Heads Up!

Let's clear one thing up before we get started, shall we?

This isn't a real post. This is a thinly veiled attempt at "blogging" but it is really just a way to get pictures that I really enjoy to people that mean something to me, rather than bored FaceBook browsers...

But I plan to post that I blogged on FaceBook so...

It's a wash.

Bottom line, don't expect much witty blog banter or deep mothering thoughts from this one.

Moving on...

I have recently checked off one of my bucket list items.

Actually, I haven't made a bucket list, but if I were to do such a thing, this would have been on it.

I, modest mouse that I am, gathered my courage and sat for a pinup photo shoot.

I LOVE the 40s and 50s style. One of my new friends in Arizona has often lamented that I was born in the wrong era. After my experience with this photo adventure, I am inclined to agree.

There are a couple things you should know about that were weighing on my mind prior to the event:

1. I am not terribly fond of being photographed. I am inclined to enjoy my appearance as I see it in the mirror, and more days than not feel satisfied with the way I present myself to the world. But somehow, when I look at photos of myself, I look nothing like what I see in the mirror. In a very disappointing way.

2. I, along with most women, fear bathing suits and much prefer fancy wraps and floaty cover-ups when dressing for the beach or pool.

3. I have never worn red lipstick.

It is a very good thing that my brave friend Robyn flew to visit me, expressly for the purpose of a journey back in fashion times. She was a great moral booster and cheered me one while I held endless poses that I'm ashamed to say made my legs shake from exertion. I would have hate to have posed with out a year of Crossfit under my belt!

If given the chance, I will gush about the sitting. Everything was delightful. Thrilling really. I'm warning you, don't give me the chance!

But let's cut to the chase.

The pictures.

Look at the colors!

Look at the lips!

Look at my legs!!

Actually,

when I picked up my prints

I confessed to the photographer

that I had a hard time believing

that she hadn't cut and pasted

somebody else's legs on my torso...

My unfriendly thoughts about

my bottom half have been the slowest to resolve...

But she assured me that with proper posing

anybody can have great legs!

Lesson learned.

But mostly, let's talk about the hair.

That is not my hair. That is a wig.

The wigs were my favorite, favorite part of the whole day (we were there for more than four hours).

First we picked out our outfits. How I ended up in a bathing suit beats me, but I just put it on and didn't want to take it off. (Not even for a stunning mauve party dress. You can expect those pictures when I schedule my next sitting!)

Then make up.

And finally wigs.

The whole thing felt sort of silly until she plopped the first wig on my head. Then it was like I was a whole new person. Like I could change myself with every flip of the wig. It was magic I tell you!

We tried tons... a long red one, a short blond one, curly, straight, all shades of brown...

I loved it so much that I am fairly certain I am going to purchase a wig or two and wear them on a regular basis. Just because the joy of wigs is a secret that should no longer be kept!!

I have a slight confession to make. A few days after the shoot, I had planned to go to bed early, but I started looking at wigs online and I gazed from page to page, review after review, until I got a headache. I think I probably looked at wigs for about three hours that night.

Obsessed.

I am aware.

The only solution is to buy a wig. I know it!

So, if the next time you see me I am no longer sporting my pixie cut, or have suddenly gone Marilyn Monroe blond... you can give me a little wink and we can smugly smile to each other thinking, "Aren't wigs incredible!?"

Actually, you will probably be thinking, "Emily is out of her mind." But I will be happily ignorant of that and strut around confidently in my purchased hair.

I can't wait!

Comparing

I've been going through my pictures from the last year, enjoying sweet memories, and being amazed at how much can change in a year.

For example, take a look at how Jack has changed, in just a year:

From this:

To this:

Even more startling is how much it changes when you add a baby!

And since we are making comparisons, let's take a look at Jack and Joey at, oh, say 10 months:

Jack in Red, Joey in Elepahnts

What a pair of cuties!

And now, for the real reason for the post, my before CrossFit and, I won't say after, because I'm not done, but my six-months-into CrossFit comparison:

I have a side note before the pictures.

I was going to link you to what I thought

was one of my many posts

on my love for

(addiction to?)

CrossFit

but it turns out that I haven't really been writing

of my undying devotion

to my life-saving gym.

I've just been thinking about it.

And well, spending all of my extra life moments there.

I wasn't joking when I said

I can currently only handle three things

and I've decided to devote myself

to my husband, my kids and exercise

for a short period.

