Aloha!

Woo, woo! Look at Millie.

Aloha. My mom brought this outfit back from Hawaii for Millie. Doesn't she make the funniest Hula girl ever?! It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Ivy is nearly 6 months old and just as cute as ever. I am so happy that she is finally getting chubby.

I think she looks like a little porcelain doll here. So angelic and I love her hair.

My brother and sisters say that Ivy looks like a little Asian baby. I can really see it in this picture. Don't you love the pig tales?

One day Millie was bored so I loaded her up the the stroller and we went for a shopping spree around our house. Each room was a different "store" and we made a purchase at each. Her favorite pretend purchase was a dress, so I decided to really take her shopping and got this princess dress, which she absolutely loves. She insisted that we also get some accessories. The drive home nearly killed her. She wanted so badly to don her spoils.

I love when I find Millie playing mommy. It just warms my soul.

I made a trip down to Manti last month for my niece's baptism. Whenever we siblings all get together my mom insists on a photo-op. This is one of the best ones yet. Notice: no on is crying! Left to right: Deanna, me, Alexis, Max, Chris, Mandie, Ariel.

Who's Who?

I just thought it would be fun to compare Millie and Ivy. I didn't realize how much more hair Ivy has. Lucky girl. And wow, Millie was a chubber!

I love my girls.

Feels Like Spring (Finally!)

It was so weird to have Easter in March this year.

It feels like it should be this weekend instead. So with that in mind, here are a couple of pictures of Easter Sunday. This is the first year that Millie didn't get a new dress for Easter, but she didn't mind. She loves this one. Mark and I got it for her last year during a trip to Jackson Hole for our anniversary. It's a size 24 month, but it's still plenty big. Ivy's dress is like-wise too big, so I'm hoping it will fit her all summer.

Here is Ivy with Snowflake. Does anyone remember Millie's Smoochie? Well she loved that bear so much that we wanted the same thing for Ivy and gave her this bear for Christmas.

This was the first weekday in a long time in which Millie actually wore something other than pajamas. I was so excited that I had to document it.

Isn't this photo darling? I had to be quick though because Millie kept running away. We went to Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center a couple of weeks ago. As we were leaving I realized I had only taken one picture of Millie (with an Alpaca I think) since it was difficult to wield a camera and hold a baby (Mark had his arms full keeping Millie from taking off). So while Mark was putting Ivy in the car seat to go home I snapped a few pictures of Millie playing in the parking lot. Good thing it was a cute parking lot :) And in case you're wondering I straightened Millie's hair with a flat iron that day and that's a heart painted on her cheek.

House No. 678

Welcome to our new home. A few people have (OK, just one person has) requested to see the house we recently moved into so here is a mini tour of the place.

This is a shot taken from upstairs. I love my front door and the french doors to the office.

Here is the formal living room, it faces the office across the hall. We just got this swanky leather couch before we moved. I wish you could see it better. Now I would like to get a cool mirror to hang above it on the wall.

As you can see, we are very short on furniture! One day I would love to have a console table to display things on.

My favorite room in the house is the master bathroom -- complete with a vanity, walk-in shower and heat lamps! It's such a luxury after only having one tiny bathroom at Mark's grandma's house.

Oh, and did I mention the claw-foot tub?! I have only bathed in it 3 or 4 times because I rarely find time to indulge in it, but sometimes I will get in (fully clothed) just to brush my teeth :)

And I end all my long days in this wonderful bed. OK, so the bedspread is ugly but it was free. The Tempurpedic mattress is divine and my 400-thread-count, Egyptian cotton sheets are to die for. But my favorite thing of all is that Mark built the bed all by himself and gave it to me for Christmas. I love that man!

My Sweeties!

Life has been crazy lately! I had my film developed several weeks ago and this is the first chance I've had to post them. So here they are:

Here's my Ivy! Isn't she a sweety?! Oh, and she is just such a good baby. So easy-going and happy and is a wonderful sleeper! (10+ uninterrupted hours a night!) I am so blessed. I absolutely enjoyed Millie as a baby, but she was so difficult. I am so glad for a change of pace.

