Blessed, Blessed, Blessed!

I truly have so many things to be eternally grateful for in my life. I have a wonderful family, deep faith, a cozy home, and real joy in my life. I also have the fortune of having some amazing, life-long friends. One of those I consider to be one of my closest is dear, beautiful Jen. The girl is amazing and talented on so many levels. She is an amateur photographer, and she did us the honor of taking some family shots (since we didn't have any) one beautiful fall day. I almost cried looking at them for the first time - they are all so incredible. She really captured the essence of our family in these shots, and it was a blast hanging out with her. I can't say enough about what her friendship means to me. In a nutshell: she's beautiful and sensational, and she's my friend.

Hunker Down

After almost a month of not posting (bad!) I have updated from Thanksgiving to present day. There are lots of pictures and filling in of events, so hunker down and enjoy!

Mangia!

# 20,183 of Reasons I Love My Husband: Tonight my husband suggested we order take out for dinner. He then drove, with child, to pick up our italian feast while I actually had some alone time at home in my jammies.

The italians proudly proclaim "Mangia!" (pronounced 'mon ja') before digging into the undoubtedly delicous meal they have prepared. I'm quite sure Blythe was thinking the same thing as she contemplated which piece of garlic bread to eat first...the left or the right?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone, and a belated Merry Christmas!. We had family in town for Christmas, did a bit of traveling, and are now recuperating from sickness. Par for the course during any holiday time. :)

We had a brilliant holiday season, and we hope all of yours was blessed as well! I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures to follow. We recorded Christmas morning on our video camera and then realized (after the fact) that we failed to record a single Christmas morning moment on our digital camera. The few I have will have to do! As we get some through email from family I will be sure to post them!

It was absolutely magical to have a small child in the house on Christmas. We were joined by my Mom and Dad and all were captivated watching Blythe experience the fabulousness of Christmas morning. While Blythe is a bit young to understand the meaning of Christmas, she definitely understands the unwrapping part! Half way through unwrapping her presents it was clear she was in a toy coma, but she rallied and finished beautifully. She truly loves every single gift she received, and among the faves are her Dora ride around, her Little People sets, her pink hippo, and a Dog book with push and pull tabs. I was able to snap a shot of her Dora vehicle. Her most cherished aspect of this toy is it's capability of storing items in the lift-up seat. As you can see in this picture, she has her drink precariously perched on the steering wheel, the seat compartment is up, and the toys she stores the parts to in her seat are resting in the back ground. What can I say, she's busy!

Squarky Little Thing

It's no secret we love our girl, and we think she just has the sweetest, kindest personality. But we also admit she has a...well...strange side. (For all of you out there laughing and thinking, "I wonder where she got that from!", we know who you are and we will find you!) She is often spotted making weird faces and doing odd activities.

One prime example is the time she desperately needed to sit in her car seat while it was in the kitchen one day.* Matt obliged her finally, and she sat there for a good ten minutes as happy as a clam. I can assure you she's not always so content to sit in her car seat while it's in it's rightful place, but if it's in the kitchen, well then she must be seated in it!

She also likes to put on Mom's mittens. I just love her little faces and looks. Darling girl, that one.






*If you're wondering why it was in the kitchen that fateful morning, it's because we had to clean it. Inside and out. After a very public and embarrassing (for all those involved) puking incident at one very yummy italian restaurant (a.k.a OLIVE GARDEN!!!) that was then repeated in the car, in her high chair, and in bed. Poor little mite.

Rewind to Thanksgiving

Grammy sent us these photos of our trip to San Francisco over Thanksgiving. Matt and I forgot our camera, so Mom was the chief photo taker, and she did a super job! We had wonderful food, traveled to the city to see the Macy's windows and the big tree in Union Park Square, had Blythe's first trip to the beach (she was not a fan of the cold water), and had some silly fun on BART (the train system around the Bay area). Yay for holidays!

Cry Baby

It's definitely a white Christmas setting around here these last few weeks. The temperatures are dropping and the snow has been falling! Here's a snowy snapshot of our beautiful back yard!

