walks and other favorite things.

We've been taking family walks around town this week, and I'm loving it.  We'll load the girls in their strollers with blankets and walk and talk and enjoy wherever we are.  Mostly at local parks--today we went to Sloan's Lake. The foothills looked beautiful with the clouds behind:

Typically, January is my least-favorite month. Everything is bare, washed-out, blahh. We don't get much snow; I think I'd adore January if we were pummeled with snow.  Anyway, in an odd turn of events, I've been sopping up everything winterish lately. I'm actually waiting for January to see what it brings instead of dreading it. How's that for a good way to start the new year? Some of my favorite things right now:

* putting on the kettle first thing in the morning and enjoying tea, coffee, or chai * seeing everyone in their winter garb: tall boots, coats, mittens, and especially earflap hats * wearing my fingerless owl gloves * sleeping on flannel sheets * going for walks with my man and my baby girls * reading in bed * seeing Christmas lights everywhere  * dreaming about how to make the house cozy and festive * pondering a running regimen again * watching the Cosby show in the evenings * thumbing through my books on writing * blankets * feeling the girls' chubby, rosy, warm cheeks against mine when I hug them *

Everything is better when you have someone to share it with, whether it's a Friend or Relation, and because R is home from work this week, it's made winter a little sweeter, I think.  I'm thankful for that.

Our Christmas

We spent Christmas Eve day with my parents, which was lovely. They brought food over for us to prepare, and I spent the morning cooking with my mom while R and my dad watched football. We feasted, opened gifts, and just had a good time being with each other. Mom looked beautiful in her seafoam green sweater and new haircut. I can't wait to take her for her Christmas gift from us: high tea at the Brown Palace! (A fantastic and special splurge, just for she and I)

On Christmas Day, our little family opened gifts and ate cinnamon rolls. We taught Liv that Jesus was born on Christmas--she'll tell you "Cheesus" was born that day. :) We received a box from Raul's Aunt and Uncle earlier in the week, which we opened Christmas morning. This was what was inside:



 Doesn't she look like a little doll? Liv put the coat on over her jammies and had to be coaxed to take it off to put on REAL clothes to go to Bueli and Grandpa's.

R's parents made Christmas dinner for the whole family. Liv ran around and enjoyed eating sweets and being snuggled by her many cousins. Natalie, on the other hand, was mostly held by cousin Myriam, and slept 90% of the time. {She smiles at Liv more than any of us!}

Not too much beats baby smiles... (maybe baby dancing, but that's another post for another time. :) The girls did great for having such a busy holiday weekend; it is a blessing and joy to have them as a part of our family!

Wishing you and yours a very merry New Year!

holiday cheer & holiday jeer. Sorta.

After I set up some watercolors for Liv to tinker around with the other day, I decided to get crafty my own self.  I've had these clear bulbs stored away in the basement for the last three years with high hopes of decorating them as Christmas gifts... {insert hearty laugh here}. No go, at least not yet. So I figured, why not put them to use now instead of having them just sit there?

I used some glitter tempera paint from Liv's stash, as well as some glitter I bought for 99 cents last week for another project {an easier and therefore realistic project: glittered clothespins. Yessss.}.

Anyway, I simply poured the paint inside some of the bulbs and swirled it around... in others, I dumped glitter, and the rest I left plain. I tied them up with thin silver ribbon around our dining room chandelier. It's glitzy without being overwhelming--at first glance, some of them almost look like old-school lightbulbs. Sweet.

***

Today has been One of Those Days so far. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just feel... off. Which is a shame, because there's much on my To Do list, Christmas is around the corner {which is cause for excitement}, and Liv is sick. I can't be bummin' when there's much to do! There's no good reason to be down today--we all actually got a fair amount of sleep last night despite Liv's cold, which usually doesn't happen...things could be much worse right now. Maybe it's just the last of the pregnancy hormones working themselves out? Who knows. I just feel... blah.

I drove to the grocery store this morning, and the whole way there Liv was rubbing her eyes and whining, finally falling asleep right as I pulled in to park. Great. So I made an executive decision: I pulled out, went through the Starbucks drivethru for a gingerbread latte, and decided the girls could nap at home and we'd go to the grocery this afternoon.

As soon as I'm handed my latte, I hear "Mommy tea?" from the backseat. Liv was awake and pointing repeatedly at my red cup {which is her way of asking for something}. You know when you have your heart set and are determined to see it through? That's how I felt about the latte. I craaave little pockets of alone time these days! I was picturing myself sitting down at home during naptime with my latte and Pinterest, or a book, or whatever, anything, for some me-time. No laundry, no cleaning, just sitting. Instead, we came home, and Liv decided she was as awake as ever--in fact, she's jumping in her bed upstairs as I write. Thump thump thump... I don't even know how she makes most of the noises she does up there in her crib. No nap has been had, except by Natalie, who is still in her carseat. And that will be ending soon too. Undoubtedly, now I will have a cranky girl on my hands at the grocery. I should've just woken her up earlier and gone in; it was a gamble, but I chose poorly this time. Drat. Such is mommyhood--trial and error.

