Nicolich Coven

To Remember...

2011-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

I have been the lamest blogger this last year. Not that anyone really cares, but this is supposedly my journal, and I am doing a bad job keeping up on my journal. I blame facebook. It feels similar, but doesn't really record things the same way. Anyway, I wanted to record some of the things that I don't want to forget about this stage of my life. The pictures may or may not be related.

-The combining of sounds just clicked for Sally- she's now a reader! She's reading all kinds of words- even some I thought may be a little tricky! I am SO proud of her!

-The way Alice says, "Thank you. So much." Which almost sounds like "Bank you. So much." I love how the "so much" is said as its own sentence for extra emphasis. It is super sweet and never fails to make me smile.

-Sally will not wear jeans, or khakis or courds or anything that has what calls "lines" in them. This takes out any pants with the adjustable waist band, which is tricky when you have a long legged skinny little thing like her.

-Alice's amazingly sweet and kissable cheeks. And the fact that she lets me kiss to my hearts content- well, most of the time.

- Sally's love for school. She wants to go EVERY day. Sometimes the promise of school is the best motivator.

- Alice takes the food off her plate, onto the table where she mixes it, and only then (and only sometimes) will she use a utensil to eat it. Usually, it's done with hands, or using hands to put something on a utensil. She can use them, as she shows me when we have a brothy soup, but she much prefers This makes for a messy right sleeve for me since she sits to my right and her first choice for getting my attention is tugging at my arm.

-We love the book "Guess How Much I Love You" at our house. I often tell my girls. "I love you right up to the moon...and back." To which Sally now replies, "I love you right up to the stars, and forwards."

- Alice swivels her hips as she runs.

-I love the feeling that I still get when Bill opens his arms, welcoming me in for some cuddles.

-Sally will give lots of spontaneous hugs and kisses and the girl LOVES cuddling.

-I'm pretty sure Alice thinks the song Jingle Bells is about Tinker Bell.

-Sally is one of the least shy people I know. She is willing to make friends with EVERYONE. She has such confidence and has no doubt that everybody wants to be her friend. There has been many a time I've seen her holding hands with a new friend at the park or at the chik-fil-a play place.

-When Alice wants to get our attention, she often says in a loud voice, "Quiet! Quiet! Quiet!", over and over. When it's really important, she'll put her sweet little hands on both of my cheeks and tell me with great conviction whatever it is that needs telling.

-Sally has named most of her dolls something with Rose in the name. There's Rosie, Rose Petal, Rose Flower, Flower Rose, and then there's Fairy Leaf. Her mermaids, however, are named Sunshine and Perla. Santa brought Sally a doll house and it is such a joy to see her dolls go on adventure after adventure.

-I loved, loved, LOVED the time we got to enjoy with Bill working from home. I'm sad to see it go, but so grateful that we had that time. I am, however, looking forward to the new insurance!

- Alice gets a little shy sometimes and it is pretty adorable. She purses her lips slightly and puts her head down a bit and looks up, but not at the offending persons eyes. A little sad, but so, so sweet.

-I am continually amazed at how much real joy my family brings me. I am so blessed; so grateful.

Salt Lake City, baby!

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

I love Salt Lake City. I love the mountains surrounding it, I love how the numbers in addresses actually correspond to something, I love the how it seems to be filled with incredibly hot moms running about in cute clothes and kids in even cuter clothes. Okay, maybe that last one is not so much a love. But, the people I know in Utah is definitely the biggest love of all.

We went out a couple weeks ago for a fantastic trip. Here are a few (or more than a few) details of our fun filled time.

We went to This is the Place Park, one of the days. It's a great place replicating what early Salt Lake was like. The staff is all in costume, and there are lots of early saint activities for the kids, as well as a train and pony rides. There's even a little Indian Village. I've only been at Christmas (which is also awesome) for many years, but it is such a great place! Just remember if you go to the BBQ restaurant there, be prepares to wait. And then wait some more. We waited for more than 45 minutes for BBQ sandwiches and hot dogs. Sally even fell asleep! Other than that, though, the day was fantastic.

We spent no time wasted and put the kids to work plowing the fields.

While Alice ate the authentic treat of Animal Crackers.

.I don't remember what they are looking at, but it must be something cute, because they are adorable! Amy is always awesome, full of great conversation, great mommy skills (her kids and house are just wonderful), and it's all packed into a cute little body no mother of a 3 month old (now 4) should have. I'm lucky to have her as my sister.

She was so good! And they have a garden out back from which they produce all the dyes for the yarn. Super cool.

They were beat!

Look at that yawn- it's bigger than Annie herself! I was SO happy to meet this beautiful little girl. She is very sweet and tiny and perfect. She liked me some of the time, but is a perfect angel for her mama. I was glad I got to see more of her at an awesome sleepover we had! The kids played, we played too, and talked and connected and it was all kinds of great. We also ate some delicious Indian food that night. Why is it that there are no Indian restaurants in Georgia? If anyone knows of a great one, let me know pronto.

Sophie is an AMAZING big sister. And loving oldest cousin. Sally is still talking about how cool she is. I love that girl.

Playing some sweet rock band. Sally is dancing here. She also very much enjoyed singing Dear Prudence, and the dear girl got some pretty good marks!

Look at those looks of determination! Here, Mari is pictured, she seems like a lovely girl- and so gorgeous.

Cute little Carson cracks me up. He's a funny kid and has one of the greatest voices a little boy could have.

Cameron. The adorable curly haired boy that I hear is fussy, but is always super sweet when I'm around. That's it. Reason enough to go to Utah many, many times each year.

The kids made a kind of fort out of Grandpa's truck- don't worry, Dad, they were good,

Alice liked the car too! I know it's hard to see, but she looks very cute here.

One of the things on my list of things to do was visit the mountains. Now, going on a real hike is a little tricky wit kids my age, but there is a GORGEOUS trail around Secret Lake that is very family friendly, and did I mention beautiful? I love the mountains, and aside from the great people there, one of the things I miss most about Utah. I love it that the morning after we got in, Sally looked out the window, and said, "Whoah! Those mountains sure are big!" And they are. Big, terribly impressive, humbling mountains.

Look at that cute Grandpa! I LOVE my dad, and it is always so great to see him. One event that is not pictures, was a party we had with the people from his ward. He and my Mom are currently serving as missionaries in a Spanish ward. The people were great, and it is obvious they love my parents. My parents love them too- they just signed up for another 2 years! This is an amazing calling for my parents. They make real differences in these people's lives. My mom has said it's perfect for my dad, because it keeps him very busy- he likes to be busy. I'm sure it's also terribly fulfilling.

The kids all collected great little bits of nature. Sally was VERY into this.

Alice, however, did NOT want to get out of the stroller. Which was fine, because neither did Annie.

Until she saw the ducks, she was and is all about animals. She loved feeding them- they would eat right out of her hand!

This is my dear friend Erika. I was SO glad to be able to spend some time with her. She's been my friend for ages- maybe 20 years!

When we were young, we listened to a little Billy Joel. Or maybe Billy and were able to chat like old times. The picture I'm holding was taken when we were probably 13 or 14. We recreated it below...

Cool, eh?

We went to the Church history museum. It was neat- and free! We spent most of our time in the kids area, though the rest looked good also. It was a good thing we went when we did; they closed it to change it a couple days after we went.

Alice liked playing with the babies, even though some were heavy for her to even lift.

Sally was the cutest little Mary!

I tried so hard to get a picture of all three cuties in costume- this was the best I could do.

I think little Annie liked it too! Isn't she just adorable! Love that big smile.

She sure is a little angel.

Sally's walking on the strait and narrow path. Don't let go of that iron rod, Sally!

DJ, Kerry Moore, and I did some recording while we were out there. We were able to do three hymn arrangements, one of which was Be Still my Soul, that Deej arranged. It is SO beautiful He is such a talented boy. His cello playing skills are amazing, and he is such a great young man. He's great to talk to, laugh with, and just be around. I'm so glad this talented boy is my brother.

These were taken at Thanksgiving Point. We went to the farm portion, I'd never been. It was fun and the kids loved seeing all the animals, and no one lost a finger.

Look at that cute little girl. She thought those bunnies were awesome.

Alice liked them too!

So, I did not do the best picture taking this trip. Sadly, this is one of the only shots I got of my mom! But, there were lots of good times with her. I also didn't get any pictures of the ice cream social. Every year,
there is a neighborhood ice cream making party and contest. Last year, my mom was the winner with an awesome key lime pie ice cream. She should have won this year too- she did a marzipan ice cream, with real pieces of marzipan and almond cookies in it. Man, it was GOOD! We also got to play a ton. My kids adore her and her fun ways. She is among my favorite people for sure.

Alice LOVED this portion. They had lots of places to "plant" all these fruit and vegetable cards, then you could harvest them. It was a cute idea, and I thought it was kind of cool, but the kids could have spent hours in there. They enjoyed it thoroughly!

Even little Annie liked it!

I just thought this alpaca had an awesome hairdo, sometimes it would cover his eyes, and he;d look like a cartoon character.

I was happy to go see my friend Jessica and her cute boys in their new house. She is my friend from Georgia, and moved back to Utah a while back. It was great to spend a little time with her. She's awesome as always.

Look at all those cuties! We also were able to see my dear friends Becca and her boys, and Darci. I really wasn't as "on" with the camera as I have been. Lame me. It was fun to see both girls. Becca had a baby the week after I saw her. Little Grace was small, but I couldn't believe Becca had a baby in there that was old enough to live on her own. Becca's belly was tiny! She's pretty much a hot, hot mama. Darci came the night before I left and got to watch me pack. Probably not that much fun for her, but I am super glad she did! She is an important lawyer, and her life seems filled with all kinds of grown up things. I hadn't seen her for a while, and I was so glad to hang out and chat with that smart beauty for a while.

My parents and I were able to go to the new Oquirrh Mountain temple. The Atlanta temple has been closed for a year, and I've only been able to go once in that year. This was on my list of important things to do while in SLC. We were able to do sealings, and it was perfect. Seriousy, perfect. Exactly what I needed. The spirit in the temple is amazing, our sealer was awesome, and the work was meaningful. My mom was a little wary of doing sealings because kneeling is not great for her back, but I felt strongly that sealings was what I needed to do. They let her use a chair and it worked out perfectly. This was one of the highlights of the whole trip. Ding something like that with people you care so deeply about is something special.

And so, that concludes this very long post on our Utah trip. Believe it or not, there were events that got no pictures . My dad had his birthday celebration, there was an extended family party, swimming, and lots of fun. I can't wait to do it again!

Coming soon, is the Portland leg of our trip. It will be another monster post, so beware.

Alice!

2010-07-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

So, I realize I've done 2 posts in the last six months or so, and they have both been about Sally. Poor, neglected second child. But, no more- this one is all Alice!

I love the above picture for a few reasons. One, is her awesome hair. As it got more humid here,(currently, it is a steam room- we drink our air) her hair curled up. And it grew, lots and lots. Now, she has a the cutest little lion's mane you could imagine. I also love her smile, and that you can see her gap- it's adorable, right? This is also the view I get very often when she's climbing on me. It's fantastic to be climbed on by such a sweetie.

Here she is looking a bit like a beach diva- in all the right ways. In her every day, she isn't a super diva, though. She's pretty laid back about some things, she's content to play by herself much of the time. She does have a very frustrated "mommy!" with a growl in it that I hear from time to time, especially if she wants food. She'll say in her angry voice, "Mommy!! Eat. Eat!" Sometimes, though it's "How 'bout eat." I prefer the latter. And when she wants to eat, she wants to eat. She'll eat most anything, but she is especially into meat. Our little carnivore will eat meat like a mouse eats cheese. The other day, we were at a friends house eating some delicious pulled pork. After we were finished, the cook was shredding the rest. Alice kept going back to him and getting mouthful after mouthful, this was after she ate as much as I did. We love a healthy appetite! She usually eats Sally's leftovers at dinner too. When she sees Sally get up, it's immediately "down! Down!" so she can climb up in Sally's chair and finish her plate off.

Alice is in the midst of a language explosion. She says new words every day. I'm understanding her more too. She often will have a string of words in the language of Alice, and throw in an English one at the end. It's obvious she understands a lot and is getting a lot better at making her desires known through words. She's getting less frustrated at my lack of understanding, because, well, I understand more. It is so fun to hear all the new words she says. Some of my favorites are "Peew", which she tells me whenever she has a stinky diaper, "Sally"- there's just something special about hearing one child call the other, "mess", which she tells me whenever she spills or has dirty hands, and "yes", which when she says it, it sounds like yesh, and it's adorable.

Here is a moment of sister fun. Our two girls, Salice, as they sometimes get called, have lots of fun together. Alice likes to play with Sally and be a part of what she's doing. Sally is okay with this. On occasion. Sally likes to play with whatever Alice has. Only because she has it. Alice is okay with this. Never. They really do love each other and have fun, but big sister is a bit of a "teaser weaser", (as she says). This has been an ongoing situation since Alice's birth, but now Alice can do something about it. Unfortunately, sometimes that means pulled hair or bonks on the head with whatever happens to be in her hand. We're working on it, though when I discipline her, she just looks at me and smiles. Lately, Sally loves to get Alice to repeat after her. Alice is happy to oblige, sometimes it's just random words, but sometimes she'll say things like, "Alice, say I" "I" "Want" "want" etc, until she says something like I want to watch a show. Then Sally runs to me saying, "Alice wants to watch a show! She just asked!" Sometimes She even gets Alice to say please. Pretty clever, but I'm onto you, little ones.

Alice is a pretty happy little girl. Sure, she gets upset, but is usually very easily consoled or distracted. She also doesn't seem too upset by little bumps, and bonks. She really has to be hurting for real to even make a sound. Otherwise, I just ask her if she's alright, and she says "yeah", and goes on with her playing.

This was the first time since she was tiny that she fell asleep outside of her crib/carseat. I love it that she's wearing one stripey sock. When I do put her down in her crib, she goes down like a dream. I really only have to make sure she has a binky and her blanky, and she's good. She's been like that for a long time too. She is our little Linus around her. She is VERY attached to her blanky (me too- it was the last one my Grandma Barnes made), and she takes it EVERYWHERE. It's hard to get it washed, but in a pinch, she will do okay if Sally will let Alice use hers, but Alice knows which is which and much prefers her own. She is often seen dragging it around anywhere we go. We get a lot of Linus comments.

This is just because she's so pretty. Seriously, I think my girls are gorgeous. Both Alice and Sally get comments on how beautiful they are nearly every time we go out. I don't even mind that they look nothing like me. I just like looking at them.

Alice loves to make you laugh. She has several funny faces that she does often just to get some giggles. She also loves putting on clothes- especially shoes and socks. Here, she requested last year's swimsuit- over the jammies of course. She usually succeeds at getting some laughs out of me- she really is funny.

