2 fabulous years.

2 years ago at this very moment, I delivered a little girl that changed the way I saw the world. In just 2 quick years (man, how fast they have gone!) she has taught me more than I had learned the previous 25 years of my life: how to smile through a crappy day, how to be understanding when every ounce of my patience is gone, how to love deeper and unconditionally. These two years with her have been the greatest blessing of my life.

Happy birthday, my beautiful little girl. Love you tons.

 

12th day.

 On the 12th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

12 sweet moments

11 special letters

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

Merry Christmas from me & the kiddos :)

11th day.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

11 special letters

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

It's not super easy to see but that is, indeed, a letter from Santa Claus himself. I still don't know for sure who sent it...you know, on behalf of Santa...though I have my suspicions. Regardless, it was awesome. The letter talks about how Santa knows that Brooke and Joe have been good and that he and the elves will be visiting us soon. It even talks about how Santa heard that Brooke wants a kitchen for Christmas. Super cute! Though I'm not sure she totally understood the magnitude of receiving a letter from the Big Guy himself, she certainly was excited to get mail!

10th day.

On the 10th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

9th day.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

(In case you're wondering, yes he is too little to be eating real food already. But he's having some serious digestion issues lately and the pediatrician suggested rice cereal might help. So, at 3.5 months, the little man is already gobbling up 1 meal a day. Talk about growing up fast!)

8th day.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

7th day.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

6th day.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

5th day.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

(This is just part of a 5-minute long video that proves that toddlers have more energy than anything on the planet. Seriously, if I could bottle up her energy, Red Bull would be out of business and I'd be a rich woman. She was slap-happily running all throughout the house being crazy a toddler - which is why she's out of breath and coughing throughout this.)

4th day.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

Don't I have the cutest baking assistants?



3rd day.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

2nd day.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

12 Days of Xmas.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

a heart full of love & joy. 

Priorities.

The kids say hi. They also say that Mommy just hasn't been able to blog lately because, well, life keeps getting in the way.

It feels like my to-do list doubles in size every day as we inch closer to Christmas. But I'm learning to prioritize. And, more importantly, to let go. To give myself a break. And blogging? Well, it's been pushed towards the bottom of the priority list for a bit.

And that's how it ought to be, right? Taking time to enjoy these two little nuggets of cute. Giving them my very best instead of stretching myself too thin. Making their Christmas as magical as I remember mine as a kid.

So, loyal blog readers (hi, Aunt Pat!), I'll do my best to get some cute pics up in the coming weeks. No promises. But I will do my best. And I'm sure my incomparable wit will be back in full force in January (which really should be renamed The Month When Nothing Exciting Happens.)

Happy 3 Months!

Dear Joe,

Hi there, Buster Brown (that's Mommy's favorite nickname for you.) What an awesome month this has been! Every month with you seems to be full of firsts, and this was no exception! You attended your first Flyers basketball game, something that makes Daddy proud. You went on your first vacation and met Mickey Mouse for the first time (first of many if Mommy has anything to say about it!) And just last week, you got your very first cold (you're still working through it, poor boy!) Between all of that excitement, you've been growing like a weed. You're up to 16 lbs 3 oz, which is right around the 95th percentile for weight. But you're so incredibly long that, despite your weight, you just seem like such a skinny boy! Daddy really hopes you're coordinated so you can take advantage of that height on the basketball court in a few years :) Not only have you grown a lot physically this month, but you seem to have blossomed intellectually, meeting milestones like finding your hands and using that sweet voice (you love to talk!) Here's just a little taste of what you're into (and not) these days:

