GirlsX5

 Girls Girls Girls Girls Girls.   There were 5 girls between the two of us and all just barely 2 and under.  We braved lunch out on the town even. Needless to say, we had a fun day.  Annie adores the twins and Baby Emi.  We so wish they lived next door.  now THAT would be a dream!

Baby Violet is a sweet little thing and I feel we are starting to adjust.  We are not close to a routine yet, but we are discovering what works and what doesn't.  Baby V loves to have her diaper changed.  She loves being naked and taking baths.  She definitely cries the minute her diapers are wet, and she likes baby toys.  All of which is the complete opposite of Annie.  More than a few nights a week, she even wakes up less times than Annie.  Maybe our #2 will surprise us by being a mild child.  I'm getting about 5 hours of sleep a night and it seems like I could win Gold if nursing were an Olympic event.  This girl loves to eat!  It has begun to sink in that I get to have 2 little girls close together and I thrill with delight.  I even wheeled and dealed with Q to get him to build them a giant playhouse in our basement.  It's all so exciting. Life is good.  I have two girls, a hot hubby, and I can sit down without wincing.  Life is good.

 Can you guess who dressed Annie?

...And you should check out my awesome friend's photography biz.

She is the bomb-diggity.com and if you are lucky enough to schedule her, pay her whatever she asks.  We were so blessed to catch her in SGU again.  She photographed Annie as a baby and so we headed back to the same place to get some goodies of V.  Erika performs photography miracles.

See more HERE at Yellow Pear Blog and Photography.

only, those hippos are a lot more spry

My Nikon is AWOL. I left in it Hurricane before Easter and I haven't had the heart to post without photos ever since. I guess I still don't because now you're getting stuck with our family photos which were taken on March 15th way back when. I'm behind. I hate it. Busy with work and all that... Here's the catch up:

• We finally pulled the impossible triple threat: Forms ready, Q off work, and money to buy 10 yards of cement. Then it rained, and rained, and rained the entire day. No cement. We still have dirt dirt dirt. An acre of dirt. We are bleak and dismal round our parts. Plus, a spider almost ate Q when he was digging out the irrigation valves tonight. It seems all we do is work and never see any progress.

• It seems all we do is work. For the first time I caught myself on Monday looking at my students and willing myself not to run to my car immediately, drive home, and pick Annie up and never leave her. I have since had to keep reminding myself it is just the end of the school year, I am simply impossibly huge with baby, and I really can do this again next year.

• I am impossibly huge with baby. Conversation with an 8th grader this week: "I, Mrs. Hadley, like pizza." "We can SEE that Mrs. Hadley." "You now have an F for a week." You should see me try and teach dance on Mondays and Tuesdays. It's like those jumping hippos on Fantasia only, those hippos are a lot more spry.

See what I mean about the pigtails being a bad idea?
Anyway, going on my first trip without Annie tomorrow. There will be shopping.

Here We Are

Over Spring Break we had to take Annie to Salt Lake City to have a pediatric orthopedic surgeon check out her legs. The trip was super fun but Annie decided to enter her "NO!" stage at the exact moment we scheduled family photos. It did not go well. Here is a little preview. Note to self: pig tails are definitely NOT a recipe for success in photos. Also, bring back-up balloons just in case someone else walks into the studio with them and your kid thinks they've been ordered for her.

Happenings:

• Finished the clog competition!
• I have determined that Q is the most attractive man ever.
• DWA testing is complete!
• Agreed to work even more next year (?!?!?! What am I thinking!?!?!)
• On track to finish front yard by Earth Day (My Birthday)
• Arts Festival Performance on April 7th
• Recital Scheduled: April 30th
• Gas Leak fixed
• 5 different kinds of popsicles in my freezer!
• Currently sewing 8 more appliques on costumes
• Still haven't seen Hunger Games
• 2 . 5 months to go! Q is betting on a boy but won't offer any name suggestions yet so I told him that means my picks win.

deep and inspiring visions- unrealized

I had deep and inspiring visions of taking a valentines picture of Annie in her favorite chair and sending cards out to everyone, but alas, now that Annie can walk, she absolutely will not hold still- especially when it comes to outside. No cards coming your way. So I got some photos of our car for sale instead and snapped our Annie who is now in constant motion. Squeak squeak squeak go her shoes as she takes off into the great outdoors. And you simply must be loving St. George weather right about now. Some 70 degree days this week and counting. We've had to bring out the sunscreen!

