we're getting in the holiday spirit

my goodness how he has grown in 1 year!!!!!

surrounded by blessings and full of gratitude

there's an abundance of reasons i am thankful today and always, perhaps this year i am more capable of understanding just how much i am truly blessed. discovering the depth of a mother's love, your love for your child, just does something to you; teaches you a new way to look at the world - and in every moment of motherhood, i find myself full of gratitude for the gift.

look around yourself today with eyes shining and allow yourself to really take in how blessed you, we, are. those you love around you. sometimes those you love far away and yet they are such wonderful blessings in your life that even from the midwest, even from the soil in iraq, on the steel flight deck of a warship, and knee-deep in snow waaaaay up in alaska, they make your life all the better. my husband is home this year, our family of three four +1 (sorry, baxter reminded me we are a family of four and one on the way) is all together, tucked safely away in our home to celebrate our blessings. and our ever-growing family is all the bigger and more wonderful because we are surrounded by our wonderful military friends who truly feel like family and we couldn't be more excited, more thankful, to spend today with them in celebration. 

its easy to get lost in the grind and caught up in the "battles" of every day life and to find yourself wanting more, lacking somehow, but the reality is...we have it all. we have each other. we have such hard faught and well-protected freedom like no other country. the water always comes on. the heater works when we need it. the cars are at the ready. the grocery stores always full. there's a cozy couch with a snoring dog cuddled in a big fleece blanket from which we'll watch a lavish parade of bright colors, of joy, of hope and of celebration. we'll eat to excess and laugh with loved ones and go to bed fulfilled, in the arms of the ones we love and sleep soundly knowing all is well today. my family is blessed.
i hope on this day of gratitude and reflection we americans can embrace this life we love and often take for granted. i also hope that this reflection will help us remember to give back because even in this great country, there are so many, too many families...children...babies who go hungry, who don't have walls to protect them and food to fill them today and every other day. those babies shouldn't be hopeless or joyless but they are unless someone reaches out to them. on this day of gratitude, be sure to open your heart to them, to reach out to them and to somehow find a way to give back some of what you have throughout this coming year so that their life may be better. maybe your actions, your love and your generousity can change their journey.  maybe next year that little one will understand what it is to be joyful, to be thankful and most importantly - to be hopeful.

happy thanksgiving. i know, if this little one could talk, his loving heart would babble on about being thankful for his best friend, our sweet baxter.

another great christmas tradition

ooh - i LOVE this little tradition i found through m.writes (honestly, most of my great finds are found on her blog, i dig her style for sure!) over at savoring the details.
she wraps 24 christmas stories and each night of december her little ones get to pick one to unwrap to read before bedtime. a bookworm's advent, how sweet!  grandma's - stock up on the christmas books, i am definitely planning to do this next year when petey understands the whole thing.

a boy in a basket

our friend charlotte offered us her too-big-for-her-sweet-downtown-condo coffee table to replace our very non-petey-friendly-glass-topped one and it is perfect. and tonight, petey discovered a pretty fun bonus - a hiding place. he got in there all by himself. no thud, no rauckus. just climbed in and sat down, like it was made for him to wiggle on in and hang out. and oh my goodness, does this little boy need a haircut. :) we'll try to make that our weekend project, but we wanted to wait so daddy could come along for that adventure.

don't bite your friends!

jen and ryan came over to play today while i went to hear the baby's heartbeat. they had a ball from what i'm told and the appointment was marvelous. :) good, strong heartbeat, just like its supposed to be. the ultrasound to determine the sex and ensure all is well is scheduled for january 7th. yippee!!

just a quiet day at home, the teething is making pete nuts you can tell - but he had a good romp with baxter that seemed to make him feel better for awhile. he's taking a long bath tonight and maybe going to bed early, its just not been his day. i can't see any new teeth in there, just the 4 coming in right now...

helping daddy

petey was quite interested in daddy's boots and the process of putting them on. he's also really into daddy's patches on his flight soon, the velcro is the best thing ever. these two are so sweet together and more so every day as petey gets older, busier and more interactive.

