friends with benefits

The Riley's took some Christmas pictures for us. They are awesome...the Riley's and the pictures. I wanted to share these while I am still processing this holiday season in my brain. I will share Christmas 08 soon. Merry Christmas to all of you dear friends who I did not get to see this year or whose Christmas card is still on the floor board of my car. I really do love you.

We started on Main Street.

Then we went to Mike and Katie Young's house because of the amazing amount of Ginko leaves.

blot me out of the Facebook

Well, I fell off the face of the blogging world and I will tell you... I don't like it. I will also tell you what tripped me up. Facebook. Tiny, little faces popping up, asking to be my friend. So wierd. Here's the deal- I like blogging better. When I have a decent collection of thoughts I can plug away for a nice bit while Heath is playing with Jov. Then I can check in on everyone else and read about their life all while sipping a cup of coffee. This facebook mess makes me nervous. I feel like it is 6 minute passing period where no one gets to have a complete thought or conversation, just a bunch of people all walking in different directions making small talk; and I am not into small talk. There are too many important and special things to talk about to waste our time bullshitting.

So, here goes... my daughter walks! Is that crazy to anyone else? She got 5 teeth in 6 weeks and is getting her 6th right now. She is an explorer and an imitator and a singer and a dancer. She claps at the right time when we sing "if your happy and you know it" and she LOVES to watch Wheel of Fortune. (Seriously, this you have to see. It's so funny.) I can hardly believe she is going to be one year old in only 2 months.

She's really into this new hangout. Yes, that is underneath our dining room table (which is actually supposed to be an outdoor picnic table).

Jovie really likes to try on my glasses. I try not to let her because from her face, of course they go straight into her mouth between her razor sharp teeth.

We went to the festival at ChristKids for Halloween, so fun.

Heath is doing such a great job on his guitar. He's building a guitar for those of you who didn't know that. The body of the guitar is actually finished and I am amazed by his perfection. Just yesterday, he came inside after sanding and said, "I have this gap in my guitar that is really annoying me. I don't know if I can fix it." I braced myself, expecting to see a crack maybe the thickness of my fingernail. Umm, no the tiniest gap is probably the thickness of a baby hair. Seriously. We are so different.

Heath uses words like "hippy" and "sexy" to describe his guitar and it makes me laugh, I get it, but it still makes me laugh.





That little spot at the top that looks messed up is going to be covered by the neck.

Saturday I actually had a full 8 hours to craft with friends! It was so wonderful. Katie (stinken tienken) Briemle, and Ruthie Dutton came over and sewed with me for eight hours straight. Heath took Jovie to Jackson's soccer game and then they fed the ducks at plaza, while we got to create and learn from each other. I still can't stop smiling when I think about it, such a good day.

I just want to say to my real friends, not just people who send me random cyber-plants that I love you all so much.

Lastly, check out this video of Jovial watching Wheel. TRY your darndest not to look at me, we had just eaten dinner and I had junk stuck in my teeth. I am being very vulnerable here to share my daughters cuteness.

Punkin Patch

Thank you Vossler Farms for being so fun and capturing Fall.

The Blair family loves you.

This is a great tradition.

You can't go to the Pumpkin Patch without a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

(no, she's not really drinking it.)

"Hey, look at me. I'm a scarecrow. Now give me some candy!"

There's a petting zoo now too!

We got to feed the goat a lollipop. Isn't that strange?

Janice Avila made Jov this hat. Amazing.

Maybe we'll hit the cornmaze next year.

Who invented these wooden cutouts? Brilliant.

singing and dancing

Well, our girl loves music... of course. This week she has started dancing and clapping along with songs. I love it, especially when she sings along with her dad. I have to kind of hide if I want to take out the camera because as soon as she sees it she crawls toward me and tries to grab it. So here is a bit of singing that I caught before she saw me.

playtime

A couple of weeks ago Connie and I had a "craft day" where we played with buttons and felt and came up with some pretty sweet headbands. Our 3 girls got to play together all day, then they became our models. I had to share all of the cuteness.

