Dream Come True

So yesterday, I went to a Hair Show with my friend, Stephanie. For those of you who don't know, a hair show is just a trade show for cosmetologists. You don't always have to be licensed, but for this one you did. It was SO AMAZING and I'm so glad Stephanie went with me! I got to just leave the girls with Nate for like seven hours and immerse myself in the industry which I really love. I got to see new techniques for hair cuts, new products, new ideas, everything! (They had this UH-MAZING double barrel curling iron that I wanted so bad, but they were like 80 bucks and it'd be too hard to do on myself. One day!) I did get some fun products (Root lifter in powder form! Who knew? And a heat proof glove which will come in handy when doing upside down curls.) But I DID get some super-duper fun clip in extensions! Sorry, the picture isn't the greatest, and my roots REALLY need a touch up, but I wore them to church today and felt so glamorous! I've always dreamed of having long flowing locks, but my hair is too thin and fine and lame to grow out. These extensions were only $45, and they're real human hair. (You may find that creepy, but it just means I can curl, straighten, color, whatever to the hair. But, I probably will do nothing but curl and wash it.) I. LOVE. THESE. EXTENSIONS. It only took me like five minutes to put them in, and they blended fairly well. I would recommend getting some clip in extensions if you don't want to spend hundreds (literally, hundreds) of dollars on "official" extensions. I will not be putting them in every day, only when I have somewhere to go. (AKA: Church. Hey, it is what it is...) I'm excited to go to another Hair Show soon(ish)!

Whitterkins Update

I can't believe my Little Miss is almost EIGHT MONTHS OLD! Holy mazolie... Well, here are just a few pictures of my uber cute, squeely little girl who has personality oozing out of her! She officially has her two bottom teeth and is most definitely cutting her two top. (Hence the poor little screamer she was at church today, :( so sad!) (p.s. Those two, almost four, little teeth make for some interesting nursing sessions. Seriously, I cringe just thinking about it... TMI?) She is a crawling MACHINE and has been crawling for almost two months now. Rachael didn't start crawling until she was almost nine months (we blame the cramped NYC apartment we were living in...) so this is crazy for us! She pulls herself up on the couch, the ottoman, the baby gate, the play kitchen, my legs, anything. I truly, truly believe she'll be walking by Easter. How crazy would that be? She is also a chatter, saying, "Mamamamamamamama" and "Bababababababa" and "Nanananananana." Really quite enthralling conversation. And oh my gosh, the BIGGEST mamma's girl in the world. I walk three feet away and she has a melt down. Cute, but also not so much. She squeels like like a maniac when Rachael does something silly. She really, really loves Rachael. Her eyes light up. And Rachael equally adores her baby sister. Seriously, I wish you could all come and see the love. This is the reason to have another child, even though it was SO scary, it is so worth it. We sure do love our baby girl!

Confession

Sometimes, when Whitterbug is fussin' for no apparent reason, I stick her in the high chair with a few rice crispies to go after. I don't know if this is a good or a bad idea, but the cereal is tiny and easily mushable in her mouth, plus it works on her fine motor skills. I can barely pick those things up but she is a CHAMP at it! Plus it keeps her occupado long enough for me to pick up the room and vacuum (for the 3rd time that day) so she can crawl around like the maniac that she is. She's usually happy just zooming from one end of the room to the other in no time flat, but sometimes mama just needs a break.

December Highlights

Because I'm not too confident in my ability to blog about everything that went down in December, here's a nice collage of the highlights. Hopefully I can do an actual post on Christmas... Some of them are sideways, sorry...

#1: Bring your kids to work day. It was fun and not nearly as chaotic as I thought it would be. Santa was there and won Rachael over with a Cinderella toy.
#2: Rachael is now in Preschool, which means presents for the teachers. She has one main teacher, two aids, and one speech therapist. The night before the last day of school I was trying to come up with something. Homemade caramel dip and an apple. Lame? Maybe, but it got the job done.
#3: Rachael's last day of Nursery, in which she was a sheep for the Nativity Reenactment.
#4: Whitney's first "sink bath" at grandmas. Rachael was really mad I wouldn't let her take the rubber ducks away...
#5: The plethora of food that Christmastime brings. DELICIOUS!!
#6: Whitney's first Christmas! She was so adorable the entire time. She even learned to crawl and popped her first tooth out!
#7: COUSINS!! My Aunt Melanie's kids took a particular liking to Whitney this year. She's big enough for them to hold without panicking, but small enough to still be a baby!
#8: My cute girls in their SUPER cute Christmas dresses from Auntie Laura!
#9: Whitney's first time hiking in the new (to us. Again, thanks Laura!) hiking backpack. Needless to say, she loved it. And I loved that Nate knows his job is the backpack.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas Season! We sure did!

Jesus Wants Me for a...

SUNBEAM!

Yes, my friends, this little princess became a Sunbeam this year. The Sunday before we left for Christmas, Rachael's Nursery class did a Nativity Reenactment, and I got a little teary eyed knowing it was Rachael's last time in Nursery. She did GREAT in primary this last week. I was really nervous for her. Her attention span isn't all that great, and every time her Nursery class would "practice" going in for singing time Rachael would always have to be taken out for being too disruptive. But each time we peeked in on her on Sunday she was sitting so still. Not necessarily paying attention, but being still. What more can I ask for?? I love this little girl and I'm so proud of her for her progression with her speech. You wouldn't even recognize this girl she's such a chatterbox!

And just for good measure, here is a picture of Whitney in my favorite dress. Whit is now in the clothes that Rachael wore when we were in NYC so its bringing back a ton of memories! This is the dress my mom brought Rachael when they came to visit. I. Love. This. Dress. And it really makes her blue eyes pop!

Here is Rachael wearing the dress. Apparently it was a rough Sabbath Day...
And apparently Rachael had a bigger head than Whitney, no wonder she wasn't wearing a bow :)

Food Face

I'm still trying to get into the flow of feeding Whitney solids (in a very liquid state). Its a lot more work when you've got another kid to feed too. Now that the holidays are over I've been able to focus more on it. These pictures were taken a few weeks before Christmas. I think quinoa, breast milk, and sweet potatoes were on the menu this evening. I'm giving the props to Nate because he's amazing at snagging the adorable moments. Some of these are of her gagging, some of her sniffing, some just smiling. Adorable. I love this little face more every time I look at it.