Thanks to all

Until Miss Sloane can write her own thank you notes, she has to leave some sort of mark that she truly cares.  Today we worked on those...

I love the look of disapproval she's giving me.  I can totally see her daddy in this "what the he*& were you thinking" expression (much like the look he gave when he first caught us signing our cards).

I love to smooch on these!  

Whassup?!

Spoiled...

We were so blessed and ultiametly, spoiled this Christmas!  You wouldn't believe the "loot" Miss Sloane scored!  On Christmas Eve, we went to Uncle Jeff's family's house for Budz Bingo where Sloane received several outfits and toys!  Santa visited us, that night, to bring Sloane a Triple Jungle activity center!  She doesn't quite have the neck strength to fully hold her head up, but we figure this will be soon.  (In the meantime, we giggle when she head butts the parrots and iguanas...)

Christmas morning, Sloane received so many presents that we were a bit overwhelmed with the generosity!  It is great to have a baby born in July - presents to be had every 6 months!!!  I'm jealous!!!  While I sort through the many outfits, accessories and toys, here is a peak of our little Christmas angel.

We are so excited - Santa Claus is coming to town!!!

We have already put Sloane into her Christmas jammies...  It is the Eve of Christmas Eve, you know...

I always feel like...

Somebody's watching me....

We are ready for you, Santa!!!

I have limited myself to only two tubs of Christmas decorations (despite having five rather large ones).  Not sure if it is just exhaustion or what, but the Christmas spirit, with regards to decorating, seems to have skipped our house.  This weekend, we got our tree up, or as Carrera likes to think of it, a tree full of sticks...

When we were living in San Diego, we found a really cool way to hang up our stockings and showcase our favorite ornaments at Crate & Barrel.  I am excited to see the kiddos choose their own ornaments, in the years to come.

I chose an ornament that has our favorite colors (red with purple dots)

Daddy chose an ornament with Sloane's footprint

Sloane is showing off her "official" first Christmas ornament

Carrera didn't have much of a choice

Love the beautiful needlepoint, created by Aunt Deb...

SANTA (and a) BABY

Santa Baby...
Slip a sable under the tree for me...
I've been an awful good girl, Santa Baby...
So hurry down the chimney tonight

Well, Santa Darling, sables are not PC and we don't have a chimney, so...

Santa Baby...
A '54 convertible too, light blue...
Well, I'll wait up for you dear, Santa Baby...
So hurry down the chimney tonight (yeah)

Well, Santa Dear, a '54 car might be blocked by those folks over at EPA...


Think of all the fun I've missed...
Think of all the boys I haven't kissed...
Next year I could be just as good,
If you check off my Christmas list


Well, Santa Sweetie, Sloane is only 21 weeks old and has yet to be subjected to strange boys kisses...


Santa Baby...
I want a yacht and really that's not a lot...
I've been an angel all year
Santa Baby...
So hurry down the chimney tonight...


Well, Santa Cutie, Mommy gets motion sickness and Sloane doesn't know how to swim (yet)...


Come and trim my Christmas tree,
With some decorations bought at Tiffany's
I really do believe in you...
Let's see if you believe in me


Well, Santa Lover, now you are talking - don't forget Cartier and Neiman Marcus...


Santa Baby...
Forgot to mention one little thing,
A ring
(And I don't mean on the phone)
Santa Baby...
So hurry down the chimney tonight.


Well, Santa Claus, don't set the bar too high - why not a lovely watch Mama can wear in the meantime???

The quest to be her favorite...

Mommy will admit it - I started the forever battle of who's your favorite aunt?  When Jocelyn was born, 13 years ago, first time I held her, I whispered into her ear, "Who's your favorite aunt?  Aunt Jen!!!"  I was out of town when Brycie came into the world, so Aunt Cold quickly scooped her up and let her know Aunt Cold was her favorite.  It was Lara's turn, to announce Aunt Lala was her favorite, when Aidyn was born almost four years ago.

Now they are "competing" against one another for Sloane and it is hilarious!!!

Being a Hovde ain't easy...

Although her given name does not include a Hovde, she is 50% Hovde and that is A LOT!!!  I thought I would share a "sweet" video I took of her the other day...

A Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on windows...  Whiskers on kittens...  Polka dotted jammies....  Chicken pictures...  AND THE BEST OF ALL?

Sloane Victoria's 4 month picture wearing her pink with orange polka dots jammies next to Chicken...

Co-sleeping

Many pediatricians argue against co-sleeping and I wonder, do they not have babies at home?  I certainly put the kiddo to bed in her crib, but when she is cold or extremely fussy, I bring into our bed.  To make sure Daddy doesn't roll over her, I lay down in between the two of them.  I have noticed that our kiddo is not a sharing individual, when it comes to room on the mattress.  Please enjoy the following collage of the dominating (sleeping) baby...

Daddy and his female twin

Sooo cute 

Do I dare mention they were snoring at the same speed?

Daddy is all tucked in, very cautious of the baby intruder

Baby is completely sprawled out

Did you notice how Daddy is literally hanging onto the side of the bed?

