Project Life: Week 11

Project Life: Week 11



Spring is in the air!!!


Saturday, March 12th


We had a busy, busy, busy day, and Elaina decided about halfway through that she needed to recharge. Winston watched over her while she slept; considering he usually runs the other direction when he hears her little footsteps, this was especially sweet.

Sunday, March 13th


Tonight I made rainbow cupcakes, and I decided to let Elaina taste the batter. After careful consideration, she decided it was quite yummy and came back for seconds!

Monday, March 14th


The finished product--did I mention these took forever to make (putting Elaina, who, in a time-change induced fury, learned how to climb out of her crib, back to bed)--was finally frosted and sampled. I wouldn't make them every day, but I'll definitely do it again!

Tuesday, March 15th


When I came home from work today and turned the corner to go towards Josh's voice, this handsome, handsome face greeted me: he finally shaved the "winter beard". He usually starts growing it the day after Christmas and keeps it until Valentine's day, but because of Rachel's wedding, he wasn't able to keep his "usual" schedule. He had promised he'd shave eventually, but I was quietly beginning to give up hope. What a happy surprise to find I was wrong!

Wednesday, March 16th


Today it was nice enough to venture outdoors after work. So hard to believe the last time Elaina toddled around our back yard (excluding when we took her to experience the blizzard), she wasn't even walking yet!

Thursday, March 17th



Our little sweetpea got to go to a St. Patrick's Day parade with her gramma this morning, but the fun meant not much of a nap...which meant crabby baby. After dinner, we took her to a local park for some play. She loved the swing--I know the picture's blurry, but it so captures the joy she felt that I had to include it.

Friday, March 18th


A gorgeous sunset tonight.

Project Life: Week 10

Project Life: Week 10



Between family visits, dr appointments, anniversary project work, work-work, and life in general, we were busy, busy, busy. Here is our week in review

Saturday, March 5th


Today Rachel and Lips came to visit. We only had them for a few hours, but it was a great time together. Perhaps one day they'll live closer and we can do this more often!

Sunday, March 6th
Our little monkey has discovered how much *fun* it is to climb onto the table. She definitely keeps us on our toes...and our ears sharpened to the sound of the chair scraping on the tile!

Monday, March 7th

Tonight I scanned more pictures for Mom and Dad's anniversary gift. It took forever...four nights, 450+ pictures, and it was, in the end, completely worth it.

Tuesday, March 8

Elaina enjoyed the simpler things in life tonight: she entertained herself for quite some time by playing in her diaper box.

Wednesday, March 9th

The much-anticipated day of our anatomy sonogram finally arrived, and we were thrilled to learn that Elaina is getting a perfectly healthy little sister!!!!! Here she is! Josh and I can already tell she's going to look like Elaina, and we are so excited for this new little blessing.

Thursday, March 10th


A beautiful late-winter/early spring sky.

Friday, March 11th

Elaina has taken to "dancing" lately. Here is an action shot of her shaking her groove thang to a silly song we were singing.

Project Life: Week 9

Project Life: Week 9



I have been unbelievably busy the past few weeks working on project for my parents' 40th anniversary, and Project Life paid the price. So now I'm playing catch-up!

Saturday, February 26th

This weekend, Josh and I made a long overdue trip to spend some time with my parents and grandparents. Traveling with a toddler is certainly exhausting, but it is very much worth it! Our first stop was to my Gramma Copes's.

Visiting with Great-Gramma Copes

We then visited with Gramma and Grampa Beck before heading on to see my parents.

Visiting with Great-Grampa and Gramma Beck

Sunday, February 28th

Today we spent time as a family, and it was great.

Reading the Gramma on Sunday morning

Eating with a big girl spoon!

Enjoying time with Grampa

Monday, March 1st

When I adopted Winston, I was living alone in Nashville. He was my constant companion, and often he would sit on the bathtub ledge while I unwound from a long week. I liked to dribble little drinks of water for me and forget, for awhile, about the crushing loneliness I felt. Little did I know that where these dribbles would lead: seven years later, he still insists on getting water from human hands as we shower. He can be very persistent, but to be honest, I miss it when he doesn't do it.

Tuesday, March 2


Tonight, Elaina entertained us by playing peekaboo in the kitchen curtains. I don't think I could ever say how much I love this little girl.

Tuesday, March 3rd

Elaina loved it when Daddy threw her in the air!


Wednesday, March 4th

God greeted us with another beautiful sunrise this morning!


Friday, March 5th

After a long week, we enjoyed a meal out with Josh's parents. Elaina loves her Gamma and Papa!