I was sort of glad, for your sake,

that I couldn't find too many links to

me waxing poetic about

Box Jumps and Push Ups and Squats

because really that would get mighty boring.

But then again, I guess writing about that would

be preferable to writing about nothing,

which I have been doing,

since all I do is CrossFit.

Quite a conundrum.

Anyway, without further ado...

Okay, this isn't a side note, but it is a disclaimer:

I was horrified to discover this picture at Jack's birthday party, one month after having Joey. I am even more horrified that I am actually posting it on the internet. Don't be surprised if I change my mind and you come back to find this post deleted. I KNEW that I gained some weight, but I didn't ever think I looked like this:

The sting of stumbling across this photo was somewhat lessened by the fact that I had just watched this video (the first one), posted on my gym's blog. That girl is me. And that bar is really heavy. Well, heavy for me.

Jesse, the trainer at the gym was gracious enough not to include the part of the workout that still makes me look ridiculous.

A lot of days when I workout, I know I still look foolish, but I don't really care at this point. I FEEL good, even if I LOOK silly. Those workouts really have been a life-saver.

And seriously, if you want to work hard and sweat a lot and have some fun and feel so proud of yourself every day and hang out with really interesting and wonderful people, find a CrossFit gym. There is NOTHING else like it.

Okay, I'm done with my plug.

I'm off to the gym!

Four-Thousand Words

Care to make a wager?

Here is what you can make bets on:

• Joey's Arrival Date
• Weight & Height
• Jack's Reaction to the New Guy
• Who cries the most: Andy, me or Jack

Information you might like to know to make your decisions:

Joey's due official due date is March 7. I am trying to send him strong mommy-voice commands to come earlier since I am SO BORED of being pregnant. I would much rather be uncomfortable and not sleeping because I'm snuggling a newborn rather than having to pee and because I am carrying an extra 30 pound belly bulb.

Jack came two days before his due date. Lizzie had just finished a reflexology class and I asked her to rub the pressure points that are supposed to induce labor. I don't know what you think about pressure points, but that night labor started... you best believe that I will employ her skills again when I am truly at my wits end.

Jack was 7lbs 12oz and 19 inches when he was born.

When Jack was born I didn't cry (until they told us we had to stay at the hospital for an extra few hours) but Andy did. You know the cute, teary eyes. No messy sobbing for this family.

And to make your conclusions about Jack's reaction, I should show you how Jack reacted to his baby doll:

A side note:

A question really,

does anyone know why

my pictures are suddenly

coming out so grainy?

I have a simple point and shoot

that has served me well,

but my last attempts to capture

sweet moments have resulted in

these fuzzy images.

Ideas?

There are no prizes available, but if you are the winner, you will know and I will know and you can live with pride knowing that you are a really good guesser! Yay!

So, place your bets!

Jack Attack III

Jack has been especially charming as of late.

It is easy to adore him when his skin is so soft and his smile is so big and his dimples are so deep...

But it is even more fun to adore him when he says cute things, initiates wrestling matches and softly touches my face and says, "mama!"

It's been a while since I've updated you on this awesome little man, and I figured you were probably dying to know all about what he's doing now!

• He sings along with his favorite show's theme song. His favorite line being "come in." That is how he tells me he wants to watch that show, he says, "me min?" And I melt and say okay.
• When he sees something unfortunate happen he says, "Oh no!" I love that he is starting to notice what is happening to the people around him.
• He hides things, or throws things and the energetically says, "Where'd it go?" with his hands up in the air with an attitude of surprise and eager anticipation at finding it again soon.
• When he sees or eats something he likes and it is finished he says, "more?" But he says it over and over and over and ends up sounding like a really soft spoken and sweet version of the seagulls on Finding Nemo.
• His attention span impresses me every day. This little boy loves stickers. I have two tablets of those little round "way to go" stickers, you know the ones that come in a package of 2000 in the Crayola aisle at Target? He will sit for half an hour and stick one after another on a piece of paper. When he does it he is very serious and intent. It is amazing to me!
• He also loves songs with motions. "If You're Happy And You Know It" is my favorite one to sing because on cue he will clap his hands, stomp his feet, turn around AND shout amen.
• Andy has been teaching Jack new boy tricks too. Jack now is practicing jumping off things with two feet leaving the ground at the same time as well as knowing how and when to "tap out." Yes, it is true. Andy will squeeze Jack really tight and say, "tap out!" and Jack waves his hand around and says, "tap, tap."
• All of these sweet moments make it so fun to play with him. But I also appreciate that he now will find an activity that interests him and do it totally solo. It is such a delight to watch him hard at work at whatever he has decided to do.

