2 Years

Dearest Hunter,

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. Today you turn two years old!! The last two years have gone by in the blink of an eye. The first year was hard and exhausting but this second year has been FUN. You have turned into such a sweet, funny, intelligent, opinionated and energetic little boy. I can't believe how much you are talking and all the new things you learn everyday. You talk in short sentences and can count to ten, say your full name when asked, sing a number of nursery rhymes, identify many different kinds of trucks and buses, you know your colors and SO much more.

Not a day has gone by that your daddy and I haven't gushed over how cute and funny and smart you are. We still can't believe that WE made you. You are by FAR our greatest achievement and biggest joy. You make us laugh daily and every day our hearts grow even bigger with love for you.

In the past year you've gone from helpless little baby to a walking, talking little person. I get so excited when I imagine the man you will grow up to be. You are going to do amazing things in this life my sweet boy, no doubt in my mind. I am so blessed that God chose me to be your mommy. We love you with all our hearts, always and forever.

Love,
Mama and daddy

Christmas Day recap

Christmas Day went really well. Hunter woke up early and we all laid in bed and watched videos on the iPad until we were ready to make our way downstairs. after getting practice on Christmas Eve he was an old pro at opening gifts. After opening the first gift he wanted to just play with that, we had to talk him into opening the rest. We got him some small trucks and buses and after all the gifts were opened we brought up his "big" gift which was his balance bike. Our neighbors son has one and Hunter is obsessed with it. He got very excited over the bike but is too scared to actually ride, he prefers to just push it around for now.

We had a very lazy morning and ate lunch just the three of us after Hunter got up from his nap. After lunch we headed up to Maryland to see my mom, brother and his fiancee. We all got even more gifts and Hunter had a great time seeing his Nana and Uncle. Once again he passed out in the car on the way home and slept late the next morning. He doesn't even realize that he will be getting even more presents next week for his birthday. Lucky boy!

The day after Christmas we sent Hunter to daycare and I got MY big gift from Kristian. He had given me a few smaller items on Christmas day, some gloves and two pretty necklaces but then gave me a card with money in it and told me that his gift was a day date together which would include a shopping spree for me. He told me that he really wasn't sure what to get me since I didn't tell him anything specific and was afraid he would get me something I wouldn't like. So on Thursday we headed to the mall sans child and I got a bit spoiled. He bought me two new pairs of shoes, a gold watch and a new Coach purse! I think he likes me :) We then went out for a nice long lunch together. Just spending the day together was really one of the best gifts in itself. 

We got this purse for 50% off!! Gotta love post Christmas sales!

I've always loved Christmas but having a little one to celebrate with makes it so much more fun. I was so much more excited to see him open his gifts than to open my own. I was also really excited for Kristian to open his gifts since I got him some pretty good ones this year. I got him a few shirts and a food saver (so he can vacuum seal all the deer meat he gets and freeze it) and also a remote control helicopter (which he wanted) and a Chromecast which allows you to watch whatever you have on your phone or iPad on the t.v. It basically turns your phone into a remote control, so now we can stream Netflix or Youtube from the phone to the t.v. The best part was that we saw this advertised on t.v. (after I had already bought it for him) and he was like "that's so cool, we should get one" So he was so excited to see I had actually gotten him one. He LOVES it! Oh and that $5 stocking stuffer I got him that I knew he would love...it was the Katy Perry movie/documentary on DVD. He loves Katy Perry, she's his "free pass". 

Christmas Eve Recap

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Watching Hunters excitement over all the gifts was truly the best present. We were truly blessed by all the wonderful gifts we got from family and my house is now covered in trucks, buses and cars.

We spent Christmas Eve at Kristian's sisters house along with his parents and our nieces and nephews. We had a wonderful dinner and spent about 2 hours opening the massive pile of gifts.  Hunter passed out in the car on the way home.

One of the biggest trees I've seen. This was before Kristians parents arrived with all their gifts. The entire floor was covered in presents. 

