I think I could watch this movie 1,001 times over and never grow tired of it. Love, love, love.

"If she's so brilliant, how come she's sitting in our neighbor's car?"

TT #35

I took quite a little hiatus from the TT series, but I'm back -- life has finally settled into a groove again (i.e., all the kids go to bed at a certain hour and actually sleep!...most nights) So let's do this --yet again-- shall we?

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Now that we finally! have Dish TV + internet at the house, we are back to getting our Seinfeld reruns on. There's nothing better in the world :)

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Canada is the only country taking the zombie apocalypse seriously -- and yes, this is real life. Parliament. February, 2013. 

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The most amazing hair flip in the history of cinema. Fin. 

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Grumpy Cat meets TBBT !!! 

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Amen! I can't tell you how many times I depended on that anti-skip system while riding the bus only to be disappointed every time we hit a bump or pot-hole. 

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And because no #TT post would be complete without a little "Caryl" action -- I am so excited for October and TWD! 

Jaxon - Month 7

Our little guy is seven months old -- officially closer to this first birthday than his actual birth day! 

At seven months old, Jaxon is cutting teeth like a madman, and it's not been the prettiest. He's always been a pretty lax kid (with the exception of not taking to strangers), but this teething stuff is serious business. I miss my chubby, happy boy, and I hate to think of him in pain. His first two bottom teeth came in just fine, but whatever teeth are working their way up right now are really getting the best of him. Poor guy.

Other than teething, though, things are going swell for our sweet fella! His follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist yesterday went wonderfully. We go back in three months (and then every few months thereafter) for the next few years just to track his progress and, excuse the horrible pun, keep an eye on things. I'm so grateful to know that surgery isn't anywhere in our immediate future, and if we keep patching regularly to build up his muscle strength, there's a strong possibility it'll never be a necessity! 

He goes back next week for his six-month well visit, and I'm eager to see where he lands at on the scales. I just love watching his weight climb up the charts after his little 5 lb. entrance into the world :)

Jaxon is eating more and more and has quite the appetite -- I have a feeling he's going to be like RJ and have a "no holds barred" approach to eating. Whatever goes! He loves rolling around in the floor and has the want-to to crawl so bad he can't stand himself. He tries to army crawl and makes a little progress, so I have a feeling it won't be too long. He's not sitting up yet, but we're getting there. He's far more interested in just standing up (holding on to something) and looking around. Of course, he can't pull himself up and he's not strong enough to stand for long periods of time -- but practice makes perfect!

He really is such a sweet little guy -- I feel like Justin and I hit the jackpot lottery when it comes to mild-tempered kids (although Rhealen tests that theory right now, terrible twos and all!) -- but Jax is such a cool dude. I can't wait to see the next few months and how they change him!

Semi & Non-Traditional Engagement Rings

I've mentioned before, years ago, that I don't have a "typical" engagement ring -- and I love it. Currently, I don't wear my engagement ring at all -- the stone is big, and I've been known to accidentally scratch my babies' backs during diaper changes! Eek! -- so it sits in my jewelry box, just waiting for the day when diaper duty is a thing of the past, and I can happily wear it again without worrying about scratches. Instead, I wear my little diamond band and enjoy it in all its simplicity and understated glory. 

I hope my girls grow up with a little of my unconventionality and feel confident and open enough to the idea of diverting from the path of tradition. I think it's only natural, once you celebrate your own wedding and become a mother to little girls, to daydream about your daughters' weddings. And while I hope that day is years away (my girls are already growing up too fast as it is!), I like to think about planning and shopping and doing all of the fun wedding activities with them as the mother of the bride :)

And in that spirit, here are some non-traditional rings I've found and admired -- who knows, maybe one day one of my girls will choose something like this! (Only bad part of having two girls, I can't give them both my ring! What's a momma to do?)

Sterling silver ring with smoky quartz gemstone

Barra Ultra Petite Size Version 14kt Rose Gold Thin Morganite Cushion Halo Engagement Ring

Herkimer Diamond Engagement Ring With Sparkling White Topaz Elegant Oval Design

Square Moissanite Engagement Ring in solid 14k white or yellow gold

Citrine Gemstone and Recycled Sterling Ring, Lemon Yellow Rope Split Shank Design, Rapunzel

Where We're At Right Now...

Just a little update on the recent happenings - it's all so wild lately, regular updating just isn't going to happen. But I want to remember the little tidbits so I'm just throwing them out here haphazardly before they slip away...

-//- Rhealen is in the biggest "No! Stop it!" phase ever right now. The terrible twos are quite terrible when she chooses so; I feel so bad for poor Sidney, who seems to get the brunt of her mean streaks. I hope she (we) get over this phase sooner rather than later!

-//- Jaxon has two teeth! I'm not sure I mentioned that in his last monthly update (or if he even had them then) but he sure does! Two sweet little pearly whites on the bottom and, with the way he's been chewing and drooling, I don't think it'll take too much longer before more teeth start popping in! 

-//- Sidney lost her third tooth the other day! One of her front two teeth had been loose for what seemed like weeks on end; she'd never let us wiggle it or touch it, and she had no desire to do so herself. I guess time just won the battle, and out it came the other day while the girls and I were out to eat with "Gran" and "Pops"! That super-nice tooth fairy (read: her daddy) left her a whopping $3. 

-//- Sidney also finished up her swim-lessons this week; Gran and Pops took her this year, and I got to attend her wrap party. I was so proud to see her jumping in fearlessly, zooming down the (little) slide with a big splash!, and overall enjoying being the water with little to no fear. Hopefully, with one more year of lessons (and plenty of practice between now and then) she'll be ready for the deep end and diving board all on her own!

-//- School starts back too soon, and it's so unreal to think we have ourselves a first grader. It seems, to me anyway, like first grade is the last year of being little. Second grade just seems so big and old and a world away from my nearly six-year-old. I really hope this year kind of creeps by (yeah right!)

-//- I think we're all loving this weather right now. It's insane that we've had little to no humidity, especially in the evenings! There's that familiar crispness in the air, and if you close your eyes, for a moment you can trick yourself into believing it's mid-October and fall is all around you. August, you're definitely starting out on the right foot, feel free to keep it up!

-//- We finally, FINALLY, have cable+internet at our house! It's been a long (nearly) three months, and while I'm going to miss certain aspects of that forced time together with zero TV, I do enjoy sitting down to our shows in the evenings and cartoons first thing in the morning with sleepy-headed babies. Also, whoohoo for joining DISH, as we now have an iPad 2 headed our way!

Life is full and good and we're all just digging along nicely. Keep on, keepin' on life -- you're doing a fine job right now!