Family Portraits

Hello again, my dear readers.  Once again, you've all shown extreme patience with me as I've left you hanging for far too long.  Thank you for being so understanding.

Not much has been happening around here for us.  Beast'sbelle has been extremely busy, so we've been left to our own devices.  Honestly, I prefer things that way.  The 18 inchers tend to get a bit melancholy when Beast'sbelle neglects them, but the way I see it, the less she's around, the less she'll meddle.  

I suppose that's not all that fair of me...Robby would be giving me that disapproving look of his right now. :} Beast'sbelle and I did sit and chat briefly a while ago.  I still feel like I didn't quite get everything off my chest, but we were able to get some things out in the open.  She told me that she honestly just needed babysitters for Emilie and had no intention of trying to get us to "fall in love" with her, as it were.  Of course, she didn't think about that fact that we might get too attached to her, and she still feels bad about that.  I'm trying to be understanding.  I just hope she'll learn from this incident and stay out of things a little more in the future.

Of course, I really shouldn't be complaining, today of all days.  Beast'sbelle finally got around to those family portraits she wanted to take of us, and she spent a good amount of time posing and photographing us and then playing around with her online photo editing program to make the pictures look even better.  We're all very pleased with the results...I couldn't wait to share them with all of you. :)

Here's our family of three...just perfect! :)

My first professional mother/daughter picture! :)

Emilie and Robby.  I love the way she's snuggled up next to him in this picture. :)

I think this one is my favorite of the three of us.  If I still had a room, I'd get a copy to hang on the wall. ;)

I thought this one was cute too. :)

Emilie got tired of pictures pretty quickly, so Beast'sbelle decided it would be fun to get a few nice pictures of Robby and me together.  Then she really went to town with the editing on some of them!  Here are some of our favorites:

 

The pictures were a lot of fun (who doesn't love an excuse to snuggle with their adorable hubby?), but at the same time, it was rather nice when they were all over.  My smile was starting to freeze in place.  Robby's hip and knee were starting to bug him from all of the standing, too.  And I can't tell you what a relief it was to change from our stuffy, formal clothes into something more comfortable!

After pictures, Beast'sbelle offered to do my hair for me.  She'd noticed how ratty and wild it was getting during the photo shoot. :(  I was grateful for the opportunity to have my hair more contained again, but I really detest having Beast'sbelle do my hair.  

Normally Robby or Rapunzel help me out, but every once in a while Beast'sbelle gets a bee in her bonnet and decides to do my hair for me.  It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the way she wedges me between her knees so she can have both hands free.  And let me tell you, the lady's not all that great at being gentle with hair care (just ask her 3 daughters!).  Still, I have to admit, I was thrilled with the way my hair turned out:   

I felt like Rapunzel or something (the movie character, not my best friend). ;)

The only downside was that it showed my missing hair plugs. :(  I'm really trying to get past the whole vanity thing, but it's not working very well. ;)

My favorite part of the day was settling down next to Beast'sbelle's bookshelf with Robby and Emilie, surrounded by peace and quiet.  

That's all for now...pictures took FOREVER and I'm pretty wiped out.  I hope you all enjoy the photo shoot!  I'll have more for you soon.  Until next time! :)

P.S.  I made a new header with a few of the new pictures, so as always, I'm adding a copy of my old header in this post. :)

A Few Updates

Goodness, I've really got to be better at keeping up with this blog!  I'm sorry it's been a while.  I really want to get back to my original plan of posting once a week, even if I don't have anything exciting to say. :}

I don't have much to share today.  We've been laying pretty low since Beast'sbelle's girls have all been home sick this week.  Sigh.  It's always a long haul through three sets of colds!  We're usually confined to Beast'sbelle's room, listening to loud, incessant coughing and trying to ignore the strong smell of Vics that permeates the house.

I did want to let everyone know that Rapunzel has fully recovered from her surgery.  A couple of weeks of rest and gentle exercise, and she's as good as new.  Actually, to be honest, she's better than new.  All that extra poseability has given her much more energy.

 I know it doesn't really make sense...maybe knowing how poseable she is now makes her eager to try every single pose she can think of! ;)  Anyhow, she's enjoying her new body and having fun teasing her husband about her awesome new bendable knees (Eugene is always complaining about his stiff Disney Store knees that limit his activity). ;)

In other news, we've changed locations again.  Beast'sbelle has been in another one of her rearranging moods (surprise, surprise) and has decided to move us down to the dresser in front of the bookshelves.  This suits all of us better than the top of the shelves.  I'm especially relieved that Robby can get around much easier now. It's embarrassing for him to have to ask for too much help.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, we haven't changed out of our Valentine's Day attire because Beast'sbelle keeps talking about getting some nice family pics of the three of us.  I hope she gets to it soon.  I'd really like to change into something more comfortable that doesn't leave my shoulders bare. :}

I guess that's about all for now.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  More to come! :)

My Valentine's Day

I don't have much time to post this evening, because Beast'sbelle is trying to wrap up a few things in time for her big trip tomorrow, but I had to share a few fun things about my day yesterday, especially since I hinted that Robby seemed to have something special planned. ;)

Our day started with a wonderful ramble outdoors.  Robby, Emilie and I all wandered around the front yard, enjoying every blade of grass and soaking up the sunshine.  We've had a lot of cold, rainy weather here lately, so having the chance to go outside was lovely.