Random Thoughts post

I'd love to say something profound tonight, but the honest truth is I've been staring at my computer screen (and American Idol, I won't lie) for the last 20 minutes, and I think all the profundity I may have had to offer at some point today has been drained away. So this will strictly be a what you see is what you get post.

* Rachel and Lips are coming to visit this weekend, weather-pending. (Further proof that I am too tired to be profound: I just typed that they are coming to visit "this weather, weekend-pending." Egads.) She hasn't been down since the day after Thanksgiving, and he's never been to our home. I'm looking forward to it.

* Mom and Dad's 40th anniversary is in three weeks and I've yet to scan the pictures I'm using for their gift. I am secretly hoping that this time-crunch will result in a level of technological and creative genius previously unseen in my efforts.

* That being said, it took me more than a month to create Elaina's birthday video, and that was only encapsulating one year. It's quite possible I've bitten off more than I can chew, but it's an event worth much celebration, so I will give it my best.

* I have eaten so much popcorn this pregnancy that if we have a boy, we may be forced to name him Orville.

* Facebook is supposed to be the great connector, but I'm sad when some folks I really would like to connect with again don't seem to have a page. I would love to talk with Bill Bray again, who was the chaplain of the university and the team leader when I went to Russia. Or David Pollitt, who was my boss (and one of the only bright spots) during my time in Nashville.

* I can hear Chappu snoring on Josh's lap across the living room.

* The MOPS group at our new church meets again on Monday. I'm going to go, and I am fairly certain I will dread it the entire day only to have a decent time, which will be followed by a few hours of self-doubt because I am still new and not part of the group, and because I am beginning to think it is impossible to meet another mother at these things who, like myself, works full-time outside the home. But I'll never make friends if I don't try...so I have to try, like it or not.

* Every night I check on Elaina as she sleeps, and every night, the sight of her so peaceful makes me teary. I am so thankful to be her mother. I am so thankful for her smiles. I am so thankful for the ways she is teaching me about God's love. I am so thankful for this new side of Josh that I get to watch and enjoy and love. I am so thankful for the opportunity to teach her and to watch her grow. I am so thankful for the little sighs she makes in her sleep, for the way the smell of her baby lotion wafts up while I peer into her crib. I am so thankful.

* I haven't done a great job keeping a journal for our new baby. I feel guilty about it and hope he/she understands it isn't because I love any less, but more that I am so stinking tired most nights that all I want to say would be inked gibberish and not the words of love and excitement I really want to share.

* We are supposed to get snow on Saturday. I am so sick of snow the thought of more makes me want to curl into a ball and cry.

* I still haven't put up all of our winter decorations. I have no spring decorations with which to replace them and I know bare walls are a source of stress for both Josh and myself. My only hope is that Gordman's or Michaels will have something suitable (Wal-Mart was a complete bust.).

I believe I'm going to lie down now and watch Josh play his video game and feel our new baby bounce around and revel in the fact that tomorrow is Friday and I won't have to be up before 6:00 for two whole days once I make it through then.

Good night, friends.

Project Life: Week 8

Project Life: Week 8




A busy, beautiful, blessed week!

Saturday, February 19th



We had a busy, productive day, and when I finally stopped for supper, the only thing that sounded good was popcorn, grapes, and strawberries. Not exactly a well-balanced meal, but it did have fiber and fruit!

Sunday, February 20th


While Josh made supper today, Elaina and I played in her room. I found a pretty flower clip and put it in her hair. At least five or six times, each time she'd run to where she could "hide", pull the clip out, and run back out with a huge grin, holding the clip out proudly. When we sat down for dinner, she finally left it alone long enough for a picture. I suppose if she knew how cute she looked, she would have left it alone the first time!

Monday, February 21st


Tonight I went to the MOPS group at our new church, and before we left (an experience about which I plan to write more), we got to make up a plate of goodies for our spouses. Here is what I brought home for Josh.

Tuesday, February 22nd


After weeks of grumbling and painful confrontations between white hairs and my tweezers, I finally got my hair cut and highlighted. I feel like a new woman!

Wednesday, February 23rd


Wasn't it only yesterday she was so little she could barely hold on?


Thursday, February 24th
20 weeks! So hard to believe this pregnancy is already half-over. It has been going so well, and I am so thankful for the kicks and elbows I've really started to feel!


Friday, February 25th


I changed out the pictures at my desk, and when I looked away from my work and saw them, they made me smile. They aren't new by any means--all of them were taken before Elaina's 1st birthday--but they are sweet reminders of how I'm blessed, and why I work.

