Tis the Season

This bearded man is not about to make her wishes come true. Thanks anyway Santa... maybe next year.

Lucky?

Lucky for us, we have family who live in wonderfully warm places. And lucky for us, we get to visit.

I am grateful for holidays that bring family together... holidays that give us an excuse to drive 10 hours to see each other. (Um, did I say an excuse to drive 10 hours???) Well, the time, money, patience, and boredom that we spend in order to see each other may seem too high a price for just 3 days. Sometimes I think I'm just convincing myself it's worth it during hour 12 of the supposed 10 hour drive. But, when all is said an done, the miles have been driven, and re-driven, the spent sunflower seeds litter the car mats (ew), and the tune of baby einstein rings in my ears, I have more. More memories, more love, and more warmth.

It's then that I assess the sacrifice IS worth it.

Our trip to the desert gave us a blast of warmth to last us through the cold winter ahead. Yes, lucky for us.

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Photos courtesy of Grapefruit and Rachel

Chicks

Together again, dressed up crazy, we rekindled our friendships from high school. It was so fun to get together and reminisce about old times and make more fun memories that included the guys.

Colonel Sanders' beard and goatee scared our little chicken too much so that he couldn't even wear them. She was a little over tired for our Halloween festivities, and every time someone shouted or made a loud noise (and let's be honest, we were never a quiet bunch of girls in high school, and not much has changed in 5 years!) Mary lost it. Every cry started with a huge frown.

Halloween was way more fun this year with our little doll to dress up. She loved her costume, so much that she even fell asleep in it!

FALL

Inspiration

This inspires me.

I wrote in my 8th grade autobiography that she was my queen... She was the one that I looked up to and wanted to be exactly like.

Not much has changed in a matter of ten years (wow, has it really been that long?). Yes, we have taken different roads. Yes, her road led her faraway places. Places where I couldn't sit on her bedroom floor anymore and watch her get ready with big, eager eyes. Places where she had to face fear and heartache alone, with only God to hear.

Through each new stage she faces, I still see the queen I wrote about. I didn't know then, when I was 14, that she would accomplish all that she has.

But I could feel her light. If you don't know her, and you haven't felt it, it is the kind of light that oozes out of someone who has a lot of faith. Someone who has excitement and passion.

So the moral of this post is, I still want to be creative like she is. I want to be as passionate as she is. I want to be beautiful and graceful like she is. I want to have faith like she does.

***Photos taken at Laguna Beach, Dawson Cole Art Gallery.

September Highlights

I considered that Mary had SIDS. And I'm not trying to make light of a serious thing that sadly, happens all too often. She just doesn't usually, well ever, sleep for more than 2 hours during the day. Which is why Mary's 3 hour nap brought me to that morbid conclusion. I hadn't heard a sound. Not a PEEP for 3 hours. I finally decided to crack open the door to see if she was still breathing. To my immense relief, this is what I found...

...just waiting. So happy. So content, exploring this crib that she sleeps in every day. Discovering it for the first time.

Her discovery of the world continues...

She liked playtime and dress-ups with her cousin, Noah.

She is anticipating crawling, but still enjoys playing on a blanket on the floor.

Mary is sleeping through the night (YES!) but not without her precious little bear.

She giggled in her new swing at Grandma's, as well as anxiously eating any new solid food within reach.

And she has to be dressed up, even when she just goes to the grocery store. What can I say? She is my girl! (well, let's be honest. I can get away with sweats if she is dressed up, right?)

Ordinary

I do ordinary things every day. Like the dishes. And I eat cold cereal for breakfast. I wear ordinary clothes. I brush my teeth, I make the bed. I slap on some make-up here and there. I cook dinner. Not fancy dinners, but at least I cook them. I put clothes in the washing machine, I drive to the bank, the grocery store, and Target. I pump the car with gas. I check the mail. Nothing special, nothing exciting.

There are a pair of little blue eyes that watch me do these ordinary tasks. Beautiful blue eyes, that remind me, every time I look at them, of someone else with matching ones. Each morning these bright eyes find my face and spread a big, open-mouthed grin across hers. Her eyes fill with wonder at each ordinary chore I do. The dishes are shiny, they make noise. My cold cereal looks curiously sweet, and her tiny little tongue gets ready to taste it with every bite I take. She reaches out to touch my clothes, to scrunch her fingers around them. Holding onto the end of my vibrating toothbrush sets her into a fit of giggles. She watches so intently as I cut up the bright fruits and vegetables. The pots and pans, the steam, the smells... her dainty fingers reach out to pull in anything she can reach in order to examine it. Her head twists back and forth down every aisle of the store in order to absorb all of the colors, the sizes, the textures, and the sounds. The mail comes from a shiny box- with KEYS, and the paper crinkles when she touches it.

All of my ordinary tasks become something more when she is there, wondering, waiting, and watching. Ordinary is much more than mundane... with Mary, ordinary is discovery, it's nothing less than exciting, stimulating, and wonderful. Light oozes from her little self like a morning ray of sunshine, touching everything in sight.

Today, Mary made me feel more than mundane, more than ordinary. She made what I was doing really matter. Ordinary wasn't so ordinary today, not for me, and certainly, not for her.

