling and weakness in my limbs. I laughed and rolled my eyes at myself.

No spider bites.

No broken bones.

No mystery disease.

Apparently her diaper had come undone on the right, and worked itself down her left left. She had been limping from the strange feeling of a wet, full diaper wrapped around her leg. She had acted lethargic because, duh, it was nap time.

Silly mommy.

And although she was half-covered in her own urine, that was nothing a bath with mom couldn't fix.

Crisis averted.

My daughter had two perfect little legs.

A bath.

And a dry diaper.

My Gorjees Gerl

2010-03-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Someday, Eisley, this blog will hopefully be a sort of time capsule for you. A baby book. A scrapblog.

And you will read that on Sunday March 7th, 2010 we took you for a bagel after church.

You kept smiling at a funny dressed elderly woman each time she passed our table.

When we passed her again in the parking lot she stopped and said in a thick Russian, or Romanian, or some other Eastern European accent:

"You are sunshine! You are beautiful day, gorgeous girl!"

Or phonetically, because for some reason that's
part of what made this stranger's comment so special:

"Yew aer sunshen! Yew aer bootiful dea, gorjees gerl!"

You made her happy.
Just by smiling and being you.

{One Peaceful Moment}

2010-03-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

{Dear Eisley}
This is what you look like when you nap.
I could stare at this face for hours.
These are your sweet tiny feet, still for once.
This is what you look like when we are trying to gently wake you. There are errands to be ran and a schedule to stick to if we don't want to be up until midnight...
This is how you're like your mom when you wake, confused and disoriented.
But if we give you a minute, you'll start giving out smiles.
I try and enjoy these sorts of moment when they're here because so much of life is made up of moments not like this. {Like last night, for example, when you embarrassed mom & dad in front of a restaurant full of people.}
Here's what I look like when you wake up from a nap and you snatch the camera and start taking your own pictures.
{With Love, Mom}

Friends, head over to my Lark & Lola blog if you'd like to see all the different projects I've been working on lately...

February 2010

2010-02-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

{Above: the day mom & dad took me to the mall and everyone thought my boots & bow were cute, but my several tantrums were NOT - see middle pic.}
{Above: "watching" tv with mom.}
{Above: tv with dad.}
{Above & below: the day cousin Mo came to play and we did an awesome rendition of "Heart & Soul" together... actually we just banged away. Still fun. Especially when wearing a winter bunny hat. Mom LOVES these pics.}

Just wanted to share a few photos from our February.... since I can't think of anything else worth blogging about.
What, with the Olympics on all day and whatnot. I got nothing.

Almost done settling into the new house, so I'll be back with pictures & stuff to say about that shortly...

{Dear Eisley: Moving}

2010-02-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Eisley,

You do not like moving.

It makes you cry.

Seeing daddy move the furniture around upsets you.

And you are having a very difficult time sleeping in your new room.

{You've already had a few time-outs in the new house. For hitting. And throwing. Someday, after I no longer need you to take time-out seriously, I will tell you how cute you are when you're all ticked off in your time-out chair, and how mommy had a hard time keeping a straight face.}

Speaking of your room, I've decided how I'm going to decorate it. No painting, but...

I'm going to need some yards of fabric, ribbon, and a play table for you to color at - STAT!

Think buntings.

Also...

We could not have gotten through this move without your grandparents.

Those four moved the piano into the house. And then some.

In fact, I did very little lifting {other than your big 18 month old body}.

They also cleaned our cabinets, cleaned the fridge, unpacked dishes, and much more all without throwing out their geriatric backs! {Just kidding about the geriatric part... except maybe for Grandpa Jerry... he is in his sixties now... should we call him a "Jerryatric"?}

No, but seriously, for reals, like totally: thank you, Grandparents!

Mommy thinks we're going to be very happy in this little 1940's house with the white picket fence. Mommy has also concluded, with total certainty, that her furniture & decor belongs with an old house.

