Sitting by the pond with Lolo (C's dad)

Swimming pool

Driving with daddy

I am finding it much harder to keep this up than i thought i would! So i am going to keep this short! I hope everyone had a great 4th! We certainly did! We spent a 3 day weekend down at C's parents house where we spent the first day going to yard sales. (i had some GREAT finds! including an art easel for Z for only 1.00!) The second day we started off with a trip to town for the parade, not a big hit for Z, he didn't seem to like the loud noises, every time a fire truck or anything would come by he would bury his head in my chest.. poor kid, he did better once all of that was past but really just watched quietly... We also stopped at the farm market and a couple more yard sales before we went home to spend some time in the pool.. The third day was the nicest (of course the day we go home!) so we stayed a little later and spent the whole day outside just playing or swimming in the pool, i wish i could do that everyday! All in all it was a great time that we got to spend with family! Oh and my favorite part, while i was laying down with Z i had my hand on my stomach and felt a little tiny foot! i can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going! I am so excited to meet our new little boy though!

Oh this weekend is a big weekend, we are headed up north for my brother in laws wedding, Z is the ring bearer and i am very interested to see how he does with that! Its very casual though so it should be a great time, and i am so happy for them. We also have my cousins wedding next month in Chicago, that trip will just be my mom my sister and i, so i am very excited about that! Then we have my sisters Bachelorette party next month too! its going to be a very

busy month but i am glad that we are able to do all these things before the baby comes, then it should settle down so we can just be here, by the time the Holidays roll around i should be feeling much more like myself and ready to visit even more!

More pics to come over the next couple of days, the kiddos are up from naps now so i am off for more play time!

Adventures in a big boy bed.....

So last night i got the great idea that we should start trying to get Z to sleep in a big boy bed, the idea actually came a couple weeks ago when i was talking to a friend and it hit me, i can't lift Z for 6 weeks after the baby is born! Since Z is still in his crib that kind of poses a dilemma for me! So its either get him in the bed now, or just lift him anyways... i am definitely leaning towards the bed as you can tell.
So, this morning C's alarm went off and he wasn't there to get it, so i went to Z's room and found then just like this, i laughed a little then ran back to get the camera.. needless to say the first night did not go well since C never even left the room! we'll see how it goes from here.....

Big Ticket Festival

Goat
This could possibly be my favorite picture ever....

Bunny

So i mentioned yesterday that we went to the Big Ticket Festival this past weekend, it was amazing! It was the first time i had ever gone so i was excited anyways, but it ended up being more fun than i had anticipated! We started out the morning watching a play that my parents were in, Z stayed with me through the whole thing and did great! After that we went out to the kids area and checked out the petting zoo (see above) and the bouncy houses both of which he LOVED! i had to bribe him out of the bouncy house the second time with tic tacs 'cause there was no way he was coming out on him own! (and lets face it with this baby belly i have going there was no way i was going in!) We also took him to get his first balloon animal, which he loved.. (okay for the record there was nothing that he did not love that day =) We watched a couple of kids concerts which really got Z moving, hilarious dancer that kiddo.. We even managed to get a nap in after all of that! The highlight of the night for me though (aside from when C got out of work and met us there) was seeing Third Day, possibly my favorite Christian band.. They didn't get there until about 5 minutes before the show was supposed to start but they still made it! Z had a blast at his first concert and was fascinated watching it all, after about 40 minutes though he was sound asleep in my lap =) It was an awesome night! Thanks mom and dad for getting us in!

Putting money in the piggy bank...
Throwing rocks in the garden at Charlevoix Library

Riding his first 4-wheeler

I only have a couple moments here but i thought i would put up a couple more pics of Z.. This summer is going to be busy busy busy! This past weekend we got a new pool and we have been outside swimming in it everyday! I really was starting to think for a while there that summer jut might not come this year.. i guess i have been proven wrong! Aside from our everyday pool time, we have been going to story hour here in Petoskey and in Charlevoix.. We are starting to attend a new playgroup on fridays, I'll let you know how that goes! And we are trying to squeeze in playdates in between!