Alice has lots of energy, and especially loves to use it outside. She always wants to go out, even if it's raining or 1000 degrees. Running is a specialty of hers, especially if I'm trying to put a diaper on her little bottom. She tries very hard to jump, but it is more of a chest pump. She likes to dance and has some good moves. When we'd get to go into Sally's dance class, it was always a struggle to get her to stay with me- she just wanted to move. At Sally's dress rehearsal, Alice was spinning in the aisles with arms above her head in true ballerina style.

Alice- is she a cool gal, or what?

Here are 2 videos showcasing her awesomeness. The first, she is singing the ABC's. She does this a lot. The most amazing part to me, is that she has pretty good pitch. She is often singing little melodies- and I can tell what they are, even without words. I think she's a musical one.

In this one, I was trying to get Alice to count. She never does 1 or 2, but after that she can go to 12, but usually stops at 9. Here, however, she had her own idea.

Sally's First Ballet Recital

2010-06-06T17:44:00.001-07:00

Sally has been taking a ballet/tap class this year. She has LOVED it! She knows Tuesday is a dance day and is always talking about Miss Jennifer, her teacher. I signed her up just to give her some social time and to get some instruction from someone other than me. I'm so glad we did- it's been great for her! Their season ended with the annual spring recital, of which the theme was Flashback to the 80's. She's been talking about it for months, telling passersby, "Sally's going to be in a recital. Sally's dancing to We are the World." (yes, she sometimes speaks is 3rd person. Especially when saying something like that. I think she's aspirng to be Karl Malone.)

Anyway, the day came, and it was awesome. I couldn't believe how excited/nervous i was for her. It was the same feeling I get when I have a big performance. I was SO proud of her, and i couldn't keep the tears from my eyes. She was so brave and beautiful and good. I love her so much, and I was reminded of the power of that love last night.

Here is her dance below- the dark time in the middle, the teenage girl actually is dancing. Lame lights guy. Anyway, it's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Didn't you love it? They didn't have the polka dots the day before, she was very interested in them, and didn't notice it was time to dance. That and her hands were caught. Goodness, I love this.

And here she is taking her bow and doing the finale dance- the best part is her doing the robot. So stinking cute!!!

Sally supporters. Our dear friends the MacPhersons came to watch- it was great!

This was at the dress rehearsal, Alice SO wanted to join the big girls!

My beautiful dancer!

About half the girls in Sally's dance

This reminds me of a painting my parents have. Sally really digs the girl posing.

Ugh. Sally is cute, but the mama, not so much. I swear my belly doesn't fill that shirt out. I think I'm trashing the shirt after seeing this.

Daddy and Sally! She got a medal that she is quite proud of. Also, we planned on getting flowers there, but the lady in front of me got the last ones. The MacPhersons came with flowers just as I was calling Bill to tell him he'd need to run and get some. Did I mention how cool those MacPhersons are?

Halle, Sally, and Baily, such cuties!

The family

One last one of my tiny dancer. So proud!!

Sally's first Interview

2010-02-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

So, I've been wanting to post for quite some time, but our computer network is all crazy and the computer with the pictures is not connected to the internet. So, I will do a pictureless post. I got this idea from a friend's blog, I even stole the questions. It's an interview. Sally loved it. So did I.

What is your name?
Sally Rosebud. (in song...) S-A-L-L-Y spells Sally.

When were you born?
In your belly.

When?
On Thursday. Is that right mommy?

It was actually Friday, but you were close.
Yes, I was born on Friday.

How old are you?
Fwee.

Who is your Mommy?
You

What does she do?
Primary work and we put gas in the car.

What is your favorite thing to do with mommy?
I like to play games like chest. (chess)

Who is your daddy?
Bill- Dada is spelled with two D's and two A's.

Very good Sally.What does Daddy do?
He works.

What does he do at work?
He works and we come to his work and he works on his computer. He gives me a yummy treat.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
Play with him and Alice.

What is your favorite color?
Pink, like my pink leotard and even my pink tights. All my tights are very beautiful.

What is your favorite animal?
Stomping, big elephants with trunks. I don't have any trunk at all I just have a cute nose. I am very cute.

You sure are. What is your favorite food?
I like to eat strawberry soup.

Strawberry soup? Do I make that?
No, I don't like it with vegetables, I like strawberry yogurt. And, I like green broccoli and meat and strawberries- those are my favorites.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, I want to be a princess.

Where do you want to live when you grow up?
Well, I want to live in Georgia. Is this house in Georgia?

Yes.
And Salt Lake is where Grandma lives. Grammy lives in... Where does Grammy live again?

Portland.
Yes, Portland. Portland starts with P.

What do mommy and daddy do after you go to bed?
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

What is your favorite song?
I'm a Single Ladies.

What is your favorite movie?
Tinkerbell.

What is your favorite place to eat?
At the dinner table. That's where we eat dinner. In the morning we eat breakfast and at night, we eat dinner.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Strawberry vanilla.

Who is your favorite person?
My favorite person is my mommy and my daddy and my baby sister Alice.

Who is your best friend?
Coleman is a cousin and my favorite friend.

What does Mommy say?
I love you.

What does Daddy Say?
Be careful

What is your favorite book?
Fancy Nancy Christmas, but we don't have it. We only have Fancy Nancy Valentime's Day.

You mentioned your baby sister. What is her name?
Alice Marie.

Where did she come from?
She came out of your belly. Alice lives on earth. But what do we do on earth? We get on earth and Jesus sent you to earth. Jesus even made you, but Jesus didn't make you. Did Heavenly Father?

Yes.
Heavenly Father made everyone.

I love you Sally Rose.
I love you too, mommy.

2009-12-07T19:19:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Birthday for Bill

2009-12-06T18:49:00.001-08:00

The day before my Birthday, Joe Grigg and I went to a Microsoft event in Alpharetta - about an hour away from our sleepy town of Braselton. A 4GB Zune MP3 player was raffled at the end - and I won it out of about 60 people! That was my first big win at a Microsoft event. What a nice early birthday present.

Birthday morning, Emily made a grand slam breakfast. Lucky me.

By special request, I asked Emily to make pinwheel cookies for my birthday. My Grandmother Messer would make these. I haven't had them in years. They are my favorite cookies, however.

Also for my birthday, Emily arranged for me to do a "ride along" in a race car at Road Atlanta - a NASCAR race track down the street from us. It's a 2.54 mile, 12-turn world-class road course. I was intrigued by the idea but wasn't really excited about it. That changed when I strapped into the car and put on a helmet.

The car I passengered is a restored 1966 Mustang. I think it's a pretty cool car. It's owned and built by the driver.

My driver is an experienced race car instructor as a hobby. By day, he's a Web Designer and co-owner of a consulting firm. He's certified at level 4 - which means there are a variety of things he's allowed to do on the track that levels 1-3 aren't allowed to do. If you're level 1, then you can only pass another car on straightaways. So there's a scheme of priviledges meant to keep things safe and organized on the track.

Anyhow - we were in a group of about 15 cars that were a mix of levels 3 and 4. So all were very experienced drivers. The cars were a variety of makes and models. All were fast obviously.

We were lined up to get onto the track. We were third in line to go. Ahead of us was a newer Mustang model and in first position was a $400K car called a Ford GT 40. The car and driver recently raced at this year's Petit La Mans event and qualified - which is a respectable feat. The presence of this car affected the whole dynamic of the run.

My driver told me he wanted to try to keep up with the expensive car for a lap to see if it were possible. I did not object.

The race track consists of a long straightaway, a shorter one - and the rest of the track consists of s-curves, a z-curve and other nuances. The track is situated on rolling hills. So at one point, you go screaming downhill toward a sharp turn. At several points, the track climbs a hill and one can't see the track ahead until it's too late - so to speak. A driver really has to know the layout of the track - or else.

So we tear off the line to try to keep on the GT 40. I couldn't believe how fast a car could go around turns without flying off the road. Motivated by the challenge - my driver was able to stay with the super-fast car for three whole laps. During that run, we passed the Mustang in front of us and tailed the GT 40 directly. Finally we started passing the slower cars and got into traffic that slowed us down. We went all-out, squealed around turns and the whole bit. It was like being in a real race.

In summary, the quest was a bit insane - but I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Thanks Emily and the Caspers!

This birthday finds me sliding into the 2nd half of my 30's. Of course I want the 2nd half of my 30's to go well. I've got a few quests lined up that I think will make things interesting. Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday Sally Rose!!!

2009-10-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

On the 13th of this month (I know, I'm behind) Sally Rose turned three! She is such a vibrant and fun girl! Here are some pics of her special day, also, good info about her as of late.

Here is our sweetie "whistling". this started because of an Air song that, well, includes a lot of whistling. I think she really believes she is whistling, however she is making more of a hoo sound. It's very adorable and it happens often. She also likes to sing, when she's in the mood. Her pitch can be pretty good, and it always makes me smile.

Here she is opening a gift on the morning of her birthday with daddy. Sally and Bill have a special connection- it is so fun to see them interact. She brings out a side in him that is so sweet. They are always playing games. I get asked very often what daddy is doing or where he is throughout the day. "Is Daddy almost home?" She just can't wait! She adores him and gets very upset if a hug is missed

Here she is opening a trunk of princess dress up clothes the Utah grandparents sent. She is SO into princesses right now! It's amazing how girly she is. I don't consider myself super girly, and I haven't pushed princesses or pink or anything like that, but she is all about it. Princesses, mermaids and ballerinas make her life complete. Her favorite color is pink and she spins a lot when she gets excited. We read princess book after princess book and there are countless tales of a dancing mermaid princess named Sally. When I fix her hair, I need to ask which princess she'd like her hair to mimic. I like it when she says Bambi (who, in her head is DEFINITELY a girl). Sally is definitely all girl.

Sally has been looking forward to her third birthday since she turned two. We have lots of pretend birthday parties. A couple moths ago, we received a birthday catalog in the mail. Sally became obsessed with it and took it everywhere- including Walmart, where it got left on a shelf. She was incredibly distraught over the loss of her "birthday book" and mentions it EVERY time we go to Walmart. She is very glad that another kid "bought" it from the store and is currently enjoying it.

Here, Sally is so happy! Her emotions tend to run high, (I wonder where my little drama queen gets it from?) which makes it exciting to deal with her. She can get upset easily and sometimes shows some teenage-esque attitude, but also gets VERY excited and can be sweeter than cotton candy. When she's happy, she is very affectionate and loving. She's funny too!

Later that day, Daddy and Grammy took Sally to the park. (I had to go to Nashville) Now, I wasn't there to see first hand, but I've been to the park with he plenty of times to see how social she is at the park. The world is her friend. She'll ask anybody to play and expects that everybody will see her as the amazing girl that she is. I'm continually impressed by her confidence and willingness to meet new people. She is like that everywhere we go. She is taking a dance class (yes, it is the cutest thing ever) and LOVES it, yes for the dancing, but she loves the social interaction she gets. It is so fun to see her hatch into this social butterfly.

Yay for swinging! And can you see Alice here too? (Sally can almost pump, which is exciting!) I know in Alice's birthday post, I said a little bit about their relationship, which is fun, but I'd like to say a little more. She can be very thoughtful of her little sister, and often serves as her voice. If Alice is babbling away, Sally will do a high voice and "interpret." My favorite is when Alice "says" things like, "I think me and Sally need a cookie." More often is cute sayings like "I love dada!" Being a parent of two can be so rewarding and fun!

I LOVE this picture! It embraces the essence of Sally. She is such a smart fun loving girl. I love the things she says, like "You have a choice. You can have a time out, or read me this book". I love the way she cuddles. I love to watch her evolve and grow. I love to see her smile and laugh. I love to see her dance and sing. I love to see her imagine and explore. I love to hear her pray. I love everything that is Sally Rose. It's amazing to me that she is already three, and yet, it's hard for me to really remember life without her. Things were just...different. Things have so much more meaning now. Things are better because I have my little Sally Rosebud.

Happy Birthday Alice!!

2009-10-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, or I suppose now 2 days ago, Alice celebrated her first birthday. My mind is having a hard time comprehending that my little baby has been here for a full year. It has gone by WAY too fast. The following are some pictures taken throughout the day, plus some fun Alice info.

You can see her cake caked little face, although pink frosting doesn't show up very well. Trust me, she was covered. Especially her bare belly. Alice has always been an excellent eater. Sometimes, she'll eat more than I do at a meal. She loves everything, (except goat cheese and capers...it will come) and lots of it. She'll let you know in no unsure terms when her tray is lacking. Often, you'll catch her putting food in her mouth with one hand, then the other, then the other, with barely a breath between. Food, it seems, is serious business to this little one.

Alice held onto this balloon through the whole cake eating process- there was no way she was letting go. Alice also has a hard time letting go of her "silky". My Grandma Barnes made these fantastic silky blankets for all the grand kids and great grand kids, Alice was lucky to get the last one she made, though my awesome mother has continued the tradition. Alice LOVES it! It soothes her swiftly and helps her sleep. She loves to play peek-a-boo with it and just feel it on her skin. I love it that she loves it.

This is perhaps my favorite picture of the day. She's so happy! Alice has always been a very easy baby. She has had very few inconsolable sessions. even as a newborn. She smiled early and has been a smiley baby ever since. She sleeps the night, and is dream to put down, (just make sure she has her blanky and her binky). She is pretty laid back, (except when eating) and is just such a complete delight.

This is her ghetto cake. I'm only showing it because of it's ghetto charm. One day she might care. Today is not that day. Sally, however, talked to her Grammie (who is here now- yay!!) about the cake's beauty.

Doesn't she look sweet? Alice is the epitome of sweetness. She loves to cuddle and give big open mouth kisses. She will crawl with excitement into open arms and has the softest angel skin. She gives the biggest Halloween treat bag a run for the money when it comes to sweetness.

Sally and Alice have an interesting relationship. They are both very interested in each other and usually very nice. Alice likes to follow Sally around sometimes and play all kinds of things with her. Sally likes to give all kinds of love to her baby sister and sometimes likes to help. Other times, she likes to slam doors in poor Alice's face or restrain her from pushing buttons or getting into things by laying on her. Alice is pretty much a champ through it all. She will whimper for a moment and then all is well for this little one. They really do love each other.

Okay, maybe this is my favorite. She is just so beautiful! Alice is starting to say some things. She can say mama, dada, muh (more), uh-oh (this is ADORABLE), bubble, do a fishy mouth and a lizard mouth. It is so fun to see her progress. She also babbles quite a bit and makes the cutest sounds. I even like one of her cries that almost sounds like a siren (if you are in my ward, you're well familiar with it) It's actually very cute.