When seeing all that snow in abundance, I thought Blythe would for sure get the biggest kick out of playing in the snow. I'd get her all bundled up, head out to the backyard with her, and we'd just have a ball throwing snow up in the air and making snow trails with our feet.

Well, I don't know if she just wasn't in the mood, was too tired, or what her deal was, but she was NOT happy to be outside in the snow. She dipped one little mitten into the snow and decided she had had enough, thank you, and wanted to be done. I swear, if there had been a rock in front of her she would have kicked it. It was a scene right out of "Blythe and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad snow day."

Cindy Lou! Who?

Well, Blythe and I have entered the sacred ritual of "Daughter Cries While Mom Does Hair" where Blythe cries while I do her hair. But, the end result is worth the pain. Right, Blythe? I thought so. So, as I'm looking at her today sporting her snazzy new updo, I am reminded of someone. But who? And then it came to me - Cindy Lou Who! As a child, my all time favorite Christmas cartoon was "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas". It was one of those cartoons that seemed to be 2 hours long only to realize as an adult it was actually on 30 minutes. If you'll remember, the "key" character who grew the Grinch's heart was none other than Cindy Lou Who. That sweet, big blue eyed, blonde haired girl is so sweet you could practically eat her. I often get the same feeling when I look at Blythe. To me, the resemblance is uncanny. :)



As a reward for being an extra good sport during the hair ordeal, Blythe gets a smidge of the latest Fain Family sweets preference. Seriously folks...the stuff is dangerous. Dangerously good, that is.

The Days of Our Lives

Today was a great day. It was a day of lazy mornings, PJs in the afternoon, and lots of laughter. We've snapped a view shots and a brief video of the wonderful things we get to experience everyday as the privileged Mama and Daddy of this glorious girl. How we do love her!

Reading with Mommy. Blythe adores books of all kinds.

We've started having cuddle time after she wakes up from her afternoon nap. She sits on our laps, all doey-eyed and wonderfully heavy in her warmth, and lets us snuggle her as she enjoys her goldfish crackers.

Getting into "the drawer" in the bathroom. She knows it's off limits, and she head for it everytime!


Blythe's laughter is truly the best sound I think I've ever heard. There is just something about your child's uninhibited laughter that makes you realize just how truly blessed you are.

Little Miss Muffet - Modern Day Version!

Blythe is now 16 months old, and just the best little person around! She knows what she likes and what she wants, and conversely what she doesn't like and doesn't want. One of the many things she's "into" right now is sitting. Yes, sitting. She loves to sit at the big table like a big person, sit in people's laps, sit on the couch like a lady, and she especially loves to sit on anything that is just her height. I stopped into a Tuesday Morning for the first time today (love it!) and found, to my delight, the most perfect Christmas present for Blythe! Before my very eyes, gleaming in the store lights, was a 3 foot tall PINK hippo chair. Papa Beecher had planned on getting Blythe a seat of her own for Christmas, and I knew this would more than fit the bill. I had her try it out, and she literally laughed out loud with glee. (Good thing she's at the age where she won't remember it come Christmas morning!) So, with the pink hippo riding shotgun as we drove home the old Mother Goose rhyme "Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet...." came through my mind, and I found myself modernizing it. It goes a little something like this: "Little Miss Blythe sat on her hippo eating her goldfish crackers. Along came a kitty who was ever so pretty, and Miss Blythe chased the kitty away." This rambling is evidence of 1. lack of sleep, and 2. too much coffee!

I Love Having a Little Girl

I'm sure little boys are wonderful, and God willing I'll be able to experience that some day. But, I must say, having a little girl is delightfully fun! I love hearing Blythe's soft (and sometimes NOT so soft) little voice. I love going shopping for her as the clothes for little girls these days are adorable and glittery and everything I wish I could wear myself! I love her independence and feistiness. More than anything, I just love the little person she is growing up to be before our eyes.

These are just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Thank you Grammy!

It's not just the clothes that are great, but the Halloween costumes are just as darling. This year Blythe was a tiger. (I wanted to get her a skunk costume, but they were sold out of her size.) Here she is posing with some of her friends, Snow White and Moo Cow (a.k.a Hannah and Ashton).

Grrrr!

It's Snowing!

