And so we decided to take some pictures -
Aspen had enough and got down -
And then Mia wanted some alone -
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I refuse....
I refuse to feel sorry for myself for more than 1 day in a row - so I'm good today! Actually, I really am! Malo's cousin, Missy, sent the girls the cutest little Halloween socks that light up - we put those on today and Aspen couldn't stop looking at them on her little legs:
And so we decided to take some pictures -
Aspen had enough and got down -
And then Mia wanted some alone -
And so we decided to take some pictures -
Aspen had enough and got down -
And then Mia wanted some alone -
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
My "not complaining" complaining
I am not complaining. Okay, I am. So be warned - if you don't want to hear me complain, just stop reading now. :) I am lonely here. Really, really lonely. I do know this is where we are supposed to be - we've prayed about it and it is right - and its GREAT for Malo. He loves his job. He comes home from work happy. He hasn't come home from work happy in years. Spokane is actually pretty cool - its lots prettier than what I thought it would be like. There are lots of trees so the autumn colors are brilliant. There is water. I got to see my cousin from Saskatchewan who is going to college in Great Falls, Montanta (I haven't seen her since my dad died 4 years ago). Leif, Lurlyn and little Leify are coming next weekend. Malo's parents live an hour/hour and a half away. My mom and my brother and his adorable family live just a few hours away.
But I am lonely.
I am not unhappy here; like I said, its pretty cool. But I don't know anyone. I don't have any friends. I don't have anyone for my girls to play with. Yes, we're closer to our families, but they're still hours away. In Colorado, my sister was 45 minutes away and I saw her often. I miss her. My girls miss her. I miss my Colorado friends. I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone - heck, I didn't even tell some people I was moving. I miss the view from my back door - Cheyenne Mountain. I miss everything about Colorado. I miss walking around Quail Lake. I miss being in a ward where people know how special both of my children are - how they are both miracles in their own way. I miss Panera Bread. I miss Amanda's Fonda.
I hate starting over. I am slow making friends. I have always been blessed to find wonderful friends - but it takes me a little while. Ok, so I know I've only been here a few weeks, but still - I haven't made any friends yet. It makes me sad.
Luckily, I do have Aspen and Mia. And Malo. So its not really that bad. Its just been a hard day today. I miss my grandma. I could always call her if I just wanted/needed to chat with someone for awhile...or really with grandma, it was just listening to her. But still, it was a voice of love and I could always count on her for that. Yeah, I miss her. And I REALLY miss Carrie. I know I already said that, but I really do miss her. She always came up to the house on her 4 days and often on her days in between. We'd go down to her place (though not as often as we should've!). She was always there for important things - holidays, birthdays, just days when I needed her. Now she's alone in Colorado and I miss her. Aspen adores her and she loves Aspen and Mia so much - its just hard not having her close.
Ok, I'm done. I will be fine. Tomorrow my babies will wake up and we'll start a new day and it will all be okay. They bring so much meaning to my life - I love them both so much. Mia will coo and smile at me when she wakes up. Aspen will stand up in her crib and extend her arms for me to lift her up and we'll snuggle our morning snuggles and she'll have me read the same book to her over and over again. Then she'll want to climb on my lap when I'm nursing Mia and Mia will stop and look at Aspen and smile, Aspen will wave at Mia and then Mia will keep eating and Aspen will sit on my lap and want to touch Mia's nose and hold her hand. That is how all my mornings start. I love it. And sharing these precious moments with my precious daughters, I forget all my worries and loneliness. :)
But I am lonely.
I am not unhappy here; like I said, its pretty cool. But I don't know anyone. I don't have any friends. I don't have anyone for my girls to play with. Yes, we're closer to our families, but they're still hours away. In Colorado, my sister was 45 minutes away and I saw her often. I miss her. My girls miss her. I miss my Colorado friends. I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone - heck, I didn't even tell some people I was moving. I miss the view from my back door - Cheyenne Mountain. I miss everything about Colorado. I miss walking around Quail Lake. I miss being in a ward where people know how special both of my children are - how they are both miracles in their own way. I miss Panera Bread. I miss Amanda's Fonda.