Alice is getting to be such a big girl! She can cruise along most anything and LOVES to walk with things (thank you Grandma for the cool "walker"- she loves it!) she can stand for quite a long time and has stepped with her right foot a handful of times. Sometimes, even two steps (both with the right foot, making her rotate around) She'll be really walking soon. I'm pretty impressed by the way she rarely gets hurt. She seems so aware of herself and her surrounding- she hardly ever bonks her head on anything. Bill said it nicely here, "One facet about Alice to note is her remarkable caution - which takes patience, focus and awareness - all traits that she shows daily. She hardly ever gets into accidents. I'm really impressed at her ability to do things like learning how to walk, do crawling to sit-up transitions, climb the stairs and to explore safely."

We went to the indoor play area at the mall and Alice LOVED it. She is a good size for all of the fun "toys" they have. She had a blast going through all the tubes and standing up to everything and cruising. She also went down the little slide about 2548 times. Now, she seems to be a "safe" baby, but she still likes to explore. She loves seeing new things and seeing what could be inside everything. That is evidenced in some movie cupboards we have. She loves to see what's inside the cupboard, and then what's inside each case. I'm constantly picking them up. Same goes for CD shelves, kitchen cupboards and any drawer she can find.

Alice adds so much to my life. From her pensive expressions to her huge grins. From irresistible laughter to funny whimpers. She makes me feel so... warm. Like drinking steamed milk with a caramel shot, only so much more intense. She warms me even deeper than the marrow, to the place science has yet to discover. If only they could play with Alice for a little bit they would have no doubt there is so much more to us and to life. Her birthday is the day before mine and I am glad. I always know I have the greatest birthday present a person could have. A sweet, loving, happy, playful, adventurous, beautiful, fun, overall wonderful little Alice Marie.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2009-09-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's been raining in Georgia. A lot. This afternoon we had small rivers on either side of our house. Sally and I took the opportunity to go run and play. And get soaked.

She loved it!
I got out the umbrella to take pictures and we ended up dancing all around with it. Sally thought this was a grand idea.

Thogh it was bigger than she is.

We played a game where we would send a flip flop of mine down the "river". The other would have to catch it, because the current picked up in the gutter. Luckily, I still have two shoes.

It was really moving.

You can see some of the speed here against her feet. She started with boots but opted for bare feet when she saw me without footwear- mine kept coming off with every step.

Sally's skirt was so wet and weighted down it was falling off her little bum. We had so much fun, and were out there for quite a while. It was great to play like this with my special big girl.

Bombarded by Pictures

2009-09-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't been awesome about keeping up. Much has happened- a trip SLC, and a trip to Florida- those posts will come. This, however, is all about the everyday greatness that has been the last month or so. Be prepared for the bombardment.

I think she looks pretty here- she's about to scale the mountain

She's climbing it- can you believe the altitude of that mountain? Laundry can get crazy.

Alice is pulling up to everything and cruising when highly motivated. She can stand by herself for 15 seconds or so- I think those first steps are coming very soon.

Sally can be SO happy sometimes!

We tried to go to a water park and this is what we got.

These are our friends JK and Naybi. We'll have to try again.

This is what Sally wore to her first dance class- she LOVES it! We now have more proper attire, but are back to finding a class. They are all SO expensive and have crazy hidden fees. She absolutely adores going, though.

She loves playing with my wallet. I love looking at her eyes.

Sometimes I wonder if Alice's hair will curl. You can see the little curl ups by her ears here.

Such sweet sisters.

I love these girls SO much!

Cute little Alice was so pleased to play with Sally's new rain boots.

She's on her way down from a jump off the pig.

Sally and Naybi- I think they are being butterflies.

I LOVE this picture- she is so beautiful.

Sadly, this is the most action all these cute undies get. She runs away and screams if I ask her about the potty. It will come.

Alice found a cozy spot.

She is so cute I can hardly stand it! I love that her tongue is twisted here- very true to life. She has enjoyed playing with her tongue from day one. If you ask her what a lizard says, she'll dart it out quickly. She'll also do a fish mouth.

I love this little retro top Alice is wearing. I need to find some good thrift stores around here.

They both think Daddy is a playground. He is so great with them.

Here's Sally in her full Ballet gear- I lOVE it!

She is always doing "princess twirls" and tippy toes. She is such a girly girl. I am not what I would consider terribly girly, but it is fun to indulge that side of myself with her. It's all about the pink and princesses and ballerinas with her.

There are two videos back to back. The first is Sally singing one of two Alice Marie songs that are sung A LOT in our house. The second, is Alice dancing adorably.

Well, I'll bet if you made it this far, you are Nicolich girled out. I'm not, though. i can't wait to play with them in the morning. I love being a mom to these amazing children.

A Trip to the High Museum in Atlanta

2009-09-02T17:36:00.001-07:00

The Monet water lillies exhibit was showing at the High Museum in Atlanta, so we made a visit.

Occasionally, when one dabbles in art and literature, these might converge unexpectedly - producing a psychic pause in the space time continuum. This happened to me with the painting shown above entitled Moonlit Market, 1874 by the American painter Johann Mengels Culverhouse.

I've been reading the short stories of Anton Chekov. In the midst of this collection is the story entitled Easter Eve where the narrator exclaims "'What a restless night!' I thought. 'How nice!'" This was precisely the identical reaction I had to the painting. There's something about the painting that appeals to me perfectly.

In addition to that coincidence, the Chekov story unfolds a very similar scene which takes place at midnight in a Russian village to that which is depicted in the painting. I'll quote here and allow you to judge.

I took a few steps through mud, but a little farther walked on a soft freshly trodden path. This path led to the dark monastery gates, that looked like a cavern through a cloud of smoke, through a disorderly crowd of people, unharnessed horses, carts and chaises. All this crowd was rattling, snorting, laughing, and the crimson light and wavering shadows from the smoke flickered all over it.... A perfect chaos! And in this subbub the people yet found room to load a little cannon and to sell cakes. There was no less commotion on the other side of the wall in the monastery precincts, but there was more regard for decorum and order. Here there was a smell of juniper and incense.

Also note that above, I've photographed a painting of a cave island in the sea. This is entitled Fingal's Cave, Island of Staffa, Scottland by American painter Thomas Moran. Notice the similarity of this painting to the description above of "looked like a cavern through a cloud of smoke."

Date Night

2009-08-30T18:49:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of what I see every morning. I see a darling wife and two cute little girls who usually make their way to the big bed.

Now on to the story. Recently, we went on a Date night. Emily had a great idea. We went laser-tagging. Mostly the patrons were young teenagers. Then there was us - yay! The establishment smelled like a roller-skating rink - a mixture of popcorn, processed snacks, sweat, video game exhaust, rainbows and unicorn droppings.

Emily scored better than I did on both rounds. Later she revealed that one of her chief tactics was to exploit the weakest opponents the whole time - you know - shoot the "noob" over and over again. Why does this vest keep lighting up like that? Huh.

I wished I could have set my own name - but apparently the laser tag software isn't that sophisticated. I would have been "The Bad Home Teacher."

We ate at my favorite restaurant: Yo Yo Ma. They've got three restaurants in one building - Chinese, Thai and Japanese. I had Coconut Soup from the Thai menu, shared sushi with Emily, and had mongolian beef for the entree. Delicious!

Emily seemed to have fun too. I submit the following photgraph as proof.

Trapped in the Bathroom

2009-07-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

I'm behind. Catching up seems daunting, but I'm starting the process. It's not that there are tons of people out there chomping at the bit to see what I have to say, but this is my journal. Really, I need to find a way to store this stuff because I'm fully counting it as my personal history. Much has happened, but I'll start with this amusing little story.

A little while ago, I was in the bathroom. (you can tell it will be good, right?) Sally decided to come in with me, and Alice was crawling around just outside the room. The picture is what the set up of our bathroom is. The door on the right goes to the hall, the camera is in is the sink part of the bathroom, and the door on the left is the toilet and bathtub portion.

So anyway, Sally and i are in the potty portion when along comes Alice. She pushed the hall door all the way open, which created this situation.

This picture was taken from the bathtub part of the room. Both doors here are fully open, and you can see the hall door is blocking the doorway out of the toilet chamber. This is no big deal, because Alice can't keep us in, right? There's no way a nine month old could trap her mom and sister. Except for this.

This is taken from the doorway of the potty part of our loo. See those menacing drawers? Usually, they are not so menacing, but our sweet little Alice pulled the bottom drawer open; all the way open. This made it impossible for me to get out. So, I was stuck in the bathroom with this darling,

While this sweetie had the entire upstairs to roam. By herself.

Luckily, she pretty much stayed by the door the entire time.

My first thought was to try to coax Alice into closing the drawer. Being nine months old, she didn't oblige. I then tried- many, many times- to reach my fingers through the crack and help the drawer closed. This never worked. I could get my hand painfully through, but it created more pressure on the drawer, and it wouldn't budge. I tried to get Sally and her smaller hands to help, but that wasn't working either. I tried using the handle of a toilet brush. I took down the shower curtain rod and tried to go over the top of the door. I tried folding a magazine and going under the door. I tried to comfort myself thinking perhaps Bill would be coming home for lunch. In about 3 hours. None of this worked.

Meanwhile, Sally is saying things like, "Oh no. This is so crazy!" and "We're never going to get out." Alice is crawling around, and mostly being pleasant, but starts to get weary of only seeing my fingertips after about fifteen minutes. After being in there for 25 minutes (and deciding to always take a cell phone to the potty), I decide we need help. Sally and I knelt down in the small space and we said a prayer.

About one minute later, two things happened. Alice pushed a thin cardboard tube (the kind that goes on a wire hanger) an inch or so under the door. She also bumped the drawer so that it closed a little bit. With the drawer in a bit and the with my new "tool", I was able to jimmy the drawer shut and open the door to our freedom. We were reunited at last!

Little Sally was relieved to be out,

And Alice was happy to be held and fed.

They were happy to be together again.

I was the most relieved, I'm sure. It was good to be out, but even better to be reminded of the power of prayer. This was the kind of experience that kids have, and maybe it was for Sally's benefit, but I was completely floored. The answer to our prayer came swift and sure. I think Heavenly Father heard my plea, and decided I needed some help. I am very grateful for that help, and for the opportunity we have to communicate with our maker at any time.

PS These pictures were from a little tea party we had. I dressed up too. We had special petit fours and pink milk for tea- delightful little lunch.

Battle with the Hornets

2009-07-08T11:55:00.001-07:00

Despite the sound advice made by some of you, I went ahead with the operation "Sting First."

If you click the image you can get a better look. There are several hornets attached to the outside of the nest.

Although it's summer time in Atlanta, I put work gloves, a ski jacket with velcro sleves and a scarf--you know, to keep the hornets out of my jacket. I opened the window just high enough to get my arm out. Then I sprayed the entire can into the nest from about 4 feet away.

Hornets started streaming out of the nest. Some escaped and started hovering around. The operation was dicey there for a minute. There are still some hornets out that are not able to return to the nest.

From a downstairs window, some of the hornets can be seen. They are large and evil looking. You can see the stinger from a mile away.

Removal operations will commence on Monday.

Computer Panel Explodes

2009-07-03T17:19:00.001-07:00

Imagine you're on the Starship Enterprise. Your sole job in life is to man a certain control panel, press the buttons and turn the dials when appropriate. Then an alien probe wanders by and implodes your control panel. Now what!? Aaaahuuhuuuuhhaahhuuuh!

Hornets: Not friendly.

2009-07-02T19:06:00.001-07:00

Does anyone want to help me do battle with this hornet's nest? This is on the second floor near the master bedroom window--so it's way up by the roof about 25 feet high or so.

Snapshot of June

2009-07-02T07:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've been lame in the blogging world. I still haven't posted about when my family came to town, and I plan on it. It is even started, but so much happened, that it seems a little daunting. in the meantime, I thought I'd share some of my awesome kids' developments. I also didn't realize Bill was posting some things at the same time. Check out his below.

Alice-

Alice is still about the sweetest little thing ever. She sleeps well, eats well, and rarely cries. When she does, it's short. She is laid back and beautiful and brings me so much joy every single day.

This girl LOVES to eat. She can't get enough. The only think she's snubbed has been the baby food turkey that more closely resembles cat food. I understand her rejection of that. She also wants her food continuously. If you wait too long between bites, she'll let you know. We've been giving her lots of table foods, and she likes everything. Her love of food has prompted some communication. She is always signing more! Her version involves putting the tips of her thumbs together. It's so sweet.

She has such beautiful eyes. And everything else. When we're out, I often get nice comments about her cuteness. Especially in the eye department.

I love this face- she often has her eyebrows pulled in this quizzical look. I think she's really trying to figure everything out. I think this curiosity is good. She'll use it to learn all kinds of good things.

This is definitely a water baby! She can't get enough. The second she touches water she kicks and splashes and gets very excited. She doesn't mind her face getting wet. It's so fun to see her! Here's a little clip of her splashing around. I love the legs!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The biggest development in little Alice's life has been her ability to move. She's mobile now! Which is great, but changes my life quite a bit. She has the cutest little crawl. I can't decide if it's like an inch worm, or a frog. Either way, she's getting very good at it. She gets around wherever she wants to go, and leaves rooms with ease. Here's some footage of her in action.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sally-

Sally is such a passionate fun girl! She loves life and wants to enjoy it to its fullest. She is outgoing and friendly and loves to learn. You never have to wonder how she's feeling, she'll let you know. She's also very affectionate and I routinely get cuddles, kisses, hugs and love affirmations from this cutie.

I know this is blurry, but check out her face- she's plugging her nose with her upper lip- just like I can do. If only I could convince her to put her head in the water, she could put that skill to use.

Just like above, but clear and no funny face. I like this picture- yellow is such a happy color.

I know this picture has nothing to do with friendliness, but I'm using it to talk about that anyway. My grandpa used to say of me, "Emily knows no stranger". Sally is usually the same. She occasionally gets shy, but is usually ready to make friends with everyone around her. The other day at the playground, I was particularly impacted when she went up to some random kids and said, Hi, I'm Sally! Do you want to play with me?" She has no fear of rejection, just the desire to share her joy with others. Especially kids. She wants to be every child's friend.

This is Sally sitting at the computer. She loves playing games on this thing. we'll go to pbskids.org, and if i let her, she'd stay there indefinitely. She can move the mouse and click on all anything she wants. She'll follow the instructions and figure it out. It's amazing that she is using a computer already. She's not even three yet.

She has been all about books these days. She routinely wants to read 14 books in a row. She also likes to read them by herself. She has a few pretty well memorized (below is a clip). Lately, she's been wanting to put me to bed. It is so sweet. She reads, sings, says prayers, and gives me goodnight loves. I love it. I should say that the reason the video below is so shaky is that Alice was very interested in the hanging lens cap. She kept tugging at it.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here, I was trying to catch her singing. You can hear a little bit, but it's the overall behavior I find so funny.