Yes. The house & mommy's decor: they deserve each other.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have unpacking & cleaning to do so that I can take pictures and show our readers the newly painted furniture.

{Wood lovers, prepare to be horrified.}

XOXO,

"Mom...ma"

Moving

2010-02-12T23:02:00.000-08:00

We're moving.

This is why I haven't posted much lately. Moving, quite frankly, is a horrible chore I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. Simply put, I hate it.

That said, I'm very excited we're moving to a home in a lovely area with a white picket fence, a big yard, a room for Eisley, a craft room for me, and 3 parks within 1/4 mile. Did I mention it's also 3 miles to work for Justin?

Nice.

We've been very blessed to have a cozy home to stay in for the last 6 months, but now it's time to move. It's a fresh start.

We've been looking for a good home for a while now...

One house we looked at we really didn't like. It was right off Alameda. Not the best location for youngsters.

The Realtor showing it to us, upon hearing we currently live 50 miles away in Kiowa {a TINY town to the southeast}, turned to me and said - rather condescendingly if I might add:

"And are you going to be ok with this? Moving to the big city?"

My feathers were officially ruffled.

"Actually I grew up in this area." I replied.

"...Oh."

Justin later told me - as we laughed about this - that I sounded sort of snotty.

I didn't care, she was talking down to me. Even if I was a "country bumpkin", where does she get off talking to me like I'm a small minded simpleton just because she thought I came from a rural area?

There are lots of lovely things about small towns like Kiowa:

No registered sex offenders.
People drive politely.
Zero crime.
500 trillion more stars to see at night.

Still, I am a city girl at heart. I welcome the nearby highway noise, the close quarters with neighbors, and busy streets. I find it comforting to be around people, I don't feel so alone in the world. To each his own, right?

So now we're moving back to the very neighborhoods I grew up in and I'm very excited to be unpacked and settled in.

Signing off for a few days! I'll be back with pictures of my newly painted furniture...

{ART}

2010-01-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

I love art.

I love Bouguereau. John William Waterhouse. Degas.
My dad's watercolors especially. The artistic traits go back a few generations in my family, I have a painting my great grandmother did hanging on the wall. We're creative people, my family.

But if I had to pick a favorite, this one *might* be it:

This is Dream of Arcadia by Thomas Cole. It lives on the 6th floor of the Denver Art Museum. And I can't go to the DAM without seeing this one.

I don't know why exactly I love it. {And the picture does NOT do it justice, by the way. You need to visit it yourself, to see the work Cole did on the sunlight.} I like to imagine heaven looks like this... maybe that's why I'm so drawn to it? I'm such a romantic...

A few nights ago, however, my mind's opinion of beautiful art changed.

My world as I know it was rocked.

It all started around 10pm, when we were getting ready to put Eisley to bed after a night out.

I started towards her, with intentions to get her ready for bed,that's when I saw a pen in her hand.

I was about to tell her, "No, no, Eisley. We don't play with pens..." and take it from her - but she caught me off guard by doing something I'd never seen her do with a pen before.

See, instead of putting it in her mouth, she scribbled with it, onto a stray paper daddy had left lying around {hope it wasn't something he needed}. I was delighted.

So I went to the butcher block, and pulled out a box of unused crayons I had on hand. I knew I'd need them someday.

And the creativity commenced:

For almost an hour, and she could have gone all night.
She got down & dirty with her artwork. I couldn't be more proud, as a creatively inclined person myself. I know all kids enjoy coloring, but I really did feel Eisley was just so into it. I've never seen her devote so much time & attention on any task or toy before. It was intense. Jackson Pollock would have been intimidated, I'm telling you.
Although we did have a hard time understanding why the white crayon didn't work...
She would not have mommy or daddy mess with her work... so when daddy drew a stick figure {hey, we can't all be artistic}...
She scribbled it out. I get that. You don't mess with someone's masterpiece.