It's amazing that this was our 6th Christmas Eve together!

And our second as a family of 3.

Hunter with his cousins including two of his new step-cousins. 

The lovely ladies. 

The handsome men.

Hunters big gift from his Aunt and Uncle was this ride on excavator. He LOVED it and spent most of the night riding it and trying to pick up the trash with the digger part. 

He also got his own "laptop" so hopefully he will leave mine alone! 

The funniest part of the night was when my mother-in-law showed up wearing the exact same necklace I had bought her for Christmas!!! What are the odds that not only would she already have the necklace but would be wearing it that night. Not only that but my MIL had bought the SAME necklace for my sister-in-law as a gift!! Every year my MIL and I seem to buy the same gift for someone, I think we share a brain. I told her to just return the necklace and get something else but she insisted I keep the necklace so that all three of will now have it. So I agreed and now I'm on the hunt to get her something else. 

I love Christmas Eve, we always have a great time with my in-laws and still have the anticipation of Christmas morning ahead. 

Christmas Spirit

I love our house when it's decorated for Christmas, it just looks and feels so warm and homey. We started decorating the week after Thanksgiving and I must give my husband credit since he did most of the decorating. I was in charge of the tree (which I love) but he did everything else. I think he gets it's from his mother who LOVES decorating for the holidays.

We are only one of two houses on our street with lights. In fact Kristian added more lights to the bushes on the left after I took this picture. 

Our mantle is one of my favorite parts of the house during this time of year. My aunt made all three stockings. My stocking (the one on the right) is the stocking I had growing up. Hunters is in the middle and Kristian's is on the left (it's a camo hunting boot). 

Our tree is full of sentimental ornaments we've collected over the years as well as some from our childhood. I love going through the ornaments each year and adding new ones. 

I LOVE this view. 

This year we put a mini tree in Hunters room with some of his ornaments that have his name on them. He isn't really into the tree this year. Maybe next year he'll appreciate it more. 

THIS was the shot I was hoping to get. Hunter and Moxie by the tree. I love this photo. 

2012 vs. 2013. 

We still have a few more gifts to buy and some more gifts to wrap but should be finished today and ready to celebrate with our families this week. 

Five on Friday

Happy Last Day of Work until Jan 6th!

Okay that's not totally true, I have to telework next week but at least I don't have to come into the office. 

1. Yesterday while doing some last minute shopping I found THE best stocking stuffer for Kristian which I know he will LOVE and best part is it only cost $5!

2. My friend is coming over tomorrow night for a wrapping party. Wine and wrapping gifts and xmas music and gossip. What could be better?!

3. It's supposed to be 70 degrees here on Sunday! So much for a white Christmas. Though I am excited to be able to take Hunter to the park for the first time in weeks without freezing my ass off. 

4. We are doing a white elephant gift exchange at work today. I really hope I get something good. 

5. I finally made use of the many gift cards I've been hoarding for YEARS yesterday and bought some stuff from Bath and Body Works, Forever 21 and Macy's. And only had to cover either some tax or shipping with my own money so for less than $10 of my own money I got two new candles, some scented hand sanitizers, a new skirt, a new scarf and a new dress that I can hopefully wear to my brother's engagement party. Not to mention the money I earned shopping through Ebates. I've earned quite a bit of money through them this year and can't wait for my next check!

SWW

This week I'm saying So What if:

-I still have Christmas presents to buy and haven't started wrapping anything yet. 

-Friday was so stressful at work that I was literally in tears on my way home. Fortunately all my major headache projects are now done which means my blood pressure can finally return to normal. 

-I'm going to be really pissed if Kristian doesn't get a sizable bonus this year, he has worked his ass off and brought in more money than any salesman for that company ever in a year. He deserves it. 

-I'm a gift card hoarder. I just went through my wallet this morning and found 12 unused/partly used gift cards. I think I might be doing some online shopping later today for myself.