Every day he does something that makes me smile and turn to Andy to say, "How did we end up with such an awesome kid?!" It is fun to see him grow and learn and to discover that he is a naturally soft and sweet and in my opinion incredibly talented!

Captain Jack

What Jack wore to the pirate themed birthday party this weekend.

Arrrgggh! (hook finger)

The Days Go By

I've been training a lot.

I've got a cold.

I love DayQuil.

Jack says, "no, no, no" as he proceeds to do something that he knows is off limits. 

He does things that are off limits... A LOT.

Andy is watching a really (really!) gruesome MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fight. I can usually watch them with him, but once there is blood, I'm out-a-there.

MY CHAIRS CAME!

And Jack thinks they are terrific. 

That white thing is his safety blanket. 

His safety blanket is a snowman. Have I told you about his love for his snowman? By snowman, I really do mean a snowman. It was his Halloween costume and somehow, I don't remember how, it was in his crib one night. Since then it has been in his crib every night. When Andy and I put him to sleep he finds it, curls up all around it and smiles. My son, with a snowman lovey.

Sigh. 

Life is good. 

Birthday Weekend

Well, it happened.

My little sister has turned FIVE.

As in, she's going to kindergarten in the fall.

All day.

What a big girl!

On Sunday my mom threw a party for her. It was a lovely party. 

There was a table of bubbles out in the backyard for all the kids,

cake, 

delicious blueberries, presents, balloons, and even a post-party meltdown.

 Everything you could hope for from a birthday party!

Happy Birthday sweet sister of mine. I love you dearly!

This is Ellery's self-portrait. 

To console her after her balloon made its escape out into the wide, wide world, I let her take pictures on my camera. 

It is always fun to see her point of view and what she thinks is worthy of capturing. 

Bum Genius

Our family made a huge leap this week.

We are now officially cloth diaper users.

When Jack was first born I never even considered cloth diapers. I thought they were difficult, bulky and uncomfortable for the baby. 

But did you know there are so many other options?! 

A few weeks ago I began to consider cloth as a viable option for our family. I was so sick of buying diapers only to throw them in the trash. I was appalled at the amount of money we were spending on diapers and sorry to be adding so much waste to those darn landfills. 

So I started to look at my choices. A pregnant friend of mine previously had said she was considering cloth and showed me some of the brands she was looking at. I went back to those websites and started my research.

Then, while shopping with a friend in Seattle, I found one of the brands I had been exploring. I bought a single diaper with the idea that I would just try it out and see if it would even come close to fitting our family's lifestyle.

I tried it and I loved it!

When I told Andy I wanted to switch to cloth diapers he said pretty much exactly what I expected, "Sure! But it means I'm off diaper duty." 

On Wednesday, this came:

I pre-washed them all and yesterday we spent all day in them. By "we" I mean Jack of course. 

In the evening, after his bath I invited Andy to try out the new diapers. I got one out, showed him how to do it (exactly the same as with a disposable) and when he had snapped Jack up he said, "That's it?"

Yep. 

In addition to being ridiculously cute (I can now have solid colors that I adore instead of cartoon characters that I couldn't care less about) and financially smart AND environmentally friendly, they also give Jack super powers. He now can climb up on things without batting an eyelash. I'm just waiting for the day when he pushes the chair up to the kitchen counter and grabs the knives out of their block. 

Oh dear.

But I think that day would have come anyway. The incredible powers of the diapers only sped up the process.

I feel so savvy now. So swanky, so hip.

And Jack has the cutest bum on the block now, that's for sure! 

You Should See the Other Kid

Budding Artist

Jack has discovered coloring.

I LOVE it!

He was playing with Ellery yesterday, and she was coloring a picture. He seemed very interested in the activity, so I put him in his high chair and let him loose. 

He was very serious about it. I am used to seeing this face when Jack plays:

But his face maintained this expression almost the whole time: 

Do you notice the ink on his face and hands? Don't worry, it washed right off in the bathtub.

Now that Jack is creating these masterpieces, I am faced with a difficult parenting decision. Do I become one of those moms who saves every single bit of artwork that my son makes, and then unload it on him and his future wife when they move to their first house? Or do I callously throw it away with total disregard for his creative endeavors, possibly stunting his self-expression and scarring him emotionally? 

Maybe I'll just mail it to a grandma and let her make the decision.

The Colors of My World