Marc does. He is a dead ringer for a younger Alec Baldwin. You know Alec when he was cute back in the "Hunt for Red October" and not so much the heavier, older Alec. Although if you ever watch any Alec Baldwin show it is a bit like watching Marc on the screen. Kinda freaky, really.
When I was younger I used to get told all the time that I looked like Molly Ringwald. Remember her? Sixteen Candles, red head, total 80's icon... ya, her.
Anyway, I laugh because my kids all have look-alikes...
eachother...
Seriously, I am going to have to label all of Sister's and Baby's pictures they look so much alike. Lucky for Brother he is the only boy so it's pretty easy to tell his photos from the girls. I bring this up because I was just looking at a picture thinking it was Baby and realized it is actually Sister at Baby's age. Here. Look.
Amazing how much they look alike!
Well, my brother, Daniel might be having a similar experience this summer because he and his wife, Tynelle, just found out they are having twins! Surprise!
At least my twins came 4 years apart so I didn't have to paint toe nails to tell them apart...
The complete and utter joy Baby gets from the name, R2D2!
This is at my mom's house and Baby actually kept having fun while I was filming... that lets you know just how much fun she was having because, usually, she stops to make me put away the camera.
I just had to show you the sense of humor Baby has and how hard she laughs just from hearing a word. I also love hearing her little stutter when she tries to say "R2D2."
You also get to hear her say her famous line, "You're funny."
Enjoy!
(And for those of you who keep asking what my "UP" was each day, this was definitely an "UP")
Ya, some of you who know Marc now and not a few years ago may not realize what a cowboy he is (or man who enjoys riding horses and driving cattle as Marc may make me clarify). We still have 3 saddles with all the horse tack just hanging around until we get invited to ride someone else's horses.
In fact, Brother an Marc used to go horse riding quite a bit. Brother loves and misses his horses. These pictures are from 2010:
So, as you may have guessed, I have been reminiscing through my old blog posts and photos and some brought me to tears, some made me laugh and some made me think "Why in the world did I write about that?"
But this one is one I just had to share again because it reminded me of my cowboys and what it was like when we had horses. Made me miss the horses and made me miss J.R. a bit, who in this post is referred to as "12" (because of his age at the time). And it was just J.R.'s 17 birthday so I thought this was appropriate to post.
So, here is an old post way back from October 1, 2008:
Cattle Drive, Bull Story and a Horse Ride
OK, this should be one of the funner posts that I have put up lately so read on.
First I will start with the story that everyone around here has been talking about... it's on the video:
And here are some of the awesomely beautiful pics Marc got:
Blue lookin' good, getting ready to go.
Some of the cows they brought in.
Marc was enjoying the scenery.
Andy was lookin' good out on that horse cutting (separating) the cows, he has been painted by Jim Norton many times.
It was a beautiful starry night. They had hamburgers and dutch oven cookin' after the first drive that night out in the open. They really had a great time around the campfire, listening to the crackle of it, and the cows nearby.
The next morning, 12 got up to help cook breakfast for himself and Marc. Isn't he a cute cook?
12 rides like a real cowboy!
Beautiful desert ride.
Cows in a line being driven.
Blue had gotten a sore leg from the day before from running after the bulls. It was decided that 12 would stay back at camp while Marc went out for one of the last drives of the cattle. Marc took some video from the horse view of part of the cattle drive.
The following Monday Marc went on a lone horse ride--here are some pics. Lucky cowboy!
The last day of making it known to all the world (my small, tiny world of readers) how it is going as I try to look for the "UP" in every day.
I wish I could have some big finale ending here, but it's not...
Really, it is only the start of a continual journey to being better, being stronger and being happier.
I wish I could say that it only takes 7 days to pull oneself out of depression.
The blues, probably, but not depression.
So, I have to look at this week as the beginning of my uphill journey.
Notice, I don't call it a battle, because I don't want to be fighting for happiness every day.
I want to journey.
