Just in Case

. . . you haven't seen enough pictures of these two lately.

Beth and Baby Sam

Several weeks ago, Beth and her baby, Sam, were able to come visit us. I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I didn't get many pictures that turned out. I'm going to have to wait for Beth to send me some of the good ones she got. Her husband, Paul, was kind enough to take a few days off work so he could stay home with her two older kids while she was here. It was so fun to meet baby Sam and have Beth be able to meet Phaedra. We only wish they could have stayed longer! (And maybe next time the whole family can come. We missed you, Paul, Grace, and Isaac.)

When they came to our house, Eleanor was still in the bath. She was so excited to hold baby Sam and open gifts from our Utah family, I didn't manage to get any pants on her. She was so excited to try on some hand-me-downs Grace sent for her. She tried on a "Gracie jacket," and didn't want to take it off. So, here she is, with no pants, jacket on, opening presents.

Ever since they came, all Eleanor's clothes have been "Gracie clothes." I ask her to put on a shirt, and she asks me, "It's a Gracie shirt?" Some of the times, if I tell her no, she'll even argue with me that it is. She also thinks that most of her birthday presents she recently received came from Gracie (she's just so generous). It's pretty funny, but I do correct her about her presents so her gratitude will be directed toward the right people.

Eleanor holding Sam. Isn't he a cutie? He's four months old, and this is the first time we have met him in person.


We all went out to McMenamins-- Matt would be jealous. Come see us, Matt, there's one within minutes of our house! That's my mother next to Eleanor and my sister, Beth, on the right. Aren't they beautiful?

One of the evenings they were in town, we went to my mom's for a family dinner. Beth made a yummy soup. Eleanor had so much fun with Sam. She provided relentless entertainment for him.

Hi Sam!

Mike and Holly were able to come, which made things especially fun. It seems like it's been forever since we've seen Holly.

Grandpa Gary hanging out with Lane, our old, old, old dog.
The girls and the kids. Me, Eleanor and Phaedra, and Beth and Sam.

She Just Had To

Eleanor just had to try on my sweatshirt when she was getting ready for bed.

What do you think of the fit?

This girl cracks me up!

One Month Old

(On Thursday, which is when these pictures were taken)

I know these pictures are all practically the same, but there are subtle differences in her expression. Besides, I just can't get enough of her!

I wanted to show off her cute little legs a little bit, so I took off her pants.

. . . She did not want to show off her cute little legs.

Of course, Eleanor wanted me to take pictures of "two ones." If only I had combed her hair. . . oh well. You can really see Phaedra's hair in this one. Her hair gets curly every time we bathe her, and a few of the curls stay standing when it's dry.
I can't believe she's already a month old. This month has been so crazy; it has just flown by. Phaedra is a very sweet baby. She has been really mellow, even slightly more than Eleanor was, I think, and Eleanor was a rather good baby. Phae has had good nights and bad as far as sleep. Some nights, she wants to be up all night, forcing Grant to pace around with her because every time he sits down, she screams. Other nights, she sleeps the whole time in her bed, only waking to eat and promptly go back to sleep.

I am thoroughly addicted to her smell, the look of her face, holding her close, and the little sounds she makes, such as snorts, sighs, and sometimes a little coo. She has been very tolerant of her eager older sister and the fact that she has to wait sometimes while I deal with her older sister. We are so blessed to have this little girl in our family.

Not So Much Livin' in the Seafoam

Many of my blog readers (all three of you- ha ha) have voiced concern over the ongoing title of my blog even though I no longer live in a bright seafoam green house. There are several reasons why I have not changed the name of my blog.

One reason is because I always saw the title as having a double meaning. Much of my family lives in Utah, and I started this blog partly in hopes of keeping in touch better with them. Even though I'm not living right on the coast, compared to them, I'm practically at the water's edge. So, I suppose it would be more correctly named "Livin' in the Seaspray," but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Another reason is because, though I no longer live in that house, I'm the sentimental type, and I want to remember it. Even if that house was smaller than most two bedroom apartments and we had the worst neighbor ever imaginable, it was our first house. There were many wonderful things about that house, most of all, the memories we made there. I will always miss it because of that, because those were the days when we started as two and left that house a family of three. Grant and I found ourselves much more emotional than we had expected to be to leave there. So, I guess I have left it as a commemorative title, even though we don't live there anymore.

Lastly, I'm just not that creative. I haven't thought of anything clever to re-name it, maybe having to do with our names or the fact that we have two little girls. Or even something funny like, "Pasty is Pretty." --I love that one, Kat! So, I guess I'm open to ideas if anyone wants to offer one, but until then or until I come up with something better, the Seafoam stays.