On top of all that we have special events of all kinds! Now that Z has reached an age where he is really starting to be more interested in different things i want him to be able to do it all! This past weekend we went to Big Ticket Festival and Z had an amazing time! I have pics to upload that go with the story so i will save that, but he had alot of firsts that day! We also have A & J's wedding the weekend after this, and this weekend we are going to the circus! (yay!) Also we have plans to take Z to the movies to see "Ice Age, Dawn of the Dinosaur" he has seen the previews and seems to be really excited, but again, we'll see how that goes! Okay i had better get some more stuff done before he wakes up then we are off to run around town! I'm kinda wishing the air in our car worked......

The Big Haircut

I didn't get any photos of it being done, but here is a good look at what Z's hair looks like now, while he blows some bubbles =)

Two Months...

Hangin out with daddy

Happy Kid =)

Zeke & a friend at a birthday party

Zeke & Max taking a walk in the field

I didn't realize it had been so long since i was on here so i will do a quick catch up of the past two months before i forget again =)

I am 5 months pregnant now, and we found out last Friday that we are going to have another boy! I am so excited for Z to have a little brother, now if we could just agree on a name for the little guy we would be doing much better!

Z is doing amazing, he is growing everyday and soaking in everything he See's and hears like a sponge, his language skills are really starting to come around and its so much fun to listen to the stories he tells us.. He seems to know that there is a baby in Mommy's belly and he will say baby brother, but other than that seems more interested in the real babies that he can see. I was watching a friends little girl (she is 3 months old) and Z just wanted to lay on the floor next to her and talk to her. It was adorable, however as soon as i got the camera out he jumped up and ran away.. silly kid.. He has a new love, matchbox cars, the kid just can't get enough of them! When he wakes up in the morning i get a "good morning" and a "Hi momma" but then the next word that comes out of his mouth is almost ALWAYS "cars"!! So topping his list of things he loves is Hockey, but cars run a close second! He also loves Veggie tales now, which is so much better than Spongebob! And we have cut down t.v time to about 20-30mins a day. although some days we manage to get by just fine without any! Especially since the weather FINALLY seems to be warming up! THANK GOD! I was really starting to believe that summer would just opt not to come this year!

Easter Time

Being that it is now the middle of June i think these pics are a little late... but, better late than never right? =) We had a little get together with some friends for Easter since a big Easter egg hunt just seemed like too much for the kiddo, and for me! It was so much fun though, the kids colored eggs, had a yummy lunch while the daddies "hid" the eggs (and by hid i mean they tossed them all over the yard) Then we all went out and the kids picked up every single egg there was! I don't know why i was so shocked but i really thought they would pick up one or two and then check those out, but not a single plastic egg was opened until there were only a couple left to get. All in all it was a great day. =)

Just a couple pics of Z at the library this past week...

Well my plan to blog every week has gone out the window! I am about 12 weeks into this pregnancy and completely exhausted! It seems by 4 o'clock i am just drained... So i will keep this up as often as i can =)
Z is doing great really enjoying the warming weather, we have gone outside to play alot more lately, which i love, this week we broke out the sidewalk chalk for the first time and he LOVES it! We sat outside drawing for almost an hour, although Z also tried to color the house.... haha.. It was a good time though! This weekend C's parents came up and we took Z swimming at the pool there, although we have discovered he really likes the hot tub! Bummer for me since i am not allowed! The crazy kid is in need of some playtime now so i am off to explore! More soon for Easter pics!

Busy Days and Sleepless Nights......

Zeke lounging with Moses watching come cartoons...

It feels like forever since i have been on here, actually that's pretty accurate... haha. This pregnancy has just had me wiped out of all energy whatsoever, i really and trying to look at this as a good thing, but its kind of a challenge sometimes :D
Things have been great around here, we are all healthy happy and enjoying these first peeks of spring, despite our early April Fools (that would be the snow.... ) I am pretty confident that that should all be melted away around here by tomorrow, maybe even today! What i am really looking forward to is the backyard drying out a little more, i feel much more at ease taking the kids out to play when i know they aren't going to have a little mud bath which we are out there! (although we have done that a few times already, so i have had my fill of mud!)
As far as the pregnancy goes i am 10 weeks tomorrow and have already had 2 ultrasounds, so i am pretty confident that everything is going to be okay, which is actually a total lie because i can barely sleep at night from worry.... I have no reason to think anything would go wrong and neither do the Doctors for that matter but I don't think i will be able to truly be okay with everything until we hit the 2nd trimester, only 3 weeks! My next appt is on the 10th so it will be nice to have a checkup, i don't think that they will be able to hear the heartbeat yet, but by our next appt they will be able to so then i can have my monthly reminder that everything is fine until i can feel this little on start wiggling around! I will try to keep this a little more updated (lets say once a week.. :) And i look forward to sharing lots of good news!

