Baby Jesus

We were discussing who was on the Ensign cover for December when we caught this little gem. Her speech is getting clearer and clearer, although it might not be obvious to those who don't see her regularly. :)

We have 4 nativities set out around the house and several pictures of the nativity scene. Esther loves to find baby Jesus in each and sometimes she can point out Mary and Joseph too. :) She is so adorable! We love our little angel girl!

Chop Chop

So I found out that a friend of mine does hair (Danielle L. for any Milwaukee folks who want to know). So this week I went over after she got off work and Esther was in bed and I got my hair cut and colored. Here's the before:
Here's during... Yup that's a lot of hair gone... :)

Here's the after! I LOVE IT! Can't you tell?!
The above picture was taken when I got home that night with the flash, so yesterday I decided to get some better pictures in some better (natural) lighting. I styled it a little more conservatively.

Esther's expression in this next one makes me smile!

I LOVE my new haircut and although you can't see it great in the pics, it's colored too. When I step out into the sunshine it looks really red, which is fun! :) I just wanted to document this great cut so in a year from now, when I've tried a few other hairstyles, I can come back to this one. :)

I Am the Luckiest

The other day I came home from a church meeting to find Mike grinning like he was up to something. We had a quick conversation and he asked if he could finish something up before we headed to bed (I go to bed real early these days). I said sure and then went to put my stuff away and get ready for bed. Then he comes in and says "Come with me, I have something I want to show you." He then takes me to the kitchen where he has cleaned everything! The sink full of dishes, dirty counter and stove; everything was cleaned. Then he turns the lights down and turns on some music that he had cued and asks "May I have this dance?" And we danced. :) Then we finished getting ready for bed and went to sleep. Nothing big, but I really appreciated it.
I love to dance and it's a de-stresser for me. I especially love to dance with my sweetheart. I am so grateful to be married to Mike and even more grateful to be completely head over heels for him. :) He does so many little things every day to let me know he loves me, in addition to telling me he loves me all the time. I try to tell and show Mike how much I love him all the time, but I don't think I let other people know how much I love him. Sometimes it's easy to get on his case about silly little things, but really, when I take the time to think about what matters, he's doing everything right. :)
Here's the video for one of our songs, it's called "The Luckiest". I sure am the luckiest to have Mike. :)

Getting the itch...

I can't explain why, but around this time of year (when the weather turns cold) I want to cut my hair. It's likely related to the fact that I have S.A.D. and want to make myself feel better with a new look. Anyways.
When I was pregnant with Esther I tried giving myself a haircut, and it did not go well. After a trip to the salon I ended up with a pixie cut. I loved it, but I think I would have loved it more in the summer, when I'm more likely to do my hair.
Last year at this time of year, I decided to grow my hair out and promised Mike I wouldn't cut my hair until the weather turned warmer. I made it until March and chopped it into a bob. I didn't like my hair long and although I liked my bob for a little while, I've had an angled bob for most of the time I've known Mike and I just want something different.
So here we are again with me wanting to cut my hair as the weather turns colder.
Here's a picture of what I look like now. My hair is too long and I find I pull it back almost every day rather than taking a few minutes to do it mostly because I don't love what it looks like even when I do style it, so why make the effort?
I would love to go back to a pixie, but my sister wisely advised me to wait until I'm no longer Pillsbury dough girl because of being pregnant. So here's a couple pictures of the hairstyles I'm considering. I think I look better with longish side swept bangs, but I just want to go shorter...and I want to add color to my hair. It used to get a lovely reddish brown in the summer but now it's mostly an ashy almost black brown.
This first picture is what color I'm thinking of going to. Nothing too drastic, but I want to warm up my hair and I think this color would work well for me.
This next picture is what I think I'll end up going with. I think. I've contemplated this hairstyle before but never actually done it...What do you think?
I think this next picture is basically the same as the above, but styled a little different and perhaps with a little shorter back and nape. But the hairstyle could be done a little sassy (like in above shot) or a little more sophisticated like here.
So what do ya'll think I should do? Go for it or get my current cut updated and wait until after my baby swelling goes down before doing something this short? I really keep flopping back and forth. Something needs to be done though.
Or I'm open for other suggestions too. You can include a link to a picture if you think I'd look good with a certain cut. Just remember to take a look of my picture above. I've got some chub and am no where near as thin in the face as most hair models and celebs.
Oh and anyone have suggestions for Milwaukee stylist? Mine is due to have a baby in two and a half weeks, so I don't think she's up for doing hair at this point. :)
Anyways, please comment! I'd love to hear from you!