She was MAD when we finally had to pull her away and put her to bed.

And although I've always cringed at messy, cluttered refrigerators, I just couldn't stop myself.

Eisley's first work, age 17 months. Dream of Arcadia, move over! Momma's got a new favorite masterpiece!

Celebrating 6 Years

2010-01-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

Justin took me to the Oxford Hotel {the Historic Oxford Hotel} this weekend - in celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this month. We've never celebrated our anniversary before, so this year we decided to make up for the 5 years and finally do something really special... to celebrate, well, US.
He booked us an amazing corner room that overlooked LoDo. This proves my husband knows me well, he picked the most appropriate hotel for our little getaway. There were antiques & western art everywhere.

Even the room key was charming. I love it. There's nothing pretty about those new plastic magnetic strip card keys... the Oxford Hotel key's have tassles!
A claw foot tub!!! Are you starting to see how this place fits my personality so perfectly? Well done, Justin. Here's me, to prove I was there.
Downstairs, adjoined to the Oxford Hotel is McCormick's. This is where we ate {at the Seattle location} the night Justin proposed to me. So of course, we had dinner here. The food, as always, was wonderful. The waiter asked if we were celebrating anything, and upon finding out it was our anniversary celebration, he brought out their flour-less chocolate cake & champagne on the house.

And we enjoyed a short walk around Larimer Square after dinner. The lobby of this historic hotel is ornate, charming, and amazing.By the front desk an antique pedestal birdcage housed a beautiful lovebird! Now I want one... {and I think I just heard my family rolling their eyes.}In the morning we had the car brought around {yes, we splurged on valet}.
We headed to my very favorite Denver breakfast spot. Lucile's. This place is a little bit of creole breakfast heaven.
Their Mocha au Lait is delicious. Starbucks now has the appeal of gas station coffee...I made Justin wear his argyle sweater because I think he looks so handsome in it...And here am I:The BEIGNETS people! You must try their BEIGNETS!!!
And I had the Egg's Benedict. And whatever they do to their potatoes, well, I'm so glad they do it.All good things must come to an end. So then we headed home and back to normal everyday life. Like Justin working on the car... But it's ok, I think it's sexy when he works on the car.

Here's to our 6 years! And to our first time really celebrating it. We'll have to keep celebrating our anniversaries now. I posted on Facebook about us going out for an overnighter and a friend replied, "You don't realize how important those are!"

I think she's right. It's good to step away for a day or two and focus on each other. It's priceless to a marriage, I think.

gastroenteritis

2010-01-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

{Warning: This post is gross. Not for the faint of heart, or those on their lunch break.}

"Why did he drink so much???"

That was my first thought when I heard, from my sleepy stupor since I had just begun my night's rest, Justin throwing up a couple nights ago. As my mind became more aware of reality, I realized Justin hadn't been drinking at all.

He was sick.

The poor guy spent the night traveling between the toilet and the bed.

The next day we would laugh over how when Eisley woke up screaming and thrashing I jumped out of bed and picked her up, then I turned to Justin and half -screamed, "What do I do!?"
Again, in my sleepy stupor and frazzled from Justin's illness, I didn't realize that this wasn't just the typical night of a sometimes fussy Eisley. On those nights, Justin takes care of her. And it's usually just a matter of him hopping out of bed and handing her her pacifier and she settles right back down. He has a way with Eisley at 2am that I've never known...

Instead, I found out the next morning, that wasn't a typical night, but apparently she'd had another night terror or something.

Is this the type of mother I am? My child starts screaming in the night and I scream to my sick husband, "What do I do?!"

It did make us laugh the next morning.
It's just he has a way with getting her back to sleep...

Anyway, the better part of our weekend was "ruined" by poor Justin's affliction with gastroenteritis.

We've had it before. It's awful. It's the sickness that makes you consider asking for death just so you can feel better. Sunday night, Justin threw up approximately 8 times. As for the other "action" his GI tract had going on, I'll leave that to your imagination.

