*enero

January is notoriously disgusting around here with an inversion that gives us super cold and super smoggy air - like the worst in the country. Well I guess notorious to the locals - no one tells you until you move here [same with Missoula!]. So anyway we hardly get outside, especially with little Eden. Today was slightly warmer and slightly clearer - I could see all the way to the traffic light at the end of the street! I couldn't find the bjorn or sling so we just walked up and down the block once. Seriously even that 5 minutes of being outside was so refreshing!! I am vowing to get out and do that every day no matter what.

*

Edie thinks it's sooo funny every time I tell her "you're a little stinker!" -

like after this 20 minute nap.

*tres mesitos!

Happy 3 months, Eden!

I am seriously in love with this little baby - I love her little body, little legs, little hands that grab anything, little coos and squeaks and baby conversations, little big smile that lights up her face when she sees her mommy, daddy or sister. Ben has heard little almost-laughs, but we're still waiting for a big one :) Vera did right at 3 months, so we'll see.

I keep having to tell myself that things will keep changing, it's not going to stay this way. Right now we're on a not-so-easy stretch. We try to put her to bed around 6-7 when she looks super sleepy but she just will not stay asleep! I lay her down and 25 minutes later she's awake and I have to rock her another 45 minutes and lay down with her on the bed until she's finally in a deep sleep. Then she may sleep 4-5 hours but then is up every 1.5-2 hours after that. I am exhausted especially because I often don't fall back asleep until right before she wakes up again and Vera has been waking up once or twice as well to be tucked back in. She had been doing great napping as well - since coming home from Christmas I could lay her down peacefully awake for all her naps which were almost always 25 minutes long but at least she'd take them! The last couple days she's been fussy when I lay her down and if she sleeps, still fussy when she gets up. I don't know how to make her sleep as long as she obviously needs to!! I know everyone who reads this blog is so interested in my children's sleep habits, so there you go :)

On a good note, breastfeeding does not hurt anymore!! YAY!!!

*haciendo

Vera spends a lot of time making things - I love it. She especially loves making and sending cards to her friends :) Here's one she made for me - "NON"

Last week she made "fans" for all of us using her her new scissors - she was so proud of herself. She also likes making books for us, with lots of letters and glue, sometimes some tape:

I love seeing her do these kinds of things and try to encourage it! I have great memories of making stuff out of our craft cupboard which was always filled [overflowing] with glitter, glue, construction paper, wooden peg dolls, paint ... I need to find a good way to keep it all organized in this already cluttered and small house...

*

We went out last night and the picture in front of me was too cute, I had to run out and get Ben's phone. This didn't quite capture the moment - Ben and Vera both eating hot dogs and onion rings and Edie smiling big smiles my way. A dad [this dad] and his girls is so endearing.

*

Vera and I just shared some hot chocolate. It was lovely, but I was wishing we could share it with someone else too :( Like if Pierce and Paige were to stop by, or Tamara, or Auntie J or Liz or Sera and P or Grant and Cale or Jilly and Reagan or .... anyway if you get the drift I miss old friends!! Please come visit us and we will make you hot cocoa!

New [as in the last 4 years] friends are always welcome as well! You are fast becoming old friends and we love you too :)

*la nena

look at this little face ♥

*navidad

Here's a bunch of random pictures from our break. I would like to make them cuter on picnik.com but I think that may never happen, so here they are. I just noticed Ben isn't in any of them - he was probably off playing pool :) Ivor and Eliot were off making trouble somewhere and my dad was likely in the backyard cleaning up after the 5 dogs. I did try to take less pictures this year because really, we don't need to capture and remember every.single.moment. I tried instead to be in the moment :)

My mom's [originally Grandma's?] famous Sheepherder bread:

Painting with the cousins. Note Vera's "twirly whirly princess dress!"

Mike and Rosie surprised us with a 24 hour visit! It was such a fun treat to see them and have our families spend some time together :)

Babies LOVE Gegi:


it's nice to be the smallest of the cousins:


getting to know cousin Marie:

Friends!! I love Heather in the background here :)

Vera really embraced her job as appetizer server:

I miss my parents' quiet, carpeted house where Edie took some good naps:


These are my favorite cookies. Normally I wouldn't touch anything resembling these "food-like substance" cherries, but I grew up eating these and therefore love them. I couldn't eat less than 6 in a sitting:


I love this one - making gingerbread boys and girls:

I went for 3 whole walks over the 2 weeks:

Vera's favorite Christmas gift. Not the dollhouse - the pink scissors she's using to open the furniture:

*

Lying on the couch here with what seems to be yet another breast infection :( Ben took V to get a new battery because he'd wedged the car against the garage while we were gone to avoid another hoodlum taking our stuff. Unfortunately the battery died and we can't reach it to jump with the truck [the truck which slid on ice after skiing, smashing into a rock-hard snowbank], therefore impeding us from getting in the garage. Another stroke of 'bad luck' that night we came home was a furnace that wouldn't turn on. It was FORTYEIGHT degrees in here!! I'm already a wimp regarding the cold and it was COLD. Thankfully it fixed itself sometime in the middle of the night.

