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!

Delicious Cuteness

Complete and utter cuteness! I can't handle it!!

Just Peachy

We had our first guests in our new home this week! Matt's sister, Lizzie, and her fiance, Aaron, made the trip up to Spokane to see us. We had such a great time spending time with the two of them! It's strange to think that Blythe was almost 6 months the last time Lizzie saw her, and now she's a 13 month old pistol. So much has changed!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous while Aaron and Liz were here, and we took advantage of the break in heat we've been having to do some apple and peach picking out at Greenbluff. The sun was shining, the peaches and apples were ripe for the picking, and the taste-testing was magnificent. We love the northwest!

"These Feet Are Made For Walkin', and That's Just What They'll Do..."

That's right! Blythe took her first steps tonight! She ventured 3 solid steps before landing in the safe harbor of Mom's arms. We were so excited that we clapped and made all kinds of enthusiastic excitable-sounding yells. Blythe was rather confused as to why we were making such a big deal out of something she had absolutely no doubt she could accomplish. She is "B. Advanced" after all.

We weren't able to get her first steps on any kind of digital format, but I did manage to snap some pictures of a very cute girl in her PJs. She's just the best!


Blythe very up close and personal. This angle was her idea.

Cowmooflage

We are still doing Saturday Swim with Blythie, and she thoroughly enjoys it. That is, until she gets dunked. They assure us it's to help them get used to the water, and helps with safety, but it seems barbaric to us. The first picture is a nice, smiling Blythe happy in the pool. The second picture is immediately post dunk...poor little critter.

Minutes later we were warm and secure in our car. Here she is in her new car seat. As if it wasn't cute enough, the pattern of the car seat is called "cowmooflage" - so cute I can hardly stand it! Blythe has told me she quite likes facing forward, and will not be reverting back to the rear-facing riding position. I can't say I blame her!

House of Color

Well, we are finally moved into our new home! We absolutely love our house, and all the hours of painting and work we put into the house before we moved in have really paid off. The colors are so different and such a reflection of us. I've included a few for your viewing pleasure.

Our kitchen - so bright and cheerful!

The accent wall in our bedroom.

Blythe's "tropical smoothie" paradise. Soon we will put up a surfer girl border to match the tropical smoothie pinkness.
Our living room.

Home sweet home!

Me Gustan Las Enchiladas

Mexican fare is some of our favorite food, and Blythe seems to share our enthusiasm when it comes to mexican. She enjoys chicken enchiladas so much that she often decides to adorn portions of said enchiladas in her hair, on her face, and under her chin. Ever the foodie, Blythe feels that in order to really enjoy a food one must be immersed in it.

The house is coming along slowly but surely. We have finished painting the kitchen and living room with a few touch-ups needed. We have ordered the border for Miss B's room, and we are starting to paint the hallway and our bedroom. It's so wonderful to see everything coming together. It's really starting to feel like our home!

Busy Days

Sorry for the quiet on our end. We have been crazy busy painting the new house and getting it ready for us to move into in a couple of weeks. We promise to post pics of the house and more of our girl soon!