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Thursday, November 29, 2012

insta-update vol. 11

Matching matching squared. by miccolene Could not pass up this gem of a rodent at tj maxx clearance. #sparkly @sharkface611 by miccolene
matching matching squared/ clearance gem.
two babies, morning beverage. by miccolene Totally loving spaghetti, don\'t you think. by miccolene
breakfast beverage holding hands/ loving spaghetti

She actually wore her rain boots. I couldn\'t believe it. by miccolene Cheap jungle gym. Alternative titles include \"baby thighs for thanksgiving\" and \"oh I didn\'t see you there.\" by miccolene
rainboots!/scuse me

Life of Pi. by miccolene Is this not the cutest gift ever. Christmas came early for Lincoln @sharkface611 by miccolene
life of pi/ merry christmas linc love margo

I won\'t tell you which snowman is mine. by miccolene Drive thru. by miccolene
snowmen/ drive thru

Bipolar tree bearing fruit in December. by miccolene Size 18 month for Lincoln. #onlineorderfail by miccolene
fruit tree in december/ Linc's size 18 month coat may be slightly large.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

christmas cheer.

OH MAN I LOVE CHRISTMAS.

Jazz brought all of our bins home from storage a few weeks ago and Isabelle was so, so excited to get everything out. I waited as long as I could and then I just couldn't wait anymore. I mean, it was raining, we turned Elf on, and we got to work. Last year Isabelle was too little to "help" much, but this year she was totally into it. She unwrapped stuff and carried stuff around and put everything on one shelf of our bookshelf. She said, "wet's go get anuh-zah bucket!" (Let's go get another bucket. Has trouble with her "l'" and "th" sounds.)

We spent most of the day arranging and rearranging until she was satisfied with the ornament placement on the tree. She was careful to put the breakable ones up high "so winc doesn't get dem" and the soft ornaments low "in case winc finds dem."





Anytime anyone comes over, she takes them on a tour of all of her favorite decorations and points out the advent calendar. She seems to remember that each day = some sort of gift or treat so she is super excited about that. We were setting up all my little nativities and I gave her a little rundown of the story of Baby Jesus...afterwards she said, "But where's Santa?" I almost just stuck a plastic Santa in as the fourth wiseman and called it good but her little mind warranted an explanation. "Umm, well, we celebrate baby Jesus by getting gifts for the people that we love? And also a pretend old bearded man brings us presents through our chimney! They go hand in hand, really." So excited for the birds and the bees talk.

Also, Black Friday. Let me just say that we saw peeople camping out at Best Buy a week in advance to be the first ones in line. A WEEK. I'm sorry, but no sale is good enough for anyone to wait in the rain for a week. I wish that stores didn't open at 8 pm on Thanksgiving. Target- have you no class? No standards? Do you really want people rushing to your store before the dinner plates are cleared?

I get that they have to be competitive, and I read somewhere that from Black Friday to Christmas, stores do 40% of their yearly sales. Almost half! I get it. But if NO ONE opened before 5 am on Friday, there would be no competition. Seems so silly to have hoards of people bleary and angry at midnight trying to shove their way through Sears for a portable DVD player. I ventured out at 7 AM Friday morning after a good nights rest and I was shocked that most of the stores were deserted. Everyone had come and gone. Sales were still going, so I got almost everything that was on my list. I love Black Friday and will continue to shop it but I REFUSE REFUSE REFUSE to do any of it on Thanksgiving.  Reeeediculous.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Giving thanks.

We had Thanksgiving at my mom's house this year with some of my siblings and their kids. We really did miss the rest of our family, its hard to share holidays! Scott and JaNae came with their girls and Morgan was here with JR and baby Margo. Mom and Dad cooked all of our favorites, turkey and stuffing and all the trimmings. JaNae brought my most favorite sweet potatoes, and Morgan made homemade from scratch delicious pies- apple and banana cream with chocolate lined crust. 

I made the pies last year but since fancy Culinary School Graduate was in town I got demoted to bringing the cheeseball. A valiant contribution. Mom set a beautiful table and we had a great dinner together. Linc was napping which was a thanksgiving miracle so we all got to eat at the same time.



Going around the table, Isabelle said she was thankful for Madilyn. Best little friends.

Bingo! A new (sleepy) tradition. With prizes!

Bingo!
I give myself a C- for documenting the day, I failed to get pictures of the whole family, or really any candid pictures, or any pictures of the food. OR THE PIES. Not my best. JaNae got one of our little family though. (Thanks JaNae!)



If I could list all the things I'm thankful for, it would be too long for a blog post. In a nutshell: I'm thankful for my sweet babies for being so ridiculously cute and owning my soul. I'm thankful for my husband who provides and takes care of us. I'm thankful for the atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm thankful for things that are hard so that we are forced to learn and grow and be better. 

Hope you all had a super good thanksgiving with those you love.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Lincoln Michael 10 Months


Linc will be one in eight weeks. EIGHT WEEKS. Oh man that hurts my brain so much, he is my sweet little newborn baby and I can't believe he is growing so quickly.

This time last year I was pleasantly plump and round with baby Linc. I remember decorating for the holidays and thinking that in a years time, we would be doing everything with two kids instead of one. I really enjoy being pregnant in general and especially enjoyed being in my third trimester at Christmas time, just felt extra jolly. Love this season. This whole year feels like it has gone by quickly and here we are again, almost December.

Lincoln at ten months: He is 20.5 pounds (25-50%) and 29.75 inches long (75-90%). Size 12-18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, hates wearing socks. Linc is still the giggliest and most ticklish baby I know. When he laughs he says, "tee-hee-hee-hee" with this silly old man wheeze. He loves 'this little piggy' and 'patty cake',  laughs every time. That, and any word that starts with Z, we can always get him to smile that way. His favorite foods are rice with applesauce, oatmeal, sweet potato cubes and any sort of puff that he can pick up by himself. OH mandarin oranges hold the key to his heart, he literally eats an entire can at a time. He is starting to resist me spoon feeding him- he just wants to do it himself.



Not happy I wanted him to sit still. Surprise.
If there is one thing I want to remember about Lincoln at this age- it is that he loves his sister and she loves him. He wants to do whatever she is doing, eat what she eats, play what she plays. He is obsessed with Olivia still and we have to put her up high so he doesn't chew her to death. The other day Lincoln woke from his nap before Isabelle did, and as soon as I set him down on the floor he crawled directly to her room and sat by her door. She can always make him laugh, she pats him on the head like a little dog, and she likes to pretend chase him. They love to play in her tent together, or "jump" on beds at the same time.

But where is Isabelle?





We call him 'slinky' because he is super fast and if you aren't careful he will be gone before you know it.. Crawling like a pro, pulling to a stand, and walking around furniture. I bet he will be walking by his birthday which is just so exciting! His favorite toys are any balls that he can push around or chew on. He is holding strong at 8 teeth and I can't tell if more are coming in or if he just loves to chew on stuff. 

Matching matching squared. by miccolene
Twinners.
Lincoln has always been a pretty good sleeper, but with his recent ear infection we are still getting back on schedule again, especially for his naps. Would rather sleep in my arms than in his bed which is so cuddly and cute especially when he is all cozy in a sleep sack but also mama gets nothing done. When he is tired or wants my attention he comes and crawls over my feet back and forth like a cat until I give him the attention he wants and pick him up. I am dying for him to say mama and he is babbling a lot but nothing definite. 

His hair is darker! Can you tell? I'm thrilled at the potential of having a blue eyed dark haired baby boy. Maybe he has some of my dna after all...



Christmas reindeer sweater! I thought dressing a boy would be somehow less "fun" than a girl since they are missing major frilly accessories but I love picking out his outfits. Stripes? Grey? Preppy little sweaters pulled over a button up? Yes, yes, and yes. I decided I dress Linc how I would dress as a boy, and I dress Isabelle how I would dress if I had my dream figure. It's like real life paper dolls.

Yep, I have my holiday stuff up. Judge me if you want but I get to see sparkly lights at night and listen to Christmas music while you are staring blankly outside at the rain. Deck the halls, my friends. 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

cousins.

Back in October, my sisters both came for a visit. It happened to coincide with Isabelle's birthday party which was SO SO fun to have them here.