Croup, Cats, and so much more....

Trying out the big boy potty =)

Busy doesn't begin to describe how things have been around here lately..... Lets see last week we had a surprise 40th birthday party for my dad which went great. Z and I have made weekly trips to the library which we love. C and i went to a Red Wings game a couple weeks ago and had so much fun that he bought tickets as soon as we got home from that game and we are going again on the 7th (Yay!!). We adopted a kitten who was so adorable and cute for the first week and a half.. now she drives me crazy, only when she gets all wild and starts biting, not sure how to deal with that so i have to do some research... Last week (Thurs) i got sick, it is now Wed. and i am STILL sick... its awful.. and on top of that Z started coughing the day before yesterday and it just sounded a little off to me so i called the doc yesterday and took him in and they told me it was croup then sent us to the ER so he could be treated since he was also having trouble breathing.. poor kiddo had to get a shot of steroids, but his breathing was great all night i even let him sleep with me to make sure, that was a very, very long night! We weren't to cramped though since C has been sleeping on the couch since Fri because 1. i keep him up coughing all night and 2. he really doesn't want to get sick and judging by how awful i have felt i don't want him to get sick.. My mom did come over and make me some homemade chicken noodle soup, which was very yummy =).

That's just what i can think of off the top of my head! I am so ready to get out and be busy again, we were really enjoying that!! But i also don't want to get anyone else sick so i am doing the polite thing and staying home.. We do have/get to go out for a little bit today since Z has a follow-up appt to make sure he is getting better.. so keep us in your prayers!

SPRING TIME!!!

Ready, JUMP!
Tag! Your It!

I am almost 95% sure that this weather is just a tease, but i don't care! Today i actually got to open my windows and get fresh air! It was AMAZING! and even better i got to take the kiddos out to play!!! Because of the cold and the amount of snow that we had they were only able to go out and play twice this winter, we tried a couple of other times but that always resulted in them falling face first in the snow and getting mad because they couldn't get up! (it was only a little bit funny =)

So, it has been a while since i have been on here, i keep thinking that i should update it but then i get busy again!

So as for new things, we FINALLY got our car on the road (PRAISE GOD!) so Z and i have been to Chx. the past two thursdays for story time at the library, the first time was a disaster! Z screamed and cried the WHOLE time, when he calmed down for just a moment and would start to walk away from me i tried to sit down and he saw that and screamed and ran back to me then hit me! Needless to say i was a little weary to take him again the next week. Last time though (#2) he did SOOO much better! First of all we were able to sit down when story time started with out any screaming, although Z did cling to me and was facing the back of the room, but by the end of the first story he had turned around and was facing forward and actually watching! It was an amazing transformation! I don't think i have even felt so relieved! I think its really important for him to get out and do things with other kids, its only ever been R that he spends alot of time with, we have playdates once in a while but everyone gets busy and its harder to do.. SO, i am on the lookout for anyother fun things that we could go out and do to keep us busy until the yard dries out! (any ideas anyone??) For now we have been going over to a friends house to play after story time and swimming in the pool which Z LOVES! i mean it is almost impossible to hold on to him anymore he just wants to swim! Very fun though.

My new thing is a workout video that i have started ( i can't stand to be fat anymore...) but the thing is i actually love it! (the workout) Its called yoga booty ballet, and after two days i am in SO much pain! Its great! haha.. so lets see how long this lasts, i think i am going to start running a couple of evenings a week when C gets home.. I am already enjoying the extra energy, now i am looking forward to looser clothes!

