Time to Move

I hate moving. I hate packing up every tiny little thing in every closet and trying to find a label for it. I hate that I have totes and boxes that I haven't even looked at in years, yet I can't bear to throw it away so we move it along with us to not be looked at somewhere else.

But as much as I hate moving, I love change. I really do. I'm a change-aholic. And even more than change, I love progression. So the fact that Jacob and I were blessed enough to be able to finally buy our own home, which presents us with change AND progression, is enough to make me smile through the packing.

And then I remember what the NEW house looks like, and my smile falters slightly. On paper, this place sounds amazing. Here's the actual description from our actual agent:

immaculate home on tree lined street. Covered Patio, spacious living room, large family room in basement. New oven/range, Nice, fully fenced yard. Solid brick home. Workbench stays, space for RV, convenient to bus lines, shopping, schools, churches.

Then you look at the stats: 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, 2044 square feet, one car garage, corner lot, upstairs living room, downstairs family room, and probably about 8 storage closets. It sounds amazing right?

They don't tell you that every single one of those 2044 square feet is plastered with wallpaper, or crowned with a popcorn ceiling, or adorned with lovely shag carpet from the 1970's that matches to a T what my great-grandmother had in her home. We always joked about how she was so protective of spills, because it was so mottled with shades of chartreuse, day-glo orange, tomato red, and mustard yellow, that we knew you'd never even notice a spill. And here I am, about to own that carpet.

Yet for some reason, I can't feel bad about it. We got a great deal, and when we walked through it Jacob was like a kid in a candy store talking excitedly about all the improvements he could make. And I have to admit, it's been kind of fun designing my very own kitchen.

So we'll tear out the old and come in sanding and painting and repairing to find the new. And hopefully soon, I'll have some killer before and after photos.

Wish me luck! As of Monday, we'll be homeowners!

An Ode to Cousins

Thick as thieves.

Isn’t that what they say,

About two people who are the closest of friends?

If so, than these two girls should be charged

With grand larceny.

They’re more than two peas in a pod,

They’re two grapes on a vine; two kernels on an ear; two seeds on a berry.

(Why has no one ever thought of those analogies?)

Two beautiful little girls, made of much the same stuff,

yet, evidently unique.

Curly dark hair and deep, gray eyes,

Straight blonde hair and bright, blue eyes;

Toothy grin,

Gummy smile;

Dances and runs,

Sits and shakes;

(I mean it. She just sits and shakes with excitement

about EVERYTHING)

Despite the differences, there is obvious camaraderie;

Eisley tolerates advances from Elaina she would NEVER accept from me

(Think forced hugs, body-smashing kisses, and poked eyes;

I think she’s still trying to figure out what color they are. I am.).

And Elaina abides Eisley’s innocent-yet-painful interactions,

Far more patiently than she would coming from anyone else

(i.e. merciless hair tugging, endless face scratching, and gallons of slobber

From unrelenting kisses).

And through it all,

They stand up for each other,

(Even if Eisley cannot yet stand).

They each have the other’s back.

They fight,

They forgive,

They scream,

They laugh,

They share,

They grab,

They imitate,

They lead,

They laugh at each other,

They cry together,

And above all,

They love.

Even at this young age,

They love.

And I count my blessings that I am allowed

the privilege

To watch.

I hope they always remain this close.

No, THIS close…

First Word...?

I'm totally counting this for her first word (And not JUST because it's mama):

makes me smile.

(and how about that hair? Cracks me up.)

Betrothed

Eisley had her first real date this weekend. Sure she's met other boys; there was Kaleb from Kentucky who was super cute but a little shy around her and Bentley from Boise who was sick when she met him, so she couldn't be sure what he was really like. But for this weekend, it was lunch at a Chinese restaurant to meet my good friend Brooke's son, Jett for the first time. A REAL date. I was glad she let me tag along and take pictures. Something I'm SURE she won't let me do when she's a teenager. But I was there this time and it was priceless.

I think it went well...

Jett nervously munching his appetizer until Eisley arrived.

Neither of them were sure what to think.

Play it cool, play it cool. Don't seem too eager.Jett tried his hardest to share with Eisley, but she was playing hard to get.He got a little discouraged, and Eisley kept looking to me for comfort.Finally, she reached out to accept his offer.Oh yeah! Jett is very satisfied with himself."Mom! I think he likes me!"
Finally dropping all pretenses, (and realizing Eisley can't eat crackers) he just went for her hand. What a stud.It was time to say goodbye all too soon.Eisley didn't get the memo on "you go 90, let them come the last 10"
She went straight in for the kiss.
That is one happy couple!

Okay, okay, so I realize it's crazy to plan your daughter's marriage and put her on fake dates. But after seeing these pictures, I'm not so sure it was fake.

At any rate, we had a blast seeing Brooke and Jett and are so glad they made the long journey down from Canada and that Dev and I could make it up from Utah to see the Interior Design art show and have some much-needed girls time. Thanks for the memories! And who knows, maybe these two will live happily ever after?

The Pigtail Saga

Eisley's hair has been unmanageable lately, so I finally plucked up my courage, picked up a comb and attempted pigtails. I'm happy to say it was a success. See for yourself:

Front View

Back View

So I was all proud of myself and kept looking at her funny all day, because I'm not used to her hair being pulled back. She didn't seem to mind, thankfully. Well, little did I know I had made a BIG mistake. I put pigtails in her hair on a non-bath day. See, we only bathe her every other day because we don't want to dry out her already sensitive skin. I did not think of what would happen that night when we took the pigtails out. Or the next morning...