Yes, she's asleep on the potty. So funny! This brings up two issues. Is Sally potty trained? No. She'll occasionally sit on the potty, but usually she wants nothing to do with it. She does have some cool panties that she likes to wear, and I think she really tries to keep them clean. mostly, though, she hold it in. I'm not pushing it super hard, because there's resistance and I don't want to make it a negative thing. It will come.

The other issue here is sleep. The reason she crashed here, was that she didn't get a nap this day. I'm torn, because she really needs a nap still- she does much better in the evening when she has one. (not to mention me needing her to nap) But she's having trouble settling down at night. She is often awake at 11:00 or later. In her room, but awake. We put her down, but she just wants to play. This doesn't happen when she doesn't nap. I've been trying to shorten her nap. I think that's the compromise we'll live with for now.

Together, the Nicolich girls are SO fun to be with. They love each other and life. They are so different, which is great. They both make me so happy.

This is a typical picture of Sally mauling Alice

We've been doing lots of fun things lately. playground trips (when we can stand the incredible heat), swimming trips, and blueberry picking. And of course, lots of fun and games at the homestead.

Sally loves these boots- even in this weather. I love her wearing them- super cute.

One similarity between our girls is their love of all things daddy. And with good reason. He is such a fun and loving papa. We are all lucky to have such a great man in our lives.

Game Night

2009-07-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

We had Chad and Julie over for blueberry cobler made by Emily and a game of Settlers of Katan.

Julie Won.

Growing

2009-07-01T18:43:00.001-07:00

I went to Alice's room one morning lately and found her sitting up. She has also held the top of the crib and "stood up" with her knees. Soon she'll be on her feet. So, it's time to move the crib bed to the lower position. She has grown a lot and is becoming mobile. Yay for Alice!

Good morning Alice! How are you today?

Wild

2009-06-23T11:01:00.001-07:00

On our property there are a few wild blackberry plants. Sally has helped me pick them.

2009-06-23T10:51:00.001-07:00

Emily made me a nice Father's Day breakfast. Lucky me! As part of my appreciation, I thought I'd take photos.

Father's Day dinner was a bonus. Emily said she'd make me whatever I wanted. So, I requested bacon-wrapped filet mignon, "funeral potatoes" and green bean caserole. Wala. It magically appeared and was delicious!

As part of the day I got to take a nap and read a book. I read a chapter from Neil Postman's "Technopoly." It's a really good book.

Sally kept telling me Happy "Mother's Day."

2009-06-16T12:01:00.001-07:00

This is one of my garden helpers. Sally often asks if she can help water the plants. Recently she learned to put the water down by the roots instead of on top of the plants.

First Pepper Crops

Our pepper plants are starting to yield some peppers. However, a majority of our pepper plants are showing signs of infection from a fungus that causes the leaves to wilt and fall off the plant. I've got at least one plant that has no leaves right now. Very sad.

What will I do about these pepper plants? Well, I've been watering them frequently, which I think has helped the fungus more than the plants. So, I'll stop watering them as frequently. I might experiment with a couple of plants by letting them go without water for a good bit of time to see if I can dry up the fungus that way--while hopefully saving the plant.

I spent a small fortune on these plants. I got them at Home Depot for about $3,29 each. Next year, nearly everything will be from seed.

I'm sad about the peppers, but I'm still hopeful about the tomatoes. Also, the four types of basil are turning in a good yield along with the Greek oregano, mint and lemon balm.

Also the beets and radishes I just put in are growing nicely.

Lexington, Virginia

2009-05-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

So, last weekend, we were supposed to go camping. Then, our group opted out because of some scary weather forecasts. What's a Nicolich to do? Go on an impromptu trip to Virgina, of course. We decided at about eleven on friday night and woke up at four Saturday morning to go. I am very happy we went- it was a great time!

Why Lexington? Bill served a mission in Virgina 16 years ago. He hadn't been back before now, and we decided this would be a good opportunity. We got to see members of the ward, and people he taught. That was really great! There was one guy he taught, and then didn't know what happened to him. it turns out, he was baptized shortly after and has been a strong member ever since. We also chatted with some bluegrass musicians that he worked with. Who knows, maybe that will afford me an opportunity to play sometime. We also went to some caverns, saw a natural wonder called Natural Bridge, checked out the LDS standards school Southern Virgina University, checked out Washington and Lee university, saw the remains of Stonewall Jackson in a neat cemetery, checked out the remains of Robert E. Lee in a chapel dedicated to him and enjoyed lots of time with our little family.

Here's the breakdown of our trip. It's out of order. I hope that's okay.

Sally sulking amongst some headstones

Cool gravestones

Sally had some rough moments. She's become...more difficulty lately. I'll post on this later and ask for tips. There will be a family post first- my parents are here! and Wendy and her fam will be here on Sunday!

Handsome and ready to see people from his past

I'm always behind the camera, but i did snap this one of myself. Nice lips, right?

Alice fell asleep in Daddy's arms when we were looking at Natural Bridge

Getting her toes wet

Natural Bridge

Daddy and Sally in the caverns

Happy girl!

Poor Bill had an eye problem. He was hesitant about meeting people while having red eyes, but is super glad he did.

Just a pretty Sally shot

She enjoys life to the fullest.

Cuties

I think this is so pretty

My cute family. You know you're jealous.

What a sweet girl.

This is at Stonewall Jackson's grave/statue. People always put lemons there because he had a fondness for fruit. Weird. Also, confederate flags are weird to me. I do like this picture, though.

Lots of pretty old gravestones

Glass Ceiling

2009-05-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

There are some pretty impressive abilities out there in the natural world. Dolphins have sonar. However, there is a "glass ceiling" for each species in the present--a set of clear limits.

Nature is brutally frugal and efficient. Sure, it would benefit the squirrel to be outfitted with more strength and intelligence, but a set of invisible but real constraints (including the constant fight with pathogens) factor into the evolution of the squirrel and create that glass ceiling (invisible but iron-clad).

Then there's two-year-old Sally.

Monday she guided me over to the computer to help her play a game on pbs.org. I placed her hand just so on the mouse and placed her first two fingers on the left button. I placed my hand on hers to guide the mouse to interact with the web browser-based games. When I prompted her to "click," she would click the mouse. She soon began to get pretty good at guiding the mouse with little intervention. Her assimilation of the computer and interface astounds me.

Now she asks to play a game on the computer, which she calls the "puter."

It occurs to me that what I'm witnessing isn't really supposed to happen in nature. Like I said earlier, nature is ruthlessly frugal and efficient. If an organism doesn't absolutely have to have an ability, it won't get it through the aeons of evolutionary time. And, at times, an organism doesn't get something it needs or gets handicapped due to intra-species competition and goes extinct.

Let's say that computers have been around for maybe 20 years for the masses, and the Web has been around for 10 for the masses. Place a squirrel in front of the computer and it might be puzzled, but will not in any way think to assimilate it into its life.

Sally has been on planet earth since her beginnings as a fertilized egg for about three years. In that time, she's acquired language and is ready to assimilate computers into her life, looking to them for watching YouTube videos of cartoons and playing educational games. Her species haven't had computers through nearly all their history as we know it. This is nothing short of mind-boggling.

Now my friends who are maybe fluent in biology and some of the other sciences might add some additional justifications for why Sally's use of the computer is not astounding, because in the abstract, we're talking about tools and play, things that are old. I'll counter that with each layer of abstraction, a whole new array of wondrous questions and facts surface that invoke a sense of awe.

Other friends might agree that I'm witnessing nothing less than the spark of divinity.

In any event, this post records a moment where I pause, try to put things into perspective and experience a deep sense of wonder at my children.

For Sally, there is no glass ceiling keeping her from assimilating these new computers. She's ready for them. It's as if they've been here all along.

More could be said on the science of the situation, but I think I've laid down just enough for my purpose. Now I think I'll just end with a lyric from "What a Wonderful World."

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Motherhood

2009-05-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

I adore motherhood. I've never felt as fulfilled as when I'm wearing my mom hat. Hearing Sally say, "I love you way much, mama," or seeing Alice's excitement when she sees me after her nap fills me with a kind of joy I didn't know existed three years ago. Then, there's seeing them succeed. Every new skill, every resolved problem makes me feel all....glowy. Like there's this wonderful feeling inside of me that wants to burst out. I love it. I know it isn't all laughter and hugs. We have our blow-out diapers, public meltdowns, irreverent church meetings, and messy messes. There are times they drive me nuts, and times I question my ability. But I love them. And I love being their mother. My whole life, my number one desire has been to be a mom. Now that I am, I find it to be so much better than I expected.

Ever since Bill (who is wonderful, and enables me to stay home with my awesome girls) wrote his poetry entry on this little blog, I've been working on a poem about my girls and the way they make me feel. I'm no "real" poet, but here is this little diddy.

Pixie Eyes and Curious Hands

With pixie eyes to light my path
I travel through the dark,
Beyond vast seas, our little bath
Where mermaids outwit sharks.

Those pixie eyes with vivid light,
Each spectral hue intense,
Enhance, improve my inner sight
With truth and no pretense.

These curious hands that keep me warm
Through busy, starfish touch,
Ignite my hearth in wintry storm;
Heat fills me with a rush.

Small curious hands that hold my face
Reach up, and melt my core.
They blanket me with sweet embrace;
Like ocean coats the shore.

The light, the warmth; most precious gifts
That raise me high above
The earth, the rain, the clouds adrift,
To atmospheric love.

At times, I’m lost. In unknown lands;
Strange trees through which I roam.
With pixie eyes and curious hands
I know that I am home.

Tim-ber!

2009-05-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to a friend this week. An old friend, but he was very sick. Half dead, in fact. So sick he was losing limbs whenever it stormed. Sick enough to make me extremely anxious every time there was ANY wind. And so when the knock on the door came of men offering to do any tree work for an inexpensive price, we said okay.

Here it comes down. It was louder in real life than it seems here.

This is half of it on the ground. Can you see how far the branches go into the circle? He was over 80 feet tall.
After half was gone. Can you see how many leaves are on this half? It was time.

Before- and on a misty day in January...

and after
Goodbye tall friend! Time will tell what goes in your place. Another tree? Flowers? The possibilities are enough to drive any indecisive girl nuts.

Poetry Month

2009-04-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

April is poetry month: Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events. -- Poets.org.

Well, April is about over. This month I was able to acquire a very rare 2nd edition of Marianne Moore's "Observations"--a much-sought book of poetry. It's difficult to get one's hands on a copy for much less than $1K, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this copy for $150.

I'll share one of the poems from "Observations entitled "Poetry:"

I too dislike it:
There are things that are important beyond all this fiddle.
The bat, upside down; the elephant pushing,
a tireless wolf under a tree,
the base-ball fan, the statistician--
"business documents and schoolbooks"--
these phenomena are pleasing,
but when they have been fashioned
into that which is unknowable,
we are not entertained.
It may be said of all of us
that we do not admire what we cannot understand;
enigmas are not poetry.

So that's an argument enshrined in poetry on what poetry is not. I'd like to argue one point about what poetry is good for.

I drive to work along nearly the same route except for rare occasions. I've needed to take a different route and then remember this half-way and have had to turn around. For a variety of mysterious reasons the human mind forms conventions and then once established, not much thought is necessary.

The comparison with electric circuits is applicable. After all, the brain connects one synapse with another and is said to use electricity. The more a circuit is used, the lower the impedance and then a path of least resistance is formed.

Good poetry I think causes thought to jump the track of conventional thinking and can produce an episode of rare discovery and learning. This is not only possible with the concepts treated by the poem within the world of ideas, but also with the words themselves of which the poem is composed.

A poem can cause one to admit something like "Had I not encountered this poem, I never in a million years would have associated those two things together" or "I would never have pictured that scene in exactly that way" or "I would never have thought to use that word."

Reading, thinking about and writing poetry is a good panacea to brain rot. It's an active rather than passive endeavor and can constitute a strenuous form of mental exercise. Happy reading. Your brain will love you for it.

I'm such a loser

2009-04-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

In fact, the Biggest Loser! That's right folks, I ended up winning the biggest loser contest we had with friends out here. I ended up losing 16.58% of my starting weight. I can't help but feel pretty awesome about it. What really matters, though, is the state of my health. I feel like I am in a much healthier place than I have been in a long time. I'm stronger now- much more fit. I think I'm healthier than when I was this weight in the past. This is what's really important. Healthy habits and attitudes are what I want to pass onto my girls. From here on, I plan on continuing my healthier habits, but not obsessing so much over my numbers. Anyway, here's what I look like today. I had been rubbing my eyes a bit due to the awesome state of allergy itchiness I find my self in nearly constantly.

I'm reluctant to find a "before" picture, but know that I got some jeans just after Christmas that I can't wear now. When I bought them, I had to suck in a little bit to do them up. Now, I really can't wear them. they are simply too big.

Well, it's been a over a week since I've posted any pictures of my cuties. Here are some of the latest.

Cute, even when the top of her head is cut off. We got her six month portraits taken recently, and there was a mix up as to when. We had some time to kill and there were some killer after Easter sales. I ended up getting each girl a pretty outfit. The above is Alice in her new duds...

And this is Sally in her new dress. I love finding super sales on such adorable items!

Alice loves to play outside, though it' s already starting to get super hot. We need to play in the water a lot this summer.

I don't remember what she's looking at, but I love her expression.

Alice Marie is such a sweet girl! She loves bathtime, but usually not after. She doesn't like the lotion. this was probably pre-lotion. Super cute.

Even sweet with fingers in her mouth. Check out miss Sally's eyelashes- they are SO long and SO curly! She didn't get that from me, though I wish she did.

I'll leave you with a couple of funny and cute sleep pictures.

You can't really tell, but Alice's leg is much higher than the rest of her body. It was propped up against the side of her crib.

Today, I peeked in at Sally during her nap. This is what I saw. How did she fall asleep like that? Too funny.

A Child's Prayer

2009-04-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sally and I were sitting down to lunch. Usually, when she prays, she repeats after me, and then adds some things she's thankful for. Yesterday, however, she wanted to do it all by herself. This is what she said.

"Father in Heaven, thankful for this day. Bless the food, make us strong. Thank you that Jesus came back. Name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I was so moved and proud. I love to see my daughter grow in every way, but to see her grow spiritually is something special. I was especially touched by her being thankful for Jesus coming back. We talked about this a bit around Easter, but it's not something we say in prayers all the time, though we should. It really is the most important thing to be thankful for. Sweet and astute little Sally, thank you for making me remember what's really important.