Okay this is almost at book proportions now so i will be back soon with more updates on our busy life!

Taxes, Haircuts, and other "Fun" things...

Sitting in the big boy chair for his first real haircut.

Whoa! I have a cape and i can fly! (he is such a boy) Right side!
Reading a book while he gets the left side cut

It's been a while since have been on here, we've had quite the busy week! Which i must say, i love! C came home early a couple of times this week because they ran out of work to do, its a little selfish but i love when that happens! It just gives our week a little something extra fun! Tues. night i went out with a couple of friends to see Bride Wars, great movie i loved it! Then we went to Applebees for some dessert and girl talk. The rest of the week kinda went by in a blur... Fri. we were able to go get our taxes done, and at this point in our life that's actually a really good thing! We opted for the 1-2 day option for our return so we already have it. I was able to pay off 2 credit cards today!! (PRAISE GOD!) and as soon as the payments post i will be canceling them! I am really working on my spending issues..

Sat. was the real highlight though because we took Z for his first real big boy haircut! He has had 3 that i have done and 1 trim when i was getting my haircut. But this time he sat in the booster seat all by himself (most of the time) and did a great job! I couldn't have been more proud! (and relieved for that matter.. haha.. ) He looked a little funny at first, because he's had that long hair for a while now but the new look is starting to grow on us =) I'll post pics of it next time.

Other than that we have been taking a foundations class at our church and i am really learning alot, i have all this knowledge from going to church for so many years, but i don't always know how to apply it to my life. So that is one thing i need prayer for. I really want to get closer to God, i know i have LONG way to go, but i am looking forward to the journey.

Christmas Again

This weekend we celebrated Christmas with C's mom and dad, and A & J. It was great! We don't see then nearly often enough, Z was so excited to see his Lola and Lolo walk in the door! When they tried to go out the car to get more stuff he started balling! I love how much he loves them! Everyone got here on Fri night and we opened presents, above are two of Z's when he opened the sponge bob toy he made that face (above) and said "Buddy!" it was too funny! He also got a basketball hoop he is pretty excited about.. But more importantly he got to spend some time with his Aunt and Uncle, when he was younger he would look at A who looks very much like C and start crying because he was confused, now he runs right to uncle A. Sat. we spent the day at the Hotel swimming in the pool (see below) which Z loved! I was worried that he would be unsure since its been awhile since he has been in the pool but he did great! He is a little swimming machine! I think we will try to make it to Gaylord once in a while to take him to the pool there, if you haven't been its perfect for kids his age! Whenever we make it i will try to get some pics.. Anyways we had a great weekend and now onto a great week!

Zeke and his Lola

Snowy days yet again.....

I am about done with the snow now, true to my normal feelings... Love it in December HATE it in January.. You would think that we would be used to it but nope, it still seems awful and its only January! Oh well.. Z seems to love which i am thankful for, we were going for a walk earlier today and i told him it was snowing and he pointed up and said "snowing" too cute. Other new words are please & down.. and he has taken to singing the entire Sponge bob theme song all by himself! Its hilarious to watch because he only does when he doesn't think you are looking, and he will sing the whole thing, granted the only words you can understand are bob and i think i hear pineapple somewhere in there.. I just love to hear him sing =)

My friend B is going to be gone this Sat, last night was the last time i will get to see her, at least for a very long time.. I officially have no friends in Petoskey anymore.. That kinda makes me sad. I wish i could get C to move back to Charlevoix, i love it there almost as much as here, and in the summer we could actually go to the beach! not to mention that i actually have a couple of friends there! I guess we'll just have to wait and see.....

Wedding plans for my sister are going great, she doesn't seem to need me for much of anything which is actually okay with me.. She knows what she wants and opinions are not usually welcome! It is going to be amazing though, i can tell already.. I am just wondering what i am going to be looking like about that time.. I would love to have another baby, i am terrified of getting pregnant again but i don't know if we should wait long to try again.. I really would love to have my kids close together, but again i guess we will just have to wait and see!

