1st Chritmas!!

I cannot believe that the Booger's 1st Christmas has come and gone! I have a whole post-ful of 1sts he's mastered lately as he ridiculously quickly approaches his 1st birthday! Still working on wrapping my head around that...

1st and foremost though... the joys of his 1st Christmas. Amidst teasing from his daddy and his uncle, I helped a very distracted, uninterested, impatient baby go through his stocking and unwrap his gifts. Note to self: practice opening gifts this month, so he can open his birthday presents... He was surrounded by his cousins' easily accessible, conveniently unwrapped toys, so really- why bother with all that work unwrapping? Come on, Mom!

He did well going through his stocking in the beginning- he got the idea of reaching in and pulling things out. Alas, after he found a couple fun board books, and I wouldn't let him eat the animal crackers, he was over it. So we moved on- the result:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Favorite Florida Fotos!

We had a wonderful time and were terribly unhappy to return to snowy, cold Michigan. Especially when we noticed the snow halfway up our fence and had to literally dig our way in! *Insert sobs here*

I have an exorbitant amount of pictures to share from Florida, so I thought I would start with a few of my favorites. I'll share more after I spend what I am sure will be hours with Smilebox!

Look at those teeth!

This is one of the few happy moments in the sand!

Two for Twosday

Lucky treat! (Or maybe not..)
A picture of the Booger and I.
In ....Panama City Beach Florida! Woohoo

Don't mind the sleeve o' drool.. he was getting hungry and apparently my sleeve seemed delicious.

We arrived yesterday after a long overnight drive. He did so well, but was absolutely ready to be out of his seat by the time we approached the strip. After we settled in and ate lunch, we went for a drive to see what there was to see. We have lots to do on our list, but decided to stop at a fun outdoor mall, and just wandered and chatted with the nicest people- all of whom the baby had to wave at.

He's napping now, (he's a little tired since he woke up at 4:30) then we are off to wave at more friendly Florida folks.

Don't forget to stop by Deanne's for other Two-fers! Happy Tuesday!

Baby Picture Sundays

This week's Baby Picture Sunday theme is Peace on Earth. Nothing makes me feel more peaceful than cuddling up with my boys. Here are some of my favorites.

Stop by Debi's for some more peaceful pics!

Cuddling right away, only a few minutes old.

Warm and cozy after a bath.

Cuddled up in his seat.

Cuddled up with daddy.

Smiley Joe

This is the best thing to come home to every night. And I am very much looking forward to having both of my boys to myself for 6 whole days in sunny, beautiful Florida! Picture these huge smiles on my face right now too. (These are so much cuter though, I thought you'd enjoy them more.)

Check out those chompers!

He hasn't let me get a picture of his teeth- and I got two in one night!

And the famous nose scrunch- also hard to capture

He's gonna be fighting them off with a stick!

Ahh, *contented sigh* that's all I am thinking right now. All is right with my world. (I'll return to conquering all things wrong in the rest of the world later...) My bachelor's degree is officially completed as of 3:00 tomorrow, I have a signed teaching contract, and great people to work with after Christmas break, and the best boys in the whole world here with me. Can it get any better? The great thing is, I know it can, and I am so looking forward to it.

Thanks so much to my wonderful husband who has helped and supported and put up with me over the last thousand years while I've been in school and juggling school, work and being a wife. He's been patient and sweet, and somehow did not strangle me in my sleep. Not that he didn't have plenty of opportunities- I often fall asleep first!

Of course, thanks rightly go to the rest of my family too. I am lucky to have supportive, loving parents who often reminded me that I was doing well, and there was an end in sight, especially when it really didn't seem like it. My sister offered lots of advice and help from her own experience along the way. And my big brothers- one of whom started school after I did, and somehow managed to finish first. Mom and Dad raised us well and we all look out for and cheer for one another.

I hope all is just as terrific for the rest of you, especially going into the holidays. If not- just remember you get to look at the sweet smiles of your little loved ones (even the furry ones), and bask in that wonderfulness for a few minutes.

Stay tuned for some warm sunshiney pictures. We'll wish you were there!

Two for Twosday

A boy and his monkey...

Poor thing- just along for the ride.

Be sure to check out Deanna's blog and all the other Two-fers.

And now for the fun stuff

Now for some Booger updates, I know you’re really waiting for those.

The rough spots, at the moment, he is getting over an ucky virus. The poor thing ran a fever for a couple days. His daddy has been taking great care of him, the poor boys have been cooped up in the house from Wednesday to Saturday. Despite all of this, he was a pretty pleasant baby. Lots of cuddling, sleeping, and tylenol and not much eating or playing.