To me a journey is taking in the scenery along the way and letting it become part of you, taking small jaunts off the beaten path to discover something wonderful hidden in the valleys, stopping for a while just to soak in the sunshine, rain, wind or smells that surround you and greeting and meeting passersby who can become a big part of your life, or just a happy memory.
That's what I want, an uphill journey to happiness, because that is how I'm going to keep it with me is by searching it out and treasuring every tiny spark of happiness that I find along the way.
If I call it an uphill battle then I have all my armor and walls up so that I can keep from being hurt, seen, or touched.
Journey.
Yep, I like that word.
So, my "UP" for today is that I am finally able to accept that depression is real but, I refuse to let it take control of me for so long that I forget how to take the journey of happiness.
My other "UP" was that there was, again, extra spots at Friday's Kids for respite and Marc and I got to go out again!
And a song I splurged on today on iTunes (a whole $1.28) that I am sure you have heard, I kept on repeat because I love the meaning of it. I usually don't like Jason Mraz, but this is my song and my inspiration today...
And one of my new favorite pins...
Enjoy your UPs and know that I will be continuing to find mine every day.
At 1:30 in morning when your 3-year-old wakes up you just hope that after a sippy cup of milk she goes back to sleep for the rest of the night.
At 3:30 in the morning when you 7-year-old wakes up you just hope that after you comfort her fears of monsters in the dark that she will go back to sleep for the rest of the night.
At 4:30 in the morning when your 7-year-old still has not gone back to sleep and is laughing hysterically at something she found and the iPod you are too drowsy to actually get up and do anything about it.
At 5:00 in the morning when your 7-year-old is still giggling even after 2 groggy prompts from her parents bedroom to be quiet you bring out the Melatonin and wait for it to kick in so you can get a few hours of sleep.
At 7:03 in the morning when you wake up in a rush because you slept in because of the afore mentioned incidents you try not to trip over your robe as your throwing it on, avoid running in the walls because you still are not quite awake and carefully feel for each step as you go down the stairs to your 13-year-olds room to get him quickly ready for the bus.
At 7:25 when the bus arrives for the 13-year old you open the door and signal to them that he will be coming as soon as you can shove his granola bar and meds down him on the way out.
At 7:49 when your co-leader of the Fragile X Association of Utah calls in panic because she is being interviewed on the radio and needs some direction you hope that you can give her enough insight in the few minutes you have before your 7-year-olds bus comes. (I don't think I was much help...)
At 7:53 when the other bus arrives for your 7-year-old you happily send her out the door and hope that the teacher has fun with her after a night of sporadic sleep.
At 8:00 you stand at the top of the stairs watching the bus leave wondering if you should be productive while the 3-year-old sleeps or just crawl back into bed and set your alarm for 15 minute intervals tricking your brain into only taking a cat nap when in fact you plan on setting it for 15 minutes at least 4 times.
The 15 minute cat nap times 4 won.
I'm actually kind of ashamed to say it but when the depression has a hold on you it is hard to avoid the mind numbing abyss of sleep.
Luckily, my sister Kirsten called and it gave me motivation to only set the catnap alarm twice because she was coming for a visit.
Woo hoo!
So I exercised for a whopping 20 minutes (man that's embarrassing to admit too--oh well, I excercised!)
"UP!"
When I came upstairs I heard the squeaking of Baby's rocking horse and came to greet her with a huge "Good morning!" and a massive smile like a do every morning and she gave me a huge grin right back.
We do this little routine pretty much EVERY morning, but this morning, I knew it was going to my "UP!" of the day! It's times when I am looking for every little sliver of happy that these kind of moments hit me like a wall, smack me right in nose to remind me of how wonderful my life really is. She is so happy that I am the first person she typically sees every morning and she acts as if it is the most exciting thing every time! I love it!
"UP!"
Then my sister came to visit and I was able to treat her to one of my favorite lunch salads -- spinach with raspberry vinaigrette with sliced almonds, dried cranberries, chopped apples and feta cheese... mmmm mmm! We were able to talk and vent and just talk.
"UP!"
I even got a call from my sister-in-law, Chelsea and our sister, Jessie while Kirsten was there with me and when Kirsten was leaving she reminded me that I am loved because everyone calls me for advice or to just tell me good news.
