Chunky Monkey

Check out those baby rolls! Yowza! I had to take Jack to the hospital with me awhile back because my Medela pump wasn't working correctly, and the nurse wanted to take a picture of him and make him the "poster child for nursing". LOL! She just couldn't get over how big he was (and at that time, was on breastmilk exclusively). She was calling other nurses in to look at him... it was hilarious.

I took this the other day in the middle of a clothes change. He spit up, and I had to run upstairs to get him a new outfit so I tossed him in the saucer. I had to take a picture, because it looked like he was totally nekkid! Someday, this picture will help me blackmail him into doing something for me, right? ;o) hee hee.

And yes, my toddler mommy friends, that is a box of Cruisers you see in the background. I still don't see how they are all that much better than Huggies, but diaper for diaper they are cheaper as our Target does not carry Huggies in the big boxes like they do Pampers. I'm all about a bargain.

And while I'm thinking of my toddler mom friends... Linda, these are for you ;o) :

Dear Santa

We bought Henry a bunch of Thomas the Tank Engine stuff for Christmas last year. Lots of tracks, trains, accessories, etc. He was only 18 mos old, so we knew we might be jumping the gun a bit. It turned out we were right. he was pretty hard on the trains (banging, and sometimes throwing them) so we packed them all up and put them in the attic for a year. We just pulled them out this past weekend, and he loves them! Santa will be bringing him a train table and a few other odds and ends to go with the set this year. Here's a little conversation I had with Henry the other day:

Me: Henry, who comes at Christmas?
H: Sahta.
Me: Right! Santa comes at Christmas. What does he bring with him?
H: Toys!
Me: Right! Santa brings toys. Who does he bring them to?
H: You.
Me: Yep, Santa will bring You toys! Who else does he give toys to?
H: Good people. (lmao)
Me: What would you like Santa to bring you this year?
H: Woooo Wooooo!
Me: Trains?
H: Heh.
Me: What else?
H: Boots.
Me: Boots?
H: No.
Me: Books?
H: Heh.
Me: Anything else?
H: Puzzoools.
Me: Puzzles?
H: HEH!
Me: Anything else?
H: No.

:o)

Good Morning!

Guess what sound I woke up to this morning? No, not a baby crying... guess again! Ok, maybe the pictures give it away, but I woke up to the sound of a snow plow running down the street! I didn't even know it was supposed to snow, so I was very surprised at the sight that greeted me when I woke up this morning. :o)

Here is the view from our dining room window:


That's technically our neighbors property (ours ends at that white fence you see at the bottom of the photo), but it's also our best view, and the evergreen trees are so pretty with snow on them.

Here is the view from the library (a.k.a. toy room):

Note that my comfy window seat has been over run by Dopey, Pooh, etc. *sigh*

How do you like my window clings? My mom says I need more. I think she might be right. They seem a little sparse.

Have a great day, and stay warm!

First Snow

We had our first snow this week (well, the first one that actually stuck around a little bit). I was so excited. I've been waiting for it to snow so I could take Henry outside. I thought he'd love it, because he loves the rain. He wasn't too sure what to make of it all, but he thought it was funny when I would scoop a little up and toss it in the air so that it landed on him. :)

Here he is playing in the snow:


My good hat wearer is revolting against warmth. We've tried two or three different hats, and he wants nothing to do with any of them. He doesn't like his hood either. I do force the issue if we're going to be outside for a long time, or it's super cold (by Wisconsin standards), but this day was pretty mild so I let him get away with not wearing anything on his head.

We ended up going for a ride in the snow, and while we were out I noticed the flavor of the day at Culvers was Mint Oreo. My favorite flavor of the day is Mint Explosion, but that was close enough to lure me in. Henry and I shared a single scoop dish. He was such a cheeseball in the backseat. I had to share:

If you're reading this in a reader, be sure to click over and check out my new blog banner. I had to do a little decorating for winter with a new Rachelle Anne Miller image. :) I just love her work.

Time Spent With Friends....

...is time well spent.

My "bff" Chris came to visit this weekend. We haven't seen each other in ages, so it was nice to just relax and hang out for awhile. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, and then came back to the house to visit for awhile after the boys were asleep. We vegged, we laughed, we bitched, we caught the tail end of The Wizard of Oz on tv for no good reason (lol!). It was a good time.

I wanted some pictures for the blog, but hubby was busy doing homework in another part of the house, so we had a little photo shoot of our own. You know, the kind where you hold the camera out two feet in front of you and smile? It only took four trys to get a good picture. :)

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share.

My Heart & Soul

Awwwwwwwwwwww!!!! Right? :o) I laid the blanket down on the floor tonight and laid Jack on top of it. Henry was next to him in no time. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, because up until the past week or two, Henry really hasn't wanted anything to do with Jack. Not in a bad way, or even in a jealous way, he just wasn't interested. I've noticed a little more interaction between them these past few weeks though, and I love it. I hope they grow up to be the best of friends. :o)

Our Little Super Hero

Over the past few months, Henry has taken a liking to Spiderman. It started with a rubber Spidey ball that Grandma bought for them to play with at her house, then a little stuffed Spidey doll. A few weeks ago we went shopping, and Grandma found these jammies and slippers, and of course had to buy them. Don't tell anyone, but Henry's Grandma lovvvves to buy stuff for him. Like, insane amounts of stuff. lol.