Pix from the Mix

2009-04-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much pictures of my girls. A scrapbooking entry, if you will. There isn't much rhyme or reason, but lots of cuteness. Grandma's, enjoy.

Oh, and I love spring, but it doesn't love me back. My allergies are HORRIBLE right now. I look horrible, with constantly puffy eyes, and I swear my nose grows even bigger, if that's possible. I continually have people tell me I don't look well. That's an ego boost for you. Anyway, on to the good stuff.

I LOVE Sally's face in this picture. She is so loving those daddy tickles!

Can you see who is in the background? Thomas! I'm more impressed with Bill. Isn't he so handsome? We got to ride him at Six Flags. We were there for an afternoon because I played there with Ryan Casper. I think he got some good exposure. It was fun too!

Little Alice. What a cutie. I never really use headbands, but I thought she looked adorable.

Look at her, sitting up like a big girl.

This is hard to tell what's going on, but they are both dead asleep in the car- notice the slumped head. Also notice their clasped hands. Very sweet.

This is the best I could get of the girls in their Easter outfits. Neither was very cooperative, but they did look cute.

I love the Joy on Alice Marie's face- she loves playing with her big sister!

Funny that They were making the same face.

Sally will put two tiles together and ask you to read her these "books". Sometimes, she tells stories too. Today, she told Bill a very in depth story involving wolves and houses, treats after dinner, and the words,"you'll always be a part of me." It's so fun to see her play like this. I love to peek in on her when she doesn't know I'm there. Her stuffed animals are mostly nice, but occasionally get time-outs. Very cute.

We got to meet all the Looney Tunes characters- which was a real treat for me. I LOVE them! Sally wanted to get close, but then got nervous. She kept her fingers in her mouth most of the time.

The camera was on a weird setting, so it's black and white, but who doesn't like to meet Foghorn Leghorn?

Alice was cute in her summer hat.

I love seeing cardinals about. I never saw one till we moved out here.

In the previous post, I mentioned how Alice will suck on my chin on occasion. Apparently, too hard. Yes, that's a hickey given to me by my six month old.

Pretty in pink

Things to Remember

2009-04-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to take a moment to record some things about my great girls that I want to remember. Here are ten things each.

Sally-
"Dad, you're the best." I loved seeing this. It was out of the blue.

She'll ask us questions she knows the answers to, and when we respond she'll say congratulate us with a "Good Job!"

"Mama, can I (fill in the blank)? Yes or no." If the answer is no, she'll respond, "Yes?" over and over again. She starts this very calm, but sometimes gets frantic if the answer continues to be no. The girl is persistent.

She still talks about playing the cello. Whenever I talk about me playing the violin, she always talks about how she's going to play the cello. I'm excited she has the desire now! I hope it will last. I would love to have a string quartet in our family, she can definitely follow in Uncle Deej's footsteps.

"I'm getting bigger! And Alice is getting bigger! And you're getting smaller!" I hope that's true.

She loves to build things and line things up in trains, We recently were the lucky recipients of some magna-tiles. I love to see her play with these. She makes lots of shapes and pretends they are all kinds of things- dogs, trains buildings, airplanes, faces. I love to see her imagination work.

While watching conference, she would get so excited when anyone would say anything she's familiar with. "He said Holy Ghost!" "He said Joseph Smith!" "He said temple!" Each time she'd be wicked excited and continue saying it until we responded. That's very much her style.

When we pray, I love to hear the things she says she is thankful for. She'll always say each member of our little family, and a sprinkling of extended family members and friends. She usually will say something in nature like flowers or butterflies. Teletubbies and books- especially "You can do it Sam" and "Goodnight my Angel", very often make the list. Sometimes, it's yummy treats.

She loves helping Alice. She'll give her toys (though sometimes take them) and give her a binky. She'll get me diapers and wipes. She will tell her she loves her and give her hugs and kisses and holds her hand.

She independently declares her love for us and gives big hugs.

Alice-
The girl LOVES food! She only hasn't liked the turkey, which is pretty much like cat food- I don't blame her. Other than that, she can't get enough of eating.

She will put her hands on either of my cheeks and "kiss" me.

Sometimes, she'll suck on my chin or nose.

She's sitting up on her own. She does better when she has something in her hands, otherwise she's searching for something to put in her hands.

She's very good with her hands, her small motor skills rule! She can easily do all the activities in her exersaucer and pick up her binky and put it in her mouth

She can twist her tongue in a way I can't- turn it upside down. She does this a lot.

She's starting to move- but backwards! She'll kind of get on hands and knees (only for a moment and much more hands than knees) when she gets down, she'll move backwards. She's moved off several blankets this way.

She's a cuddler. She'll burrow into my shoulder or neck and then come away for a moment to give me a smile. Then, she'll go back to that sweet cuddling.

She's a mama's girl. When I'm around, she's a pretty "easy" baby. Very laid back and easily soothed. When I'm away, however, I guess she sometimes struggles. That's what they tell me at the gym. Sometimes, I get called out of my workout to take care of her. As soon as she sees me, everything is okay again. I know that isn't the best thing, but it makes me feel good to know we have that special bond.

Her smile is so bright. It's easy to come by and impossible not to give one back.

My Take on Portland

2009-04-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Emily did a nice post on Portland. I'd like to add a post since it's my home town.

It's not hard to have a good time in Portland! We managed it this year in March while it rained and snowed.

Go east about 40 minutes, you can drive up the Columbia River Gorge, a high-end scenic drive with great lookouts, parks, hikes and waterfalls.

Any fans of the movie Twilight out there? Well, I noticed a picture of the Multnoma Falls in the closing credits. That's the more famous waterfall that we visited in the Gorge. It's got a nice lodge at the base where we had lunch.

It might take an hour going east to be at Mt. Hood where there's snow year-round. So, if you need mountains, the Cascade Mountain Range is there for you.

Feeling land-locked and want to go to the beach? No problem. Head west for under two hours and you're at the Scenic Oregon Coast.

Portland is one of those cities with a river running through it with bridges going across the river and waterfront parks. In March, the Saturday Market opens up down by the waterfront in the historic district.

I hope that gives you some idea of why this is a cool city to live nearby.

Technical Print Article Published

2009-04-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

I wrote a technical article on T-SQL techniques in 2008 on SQLServerCentral.com. They round up some of the best articles of the year and publish a "Best of SQLServerCentral.com book each year." The 2008 book is volume 6. Red Gate Software makes this publication available. My article called "Owning the Spelling Suggestion Feature" is in there. I'm excited to have a technical article published in print!

I thought I was messy in the kitchen...

2009-03-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

And I am. Ask anyone who has worked with me. Or seen me. Or my kitchen. But Sally, well she takes it to another level. We made cookies the other day (decadent and rich, but not super bad for you cookies- no butter- no flour) and Sally was wearing them from head to toe-quite litterally. She LOVES helping out in the kitchen- especially if it's a baked good. Licking the spoon is always a bonus too.

Alice is just starting her food related messes- unless you count food that's been at least partially digested. We just started her on solids today. She couldn't get enough! When I was mixing it, I thought it was way too much. She polished it off in no time flat. At first, she would suck on the spoon- trying to get more of that tasy rice cereal to come out. Then, she would "help" direct the spoon into her mouth with her sweet hands. She loved everything about her first eating experience- and so did I!

Here she is trying to suck the last morsels off her hands

This video is the beginning of our feeding. I love that at first, she just wants to look at the camera. Sally Rose is getting over a sickness (fevers and throwing up were involved earlier this week) and has a nasty cough. I try to not let her cough on Alice, but to little avail. Alice got it, but not as bad, and is getting over it too. Bill, however is just starting it. I surely hope I'm not next. Anyway, here's our sweetie eating!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Portland!

2009-03-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Portland was SO great! I have a fantastic mother in law who lives in a fantastic place. While there, we were able to go to the Children's Museum, the coast, the Portland Saturday Market, the Columbia River Gorge, trips to the park, and lots of family time. Here are a few things I love about the City of Roses.

Life grows on life. the trees have moss on them and it looks like fairies could live everywhere.
People are environmentally minded. Here, we are the only people in our circle who recycle. There, you're strange if you don't- there's a different state of mind.
Interesting fashion.
People are all about health food and locally grown food. There is a huge selection of places to go to find these things.
There are lots of different kinds of beauty. The waterfalls at the gorge are beautiful, the coast is breathtaking. Mount Hood is one of the most interesting mountains I've ever seen. There are lots of luscious gardens in the city as well.
Great thrift stores.
It produced my main squeeze.
The family we have there is wonderful.

Here's a look at our time.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Portland Preview

2009-03-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'm planning on doing a more in depth Portland post in the near future, but here are a few pictures of our great time.

3 generations of coolness- can you see little Alice?

Such a cute, sweet baby. I love everything aboutr this girl.

Bill's mom, Laureen, and her sister Cynthia and I went thrift shopping a little bit. I ended up getting the girls some cute items. Sally was SO excited to get clothes- I think that might mean trouble in the future. Here is her new overalls dance. There is a lot of noise in this clip, Snoopy is barking and Uncle Joe's video game is running. Sally doesn't mind a bit.

Awesome Travel

2009-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

We are now in Portland! It's fantastic to be here and spend time with Bill's family, however getting here was a bit of a nightmare. We left our house at 4:30 AM, and didn't arrive at my mother in law's until 9:00 PM. Pacific time. That's nearly 20 hours of awesome travel. Luckily, the girls were well behaved for the most part.

We got on our plane just in time, and then proceeded to sit. And sit. Until they told us a door wouldn't close on our aircraft and it was being put out of commission for a while. We were then told we all had to go on a flight a while later to Denver- regardless of individual final destinations. There was a flight on a different airline that we supposedly booked to go from Denver to Portland, but when we got there, we were told that the lovely people at Frontier had booked our flight, but didn't issue us tickets. This was at about 11:00. The flight we actually got on was at 5:55. Let me just say that we now know the Denver airport quite intimately. It's a lovely airport, but they keep it at about 86 degrees. We were boiling. After raising a bit of a stink, Bill was able to get us some vouchers for use on a later date, and also some food vouchers to use in the Denver Airport. That was nice, but I think we would have rather spent the day in the city of roses. At the end of the day, Sally did say, "This was a great day!" I guess I can learn something about attitude from her.
Here are pics of how all of us handled it.

Sally actually quite liked playing, though this picture doesn't show it. She also enjoyed the cookies courtesy of frontier.
I was sad

Bill was upset
Alice liked it!

I guess all's well that ends well, and we are now having a delightful time . Let's hope the trip home goes smoother.

Chia Child

2009-02-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

We decided to spread some crazy seeds on Alice's cute bald head to see what would happen. Here are the results.

Art History

2009-02-22T18:25:00.001-08:00

A little while ago, my love of art history was rekindled. Bill was searching the internet for a particular painting with peasants. I offered up Peter Bruegel as a search suggestion and it was actually what he was looking for. I was pretty excited that I actually remembered the artist. That evening, I dug out my huge ap art history book and have been perusing it ever since. I really love this stuff! It's so fascinating and beautiful. Mother Wood instilled a love of the subject that I hope will live on always. I'm glad I found it again.

One evening, I was looking in the aforementioned book, and came upon this painting of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley. Both Bill and I were amazed by the resemblance to a modern day funny man. Twins, just a couple hundred years apart!

Eerie, right?

This and That

2009-02-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

First off, did you check out the new header? My kids are cute for sure. I just wanted to give a little update on what's going on with us.

Sally is a sweetie for sure, though a sick one right now. We're trying to potty train a little bit, as evidenced in the picture, but we havn't been very or even remotely successful yet. She does look cute in her new undies, though.
This girl is all about singing these days. It is so adorable I can hardly stand it. She sings some real songs, but also makes up songs. Songs with awesome melodies and awesome words. Things like, "Stickers with animals and pretty colors". It's a Sally lyric original! Also, last Sunday, she enjoyed singing along with the hymns. Simply awesome.
One last thing about Sally. She loves holding hands. She asks to at the dinner table, relaxing on the couch, and even when I'm driving. (I have to turn her down on that one) She very often holds Alice's hand- especially in the car. What a sweetie.

Alice starting really rolling today! Earlier, she had a few rolls that were more flukes than anything, but this evening, they were real. It still takes her some time, but she definitely can do it. The hardest part is getting her arms in the right spot. She often tries with her arms airplaned out, like in this picture. I didn't know if I would be as excited about milestones the second time around, but I am so excited and proud of my little Alice!!

Alice also loves her tootsies these days. She loves to hold them and eat them and roll onto her side while going after them. She even tries to get them when she's in her Bumbo. In shoes, or bare toed, the girl loves her feet.

She has a new favorite game. One that will definitely get smiles and coos and sometimes the biggest laughter I've heard come out of that sweet mouth. I'll lay her on her back and do pushups over her. Each time down, I either giver her a little kiss or say something, or just count. She loves it! Maybe I'll get some toned arms as an added bonus.

I keep waiting for Sally to get jealous, but she and Alice get along beautifully. Sally loves helping Alice and tries to get her to smile. She gets so excited whenever Alice does, well, anything. It's so fun and such a great new dimension to motherhood. I love these girls SO much!!

One more very random bit. We got this Eric Carle book from the library around Christmas. Listen to the soundbyte, and tell me if it fills you with the Christmas spirit, or fear and horror.

Valentine for Emily

2009-02-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

Happy valentines day to Emily! 25 Great things about Emily:

She likes it that I can still skateboard.

Barbecue pork topped with carmelized onions and apple. She always makes something tasty to eat.

Her genetic code is replicated in our two wonderful daughters.

She'll go to garage sales and thrift stores with me.

She'll watch movies with me.

The girls have a truly dedicated mother who loves them.

She planted a nice herb garden last year with plans for another one this year.

She's very nice to her violin students and only scares them on accident.

She teaches Sally a variety of songs to sing.

She does most of the blog work.

She makes our house seem like a home.

She initiates most of our fun plans.

She is very sensible with purchases.

Good friendship skills. She's made many friends and admirers here in Georgia.

She takes the girls to the library every week.

She only makes positive comments about my lame hair.

Always up for having fun.

Will play video games occasionally.

She'll go to the renaissance festival with me.

She'll read stories about vampires.

She'll act excited when I'm excited about a boring technical project.

Takes artsy photos and enjoys photography.

If she receives chocolate, she'll share some with me.

It's nice to be around her twenth-something youthful energy.

She keeps our house free of rodents.

Salt Lake trip- Finally!

2009-02-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

So I finally put together a slide show of our fun trip. It was really amazing! It was busy and fun and great to see the cousins all together. I wish Bill could have come out, and of course DJ wasn't there, but everybody else was able to be there. Here are a few highlights.

Seeing Sally run to go greet grandma in the airport

Seeing Sally run to give Coleman a hug- she started when she first saw him, pretty far away!

