Branching Out

I've pretty much had the same hair style since I was a kid.  Long and straight. It works for me and the few times I've had it short I hated every moment.

This last week I went to get my hair cut and did something I have't done for a long time.  I got some bangs.

The first day I styled my hair wouldn't you know I burned my forehead.  Its a good thing I have bangs to cover it up.  Clearly I'm still getting used to my very minor hair style change.

Is it good or should I count the days til my hair gets long again?

Here's to a new year and another resolution!

Its been mentioned that I am less than zealous about my postings here but I'm starting again.

I thought I'd start with a shout out to my awesome sister-in-law, Jenny, who was gracious enough to take our family pictures two years in a row. They turned out wonderfully!! She really has a talent at making even a cloudy day look amazing.

Here are a few

These are our funny faces but obviously the guys didn't hear about that part.

Adorable...need I say more?

This is my very favorite picture of us together. We accidentally left that umbrella behind when we moved to another location and it is lost forever. C'est la vie.

Seriously, how cute is my family?

So, there it is for all three people who read this. Thanks to Jen!! And pester me just a little bit and you'll see another post soon (-ish).

I'm Pregnant

We are expecting a baby boy on September 7th!!

Merry Christmas

Even though we had family in town for Christmas this year we spent Christmas morning with just our family. I'm not sure that Leslie really got the idea but she did do much better at present opening. She was gracious enough to give her Dad help when he needed it.

Leslie got a Magna-Doodle and some puzzles and a tricycle.

There's a funny story about the tricycle. I made a list for Leslie that both sets of grandparents saw at least a little of. Clint's parents came to our house with a cute pink tricycle, just the right thing. It was difficult to wrap so I put it in storage until I could find a box. It sat for a while and finally came out of hiding when my parents were in town. I brought it out to box it up and my Dad just laughed at it. Apparently, while they were shopping earlier in the day they bought exactly the same tricycle for Leslie. I guess great grandparents think alike.

We were so happy to have family around us this Christmas. We always enjoy them. Merry Christmas!!

Terrible 2's

Thanks for all the subtle hints about how terrible I am at the up-keep of our BLOG. Dad, Janet, and various others... this is for you. I am going to go back aways and catch up on all the major events that have happened for our family.

Leslie turned two at the end of November. She got the cutest little tea set from her grandparents and a few more things to go with it from her Dad and Mom.


There is a full place setting with a dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl, tea cup and saucer, and tumbler. There is also silverware for four.

Leslie mostly liked to stack everything as high as it could go. It was actually impressive what she got to balance. It seems obvious to say that this is perhaps not the best way to keep everything in on piece and wouldn't you know she broke her first plate the next day doing her amazing stacking trick. Luckily, things like this are easily super-glued back together.

Its hard to believe my little girl is 2 years old already.

Trick-or-Treat

We went to the Fashion Place Mall Halloween night to go trick-or-treating. I think Leslie had a good time walking around. I found a crown and wand for her while we were out during the day. She would wear the crown for only a little while before it had to come off.
My little princess She enjoyed a sucker while we were walking around. It is almost unbelievable how messy a sucker can be.

We saw a great Cruella DeVil.

We had a good time. Maybe next year she'll get to choose her own costume. BTW, this is the tutu I made for her.

Boo at the Zoo

We went to the Boo at the Zoo today and it was wild in more than one way. It was totally packed.

Leslie with the wicked witch

Our family

Leslie and Daddy

"Olive" Us

There are a few joys that every child experiences: a nice big cardboard box, decimating wrapping paper at Christmas and putting olives on fingers. Leslie has recently discovered this last joy.

3FatChicks

I found this fun tool while I was blog-surfing. I thought it was a good way to keep track of my progress while I am losing weight.

