Baby be smilin'

Margaret and I have been home from our vacation for two days now. I am so tired I am not sure there will be enough hours in the next week for all naps I want to take. This was my first vacation with the travel girl and I am shocked at how draining ten pounds of cute can be when one is far from home. Handsome Riley is happy to have his girls back. Sometimes I catch him grinning at me like it's Christmas. Maybe I should leave more often.

Of ships and sea lions

Today we took Margaret to Newport. She loved the boats and swore she would sail away on one someday to seek her fortune.

I love this picture...no witty comment needed.

We went to a sea lion cave where I offered Zuzu up to the sea lion gods. They wouldn't take her...ouch.

Snapshots of a snappy day

Zuzu loves cheese. And large yellow signs. This was a highlight of the day.

We stopped at a roadside stand and ate fresh fish. The fish got angry and ate fresh Zuzu.

Oysters are an aphrodisiac and the magpie is drunk on love and lemon.

My baby be clean.

Zuzu and I are in Oregon visiting all the lovely family we have up here. Sadly, Handsome Riley had to stay home for finals. Let's just say BYU finals week and I are not talking right now. Want to know the most exciting thing you missed today, baby? Here is a little recap....

Bath Time...

Also known as "Margaret's coochie gets so cold she wets all over Mommy"

We miss you and we are clean...so Lose/Win.

Hunger is the best sauce...

I miss bread. Efforts to lose the baby weight have become increasingly desperate. As of Saturday I started a detox diet (DOCTOR RECOMMENDED!) that restricts my eating to lean meats, fish, veggies and water for the next two weeks. After that I get to add fruit and juice...Glory be. Riley is detoxing with me in the sweetest little show of support that I ever did see. While I was pregnant I had nightly dreams that involved Scarlett Johanssen and not much else (pregnancy produces homoerotic tendencies in 46% of women...or something). Now my dreams feature me and baguettes in tantalizing situations. I think Riley may be missing the pregnancy. Me? I am just missing bread.

Owsie Bug says Boo

Dressing children as stuffed animals is only one step away from beauty pageants, and yet...

The Troll Princess and I

Margaret was six weeks old as of 12:10 pm, which is odd as it seems like she has been here forever. I cannot remember me without her. Motherhood is a consuming business. I have begun taking Zuzu with me on all of my little adventures. I have to say it is as if in order to combat loneliness I decided to purchase a companion troll with limited abilities. 'Oh hello kind Nordstrom associate, wondering where that grunting and odd smell is coming from? It is just one of many social graces my little troll baby has mastered. Just wait to see what she can do when presented with the challenge of an upset stomach.' I have to think the resulting mess is an evolutionary defense mechanism meant to keep tresspassers from crossing the bridge I am sure she will get back to guarding any day now. Riley wasn't in love with the troll description at first, but he warmed up to it once I assured him she was the prettiest troll to ever live, a troll princess in fact! I am not looking forward to her growing out of the troll stage. I love that she fits in my arms, and her burps and grunts sound magical to my motherly ears. I am in love with my troll baby and if that makes me a troll mama, so be it. I am sure there is a bridge out there big enough for us to guard together.

Baby comes home

One time I had a baby and disappeared for three weeks. It is nice to be back. Our little journey friend is beautiful and fat faced. She cries when she is hungry and has tried to sit up since she was one week old. I think I had a girl that knows what she wants. Poor daddy doesn't know what hit him. There are already promises of ponies and Prada. I think he is learning the true meaning of devotion. Our traveler was born into so much love. The grandparents swoon, aunts and uncles coo, and daddy smiles even after a hard day. Little sis Lindsay sent me the best of Beyonce and K.D. Lang as a means of curing the baby blues. I haven't been smiling as much as the handsome husband. Today travel girl and I danced to Canadian folk music and diva perfection. Medication in movement and music. We spun around the kitchen and I couldn't think of anything else in the world I could ask for, not even ponies and Prada.