By Monday night, he was starting to feel better, and we were hoping and praying that he had food poisoning and that Eisley and I would be safe from it.

Tuesday, the second day of this family's weekend, we were all doing pretty well. The worst was over for Justin, and Eisley and I were in good shape.

After putting Eis to bed, Justin and I enjoyed the movie Up, which we highly recommend, and a bowl of popcorn. We were getting ready to head up to bed after the movie when we heard a cough from upstairs.

"Oh no!" I said. I just knew, from the sound of it. That was a vomit cough.

We ran upstairs and looked down on Eisley.

"See? She's fine - " Justin started to say but I interrupted.

"What's that smell?" But I already knew. Everyone knows that smell. "Oh no.... it's going to be a long night..."

And then she vomited again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And by about 4am when she finally settled into a solid sleep in her crib, Eisley had thrown up about 11 or 12 times.

The one blessing was that between her vomiting bouts, Eisley was in an okay mood. Just tired. If she had been miserable from stomach pains it would have been so much harder on all of us. The only thing worse than having the stomach flu for 24 hours and blowing it from both ends every 1/2 hour is watching your child go through that.

After the first several incidents, the poor thing would throw up from Justin's arms, who was holding her face down over the trash can. Once the bout was done she would just go limp and fall asleep from exhaustion, only to repeat the same thing 30 minutes later...

But if there's one thing we know from gastroenteritis, it's that it always passes. Despite how much she threw up, Eisley seems to have handled the illness quite well.

So where does this leave me? That's what we'd like to know.

So far, no trouble. It might just be my paranoia now, but I can't help but feel there's something going on in my tummy. All is well so far, though. I'm actually a little bit hungry... I think I'll go make breakfast for myself and pray I keep it down.

Here's to wishing you all a great 2010 without the stomach flu.

2010-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

January is dull.

There is nothing to blog about.

For now.

We're just trying to enjoy life with Eisley.

And maintain our sanity.

Despite how painfully fast life goes by.

Also despite the snow.

That is all.

{What a Difference a Year Makes}

2009-12-31T19:51:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up and thought about how today is the last day in 2009. This morning, as I mentioned in my Facebook status, I was feeling good & ready to say goodbye to 2009. It didn't start out a great year... I thought.

But then on the way home, as I waited in the car for Justin while Eisley slept {we stopped to rent the movie "9", Chinese food, and some champagne to ring in the New Year}, I thought about how a lot of great things have actually come to us this year. I just wasn't looking at it the right way.

I'll put it this way...

At the beginning of 2009: Justin and I were in a bad state financially, just barely getting by.
As 2010 starts tomorrow: We are experiencing, by the grace of God, one of the most lucrative months of our married life thus far. {And I've come to the realization that we're probably better prepared to handle this now - after learning many financial lessons the hard way - than we would have been prior.} It's comforting, after feeling the effects of our suffering economy for so many months now.

At the beginning of 2009: We knew we were facing a rough year. Very tough changes were in store for us, and we knew it. There were days I just wanted to find a dark hole and stay there for a while..
As 2010 starts tomorrow: The outlook is bright. Sure, things can always change. But we're much more hopeful. And also relieved.

At the beginning of 2009: Justin was employed by a company that was obviously taking him nowhere. He'd been in sales for 6 months at that job and hadn't earned a dime in commission.
As 2010 starts tomorrow: New job since March, and we couldn't be happier with it. We're so excited Justin finished December selling $15k over his monthly goal. I'm so proud of him!

At the beginning of 2009: We were needing change on certain aspects of our marriage. Without going into detail {the inner workings of our marriage is our business, and our business only}, we were somewhat weary.
As 2010 starts: God answered the prayers on needing change. I feel we've definitely been enlightened this year. And that's all I'll say...

In the beginning of 2009: Eisley was the brightest star in our lives on earth.
As 2010 begins: Eisley is still the brightest star in our lives on earth. We're so lucky she's our daughter.