Or perhaps that's what Blythe was thinking when she "sprinkled" Q-Tips all over the bathroom floor! What a little trouble maker.

What Happened?

What happened to our sweet, cuddly, kiss-giving baby? I'll tell you what happened. She has found a new sense of independence now that she's walking, and she doesn't have the time to be cuddly and sweet. She has places to go and people to see, after all! Little Miss has come in to her own, and she is quite independent! She tells us "no!" a lot, shakes her head, refuses to give kisses, and delights in making mischief. Someone told me today that she's in training for the terrible twos. That hardly seems fair! She did graciously agree to let me snap some photos of her this past week. Little stinker.

Here she is "walking" in Dad's shoes.

This was how I found her hair when I got her up from her nap the other day. Stylish!

Meet Charlie

After our experience with the dogs, and much deliberation, Matt and I decided the best pet for our family right now is a cat. They can escape babies, their bites aren't near as bad as dogs, they take up less space, they're easier to leave, etc. So, we headed to Petsmart to get the kitty supplies, and while we were there we headed over to the adoption center. We originally went looking for an adult, female, declawed, short-hair cat. Well, we came home with a long-hair, male, claws-in-tact, adult cat! You just never know which cat will claim you, and he had us right from the beginning. He has been a fabulous addition to our family, and we are all very smitten with him. He's still adjusting to Blythe's squeals of delight, but he's feeling more and more at home with each passing day. We just love him!

Comfy, Cozy Couch

As of this moment we do not have a couch for our living room upstairs as our one and only couch is currently residing in the basement. But that is all about to change as I have just ordered our new couch for upstairs! Do I see a favorite reading spot on the new comfy, cozy couch in my future? Yes I do!

Heart Broken

It's been a very sad weekend at the Fain household. After having the dogs here for the night and most of yesterday it became apparent that they wouldn't work for our family for several reasons. Many tears have been shed by both of us, but we know we're doing the right thing for the dogs and our family. The blessing is that they were sent to us on a trial basis, and so they returned to the very loving home of the woman who rescued them. It breaks our hearts that they are not meant to be here with us, and we already miss them dearly.

Dance Dance!

Blythe loves music, and she loves to dance! It might not look like the traditional concept of what dancing is, but she "dances" never the less!

Newest Members of the Fain Family

Well, we have some exciting news! (NO! I'm NOT pregnant.) We are adopting two golden retrievers!! There is a fabulous organization in Spokane called the Inland Empire Golden Retriever Rescue. They rescue neglected golden retrievers from puppy mills, homes, and the pound. Matt and I really wanted to adopt a dog and save it's life, but we wanted a retriever or collie. We found the IEGRR, and we went out today to look at was initially just going to be one dog. We had a 1 year old male in mind, but upon arriving and playing with the dog it was pretty clear he wasn't the dog for our family. Then, out came "Pooh" (We WILL be changing her name. Any suggestions are so welcome!) and we were pretty smitten from the start. She's a mix, but a beautiful girl none the less. She has a very laid back personality, and she is very sweet. She's 2 so she's past the puppy phase, and she was rescued from the pound. She was given a "1" by and animal behaviorist which is the best score a dog can get. We are very excited about her!


As we were playing with Pooh another dog, Lucy, kept coming over to us. She is by far the friendliest dog I have ever met (aside from Matt's family's dog, Aggie) and she held a special connection with us as well. She's an older dog - 9 years old in fact. The woman who is fostering her right now told us her previous owners had gotten a new golden retriever puppy and just dropped Lucy off at the pound. How could anyone do that?! At one point I was bending down to say something to Blythe and she came over, sat right next to me, and put her little eyes right against my neck. She nuzzled in and let me just hug her for a few minutes. Well, that was all it took! So, she's coming to our house too! Even tho she may not live very much longer, she will have a great home for the rest of her years. I will say that for her age she has a LOT of spirit and playfulness.


Both dogs will probably come home with us next weekend for a trial run. If for some reason one or both of them don't work out with us, we can always take them back to the IEGRR. But for now, we're claiming them as ours!


PS. Blythe LOVES the dogs. The sniffed and licked her all over, and she loved every minute of it! Help us think of a new name for Pooh!