Get ready to laugh...

I was scanning some of our wedding pictures recently and came across these goodies! Both of these pictures were taken when we were 4 years old. I was such a serious gymnast! Don't you love my bangs? Looks like a self haircut to me!

Only 3 days!!!

I know some single parents and I admire the heck out of them. Where do you guys find the patience, drive and just plain sanity to do it? I am completely amazed by these particular people I know, and I am guessing they have much more courage and determination than I do. Brandon has been in Phoenix since Monday for work. He'll be home tonight, but only after Elly is already down for the night. Ok, you may be laughing at me at this point because he'll only be gone a total of 3 days. But, I'm not doing so well parenting on my own. I am not by any means suggesting that now I know what it's like to be a single parent, mind you. I don't at all. But, I might have caught a glimpse of some of the things that are involved. It may be partly do to the fact that Elly has had a pretty nasty cold and has been whining slash screaming the whole time or it may just be that I am a total wimp. The truth is that, yeah- I can handle 3 days of her and me together alone, but I honestly think I'm handling it because I know it will end tonight. He'll be back and I'll be able to count on him to draw the bath or change a diaper or just play with her while I do something- anything else. I love being with Elly. I do it all day, everyday. These past few days as we've been alone, I haven't done too much more actual work than I do when Brandon's here. But, I guess there's just something huge about the little things that he does before he leaves and when he comes home at night. There's something huge to me about having the promise of help. I think that's what it is. I do take care of her, and it's usually a joy for me...but when those times come where I'm just going to scream myself if she screams one more time, I know there's a back up. Brandon's there to provide relief. And he does it beautifully might I add. And he's always 100% willing to jump in and help. He always wants to, too. These past few days, I've missed him terribly and not just because he's so great helping with Elly. Of course I've missed my husband and partner. But, I think what I'm talking about here is missing the promise of relief. I just have to say that I truly do admire and respect single parents, especially those I know and love. I know that mostly you do it because you love your children and you simply do what they need to keep them healthy and happy. I would be able to do it too, I think. But it would be require a lot more strength, more patience than I now have and to be honest- a lot more growing up on my part. So, to those single parents I know who do it many more days than 3, if I can give you relief in any way- please, please let me.

ps I added these pictures of Elly having her first ever mini ice cream cone the week before her first birthday, so that this post wouldn't be a total bummer.

Introducing: Shy Girl Designs!

My two sisters and I have been working up a storm bringing this new business into the world. It's called Shy Girl Designs; clever accessories for girls. It's been so much fun working with them and we're excited to keep going. Keri is the mastermind, creating all the patterns, fabrics and hand-making each item. Madelyn is the brainiac numbers expert, who conveniently also has a superb visual eye. I have been taking so many pictures for Shy Girl that I had to get an additional external hard drive! Anyway, it's been crazy fun and we are so proud of our hard work. We want you to check it out. That's right: shameless marketing. Deal with it. Tell everyone you know who may be interested about our adorable accessories for little girls. You can find these delightful products at:

www.shygirldesigns.com

We're offering a 15% friends and family discount right now, so if you didn't get my email invite- comment on this post with your email address and I'll send you the promotional code (even if you're not my friend or my family).

Happy Holiday Shopping!

How crazy is this?

It seems I don't know my husband as well as I thought I did. He's secretly been working on and is now launching his own video game...and he's the star, of course! All in all, I guess it's not a bad thing, especially if it brings in extra cash- but I am going to have to talk with him about the blood, language and use of tobacco.

disclaimer: brandon not actually starring in his own video game. video game called "drake's fortune" or something like that. don't start asking us for money or anything.

Rewind: Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at the Anderson's. It was just the family, with yummy food and good company. Kari and Hoon came up from San Diego; it's always fun to see the newlyweds.

This is: (L-R)Pilar, Elly, Me, Isabel, Hoon and Kari

What else do you do after a good Thanksgiving meal?


Elly spent her day, of course, trying to find the doggies.

One Year Bubbush Pictures

While my sister, Keri, was visiting this weekend, I took Elly's One Year Pictures. It was a beautiful fall day. She is so adorable and getting cuter by the day.

She has 5 teeth now (3 on top and 2 on bottom) and working on more. She loves Pizza! She gets so excited when she sees it all cooked and ready on the counter; she kicks her little legs and chants: "pizza, pizza, pizza" reaching for it. She blows on her food now just like we do before we give it to her. Sometimes she won't even take a bite before we blow on it, even if it's not hot anymore. She eats plain oatmeal for breakfast, but of course, only with a little brown sugar in it. She likes peas a lot.

She likes to play with all the toys she's been given. She uses her little cart to push around, so she can walk by herself. She has a little giraffe she can stand in front of that plays music when you push the button on its head. She'll stand there for 10 minutes, just pushing the button and dancing to the music. She has different dance moves, too. One is like the hula where her little hips go around in a circle. One is a knee bounce, and one is a hip pop. Sometimes the hip pop gets a little head tilt along with it. She'll push the button and do one move until the music stops, then push it again and do a different one until it stops again and repeat with all her moves. She's an equal opportunity dancer. She dances in time with the rhythm, too. It's awesome.

She has several stuffed animals that have different places in her life and our house. 'Pink Bear' is just what it says, a little pink bear 4" tall that she sleeps with every night. She loves him. He never comes out of her crib. 'Doggie' and 'Pooh Bear' mostly stay in the car. And 'Hippo' is a large, hot pink, hippo who's always making a laughing face. He is her latest obsession. She carries all of these animals the same way: by the arm, and only by the arm. And it has to be the arm she would grab if the two of them were walking hand in hand down the street (no matter which hand she grabs it with). She also has the practice of kissing each of them on the face several times when she first sees them. Some of them get more kisses than others, even. Some of them (like Hippo right now) get lots of tight hugs as well.

Her favorite things however, are not toys. They are the vacuum and the dust buster. I'm serious. She loves it when we use them. She wants to stand right by them and even touch them if possible while they are being used. She'd really like to use them herself, but she's too tiny. She will be playing with toys, or sitting in her high chair when all of the sudden, she'll start calling and pointing toward the laundry room where they are kept. When we let her get down and have some practice walking holding our fingers, she always walks us directly to the vacuums. As a result, our floors have never been so clean.

She is talking up a storm and learns new words every day. Seriously. Her favorites at the moment are pizza (of course), hippo, book, and mommy (who doesn't love that?) She is a wonderful sleeper and eater and she's just all around a really great baby. She is super sweet and so smart; it's unreal. I know everyone says that, but I'm kind of worried that she's going to be smarter than me in a matter of a few short years, really. She's amazing and we love her love her love her.