The start of 2009: Was a time of sheer anxiety and stress over my business, Lark & Lola. I wanted so badly to do the shows this year, but I was so very scared of failing.
As 2010 rings in: I'm starting a new year of shows and I *know* people like my work, and am facing this year with new confidence, better prepared, and bigger, better ideas. It's a joy.

So, you see, 2009 wasn't so bad after all. If I could go back in time and confront Heather of January 2009 I'd tell her not to worry. "There will be a lot of positive growth this year," I'd say. "So don't worry so much."

I hope this post doesn't sound too braggy. I would hate to give the impression that I want you to think our lives are perfect and we're just "oh so great". In actuality, 2009 was mostly about HUMILITY {click} for Justin and I. As for the blessings, those are God's to take credit for. And I hope, if you're having the sort of New Year that we had last year... well, I hope maybe you can find hope in my message? God takes care of His children. The rough spots in life often end up being sources of growth that, in the end, we're quite grateful to have experienced.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Happy New Year.

{The Day Eisley Had a Big Sister}

2009-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last week we had the pleasure of having Eisley's cousin, Moriah {or Mo} along with us for an outing.

Mo is so motherly and sweet to Eisley. We had lunch at the mall {see above pic, and we will return to this one in a minute}, played at Monkey Bizness, went to Costco:

{They even got to sit side-by-side in the gargantuan Costco carts. All Mo asked of us was that she get to try the samples. Fair enough.}

Finally, they conked out in the car together on the way home. How cute is this???

Mo, you can come hang with us anytime! Eisley adores her big cousin and is very entertained by her presence - which makes running errands a lot easier for all of us.

Now, I would like to return to this image {a clipping of the first photo in this post}.
We cannot, for the life of us, figure out why Eisley has black lips in this photo? Our camera has a "beauty shot" which evens out skin tone, perhaps this is the "goth mode" we didn't know about?

No, but really... she was eating apples and french fries... there is no explanation for this.

{Cue Twilight Zone theme music.}

Merry Christmas - from my family to yours!!!

2009-12-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

A Very Erickson Christmas 2009 from Heather Erickson on Vimeo.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

2009-12-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got most of our Christmas shopping done at Park Meadows.

True to my gender, I love shopping.
To Justin it was probably more of a chore.
To Eisley it was probably pretty darn boring.

Except when Daddy threw her on his shoulders and skipped around like a horsey.
That part was pretty cool.

MWAH!

2009-12-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Eisley got a letter in the mail. It was from her Great Grandma Erwin, and enclosed was some money just for her, with instructions to find her something special for Christmas.

I tucked the bills away in my purse and made a mental note to myself to think of something special Eisley would like for Christmas.

A couple days later, after a family portrait session and lunch at Aspen Grove, Justin and I spotted Build A Bear Workshop.

"Do you think that's something Eisley would like to spend her Christmas money on?" Justin asked.

"I'm not sure..." I said.

We hesitated, after all, Eisley is only 16 months old and she cannot tell us herself what she would like and what she wouldn't. But we ended up entering the colorful store anyway, just to see {we told ourselves} if Eisley reacted to anything in the store.

Justin held her up to look at all the un-stuffed bear & animal skins to see if she took to any of them. A gray kitty made her smile so we decided to go with it.

Eisley watched as the employee used a huge machine to stuff fluff into the kitty and then sewed the kitty up.

Eager to see how she would react to her new stuffed friend, we handed over the kitty and...

"MWAH!" {The air kiss noise we taught her recently.}

Eisley kissed the kitty on the face, hugged kitty, and then kept going...

"MWAH! MWAH! MWAH!"

And we didn't even prompt her. She did it on her own whim.

Any doubts we had had about Eisley being old enough to enjoy Build A Bear were long gone. It was clear she had a new, and very dear, feline friend.