You might notice that I was wearing jeans for the very first time!  Beast'sbelle picked them up at that Goodwill store she's always raving about so I could have the option to dress a little more casually every once in a while.  It was really weird wearing pants when I'm so used to dresses, but they sure were comfortable!  And I wish Beast'sbelle had found them before our honeymoon trip last summer...they would have come in handy on the beach. ;)

Robby and I spent most of our time sitting and resting beside our "wedding tree". ;)  Emilie had a great time running through the grass, playing hide and seek with herself, and making up stories.  It was so fun to see her playing.  This was her first trip outside since our snow day earlier this winter.  To her, the yard was a never-ending playground, full of adventure and excitement.

After a while, she tired of her games and brought me a bouquet of violets that she'd picked.

Then she was in a snuggly mood, but not for long.  It wasn't long before she was off on another exploration of the yard.

Robby and I sat happily together, soaking up the warm sunshine and enjoying a companionable silence.

But soon I couldn't sit any longer.  Emilie and I convinced Robby to take a walk with us.

We wandered through the grass with Emilie as our miniature guide, seeing the front yard through her eyes. :)

When Robby's knee and hip tired out, we all lay down on the grass and watched the clouds.  It was one of those days where I felt perfectly content with the world.

Later that evening, Robby told me I was to dress up and meet him out at the computer desk at 6 PM and then wandered off mysteriously.  I left Emilie with Tess since Rapunzel was still recovering from her recent surgery.  (By the way, for those of you who are wondering, she's doing really well, and Ben is very encouraged by her progress.  She's just not ready to be a babysitter yet.) ;)

I knew Emilie would be in good hands.  Tess made her feel right at home and offered to read her a few chapters from "Pride and Prejudice", her very favorite book. 

At 6 exactly, I headed out to the computer desk in the living room, wearing my white dress from Robby.  I was in for quite a surprise.  My handsome hubby had decorated the computer desk with flowers, a blanket, and a candle.  It was obvious he had quite the evening planned!

As soon as I reached the desk, I realized he was wearing a tuxedo!  He looked so incredibly handsome. 

He held a bouquet of red silk roses that I instantly recognized.  They were the same roses I'd used for my wedding bouquet last summer.

I also noticed a few goodies at his feet, but I decided not to focus on them until he was ready to give them to me. :)

The vase of huge camellias took my breath away.  Beast'sbelle told me later that they were her Valentine's Day gift from Belle'sbeast (her husband), but she loaned them to Robby for the evening. 

I think what amazed me the most was the huge jar candle burning on the other end of the desk.  Beast'sbelle has often made it clear how paranoid she is about candles around her dolls.  Somehow, Robby must have convinced her otherwise.  The cinnamon-apple scent added just the perfect touch.

I climbed up to where my husband stood, and he gently took me in his arms.  "Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart," he told me tenderly.

And of course, I had to kiss him after that. ;)  How could I possibly resist?

He told me to make myself comfortable, so I sat on the blanket and kicked off my shoes, which were already pinching something terrible. 

Robby reached down and picked up the huge Russel Stover heart and handed it to me.

It was massive!  I loved the beautiful pink roses on the front.

When I opened it, though, I was in for a shock.

All of the chocolate had melted.  It was a sticky mess.

Robby was mortified.  Beast'sbelle had picked it up for him that day and must have left it in the car while she was running errands.

I assured him that it would taste delicious, melted or not.

He was relieved that at least the heart-shaped cookie Beast'sbelle had shared with him was still unharmed. 

I invited my sweet hubby to join me for a chocolately feast.  It was definitely delicious...

...but VERY messy! 

When the chocolate was gone, we worked on the cookie.  It was pretty amazing, too!

When we'd finished, we used the wipe that Beast'sbelle had so graciously provided ahead of time.  

And then Robby shared what the blanket and pillow were for.  He'd borrowed "North and South" from Beast'sbelle, knowing it was one of my favorite period dramas.  It's not his favorite drama, but he tolerates it. ;)

We snuggled up next to each other and enjoyed the movie together until the wee hours of the morning, taking breaks to talk together and whisper sweet nothings. ;)  

I had desperately hoped that I would work up the nerve to sing to Robby for Valentine's Day, but I'm ashamed to say that my courage failed me.  He was very gracious about it, though.  He never said a word and seemed happy just to be with me on this special day.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day too.  Did any of you do anything special with your "significant other" or family?

P.S.  I'm sorry this post had a lot less dialogue and a lot more narrative than my posts normally do.  Of course, there was much more detail to this story than I shared, but quite frankly, I'm in a hurry to let Beast'sbelle get back to the computer.  I figured a simple version of my day would be better than not sharing anything at all. ;)  I assure you that we had a wonderful time together (in spite of the melted chocolate...poor Robby!), and I'm more in love with my husband than ever! :D