What's in a Name....

London is really into names right now. Her most recent name fixation is Ashlyn. She has informed us that she will be changing her name (to Ashlyn) on her 4th Birthday. And where did the name Ashlyn originate from? A friend from school's older sister, uh, random. And she has decided she will be in charge of naming all future children we may have (if they are girls). The conversation went something like this:
london "I want a little sister and I am going to name her Taylor."
me "Well, first of all, mommy and daddy will name any future siblings you may have, and second, Taylor is a wonderful name, but you have an Uncle named Taylor and he may not appreciate us naming your little sister after him."
london "Well, I will name my little girl Taylor"
long pause
"And Uncle Taylor should change his name to Jonathan."

Sorry Taylor, not only has your 3 yr. old niece assigned you a new name; she's called dibs on your old one.

Use #37 for Fruit Snacks....

to make a Snowman smile.

Five Minutes of Fun

That's as long as London and I lasted outside, it was COLD (and very beautiful).

It's Only Nine O'Clock

Our day started only a couple of hours ago and I'm already done, so much for yesterday's optimistic pep talk. London's watching Sesame Street, Noble's in his exersaucer, and I'm here, ignoring both of them.
Here's some recent pics of Noble's new favorite activity: standing at the train table and playing with the tracks. If he's cranky, I just stand him up here and I'm guaranteed about 10 min. of happiness.

Only 44 Days Until Spring

I'm not a cold weather type of girl, which is why as soon as Christmas is over, and the decorations put away, I pull out all my spring/summer stuff in an attempt to convince myself that spring is just around the corner. Which, unfortunately, it's not, in fact it's just the beginning (or by now, more like the middle), but I'm in denial, every year.
The only good thing about this incredibly cold, depressingly gray, winter weather, is that it does encourage us have to come up with some fun things to do, so that London doesn't become a tv junkie and I don't go insane. When your inside all day, every day, you can only clean so much (well, in reality I could probably clean forever, but what's the point?), and so I've been able to spend more time playing fun, silly games with L. Not that I don't get tired of playing prince charming for the 5th time in a row, but at least she wants me to play with her, which I know some day I will miss. And maybe my back is permanently knotted up from chasing L around the house holding Noble up like a fighter jet, and every pair of pants I own has worn knees from doggie rides (we don't play horsey in our house, rather, Clifford the Big Red Dog), but they just serve as reminders of the blessings we are given, even though sometimes, in our exhausted, unshowered, and under rested state, it's hard to see.

So instead of wishing for 60 degree, let's go to the park weather tomorrow, we're going to pitch a blanket tent, read stories and enjoy whatever comes from being stuck inside, together.

And on a less sappy note, London had 'dress as a cowgirl' day at school today, here's some of her best cowgirl poses.

Nothing Exciting

Just a couple of pics from Christmas, hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday and a blessed 2010!

I Really Lucked Out With This James Guy...

Not only is he smart, fun, and handsome, but he's also really really handy. The guy can build, fix, or otherwise construct anything. And he built me my very own craftsman columns. Rewind to this past summer...
me-"James, I think our house would look good with some craftsman inspired columns, you know, brick base, tapered column, wide trim...)
James-"Do you have a picture?"
me- (15 min later)"Here's a 'detailed, drawn to scale' picture of the front of our house, with my envisioned columns."
James-"Okay, I can figure this out..."

And he did. They look awesome, okay more than awesome. Every time I see them I get a little giddy and have to do a little happy dance. Seriously, the guy built me columns, with only a couple of you tube videos and a can do attitude, and I'm completely in love with them (and James too of course).

Here are some pics of my little cookie cutter ranch turned craftsman cottage...


Here's James expertly laying brick...




Putting up the tapered column...

Three coats of primer and paint later...







...a much more charming and inviting porch!

So there it is, and I couldn't be happier, and it's not just that they look awesome, or that James spent his free time working diligently on them, or that he spent 8+ hrs, for several days in the bitter cold, or even that he got up at the crack of dawn to finish them in time for Christmas, but that he believed in my vision for that little front porch and made it happen, because he loves me and my ideas (as random as they may be!) Thank you James!

And just for fun, here's a pic of our house before we moved in (I guess you could call it a before shot)


And the 'now more distinctly ours' after...