The chair stands alone. Annie-less no matter what I tried!

...and why would she sit for a photo when she could run instead?

I have to be pretty quick to get a shot of this little girl. It's been a good long time since I brought out my portrait lens and I'm sad I've been lax these past few months. I forgot how fun it is. Does all the work and takes the aperture to 1.8! Wish I knew what I was doing, but fun to try none-the-less. Renewed commitment to take more photos starting now.

February 9th, 2012
Annie, 18.5 months

In recent news: We brought home Annie's Christmas present from my parents. That painting needs to be hung and the rug moved, but Annie likes looking at both of them while she plays house so there they remain. She loves to have tea parties with her pinkie up and requires real snacks and water in her dishes or she will opt out of the event. Funny girl. Eventually this kitchen will go down in the playhouse we will build in the basement.

Before and Annie After

Remember this cutie-pa-tutie? I do, and I hate her growing up so dang fast. As planned, we outfitted Miss A in the same dress and chair and took her back to the very spot we photographed her days after she was born. What a fun tradition this will be!
Annie 0 years-old:

One year later to the very day!!!

Q and A:

One year ago....... ......And exactly one year later.

Quinn looks great... And then there's me who shows up to said photo shoot looking like this:

One year ago...... .....One year later.
Let's just mention a few of the obvious what-was-I-thinking?! points:

• Bra? Really, I couldn't have traded in for something with a more supportive role?
• Hair? Slick back: honestly... frizz at this point would have been better.
• Lipstick? What am I, trying to reclaim some sort of avent guard color-out-of-the-lines in the brightest color possible?
• Shirt? Admit it, you can no longer wear 3-sizes too small and survive it Nicole!

Ugish. Big fat Ugish. I ruin the family photos again.

Thanks again Mia for perfect ones of Q and A!

Quite a Bit

We've been up to quite a bit. So much, in fact, that I have scarce had time to update this little journal and many a night have I lied awake pining over what I could be blogging. Alas, I've developed a strict policy- if it's past 2 am, it's too late to blog. And now you know how very little sleep we've been getting round our parts the past 3 weeks. Stretched much too thin and not in the physical sense, Q and I are ready for a respite but I'm afraid respites are a still very far off in the distance. Here is a bit of that quite a bit I mentioned we have been up to (part 1):

THE HOUSE is a huge undertaking.
As of today, however, I can safely say
we will begin moving in by the END OF MAY!

Still on the TO DO list for the next five years: the yard.
We've begun killing the weeds but it is a small dent in an epic battle

A few weekends ago Annie & I stopped over in DELTA
on our way up to SLC and OGDEN:

Annie is a sleepless baby. Leave it to me to have the kid that never sleeps.
She does really well for pictures though. Smiles on cue every time... even if all the other kids are crying. I don't have the real photos yet but here are some I snapped with my Nikon:

We visited the girls in SLC for a top secret snap shot.

Annie could be in the middle of crying and all I have to do is pull out the camera to get her to stop. We are getting a little worried about her eagerness to be on film and constant amusement at her reflection in mirrors. Oh well. You've got to be pretty secure to survive life right?

Annie waves hello and goodbye, shares all her bites, and is my entire heart.


The SUPPORT STAFF:

We were lucky to have such a beautiful afternoon in SLC.

After pics, we checked out the petting zoo:
Annie would have liked it better if there had been more dogs.
So far the only name she clearly acknowledges is Buster (our dog).
It's been that way since she could turn her head.

BON VOYAGE QM:

We met Quinn in Ogden to say goodbye to his mom who is now happily donning pioneer-wear in Nauvoo.

...And THAT my friends is just the beginning of one entirely INSANE month!

...to be continued.