-I'm so depressed that some of my favorite shows are on hiatus until Feb/Mar. What will I do without my Olivia Pope fix every Thursday??

-I can't believe my baby is going to be TWO in less than two weeks. Even though I miss my snuggly newborn, I absolutely love this age. Kristian and I both agree that Hunter is so much fun right now, I sorta want to freeze time and keep him at this age for a while longer.

 

As expected

Even though we already took Hunter to see Santa a couple weeks ago with my friend and her children I really wanted a picture of Hunter alone with Santa, especially since in the first photo from earlier this winter his head was turned and you couldn't really see his face.

I pretty much expected another photo of him screaming and to be honest I kind of hoped for that. I think those photos are hysterical and almost a rite of passage to have at least one of them during childhood. If that makes me a mean mom so be it. It's not like he'll remember this anyway.

So we went to the mall Sunday morning and got there 15 minutes before Santa arrived. There was already a decent line so Kristian and I took turns take Hunter around the play area to entertain him while the other person held the spot in line. We also stuffed him full of pretzels from Auntie's Anne to keep him happy.

He loved the ride-on cars and trucks, even though I didn't put any money in to turn them on. He didn't know any different.

He threw a fit when we left this area.

 

After close to an hour it was our turn. I stood behind the photographer to try to not only get his attention but to get my own photo while Kristian put him in Santa's lap. He started crying before he even sat down and was there long enough to snap a couple photos. But we got the shot I had hoped for and both felt it was worth the hour wait.

If this doesn't scream Merry Christmas I don't know what does!

 

Poor kid was pretty upset but we kept giving him pretzels to try to cheer him up and I think by the time he woke up from his nap later that afternoon he had forgotten all about his traumatizing morning.

 

Hopefully next year he'll be more pro-Santa and actually give a smile.

Saying Yes to the Bridesmaid Dress

This past weekend I drove up to Baltimore to meet my brothers fiancee and 2 of her 3 other bridesmaids to go dress shopping. My future sister-in-law Melissa graciously let us pick our own dresses within certain parameters. She wanted everyone to have a long dress with chiffon material and her colors are primarily champagne and blush.

I tried on two dresses, the first I liked but it was a very low V neck in the front and I felt like I might be self conscious all night worrying about it popping open (not that I have much to show). The second dress which is the one I decided on was very comfortable and flattering. I could also shorten it after the wedding and wear it often. It's easy to dress up or down. I think all of the dress and the colors we chose correspond nicely.

 

 

Here is my dress. I actually think it looks much nicer in person.

 

It's by Joanna August. 

This is not the color I will be wearing.

There is actually quite a high slit in the skirt but it's hidden beneath the top layer of chiffon, so that's kinda fun.

Here's the back.

 

I will be wearing the dress in a color called Landslide. Since I'm pretty pale and probably won't have much of a tan in time for the early June wedding we decided wearing a slightly darker color would look better and be more of a contrast.

 

 

The maid of honor who is darker skin will be wearing a lighter champagne/cream color dress and the other two bridesmaids are wearing slightly different shades of light blush.

 

Everyone had a pretty easy time picking out a dress they liked and fortunately there were no arguments over wanting the same dress.

SWW

This week I'm saying So What if:

-We gave Hunter an early Christmas present yesterday. It was a gift from one of Kristian's coworkers and we were hoping if we told him Santa brought him a present early because he's been so good it would make him a bit less terrified of Santa. I really want to take him to the mall this weekend for pictures with Santa. 

-I only let Hunter play outside in the snow/slush for about 15 minutes yesterday. He immediately found a mud puddle to jump in and got soaking wet and dirty. So I let him have some fun and then back inside to the warmth we went. 

-I only tried on two dresses this past weekend before making a decision on which bridesmaid dress I wanted for my brothers wedding. All the bridesmaids got to pick their own dress and I loved the second one I put on so I didn't feel the need to keep trying on more. The store owner said we were the easiest bridesmaid group she ever had. No one was super picky or difficult. 