Favorites
Rattles - You are mesmerized by rattles. If we shake a rattle about 6-12 inches in front of your face, you'll happily stare at it for quite a while. And you get so excited while you do it, kicking your legs and waving your arms wildly.
Your Hands - You have discovered your hands this month! It's absolutely adorable to watch you examine them. Every time you put them in front of you, your eyes get wide as you realize you are controlling those fingers. And you love, love, love to eat them!
Chewing on Things - You are slowly easing into the Put Everything Into Your Mouth phase. Those hands of yours are your most favorite things to gnaw on, while Mommy & Daddy's knuckles are a close second.
Mommy - You are a straight-up Mama's Boy. You love your Daddy and all the rest of our family and friends, but nothing soothes you like Mommy does. It's like a flip switches when Mommy takes you from someone else - not sure if it's my smell, voice, or just the way I hold you, but you just melt when I take you. We are hopeful you get even more comfortable with others soon so Mommy can get a few more breaks.
Cuddling - Your favorite way to sleep is cuddled up next to a textile of some sort, be it a burp cloth, a blanket, one of Mommy's shirts, etc. We'll have to get you a little stuffed buddy to cuddle with soon (maybe that will help comfort you when Mommy's not around, too!)

Not-so-Favorites
Riding in the Car - Oh, the screams! If you're awake when we get in the car, Mommy braces herself for you to just erupt. You hate being in the car - morning, noon, and night! You get so worked up sometimes that you are just dripping in sweat by the time we reach our destination.
Being Bored - You get really bored really easily now. You're in that unfortunate stage where you want to be entertained by things (like rattles), but you can't hold onto things for longer than a few seconds. It's only a matter of time before you can hang on to Sophie and give her head a nice chew :) You will sit in your swing or lay on your play mat for a bit, but only if you have recently napped and eaten. If you're the least bit hungry or tired, it takes a lot more entertainment to keep you happy.
Lotion - Apparently it's a universal baby thing to hate getting a lotion massage after a bath. And because you have some killer eczema covering yours arms and legs, you're gonna have to suffer through an awful lot of being lotioned up in the coming months. Sorry, dude!

You are entering the really fun, playful stage which we just love! You are already ticklish, giving us your version of a laugh (kind of like a silent chuckle) when we get you in the right spots (like up at your neck.) You are spending so much more time awake these days, so we have lots of time to play with you! You are such a joy to be around, a very calm & even-tempered baby (the nightly colic sessions are pretty much over...HOORAY!) We often get asked "Is he always this good?" and the answer is always yes. You just make us so proud, baby boy. We love you to the moon & back!!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Back to reality.

We're home from The Happiest Place On Earth. {insert sad face here}

It was a fantastic trip, full of unforgettable moments. There were adorable moments, like when Brooke met Cinderella and left the room with a bright red lipstick kiss on the cheek from her. And crazy moments, like when Joe had a poo-splosion on the airplane right as we were taxiing towards the runway. And super-fun moments, like when my entire family (all 19 of us!) had a dance party on Main Street U.S.A. right in front of Cinderella's castle during a parade. And frustrating moments, like when Brooke's diaper leaked for the 80 billionth time on the trip and pee came out the top of her diaper like a fountain. LIKE A FOUNTAIN. (Pretty sure we had a bad batch of diapers. Pampers was called first thing Wednesday morning and they have already put a check in the mail for the batch.) And heart-melting moments, like every time Joe gave me a smile because he was having so much fun on his first vacay.

It was every bit as magical as it should be...yet the most exhausting trip of my life. And I haven't come close to recovering sleep-wise. I came home to 5 loads of laundry, a house that's only a quarter of the way decorated for Christmas, several pending bow orders to fill, Christmas presents to buy (b/c Christmas is in 3 weeks! omg!), and a husband + 2 kids with awful colds. Oh, and I forgot, we're also potty training. (Yikes. Pass the wine.)

I guess I'll just have to relive the trip through the 615 pictures I took. (I know what you're thinking: so many pictures and I'm only supplying you with this one family pic we took at dusk at Magic Kingdom. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to go through them all right now.)

A huge, gigantic, enormous thanks go out to my parents for taking us on this fantastic family escape. The kiddos had a blast...and so did the adults :) Brooke is still talking about seeing Mickey and all of the things we did there. We'll do our best to make sure she never forgets (cue the 615 pictures...) And Joe couldn't possibly have had a better 1st vacation than to Disney World - how perfect considering how much his Mommy loves it! We had so much fun and can't possibly thank you enough!!