Polka Pink and Dot Orange

Never thought I was a huge fan of pink with orange polka dots...  until now...  I have a pair of pajama bottoms that are pink with orange that are hard to look at, without adjusting your eyes a bit.  My dad's cousin, Denise & her family, sent a monkey outfit to Sloane.  Would you believe we match?

My little monkey, lounging on my lap

Ever have one of those days you feel you have a monkey on your butt, I mean back?

This is how adorable Sloane looked, first thing this morning.  Too bad for you, Mommy took a shower last night and went to sleep with semi-wet hair.  She was a frightful site (hence no picture of her face)...

Our first family Halloween

Crashed an amazing Halloween party - the hostess is a friend of my brother-in-law's and she is addicted to Halloween.  It's a kick to see how "Martha Stewart" she decorates...  There is not a single room not rocking the holiday; even her bedspread has jack o'lanterns on it.

Our scary man

Part of the decor, our little bambina

Self portraits suck even worse, now there are three of us

Kiddo was the life of the party in Aunt Lala's arms

Who would've thunk

Can you imagine swimming the last weekend of October?  It was a frightful 90-something degrees, so we thought the pool would be refreshing.  Apparently the only thing "winter" like is the swimming pool.  I was able to capture a semi-happy baby before she freaked out.

I love LoVe LOVE ruffles on her bum

Do you hear that?  It's the calm before the storm...

Amazing...

Hallo-Eve

Our little munchkin was covered in sparkly glitter, so I thought a shower would be the quick & easy way to remove it.  Sloane was completely calm, cool and collected (although her eyes betrayed her inner angst).

She thought it was time to eat

Not sure if I like this...

Am I almost done?

Bubbles at Bath Time

I am sure I sound quite pervy, but I love bath time with Sloane!  It is the only time I get to see her cute buns-a-buns-a!  She is extremely cautious with regards to kicking the water and it takes her a bit to get splashing.  Videotaping the event won't happen (as I need to focus on her), so you will just have to see how freaking cute she is hanging in a dry tub.

Sloane requires a full belly for bath time.

Aren't I ADORABLE?!

I love the way Sloane looks at her daddy

Million Dollar Baby

Tummy time

Quite a challenge it is, to have your baby on her tummy, trying to get her to lift her head.  I just want to scoop her up and comfort her, but alas, it is a mothers prerogative to get their kiddo strong.  We have a small home with lots of tile, so there is not a lot of floor space apt for this task.  Apparently Carrera, our Golden Doodle, didn't get the memo this quality bonding time was for the baby, not quite a family affair.

Clever Aunt Cold

My family and friends are my drugs...  How intoxicating my sisters and nieces are, how tipsy my friends are...the euphoria I feel spending time with them.

To show the aunts how much we adore them, I sent an email declaring our love for them whether family or friends (along with this adorable picture).

Gotta love the responses from various aunties:

"This is the best card ever" - Aunt Deb
"What a precious picture" - Aunt Janet
"Beautiful baby" - Aunt Yvonne
"And we are all blessed to be your aunt" - Aunt Suz
"I found a typo" - Aunt Cold

Like I said, love my family...

I try...

My goal is to post once a week, so in other words, the site might be neglected for a while, then overwhelmed with posts.  What can I say?!  My brain is no longer functioning normally...

Sloane had her first professional photo session a few weeks ago.  Annie Sullivan, the sister-in-love of one of my dearies, Michelle, is an amazing photographer and secretly, the "Baby Whisperer".  I can praise her work, but instead, take a look for yourself.

Fall Break

Where did the time go?  Weren't we just in the throes of summer and now it is October?  Step outside and you'll quickly discover the summertime weather is still torturing us Arizonans...  What the heck, Mother Nature???  Your menopause is starting to really bear down on us.

I was dying to get outta town, so I jumped at the chance to go to my folks house in Colorado.  We packed up the mini van (yep, I now drive a Honda Odyssey), loaded up the baby and doodle, kidnapped Jocelyn (my 13-year old niece), and hit the highway.  We were VERY LUCKY in that Sloane slept for most of the trip.  Hallelujah!!!


Jocelyn babysat Sloane while Daddy and I went to the Gala (the town's "formal" event, leading up to the Apple Festival the next two days).  Then Aunt Lala, Brycie (my 10-year old niece) and Jocelyn's friend drove up on Saturday, so we could all attend Apple Fest on Sunday.  What fun!  We picked up a customized street sign for the baby - we figure it might not be often that our kiddo can find her name on something.

Over our week long stay, we played a lot of dress up with the girls, ate oodles of good food, and enjoyed the cooler weather.  Here are a few photos from the trip:

Aunt Lala offers a very cozy shoulder to sleep on...

Sloane's first time on the Grand Mesa - it was raining, so this is the closest we came to the outdoors.

Mommy's tribute to Olivia Newton John "Let's Get Physical"

If you look very close, Sloane has snow on her head from a random blizzard in Telluride.

Daddy dressed her.