-I've been wishing more and more I could just be a stay at home mom. Work has been so stressful and frustrating the past few months. But on the weekends or snow days when I get to stay home with my little guy I find that I'm much happier and relaxed. Unfortunately it's not an option right now for financial reasons. Not to mention we all get insurance through my job.

-I really haven't done much to prepare for Hunters birthday party which is less than a month away. Fortunately I have off the two weeks leading up to it so I figure that's when I will do most of the planning. 

-I haven't mailed out my Christmas cards yet (hopefully by tomorrow) and that I'm not sending out very many. Just to family and a few close friends. The last few years I sent out a ton, which is expensive, but didn't get many. So I figured this year I would save my money and only send cards to those that have sent to me in the past. Immature? Probably.

-I'm so sick of chocolate. This time of year we have a ton in our office from vendors and clients and after a while it just grosses me out. 

Five on Friday

1. I got my Christmas bonus which is the good news. The bad news is the ridiculous amount of money that was taken out of it for taxes. Also, I'm being super boring and responsible and using the money towards my student loan, credit cards and the rest in savings. Being a grown-up sucks sometimes.

2. Tomorrow I am going bridesmaid dress shopping with my future sister-in-law. I haven't gone dress shopping since my wedding 3 1/2 years ago so this should be fun. Hopefully we find dresses everyone likes.

3. We're almost done decorating for Christmas and I love our decorations, it makes the house so cozy and warm. I wish we could keep the decorations up all year.

4. I watched part of the Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood last night. It was...okay. She's a great singer, no doubt, but not the best actress and that's just one of those movies you can't remake. I much preferred switching over to watch Scandal. I think I say OMG at the end of every episode.

5. I'm really loving the age that Hunter is right now. Now that he can talk he is constantly making me laugh with the things that come out of his mouth and I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing his sweet little voice, especially when he says "bwess you mama" after I sneeze. It really is the best thing in the world to watch this little person that I help create grow and learn everyday.

SWW

This week I'm saying So What if:

-We are not doing Elf on the Shelf this year. Hunter barely knows who Santa Clause is (and is terrified of him) and doesn't understand that he will be getting presents from Santa so I don't think he will get much out of the creepy elf that watches over him. Plus I'm far too lazy to do it.

-We didn't start decorating until last night. Not by choice but because our stuff was being held hostage in our friends storage unit while he was out of town for the long weekend. 

-We may have bought ourselves several items while Christmas shopping over the weekend. A good deal is a good deal.

-All of the presents I bought over the weekend were bought online. I didn't want to go near a store. Also, Amazon Prime rocks my socks off.

-I hesitate to buy anything from a store that's not on Ebates. My next check will be the biggest one I've ever gotten. 

-My kid is having more fun playing in the Christmas Tree box than he has with any of his toys, we may just return all his Christmas presents and give him empty boxes to play in.

-My husband wants to decorate the outside of our house "Griswold style" and I told him that was fine. I'm okay with our neighbors hating us for a few weeks :)

Thanks was Given

This year our Thanksgiving was a little different, in the past we have had dinner at my in-laws house with Kristian's extended family. This year we ended up going to Kristian's sisters house for Thanksgiving. His parents and my mom both had other Thanksgiving plans so it was "just the kids" so to speak. It was nice and laidback and my sister-in-law and her new husband made a fabulous meal. Kristian made a yummy Brussels sprout dish and I made a sweet potato casserole to contribute.

Hunter had a blast running around the house and playing with his cousins. He didn't eat much actual Thanksgiving food because he filled up on crackers and dip and dinner rolls before hand. But did find room for apple pie and ice cream. Go Figure. He also slept until 8am the next day! That alone was enough to be thankful for.

Hunter loves his aunt and cousins.

My sister-in-law and I unknowingly dressed alike, main difference is she's about 9 inches taller than me.

Big Sis and Little Bro

The newlyweds and fabulous hosts.