I hate starting over. I am slow making friends. I have always been blessed to find wonderful friends - but it takes me a little while. Ok, so I know I've only been here a few weeks, but still - I haven't made any friends yet. It makes me sad.
Luckily, I do have Aspen and Mia. And Malo. So its not really that bad. Its just been a hard day today. I miss my grandma. I could always call her if I just wanted/needed to chat with someone for awhile...or really with grandma, it was just listening to her. But still, it was a voice of love and I could always count on her for that. Yeah, I miss her. And I REALLY miss Carrie. I know I already said that, but I really do miss her. She always came up to the house on her 4 days and often on her days in between. We'd go down to her place (though not as often as we should've!). She was always there for important things - holidays, birthdays, just days when I needed her. Now she's alone in Colorado and I miss her. Aspen adores her and she loves Aspen and Mia so much - its just hard not having her close.
Ok, I'm done. I will be fine. Tomorrow my babies will wake up and we'll start a new day and it will all be okay. They bring so much meaning to my life - I love them both so much. Mia will coo and smile at me when she wakes up. Aspen will stand up in her crib and extend her arms for me to lift her up and we'll snuggle our morning snuggles and she'll have me read the same book to her over and over again. Then she'll want to climb on my lap when I'm nursing Mia and Mia will stop and look at Aspen and smile, Aspen will wave at Mia and then Mia will keep eating and Aspen will sit on my lap and want to touch Mia's nose and hold her hand. That is how all my mornings start. I love it. And sharing these precious moments with my precious daughters, I forget all my worries and loneliness. :)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Seriously?
So Aspen just woke me from a dead sleep SCREAMING! So of course I jump out of bed and run into her room to see what's going on? Is her leg stuck? Did she climb out of her crib and land on her head? In the 2 seconds it took me to get in there, I had lots of terrible visions of some sort of injury -- because she was SCREAMING like there was something terribly wrong. So I get into her room and she's standing in her crib holding her arms up for me to pick her up, so I do and she snuggles into me for a minute or so and then she lifts her head up and starts signing "more." Now, Aspen signs "more" for many things...so I start asking what she wants more of...she has her sippy full of water in her crib, so she's not thirsty. Is she hungry? I ask her, she shakes her head. No food needed. Then she is crying and signing "more, more, more." Then she says "MOM!" and signs book to me. Woah....wait a second? There is no possible way that my child, who sleeps so wonderfully for 12 hours each night, has woken up because she wants to read....no way. But she keeps signing more and book and so I ask, very tentatively, "Do you want to read a book?" and she nods her head yes and smiles! Seriously?!?! Seriously? She seriously just woke up at midnight-thirty so I would read her a book? Yeah, seriously. We went in the living room and snuggled up in a big fleece blanket and read two books - 3 times each. Then she went back to sleep so soundly. Wow.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
I'm in awe...
Aspen amazes me. She is 16 months old and has more personality than any kid I know. Granted I may be a bit biased since I am her mommy, but I think she's so great. Our oldest daughter, our first child...the one who made us a family...Aspen Nicole. I just went in to check on her and Mia before I check in for the night (or until Mia wakes up to eat! HA!)--she is sleeping so soundly and looks so peaceful and beautiful and I am so happy that my Heavenly Father trusts Malo and I enough to raise her. I just want to share some things about her--more for me to just write than really for anyone else's benefit. I just love her so much and am so grateful for her.
Aspen has a smile that warms my heart to the core. She has a laugh that is so contagious that you can't help but laugh with her. I love more than anything when she runs toward me with her arms outstretched to hug me. I love when she wraps her dimpled little hands around one of my fingers to show me something she finds fascinating. I can't help but laugh when she says "MOM" so often....usually she's just checking in to make sure I'm close. When she grabs one of her books and crawls into my lap for me to read to her, I love to take the time to stop and snuggle with her and read to her. I so enjoy watching her when we go on walks...she no longer wants to ride the whole time in the stroller--she must have some time to get out and walk on her own...and the things that capture her attention are amazing--an ant crawling across the pavement, a leaf that has fallen from a tree, an unusual rock, watching her take in her surroundings with such amazement is incredible to witness. She has started in the last couple days to want to say her own prayers - and that is by far the most precious thing I have ever seen (she basically folds her arms and says something and then "amen"). She is also becoming so gentle and loving toward Mia. She will talk to Mia forever (granted no one has any idea what she's saying, but its so so SO sweet!) and she will smile at Mia and Mia smiles the BIGGEST smiles right back at her. Aspen also waves to Mia ALL THE TIME -- so cute!
