Meet them at the door laughing...

These pictures capture the essence of life in the Tait household right now.

Actually, with regards to the pictures below, it's the imperfections that say it all. One thing I have learned is to embrace the imperfections, and "meet them at the door laughing." (Google the poet Rumi if you have some time...).


Our first real picture as a family, right after church on Easter. Can David keep his eyes open for even one shot? Nope. He sure was trying, though! Oh well...lol
The progression of these next three pictures is just hilarious...watch Ella, and the corresponding look of "Oops...did I do that?" on Ava's face.

She's trying to be like mommy. Minus the whole "clothes" thing...

Granted, David has to work a lot these days. But Ava has already learned...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And finally, it may not be perfect, but that is one legendary head of hair! Cowlicks and all... :)

Who needs perfection, when the flaws are so much more fun?

Opposites Attract

At this point, Ava and Ella are alike in only two ways:

A. They share the same gene pool
B. They are both stinkin' CUTE

And - for now anyways - that's where the similarities end. Period.

Difference #1: HAIR

You've seen the pics. Enough said.

Difference #2: SIZE

I took Ella in for her one month well check today (I can't believe it's been a month already?!), and she is a certified CHUB! :) LOL

She is NINE pounds, TWELVE ounces (and yes, that completely warrants the numbers being formally spelled out). Let me reiterate, she is nearly TEN pounds. To put this in perspective, Ava did not reach the ten pound mark until she was nearly 4 months old. While Ava has never known the luxury of life outside the 10th percentile (for weight, anyway), Ella weighed in at the 85th percentile today! You go, girl!! I love nuzzling with my chunk-a-monk!! She is quite a healthy little girl, and never misses a meal! lol

Difference #3: SKIN TONE

Ava= Fair
Ella= Practically Native American

I have a feeling that Ella will never have a problem with getting (and keeping) a tan. I'm already jealous. She's got some major olive tones going on. However, sometimes I wonder if there is a family currently living on the reservation that is questioning why they left Chandler Regional hospital with a fair-skinned, blonde baby girl?

Even if that was the case, I'd be hard pressed to trade little Ella for anything in the world. She is just so sweet and easy to love. Ava continues to be a stellar big sister. She loves to kiss and sing to the baby.

We'll see how all the differences and similarities pan out over time. For now, I get to have the best of both ends of the spectrum...and I'm lovin' every minute of it!

HOLY CRAP...I'm going to have nightmares about this for a very long time...

So, I'm thinking to myself:

A. This woman obviously needs to clean her apartment (excuse me, her FLAT)
B. This is the creepiest news story I have ever, ever, ever heard.

Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck...yuck.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2008/03/20/bayles.uk.rat.tiolet.itn

My feet are permanently curled up on my chair now. Thanks, CNN.

Did I say, YUCK?!?!!?!?!??!?!?!?! Oooh, I have the creepy crawlies. (Shiver...)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A St. Paddy's Day wish from our little leprechauns...have a great day!!!

Ava's Favorite Sunglasses

So, Dave found these glasses on the pool deck after a swim meet a while ago. Gross, I know. But we cleaned them up and kind of forgot about them....until recently.

Ava has decided that wherever we go, whatever we do...the sunglasses must be on. What a diva. :) Take yesterday, for example:

Breakfast...


Tempe Town Lake...


The glasses are still on...




Finally, this pic is a little older (notice the cast), but just too hilarious not to share. (BTW, that is my stuffed dog from when I was little!).

Tagged Again, and it's a LONG One....

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7 am

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. Last movie you saw in the theater? Some cartoon movie with Jenava and our girls...that was almost 2 months ago!

4. What is your favorite TV show? "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance"

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Eggs, toast, yogurt, O.J. (Most important meal of the day!) :)

6. What is your middle name? Sue

7. What food do you dislike? Rice pudding, pickles, radishes

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Ummm..I don't know. But I really like that "Love Song" single that's on the radio a lot right now.

9. What kind of car do you drive? 2008 Toyota Highlander...my first new car ever!

10. Favorite sandwich? Dilly's Dilly from Dilly's Deli

11. What characteristics do you despise? Self-righteousness and insincerity

12. Favorite item of clothing? Citizens Jeans

13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? China or Italy

14. What color is your bathroom? White

15. Favorite brand of clothing? Banana Republic and J. Crew

16. Where would you retire? Montana...somewhere with lots of trees by a lake near Yellowstone

17. Most memorable birthday? Ooh, I had lots of fun birthday parties growing up. I had a 50's party, a Luau, and for my 10th birthday I got to ride around town in a limo. Fun times!

18. Favorite sport to watch? Football

23. When is your birthday? November 17th

24. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning person, for sure

25. What is your shoe size? 8

26. Pets? 1 Dog- Yellow Lab

27. What did you want to be when you were little? A journalist

28. What are you today? A mommy

29. What is your favorite candy? I have eaten 2 boxes of girl scout cookies (Samoas) in the past 2 days. Does that tell you anything?

30. Your favorite flower? Pink roses and irises

31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Easter. I love Easter!

