Bentley-Charlie-Norbert-Rupert-Buddy-Gustav-Beauregard-Woofgang-Phydeaux-Champ

We're having trouble deciding on a name. For now, he's just Dog.

How Holly Golightly of us.

We've discovered that the Dog likes to chew on things.
On EVERYTHING.
Shoes, watches, rugs, baskets, the laundry, the couches, the baseboards, cupboards, the doorstops...

He even tried to get his teeth into the linoleum floor in the bathroom.

We told you so, everyone is saying.

But he's just so darn cute.

By the way, we brought you a puppy.

On Saturday afternoon, our neighbors knocked on the door, holding this:


They had been out shopping and ran across a man on a corner trying to sell puppies. There were two left, and he was going to take them to the pound if he couldn't get rid of them by the end of the day.
He was willing to give them away.
Our friends, dog-lovers who already have a boxer and a lab, promised they could find one of them a home.

So they brought him to us.

We had about a minute to decide whether or not to keep him.

We made the fastest pro-con list of all time... and said yes. I mean really, who could say no to this face?
He's a nine-week old black lab-border collie mix (not a bad combination), and is somewhat house trained (thank goodness). He seems pretty bashful, somewhat playful, and warmed up to us pretty quickly. Like, follows me around the house and curls up under my feet and licks my ankles while I do the dishes kind of warming up.

Everyone tells me I'm crazy to take on training a puppy while I have a new baby.

It's like having twins, my mom says.

Probably true. But we're gonna try it.

the luckiest

tonight,
for no reason, really,
I feel overwhelmingly grateful for my amazing husband.
my best friend.
the love of my life.

I am just so lucky.

maybe we should invest in a salad spinner...

Mother's Day

"Motherhood is near to divinity; the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind."
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.

I absolutely love being a mom. I love the big grins, the tiny giggles, the curious eyes and wildly kicking legs. I love itty bitty hands wrapped around my finger and half-asleep cuddles and the incredible feeling you get when you hold your own child. My baby brings me so much joy, every single day. I wouldn't give this up for anything.

But every day, I hear that being a mom is not enough. That it's just not that important. It makes me so sad to know that my daughter will grow up in a world where the fundamental, irreplaceable, sacred responsibility of mothering is demeaned and even scoffed at.

So as we celebrate Mother's Day, I want to recognize not only my wonderful mom, but women everywhere who give up many of their own pursuits, aspirations, personal goals, and so so so much of their energy and time to raising their children. Because it is worth it.

To quote Oprah: "I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is. To create an environment that's stimulating and nurturing, to pass on a sense of responsibility to another human being, to raise a child who understands that he or she is created from good and is capable of anything- I know for sure that few callings are more honorable. To play down mothering as small is to crack the very foundation on which greatness stands."

I am humbled (and often extremely overwhelmed!) at the responsibility of being a mom. I have a lot to learn. But I am surrounded by so many women in my life who inspire me to be a better mother. To my beautiful mom, my mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and friends- thank you for your quiet examples of service and love. Happy Mother's Day!

The Perfect Present

I'm not the kind of girl who would blog about a purse.

But I really, really love this purse.


It's part of my Mother's Day present, which Micah gave me early this year. We had just put Maddi to bed and were starting a movie when he handed me a big ol' wad of cash he's been saving since Christmas. He wanted me to be able to treat myself, he said, since I haven't done much for me since the baby was born.

We've had to be so careful with our money lately that I didn't even know where to start. I spent two whole days browsing the internet, window shopping and making lists before we hit the stores. It's so hard for me to justify spending money on things we don't need, (like diapers!), but Micah made sure I knew this money was separate from our budget and that I could splurge a little. Talk about kid in a candy store. Here's the loot:


Who wouldn't love a Mother's Day gift like that? My wonderful husband knows me so well- he knows I could never justify buying these kinds of things for myself, but that -like most girls- I can't help but want new clothes every once in a while. Thanks, Love!

my favorite time of day

Every morning, right around 7:00, my beautiful baby wakes up babbling and cooing to herself. And every single morning, when I go in to get her, she gives me the biggest, brightest, most joyful smile I have ever seen. She smiles with her whole body, too- mouth wide, eyes all squinty, legs kicking, arms flailing. It's one of the happiest minutes of my day.

But then there's bathtime. The bath itself is a riot (Madison's discovered the fun of splashing)- but it's that moment just after, when she's all wrapped up in a little hoodie towel and all I can see is her tiny face and I cuddle her close to get her warm and press her itty bitty cold nose against my cheek. That moment, right before pajamas and bedtime stories, is possibly even better.