Jovie loves it when the twins come over because she loves them and loves all of the cool toys they bring.

Doesn't this picture make you say, "Ouch!" I can't believe that Margot just ignores Jovial. Jovie is grounded when she grows up.

Once again, Margot is being a champ while Jovie tastes her.

This picture makes me so glad that Jov has friends that are so close in age. It looks so fun!

I hope our girls always think we are this funny.

Jovie is admiring her foot and Ryken is just being amazing.

I have never seen a better model.

It looks like Margot is curtsying. So cute.

Miss Pouty Lips.

eating, crawling, standing...no teeth.

Our sweet girl still has that huge gummy smile, which I love, but what the heck?! She has tricked me into believing that she has started teething for months now and I have felt a little foolish. Oh, well. I am going to enjoy those precious gums for as long as I can. (This pic was taken in daddy's shop just for fun, she wasn't really in there with him while he was cutting wood.)




Her movement, on the other hand, is so quick! She crawled for a week and then started standing and shuffling along the furniture. We have even caught her letting go of the furniture to hold on to the remote with both hands. She can stand on her own for a few seconds- crazy. I love listening to her "talk" while she is playing. She says dad a lot more often than she says mom but I don't think she quite gets what they mean yet. Lately, when she is excited about something she says "Ooooh!" and the face she makes is great. It says, "I just figured this out and I love it!"

We are still enjoying our Friday mornings. Last week the Largoza's and Joy and Lachlan came over. She loves those boys so much. I should say, WE love those boys so much. She was so tired after playing so hard with them that she ALMOST slept all night. Jovie is still waking up at least twice, usually three times during the night. I have actually napped with her a couple of times lately. That's a big deal for me. I am not a napper. I am a doer.



I am going to try to post more often than once a month. I just haven't felt like I have had any worthy conversations in my head lately. I think I have had the "End of summer, I live in Visalia and the air looks like crap, I can't see the mountains and it's hot as hell" blues. But I know what is just around the bend. I can't even say the glorious word yet because I don't feel it. It ends with a silent n and is like a kiss from our Creator. When it comes, I will bake pumpkin scones and cardamom biscotti and drink hot cider for breakfast instead of coffee. OK. I am going to go to bed now and dream about all of those things I just said.

quirks

My hilarious friend Jen Oswald has "tagged" me to share 6 "unspectacular quirks" (darn, I have so many "spectacular" quirks) and tag 6 other fellow bloggers to do the same. My mind is spinning because I have just read Jen's quirks and I can't stop giggling. Which maybe brings me to my first quirk...

1. I love laughing so much that I almost want to call it an addiction. When I think someone is funny, say at a party, I will stalk them. I will lurk somewhere within earshot, and maybe, if your not funny I will use you to pretend that I am in a conversation so that I can collect all of the funny data that the funny person has to say and later I will come home and recite every funny thing that I heard to Heath. I will also remember it for days to come and if I am not thinking of something that I have to do or playing with my daughter I will think of funny things and say them out loud and burst out in laughter all by myself.


2. I am Mexican and I hate Mexican food. I know hate is a strong word, maybe a little too strong. I just REALLY don't like it. I consider my two favorite Mexican food places to be Taco Bell and Chipotle. I order pork chops when I go to Henry Salazar's and I will only order tortillas with butter when I go to Alejandra's. I wish you all could have seen the looks my grandmother used to give me when I would ask for white rice and told her I didn't want any beans. sorry gramma.

3. Another food quirk- My sweet tooth is insatiable unless it is catered to on a daily basis. Heath and I either bake chocolate chip or double-chocolate chip cookies every week. Right now, I have cream cheese lemon bars in the fridge. When worst comes to worst I will settle for a few Dove chocolates or a cup of hot cocoa with plenty of marshmallows (which I toast with my creme brulee torch). Honestly, I eat healthy the entire first part of the day but after dinner and I am in jammies, I need sweets!