We dressed kitty in a Mrs. Claus outfit for kicks, paid {Eisley's Christmas gift money was exactly enough for the experience}, and left happy.

She still kisses that kitty...

Last night we put Eisley to bed with her kitty, and heard her kiss kitty. "MWAH! MWAH!"

Again this morning, I was downstairs and heard Eisley waking up...

"MWAH! MWAH! MWAH!"

She *really* loves her Christmas gift, Grandma, thank you!

Car Rides

2009-12-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

Dear Eisenheimer,
{as your Pappa Erickson calls you}

Gone are the days of relaxed reclining in the rear-facing car seat. The lovely Chicco model we brought you home from the hospital in will go into storage until Violet or Paxton arrives {No, I am not pregnant. Yes, we have the names of the next children picked out}. This photo is not of you on the day you were born, but last week in King Soopers, where they give free cookies to the kids:
Now you ride in a forward facing seat. Much to our joy. Because unlike the day you were born, you now know how to get attention by throwing your milk, food, and toys over the edge of your seat to get attention and make the car messy. Also frustrating is driving while reaching one hand way back desperately searching for some way to stop your screaming. And finally, we can make use of that DVD player the previous owner of our car installed. If any kid deserves it, it's you, as you currently spend too much time each week riding in the car. So mom & dad are more than willing to give up listening to their new Glee CD so that you can watch Yo Gabba Gabba.

We're just SO happy your favorite show happens to be this one, and that we don't have to listen to Elmo's shrill voice or Barney talking down to children. Oh no, this we can put up with:

Love,
Mama & Jsuhshen

Yes... More Pics.

2009-11-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

All About Eisley @ 15 Months

2009-11-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Dearest Eisley,

You are about 15 months old these days. Most strangers guess that you are only around 10 months though. Your BFF, Mara, is catching up with you.

You have mommy's long eyelashes and daddy's easy-tan skin tone.

When you're upset with us, you sometimes try to claw our faces off. Don't worry, love you anyway.

The most common compliment we get on you from strangers? "She's so happy! Look at that beautiful smile!"

This is why mommy nicknamed you "Cheerful."

Auntie Bea says you look too small to be walking, and fawns over your tinyness. She is right, after all, you're only in the 5th percentile.

Dr. Heble your growth, despite being in the 5th percentile, is steady and right where it needs to be.

You chase boys and try to hug them. From this comes mommy's favorite rhyme, "Eisley Piesley in the skiesley, kiss the boys and makes them criesley."

It's true, the boys are scared of you. Well, I guess it's more that they're just little wussies, because when you smile and wave, they frown and cling to their mommy's legs. Don't ever change. Ever.

You call your father, not "Daddy", but rather a primitive version of his name, "Sjah-shen". He thinks it's cute but would rather you say "daddy". You say it because you hear me call him that.

Other word's you say a lot these days:
"Dog"
"Chase" (Pappa & Gmas dog)
"Hi"
"Bye bye"
and probably many more we just don't realize.

Oh, there's also "Sh**!" Where you got that word I have no idea... but is your word of choice. When you go downstairs each step you exclaim, "Sh**!"

We don't even say this word. You must mean something else. But it has earned us some interesting & amused looks in public.

You get over things quickly. If you get hurt you might cry for a few seconds, but you're quick to move on. I like this about you.

Trying on mommy & daddy's shoes is one of your favorite past-times these days.

You are often obedient, but sometimes you exhibit a little rebellion. Mommy can't always keep a straight & stern face when you're being naughty, but smiling so bright.

Sometimes you growl and yell ferociously. Then I call you my "Eisleyzilla."

You make our days so bright, little girl.

Love,
Mommy & "Sjuh-shen"

At the Park

2009-11-13T10:23:00.000-08:00

Eisley. Dancing.