Awe! I hadn't really thought about how special is it that my siblings and siblings-in-law rely on me. I am loved and needed. Whoa!
"UP!"
Baby has also been talking a lot more. Like today Marc was teasing her and was being a monster and had some paper in his mouth that she wouldn't pick up and she grabbed it out of his mouth and said, in her way, "NO Dad. Not in your mouth!" Are you kidding me? She is all of a sudden saying full on sentences that actually mean something.
Brother was a lot like that where he wouldn't do anything for a while and then BAM! he was talking in sentences.
"UP!"
And tonight they had 3 open spots at the volunteer respite night (Friday's Kids) and we were able to go on another date! We even got to meet up with our friends for ice cream!
"UP!"
I think even all this positive thinking is giving me some relief of my back pain, so if that's was it takes to get some relief from that, I am all over this.
I got thinking too, about one of my favorite sayings:
Oh, there is SO much truth in that one!
(And for my way to give an "UP!" today, you can use this quote
as a free printable if you so desire. I think I'm going to hang it up in my house...)
I got bad news about being denied for help we need for the kids so that was a bummer that seems to have frustrated me for the rest of the day. I mostly get frustrated because I see people with one child receiving help and I can't seem to get help for my 3... OK, enough complaining about how the government functions, I don't want to get down again...
BECAUSE, there was some "UP."
My mother and father-in-law, Lynne and Gary, came to visit for a bit and I was able to vent to them a little. You know it helps a sometimes to complain a little... so I guess they got to hear my complaints and they still love me. They even said so when they left (smile).
And Lynne is quite handy when it comes to sewing and was able to fix Marc's coat with some new buttons. It looks great! Marc will be so happy, so that makes me happy, which is another "UP."
Hey, did you know that it is physically impossible to not feel happiness when you smile for a while, even if you are forcing it. It has something to do with chemicals that the muscles in your smile produce... some scientific jargon, but, I know it works.
Look, here's proof:
Tee hee! I think my eyes were still trying to catch up with my smile...
now I'm trying really hard...
I mean how can you not feel happier after smiling that big for that long... I mean, I was really trying hard! Look at the last one, my neck is going to pop from smiling so big! Sheesh!
Today started off great and then it was as if I got tired of trying to find all the "UPs."
I don't know, I have to be honest don't I? Yes, let's say I do.
Maybe it just wears me out staying upbeat when the downbeat is just so heavy.
But, I was still able to find the "UPs!!"
Applause... and then awe...
So after having to pick up Baby from school as soon as her bus dropped her off at school because of school policy being that if your child throws up at school you can't send them back for 24 hours, I took her to Costco with me.
Side note: Yes I have let her teacher know that I know that yesterday was just a panic attack or some kind of crazy Fragile X loose connective tissue issue, BUT for this first time and the fact that she is on an antibiotic for a strep skin infection the are leaning on the side of caution.
Side note 2: Yes, I had to take her to Costco. We needed milk. I was desperate. OK, I wasn't desperate. It was already in the plan and I didn't want to deviate from the plan.
OK, so at Costco I pulled out all the stops! My purse is loaded for such occasions.
The sucker worked for the first 5 minutes. I am rushing through the store to get back in time for Brother and Sister's buses so when she starts to whine again I quickly pull out the M&M's... yes, it was that bad... I broke out the M&M's.
Now all mom's know that M&M's and kids don't mix. You know the old saying, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands." That's all bologna! I was wearing a beige jacket... hmmm... anyway at the checkout line and on her second fun-sized packet of M&M's the unthinkable happened.
She dropped one.
On the floor.
The floor of Costco.
The screaming ensued.
But, I am no dummy.
I knew how important it was that we find the stray M&M and get it back to her pronto.
I ignored the stares of every mom (there were at least 3) staring at me as I followed Baby's shaky, yet pointing, finger and saw the blue M&M which laid lonely on the floor. I paused for a moment as I watched a 6 foot plus man gingerly, but not purposely step over it. I ignored the motherly stares and ran to pick it up before it was squashed.
