Skunk Again!

There isn't much better than getting a package! We were surprised by two fun packages. Khloe received a little stuffed, pink piggy (like one I had and loved when I was little). She just kept kissing it. And, I guess, singing to it?

This is what Khloe's kiss looks like. Lots of licking/slobbering.
The next day Ellie received a package. Remember the skunk? The note read: Dear Ellie, Here is skunk you can plan with.She loves it! She's always taking it under the chair to wrestle.

First Hair Cut

Baby's first hair cut-what a landmark! When I was pregnant, Wes and I were looking through pictures and dreaming about what our little girl would look like. We came across pictures of Ryan (as a baby) and his long locks. Oooh, I turned green with envy wanting that hair for my baby. Then in the third trimester we went in for another ultrasound and the technician pointed out her hair waving in the water! I got so excited and sure enough she had that hair! Although it may be tradition to wait for the first birthday to give a first trim I had to snip off all the scraggly, uneven long parts. Ta-Da, here's the result:

Just Swingin'

Hooray for warm weather and sunshine! Khloe and I ventured out to the park with Kristen, Sophie & Piper for some swingin'. This was Khloe's first experience playing at the park. I didn't think she'd have too strong of an opinion either way but I was wrong-she loved it! In fact it was so cute that the second Wes got home I dragged him down to the park with Khloe, Ellie and I to see how happy it made her.

Skills Showcase

Khloe has been mastering some impressive skills over the past month. It started with a goofy little hand/elbow/knee/foot shimmy that graduated to a full on crawl then she was pulling herself up and now she's crusin' around with her baby carriage and along the edge of furniture. She learned to sign 'more' and clap. The best, though, was the day she crawled across the floor to the chair where Ellie was sitting, looked up at her, waved her little hand and said, "Hi!" Here I caught some of these achievements on video.

You can kind of discern her little 'hi.'

(I may seem the cruel mother, laughing as her daughter falls, but what you can't tell in the video is that she's trying to figure out how to get from stand to crawl... she decides to fall down to her hands but she shuts her eyes in preparation for impact. It was so cute.)

Disgusting, Yuck, Pee-YEW!

Have you ever gotten a good, deep whiff of skunk spray? It sort of burns the inside of your nostrils with its disgustingly, pungent burnt-rubber/million-pounds-of-chopped-onion smell. Incidentally the million-pounds-of-chopped-onion smell also (like the real thing) brings tears to your eyes and makes you cough. Disgusting, yuck, pee-YEW! Who would think that right here in the bustling metropolis of Quincy, MA (pop. 88000) your dog could get sprayed by a skunk right in your tiny front yard! Of course it wasn't just the problem of the dog since dogs can take a bath (even if it takes $20 of fancy shampoos and 5 washes plus a good professional groom the next day) but the smell penetrates your house and you can't even open the windows to air it out since now that the skunk sprayed there isn't one clean-smelling breeze in the whole neighborhood.

I do need to give a product recommendation for Febreeze. It does more than make commercials to laugh at, it (along with 3 boxes of matches burnt, some Armani cologne, and a large vanilla-scented candle burning solid for 3 days) really does help eliminate odors.

Remembering Grandpa

This holiday season Grandpa Mick passed away. It was a heartbreaking time for many people. Of course there is always relief that he isn't suffering anymore (he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this past July) and joy in knowing we will be together for eternity. But it was still heartbreaking and so sorrowful to know that I have to continue life without him. In remembrance-he was a cowboy. A talented, handsome cowboy. He was an example of amazing patriotism. Always the one to take responsibility and do whatever was in his power for country, community, and family. He was a loyal friend, father, grandfather... He loved to rock babies and take his grandkids on horse rides.

These pictures are from the weekend of his funeral.
These pictures are from some riding fun on Grandpa's horses.

Playing Catch-up

There's something about the holidays... I don't know if it's traveling to a time zone 3 hours different on looong flights with baby, that throws me out of whack or those extras pounds that inevitably pack on from momma's delicious cookin that weigh me down... but it always seems to take a couple weeks to get back on track after coming home. But FINALLY everything else (almost) is caught up and now I get to move on to the fun stuff. Like this sadly neglected blog :)

Khloe and I arrived in Oregon on the 14th after the most miserable and horrifically long travel day. The next morning we celebrated my birthday (drum roll please!)...the BIG 24! It was celebration for me with all the attention and nice gifts. Note the cute red watch from Ethan. But it was also celebration for Khloe since her Grammy let her try cantaloupe for the first time. As you can see-she loved it!
Khloe and Uncle Taylor, who surprised everyone on Christmas day by announcing his mission papers had been turned in. I was glad for it to be out... it was the hardest secret I've ever had to keep! Since then he has received his mission call. He's off to Argentina next month-Feb 17th!Once Wes came and met us, we got to spend time with the Karlsons. Beautiful little Julia, the newest Karlson edition, was blessed the Sunday before Christmas. Here we are getting ready to leave for the blessing.All the cousins looked so adorable in their coordinating outfits (gifts from Grandma Karlson).
Khloe and Hailey love love love eachother. They are pretty much inseparable.
Christmas celebration with the Karlsons. Our brilliant baby and her laptop. ;)And Christmas at the Atkinsons.
Snuggie. Little family joke. LOL