Here are a few pictures of our little super hero:

The jammies have spider web mesh under the arms, and lights under the main image on the front that blink whenever he moves. I'm sure that must entertain him through the night if he happens to wake up. He's not too fond of wearing the slippers, but he seems to like them otherwise. I think he might actually think they're toys. :o)

2008 Holiday Parade

Today was our town's annual holiday parade. It was a balmy 35 degrees out with a strong wind (coming from every direction... seriously), and a never ending rain/snow mix. In other words, it was COLD! Now, if you know me, you know I love winter. I also love snow, and it takes a lot for me to say I am cold, but I can honestly say I think I was colder this morning than I've ever been in my entire life. I think the rain was the biggest problem. Cold is one thing - cold AND wet is another ballgame entirely. We dressed for the weather (about 4-5 layers each) but it didn't seem to matter. Brrrr! We sat out there for about an hour and forty five minutes.... Double brrrr!

Here are some pictures of our morning. This is Mom and Henry waiting for the parade to start. Darrin stayed home with Jack, and Grandma said she'd watch it on tv from the warmth of her home. Smart thinkin', Grandma!



This is Henry and me, about three quarters of the way through the parade. By this point my mittens were totally saturated and I was kicking myself for not wearing those stadium mitts I have with a plastic layer between the fabric to keep wetness out. Dumb, dumb, dumb. And I love that I look like the stay puff marshmallow girl. I had so many clothes under my coat that I could barely move my arms! Henry had three layers under the coat, two pairs of mittens, a full snow suit, and a double layer fleece blanket, and he was still cold to the touch by the time we got back to the car. I thought for sure that would have kept him warm.

Here's Henry, waiting for the parade to start. He's almost too big for the stroller, but it sure comes in handy for containing him or giving him a place to sit on days like today!

We met up with Henry's godparents, Julie and Ryan, and their son Caden, while we were there (on purpose - we planned it a few days earlier). I think they were colder than we were. Ryan couldn't find his winter coat, and we're pretty sure he lost feeling in his toes about half way through. lol! You'd think with all these complaints about the cold that we would have just left, but we actually enjoyed ourselves. Ryan was sitting next to me, and we made a game out of deciding which candy was worth getting out of our semi-warm seats to retreive. :) There was candy all over the street. Usually kids are swooping in left and right to pick all of it up, but no one wanted to move this year! Finally the people started putting candy right in our laps, so we didn't have to move. lol! Here is a picture of Ryan, Julie, and Caden. Ryan's coat was totally soaked by this point:

We did bring umbrellas, but it was so windy they didn't help one bit. We were so excited when we saw Santa and the reindeer coming on their rotating sleigh, because we knew we could finally go home. Here's Santa... the sleigh platform spins slowly in a full 360, and also moves up and down. This is the second year they've had this at the end of the parade, and both times I've seen it I've thought that those reindeer would never survive if they had my motion sickness!

The marching bands were a big hit with Henry (that's my favorite part, too), as were the animals of course. There were lots of horses and dogs in the parade, and he loved it. The local animal shelter had adoptable dogs out again, and darned if two of them weren't beagles. Oye. My friend Jenn's Mom volunteers with the shelter and was walking a chocolate lab in the parade. She asked if I wanted to adopt her. I'm pretty sure she would have given her to me on the spot if I'd said yes. lol. Am I right, Jenn? ;o) I'm a sucker for the beagles though. If she'd have had one of those I probably would have taken her up on her offer!

Henry cried when it was time to leave. He wanted more "ho ho" (a.k.a. Santa). I've been home for a little over two hours now, and I'm still cold from this morning. It was a good time though, and I can't wait to go again next year. But seriously, I could reeeeally do without the rain. Cold rain is the worst!

Happy Anniversary, Mister!

Today D and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. Seriously, where did the time go?! It seems like it was just yesterday that we met, and I scared all of my friends to death by moving to IL the day after I decided I wasn't moving to MI (long story)! hee hee. Everything worked out though, and I've been happily married to my "mister" for nine years, and we have two beautiful boys to share our love with.

In case you're wondering, yes, I actually do refer to him as Mister on a regular basis. I don't remember how it started, but it has been his nick-name for some time, and yes, he does call me, "Mrs." from time to time as well. :o)

Here are some pictures from our big day. You'll have to excuse the quality - I can't figure out how to get the scanner to work with the laptop, so they are actually pictures of pictures. The first is of the two of us after the ceremony...


This one is me with my Uncle Donnie (can I get an "awwwww"?). He is my Mom's brother, and we have always been very close, despite living miles apart. He walked me down the aisle that day, and it meant the world to me (if you're reading this, I love you, and no matter how old either of us get you'll always be my "Uncle Donnie" .... note to readers, he's "Don" to everyone else).

This is Julie and Ryan. Julie was a bridesmaid, and Ryan was our videographer. We all went to high school together. They have since married, and are now Henry's godparents, and some of the best friends we could ever ask for. I had to include this picture for our mutual friends, because seriously, check out the hair on Ry. :o) I'm totally diggin' it. lol! In his defense, this was taken at the end of the reception (he caught the garter, she caught the bouquet) and he had been shakin' his booty on the dance floor with the rest of us a few hours by then.

Here we have serious Sarah. LOL. What's up with that expression?

Here I am with my Mom. Everyone says we look alike, but I really could never see it until I saw this picture. I love her to pieces, and can't imagine what my life would be like without her in it.

And finally, here I am with my Maid of Honor, Deb. Deb is another of my very best friends, and I was honored to have her stand beside me that day. Hey Deb... you could have this picture framed in your living room. I'm just sayin'.... ;o) hee hee.

I wish I had more to share of D and I, but the pics are all in this special album that the photographer put together, and I was afraid I was going to rip the inserts when I tried to get them out, so I stuck to the ones that were the easiest to access. Still, it gives you a glimpse of our day and our life.

Hugs,