As I picked it up and approached Baby crying with slight relief at this point seeing that I had it in my hand, I noticed the 3 pairs of eyes staring at me in sheer terror hoping but not daring to think about what I was about to do.
So in order to put their minds at ease, I breathed on the M&M, like you would a pair of sunglasses, wiped it off on my already M&M'd jacket, smiled at all of them yet none of them and placed it happily in Baby's chubby fingers.
I am still getting a chuckle out of that one!
UP!
I made a to-do list to help me feel better as I was able to check things off and even added things to make it look better that some of them were not checked off. (Make sure you notice things that I add just so that I can check them off... that's my favorite part of lists)
UP!
Baby was trying to add to my list... bless her heart
Lastly, my mom and dad came to visit us tonight after they had been to an art show. My mom took a picture of her favorite painting.
It made me laugh.
UP!
I wish she could remember who the artist was so I could give them credit, but, alas, there is no name. If anyone knows tell me and I will give credit where credit is due.
Have a good night everyone and may you dream of sweet, blue M&M's rolling around on Costco floors...
Today would have been a bad day if I had let the negative side of me do the talking.
I woke up feeling sick from a pain medicine I took for my back and mulled through getting the kids off to school before going back to bed until 11am.
Baby threw up at school. I was hoping it was going to be that she had the flu... but no, she is following in Sister's footsteps and having her first panic attack at age 3. Bring on the panic pukes!
Marc had to work overtime and I was feeling overwhelmed by the kids until he got hom at 6:30.
But, guess what!!!
I had an "UP" day anyway. There were several things that were "UP" so I can't help but say the whole day was "UP."
Can it be that looking for the positive for only 3 days has scared the depression cloud away?
I don't know, but I'm hanging on to this hot air balloon of "UP" if it keeps the cloud away!
Even though I was feeling sick this morning, my dear friend came and cleaned my bathrooms and kitchen... drum roll please.... .... .... while I slept!
What?
Yes!
That's the kind of friends I have!
You know what?
She does this every week! Ya, every Tuesday! She's a saint!
After waking up from the dizziness of the medicated blur my back is feeling a million times better! Ya! I can actually sit without having stabbing pains!
It's a miracle!
And, because of my positive attitude I am not going to fall apart (too much, OK, I got discouraged for a few hours) about Baby starting in on the panic attacks. NO, I don't like my children having panic attacks, but I am so relieved to know what it is. When Sister started these at three I would pick her up from school several times a week because I thought she kept getting sick.
Knowledge is power! And that's what I'm going with today.
Oh, and guess what another "UP" was?
Go on guess?
...
...
OK, I'll tell you! Baby walked into the kitchen all the way from her bedroom, came to the fridge got my attention and said "I want some bread."
!!!!!!
What?!!!
Plain as day, "I want some bread." Another miracle. There was no repeating, no perseverating... just plain, old requesting. (So I don't keep the bread in the fridge, but hey, I'm being positive here.) She even ate the whole slice of bread when I gave it to her.
Then I went to our Relief Society Activity tonight and it was so much fun. I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my legs... Ha! OK, not quite that hard but it is one of the quotes that I laughed the hardest at from our inspirational speakers tonight! Loved it! Loved it! But, I did laugh hard. Very hard. Maybe that is why my whole day was "UP." I refuse to be down after laughing and enjoying time with friends and those I hope will soon be my friends!
Oh, and I just had to create this image because, well, it will always remind me of this night and I know that my Relief Society friends will LOVE it! Sorry if you weren't there, but just picture the awkwardness of a high school talent show, bright pink leotard and a stage that you thought you could leap back onto, all in front of the coolest guys in school!
This is for you, Tanya!
Oh, and to top this whole day off, when I came down here to post my "UPs" I heard some talking coming from Brother's room. I was getting upset thinking that he was up watching movies on his iPod. When I walked in he was sound asleep with his scriptures reading aloud to him. He's in chapter 11 of Genesis...
OK, if any of you were brave enough to read my post a few days back you will know that the dark cloud of depression has ransacked my life.