Playing lots of fun games

Beading three bracelets- I didn't really want to go, but I couldn't get enough

Gourmet meal with only one child (and she slept the entire time!!)

Party with both sides of the family

Seeing most (but not quite all) the friends I wanted to see

Cuddling with Sally in a shared twin bed- I really did enjoy it!

Sledding!

Going to the Draper temple open house. This was amazing. While we were in the Celestial room, Sally said, "I hear Jesus." I didn't put that into her head. i don't know exactly what she experienced, but I know she did have an experience. it made me have one as well.

The trip was awesome and I can't wait to have another. Thanks to my parents for being the hosts with the most. They took care of us VERY well!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

New Attitude

2009-01-31T20:38:00.001-08:00

So, I recently got back from SLC, and there will be a (super long, sorry) picture post later I'm sure, but this is not it, though it does have to do with my trip.

My family is amazing in so many ways. The way they take care of their bodies is among them. My dad recently lost a ton of weight, and he's managing to keep it off. Don't ask me how, with the freezer FULL of Ben and Jerry's (I'm not kidding, probably 30 pints), but he does. My mom can seriously kick my butt. We went to the gym, and if I used a machine after her, I'd have to decrease the weight by half. She also recently picked up bike riding. She just keeps getting stronger and stronger and looks awesome. Then there are my sisters. Amy has the kind of legs jeans designers dream of. She always looks good. My sister Wendy looks like she could be on the cover of some health magazine. She is four months pregnant, and has cut abs surrounding her tiny baby. No, I'm not exaggerating. My brother, who is in Britain, I'm sure is doing awesome on this front, with all the biking and the like.

I, on the other hand, am the curvy sister. Not just because I'm nursing, but curvy all over- in the not so nice places. In the past, I have let it get to me, but this trip, I tried (seemingly successfully) to develop a new attitude. Seeing my fit family has been inspirational. (If you're in our Biggest Loser contest, watch out) I got a gym membership for Christmas (my request), and I'm loving it. I really enjoy working out. It helps remind me that I'm more than a mom and it just makes me feel so good. I am aware that I may never be like the other members of my family, but I can be a healthier me. This is what I intend to do. I'm eating better and actually using, and what's more, appreciating this body God gave me. It's amazing what a woman's body goes through having babies. It's amazing how it heals. It has given me very few real troubles in my life. It's time I told it thank you. I'm starting to feel better on the inside already. I just can't wait for it to show on the outside too.

Christmas!!!

2009-01-16T10:34:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas this year was SOOOO good! (said like Strong Bad in the Teen Girl Squad series) It was our first one with no family about, but it was still really nice. Our little Nicolich coven was happy and full of love and Christmas cheer. We also got to play with great friends. Here are a plethora of pictures to take you through our great holiday.

Christmas Eve was very nice for us. Bill worked a part day and came home to play. The Griggs came over for a traditional Christmas Eve meal. We watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas and had a delightful time

Christmas eve- I love how you can't see Bill's head here- the girls have taken over his body! Also, can you see that they are wearing Christmas colors?

Bill looks so happy and cute here. I love that this attractive man is my husband!

Joe played some mean violin while here. I think he should take some full time lessons- there's a boatload of potential.

The girls opening their candy cane jammies. Sally wasn't too excited that night, but they are now her favorite jammies to wear.

Emily and Alice watching Joe get down with the fiddle.

This was our spread- all this for four adults and a two year old! We had a green salad, Waldorf salad, ham, funeral potatoes, yams and apples, asparagus and carrots. It was all super yummy and awesome.

Santa did the Nicolich family good! He must have spent a good deal of time building that cool arch. I don't think he has a very mechanical mind, so there were probably lots of failed tries.

Looking through the arch to the world of wonder.

Christmas Day! I always love Christmas, but having a child who comprehends at least part of it makes it so much more fun and magical.

Sally came into our bed at about 3:30. I was SO excited, and considered really getting up then. I brought Alice in to eat at about 7:00, and she fell back asleep. This picture was taken close to 8:00- and there's no signs of waking. We had to work really hard to get Sally awake- soft brushes and whispers had to turn into tickles and loud voices to get her to stir. Usually I love for them to sleep in- this morning, however, I was anxious for them to wake.

Sally LOVES this magnetic doll. It was the biggest hit of the presents.

Cutie with some new keys- she's so cute I could eat her up.

It was so warm on Christmas. We played outside for a bit.

Helping Sally bike while talking to the fam.

That afternoon we went to the church for the MacPherson extended family party. They are all SO nice and accepting of us. There was a ton of food and some world class entertainment. They do an annual program which included some singing, dancing, and all kinds of good music things. Layne played his violin, and I even got roped into playing. I'd have to say the highlight was the MacPherson elf dance. Cute and funny at the same time.

Sally loved playing with the signs for the program

Mommy and Sally watching the cool program- can you see how cool my shirt is?

Although it doesn't look like it here, Sally was very excited to participate. She loves playing with all kids- especially older ones.

The MacPhersons did a dance to the Happy Elf. Bob was the grumpy elf they were trying to cheer up- it was classic.

That evening, we went to the MacPherson's again to enjoy a little xbox and fun. The Griggs came over as well and a delightful time was had by all. The kids were cute, and it was a nice end to our great day.

Halle and Bailey with the baby

Just two more. These were my favorite clothes gifts the girls received. Aren't they so cute?

A weekend of Grandparents, Temple, Blessing, Nativity and Awesomeness

2009-01-09T19:36:00.000-08:00

I must warn you that there are quite a few pictures here. Mind you, they were all taken in the same weekend, it was just a VERY eventful weekend. (I'm still playing catch up, Christmas is still to come...) This isn't in chronological order, but I did try to group events together. I bet the two of you who look at this don't care either way. Anyway, here was our great weekend.

We had Grandparents come to visit us in December!!! My mom came out first, and as I already said, we went down to Florida. Bill's dad and step mom came out the day we got back. it was all to honor our little Alice sweetie for her blessing.

Grandpa Joe meeting Alice for the first time

Grandma Becky getting her last taste of baby for a while

Nicolich Grandparents being silly

On Sunday night, we went down to the chapel by the temple for their annual Christmas devotional. My mom and I played Greensleeves. It was SO great to play with her again. I don't think she gives herself the credit she deserves- she is a great pianist and great at accompanying. Accompanying is a skill I've found to be a bit unique- not all great players can accompany, but my mom is fantastic. She watches and follows. We also played in church that afternoon, Silent Night. Both went well. It was nice to be there with everyone.

This was taken at the devotional- all the girls.

This was at the Temple, can you see it? It was beautiful.

I can't remember who, but one Nicolich grandparent took this picture out the car window. Isn't it spectacular?

Sunday afternoon was very special. Alice received her baby blessing. Grandparents were there, and that made it even more special. I am VERY grateful to have a wonderful priesthood holding husband who is able to give such blessings. He did an absolutely beautiful job. The blessing was perfect. It was also nice to have some of our Georgia friends participate. Our friends out here fill some of the role our family would, if they lived near. They are all so nice. It was great to have some of them be there for this special event. Alice didn't cry, and looked adorable. Here are a few in her blessing dress.

How sweet is that face?

She had on little ruffle bum tights. I love ruffle bums.

Here she is under the tree. The concept was supposed to be Alice Marie as a present. unfortunately, it doesn't come across that way. She does look sweet here, though, doesn't she?

Daddy Daughter time

I know, the dress is hiked up, but she's adorable. Sally also wore this sweater when she was blessed. Cool, eh?

Such a happy sweetie!

The Saturday before the blessing, we had the opportunity to play the holy family in a live nativity at our church. We were supposed to do it for three hours, but having a live baby can shorten that time. We did it for an hour, which worked well. I was really impressed with the quality of the stable and such. It wasn't too cold, but a little brisk. The layers kept us warmer. I thought the experience was awesome, and the following pictures are priceless.

I know I posted this with the Christmas post, but how awesome is it? Did you know it was us when you saw it there?

I don't want anyone to think we forgot sweet Sally Rose. She was in on all the fun too.

This was at the Nativity. Our friend Bob played with her most of that time. She LOVES him- even talks about him at home. Thanks Bob!

While My mom was still here, we went to INK, a children's museum type place. While there, we painted ornaments for the tree. I think we'll make a few ornaments every year from now on. I love Sally's lip in this picture. This is her look of concentration.

More of that

Cute girl with a book. The girl loves to read. her daddy is so proud.

How cute is this picture? Sally's eyes never cease to amaze me. From a very unbiased opinion, the Nicolich daughters are gorgeous

Florida in December

2009-01-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

In mid December, the girls and I went to visit Wendy and fam in Florida with my Mom. It was awesome! We did some fun things and encountered both sunny skies and CRAZY storms. Here are some pictures.

Here's Wendy taking a getting used to a baby again. She'll be there soon!! She was doing squats here, by the way. This girl is SO in shape it's crazy. Inspiring, really. I hope to become a bit more fit in the next while. I should tape a picture of her up on my mirror or something.

Happy Grandma and Alice. It was extremely nice to have some time with my Mom. She is such a great woman. Both girls, by the way, were awesome on trips both down and back. We only had to stop once each way! My mom drove 100% of the time, which I DEFINITELY didn't mind.

Here she is giving the cute toddlers morning cuddles. I think she would have liked to sleep in a bit more in the morning, but these two wouldn't have that. She is such a great grandma and gave them tons of loves and fun times.

Jesse is gearing up for baby mode too. I am SO excited for them!!!

Coleman is getting ready for a baby too. He'll be an awesome big brother I think.

Sally and Coleman get some story time from uncle Jesse.

I think this was the best we could get of the three cousins. Grandma gave them these matching jammies. They all loved them! Sally wants to wear her monkey jammies on a regular basis.

What a big girl Alice is- sitting up in a lounge chair all by herself!

Sally and Coleman in the same chair. this wasn't staged at all. I turned the corner and Sally had found her way onto Coleman's lap. These two share a special bond. Sally talks about Coleman on a daily basis and she always says she's thankful for him when we say prayers. I can't wait to see them together again. They are so dang adorable!

This was the night we got there. They were both SO excited to see each other. Coleman looks awesome here. I wish we could see Sally's face, but Coleman's holds excitement for both.

Sally sure loves to hold her sister. You can see it in her face.

The beach was so nice, even in December. Jesse went surfing most mornings we were there, but I was too much a wimp to get more than my toes wet. Sally loved drawing in the sand.

It was such a fun trip. It was really special to be with family in the holiday time. Thanks to the Lewis family for putting up with us. The house looked pristine when we came, but I'm afraid less than pristine when we left. They are awesome!

Ketchup, or is it Catsup...

2008-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

However you spell it, I'm playing catchup. So much has wanted that I've wanted to note, but I just haven't. I think I'll try to do a few of these in the next couple days, so bear with me. December is a busy time. Here's what the beginning of ours was like.

At the very beginning of December, we made a pretty sweet gingerbread house and tree. It was SO fun. Sally was completely in love with the activity. The day we did it, she kept saying, "I can't wait, I can't wait!" A couple years ago, Bill and I decorated one. I have to say, that one was prettier, but this was more fun. Sally loved everything about doing this. We'll have to do it every year.

Here's a video of the project

The finished product

The next day, Sally Rose was talking about the gingerbread house first thing in the morning. Over the next few days, I caught her gnawing off little bits. Very funny.

I already did a birthday post for Bill, but it wasn't complete. I planned a little surprise party for him. I was originally going to do it the night of his birthday, but people had conflicts, so we did it the following Friday. On his actual birthday, he knew something was up. He told me he was coming home early and asked several times if that was okay. I confessed that I had tried to do a party, but no one could come, so it was nixed. He came home there was a treasure hunt set up. We ate pizza (his request) and had happy cake as pictured below.

He didn't say this till the next day, but he was a little bummed that I couldn't get people to come to a party for him. It all played into the surprise beautifully. On Friday, the Griggs were able to keep Bill occupied for a while after work. When he came home, we had friends, decorations, and food. We ate a beef tenderloin roast with a mushroom sauce, roasted vegetables (which made an awesome soup the next day), blue cheese mashed yams, and a salad. I also made peppermint ice cream for dessert. After dinner we just hung out and played a little Bill trivia, which was fun. He truly was surprised and I think he enjoyed it.

I failed miserably at taking pictures at the party. Not one. This picture, however, was taking while preparations were being made. The poor darling fell asleep in there. What a sweetie.

The next major event, and the last for this post, was our anniversary celebration. We have been married for FIVE years! I am so happy to be married to this wonderful man. Five years and two kids later, and we still love each other tons. We've had some great times and I look forward to years and years to come. To celebrate, we went to medieval times and saw some rad jousting. It was a great time. We decided to take Sally and Alice (it was the beginning of our family) and I'm glad we did because Sally LOVED it. They really put on a good show.

I'll now end this long post with a picture of sweet Alice from the beginning of the month. I know it's only been a few weeks, but she's changed so much it seems. She's such a sweet, good baby. If you made it this far, thanks, and Bye!

Christmas Time

2008-12-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas is upon us. It is such a fantastic time of year. People are generally nicer. Last year, Sally got pretty sick in the Christmas season. She had to be hospitalized and it wasn't a terribly fun experience. When she was coming home, I needed to pick up a prescription for her. I didn't realize how expensive it was-I was more than a little blown away. I decided to just buy half of what was prescribed, and get the rest later. I went on my way throughout the store shopping. When I was leaving, the pharmacist ran out to stop me. The gentleman who was behind me in the pharmacy line had paid for the medicine for us. He was gone, and I couldn't thank him, but I was definitely thankful. It was one of these experiences that only happen in a movie, but it was real. I love how people are more giving during the holidays. Christ is more on our minds, it makes us nicer, I think.

Since becoming a mother, Christmas has taken on new meaning. Having experienced birth, the story is more amazing. I can't imagine riding on a donkey in that state. I can't imagine being turned away from anything when I'm about to have a baby. I can't imagine going through the process with animals about me. I can't imagine having to put my sweet baby in a manger, where animals eat. I feel tremendous responsibility in raising up two of god's children. I can't imagine the feeling of raising up God's only begotten, the Savior. I can't imagine sending one of my babies to earth, knowing full well what that journey would entail. The Christmas story is full of unimaginable happenings. What's more amazing, is that it's not just a story- it really happened. Through that miraculous story, a savior really was born into this world. He literally saved us. Saved us in a way only he could, from our spiritual death- made it so we could be with our maker once more. I know I comprehend so little of the magnitude of these events, but the little that I do understand blows my mind- and I am grateful. Eternally grateful. This year, I hope to keep these feelings with me more consistently. With Christ on my mind, perhaps I'll be a little nicer, a little better all year round.