My Inspiration

Jen asked everyone to find an inspiration photo of themselves and state their reasons for why they are participating in our contest. Okay, I know Clint looks a little goofy in this first one but I'm cute.
This next one is not actually when Clint proposed to me but it was when we got my ring back from the jewelers. His friend Doug took a bunch of pictures for us. Thanks, Doug!
Here's to me getting all my skinny clothes back from my sister, Debra (not really, Debra.)
My reasons for participating:
To fit back into, yes, my wedding dress.
To chase Leslie and be able to keep going for about half as long as she can.
To get rid of any clothes that have double digits on the tag, that will mean more to any women reading than to the men.
To take full advantage of my job in retail. I get a really good discount.

The Biggest Loser

Alright, Jenny, my sister-in-law, started a competition between friends along with the show The Biggest Loser. I decided to give it a go. I just finished my first workout and I have to say it kicked my butt. I am doing the P90X videos and they are intense. Our competition is going to 10 weeks and I am hoping to lose 20-25 lbs during that time. Wish me luck and any encouragement you can spare.

Happy Anniversary

Today is the third anniversary of our wedding!!! Clint and I dropped Leslie off with a babysitter. My boss from Eddie Bauer, Nancy, offered to watch her. I was a little nervous about it but after dinner and a few minutes of wandering around IKEA we can back to a very happy girl. I guess she cried for about 3 minutes and forgot about missing us. It was nice to have some time to ourselves and know that Leslie had a good time too.

The youngest of Nancy's two boys is Jacob. I think he is about 7, has become Leslie's special friend. She loved Jacob and occasionally acknowledged Easton's presence, her 9-year-old. She also very much like their dog, Basil. We said goodbye a dozen different times and finally made it home an hour after bedtime.

I love my Clint and am so happy that we are together. Here's to many more years together.

Like Mother Like Daughter: Part II

I love to read. As far back as I can remember I have loved to read, maybe my mom can counter that from very early childhood but I don't think that's likely.

Leslie also loves to read. We go to the library on a regular basis and get all kinds of books. The books we have at home are wonderful and we read them often enough that Leslie remembers what comes next in most of them. She could probably tell some of the stories all by herself If she had all the right words. She even gets ahold of my books occasionally and brings them to me to read out loud.

I love to watch her sit quietly by herself and look through her books. It makes me think that maybe she is a little like me after all and that our books are something we can continue to share as she gets older. I love my little book worm.

Like Mother Like Daughter

One of my Dad's favorite stories, accompanied by an appropriately embarrassing picture, about me is when I got a hold of some Desitin and had a little quality time by myself. I'm not sure how much of the tube I used but my legs were completely white by the time I finished. Well, Leslie has shown a similar fascination with Desitin.

Now, she didn't get quite as far as I did but that didn't seem to stop her from enjoying it to its fullest. I'm sure it was easier for her because now they sell the 'creamy' variety, I had to use regular.

I'm SO crafty

I, Julie Long, have actually made something for my daughter. I have been wanting to make her a tu-tu for a while now and I finally did.

I put in three different colors and I think it turned out rather well. It is a little long but that will take care of itself in time.

I want to start making some other things for her but am not sure how to get started. If anyone has good directions for making a duvet cover I would love to hear about it. I have a dozen different ideas for an amazing girls' bedroom. Also, anyone that can make hair barrettes she could use some of those too. Leslie has really beautiful hair but sometimes it could use some embellishment.

Seeing the Baby

So Leslie and I did, in fact, go to see Jenny and Brian's baby today. We had quite a time getting to the hospital. I have never been to the U of U hospital before and didn't know exactly where to go. After we drove around for about 20 minutes, after driving 25 to get there, we were told that we weren't going to be let inside because there was a bomb threat against the hospital earlier that day. So Leslie got to take half her nap in the car as I drove home to wait for another time to see the baby.

Brian called us later to say that the visitor ban had been lifted and we tried one more time. We got to see a beautiful little girl who is as yet unnamed. She is just over 6 and a half pounds. It sounds crazy but you really forget how tiny babies are. She has a smattering of dark hair on her head and lovely long fingers. Brian is excited to have a girl thrown in with his boys. She is going to have great big brothers!