It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of Aspen anymore because she is constantly on the go. She runs everywhere. And she is so busy taking in the world around her that she cannot be bothered by trivial things like her mom wanting to take a picture! :) Aspen loves people and is very social. She says hi and waves to most anyone who will give her a few minutes attention. She loves to snuggle, she loves to read. Aspen will sit for crazy long stretches of time and read to herself. She likes to take all of her books off the bookshelf and climb into the bookshelf with a special book and read out loud. Its so funny because she has great inflection in her voice...the words aren't there but the rythmn sure is.
Aspen really enjoys closing doors now, too. (She has discovered how to open every single door in our new place here...luckily she's more interested in closing them than escaping!) She gets so excited to close the dryer (after she has climbed inside and checked it out, of course) and the dishwasher (after she has emptied all the silverware out). She is getting really good at recognizing circles and squares in her books and gets SO SO SO excited and happy when she gets them right and you give her praise.
Aspen loves to climb on anything she can. She loves to crawl into small spaces, too. She is so curious about everything and she will sit and look at and mess around with something until she has figured out how it works. She is amazing. She is smart. She is fun. She is funny. She is happy...so very happy. She is also increasingly independent and will want to do things herself -- so long as mommy or daddy is there for her when she needs a little help. She is tenderhearted and loving. She gives the best hugs. She is so smart and so beautiful, both inside and out. I love my little Aspen more than words can say. :)
Aspen at the pumpkin patch here in Spokane (we also went to one in CO with Aunt Carrie the weekend before we moved...but I don't have the pics yet)
Aspen REALLY likes hats...she enjoys putting them on her head and looking cute. She also thinks its really funny to cover her face with them and walk around and bump into things! ;)
She also thinks cell phones are the BEST! She walks around talking into the phones and she even knows how to multi-task and HOLD the phone with just her shoulder to keep her hands free to do other stuff...I have **no idea** where she gets that from! Ha! :)
These are just a couple pics from the last few days of her reading:
She also loves singing and dancing! She is hilarious when she's dancing!!! One of these days I might be able to capture it on video...I'll keep trying! She also really likes to help her daddy with projects. This last weekend, she helped daddy put up a gate and part of a fence at Grandma Diane and Grandpa Joe's property
And of course, she really enjoys walks in the country with mommy and daddy....especially when she gets the view from daddy's shoulders.
I could go on and on and on about how much this little girl means to our family, but I probably should get some sleep while I can! ;)
Aspen has a smile that warms my heart to the core. She has a laugh that is so contagious that you can't help but laugh with her. I love more than anything when she runs toward me with her arms outstretched to hug me. I love when she wraps her dimpled little hands around one of my fingers to show me something she finds fascinating. I can't help but laugh when she says "MOM" so often....usually she's just checking in to make sure I'm close. When she grabs one of her books and crawls into my lap for me to read to her, I love to take the time to stop and snuggle with her and read to her. I so enjoy watching her when we go on walks...she no longer wants to ride the whole time in the stroller--she must have some time to get out and walk on her own...and the things that capture her attention are amazing--an ant crawling across the pavement, a leaf that has fallen from a tree, an unusual rock, watching her take in her surroundings with such amazement is incredible to witness. She has started in the last couple days to want to say her own prayers - and that is by far the most precious thing I have ever seen (she basically folds her arms and says something and then "amen"). She is also becoming so gentle and loving toward Mia. She will talk to Mia forever (granted no one has any idea what she's saying, but its so so SO sweet!) and she will smile at Mia and Mia smiles the BIGGEST smiles right back at her. Aspen also waves to Mia ALL THE TIME -- so cute!