Poor Millie is such a klutz. But this is the first time she has actually caused visible damage to herself. She tripped (on her feet as usual) and hit her face on the corner of the coffee table. I am just so glad that she didn't hit her eye and we didn't have to go to the emergency room.

Millie is going through a phase . . . a very long phase, where she likes to wear her pajamas all-day long. She occasionally gets dressed for the day, but she always end up in either her night gown (shown here) or her "Ariel" the Little Mermaid pj's (worn in the above picture). I am trying not to let this drive me insane. Anyway, as part of her dress-up play one day, she tried on a pair of my shoes. So cute.

This is a funny one. I told Millie to smile but I was watching for Ivy to look at the camera and this was the result. Millie was so good to hold Ivy for this mini photo shoot but as soon as I told her we were finished she let go of her! Luckily, Ivy didn't get hurt. I just love my girls. XOXO.

Bramasole

Millie is sick with a cold. Non-stop runny nose and yucky cough. I am trying to keep her away from Ivy but I'm sure her germs are all over me (because she always wants me to hold her) and then I probably pass them to Ivy when I hold her. I'm guessing she picked it up in nursery, although she sits on my lap in there for 75% of the time (she won't go without Mark or I) and they put santizer on the kids' hands before snacks, but yeah it's basically a breeding ground for illnesses.

(FYI: Mouse over text for active links.)
I finally ordered my flatware! I did a lot of research and asked a guy at the Silver Super Store a lot of questions and got the best set I could afford (or at least I pretended we could afford). I got an 85-piece set with service for 16! I'm guessing that I will never buy flatware again in my life so I wanted a huge set so I could have matching silverware for large family gatherings now and later in life so that's how I justified what I paid. Also the author of flatware.org really convinced me that it is an investment. When I first saw the set in January, it was $19.95 a place setting which made it $299.95 (which I already thought was a lot) but when I went back to order it a week later it was $34.95 a setting bringing it to $494.95!! I was so dissapointed that I e-mailed the store and asked if I could get the previous price. The guy said that the manufacturer, Ricci, had raised its prices and that the new inventory had been purchased in January and that the 85-piece set cost them $330 and that they could sell it to me for $350, which is still compartively inexpensive compared to other quality stainless flatware. Since I had already started a correspondence with the store I asked a few more questions before deciding that this really was the best set for me. I finally ordered it on Monday and it should be here today! It was a total splurge, but luckily my mom helped pay for it as part of my Christmas present. I am so excited. I keep looking out the window for the big brown delivery truck.

So without further adieu, here's my set: http://www.horchow.com/store/catalog/productImagesPopup.jhtml?

You can read more about Ricci on the Silver Super Store's "Ricci" page or at flatware.org.

Lovely

I am so not motivated to blog without photos, but since I haven't taken any lately, I am getting creative and getting images from the Web. 

My mom gave me a set of flatware for Christmas. I decided to exchange it for a pattern that better fit my style, but the search for a different pattern led to an interesting education. I now know more about flatware than I ever imagined possible. How many of you know the difference between silverware and stainless flatware? Or the difference between 18/10, 18/8 and 18/0 flatware??? If you want to know the answers visit www.flatware.org, it will open your eyes to the quality of your eating utensils. And if you don't care, don't bother.

OK, now here's more about my life: Millie has been saying the funniest things lately. The other day she starting singing "Ding, dong the witch is red, the witch is red." But my favorite misinterpretation is from a new song I downloaded the other day. It's called "Bubbly," by Colby Caillat. The lyrics read "Everytime I see your bubbly face, I get the tinglies in a silly place. It starts in my toes makes me crinkle my nose . . ." Anyway, I think it's a cute song and have listened to it a few times with Millie. But when Millie decided to sing the song on her own, it came out like this: "I paint my toes and I pick my nose!" Love it! And I love Valentine's Day. Hope you're all having a lovely February!