5 Months

Asleep at long last...


My big boy is 5 months old. So big.
Mom is sad...

Happy Official First Day of the Holiday Season!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Uncle Chris. He was sooooo sick tonight. But so fun to go see the lights.
"I can't stop looking! It's too pretty!"


I am SO beyond excited for Christmas- mostly for my son. I remember now why Christmas is so amazing for children. There is so much to see, experience, and the magic...oh, the magic is amazing to re-live. I have really tried to find fun things that are great for a 5-month old to do.

Today, Chris is BEYOND sick and has been for the last few weeks. (Sorry, Chris, I gave you swine flu...)But he has been great about the Christmas stuff even though it really is not his thing. He helped me get in the Christmas tree from the garage and then... we did the first Aiden-Christmas-related thing. We went to see the lights at Layton City. There aren't many of them, but it was fascinating for him.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving

Ok. Rite of passage is the first year that a woman cooks her first turkey. It is the non-Jewish equivalent of a bar mitzvah. Well, mozaltav because this Thanksgiving ROCKED!!! I Martha Stewarted the crap out of this Thanksgiving.

This year, I hosted the fine, fine meal and Smedleys, Shiree's friend, and Chris were there. We decided to do the entire meal from scratch - no cans or shortcuts. And we only made two exceptions - cranberry sauce (which no one ate anyway) and rolls.

I made turkey with apple cider and cream gravy (HOLY...COW...) and Fennel and brown sugar ham. Sorry the pictures are fuzzy. They were taken on my camera phone.


Parmesan Rolls

Cauliflower Casserole (inside family tradition... so tasty)

Green Bean Casserole (all home-made. Breanna did it all !!! Congrats Breanna)

Mashed Potatoes with butter and cream and more butter and more cream... YUMMMMM

So, my list of things I am grateful for... in no particular order.
*My son. Okay, that one is in particular order. I am so thankful for my son. Last year at this time, I was pregnant and never thought I could love someone so much.
*My family. All of them. I am thankful for the ones I don't know, for those who are very close to me, for Sharon who is a wonderful woman.
*Charlee, Sam, Steph, Chuck, Lisa, and all my other close friends who support me and mean the world to me.
*The traditions that my mother started during the holiday seasons. I now know that what we did was more important than what we spent. I love them. I intend to continue as many as we can.
*My testimony. I can't imagine my life without knowing the things that I know including the reality that I will see my parents, grandparents, and all those I love again.
*I am thankful that I have learned that I can be happy with or without the world's approval. I am happy and can't imagine any life other than this.
*A roof over my head. Although it is not my own and Chris is so unselfish, I feel home for the holiday season.
*My life. I am so thankful for my life. For exactly where it is right now and the ability to see my son grow and learn.

Pig Pox

Just thought I would share a funny. Ok, not so funny.

Uncle Chris has the swine flu. Bad!!

He calls it pig pox.

I thought that was funny.
I love Uncle Chris and his dry sense of humor.

Those crazy tears

I am so thankful. This is my week to tell everyone in my life that I am thankful for them. For those who I love, for those I may not love. But all the people and experiences in my life have made me who I am and put me in the place that I am.

Here is a very short and very random list of things I am grateful for (the big list will be on Thanksgiving Day):
*I am thankful that my son doesn't smile easily. I am thankful that I have to work hard to get that reward.
*I am thankful for antibiotics. My sinus infection(s), kidney infection, and pneumonia have made that one on the top of my list.
*I am thankful for the History Channel and the great documentaries that keep me sane.
*I am thankful for my family's great skills at cooking. I am the very large recipient of that gift.
*I am thankful for four-wheel drive.
*I am thankful for being able to live in Utah where I don't have to be the minority because of my beliefs.
*I am thankful for Willow Tree Angels and the way they can portray how I feel.
*I am thankful for the new car seats that click into a base. Curse the old "pull the seatbelt as far as it will go, then try to hold it with your teeth while you try and wrap it around a squirming 6-month old...DANG! It rolled back. Try again... and again..."
*I am thankful for the baby wipes someone gave me from Nordstrom. Why they bought them, I don't know, but they smell like peonies.

So, I cried this morning for a long time.

In the shower.
Curling my hair.
Eating breakfast.
Driving to work.

I am so happy. I am really happy. The crying is for my sheer happiness. I have never been more happy in my life.

I love my son... and my son kinda likes me back, I think.....

I hope....

Um....okay...

Seriously. Is he getting ready to eat dinner or parachute? I know that safety is super duper important. But he is so strapped in he can't breathe!!



I really wish that there was a soundtrack available to this picture. His squeals of delight are so high-pitched and LOUD! They are so fun. He is a very fun baby.

Snow

Snow is falling. The fireplace is ablaze and the cocoa is flowing freely. Life could not be better than tonight.

In the Leaves

What a beautiful concept. Our family gets together at least once a month for a family home evening. It keeps us close and talking to each other, regardless of family differences. For our family home evening, this time, Kari and her family found 3 families in their neighborhood that needed to have their leaves raked. There were a lot of leaves, but there were A LOT of people. Almost 30. I love my family. We were like locusts swarming - but helping.


There was a point in time that we were done with our assigned yards when one of the kids said, "We have extra bags and that yard over there just has leaves in their front yard. Let's just hop over there." All the other groups met and it was done within 10 minutes.

I love them. I love that in the cold, my son was bundled and sitting in his stroller and was able to watch service. Aunt Kari said it perfectly when we met back for breakfast after raking the leaves. "No one is sad or ornery after raking leaves. Service does that."

And besides, he was cute in his new hat and snow suit. My beautiful baby with the beautiful eyes.