Nicolich Elves

2008-12-05T22:04:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Bill!!!

2008-12-03T11:13:00.000-08:00

Daddy Bill is thirty-five today! To honor such a momentous day, I will give you thirty-five Bill factoids. (Mixed in with pictures of him and the girls)

1. Bill's favorite candy is Neccos. I actually only recently learned this. I know few people who like these, but he loves them.

2. Bill does an awesome goat impression.
3. If Bill was a fighter, he'd want his nick name to be Bill the Bookworm (intimidating, right?)

4. Bill's triceps are amazing
5. Bill used to hip hop dance with a group called Trans Fusion Hype
6. Bill makes a mean crepe.
7. Bill is quite picky about clothes. It pays off because he always looks good

8. Bill collects old editions of classic literature.

9. Bill's favorite author is Joseph Conrad.

10. Bill loves poetry.

11. Bill loves Mexican food.
12. Bill would love to visit Croatia. That's where the name Nicolich hails from. I think that's what we should do for our 10th anniversary- we're half-way there!
13. Bill loves the Hudson River school art.
14. Bill likes lots of music, but likes techno a lot. He will listen to certain DJ's, like BT just to enjoy.

15. Bill was apparently a perfect child. Neither parent can give me any dirt on him as a little boy. He was so good and still is.
16. Bill majored in economics and minored in English. He got his associates degree from Dixie College and his bachelors from the University of Utah

17. Bill started programming as a boy- he made games he could play.

18. Bill likes role playing games like Fable and Oblivion.

19. Bill likes the names Boris, Craven and Dartanyan. He also ultimately chose Alice Marie, so he does have some good taste in names.

20. Bill is a cuddler. he likes to cuddle with both girls and even me. (Yay!!)

21. Bill has read quite a bit about human nature and why we act the way we do.
22. Bill has beautifully brilliant blue eyes.
23. Bill's speaking voice is to die for.
24. Bill slept with a ride on toy named Opie as a child.

25. Bill chose all black tuxes, shirts, and ties for the men in our wedding party. They looked so handsome- especially the groom.
26. Bill has a little goth in him.
27. Bill has a specific kiss that would melt any woman. Luckily, it only melts me now.

28. Bill is tender hearted. Here's an example. We had a mouse problem and Bill REALLY wanted to take him in as a pet. Silly, but so sweet.

29. Bill is a FANTASTIC daddy. He plays with the girls tons and is willing to be silly with them. Sally ADORES him. He sings lots of fun songs with them and lets Sally ride him like a horse. He's always willing to play with them.
30. Bill has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

31. Bill puts up with me, which is really saying something.
32. Bill honors his priesthood.
33. Bill tells me he loves me every day.

34. Bill makes me a better person.
35. Bill is an excellent husband, father, and overall man. I am SO lucky he chose me to be his wife. I love him ridiculous amounts and hope he knows that. He is a great friend and I can't wait to see what new things I learn about him..

I love you Bill!! Happy Birthday!!!

Intended Mischief

2008-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was vacuuming with Sally when I realized she was no longer there. I didn't think much of it till I saw Alice's door was closed. I went in and Sally jumped down from the side of Alice's crib with a guilty look. When I looked into the crib, this is what I saw.

Alice had Desitin all over her face, courtesy of big sis. She doesn't look too broken up about it though, does she. At least it didn't get in her eyes, but it looks dangerously close to her mouth. (There is actually a little bit on her lips, as well as the underside of her nose.) I actually thought it was funny, and Sally was immediately repentant. She actually agreed that a time out was in order. I suppose it is our time to start the phase of mischief that is actually intended to be mischief. At least Alice won't get diaper rash on her face.

Hospital and More

2008-11-20T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's a (phone) picture of our little Alice wearing a hospital gown. The poor thing had to spend two days in the hospital with RSV. Bill, Sally and I had all gotten sick- it was hard for Alice not to have the same fate. Thankfully, she seemed to not get it too bad, but it's always scary when you're that little.

In the middle of the night the Saturday she started smiling, she started acting sick. The next morning, I noticed she was feeling a bit warm. i took her temperature, and it was 100.5. That might not sound horrible, but it's not good for a baby as young as Alice. It was Sunday, so I couldn't take her to the doctor. I called the nurse hotline and spoke to a very nice nurse. Over the phone, she listened to Alice breathe. Then, she stopped my breath with her next line. She asked how far away the hospital was, when I told her half an hour, she highly recommended getting an ambulance to take us there. Until that point, I wasn't thinking it was terribly serious, but an ambulance?!?! We called 911 and paramedics were sent to our house. When they came, they checked her out and didn't seem nearly as troubled by her symptoms, but did recommend us going to the hospital to get her checked out. So, we did.

They checked her out and took blood, urine, and mucous samples to test. They were supposed to do a spinal tap also, (because she was young and running a fever) but didn't. (Later, after she was no longer running a fever and had a diagnosis, one doctor wanted to do it then. After wrestling with the decision, we opted not to. She seemed to be getting better and I was confident the RSV was the cause of the fever- it turns out, we were right.) The RSV test came back positive and so they wanted her to stay.

It was just to be cautious. She received a couple doses of Tylenol, and then no longer needed it. They came in every so often and checked her oxygen levels, blood pressure, and temperature. That's all she needed. All in all, a very extravagant precaution. I'm glad we did it, though- it's much better to be safe with a baby so small. It also allowed me some one on one time with Alice. It really was nice just cuddling and spending time with her with nothing to pull me away. She smiled throughout her hospital stay.

Here some pictures of the little Nicolich girls.

We her are the girls on our cool sit and stroller. I was super excited to have gotten in for cheap on craigslist. I was only worried Sally wouldn't be able to rest while we strolled....

She found a way. She fell fully asleep like this.

Aren't they so pretty?

Sometimes Sally will take care of her baby while I do. We sound this mini glider at a garage sale, and she uses a neck pillow as her boppy. We both "nurse" our babies.

This is pretty major- Sally used the potty for the first time!!! She was SO proud, and didn't want to get off. She called Daddy to tell him the good news. Since then, she's done it once more. Hopefully, it will become a daily experience.

Sally LOVES her cottage cheese.

Sally will no longer look at me for pictures. I have to be tricky. She is beautiful, though.

Cuties together

I will often talk of Alice "surviving" Sally. She looks pretty happy about it here.

The following is a series of smiley Alice pictures. I LOVE that she is smiling more and more!

Joshua Bell

2008-11-17T17:43:00.001-08:00

Alice (and her mommy) got quite a treat for her one month birthday. We got to see and meet Joshua Bell! If you don't know who he is, you would do yourself a favor by learning. He is an amazing violinist. He was playing the Barber Violin Concerto (one of my absolute favorites) with the Atlanta Symphony two Fridays ago. I knew he would be coming before Alice was born, but figured I was out of luck- the timing was less than ideal. Then, Alice was born with a soundtrack of Joshua Bell playing the second movement of the Barber. (We had it on repeat through the end of the labor- it really helped me to hear such powerful music. I was even talking of its beauty while in the crazy pain.) With the piece of music meaning SO much more to me than it already did, I realized I must find a way to go. I originally was planning on Bill coming and watching Alice for the first half and then switching places. He ended up getting sick, (and Sally was too- Alice got sick as well, which is a big story of its own. I will document it here shortly) I was determined, though, and lucky to have such great friends. I asked my friend Stacy if she might be interested in coming with her son (Layne, one of my violin students). The plan was to have Layne and me watch the first half, and then Stacy would switch out with me. As it turns out, Layne was a little over it at intermission, so we went home. I felt bad Stacy didn't get to see any of the show, but was also SO grateful for her help. Joshua Bell played beautifully. It was totally inspiring- I wanted to run home and practice. It was moving and exciting and everything it should be. I cried (of course) and my heart pounded nearly out of my chest. He played with so much passion, it made you experience some of that passion as well. At intermission, he was signing CDs. We waited in the LONG line to meet him, but I was so glad we did. At first, I thought he looked disenchanted with the whole experience (maybe it was in my head). When we got up there, I was so excited to tell him about the role he played in Alice's birth. He perked right up when he saw her and I think he thought the story was awesome. He looked at Alice and talked to her a little bit in a baby voice. He told me he has a fourteen month old at home. He seemed pretty enthusiastic about the whole baby thing. It was AWESOME!! Here are a few pictures of our fantastic night. (Thanks Stacy for these too- I forgot a camera)

Sorry my hand is in the way of cute Alice's face. I was actually trying to hold open the sling so you could see her better- it backfired. Other than that, how awesome is this?

Me, Layne and Alice before the show. Alice loves to be held in this position.

Joshua Bell and the future Joshua Bell. The one on the right was a bit amused when the one on the left came up and put his arm around him. It was great.

Here's a picture of the signed CD- with a personalized message. I wish now that I would have had him sign the book. I would have framed it and put it in Alice's room. I guess I still could, but then we wouldn't be able to listen to it. I could always buy another one, I suppose. Oh, one more thing, Sally loves listening to classical music. the other day, she wanted to listen to music. I turned on one of our favorite children's CDs, but she was in the mood for something different. She said, "No! Violin music, mama." I turned on the signed CD and Sally was totally satisfied. I can't tell you how happy that made me.

Smile Time

2008-11-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

For the past few days, we've been questioning whether some of Alice's expressions were "real" smiles. This evening, however, questioning became a thing of the past. She was full of undeniable smiles! It wasn't even just one, she was smiley for quite a while- and some of the smiles lasted for quite some time. I was even able to capture one of her beautiful toothless grins on camera. Take a look- it will surely put a smile on your face as well.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

You're smiling now, aren't you.

Elections and Cuties

2008-11-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

So, I was going to write something vaguely political, but instead, I think I'll just brag about how great my kids are. Well, I should say something about the historic events of the week. Then, I'll get to the good stuff.

I've never been very political. This election season, however, I've actually tried to become a little bit educated on the candidates and issues. I've also tried to "find myself" politically. What have I decided? Well, I suppose I should say I'm an independent. I've taken a ton of quizzes online (I know, not all reliable, but fun all the same, and no, that's not all the research I've done, just the most fun). Some said I'm more right, some said more left. I took one quiz on the day before the election that said I agreed with McCain 69%, and Obama 69%. Up until Tuesday morning, I was still an undecided voter. I'd gone back and forth in my head quite a few times. Last night when Obama was announced as the president elect, I had lots of emotions. I am so proud to live in a country and time when a black man can be elected president. It's crazy to think that 50 years ago, segregation was normal and open racism common. It is amazing that we, as a nation, have become so much more accepting in such a relatively short amount of time. I felt other things as well. I stayed awake last night to see Obama's acceptance speech (not the smartest thing- I ended up going to bed close to 1:00, only to have Alice to wake up at 1:45, and STAY AWAKE for two hours.) I was very moved by the speech, it even brought tears to my eyes. (not a terribly difficult feat, but still) I don't agree with all of his policies, but I am very eager to see what lies next for this great nation. I really do love this country and am proud to have an "I Voted" sticker. (If you're wondering, I ended up voting McCain. The important thing is that I voted- we almost missed the registration deadline, but took our forms to the post office 10 minutes before they closed on the deadline day.)

Okay, now, onto the cuteness that is my life.

Sally loves being buried in laundry. When she says "laundry", it sounds like "monchee".

Little sleeping beauty

My girls playing- I LOVE saying "my girls"!!

Sally really wanted Alice to wear her antennae- we found a way to make it work.

Sally being a cutie

Sally loving on the baby. Alice is pretty easy going, which is good, because with such a loving sister, she needs to roll with the punches. I wish that was figurative.

Seriously. This is amazing. She has held her head like this a few times- for long periods of time! Sometimes, even without the boppy. I am uber impressed by my little one's strength! She is such a good and sweet baby. She's been with us for only four weeks, but I can't imagine life without her. It just feels so right that she's here. She is a very loved little moonlet.

I just thought Sally's outfit was adorable. You can also see Alice in the background.

Okay. This is a picture of a face. Look closely. There are eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears on the sides and hair up on top. I did the head, but Sally drew in all the features. She has done the head, but only once, on a magnadoodle at the doc's office. I was SO impressed with her- it was totally unsolicited. Since then, I've been trying to get her to do it again with no luck. now, though, she'll do the face if I do the head. This was a happy face. She also does sad faces, and baby Alice sometimes. Oh, and, of course, self portraits.

I just thought this was so sweet. Alice LOVES to be held all the time. She is a very snugly, cuddly baby, which is great for us.

Below is Sally singing some ABC's. She was a little distracted (by daddy's new video game Fable II- it really is pretty sweet- I actually can't wait to play it myself), but you get the gist. She's started singing quite a bit on her own, which is SO cute to hear. she sings Hushabye quite a bit as well as other good ditties. There are two videos, the first is her finishing once and then starting again. In the second, I help her to stay on track- if you combine the two, you can tell she really does know it. I'm so impressed with her and love her so much it's ridiculous.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Just look at all those cuties. We were able to go to a fun Halloween party at the Lunts. It was a great time! Sally was a cute little buzzy bee- and so proud to wear her cute little costume (given to her by Grandma). She got lots of comments on what a cutie she was. She was SO excited to trick or treat and wasn't disappointed. She ended up getting lots of bobbits (her word for treats). When she got back to the Lunt's house, she was all about sharing her loot. What a sweetheart. She also loved being with all the kids, and they were all so nice to her. Alice trick or treated too (as a ghost)- she was in a sling on me and slept right through it all. If you watch the slide show I should say that I am a witch. Only Walmart was out of witch hats, so a hatless witch. I put green eyeshadow all over my face, but mostly it just ended up looking shiny. Sally told me I was beautiful though. It was a great Halloween- Sally Rose especially loved it.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Tiny Dancer

2008-10-28T16:53:00.001-07:00

Sally Rose won this tutu from a friend's blog contest. Doesn't she look adorable? and isn't my friend talented and crafty? At first, she surprised me by not being that interested. Now, however, she wants top wear it all ther time. She loves spinning in circles- and looking through it. You'll have to excuse my singing- it's really bad. Sorry. Sally, though, is adorable!

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I can't post without putting up some new pictures. Here they are.

This was Alice's first time in the bumbo- she has great head control so we tried it out. I love Sally Rose in this picture.

Alice in the bumbo again- I love her expression.

Such a good baby girl

Loving sisters- hopefully the love will last through the ages

I love Sally's eyes here- and Alice looks so cute too. I only wish there were no binkies.

You can see how big she's getting here. Her cheeks have filled out- and check out her cleavage!

Two of my favorite people

One last Alice shot. I love my girls so much!

I Want my Mommy!!!!