2009-11-04T13:36:00.001-08:00

{Halloween 2009}

2009-10-31T19:49:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Doesn't Eisley look like such a child in this picture?
Anyway, second Halloween so we deaded (ha!) to...
to Gaylord Street! This is special to me because I went to this when I was a child.

Eisley was Alice. As in Wonderland. Because of her birthday. Some people this week guessed Dorothy. As in Oz. Obviously they aren't aware that Dorothy had ruby slippers. Alice had black shoes. You know?
It is so lovely to hear people oooh and aww over your baby. Makes me blush. 'Cause, well, she's my best craft project to date.Here is Eisley and Daddy trick or treating at one of the Gaylord Street shops.

And just down the street is the house I lived in as a child. So we had to visit. Unfortunately no one was home to hand out candy.
When we got home safe and sound, little Alice...
checked in on her loot.
Now that childhood is over for us, it is SO MUCH FUN to
live vicariously
through your children. What joy.

If you liked this post, leave a comment for Eisley to read someday!
{Just click right down there!}

One Year Ago

2009-10-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have yet to get Eisley's picture for Halloween 2009 so I thought I'd amuse us all with some photos from
1 year ago. Halloween 2008:

I really miss having a teenie tiny baby...

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Halloween... {I'm a total sucker for these things.}

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The House Elf

2009-10-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

WHY?

Why can't we keep up with the laundry? The piles just keep growing.

Why do the dishes never seem clean anymore? There's never a clean cup when we need a drink.

Why are Eisley's toys always strewn throughout our living spaces? Tripping us in the middle of the night if we get out of bed...

There's been a lot of extra mysterious messes around here lately.

It's the strangest thing. We clean. And then the very second we turn our backs, the room is messy again. It's... well, disturbing.

In fact, I'm beginning to suspect our home is infested.

With a house elf.

And I even think I caught it on camera the other day. Making a mess.

So tell me what you think, could this be a photo of the little elf, in my crafting room where a mess suddenly appeared out of nowhere the other day? The reason why we can't keep anything clean anymore???

Do you see it, or are we just going crazy?

New Mexico Trip Slideshow!

2009-10-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

We're back safe and sound from New Mexico! Eisley was very good and enjoyed her first trip out of state. We all wanted to stay longer. We visited Santa Fe, Chimayo, Taos, and Taos Pueblo. And Trader Joe's. Here's a slideshow, but you can also see my web album below!

NM2009

Catching Up

2009-10-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here's another Smörgåsbord for ya.

I've gotten REALLY behind on blogging. Lots to blog about, but very little time to do so. And we have some exciting things planned ahead so I'm just going to have to do a catch up blog. Here goes... I have about 7 "mini-blog posts" here.
____________________________________________________

First, we live on a farm now. With the in-laws. To save money. After a rough year. All is well, however, from way out here. Not like we're cramped in a basement or anything, too, we do have about 1,400 square foot "carriage house" to ourselves. This is especially nice in helping us ride out that first year of Justin's new & wonderful, but commission-paying, job. I love his job...
__________________________________________________

SECOND, I wrecked my ankle this week. It hurts. I was like a Californian on the Colorado winter roads: going waaaay too fast. {No offense to you lovely Californians... I just think you drive crazy sometimes. That is all.} Slipped on the ice. Twisted my ankle. So this is my view, literally as I type this. Laptop. Injured foot. Ice bag. Justin cleaning house. Because I can't. But I wish I had a less painful excuse...
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Thirdly, we're leaving Friday {with my parents} to go here:

That would be Santa Fe, NM. Which is a lovely trip in the fall. I know. I've been twice before. We're also going here:
Taos.
SO! New blog posts to come this weekend, from New Mexico! The thought of a road trip gets me giddy...
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FOURTH, you should expect more blogging about life on a farm. Like how the chickens have replaced any need for a garbage disposal:

Seriously. There was chicken and steak in there. They loved it. ___________________________________________________