4. Nothing can sway my mood more than hearing music that I love or hate. I really appreciate music from all over the world- Rap, Bluegrass, Latin Jazz, Flamenco, Mariachi ( I used to be in a mariachi band, believe that), Reggae, Punk, Hip Hop, Folk and the list could go on. Let me tell you where the list would come to a screeching halt---- soft rock. Nothing can put me in a worse mood than having to sit on the phone and listen to Josh Groban or The Eagles while I am on hold. That new Leona Lewis song? No, thank you. Meatloaf? I just got chills.

5. I spend so much time organizing and planning and I still lose things and am late to events. This is outrageous to me. I feel like God just wants me to remember that I cannot be in control no matter how hard I try. Also, I totally get my feelings hurt if I feel like I have been forgotten or if someone is totally late to spend time with me and I have to hear God say, "Remember, how you forget things too?" Oh, yeah. Your right. Thanks."

6. I am extremely media sensitive. I will not watch anything unless I want to be reminded of it over and over and over again. I do not even want to hear about the scary preview to a movie that you watched. A few weeks ago, we were over at the Armerding's and Taylor showed me a preview about some guy who was born an old man and grew backwards- I don't know, "Curious Case of ... Button" something like that, anyway, he was in my closet every time Jovie woke me up in the middle of the night for like 3 weeks. I will stick with movies that make me laugh and smile.

Well, that does it for me its time to hear from Loriann, Connie AND Taylor, Joylene (and Travis only if you want to) and mom you can email yours to me because I am sure you will make me laugh hard.

shoe fettish

Before I had my daughter I remember thinking, "I just don't want her to care about how she looks or put too much effort into it." I now realize that translates into, " I don't want her to compare herself with anyone." Amen. Comparison is a disease, but being a girl, and getting dressed everyday, and feeling pretty is fun. So, everyday Jovial and I get ready for our day. I wash her face and sit her bumbo seat in front of the mirror while I fix her hair. She laughs at herself and sticks her tongue out at herself, and waves hello. It's hilarious and cute and inspiring. Can you imagine if we delighted in our reflection that much? Of course, we think, that it would be conceited or ridiculous, but I don't know. What if we didn't look in the mirror disappointedly everyday and actually loved what God made. What if we were delighted and confident that God did a great and amazing thing. I wonder how different the world would be. Just some thoughts...

Really, I started this post wanting to tell you about how much fun I am having making cute, girly shoes. I am honestly loving this. I took a pattern off of the "Hello my name is Heather" blog and altered it a few times and came up with these two types of baby flats. Not hard, I promise and those books took way more time than these shoes. I was thinking I could post a little tutorial for any crafters that wanted to make those books. Is that conceited? Any interest?

sewing projects

So, Heath and I decided to take a break from all TV and use of computer for a week. Which I have to say, was a really good thing. It's kind of ridiculous how much time those two things can really steal. Anyway, I was in such a creative mood this whole week! Heath and I used our gargantuous television to play wheel of fortune- so fun, and I took a sewing class on Sunday from this adorable woman named Florence and learned some great new stuff. So, I sewed 2 books. One for Jov and one for my nephew Jack.


My first book "Where is Mouse?" is pretty detailed. I admit, I got a bit carried away for a first project but I did learn a lot. In retrospect, stupid idea to put a button on a book for a 6 month old. I just got really excited about finally learning how to use the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine. I will be taking the button off. And the shapes book for
Jack has TOO many stitches- next time I will make the seams hidden.
Here are a few of the pages.

water polo

Tuesday night Heath played water polo with some friends at Redwood. There were some boys who were in high school playing against what Heath called "the old man team". It was funny to see how modest all of the dad's were and how the high school boys all stood around confidently in their speedos. I had fun being there around the high school pool. Even though I didn't swim or play polo or do anything where I had to compete in the water, being there brought back really good memories. The smell of the chlorine and the night air evoked this exciting, summery feeling that made me glad to be alive. I think Tuesday night water polo is going to be on our schedule through August and that makes me happy as does this picture of my Heath giving our sweet baby a wet kiss.