Visiting Cooper!

I know I've said this before, but Cooper & I both got so lucky when we found Jim, Joanie & Walter!!

Not only have they given him the most beautiful, loving, fun home with lots of time, attention & understanding, but they have adopted me and the girls as well, and welcomed us into their home to visit our sweet ginormous boy.

Bayli & I were especially missing him, so we got in touch with Joanie and made arrangements to stop by with Skylar for a visit.

We were excited to see him, but I had no idea how much I really missed him until we were back together again.

Cooper gave me the single best welcome I have ever received in my whole entire life.

I felt like I had been attacked by a giant orange blur - it was the most beautiful thing. :)

Jim was out of town but Joanie was so sweet & welcoming, and even made the girls and me tea & hot chocolate. It was so much fun to just sit and visit while Cooper excitedly climbed all over us and the table too. :) That's my boy...

I miss him, but I am so, so happy for him and for the knowledge that he is in a much better place.

Thanks Jim & Joanie for the most beautiful gift of adopting our much-loved big-hearted dog - into your home & your hearts. I'm so very glad we found you!

November

So this picture makes me laugh...

Little did I know that my Thanksgiving pilgrims would make such wonderful playmates!

Since they are made of wood and seemed fairly indestructable, I let Bayli pick them up one day and they soon became fast friends. As a matter of fact, I can happily say that both pilgrims are fully potty-trained after spending a whole month with Bayli, who went through the entire process along with them. She brought them with her and gave them a chance to go whenever she did. They also ate meals with her and most often could be found on the floor under a blanket with a pillow...

my silly, silly girl...

Some other fun, random things that happened in November...

Bay & I had a fun & delicious lunch with both of her grandmas...

My parents & I attended Skye's Fall Concert...

(I was in tears - this always happens to me when I hear children singing, especially when one of mine is in the middle of it...)

Skye was beautiful & enthusiastic, and like always, her million-dollar smile lit up the room.

Bay used way, way too much lotion. This is pretty much a daily occurence though...

Dance, Dessert & Dreams

Ryann onstage at Dance, Dessert & Dreams

I spend a lot of time (& money :) ) supporting my girls' dancing.

I'm happy to do it and feel so fortunate that I can.

But it is a lot. :) I'm just saying...

So I always jump at the chance to see them perform - that makes it all worth it!!

Dance, Dessert & Dreams was especially nice - Ryann & Madi both performing, a beautiful new theater and so many friends & family there to support them. :)

So, so proud of both of my beautiful dancers!

killing some time before the show at Starbucks...

I love, love, love these professional pictures I got online...

After the show:

We're so lucky to have their beautiful Grandma here for all their special days!

What an awesome show!

I loved every second of it! :)

Christmas Pictures

Every year I put a lot of thought, time & energy into our family Christmas card picture, card & letter.

I always try to capture life for us at the time & make it an appropriate snapshot of what our family is like at that particular point in time.

So, this year, the Christmas picture was a dilemma for me...

I decided to just go with what is.

I had this idea to do a picture of the girls & me, holding hands & walking away.

Moving forward.

Together...

I also got some other very cute pics of my beautiful girls...

Bay has a special fondness for our Christmas pic photographer. :)

Spaghetti Tacos!

Spaghetti Tacos.

If you are an iCarly fan, you already know about Spaghetti Tacos.

If not, well, it's just like it sounds...

I let Skye make one because life is short,

and I wanted her to eat something...

Of course, it was yucky, but she wouldn't admit it. :)

And I did get these very cute pics of my two biggest iCarly fans...

Firsts!

This month has been a month of firsts for my baby girl.

First time on the potty, first night (& weekend!) away from momma, first trip to the dentist, first haircut...

It's so hard not to feel like she's growing up too fast.

As much fun as it is to see her do new things, part of me can't help but want to hold on to her just like she is. :) And that is exactly why I take a million pictures & blog & scrapbook... to remember, and to hold on to a little piece of all the precious present moments that so quickly become the past...

But not a day goes by that I don't feel overwhelmingly lucky that I get to experience all these new things with her.

I love you baby girl!
Thank you for sharing all of your adventures with me.

Company Dance

I was so lucky to be able to spend a weekend this month in Denver with Ryann & Madi at the Company Dance convention!!

Thanks to the world's best sister-in-law & brother-in-law, who took awesome care of both Skye & Bayli (on day #4 of potty training and her very first night away from me!), I got to spend the whole weekend away with two of my favorite girls & their super-fun friends, doing one of my most favorite things - watching them dance.

The energy, the talent, the excitement and the passion was an amazing thing to experience.

Ryann's ballet was so beautiful it made me cry.

The crazyfast hip hop made her cry & she still won't believe that she was actually pretty good at it.

Madi's passion for everything life has to offer, love of friends and fun-loving nature made me laugh.

I was so proud of how far she has come with her dance & so touched to hear so many compliments from her teachers.

I was a little starstruck to see Lauren Gottlieb - my favorite from So You Think You Can Dance. So awesome that she's so kind & approachable in real life too.

with Barb - I can't even tell you how much I love this picture & this woman... :)



Pie party, silly teenagers, Maroon 5 in the car, extra-long twizzlers, Avatar, heart to heart with Barb, Juniors in the pool, crowded in a tiny bed with Ryann, catching up with some friends, staying up way late laughing about Bayli, time with my sweet girls, the gift of watching them dance... I loved every minute of it!

Making Room for the Holidays!

I love, love, love to decorate my house for the holidays!!

Halloween is fun, but for me, one of the best things about it is that is shortly followed by Thanksgiving & Christmas!! :)

So Goodbye Halloween...

and Welcome Thanksgiving!...