Fifth, here's the new car, for those of you who have been asking what it looks like. I've had my heart set on a Volvo for a while now. And no, not because of Edward Cullen, but because - hello! Safety! For an anxiety-driven-worry-wart like myself, Volvo's amazing safety standards had me at hello...
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Sixthly {and without a picture}, I now have two jobs. The first, as you already know, is being a stay-at-home-mom. Keeps me very busy but it's also what I always wanted. The second job has become my "jobby" (my job/hobby) with Lark & Lola. I thought I'd be able to relax once the summer market was over but instead I'm finding myself drowning in orders from retailers. A good problem, yes? Except that I already work full time as a SAHM... and my intentions with L&L are to just do what I love. Make pretty things. So I need to keep it under control. I really don't want my business growing any larger than it is right now. I think being a mom is more important, and it shouldn't be put on the back burner for the sake of money. Let's see if I can hold myself to that...

But seriously, we were up until past 1am last night, finishing an order that had a deadline of this morning. I'd done 98% myself but I enlisted Justin in the final hour to help me string my garlands. {My bum leg really has held me back this week and Justin was kind enough to help.}
I'd been crafting about 15 hours, Justin about 30 minutes, when...

"I'm so glad I don't make things for a living." Justin said.

Confused, I asked, "Why? Don't you like the pleasure in completing a creation?"

"No."

"Don't you think it's fulfilling to create something with your hands?"

"No."

...pause...

"Even if you could quit your job and just stay home and make things with me?"

"No."

Meh. What can I say? It's not for everyone.
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Seventhly, I have a new project called "save up and buy furniture you love instead of settling on cast-offs." I'm starting with dining room chairs... how exciting! Like these two I got at Paris Street for a steal... I'm really into the re-vamped old furniture thing these days. Expect me to rock your world when I paint our piano one of these days.
And finally, that leads me to a promise that I will include more pictures, such as this one below of the "crafting area", of where we now live because people have been asking me. I promise, I'll get right on that in a blog post soon here...
Just as soon as Justin finishes cleaning.
;-)

hehe...

don't forget to comment below, friends.

This is Eisley

2009-09-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

As if turning one wasn't recent enough, she's almost 14 months now!

She's morphing into a little girl before our eyes. Like magic.

In the mornings she likes to eat scrambled eggs {her favorite} and then likes for us to put on Yo Gabba Gabba {also her favorite}, lower her high chair, and she climbs in and out of it while the show runs.

Eisley delighted us last month when she started rolling her arms around each other without having to be taught. It's her own little dance. We've also been able to teach her to blow kisses and give a high five {although she usually refuses to do it when put on the spot before others, making us out to be liars...}

She chats and babbles. She smiles at everyone. She loves to play with piano and softly plunks at the keys, sometimes even trying to copy my rhythm when I play a one-finger tune to inspire her.

In a room full of kids, say 19 girls and 1 boy, she will find that one boy and follow him around attempting to win him over with smiles and curious finger pointing. Yep, she's boy crazy. Watch out, Justin.

She is scared of play dough. Doesn't like the texture I think. And, no, I don't just mean that she doesn't like play dough. She actually runs from it.

Speaking of running, we're on our way. Daddy likes to chase her. See for yourself, and don't mind the mess, this is a typical Paris Street week mess for us:

Eisley, according to September.

2009-09-18T07:08:00.000-07:00

PS - Leave a comment for Eisley! Just click right down there.

We're Chillin'

2009-08-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

There's too much to do and not enough time to blog about it...
we'll be back with good stuff soon but for now we're taking it easy with the blogging.

Ya know. Just in case you thought we were abducted by aliens.

Now We Know!

2009-08-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Have you ever found yourself wondering....

"just what would Eisley look like with Brooke Shields-esque eyebrows???"

What a coincidence, SO HAVE WE!

And so now we know.

{No adorable babies were harmed in the making of this blog post.... but she might be, if you don't LEAVE A COMMENT! j/k... about the harming part. Seriously though, leave a comment.}