i heart etsy

there are so many great, crafty people just bursting with creativity and somehow they happily carve time into their days for so many of the things i long to tinker with. i happily browse their shops because handmade is still handmade, sometimes its not made by my own hands but its still awesomely homemade. today i found gracie lane through one of my favorite bloggers, m writes. hip hip and three cheers for gracie lane's quilting skills!

lovely little bump

i've found myself going through petey's first few months of photos over and over lately. i'm in awe of the change i now see in him and shocked by how much of the change i never even realized was happening. much about him is so very different and yet he is still the same sweet soul i met almost one year ago. and tonight i'm sitting here realizing the newest little one is on my mind more and more. i'm grateful for this growing belly and anxious to feel its first flutters (maybe i already am, its so hard to tell)...and i am so very giddy with glee to find out what this baby will be. either way i'll be over the moon but i find its so much easier to connect with the wee one inside me when i know a little bit more about who i'm talking to. i already know i'm in love, that much is clear. the fear of having 2 is gone and the nerves of reid's deployment timing and ellyn's wedding date are calmed. it will happen when it happens, only my body and my baby can decide that. i've let go of wanting and willing it to happen on my terms. please just come when you are ready to meet me, no rush, you are important and your healthy arrival matters most. i will have someone loving and caring and wonderful by my side, whether its the love of my life or a dear lifelong friend, we will be nurtured through labor and loved after delivery. i am calmed about it all and thankful for that. thankful for the support and the love of so many, near and far. and thankful for the most understanding, wonderful sister and future-brother-in-law in the world.
so, this little one growing in there, i can't help but wonder what it (ew i hate saying it...let's find out soon!) will look like and be like. of course some things will be the same and many more things will likely be so different. its own little soul, very special one-of-a-kind...right here inside me. i need to take time to breathe more often and stop and remember the special thing happening within. there's so much hustle and business and almost-1-year-old action to catch that its easy to go a whole day through and not stop to smile and say hello to the baby inside that bump. hello, my darling!
i'm very much looking forward to meeting you and gazing at you in awe and tickling those tiny fingertips and getting lost in those eyes. you are going to make this family all the more exciting and wonderful. we're so thankful for you and overjoyed that you'll be with us in the spring. it seems too long to wait, i want to meet you now...but we need to get to know each other more, i suppose. i'll be right here, loving you while you grow and get strong. much love to you, my little one.

bedtime

sometimes i'm not sure who is having more fun. these two are so sweet together. the best is petey's crazy-happy giggle from the gut that he gives when baxter is licking his ears. it'll be nice when petey learns how to be gentle and pet baxter...right now their "cuddling" is short and sweet, baxter makes his escape pretty quickly, but he does enjoy their romping and tug-o-war games to be sure!

goody-goody give-away!!!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

Origins Salt Rub Soothing Body Scrub in Spearmint

A new backpack
something/anything from Lululemon
A cake stand
I keep asking Santa for a piano...someday :)
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
the apron my mom gave me last year
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
i'd really like to try another quilt, without my grandma's help this time (although I'd really prefer to have her by my side the entire time, what a great memory we made!)
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
the dollhouse my grandpa made me
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?
my 1 year old wants things to climb on and cars to push
6. What is your favorite holiday food?
christmas tree coffee cake. grandma's sugar cookies. mom's butterhorn rolls.
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
a gift for all the ladies in my family....better get started! (can't share specifics, they are my only readers!)
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
White Christmas, oh how i LOVE it.
9. Favorite holiday song?
Silent Night
10. Favorite holiday pastime?
putting together puzzles with my grandparents. sledding. snuggling in with the ones you love and nibbling on sweet treats while watching it snow.

the fuzzy moccasins

old town visit and farewell

this morning we visited old town to see the sights, see the shops, visit emily and buy petey some sweet little moccasin slippers for his visit to the midwest and enjoy some delicious mexican food before delivering grandma and grandpa nannen to the airport for their flight home to cold, cold illinois. we've been enjoying 72 degree days with lots of sunshine this whole week, perfect for outdoor playing and swinging and climbing and crawling, much to their delight. we had such a wonderful time with them here and are looking forward to seeing them again so soon when we visit illinois. fingers crossed for some fun frolicking in the snow for petey's first birthday!!!

sunday at old poway park

we saved the visit to the old steam train for grandpa nannen's arrival. and we're so glad we did - what fun! our friends dave and emily came along for the fun. we had a ride on the steam train and then enjoyed lunch at the old hamburger factory and petey had a nibble from the world's smallest ice cream sunday, which he loved, of course! thanks for such a fun day! (after the fun i subjected reid and his dad to the pain of hanging my outdoor christmas lights, but i promise not to turn them on until after thanksgiving.....but now its done and checked off the list, along with about 100 other mr. fix-it jobs that dale took care of for me during their visit. a thousand thank you's to you!)