Madilyn, Isabelle, Kira, Lincoln, Margo





Monday, November 12, 2012

insta-update vol. 10

Best day ever. by miccolene Should have been Dracula today. by miccolene
best day ever/ dracula

Laundry day. by miccolene #whileoneissleeping by miccolene
laundry day/ while one is sleeping

Sleepy bye . by miccolene
best cousin friends (this one kills me.)

Good morning. by miccolene \"Do I look fancy?\" by miccolene
good morning/ "do I look fancy"

#finally by miccolene Everyone is happy when baby sleeps. by miccolene
finally fall/ this face

Just a little hot tubbing. by miccolene Untitled by miccolene
late night hot tubbing/ perfect day

Thursday, November 8, 2012

the good, the bad, the ugly.

So.

Lincoln is having a grumpy week. I told my mom that he is either teething or else growing horns because hot potato the kid can not make up his mind. He is SO cute and kissable and then also he wants me to simultaneously hold him and put him down so he can be free but PICK ME UP he says with his sad face. Last night after dinner, me and Iz ran to TJ Maxx to return some pants and eyeball the new Christmas stuff. (Me: "Jazz, do you like these pants on me?" Jazz: Long pause, "....ummmmm.") She carried around a clearance back scratcher as we wandered the aisles and it reminded me of when we only had one child. Remember that? One kid! More sleep! We had kind of a busy day and were in and out of the car quite a bit. So much, that I counted 38 times I buckled or unbuckled a car seat. This is my life, people. Car seat buckles.

\"Oh you wanted me to NAP?\" by miccolene
Hi, I'm not napping.

Tomorrow is the day I start big time better eating/losing baby weight. Linc is finished nursing, he will be ONE in eight weeks (!!!) and so I have no excuse as to why I'm still chunky. I'm looking forward to shedding some of this so I can feel better and fit back into my clothes. It takes me a long time, I don't "bounce back" like a lot of women. Part of the territory I guess. I got all my grocery shopping done and I'm ready to go. Feels good.

Also, I know we discuss this every year but seriously can I put Christmas up yet? Not quite? We don't have Thanksgiving dinner at my house, so I don't feel like we need to hold out for that. Every one says take time to be grateful and count blessings before getting all commercial and red and green glitter but I think I can totally be thankful for my shiz while admiring a sparkly Christmas tree. Just a thought. Isabelle asks everyday, "Is it time to put Christmas up yet?" That's m'girl. She also made a hilarious Christmas list that said "Slippers, slippers for Grandma, sparkly shoes, new hair for Olivia, a big book for Charlotte and a small book for me, dinosaurs, a new tiny tree for baby Linc." She is my favorite girl ever.

Speaking of sparkles, I figured out how to use the shellac nail polish system with GLITTER. Like, regular Martha Stewart craft glitter. Thanks to a half off Michael's coupon, I now own 24 sparkly shades for $14. I'm obsessed...come over and we can do them together. See,

DIY shellac glitter nails. I\'m obsessed. by miccolene

A final note: daylight savings is stupid. Benjamin Franklin, I want to punch you in the throat. I thought maybe we could move to Arizona, but it is too hot there. Canada maybe? Too cold. We eat dinner when it is dark and then my body says its time for bed but really we have to entertain the babies for two more hours. Twice a year our schedules get way out of whack and we have to shift our lives an hour JUST to do it again six months later.

A final final note: The electoral college is frustrating. 

Saturday, November 3, 2012

rockabye

Tonight after a super busy and satisfying day, I got to rockabye little Lincoln. He was so heavy and tired and sleepy, all fuzzy and warm in his sleep sack. Full and happy from a late snack and milk. He batted at my face and I nibbled his fingers until he was too tired to keep his eyes open and his breathing slowed into a deep sleep. Eventually his paci fell out and his mouth popped open, just like Isabelle's used to do as a baby. I stayed an extra minute in the rocking chair and tried to record all the details of that moment- how he felt in my arms, his warm body, the sound of the humidifier, the darkness of the room. I tried to memorize how his body fit into mine, across my chest and nestled into my arms like a puzzle piece.

If someone could invent a way to record physical memories, I would pay big money to be able to rockabye my babies far longer than they can fit in my arms. How I love to rockabye my sleepy babies.


As long as as I'm living my baby you'll be.