California Dreamin

Mary experienced the beach for the first time this month. Her favorite was trying to eat sand, wondering where the wind was coming from, and of course, playing with her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.
We had a great time going back and forth between Newport and Huntington Beaches, where we visited with Jon's grandparents and family on both sides. We will never forget games at night with Grandma and Grandpa Alexander, some yummy home-cooked meals, our conversations about family and fashion, and loads and loads of our favorite phrase, "A boo boo Mary!"
The Crosby beach traditions held strong... bike rides on the boardwalk, dollar tacos at Great Mex, Ruby's shakes, Jack's surf-shop, morning runs/strolls ending with donut holes and apple fritters... (watch out for those next time Jess :) Life at the beach is so chill, and considering that we only spent a little over a week there this year (which, if you know us, is really cutting down on the usual) we want to go back very soon!

Lake Powell 2009

We made some great memories at Lake Powell this year. The first time with a baby was very different, but Mary was a champ. We figured out once we got home that she is getting her first few teeth! She started eating sweet potatoes and peas on the trip, and absolutely LOVES eating with the grown-ups. She is growing up so fast, Jon and I are both in denial. At the same time, she is getting more and more fun to play with... rolling around, trying to sit up, and GIGGLING!

Along with the giggles and the teeth, she has found her voice... well, her scream. It's her new way of communicating.... let's just say, we are embracing it...

...AND HER

5 months

... and lovin it!

Drumroll Please...

... After years of school work to receive his Bachelor's Degree in Economics (with great grades), months of studying for the GMAT, and A few years work experience, he applied and got into the W.P. Carey School of Business for graduate studies at

Luckily, we don't have to move. Which makes his acceptance even better. 

May at a Glance

May was a very big month for Mary, and for our family... It flew by so fast!
It started out with an ear infection for Mary, a sinus infection for me, and triathlon for Jon.

Hooray for Jon! He mounted a HUGE task and completed it successfully... with pretty much no training at all. The day of the race they cancelled the swim (Jon's best event) and doubled the run... that just happened to be in the thick red SAND of St. George.

The best party I have been to in a long time happened right in the middle of the month when my little brother got married to his high school sweetheart. Dance party in da house! Mary and her cousins all got to wear matching dresses, I think they looked adorable to say the least.
After the wedding Mary came with me and some of the girls as we made her first trip to California, and her first trip to DISNEYLAND. 

It all ended with a very Happy Birthday to Jon on the 31st.

3 years ago

April 29, 2006

This was the best day of my life.

Thanks for all of the days in between that have made that day even better. 

Blessed

Friend

FRIEND.

I have been thinking about this word lately... what it means... and who it means. Certain people come to my mind, certain days. 

I think about being a little four year old girl again. I think of that day I hid behind my mom's legs when introduced to the little neighbor girl. I had no idea then that she and I would see each other through years of jumping on the tramp, of secret crushes, bad break-ups, and shopping sprees. 

I think of "Sally" and "Stacey." I think of sleepovers and MEETING HALFWAY. I think of long talks. I think of tears and hugs. I think of giggling uncontrollably. And of more giggling. I think of silly nights of crank calls and boobie traps. BFF's.

When I think of FRIEND, I think of screaming out our favorite songs while we feel the freedom of the windows down and the car keys in hand. I think of lunch trips and cutting class. I think of moments. 

I think of those I have known since birth, and I think of those I have known only a few months. I think of wedding days, I think of going on walks. I think of phone calls. I think of inside jokes and quiet memories. I think of helpful hints and good advice. I think of years of love and conversations past. 

I have been blessed by each of you... my friends. All I can hope is that my little Mary will be as lucky as her parents have been to have such wonderful friends!

Mary met her first official friend this week... I think they hit it off. George and Mary are just a week apart...

2 Months

Before...

and AFTER...

Although she looks so sad in this photo... I cried more than she did. 

Mary weighs 11.13 lbs... she's gained a good 4 pounds in her 2 months of life. You know what that means??? More chub on those cheeks to kiss...

SMILES

Look what happens every day when Daddy gets home... 

Motherhood

Motherhood.

I wondered what it would be like. 

I was scared of the unknown.

I'm still just a little girl myself.

Am I capable?

Am I ready for this?

So many questions...

So many doubts...

Yet, excitement bubbled as the days added up to weeks

and the weeks added up to 40...

I suddenly found myself facing THE DAY

I found myself facing THE PAIN

I found myself holding onto Jon's hand for dear life.

33 days have gone by now.

33 days of motherhood.

How do I explain to my old self what it would feel like?

It feels exhausting at times.

It feels overwhelming at times.

But I knew it would be.

What I didn't know 

was the MIRACLES that I would see.

I didn't know how they would change me.

I didn't know how she would change me.

I held my baby, my miracle,

in my arms early that Sunday morning.

I felt her love for the first time.

I felt HIS love

I felt the miracle. 

Motherhood.

I never could have imagined

Never could have known.

And it's only been 33 days!

March

My favorite color. My favorite chair. My favorite girl.

Sunshine

This is what is going on outside. 

And this is what is going on inside. 

Mary and I both are getting spring fever (ok, maybe it's just me, she can't even tell when it's night or day yet) ... but I am sure that this little beauty is going to LOVE the springtime flowers and warm sunshine. Until then, (doctor's orders) we will be spending most of our time indoors... 

However, I can't complain. I'm stuck inside with her... how bad can it be? I love my new life with her. 3 weeks old... can you believe it?