THIS is what happened:
...that night......the next morning...
(P.S. This is TOTALLY my desktop background picture right now. Cracks me up)So the only logical thing to do, was to put her hair in pigtails yet again. And yet again, she looked adorable (even if she IS chewing on her shoe):


So that night we were at my mom's and she said she'd give Eisley a bath with her cousin Elaina. I brought Eisley in to my mom and this was our conversation:
me:"Okay she's ready!"
mom: "Yes, dear, but you have to take out her hair ties."
me: "I already did!"

Can you see why she was confused?
That hair is doing it on its own!

So we finally got the perma-piggies out of her hair and she slept wonderfully knowing she was clean and probably free of the headache induced by such tight little pigtails. And I thought we were finally done with the drama resulting from my self-perceived successful attempt at doing hair.

I was wrong...WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS GRANDMA FRO?!?

The poor girl had worn her hair pulled back for two days straight and it gave me a headache just LOOKING at how tight those little pony tails were. I didn't want to inflict that upon her again! So this time I resorted to using product. I swore I'd never do it, but it cannot be helped. I used some spray gel in her hair.

Still, not great.

But after a little drying, a little tousling and a little hairbow, we finally ended up with something I could live with. And in fact, I love this picture of her. (Yes I changed her outfit. It was too cold for shorts, I just wanted to try them on her.)

So there it is. I'm learning slowly how to deal with her beautiful curly hair. I've never had curly hair. I've never had a baby. This is a HUGE learning curve for me. But at least I'm able to laugh at the process. And I wouldn't trade her for anything, OR her luxurious locks.

Mond-uary

Is it just me, or does January feel like one big long Monday? I mean, in November we were able to take a long weekend and go up to Boise for Thanksgiving. Then in December we took another long weekend and traveled to Kentucky for an early Christmas with Jake's family. Then during Christmas week, and New Year's week, Jacob only had 3-day work weeks. So we're having all this fun all month long, like it's a never-ending Friday.

Then January comes, complete with depressing snow, 5-day work weeks, and a whole heck of a lot of CLEANING that needs to be done. Just like Monday.

Anyway, at least our long Friday was a lot of fun. It was so nice to go visit our KY family. They all just ate Eisley up (not literally, thank goodness) and she basked in the glow of never-ending attention and affection (very literally). She was SO good both on the plane ride, and with the mass of family swarming around her. She was so happy and content, and that made it a lot easier for ME to be happy and content. We had tons of fun having Christmas, eating Missy's biscuits and gravy (something I never understood the appeal of until I had hers. Now I crave them, and I just can't do it the same way), going shopping, re-visiting old haunts, and catching up with old friends.

Eisley and her cousin Kyleigh

...with Granddad Kinney

4 generations! E, Jake, Missy (Jake's mom) and Granny Carlisle
Can you see the family resemblance or what?Eisley and her Auntie Clinton! So cute! There was a picture where you can see Tamara's face too, but this one's so cute with her laughing, that I had to use it instead. Sorry girl. We came back and very soon after we were celebrating Christmas with my family. It's not as big of a deal, since we pretty much all live here and see each other pretty often, but it was still fun. We decided to spread out the presents on Christmas day this year instead of opening them all at 6am and being done and tired by 8. This year, Jacob and I stayed at our house (instead of sleeping over at my mom's as we'd done in previous years) and opened our presents to each other after Eisley finished her morning bottle. Then when she woke up, we went over to my mom's for brunch (attempted biscuits and gravy. Not nearly as good) then most of the family went to see a movie, which is a long-standing tradition for the Dick family. We saw Avatar and LOVED it. Then we came back, Nate and Libbie joined the ranks and we stopped by our house to have everyone open their presents from us. Then back to mom's for the rest of the family presents. When all was said and done, the last present wasn't torn open until 4pm. If you ask me, THAT'S how you do Christmas!

Eisley trying to open her presents early

E and her cousin Elaina Christmas morning

I got Elaina a wooden pizza set. She loved it!Everyone at my house. The kids bought mom and dad a new microwaveNew Year's Eve came quickly too, and we spent it at our house playing games on the Wii, then Guitar Hero and DDR on the Playstation, eating hoagie sandwiches and just being loud and having fun. Now that there are 5 young kids, however, we did not make it till midnight. We decided to go ahead and celebrate with our friends in the Eastern Time Zone and blew our horns and popped our confetti at 10pm. Don't judge us. I was EXHAUSTED, and my living room floor was littered with confetti bits, but I went to bed at 10:30.

Probably one of my favorite pictures EVER.

Or this one. I love it. I think they were canoeing

Me and my girl

Jared and Ben in their special hats. Jacob and I in their special hats.

All in all, it was a wonderful Holiday season, and it makes me a little sad that now I have to live through a month of Monday's. But at least February will be here soon, with promise of another Holiday to look forward too. Now if only someone could remind Jacob that Valentine's Day IS a real Holiday...

Giggles

The video quality from my camera is horrible, but at least you can hear my little girl's laugh. I've been trying to get it on camera forever, but usually when she sees me recording she stops. Nobody can make her laugh like aunt Hannah though, and she barely noticed I was there.

Makes my heart happy.