Well, being the positive person that I need to be and try to be I am going to take you on a journey with me.
I want to post everyday this week something positive in my life and see if it will help me to not focus so much on the negative.
Now, I am not saying that I won't be honest about how I am feeling, I'll let you know that too, I am just hoping that thinking positive will bring positive. It may just be a photo that makes me smile and it may be a sentence because I don't want to commit to too much just in case it starts to overwhelm me. (See how I work.)
OK, so let me tell you my "up" for yesterday.
It's actually what gave me this idea because it made me so happy to think that some small thing I did had a positive impact.
For church Brother has a great Sunday School Teacher who really tries hard to include him in their class goals and let me know what the challenge is for each week. Well, she had sent me a message letting me know that their challenge was to read the scriptures each day during the week. I wasn't sure quite how to approach this with Brother because he really HATES to read. He likes to read little things, but definitely NOT books. He just gets overwhelmed.
Well, on his iPod he has a scripture APP and I thought that would be fun for him instead of an actual book. He chose to start in the Old Testament in Genesis Chapter 1. OK. So I started reading, and then I had an impression to show him the option to have the scriptures read out loud to him by the APP instead of by me as he followed along. We listened to the first chapter together and I was so excited to hear that the narrator had a British accent. Brother LOVES accents, and especially British ones at that.
Well, here is the "up." Last night he was in his bed reading/listening to the scriptures independently!
UP!!!!!
Success. He had an interest, if only for one night, because of something I showed him!
Sweet.
Now the "up" for today... that is a bit harder because I was being very negative today.
But, tonight my little sister and her family showed up to give me a flower, Marc a candy bar and the kids some gummy candies.
UP!!!
It's always nice to get gifts from people who love you.
But I have 2 "ups" for today because as I was downloading pictures from mine and Marc's phones I smiled as I looked at these:
A picture Marc took after Sister told him "you're a good can holder Daddy." (He was holding her drink while she did something.)
Baby making a face for Daddy
The picture Marc took on our date night last Friday
Marc and Baby hanging out in our bed this morning.
I don't want to be a downer for too long, so here are some great pictures from my childhood I just have to share.
They make me happy just looking at them.
Any of you ladies out there born in the 70's remember those yarn bows? I love those so much! And here Jessie and I are in some more hand-me-downs that my mom sized down for us. She was amazing!
And look at us on our swingset and my mom out there with us and my dad taking pictures. My mom looks so hot in her outfit... and I mean beautiful hot!
This is taken on the same day as the top photo. I LOVED my dad's polka-dot hat. It was how we picked him out of a crowd. It was his signature hat. Every time I drew my dad he always had a polk-dot hat on. And look at Daniel... love his cheeks!
Jessie loved to wait at for the bus with me. The bus stopped right in front of our house on the corner. That was always nice on snowy days. My mom always had our hair curled or braided. She took good care of us... but, I am guessing that the outfit Jessie has on was not one Mom picked out. Love it, though, Jessie!
Ah, yes, a short jaunt down memory lane to cheer me up. Thanks Dad for taking these so many years ago and thanks to Joel for taking pictures of the slides so we can actually post them.
So, I think I have shared a picture like this before, of the snow that starts to fall off our roof.
This particular "hangover" is actually quite a common one. It starts to fall, freeze, melt, fall, freeze, melt and this is what ends up happening. The icicles look like they are trying to hang on for dear life to keep the snow up. If you look closely you can see that one of these icicles is actually pressing into the window pane.
Now we all know that there is no way that those icicles are going to be able to hold that huge mound of snow up on that rooftop.
When a couple feet of snow accumulates on a roof, melts, freezes, melts and falls off of a metal roof it makes for quite the occurrence. Sometimes I'll be upstairs and I can hear a low rumble and then "BOOM!!!!!" the snow falls to the ground. Even with the warning of the rumble, the snow falling to the porch in a heap scares me everytime--not just because of the sound but it actually shakes the house. Sometimes I am actually amazed at the weight our porch can handle when I see the piles of heavy snow that have fallen.
