Mia. Cut. Her. Hair.

Oh I love this pic. Wish that it weren't blurry but she clearly wasn't cool with me taking her picture. On December 7th this little lady got he hands on a pair of scissors. I'd left my sewing kit out when I should have just taken it back upstairs to the craft closet where it belongs. Anyway, I didn't actually notice at first. I cleaned up the ribbon she'd played with and put back the pieces of my tape measure she'd chopped up, and apparently picked up pieces of her hair that didn't register with me in the moment.

When questioned about her hair and what happened, she claimed that Mr. Nobody did it. Because it sure as heck wasn't her. Sophie wasn't responsible and Lydia's alibi of being at school checked out. I laughed pretty hard about it and Jon pointed out that those pieces of hair I'd gathered up were clearly Mia's. If I'm being honest she actually did a really good job. It could have been so much worse. And once her bangs grew out a little longer they were really cute. I like that look on her. Not that I want her trimming her bangs on her own. Or ever again for that matter, but like I said. It could have been worse. So grateful she didn't take the scissors to her sisters hair or poke herself in the eye. Love her! Despite her need to handle sharp objects!

Labor Day

September 4th, Labor Day. Hiking up Baer Canyon. Adam's was super packed so we decided to venture somewhere else. And it was awesome! So beautiful and fun to get out. However, the point needed to be made that, "There are no bears here!!!!" Our cute, sensitive, easily frightened little ladies had some concerns. But overall I think everyone had a great time!

Afternoon with the Princesses

A good friend of mine told me about this festival with the princesses. It was on September 16th and sounded so fun! Jon and I read about it and knew the girls would really enjoy it. There was supposed to be a booth (Rapunzel's tower) where little girls could donate their hair and that was our biggest motivation in going. How cool to donate your hair in a Rapunzel tower! And Sophie was ready and excited. Turns out they discontinued that option. The tower was still there but not for hair donations. Just for getting all dolled up. We were a bit disappointed, but still enjoyed meeting the characters.

 The girls took a princess test and found out that Lydia is most like Snow White (or possibly Rapunzel because both of them love animals) and Sophie is most like Ariel. For sure the love for animals landed Lyds there and Sophie's favorite princess is most decidedly Ariel, but that was fun anyway. Mia chose a Moana pin but kept her distance from the fortune tellers.

 Besides pulling the sword from the stone the girls got to make magic wands and search for buried treasure. They also got to put nice notes into the wishing well for a little boy with cancer. It was really great to see all the love and support shown him and of course the girls loved writing/ coloring pictures for him and being a part of it..

 I find it so interesting that Lydia has always had such a fascination with Maleficent. At first I wasn't sure if she'd be willing to get her picture with her but love that she was! And that woman was so into her role!

 We finished off the day with Chick-fil-A. Always a win. I'm glad to have these pics of Mia since she refused to get any taken with the characters. Maybe if there had been an Olaf.... Despite that we had a great time, and have some fun memories too.

Soph's new do

On October 13th Sophie started the process of donating her hair. She'd been begging to donate it for months and I, admittedly, was the hangup. When it was straight it was below her waist. But those cute curls at the bottom were my favorite!! And yet it was definitely time and she was ready and excited and I'm so proud of her for wanting to pass her locks along to someone who can really benefit from them. I'm still not used to it. And let's be honest. I miss it, but I'm LOVING the new short sassy look.

She looks so little in these pictures! And I can't decide if she looks older or younger with her short hair. Older, I think... Her plan now is to grow it out long again. She wants to donate it once it gets really long, but maybe not cut it so short next time. ;) Love this girl and her great big heart!

Soph's first day of school.

Back to school night was August 31st for Sophie doll. She was super excited about it! It was also the first Utah game so Jon and Lyds went to the game while Sophie, Mia and I hung out and traipsed over to Ms Bonnie's to check out Sophie's classroom. As soon as we got there Sophie met her teacher and we started on a little scavenger hunt so she could find her seat and where she'd hang her backpack, the bathroom and the ABCs to name a few. She got a whole pack of Starbursts as a welcome gift from Ms Bonnie and a cookie to eat on the way out. She saw one of her friends from swimming lessons over the summer and was excited to find out that she'd know someone on the first day!

And then we went home and had a little photo shoot. Mia was cracking me up and Sophie kept coming up with different funny faces. I love how happy she looks in some of these!

And then we jumped on the tramp. And jumped and jumped and jumped! It was so much fun bouncing Soph around with Mia on my hip. We don't do that nearly enough. Sophie got me good a few times and definitely stole my bounces!!

 

And while we were bouncing and playing on the swing set Lyds was posing at the game and enjoying her pretzel. Pretty sure that's her favorite part of going to the football games! And I can't say that I blame her. :)

The Utes won and it was probably because Lydia is lucky. Not really, but for sure when I went they didn't fend so well.