So it's just one of those days. I inhaled my latte and some leftover pizza for lunch. Not what I was envisioning for this afternoon, but I'll take it. It's all a reminder that in my own strength, I can do nothing joyfully, but in Christ alone, it is possible... do I really believe this? I do. So I need to trust Him, and go on with my day. Reminding myself of that is helping already... Or maybe that's just the caffeine finally kicking in. ;)

Ahh me. All of this is to say: I never realized how incredibly selfish I was until I had kids. It is sobering and fantastic, all at once. I've felt the sobering this morning; now I'm ready for the fantastic. :)

christmas cookies.

Ah, the first gingerbread of the season. Usually I'll make gingerbread in the fall--I'll make BIG pumpkin cookies and ice them up all pretty and enjoy them with tea {or gift away!}--but no such thing this year.  So it had to wait until a couple of days ago, when Liv helped me put a batch together:

She loves pouring the dry ingredients into the bowl after we've measured them. Or, not so much into the bowl, in this case. :) 

My friend Susan came over for some lunch and to help us decorate the cookies, which was great. Once Liv discovered she could eat the icing, her little finger was constantly covered in it.  She liked decorating the cookies, but enjoyed eating them more!

We haven't quite figured out what our holiday traditions will be yet as a family, but it's fun to think about. Some things on my radar:

Christmas jammies
Hot cocoa
Driving/walking around to see lights
Christmas cookies
Homemade marshmallows
Garlands for their rooms
Advent calendar

I didn't get to an advent calendar this year, but by next, both will be a little older and a little more excited about Christmasy-things, so it's all good. 

A cute quote I found this afternoon:

"Bless us Lord,
this Christmas,
with quietness of mind;
Teach us to be patient,
and always to be kind."

- Helen Steiner Rice

:)

i should be napping.

it's officially fall.

Yup; right now, the trees are being pushed around by some crazy wind, and leaves are everywhere, crinkling down the street and flying over the fences. Even Dex is happier observing the backyard from the back door instead of going outside. I am so excited for cooler weather and a reason to bundle up again...!

Last Sunday, we went to Cider Days, an annual event in our area where you can press your own cider, buy tasty carnival food, watch tractor pulls, enjoy music, kiddie rides, etc.  Even though Liv was completely wiped after the nursery at church, she found her second wind and enjoyed the afternoon dancing to country music and petting some animals in the petting zoo.

The cider was delicious--we left with two bottles (although we didn't press them ourselves). I've always thought of cider as being apple juice seasoned with cinnamon and cloves, not just juice squeezed from particular kinds of apples... Now I know. Good stuff.

Next week: the pumpkin patch. Probably one of my favorite places to go during the whoooooole year.

pumpkin moon

Soo...How is it already almost October? I have six more weeks until baby bug is born, and I'm feeling mentally prepared with a twist of nervous right about now.  More excited than nervous, truly; I just have so many questions that won't have answers until she's here. Like: How is Liv going to react to a new baby? Will this baby be jaundice too? Am I going to feel as emotional as I did with Liv afteward? What is bug's name going to be...? We've been practicing breathing exercises and discussing our "birth plan," so on that front, I feel good about things. There is just so much to look forward to and not know right now, and that's what's giving me butterflies. I can't wait to meet you, baby girl!

I moved a few things into the baby's room last week, to R's dismay... But hey, when you feel a burst of energy, you just gotta go for it, right? Okay, so it probably wasn't smart to move a dresser and a couple of rocking chairs around, but I went slow and shimmied as best I could, no lifting. All was well. I remember taking it fairly easy when I was pregnant with Olivia--this time around it's almost as if I forget I'm pregnant, and try to do much more than I should. The exception to this has been yard work--I can't bend over that well, no matter how energized I feel, haha. I'd still like to winterize my pots and get some of the old plants out of our beds though... Nesting much?

I'm finding I'm more of a fall cleaner than a spring cleaner. Okay, so again, this year is kind of an exception as nesting has been my driving force, but it's true. Digging out fall decorations lights the cleaning torch. Maybe it's the whole getting-the-house-ready-for-winter thing vs. cleaning-it-out-for-spring thing. So it's been a great time of purging and organizing and getting back to what I had originally dreamed about way back in January.

More about that on the way.

