Oh Tannenbaum...

As has become tradition, I present our Christmas tree:

I came into the room the other day to find Millie's addition to the tree decorating.

In other news, Millie has spoken her first word. Banana. I have yet to catch it on film, but I do have 5 witnesses, so that's g0ing to have to do for now.

And, here is the little munchkin, in all her glory.

My Thanksgiving Post

Today, I am thankful. Here are some of my favorite blessings.

Tamales. I had the best tamales yesterday. Seriously. Is there anything better?
Hands. I would sure miss them!
Agency
Nice people. Sounds cliche, I know. But it sure is nice when people are nice to you.
Kisses from Millie. Nothing like a big slobbery open-mouthed kiss to raise your spirits!
Stroller (jogging stroller, that is). Of all the things I own, this is in the top five most-used. It's right behind the next thing in my list.
Gravity. I do not own gravity, I just use it quite often.

Internet. I know, I know. I'm a nerdy addict. But if you're reading this, you may be too!
Vanilla yogurt
Indexing (Family Search Extraction Work). Another addiction that I have. Wow. This post is turning out to be more of a confession...
Nursery. Thanks to this calling, Millie has been building up her immune system like crazy!
Garage. It is so nice not to scrape off the car!!!

But mostly, I'm grateful for these two crazy kooks.

I have finally given in

I realize that I'm at the tail-end of the trend, but I still had to join the ranks of women with bangs. And not just the side swoop that I've had. These are serious.

I haven't had bangs like this since I was 3.

Are you excited yet?

Okay. Here is the before:

And, the after... or rather, the attempts at getting a good shot of the after. When you're as photogenic as I am, it's so hard to choose just one picture for the blog.

"Elementary, my dear Watson."

The slightly stoned look

The James Bond girl look

The Classic Smile. Don't you love how frizzy my hair looks here?

The Long Debated Over and Waited For Halloween Costume Outcome

Three Blind Mice

Bernard

See this dog? I named it Bernard. Millie liked it.

Millie and I picked it up (or rather, it invited itself) on our run the other morning. I tried my best to get rid of it, to no avail. It just kept on running with us, and occasionally into us. So annoying. Especially when it slimed my pants.

Except, I started feeling a little responsible for Bernard. Like the time when I yelled at it to keep it off the front bumper of a car, and the time I thought for 3 milliseconds about cleaning up it's poop on some random person's lawn.

The worst part was that people kept giving me dirty looks for having a dog on the loose. I just kept yelling, "Not my dog!" to everyone I saw.

And then, there were three.

Seriously.

We picked up 2 more little dogs following along behind.

And then, we had a regular parade when two more decided to join. I wish I had thought to pull out my camera phone at that point. Instead I just pretended I didn't hear the traffic jam or all the cars honking at our dog parade.

We finally lost Bernard when we ran into my parent's house and locked the door. I almost felt bad for running away like that. Almost.

What I want to know, is how much I'm going to get paid for taking all those dogs for a run.

A Couple of Cool Caucasians enjoying Colds, Creations, and Carousels

You may recognize these cool caucasians.

This is a story about them.

This one, in particular, was thinking one day, and decided that she wanted some attention from the other two.

So, she got sick.

And I mean sick. (I usually only post the cutest pictures of the babe, but I was hoping to inspire some sympathy)

Of course she couldn't wait for the other two cool caucasians to get well first. That would be a little too easy.

So, the first one (in keeping with her creation kick) started making sweets. 'Cause who doesn't like a good spoonful of sugar (or two) to get the medicine down?

When that didn't work, they took her to a fun place full of germy rides.

Well, the good news is, she is feeling somewhat better. It must have been all that counting with Cookie Monster that did the trick. I'll remember that next time and try it first.

Big Heads and Sharp Teeth

Millie has been going crazy on the development train lately. Not only has she started crawling

and pulling herself up to standing,

Is it just me, or is does her head look proportionally large in this shot?

but she's also popped her first....and second...and third...and fourth teeth in less than 3 weeks. I don't know how she does it. I would need some serious pain killers for that kind of experience.