I have decided that snow is not the only thing to fall around here.
I think it is finally my time to go "BOOM!!!!"
I've been hanging on for as long as I can under the pressures I face.
I've even been putting out little braces (like the icicles) to hold me up... but as we all know that is usually just temporary.
I've been trying go have "me" time and date nights, and even doing service for others in order to forget about myself.
But, I guess sometimes snow just has to fall.
And sometimes it falls hard.
I think that many people have a false sense of my life and what it is like because of my tendency to keep a happy face through all that happens. I don't think I really realized that until my good friend, Orva, told me with great concern that she was worried that I try too hard to hide the tough stuff I go through.
Maybe all the death in my family is hitting me.
Maybe the diagnosis of my nephew having Fragile X.
Maybe it is the 3 children of my own that have Fragile X.
Maybe my thyroid is out of whack!
Maybe my depression and anxiety is not controlled by my meds as well as I had hoped.
Maybe the fact that I have gained some of the weight back that I have lost is weighing on me too. (Ha! Pun, very much, intended.)
Whatever it all is, I need to put it out there, for all of you to read.
Why?
Because it helps me to write and I hope that when I write honestly about how I feel it will help someone else in the same situation or having the same feelings to see that they are not alone.
I am swimming... no... floating... nope... drowning in a sea of overwhelmingness. Is that a word? Must be, because it didn't highlight for spellchecking.
I am not meeting the needs of my kids.
Not all of them anyway.
I am in that state of numbness and dazed awareness of my depression and can't seem to pull myself into the world of sensory that my children need to live in constantly. But, part of the reason for my numbness is because I never feel like I am doing enough even when I am doing what I can. My kids seem to be falling apart around me.
Watching Sister's anxiety and how it consumes her life is a tough thing to witness. I wish I had the words to explain what it is like to watch her body becoming tense and nervous just because it isn't Thursday yet, or the decisions of what she wants for Christmas (a whole year ahead), or what kind of birthday cake she wants for her birthday (in 8 months!) or if her friend is going to be at school next week, or the week after or next year. I have a picture schedule for her everyday and even put up a calendar in her room yesterday, but it doesn't seem to be enough to calm her anxiousness.
Baby is 3 and NO WHERE near being even slightly interested in potty training. Heck, I can't even get her to calm down enough for her to understand that when she has an empty sippy cup and I take it away to fill it, that she will actually get it back. Sometimes Baby throws such HUGE tantrums for reasons I can't possibly understand or even figure out, but know that it would help so much if she could at least speak her needs. She talks, really, she does. Everyone who is around her, knows that. I just wish it wasn't always repetative or without purpose or reason most of the time.
I know I am struggling because I almost cried the other day when I witnessed a three year old actually tell his mom what he was wanting to do and asking her for help. It was almost like a slap in the face. Why? Why does it hurt me to see the typical development of someone else's child? I should be happy for them, not jealous.
But, when I am barely hanging on and close to the edge of going crazy, I guess that's what happens. I wallow in my misery.
Brother is at this horrible and awkward stage of teenager-ness. My heart goes out to him. As if being a teenager with hormones and feelings all over the place isn't hard enough, add the fact that he is mentally and emotionally incapable of even expressing anything he is going through. He doesn't even understand what he is going through. I know that many of you feel that same way about your typically developing teenager, but it's not the same thing. Let me explain it like this. If you have an 8 year old or know one, imagine that young boy going through puberty and junior high. Ya. 'Nough said.
Then there's that heavy weight of knowing that I shouldn't feel this way, I know better, I have resources to help me, I am surrounded by friends and family always willing to help... so why am I down? Why can't I just let it all go and accept the help and just be humble about it.
I can't seem to shake the pressure of raising the children I was given without having to have everyone else around me do it for me. I feel inadequate and insufficient. I want to, so badly, to not feel guilt when people help me voluntarily or when I ask people to help me.
I feel the pressure of not meeting my kids needs, but also not being able to even help them excel, possibly, beyond what they, or I, think their potential might be.