It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of Aspen anymore because she is constantly on the go. She runs everywhere. And she is so busy taking in the world around her that she cannot be bothered by trivial things like her mom wanting to take a picture! :) Aspen loves people and is very social. She says hi and waves to most anyone who will give her a few minutes attention. She loves to snuggle, she loves to read. Aspen will sit for crazy long stretches of time and read to herself. She likes to take all of her books off the bookshelf and climb into the bookshelf with a special book and read out loud. Its so funny because she has great inflection in her voice...the words aren't there but the rythmn sure is.
Aspen really enjoys closing doors now, too. (She has discovered how to open every single door in our new place here...luckily she's more interested in closing them than escaping!) She gets so excited to close the dryer (after she has climbed inside and checked it out, of course) and the dishwasher (after she has emptied all the silverware out). She is getting really good at recognizing circles and squares in her books and gets SO SO SO excited and happy when she gets them right and you give her praise.
Aspen loves to climb on anything she can. She loves to crawl into small spaces, too. She is so curious about everything and she will sit and look at and mess around with something until she has figured out how it works. She is amazing. She is smart. She is fun. She is funny. She is happy...so very happy. She is also increasingly independent and will want to do things herself -- so long as mommy or daddy is there for her when she needs a little help. She is tenderhearted and loving. She gives the best hugs. She is so smart and so beautiful, both inside and out. I love my little Aspen more than words can say. :)
Aspen at the pumpkin patch here in Spokane (we also went to one in CO with Aunt Carrie the weekend before we moved...but I don't have the pics yet)
Aspen REALLY likes hats...she enjoys putting them on her head and looking cute. She also thinks its really funny to cover her face with them and walk around and bump into things! ;)
She also thinks cell phones are the BEST! She walks around talking into the phones and she even knows how to multi-task and HOLD the phone with just her shoulder to keep her hands free to do other stuff...I have **no idea** where she gets that from! Ha! :)
These are just a couple pics from the last few days of her reading:
She also loves singing and dancing! She is hilarious when she's dancing!!! One of these days I might be able to capture it on video...I'll keep trying! She also really likes to help her daddy with projects. This last weekend, she helped daddy put up a gate and part of a fence at Grandma Diane and Grandpa Joe's property
And of course, she really enjoys walks in the country with mommy and daddy....especially when she gets the view from daddy's shoulders.
I could go on and on and on about how much this little girl means to our family, but I probably should get some sleep while I can! ;)
Friday, October 17, 2008
My Mia!
My precious baby Mia has decided to grow up on me this week. I think she's following in her sister's footsteps of being a talker! She has exploded in her cooing language in the last couple of days...and now its non stop! In fact, her and Aspen have been "talking" to each other instead of sleeping the last two nights! Its so cute...I go in to peek on them and Aspen is standing up in her crib just telling Mia stories and Mia is cooing right back at her. It is so precious and melts my heart. I am SO incredibly grateful for my daughters. Mia has also started grabbing at anything and everything she can get. Her favorite toys right now are this rattle: 
and this stuffed pig: 
Mia is very smiley; though its hard to capture because as soon as she sees the camera she stops....but here is the best I could do the other day.
Aspen can get Mia to smile and laugh like no one else -- not even daddy. Mia absolutely adores her big sister. :)
and this stuffed pig: 
Mia is very smiley; though its hard to capture because as soon as she sees the camera she stops....but here is the best I could do the other day. Aspen can get Mia to smile and laugh like no one else -- not even daddy. Mia absolutely adores her big sister. :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Some fashion help, please????
Ok, I need some help from someone more fashion-forward than I am....is this a dress
or a shirt?
And if its a shirt, what should she be wearing with it--it looks weird with her jeans....
or a shirt?
And if its a shirt, what should she be wearing with it--it looks weird with her jeans....
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
We are here...
So we're here in Spokane. I finally have internet access again...after a week and a half without it, I thought I was going to go insane. I haven't been to Spokane since I was 16 -- so almost 14 years ago. But its prettier than I thought it would be. Well, that's about all I have to report for now.
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