On the bright side, the rash he has had under his chin and on his neck was diagnosed as eczema, but with lotion and a prescription cream, has cleared up beautifully. His little neck looks so sweet and soft now.

And on the fun side, he is learning and doing more and more every minute! It is so much fun, and just so amazing all of the little things that make up this terrific little person.
Let me list the ways…

1. He gives kisses on demand. Even to his monkey. (Thanks Grandma!)

2. He will blow kisses to Daddy if Mommy lets him use her hand. (This is super cute, but yet to be caught on camera).

3. He has attempted to stand on his own a few times- with a few brief moments of success.

4. He is cruising along furniture like there’s no tomorrow.

5. He is talking up a storm and signing ‘more’ and ‘what’

6. He scrunches up his nose when he thinks something is funny.
**See below for #' s 5 and 6

7. He understands everything you say to him-we’ll see how long that skill lasts.

8. He feeds himself, and loves just about everything. He is our son after all, why wouldn’t he love to eat?

9. He thinks it is hilarious when you make monkey and cow noises (not simultaneously, but I imagine that would be a hit too).

10. He insists on wriggling around on his changing table until he has thrown every toy and has his hands on the nose drops….maybe he knows as long as he has them I can’t use them against him…

11. He drinks out of his sippy cup, if we hold it.

12. Yet… he holds his own bottle.

13. He knows how to play peek a boo and will do so with any object that he can- baby gate, door, hands, walls, books.

14. He is super cute!

Celebrate good times!

A few non-Booger updates from the rest of our daily lives. I am finished with my undergrad work!!! It has kept me busy, getting things finished up and turned in, but what a relief! The semester is over next Thursday, graduation is Saturday. I will officially have my Bachelor’s degree. Woohoo!

And to celebrate… we’re going on vacation. Okay, not really for graduation, but the timing is perfect! Let me fill you in. My husband is a wonderful, hardworking, great- at –his- job type of employee and it paid off. He managed to get employee of the year, and we are lucky enough that this is the first year they are paying for a trip to Florida.

Let me remind you- We are not ‘lucky’ like win the lotto lucky, we do not go on vacation. We work hard, but are usually just rewarded with the regular old paycheck and inner satisfaction. So how excited are we!! We got to choose our hotel, and settled on the Sugar Sands Hotel. It is right on the gulf, and there are many things close by that will be fun for all of us. And best of all- neither one of us has to worry about work or school for 6 nights, 7 days. Zippedee doo. In nearly 8 years the only times we have been on vacation together were our honeymoon, and a trip to Traverse City with my sister and BIL.
Lots of pictures will be taken and lots of rays will be soaked up. For now… the count down is on! 7 days and the clock is ticking!

Color Me Red

It's Baby Picture Sunday, and I'm excited to say we're here to play along! I imagine many mommas are showing off some rosy red Christmas pictures. But, last season, the Booger was still floating around in his Christmas free belly residence, so we'll go with these.

My little cueball was right around 4 months old, and if I recall he was figuring out how to switch toys from one hand to the other at that moment.

Stop by Debi's to see all the rest of the red babies!

Now returning...

My oh my! What a busy couple weeks it has been. Forgive me while I catch you up! The Booger turned 10 months old on Thanksgiving. I’ve got some great pictures of Thanksgiving… in my head. Ugh- I completely forgot to bring our camera with us when I packed up for the long weekend. So- the next best thing, I’ll blog all about it before I forget it because we all know how quickly that could happen.

The Booger already appreciates the wonderfulness that comes with pigging out on the holidays. My boy ate like a champ! He fed himself turkey, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberries, and stuffing galore. He gobbled up squash and mashed potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie. And then he reveled in Turkey Day leftovers on Friday.

It was fun to watch him play with, well… near, his cousins. He is just enough older than our last family get together that he paid more attention and was able to keep up with his cousins. It was pretty cute, him and little baby self crawling after them, watching them get up and walk around. He got some good aunt, uncle, grandma, and grandpa loving too.

We relaxed and played all day Friday, then packed it on up to head to Flint for the twinkie’s birthday party on Saturday. He fit in quite well there as well, making himself at home with their toys, crawling over other babies to get at what he wanted.

For all the differences and changes and lack of naps, he was a happy boy and seemed to enjoy his first thanksgiving.

Despite my lack of Thanksgiving pictures, I do have lots of other fun pictures and videos of some of the fun things he has learned lately- which is quite a lot! I’ll keep it coming this time.