Marc, I know, feels the same way I do a lot of times. We are both struggling. It is such a weight on our marriage and our relationship and us as individuals. We often don't feel good enough to have been given such a challenge as this. It can be disheartening when neither of us feel up to par to meet the challenges before us.
I have the additional challenge of leading the Fragile X Association of Utah and it gets very overwhelming for me sometimes when I feel the additional pressure that I am not doing enough to help families affected by Fragile X much in the same way I am. I want to reach out. I want to empower. I want to educate. But, how can I do all that when I can't even seem to keep my kids on the better side of OK.
I have a happy and joyous outlook, normally, I guess that all the issues my kids are going through all at once is really starting to take it's toll.
I feel the edge of my sanity and I'm afraid I am going to fall with a huge BOOM!
So, in my scratching my way back to the top I want to share this with you because it helps me to remember that my burdens can be lightened if I let them be.
I love so much, that in this day and age, we can take pictures anywhere and anytime.
The saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words" really seems to hold fast in this day because we really do use them so often to tell our stories.
I just have a bunch of pictures on my phone that I just had to share because they make me smile laugh.
Marc and I were sitting and having hot chocolate one night after the kids were in bed and I saw a random googley eye sitting on the table from one of the kids school art projects... so obviously, I stuck it to my head and took a picture!
Baby has learned to get up on a chair to get to what she wants. This is what her face looks like after she gets into her strawberry milk mix and eats it straight from the canister.... mmmmmmm. This has been her snack of choice when I inadvertantly leave it on the counter. Ho hum, someday I will be better at getting things put away immediately after use...
Yaya wanted to color with the big girl cousins but really wanted to feel big so she grabbed a really big "crayon." Too bad it didn't work like a crayon... (it is a water squirter—don't ask why it was hanging around my mom's house in the middle of the winter, I don't know)
I was so excited when both Brother and Sister wanted to participate in games at a family party! Sister needed my help figuring out how to suck the candies to the straw and getting them to the bowl... we came close to the win! Brother had a ball trying to throw marshmallows into Daddy's mouth... I think he got 6!
This how Lindsey, Brother and Sister protect themselves from the stench of changing Baby's diapers. And trust me, they aren't too crazy for doing it either! Thanks, Lindsey for the picture!
Out on a quick date just before New Year's.
We set up our two favorite people on a date that night too and we just had to go to Blickenstaff's to have fun like kids. I told Lindsey to put on those glasses so she would look more like her date and I was laughing because Bryan looks like John Lennon! Just sayin'
Lindsey, Bryan and Marc were so good to let me take pictures of them for my own sake of laughter! And, yes, Marc really was getting into character. I laughed because Bryan's pharoah had was too small and Lindsey's was, well, too big. Tee hee!
I had to get in on the action. I didn't want anyone to mistake Lindsey and I for twins so I turned my glasses upside down...
Here we are as our true selves... me as dazed and Marc as the puppet master! Ha ha!
On New Year's Eve we got invited to our friends Amanda and Travis and we partied hard (with sparkling cider) and Brother had a blast with his friends!
I laugh at this picture, not because my bedroom is a disaster area, that is just sad... but, because my attempts at taking a self portrait just never work out thank goodness I get paid to take pictures of other people. By the way, I took this picture so I could send it to my mom and prove to her that the skirt that she bought for Sister for Christmas does, indeed, fit me, therefore I shall take it over. And don't get any ideas, I am not as skinny as Sister. The lady who made it must have gotten happy with the elastic (smile)
I love that Brother was smiling so hard about me sending a picture of his new hair cut to his grandma Judy that his eyes are all squinched up. He does that a lot and I love it!
Joslin got sick with a fever on Thursday and our dear little friends J.J. and Juju wanted to make her get well cards to cheer her up. I know they cheered me up! The drawings are my favorite. Precious.
And even though Juju and J.J. hoped no one else would get it, Sister, indeed, did. I was sending my mom this picture so that she could see how my day on Friday had been with both sick girls cuddled in my lap most of the day. You can see that Sister is making sure to let Grandma know how sick she feels. Baby, however, just loves the snuggling.