234th Marine Corps birthday ball

reid and i had a wonderful getaway overnight last night for his squadron's marine corps birthday ball. it was at the beautiful us grant hotel downtown, built in 1910 and recently renovated and it is gor-geous!!!! we got all dolled up, enjoyed the celebration with our dear friends and spend the night in a swanky hotel room and got to sleep in. perfection. and we came home to find two new teeth in petey's little mouth. just POP, overnight, there they were!

playing plumber

grandpa nannen has made my world so much better - i have a new faucet in my kitchen sink that comes with differentiating pressures when you turn the knob and temperature control too. you have no idea how much joy i now have. well, petey thought the plumbing job was pretty fun and wanted to get in on the action. he's also been spending lots and lots of time enjoying that new play house in the back yard.

a fun filled day

a good morning surprise - his grandma was there with a big hug for petey when he got out of bed this morning. woo hoo!!! what a great time they had. and grandma was thrilled that petey was willing to give lots of hugs and love, especially first thing in the morning.
daddy got to go to swim class with petey today, they both had a wonderful time and petey is such a little fish. he loves the water and loves his wonderful swim teacher and has a blast each and every time he is there. its safe to say its his very favorite thing. bath time is a close second but not quite as exciting.
big boy having a ball. miss lori, his swim teacher, says he is doing great and mommy will be able to sit on the ledge at the wall with him soon instead of being in the water each class because petey is able and willing to swim to her from the side of the pool now.

a happy early b-day/christmas gift

helping grandpa nannen figure out just how to put it all together. petey wanted to make sure he did it right and pointed out some of the details on the diagram before they started.
now petey is checking to make sure they have all the screws. he told grandpa nannen you never want to start a project like this if you don't have all the hardware. there's nothing worse. phew, they are all there!
and in a jiffy, petey is king of the castle. what a wonderful gift grandma and grandpa nannen have given petey. something in his very own back yard that he can crawl under and over and up and in and off of and slide down. he l-o-v-e-s it and we will spend much of our future afternoons exploring all the possibilities. it will be a pirate ship and a castle that must be defended and probably a spaceship at sometime too! such fun will be had-
driving the ship - off to save the world!
he figured out the ladder all by himself once we got those silly shoes off - so he decided to challenge himself and go up the slide. its a little slipper but man oh man is it FUN to slide down! thank you grandma and grandpa nannen!!!

birthday banner

i crave tradition, more and more it seems. am looking for it around every corner. m.writes sparked a great idea for a diy birthday banner (which she made for her baby's 1st). so here's ours, almost complete. looking forward to hanging it for many special occasions to come. you'll see its debut on a certain special day in december! its right around the corner and the race is on for petey's first steps to come before his first birthday celebration.

a great saturday

we didn't go to napa with our friends - petey and momma are still snotty and coughing...so we stayed home and had a relaxing morning. momma and daddy made homemade biscuits and gravy and petey watched some football with his pal baxter (for about 5 minutes - a sitting still record for him).
in the afternoon after playing inside alllllll day we went to the park and petey crawled ALL over the 2-5 year old play area equipment. he loved it. we need one of these in our living room.
yes, that is my almost-11-month-old walking UP the slide. oh dear. don't worry, there was a parent at both ends ready to catch if he decided to try sky diving.
over and under and through and around. that is his mantra. like i said. we need one of these in the livingroom.

pete's latest adventure

he discovered this new "toy" on his own, once again. hauled himself up and in and enjoyed a few minutes of play. the dismount was ugly though!! grandma simpson is already panicking about petey-proofing her house. i'm not sure there is a point. just lots and lots of supervision which i don't think you have to worry about. and he's not going to care what's in your kitchen drawers when there is a lit up sparkly tree in the living room!