32. What are you listening to right now? Ella snoring

33. What was the last thing you ate? Chick Fil-A after Ava's swim lesson

34. Do you wish on stars? Nope

35. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Violet

36. What is your pet peeve? Long, dirty fingernails

37. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My father-in-law

38. Do you like the person/people you are sending this to? Of course

39. Favorite soft drink? I don't like soft drinks, really. But I LOVE strawberry lemonade.

40. Favorite restaurant? Kona Grill

41. Hair Color? Currently blonde

42. Favorite day of the year? Mothers Day and Thanksgiving

43. What was your favorite toy as a child? Popples, My Little Ponies, and Rainbow Brite

44. Summer or winter? Winter...more holidays..not quite as hot

45. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

46. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla

47. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Sure

48. When was the last time you cried? Last night. I attempted to fly solo and give baths to both the girls before David got home from work...it was a fiasco.

49. What is under your bed? Carpet

51. What did you do last night? Made dinner, Gave Ava and Ella a bath, had a minor meltdown (see #48), Watched American Idol with David, Bed...such an exciting life (Jenn...do you see the similarities here??? lol)

52. Favorite smell? Clean skin after a shower

53. What are you afraid of? Someone kidnapping my kids

54. How many keys on your key ring? 2 - car and house

55. How many years at your current job? 2- as a mother

56. Favorite day of the week? Sunday

57. How many states have you lived in? Utah, Wyoming, California, Arizona

58. Do you make friends easily? Yes

59. How many folks will you send this to? This was a long one...whoever is up for the challenge!

What's New...

So, I've decided to add a new little sidebar entitled, "What Kim Accomplished Today." Originally, this was meant to be a joke...as I thought of this on a particular day that I had managed to shower before noon. This was a big achievement! :) Then, I realized that - if for no other reason than my own sanity - I needed to document the little things that I had done so my days don't all feel like a complete waste. Granted, I will probably only blog about the days that I really have accomplished something, so don't go thinking that I am some Superwoman or something. I just need proof once in a while that I have done something besides, well...nurse the baby. You know how it goes....

Tagged!

My friend Jenn tagged me a while ago, and I am just now getting around to it. Here it goes!

5 Things I did today:
1. I got my hair done! YAY
2. Took my sister to lunch at Costa Vida...YUM
3. Started reading the new book that I bought on Wednesday, "Their Eyes Were Watching God".
4. Watched a re-run of 90210....It's been a LONG time since I've seen an episode, and it was so nostalgic for me!
5. Nursed Ella, and then had a Dance Party in the living room with Ava. We dance a lot around here.

5 Things I need to do:
1. Finish Ava's baby book. I want to have it done by her 2nd birthday in April.
2. Buy more PJ's for Ava. She is growing so fast!
3. Write Thank-You notes for all the gifts we've received since Ella was born.
4. Go grocery shopping...or should I say, make a list for David.
5. Take Kona to the groomer.

5 Things I'll do when I strike it rich:
1. Move into a much bigger house. I've been watching "House Hunters" on HGTV way too much since the baby was born, and I'm feeling trunky.
2. Buy lots of interesting art.
3. Buy a baby grand piano.
4. Go on a vacation somewhere exotic.
5. Re-vamp my wardrobe. It needs some help right now...

5 Places I've lived:
1. Redondo Beach, CA
2. Tempe, AZ
3. Mesa, AZ
4. Chandler, AZ
5. Oh, and I was born in Salt Lake City. Does that count?

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Graduating from high school.
2. Getting ready to come to ASU.
3. Dating a marine. Wow that seems like a lifetime ago....
4. Dancing with my dance team.
5. Preparing for a cheerleading trip to London.

5 of my bad qualities/habits:
1. I am compulsively tidy. I am always cleaning up. I can't stop, and sometimes I wish I could just relax and let things slide.
2. I get frustrated with my dog a lot. I need to stop though, because Ava has started to yell, "KONA! NO!" all the time. I feel so bad when I hear Ava say that...
3. I brush my teeth too hard. My dentist gets mad at me and says that, while I don't have any plaque, I am basically destroying my gumline.
4. I rarely answer the phone. If I am busy doing something else, I usually just let the machine get it. Then I forget to return calls sometimes.
5. I sleep with my contacts in. For like, weeks at a time.

5 Things that people probably don't know about me:
1. I couldn't keep a plant alive if my own life depended on it.
2. If I wear flip-flops during the day, I can't get in bed without washing my feet.
3. I had my belly button pierced in high school. Twice. The hole looks pretty funny now, after two babies. It's kind of like a little horizontal line.
4. I never did a single load of laundry until my freshman year in college at the dorms. That is kind of a funny story in and of itself. Let's just say, I had no white shirts after that. Only pink.
5. I am very attentive to people's hands. If David had ugly hands, we probably wouldn't be married right now.

I tag anyone who wants to do this!

Did I Forget to Mention...?

It has been brought to my attention that I have left out pictures of Ella's most prominent feature... her HAIR! Never fear! I have have devoted an entire post to pictures of Ella's 'do. Check it out! She has a full head of dark hair, and (for now, anyways) those pretty blue eyes. What a combo! :)
Apparently, the Tait girls come in two distinct flavors, Vanilla and Chocolate :) (...and it seems that Ava has recently morphed into a GIANT compared with Ella).
A few of Ella's cousins came over to visit...

Ava Babes and Elle-Belle, getting in some serious snuggle-time with Mommy (Note how Ella's hair seems strikingly similar to Mommy's roots...???) lol