For now, here are a few of my favorite little things I dug out a couple of weeks ago:

Who wouldn't love to own a bakery named Pumpkin Moon?

Cream pumpkins... love it.

Bought this in Idaho Springs in 2009. Makes me smile.

Little pumpkin tealight holders - $1 a pop at Hobby Lobby

Homegrown Jack-Be-Little pumpkins! Liv helped me pick these.

Faux pumpkins on candlesticks. Brilliant. Thanks, Pinterest.

I also made a little Owlish art insert to display in a frame, heehee:

October is upon us! What are your favorite things to have around you this time of year?

summer in the rockies.

We went on our first family road trip two weeks ago, which was much-needed and very much enjoyed. We hit up Aspen, Crested Butte, Ouray, Silverton, and Glenwood Springs here in colorful Colorado... Absolutely lovely. All new places to both Raul and I (except Glenwood--we went there in 2008 for the first time). I'm pleased to say I've already printed all of our pictures and have them in a photoalbum--woohoo!--but I'll show you some highlights here.
Liv did great--she was mellow and enjoyed soaking everything in. Nighttime was an interesting time :) but as soon as we turned out the light and went to bed ourselves, she followed suit.  She is an adventuresome little girl, and it was fun toting her around with us.

ON THE WAY UP: MONDAY



We first went over Independence Pass, which was beautiful. Everywhere we drove this trip was beautiful, so if I keep saying it, I just can't help it...

Anyway, we stopped to take some pictures and stretch our legs, and saw some crazy southern guys jumping into a pond with snowpack, their families cheering them on. Good times, dude.

ASPEN

Raul was soo excited to see the Maroon Bells, the most photographed peaks in North America. Breathtaking. That's all I can really say. Even on a rainy day! I had never heard of these mountains before (whoops), and so I was glad Raul knew about them. We read on a plaque that quite a few people have died trying to climb them--8 people on different occasions in 1965, and the most recent last fall. They're deceitful as the rock looks sturdy, but is extremely loose, rotted, and unstable and gives way underfoot without warning. Um, yikes. So beautiful, but so dangerous!

We spent our first day wandering around the national park, walking downtown, and letting Liv play in a water fountain in the square. So cute. The next morning we hit up a little bakery for some pastries and coffee, and sat in the park while Liv played on the playground. I didn't realize how happy I would be about going to such a quaint little bakery, but I think that was my favorite morning of the whole trip.

CRESTED BUTTE: TUESDAY

My favorite place we visited... flowers, flowers everywhere. The town is adorable. Friendly people. And bikes! So many bikes.

On Wednesday morning, we took a chairlift up the mountain and got some awesome scenic pictures. We had so many strangers take our pictures, and vice versa... fun.  And of course, I love the ole "take it ourselves" picture--someone's head is bound to be cut off. R did a much better job than I did!

Liv fell asleep in Daddy's arms on the way down. What a way to nap. This was Raul's favorite moment of the trip. (She usually doesn't go down this easy ;)





OURAY: WEDNESDAY



We drove into Ouray later that day, and were amazed at how close the town was to the mountains! Again, beautiful! Completely different vibe from Crested Butte; I don't know if it was just the day we were there, but it felt almost ghost-townish. We didn't hit up the hot springs this trip--hopefully next time.

SILVERTON & GLENWOOD SPRINGS: THURSDAY

We drove into Silverton the next day via the Million Dollar Highway. Lots of four-wheeling trails this way; we saw lots of jeeps rumbling up the mountain, and ATVS on the side of the road.

We stopped at Red Mountain Pass and were loving all the views and different mountain ranges. (It's really amazing what a brief pitstop can do... a little snack, stretch the legs, and everyone is happy again, especially a one-year-old.)

And then, Silverton. A charming little town, and much busier than I was anticipating! We stopped and had lunch and wandered around before heading out to Glenwood Springs, driving back through Ouray. We both thought the drive into Ouray from the South was prettier than coming in from the North.

Sadly, we really didn't take many pictures aside from driving shots in Glenwood, maybe because we had been there before? Lame excuse, I know.

We went to the Hot Springs, which was great, and the Bavarian Bakery, and a cute little Italian place for dinner, PeppoNino, where we sat on the patio listening to live guitar music. Liv clapped after every song and chowed down on their ravioli--I wish I hadn't forgotten the camera in the hotel room!

***

On Friday, we packed everything up and headed home. I began calling this trip a "town tasting"--stopping long enough for a sip of the place before moving on, and comparing how different each one of them was to the next.

We have lived in Colorado for so long, and it's ridiculous how much of it we've never seen. We loved it. I didn't grow up road-tripping, but I think it will be a regular memory for Liv and little-sister-on-the-way, or so I hope!