(BTW there was no bomb in the hospital)

Slacker

I just have to say that I am aware that I am one of the biggest blog slackers ever. I am amazed that people post every week or more than that. I'll try to get a little more news about the Long family out there.

Here is the most exciting news. Clint's sister, Jenny, just had a little girl! There were some concerning circumstances but everything turned out well and they are both doing well. Leslie and I are going to see them today, at least that's the plan. Jenny and Brian, her husband, have three boys, Jacob, Aiden and Jack. It will be exciting for them to have a little girl in their home. I am ecstatic for them, maybe because I love my little girl so much.

Leslie constantly amazes me. I am daily stunned by how much she talks. Here is a list of some of the words she says-what I can think of right now

mama Elmo outside inside stairs up down hair nose eyes ears
dad foot toes sneetch bear cow read grandpa grandma shoes socks shirt pants book bed milk juice water nap grass green blue yellow red diaper pee-pee poo-poo jump no yes walk car truck baby Leslie two six nine

Okay, there are probably this many more that I'm not thinking of at the moment. And these are all words that are easily understandable. She also tries at saying rhinoceros and dinosaurs. She gets few syllables of those two. It seems like every day she learns a little more and it won't be long until she is stringing sentences together.

I am glad that she likes reading as much as she does. It make me thinl that maybe she is a little like her mama. She reads with Mom or Dad or even alone. There are some books that we read that she remembers what comes next and says it before we turn the page. I think that is pretty great considering she is only a year and a half old.

Well, we're off the see Leslie's new cousin. I'll try to get another post up soon.

Painting

We have finally painted our living room. Clint's parents, David and Janet, offered to get some paint for us and were waiting on me to pick out a color. It only took a few months but I have to say that I think it was worth the wait. We painted the room blue on Tuesday and did touch-ups Wednesday. I love the color but can't honestly say that I love putting everything back in its place. I am trying to weed things we don't use out of the room and that takes a little more time. Thanks for the paint Mom and Dad!

On another note, while Clint's parents were here they were able to bring a tiller and David (Dad) tilled up our front and side yards. We are getting ready to put grass in those areas. Clint and I need to grade the soil and compact it enough to put grass in.

Can I just say how fabulous it is to have people willing to help us?

On yet another note, my parents are also in town, intermittently. Clint and I have had a car sitting in our driveway that we haven't used for a very long time and it had fallen into even further disrepair. My Dad was kind enough to take me around today and do all kinds of things to get the car drive-able again. We went to a place and they replaced a leaky fuel line and the muffler, you could hear this car a mile away. We also had the emissions and safety tests completed, passing luckily. Now all we have to do is get insurance and get it registered again. It will be great for me to have a car during the day. If something isn't within walking distance (1-2 miles) Leslie and I just don't do it. It will be good to have the freedom to go a little further from home. Thanks Dad and Mom!

Well, there's a little bit about this week. Until next time.

Review

Here is a very basic review of the last two years in the Long household. Clint and I bought a house in September of 2006. We live in Magna, UT. We wanted to get a house because we thought it would be easier when our baby came. We would have a yard and a little more room to ourselves.

Not long afterward, Leslie was born. She was 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches long. She had the most amazing hair I've ever seen. It was long but it also looked like it had been professionally streaked. There was dark, dark hair to almost white strands. It has gotten a little lighter over time but still kept the streaking.

Here is the first picture of the Long Family.

Leslie's Grandpa Vance made her a cradle and she got to take naps in it while I rested.

We had a good winter getting used to all the crying and diaper changing and unreliable sleeping schedules.

It was amazing to watch how quickly Leslie grew. One day she couldn't roll over and then suddenly she could. She couldn't sit on her own or crawl or walk and then she could do all those things.

Summer brought the start of projects around the house. The most exciting thing, to me, was that we were able to put in a little grass in our backyard. Before we had only weeds and it is so much better to have soft grass underfoot. We spent a lot of time outside enjoying the shade of a big tree.

More to follow.