Sophie got a beautiful school blessing from Jon on September 4th. She was blessed to be diligent in her studies, obedient to her teachers, and an example to classmates. She was blessed to be able to reach out to classmates and make friends especially with those who are shy or in need of a friend. "Look to Lydia as an example. As you look to Lydia you'll also be able to strike out on your own and make your own path in those things you're interested in. I bless you to be a good example to Mia. That you can show her how to be obedient to Mom and Dad. Sophie I also bless you with this recent accident that you've had that it won't affect you negatively. That you'll be able to grow from this experience and that you'll be brave and strong in the face of trials in your life. We bless you with health and strength in your life that you can grow and play and do all those things that will be beneficial to you. Soph I bless you with happiness. That you will enjoy that time you get to spend with Mom and Mia at home and that you'll enjoy that time when Lydia comes home and you'll get to spend it with her. I bless with you friendship  in your class. That you'll enjoy being with them. At this time I bless you will all of these things and any others that your Heavenly Father has for you. And the knowledge that He loves you. And that your mom and dad love you so much. Please come to us with any questions you have and know that we are here to support you in all things. That we will be here for you. That you will trust us in all things that you need to talk to us about. And I seal these blessings on you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

When Sophie came home from her first day of school on September 5th she was wearing a Pete the Cat headband that said "I had a Rockin' first day of school!" She liked walking to school with Lydia and dropping her off before she got to go herself. She was worried about me and Mia being on our own but told us to have fun.

And I go back and forth between being excited for her (which I absolutely am) and mourning the fact that she's growing up so fast! Mia and I did some puzzles while we waited for school to end so we could pick up Sophie. Mia is a puzzle queen and it was so amazing to me to find out how great she is at doing puzzles. It was sure a lot quieter around the house, but we had a good time. And we started making cookie dough so that we could all enjoy some warm cookies when both Soph and Lyds were home.  

Sophie told me she had fish crackers for her snack that first day. And every first day of school should end with warm cookies and milk while we hear about all the adventures of the day. Which was exactly what we did!

The Storks

The girls have been talking about another sibling for quite some time now. SO on Wednesday August 9th they wrote letters to the storks asking for babies!!! They were pretty direct:

 Sophie even included a plan for them, in case they weren't sure how to go about it. ;)

And then on August 12th a letter arrived in the mail to Lydia, Sophie and Mia. From Stork Mountain.

I love so many things about this video!! Mostly the excitement from each of them, but Sophie's little finger acknowledgment after hearing the expectations from the Storks is so perfect.

Afterward Lydia didn't want anyone sitting on my lap because it might hurt the baby. Soph drew a pic our new baby girl with a green mouth from eating a green cupcake. Lydia wrote a story that included a pic of a baby the size of a green olive. Mia already knew it was a boy. Lyds and Soph immediately started drawing pics and writing stories and boxing up toys (as requested by the Storks in their letter) Lydia told me to rest and take the day off. She handed me "Meena Otr" to read while I folded clothes. One of the many amazing books she's written and illustrated herself.

And things were really exciting for a couple of days. Lydia talked nonstop to my belly. She really wanted to make sure that the baby knew her voice so that when he/she was born he/she would know her and know her well! We told Jon's family on Sunday the 13th and planned to tell mine in Oregon a few days later. But then the 15th came. And we knew things weren't okay. And that's when my blood was drawn and we went to McKay Dee for an ultrasound. I was in there with the ultrasound tech moving things around far too long to leave with any hope that things were okay. The probe wasn't particularly pleasant, but I knew she was being thorough. And I had a really hard time reigning in my emotions while we waited for the staff at the hospital to contact my doctor so he could contact me. This nice lady found us some "contraband" soda and said she'd look into finding us a room so I could bawl in private. We never did get that private room, but once Dr. Stanley called they motioned me over to the front desk (the FRONT DESK!!) and he gave me the bad news over the phone while I was surrounded by staff and other patients. It wasn't a pleasant experience. So when I finally did talk to my doc the possibility that I had my dates wrong was brought up. But I knew that I didn't. And the news wasn't really bad if my dates were wrong. But the baby had measured 6 weeks 2 days when I knew it should have been measuring 10 weeks. It would be another few days before the results from my blood draw on the 15th (and again on the 17th) would really confirm that I was miscarrying. But confirm it did. But we already knew that. One of the most difficult moments was hearing Jon talk to his mom after we left the hospital. It was heartbreaking. He thought he'd be able to hold it together, but he couldn't. And we'd just told them our good news two days prior to this. Loss in any form is not easy to recover from. And the loss of how this baby was going to change and add to our family was (and still is) hard to deal with.

Jon broke the news to the girls. I can only imagine what that must have been like for them to try to process. But Lydia and Sophie were so sweet. As persistent as we were that things were not okay, they were holding out hope and saying that they really hoped (because that's what we all wanted) the baby was okay after all. And then once they were convinced and knew that the baby wasn't okay, they were still super positive and comforting. Telling me that things would be okay and we'd have another baby one day. And as I mentioned before, being in Oregon with family was such a blessing. I can't imagine what it would have been like to have been at home, with Jon working, trying to hold it together for the sake of the girls but failing miserably. So great to have been with family.

And once we got home from Oregon we found this:

Which reduced me to tears immediately. The Pynes, Talbots and Fraziers had written notes all over these hearts and Dad Frazier stopped by earlier that day to tape them up. What a welcome home gift! They were there for us right when we came home from Oregon and really did brighten our day. The notes were so sweet and thoughtful. I've saved them. They mean so much. It was exactly what I needed. And the girls loved all the hearts. There was a bright and girly looking lip gloss for each of them and they loved those too! We're so grateful for such loving and supportive family in both the good times and the difficult. It's been really nice to be able to talk about what happened and so sweet of family to check in on me just to see how I'm doing. I don't know that I deserve it, but I sure am grateful for each of them!