Yes, this is the pew in front of us at church.

Oh. And she's decided that since she can stand up in her crib now, she doesn't need to sleep when I put her in it. HELP!!!

Huggie my Not a Snuggie

Mr. Lund said that he had a surprise from Woot! coming for us in the mail. We couldn't wait. So, when it got here yesterday,

And we saw

We were excited. What more could you want than two oversized "Not a Snuggies". Here's what Woot! says about them:

Where The Sleeved Blankets Have No Name

Look, you know what these things are. We know what these things are. But we can’t call ‘em that – and neither can you. While you’re enjoying the unparalleled fleece comfort and unselfconscious convenience of America’s favorite neo-garment, you may refer to it using one of the following Woot-approved noms de sloth:

• Wrapathy
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Just a Blanket With Arm Holes
• the Surrender Gown
• Cloak of the Dyslexic Wizard
• Fleece Birth Control
• Depression Binky
• CuddleShroud
• the Infantilikilt
• +3 Shawl of Telecommuting
• OK, You Got Us, It Actually Is Just A Blanket With Arm Holes

Why? Well, that’s a very complicated question which cannot be examined without a comprehensive acknowledgement of the various entities (legal, financial, and extra-terrestrial) affected by the provisions of any contractual agreement between the contending parties. Or maybe we acquired these through less-than-official channels and don’t need your big mouth broadcasting it all over town, OK?

We’ve implanted listening devices in every single one of these to make sure none of you violate this term. Or maybe it’s a condition. Either way, watch it. But hey, you can call the book lights whatever you want.

So, if you see us sporting these beauties, don't be confused. They are NOT Snuggies. They are actually "Not a Snuggies"

Learning and Creating

I've made a new goal to learn and create something every day. The rules (rules for a goal?) are fairly loose. In other words, yes, making dinner can count as creating something.

Here are a few of the things I've been working on:

A wall hanging for Millie's room

Reversible shoes: I didn't make two right feet, just wanted to show both sides of the shoe.

Hair clips

The model is my friend Janae's cute baby. My sister Dianey made the skirt.

Onesies

This shot is to show the ruffles

I've also experimented with some horrible looking but delicious tasting kiwi-lime-grapefruit cupcakes, and homemade ice cream.

What to be, or what not to be: that is the question...plus a bit of what we're up to these days

Millie has been dressing up lately, trying to decide what to be for Halloween. And yes, dressing as Justing Bieber is still an option. Any votes?

My sister Dianey made this cute pleated cowgirl skirt for Millie, and I made the onesie to match.

Also, we've been hanging out with cousins.

Millie with cousin Tyler

Suzana with Molly (middle) and Elise with Penny (right)

Millie is such a ham.

And, here's another cute shot for good measure.

MIA

(That's Missing In Action, not Mutual Improvement Association)

I realize I haven't blogged in a while. Why? Well, I've been reading a couple of "can't put down" books.

First, I read the fifth "Fablehaven" book. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I've read them all. I'll blame that on my brother John E. While I wasn't impressed at all by the first couple (the writing style especially), surprisingly I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The worst part was the last chapter where Brandon Mull desperately tried to add a bit of romance. Don't get me wrong, I love romance. But if it's awkward enough that you feel embarrassed for them, don't add it. All in all, it was a great book. Nothing like a good world saving every once in a while to brighten your spirits.

And yesterday, I finished "The Help". Despite the occasional cuss word, I loved reading this book. It truly was an experience. It feels like it's been a while since I've read something that was really well written. (This post is making me look like a literature snob. Not so!...too much.) I loved the voice, the story line, and the subject matter. Great book.



And to move on from the book review...

Some other things we've been up to:

Being cute














































Deciding on a possible future career as a hair stylist,


And laughing. A lot.