2008-10-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

My mom came out to be with us for the birth (and after) of Alice. She came out on the 4th, I ended up having Alice on the 7th, and she went home on the 20th. That might sound like a lot of time, but it flew by. She was AMAZING. My house actually was clean and my kids taken care of. Our bellies stayed full of delicious food. I got naps and adult conversation. Also, a word game partner (just you wait- I will have a scrabble comeback.) After she left, I guess we started "real life". I think I'd rather wait for that. It's been getting harder and harder. I miss my mom so much.

What a happy and wonderful mom. I hope to be like her one day.

This was on our way to the airport. I wanted one last picture and this is the face she gave the camera. Classic and awesome.
Loving sweet Alice.

We tried to go to a pumpkin patch with pony rides- the ever reliable Internet told us they were open all week. Turns out, they were only open on the weekends. Sally got to comb the pony's mane, so all was okay.

This next part will be for my Mom (and anyone else who's interested) as well. Her are some pictures of our time since she got on the big airplane, as Sally says.
My family is so cute- you know you're jealous.

Sally looks happy. Does Alice?
Sally Rose is still super sweet and super cute.
Here's our little peanut in her peanut shell- a gift from Amy- I use it daily and LOVE it!!!

What a cutie

Maybe this is what Alice was remembering in the previous picture. Sally really loves her baby sister, sometimes a little too exuberantly.

Look at my cute girls!

I love this picture

Sally loves slides

Alice loves sleeping through tummy time

She has such a concerned expression here- don't worry little one.

Baby in the awesome sling again

Such a sweet girl.

Sally Rose is 2!!

2008-10-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sally Rose is two years old!!!

This is late. I'm sorry. Things have been, well, different around here.

Two years and one week ago, our darling Sally Rose was born. We got to celebrate with family, which was awesome and uncommon, so very special. My mom was in town to help with the new baby and Wendy, Jesse and Coleman were able to come up for the weekend, which worked out beautifully. On Saturday, we threw together a last minute party for sweet Sally. We went to the park and had dinner, cake and ice cream, played, and opened presents (most of which were provided by grandma extrordinaire). It was a great time. On her actual birthday, we had lunch in the park with grandma and Daddy. Sally liked that as well. She had lots of "happy cake" and kept saying "Happy Mommy" or Happy other people- making sure we were all having as good a time as she was.
The following is a slideshow/video of her special party. The cool bike was a present from grandma and grandpa. It is awesome and she loves it! We got her a sandbox, which will be shortly assembled. It will be cool I hope.

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Here are a few Sally pics taken over the last week. I'll give you just a few Sally facts.
Sally knows all her letters. She's starting to learn the sounds each makes, but just barely. she can identify all of them. She loves lining things up- cars, animals- you name it. She also loves stacking boxes. I'm hoping this is a sign of organization skills she did not get from me.
She is really taking to her new role as big sister. She LOVES Alice and always wants to hold and kiss her. We do need to work on the gentle factor a bit still, but she is doing amazingly well!

Sally is a very affectionate girl. She loves to give kisses and hugs to all our family. She can also count to ten. Her mouth is slowly filling up with teeth, it's so strange for me to see other kids her age with all their teeth. Then I realize that is normal. Sally's favorite songs right now include "Lay Down Sally" (to which she will always lay down- she also sings this to toys- lay down octopus, or lay down duckie), Castle on a Cloud, I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee, and Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam. It is SO great to see her grow up. I love playing with ehr and actually have conversations. I would write more and more about how great she is, but I am needing sleep in a major way. Just know that she is the coolest little girl. I love her.

I couldn't resist putting up a few pictures of our sweet little Alice. She is doing great! I'll be giving more info on her soon.

Alice Marie Nicolich

2008-10-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Meet our newest addition, little miss Alice Marie. She was born five short days ago, on October 7th at 8:20 in the morning. At 7 lb 11 oz, she was nearly a pound bigger than her big sister! So far, she is a sweet, sweet little girl. She eats like a champ-she gained 5 oz in one day! She isn't too fussy, and is spending longer periods of time with her cute little eyes open. She loves her little hands up by her face and has found her thumb a few times to go in that adorable mouth. She loves to be held and has a perfectly round head.

Getting baby Alice here was an adventure. In the 24 hours before labor began, the following measures were taken. Lots of evening primrose oil, my membranes were stripped, we went on a walk, the use of the "marriage bed", the use of a breast pump, eating eggplant Parmesan, eating some balsamic vinegar, pressure points, and drinking some raspberry leaf tea. I'm not sure what exactly did it, but when we sat down to watch the Work and the Glory at about 8:30, I started feeling a little something every so often. I definitely didn't think it was the beginning of labor, but did mention the feelings to Bill and my Mom. By 12:30, we were talking about getting to the hospital.

We finally got there and were admitted at about 2:30. I labored with Bill alone till about 7:00, when my mom, who had dropped Sally off with a friend, came. I was planning on trying the natural way again, which went pretty well. Again, as with Sally, when I got to about 8 cm, I was going a little nuts and requested in my nicest voice, to get some medicine. Again, I received some fentanyl, which made it so I could cope a bit better. I had an awesome midwife, Jack, (the only 6 foot 4 midwife around, as he says) who was very willing to let me do my thing. I walked the halls and was in and out of the bath during the labor. When it came time to push, he also let me do it my way.
My way involved Bill in a big way. He was my rock throughout, but really shined during the actual delivery. I was kneeling on the bed with my arms wrapped around him. When I would push, I would kind of push against the bed and lean into Bill with all the force I could muster. Meanwhile, I was full on screaming with my mouth about an inch away from his delicate ear. He was talking cheering me on and coaching through every contraction and was just SO amazing throughout. The delivery was surprisingly fast. I was shocked when I was told the head was out. My mom was asked to put on gloves to help, but it all happened a little too quickly. Sorry mom. I am incredibly grateful she was able to be there to see little Alice come into this world.

The feelings of love were immediate as they handed me this perfect little bundle. She was so sweet and warm and just perfect. Tears filled my eyes as I held this little miracle for the first time. She had all ten fingers and toes (I counted). Her little face was so beautiful, her spirit so strong. I was a little afraid my that the motherhood key to my heart had been opened with Sally and that Alice would have to share that space. It turns out, there is another chamber all her own.
Sally has been pretty sweet when it comes to little Alice Marie. She enjoys loving on the baby (listen to me, sounding all southern) and helping with diaper changes and the like. She is even getting a little better at staying gentle, but we will have to work on that one for a while. When Sally was first looking at Alice, the baby stuck her tongue out. Sally thought it was so funny and continues to go up to Alice and stick her tongue out lizard style and says, "Baby do it." She tries to share cookies and the like with Alice. We still have some adjusting to do, and things might get worse, but she's already handling it better than I expected!

In the above picture, you may notice the big cast like business going on on her sweet little arm. That was her unfortunate IV. After she was born, sweet baby Alice had quite a bit of fluid in her lungs that they had to suction out. A little later in the day, they told us she was breathing quite a bit faster than she ought to. She had to endure a whole slew of tests while they determined the cause of the rapid breathing. After blood tests and x-rays, they decided she still had a bit of moisture in her lungs. The doctor was afraid she might aspirate some milk if she nursed, and wanted her to be on an IV to receive fluids. I only wasn't able to nurse for a few hours, though, which was good. They had to keep her in the intermediate nursery that first night. She kept getting better, though, and by noon the next day, she got to come in with us.
Now, she is strong and healthy. She did have some high bilirubin levels, but they are coming down. We had to go back to the doctor to get those levels checked on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, she weighed 7 lbs 10 oz, very near her birth weight. The next day, she weighed 7 lb 15 oz! The nurse didn't believe the results and weighed her on a different scale. She is definitely a healthy and strong girl. I mean, how many four day old kids lift their head like this? Seriously.
Anyway, I know this was long, but very edited from what I actually wanted to post. I will leave you with one more picture of our sleeping beauty, little Alice Marie Nicolich.

Three Days till D-Day

2008-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have three days till I'm due. I am SO ready. Well, not really. There are still quite a few things to get done, and yet, here I sit on the computer. My body and mind, however, can't get her here fast enough. I never really got to this point with Sally- I enjoyed being pregnant to the end. And beyond in her case. This time, however, I just feel achy and uncomfortable. This child really loves pushing against my ribs. Sally Rose never did that. I know I have it pretty easy when I compare to other pregnancies I've heard of, this one is just a bit harder than my last. So we're cheering her on to get here! If any of you have ANY tips on getting a baby to come any faster, let me know. I'm willing to try pretty much anything. My mom comes in tomorrow, and I've been waiting to try some of the "riskier" methods till she gets here. But the time has come, so bring on the old wives tales!

I hope her dandelion wish is for her baby sister to come. This dress is reversible and awesome. It's probably my favorite article of clothing Sally has and guess what- Bill bought it for her. He got it at the Utah Art's Festival when he was in SLC. He did a good job.

We took this last night. Pretty big, right? My stomach is actually measuring a little small. People also act surprised when they find out how far along I am- but I do look pretty huge, right? I certainly feel ready to pop.

Just a belly shot- oh what a belly it is.

Sally has been SO sweet these last few days. Her whining has been minimal, and she's been super affectionate. She loves kissing my belly and giving all kinds of big hugs. She also is in love with these big legos. We got them at a garage sell last week- a very good purchase. The other garage sale find I am excited about? A mini glider. So Sally and I can both rock our babies at the same time. She is just so dang sweet. Check out how smart she is here.

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Camping, well, sort of

2008-10-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a bunch of our friends went camping. I really wanted to camp as well, but we ultimately decided it a little unwise to camp when you are almost 39 weeks pregnant. We did go up Saturday afternoon and had a lovely time.

This was the most important part, I think. I'd never thought to do steak over a campfire, but it turns out SO good! Oh, and that's the Lunt's food getting all fancy with bacon wrapped shrimp kabobs. I did have a shrimpy, and it was magic.

Braden warming up after playing in the cold water
Mom, do you see all these ghosts?
Julie never hides.
Layne and Braden- they are serious buddies.
We didn't come prepared to play in the water, but Sally really wanted to. She loved digging and just splashing around. It was cold at first, but you quickly became accustomed to it. It was FUN for all.
Cute friends, Bella and Bailey
Layne reminded me of a kid out of Lord of the Flies here. He would have survived.
Stacy warming up sweet Sally Rose.

This is a little water Macarena by Bella and Halle. Very nice.

Sally's Music

2008-09-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

These pictures don't really relate, but hopefully, make things a little cuter.

You have to click on this to see how cool her hair is. Sometimes she'll allow me to do fun things to her hair, other times, not so much. She was so dang cute this day, from head to toe.

My cute, cute family

Sally has gotten VERY particular about the music we listen to. I get a kick out of it. She's very opinionated and will let you know her opinions right away. She quite likes Radiohead, but only certain songs- I think 15 Step is her favorite of theirs right now. She's also discovered Finally Friday. She can be a real ego boost in that world. When the solo in Merry-Go-Round comes on, she says that it's pretty and beautiful. How sweet. She doesn't, however, like to listen to Catch a Glance.

She has fallen in love with cellos. I've had hopes for her to be a violinist, but if this love persists, I might have to let her follow in her uncle's footsteps. Whenever she hears any string music, she thinks it's a cello, and will tell you that a lot. She can, however, tell the difference when she sees them. We were at a violin shop a while ago and she just wanted to stay in the cello room the whole time. Since then, she loves looking through catalogs like Shar and pointing out the cellos.

I LOVE her eyelashes. She's one lucky girl to have them.

Sally Rose is also very opinionated about the songs we sing. Right now, she adores castle on a cloud, and we usually do it at bed time. She has to be in the right mood for I am a Child of God, and is pretty much "over" Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. I go into the nursery to do some singing each week, and she's started the others (for a total of three) on a not so nice habit. When I suggest a song she doesn't like, she immediately chimes in with No's and floor rolling and the like. She's turned the other kids on to that too, so with each song, there's at least one child doing backup of No No No. We're working on that one at home.

I love that she is tuned in to music and actually cares about what we listen to. She also likes a lot of classical music, especially if there is a cello involved. I hope to continue her love and passion, and hopefully broaden her musical horizons

Bath Time Fun

2008-09-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

So, Sally and I were taking a bath this morning, (that's okay, right?) and she did something very funny. She was struggling with some stacking cups, trying to but a larger one in a smaller one. I was trying to tell her how to get it to work and said, "Put the blue one on the bottom." She immediately stood up and put the cups on her own cute little bottom, which is exactly what I had told her to do. I couldn't stop laughing, as she held those cups on her bum for quite some time. So clever and cute.

My Daughter Rules

2008-09-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

This is just a post of some pictures from recent times. Sally is so amazing. I am excited (and scared) to see her make the transition from only to big sis. She is so fun to play with right now. You can actually hold a conversation of sorts up if she's willing. I love her SO much. I can't wait for my heart to expand for her little sister. If she's anything like Sally Rose, I am in for treat after treat.

I was trying so hard to get a picture of the two of us. Sally Rose was climbing on the couch and being such a cutie, but a very active one.
I really can't believe she's almost two. And, almost a big sister. It has gone by far too quickly. (but these next few weeks can fly by if they want- I am READY)

This does not serve this incident justice. She was COVERED. She was wearing shorts and a long sleeved shirt when I found her, I should have taken a picture while she was still clothed, because she looked like a smurf.

You can see here how she got her thighs too.
She just looks so grown up here. 2 Going on 20, is what it feels like.
We were cleaning out a storage area and Sally decided this box was her house. We'd knock and...
She's swing open the "doors" to greet us. Way cute.

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Here's a little diddy of us singing. Again, she can't look away from herself in the viewfinder. I love it.

Ryan Casper

2008-08-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a dedicated fan. This is Layne- and, ues, that's with a sharpie

This last weekend, I was able to play a little bit with Ryan Casper. (Check him out at http://ryancasper.com/) He's a great country artist out here. I've never really been into country music, but I really like his stuff. I've played a few shows with him since we've been out here, and it's always a lot of fun. This was outdoors at the Mall of Georgia. It rained for a bit, and everybody ran away, but they came back. The kids were dancing and having fun. There was also a fairly large group of mentally challenged people there that were dancing and seemed to really enjoy themselves. This was the mose unprepared as a band I've ever felt, but it went surprisingly well, considering we hadn't even played a bundle of the songs prior to the show.

Ryan doing his thing

Sally was tuckered out- notice the THREE binkies

Here's a clip of the song Devil's Throwin' Darts. I wish I could have heard myself better, I'm more present in the mix than I thought. It was okay, I should have just asked to be turned up in my monitor. Anyway, it was a fun night.

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Counting

2008-08-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video of Sally and I counting. She's far more interested in watching herself in the viewfinder than the numbers, but cute all the same. She's so awesome. It is so great to see her learn and grow.