Catch Up

At the beginning of this month, we had a visit from some of our very favorite people in the whole wide world. It was fun, and crazy, and fun. I'm not sure why I didn't take very many pictures. Might've been because we spent a lot of time indoors and I don't feel confident about the photos I take without natural light, so I didn't even bother. These are Nicole's beautiful captures:


























We got to celebrate Brooke's birthday with NicoBob & Co. Brace yourself; this photo doesn't feature a delicious and lovely birthday cake.
Brooke doesn't particularly like cake (or any manner of sweets, really) so he requested his favorite cookies. They are known affectionately in my family as "Gorilla Turds." Nicole's family calls them "Poo Burgers." I like how both names are sort of the opposite of euphemisms. Which moniker is less appetizing?
And lastly, a photo of everyone squinting into the sun. Thanks for the memories, guys! Come again SOON!
(Oh, and if that wasn't enough Shiffler family excitement for you, you can check out Nicole's posts about the trip: 1, 2, and 3.)

Bald Head Island, Ft. Fisher, Kure Beach

Last weekend, we went down to the shore. Instead of babbling about the good times we had, I'm just going to post a bunch of photos. Enjoy!

Frosting Sandwich!

Endless January got you down? Here's my prescription: One (or four) Frosting Sandwich(es) ! So easy! So sugary! So delicious! So bad for you!
Yep, it's just what it looks like. Take a graham cracker, break it in half. Spread frosting (leftover from some much more exciting baked good) on one half, cover it with the other half. Enjoy blissfully.

At least, enjoy it for a few minutes until the crushing guilt sets in. :((((((((( I seem to suffer from an unending cycle of guilts: Eater's Remorse, Buyer's Remorse, Imperfectionist's Remorse, repeat. And I've decided to take action and break the Eater's Remorse, even if it means leaning a little more heavily on the Buyer's Remorse. (We'll worry about that last one some other time.) Here's what I mean:

If I don't publicly state a goal, it gets conveniently forgotten. So this is going to count as my public forum. And it's not a goal so much as a bribe. If I lose 5 to 10 pounds by the end of March, I will get to buy a new dress to wear to Brooke's cousin's wedding in Baltimore. 5 lbs.=$50 for said dress. 10 lbs.=$100. It's significant that it will be a dress; I will have weaned Jude (FINALLY, HOORAY) and so I will actually get to wear non-breastfeeding-friendly clothing for the first time in a year. Here are some of the lovelies I'm thinking about, all of them from modcloth:


<----The Deuce Coupe Darling Dress.
Too hausfrau-ish for a wedding?

The About the Artist Dress.------>
Too funeral-ish for a wedding?

The Soda Fountain Dress in Grape! Just right! If only my size weren't sold out. Boohoo.

I'm definitely still in the market. Have you seen any desirable dresses lately? What do you think of these ones? This will be the first (FIRST) non-Mormon wedding I've ever been to, and I'm not totally sure about the dress code. Am I way off?

Household Happenings

It's cold here. We've been spending lots of time at home and, after the excitement of The Holidays, that's ok by me. One of Isobel's new favorite hobbies is removing the cushions from the couch. It's an incredibly effective method of instantly making our house look disheveled!



A couple of days ago we made cupcakes (From a box. Well, the frosting wasn't from a box. It was from a canister.) and Isobel went hog-wild with the sprinkles. She had been asking to make cupcakes for a while, but I think really she just wanted to wear her pretty new apron and cover something yummy with sprinkles. The little jar of sprinkles lasted for about three cupcakes and those were her cupcakes. I'm happier eating plain old cream cheese frosting anyway, but there's no denying that her sprinkliest one is the definitely the prettiest.



Today our big activity will be the library downtown, and these kids are dressed for something much fancier and more tropical. I just can't resist putting them in their adorable matching retro Aloha-wear made by Aunt Nicole.
I have a cute anecdote to share! Back in December we checked out Pocahontas from the library and watched it for a "Special Movie Night" (Special Movie Nights, complete with "salty popcorn," are one of the most exciting things that ever happen in Isobel's little world). She liked the movie ok, and I had fun watching it; it had probably been 15 years since I'd last seen Pocahontas.
The next day Isobel walked around the house beating on things and singing "SAVAGES, SAVAGES, BARELY EVEN HUMAN!" The song that stuck with Isobel most from the movie was Savages. Not one of the pretty songs about love and nature, oh no. She loves the one about war and hatred. *facepalm*
Then, when we were in Colorado, my Mom heard her singing "Cabbages, Cabbages, barely even human!" And then, when we were picking Brooke up at the airport in Raleigh and meeting him at the Baggage Claim, it became "Baggages, baggages, barely even human!" Haha! She is some kind of creative genius.

And, the moment you've all been waiting for. A video of Jude:

С Новым Годом!

Our camera was among the approximately 1,000 important things I failed to pack for our trip to Colorado. So these babies were taken with my mom's little coolpix, which is kind of a fun little camera even if the quality isn't quite what I'm used to. Oh well, any photographic evidence is better than none? Here is Isobel enjoying sledding for the very first time!

And here are the chil'ren in all their Christmas Eve finery!

And here's my adorablest, newest little niece, Amélie!

Other highlights included me running a 5K in single-digit weather on New Year's Day, and Brooke and Spencer rocking out.

And lastly, never fear! I bring good tidings of Jude being cute and angry!

Farewell to Fall and Happy Hanukkah!

Don't let that photo fool you; I took it a couple of weeks ago, before it suddenly got COLD here in North Carolina. Jude has gotten pretty good at smiling for the camera. Isobel... not so much.
We went to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving, where my talented and energetic sister-in-law, Nicole, made pilgrimwear for the children. Check out her post about it here. There's a really fantastic photo of Jude. And don't be fooled by the way she (generously) acts like I helped with the project. I watched. And I probably asked Isobel to hold still for the photos. So I guess that counts as helping.
I didn't have to ask Johanna and Caroline to hold still because they are wonderful models! Aren't those bonnets cute?























Here's a fun game: compare the babies. While we were in Carlisle, I tried to recreate a photo taken by a FAR superior photographer, Mike Dirle, when Isobel was about 10 months old. Jude is 9 months. Do they look alike?























Last week Isobel brought home a menorah that she painted at school. So I bought some candles, and we've been lighting it every night. I've really enjoyed learning about Hanukkah through Isobel. It is such a beautiful, joyful holiday. Here's Isobel with the menorah. We had only one candle lit (plus the shamash) since it was the first night.
And behold! Jude is moving around on his own, slowly. I took this video a few days ago, and he's actually gotten a bit faster since then. He's such a little sugarpie.

Mixin' it up.

Why can't every day be dress-up-as-Catholic-clergy day?

Jude loves him his monster hat and raises his fist in 'Baby Power!" That's what he wore to church on Halloween. Yep, we like to mix it up. Sock monkey makes no apologies.
Isobel wore her lion costume, which you can check out here if you missed it. She was too busy running around in a sugar-induced frenzy to have her picture taken on Halloween, so here's a photo of her at the fantastic Children's Museum in Raleigh.