Project Life: Week 7

Week 7 was, in retrospect, a week of food and scenery. There are worse things to celebrate :)

Saturday, February 12th


This morning I decided to make us all a treat, so we had pancakes with fresh blueberries for breakfast. Elaina definitely enjoyed this break from her usual bowl of cereal! Later, Josh and I went out for a date to Sushigawa (delicious!) and capped off our Japanese-themed date by watching Rashomon.


Sunday, February 13th

Elaina fell asleep on the way home from church today, and, in the hopes of having the nap last substantially long enough for her to not be a bear the rest of the entire day, I held her on my lap. This worked well until the sound of my lunch munching woke her up. She was quite interested in sharing my Doritos, evidenced by the orange powder on the corners of her mouth.

Unfortunately, her curiosity in the culinary arts also extended to the kitty litter box when Josh and I weren't looking. A call to Poison Control and lots of mouth-rinsing later, she was fine; the scene is so captured in my mind, it needn't be captured on film as well.

Monday, February 14th

Nothing says "romantic Valentine's dinner" like leftover goulash. :) (Admit it, you're writhing with jealousy...). I think by today Elaina had had it with Mommy constantly taking a picture while she ate. I admit, I was searching for a subject. But she's such a cute subject, even with this "Why must you have the camera in my face while I am trying to eat, again" expression.


Tuesday, February 15th

This beautiful sunrise greeted me on my way to work. "The heavens declare the glory of God," indeed.


Wednesday, February 16th

And this beautiful scene greeted me today. Okay, so it looks pretty ugly, but it does indicate one important thing: above-freezing temperatures. It's so hard to believe our blizzard was only two short weeks ago; I was sure Elaina would be entering junior high before the snow was all gone!


Thursday, February 17th

Lately I've really been feeling down about all the desk time I have at work. I sit, come home, play with Elaina, and sit. It's too cold to go for a walk, so I improvised with my Wii fit balance board. After stepping on it for about a half hour, Elaina decided she wanted to give it a try!


Friday, February 18th



When Josh and I initially painted our house, it was a whirlwind 4-day activity, before floors or cabinets or anything of the like were installed. So it took until we had moved in for me to realize that I hated the color of our bathroom. It seriously made me feel like I was showering in room the color of baby poo. After much debate, we decided to paint three of the four walls and leave the brown as an accent. Josh got a sample of a decided-upon color, and he called me into the bathroom to see what I thought. I was greeted with this mural of love :)

Project Life: Week 6

Inspired by Jessica Turner's (The Mom Creative) blog, I've challenged myself to take a picture each day this year. So far, so good! Here is a recap of last week:



Project Life: Week 6

Saturday, February 5th



Following the blizzard, we had arctic temperatures that kept us huddled inside. Today it was finally warm enough (ha!) to take Elaina out to explore snow for the first time. She was very interested and handled it like a champ. I am so excited for next winter, when we'll go out and actually play!


Sunday, February 6

This picture pretty much sums up our interest in this year's Superbowl--half-interest :). (Was happy to see the Packers win...division rivals or no, it was a good game!) We did go to Josh's folks for the first 2 1/2 quarters, which was a lot of fun, and then came home to put Elaina to bed. Josh enjoyed the rest of the game while playing a video game.


Monday, February 7th
This face sums up Little Missy's evening: cranky. She was so inconsolable that we put her to bed early, and it seemed to have done the trick. She woke up the next morning the happy, smiling baby I know and love!

Tuesday, February 8th

Until she was 10 1/2 months old, Elaina was not a good sleeper. We tried this Fisher Price soothing sounds machine, but it only served to fuel her sleep-fighting rage, so eventually it went the way of the Swaddle-Me and the Seahorse (life drastically improved once she rediscovered the Paci!). She discovered her soothing sound machine tonight and enjoyed listening to it--this time, without tears.

Today I also had a dr appointment, and we got to hear Peanut's heartbeat again (145!). I was only a little disappointed that we have to wait so long for the next sono. I can't wait to see this little creature who has been kicking me!

Wednesday, February 9th

As a wedding gift, I am making a wedding album for Rachel and Lips. It's my first time using Picaboo, and I've been very impressed. For inspiration, I pulled out our wedding album. It was wonderful to reminisce about that special day 4 1/2 years ago!

Thursday, February 10th

Tonight Elaina decided to play in the pots. She didn't quite realize she's quite a bit bigger than her selected seat!

Friday, February 1th
When I came in from work today, Elaina in tow, I saw these beautiful flowers on the island. Josh had them sitting next to a heart of chocolates. I realize this may be cliche for some people, but it was quite unexpected, and it made me feel so special.