More AZ family time

Just to briefly recap my AZ trip...
We went on a few walks

... we made a really yummy (vegan) fruit pizza (made with whole wheat/cinnamon sugar crust, avocado-lime spread, and lots of fruit)

... and hung out in our jammies. Sorry, Mom, for posting the early morning picture of you, but I didn't think you'd mind.

Mom took Keen and I for mani-pedis (which were MUCH needed. That morning Abby was particularly needy and wouldn't let me put her down for a second. That wouldn't be so bad except she wasn't happy with me just holding her, she was wriggling and twisting and pulling, trying to get me to go from one room to the next, never happy with what we were looking at. Poor bug, she wasn't feeling well.)

That, and it had been since 2007 since I've gotten a manicure or a pedicure! It was glorious.

Please take note of the Vogue I have open on my lap: an ad for the Missoni for Target line, which would become an early morning, pre-airport adventure we would lead the morning that Keena and I flew out. It was a little bit epic. I don't think I'm exaggerating. I think that people like Keena did predict the blockbuster of the Missoni launch.

Abby was so happy to be there. Really. And what's nice is that this gem is the only picture I have of these two alone. Precious.

AZ trip recap

Abs and I went to Arizona to visit my parents! and Keena!!

She was a lap baby. Two flights there. Two flights back. Four flights total. That's a lot of lap time. She did very well. Pretty well. Pretty okay. I would get antsy too, if I had to stay on Mom's lap and couldn't run around either. We ate a lot of snacks and had a nap on the second flight.

It rained a lot of the time, surprisingly, and we actually only got in the pool once.

She walked right into Keena's arms!

She loved this little chair that has been in our family for a long time.

Keena and I made some good food while we were there. Here she is making the whole wheat pizza dough.

Keena's eating habits were passed to all of us during this trip- we ate a lot of fruit, hummus, crudite, and homemade granola. Abby loved it.

More pictures lata.

To Grandmother's house we go

Abs and I are on our way to Arizona tomorrow morning to see my parents and Keena for a few days! We are very excited, and hope that her fever she has been running keeps far away. (Strep test negative, fever is on again-off-again, and attitude is almost normal, slightly grumpy.)
We've got a prescription for Amoxicillin that we hopefully won't need to fill.

And to send us off... this video was taken exactly a month ago- and we keep forgetting to share. It's a little bit funny.

Wish us luck! See you next week!

Zara, baby!

So, like several other blogs I've seen today, I too am proclaiming my love for Zara going online {shopping, that is.} Now, I actually hardly ever online shop. I have this problem where I worry far too much about how much money I spend.
That doesn't stop me from being super excited. And it certainly doesn't stop me from looking.
I mean, look!

I'm a big girl now

I was thoroughly spoiled for my birthday this year. Wow. But before I get to that, here's some yogurt hair:

So yeah. It was my birthday last Friday. I turned 29, which feels weird. Really weird, but I can worry more about that next year! Thankyouverymuch.

Spencer isn't the biggest fan of cake (what a psycho, I know) so he bought me a pretty little individual cake that was SO good. Chocolate with fudge filling and chocolate frosting. Yes please. It actually was so tall that it fed both of us for a few days.

Abby and I had a delightful morning together. She was in an especially good mood and we played the whole morning. Spencer took a half day and came home at lunchtime to give me my presents.

Little miss woke up from her nap just in time to help me open.

He got me a sweet little necklace with a pearl and two silver discs, one with an "S" and one with an "A," for my two sweethearts.

Abby likes it. I would say he came up with idea that on his own, but I've been wanting one for a long time and told him where he could probably get one.

So I was all done opening presents. I had lots of clothes and my pretty necklace and a few other things, and it was a great haul. What a great day- we were about to go out to lunch (Noodles & Co.) and my visiting teacher dropped by a half dozen cupcakes (two kinds, homemade, yum) and a necklace (also homemade, awesome).
Then Spencer pulls a huge box from the storage closet outside and puts it in front of me. What the what?

Ah! (By the time I had posed with it, I'd gone through a few outfit changes.)

I (him too, ever since being married to me) have always wanted a Kitchen Aid and never received or bought one. We came close over the years to buying one, but were always too cheap to just do it, hoping to wait for a better deal to come along. Mine is a pretty cobalt blue.

I love that he just surprised me!

Later that day we had some family watch Abby while we went to see Harry Potter. Afterward was a Lythgoe family BBQ to celebrate me. Ha. Actually, it was supposed to be the last evening that Spencer's sister Kelly and family were in town. They were visiting from Virginia and were set to go back home the following day. (Thanks to Irene, they were actually in town for another 2 days.)

Uncle Dave. Every family has an Uncle Dave. He is one of the many baby whisperers the Lythgoe family has.
Marti made me a birthday cake- chocolate on chocolate- and it was great.

I opened some presents from the Lythgoes next. Dara surprised me with a present too!

She has discovered that she not only loves to craft, but she is very good at it. I love it, I just have to figure out where to put it. Currently it is leaning on our counter against the vase of flowers that Spencer got me. Should it hang on the wall, or have it be decoration?

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday sooo special. I really felt so loved and appreciated.