All this leads me to say that I am so thankful for the good things we have going. Namely our two healthy, wonderful children and Ben and Liz' safety in the snowbank crash [and a house to live in and a car to drive and food to eat that in turn helps me feed my baby...]. It could be so much worse, thinking about the trials others go through. The big homeless population here in Salt Lake who endure colder than I did, the children in the World Vision news we receive, the loss of a college friend of Ben's newborn son. Really we are so blessed and I am so thankful for what we've been given. I didn't start out this post to write this - I was going to post the video I just took of sweetie Edie cooing to me from her bouncy chair [she's starting to complain now...]. Anyway, look to the "good words" to the right of the blog - those are the words that should constantly be in my heart and on my lips!

cute and cute, I love this little bug and am so thankful for her:

*You might be inclined to think that life's difficulties and tragedies are evidence of the lack of God's goodness, or even His nonexistence - I was touched and encouraged by Dan's thoughts after his son's death.

*dress-up

I had no idea my mom had all these dress-up clothes - old nightgowns from my grandma, halloween costumes, recital tutus, high heels, wigs... It was so much fun - even Liz and I tried on some things, though I won't share those pictures :)

my old plastic strawberry shortcake costume!

Vera wasn't shy about being bossy: "EVERYONE go behind the curtain!!"

beautiful ballerinas:

Liz and I loved this one and were so glad it fit Marie! She looks like a little Laura Ingalls:

my cousin's teal bridesmaid dress circa 1980 something:

A performance of The Rotten Cowboy. Vera played Spring - the "new name" she gave herself last month.

When everyone bowed here and said their name and who they played, Vera didn't get it. "My name is Spring and I played with Olivia."

*ella dice

*

Ben was paraphrasing Vera's bedtime story the other night - when Ariel misses the concert and says "my father's gonna kill me!" - changing it to "my dad is going to be so mad!" She corrected him. After he paraphrased yet another sentence, she sat up in bed and put out her hands in exasperation: "THIS IS NOT WORKING!"

*

Me: Vera, did you toot?

Vera: ummm nevermind.

Me: What do you mean 'nevermind'?

Vera: I just said nevermind.

*

Earlier today Ben and I were trying to talk and she wanted me to read her a story and shoved it in front of my face.

Me: Vera, is that ok to do that, is that good manners?

Vera: MOM I need to tell you something!!!

Me: No, Vera, you answer my question. Is it ok to interrupt like that?

Vera [cutting me off]: NO MOM I have to tell you something!!!

Me: No, Ver---

Vera: MOM I have a lot of yawns!! [yawns]

Me: VERA answer the question!

Vera: [yawn] I have a lot of yawns!! [yawn]

*el mall

We went to Meadowood on Saturday. I hadn't been there in so long and even felt a little nostalgia for my *childhood* mall :) Funny memories - like reaching soo hard to try to get coins out of the fountain, Clown's Closet with the Hello Kitty gum and erasers [P :)], sneaking past our parents to buy another piece of Sbarro pizza [why did we have to be so sneaky, T?], loving and lusting after clothes from Guess and Limited Too, buying boxers at GAP for pajama shorts [I finally just threw out some I'd bought in middle school!] ...

Anyway here's Vera in front of the Santa line - which we didn't join. She wanted to open the fake presents sooo bad.

I tried on some lipstick and she wanted to 'get beautiful' too:

Edie was so awake and cute perched up on Daddy's chest:

sleepy baby on the way home:

sleepy smile:

*

Vera, Edie and I have been here in Nevada for a week now. We flew out early since Ben was in New York doing research - he met us here Tuesday. The flight almost went perfectly. However I somehow forgot an extra outfit for Edie, who hadn't pooped in 2 days. I tried to clean her up as best I could, putting a paper napkin on her back so she wouldn't feel the wetness... she started that crazy newborn baby cry while Vera kept handing me pictures she'd colored - HERE, MOM!! It was a little chaotic :) I finally just stripped her down to a diaper and wrapped a blanket around her and she quieted down - whew.

Anyway, it's been pretty quiet here waiting for Christmas and the cousins to come. We've hung out with some friends, made cookies, wrapped presents, made cards, watched movies... I can't wait for the cousins to come - Vera has been really difficult: whiney, cranky, clingy, dare-I-say-it b-r-a-t-t-y.

Edie just watches. And takes naps - yay! And wakes up every 2 hours at night after being rocked for hours to sleep... [except last night - she only got up once at 1!! praying for a repeat]

*feliz navidad

So I'm not sending out a Christmas card this year. It makes me sad, because I always really love to do it! I love picking a picture, choosing just the right song or verse, writing it all out, etc. I usually do a lot of it myself, painting in the colors, etc. It's way cheaper that way, but I also love the process. It's really enjoyable for me - always some mate and a quiet house and my little watercolor assembly line. I love to see them all stacked neatly, ready to go. Sometimes I even take pictures of the finished products all lined up [hehe, certain friend of mine].

This year though, I just can't do it! I made baby announcements and that took [is taking] any creativity and any free time I may have. Cards seem obsolete now with email, blogs, facebook, texting, etc., but I still love to send them and love to receive them. I will definitely do a grand Cater Christmas card next year!

The above picture is the one we'd probably have used. Or maybe this one:

But definitely not this one. Oh, Ben: