These Little Moments...

2011 was an all around great year. I spent the first half happily pregnant and anxious to meet our baby boy. During the second half, we’ve been busy watching our children grow and enjoying the beautiful changes within our family. The past few months have brought more change, as Sean moved forward with a new and exciting career opportunity at the beginning of December. I am so content with where I stand right now, that biding farewell to 2011 feels bittersweet. I am, however, always excited to turn the page and face the unknown that a new year holds. I pray that 2012 is full of happiness and good fortune for my family and friends! I’ve pulled together a “year in pictures”, at least one from each month, just to see how far the past 12 months have brought us. I enjoyed looking back and remembering all of the memories that were made during this extra special year. January It's a Boy! We found out a baby brother was on the way for Gracie this month! February My little sweetie on Valen...

When I was pregnant with Ethan, I wrote briefly about anticipating what this Christmas would be like, the first one with both of our children. Even during the few months leading up to December, I found myself with joyful visions of celebrating in our warm, cozy home, baking cookies for Santa, reading the Christmas Story as a family by candlelight, having tons of priceless photos of my darling children dressed in their Christmas pajamas sitting in front of the tree together. They would be smiling brightly, barely able to contain their excitement. I painted this ideal picture of how everything would go, right down to the expressions on their faces as they tore open their beautifully wrapped packages... First of all, if it weren’t for the blessing of overlapping nap times, I’m not certain I would have even finished wrapping the kids’ gifts at all… and even though I chose to do so in a room where our dog is not allowed, I still found myself brushing dog hairs away that were clinging d...

We wish you a very Merry Christmas ... One filled with love and laughter ,  and lots of little moments with the ones you love.

Where in the world has the past 6 months gone? I mean, seriously, I did not expect this half of a year to go so quickly, and I have mixed emotions about it. On one hand, I think time is mean , moves too fast, and took my boy from newborn to solid food eater in a flash . On the other hand, I now get to snuggle with this plump bundle of happiness, who smiles and laughs, while making us smile and laugh too. (You still love your paci, and you have only ever taken a Soothie, the kind they gave us in the hospital. Lately, you've used it almost like a teething toy, chewing on the sides of it.) Ethan, you are rolling, squealing, and trying to sit up on your own (this is best practiced in our laps or on the bed, since you topple often!). You are so ticklish, love to blow bubbles, and have started mimicking some of what you see us do while playing. Your favorite toys are anything you can chew on, anything with different textures or crinkly sounds, ...

My sweet Grace is sick...again. I feel like she never really got over her first cold, and here we are again! Her preschool teacher sent an email out to parents earlier this week, warning us that 5 students were out sick on Monday. Having Gracie join this sick group makes me wonder how many students were out on Wednesday... She's had a really high fever, cough, and runny nose. She has been miserable. I feel so bad for her and there's nothing I can really do to make it better... We were supposed to go to a Christmas concert and dinner tomorrow night with my dad and family, but those plans have been put on hold since our family will not be able to join them. I hope we can get this sickness out of the way in time to enjoy all of the other Christmas plans we have in the coming weeks! Since I haven't been taking pictures this week, I wanted to add a couple from Thanksgiving that I never got around to sharing.   Gracie and Granny are like two peas in a pod. Gracie can somet...

Great weekend. We had very little planned for it, which is something that I need occasionally. This was the last of those for a while...although the upcoming December weekends are going to be FULL of people we love and things we can't wait to do! On Sunday, Gracie and I rode along in the local Christmas parade with many other tiny dancers and their mommas. We were stuffed into the back of a pick-up truck and, waving hands ready, shouted out Merry Christmas to the hundreds of people who lined the streets. Gracie's wave became most enthusiastic upon seeing many small dogs dressed in sweaters, or babies that reminded us of Ethan. The most exciting moment of all was when we actually spotted our baby in the crowd. Sean had a big smile on his face, it was sweet. He looked proud to know us. Ha! As we neared the end of the parade, we spotted Nana and Grandpa. Gracie was so sleepy by this point, but she shouted out Merry Christmas to them, too. It was fun seeing fami...