Lets see what else is new... Z had a play date with his little buddy L today (the one this is only 2 days apart) which was great. Oh and we have had R's dog, Jonah for the past two days, cutest dog i have ever seen! We were watching him during the day, mostly so Z and R could play with him but also because i miss my dogs.. Hence the reason we have decided (maybe) to get a kitten. I think Z would love one and i would love to have a pet around again. I would rather have a dog but we can't have them here.. maybe someday when we buy a house!

Game Night!!!

Did i mention how much my husband loves to have his picture taken?

This is the beginning of the game...

Mom and Dad

The Final Score.

A long long time ago, (okay a couple of years ago) we (C, my mom and dad and I) started a family tradition we like to call game night...

Unfortunately game night somehow turned into dinner and movie night somewhere along the line, but, we recently decided its about time to bring game night back, and so here we are! This week we played Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit (not all that fun it turns out....), and our ultimate favorite Cranium. You really would have to be there to know why we love this game so much, but if you witnessed my father rolling around on the floor trying to pretend to be a mermaid, you would love it too!

So we have decided to bring back the tradition, every other Friday night is family game night, any of you who want to join in (and are close enough to do so) are more than welcome! It is always a good time! hahah...

So as for us we are all doing great, Z is napping right now, hence the middle of the day blog.. This weekend should be fun, C's parents are coming up and his brother and his fiance are coming down. C's parents are staying at a hotel so we get to take Z swimming for the first time since summer, he was doing really good then so i am hoping he enjoys it, since a friend of ours moved into a place with a pool i am hoping that when we go visit he actually has fun! She has a little girl who is only 2 days younger (i think,, maybe older but i mean its two days!) than Z and we get together every once in a while so the kiddos can play and we can talk.. Play dates might be a little more frequent now that we are getting the "new" car on the road, i am something of a procrastinator so its taken me a while to get everything done but i plan to do it next week, then Z and i will be making weekly trips to Chx! As of now i plan to go every Thurs so i can take the kiddos to Story Hour at the library then we will spend the rest of the day with friends. I am really looking forward to it! So if you want to get together let me know!

Happy New Year!

Mischievous?

actually he was just tasting the snow... =)

Dec. 31, 2008

Eating a banana Jan. 1st, yes he slept in his clothes, he was too tired to be bothered with jammies....

Happy New Year Everyone! I can't believe that it is 2009! This was the first time in a long time that C and have done anything for New Years, and a first for Z! The year we got together with my family to celebrate and ring in the new year together. It was an absolute blast! Christmas Eve just went by so fast, no one got to the house until after 8 so there was only so much time we could spend together so i was very excited to see everyone again. We played games, ate, and generally just had a good time! Z was thrilled to be able to play with his cousins again, the wonder in his eyes when he see's them is just hilarious! My mom has a pic of the three of them that i will be sure to but on here when i get it. Z made it until about 11 then he walked into the kitchen looked at me and and asked to be picked up, so of course i did, after about 3 seconds my mom looked and him and informed me that he was already sound asleep. It was too cute, so i snuggled for a while while i talked to my sister in GR on the phone then i laid him down to sleep with his younger cousin, also absolutely adorable! It was a great night and i am grateful for my wonderful family! C is still laid off for the week so we are getting to spend lots of quality time together, he is only making me slightly crazy which is great! (he is a very restless person, so i wondered what how he would do being trapped in the house most of the week) But it has been great, and Z has never been happier! Not to mention that i have gotten in more reading than ever since i can just hang out while they play!

Oh and please do let me know what you think of the new look of my blog, i am trying some new stuff out.. =)

Merry Christmas!!

Opening a gift from his aunt N.

I know this post is a little late in coming, but we have been very busy! Last week it seemed all we did was go, go, go! But as the year comes to end we are enjoying a little more family time. C was laid off for the week, and all though its not good for the budget its great for me and Z! We miss him when he is gone at work all day! So for the rest of this year (isn't that still fun to say even as we get older?) at least he will be home!
So last week was Christmas and it was great! We started off Christmas eve at my parents house for the Johnson family Christmas, which i always love because i don't get to see any of them nearly often enough. Z had a blast playing with his cousins, and it was the first time as the last time he saw them it was Easter and he wasn't really at an age where he could play yet so this we a real thrill for him. We didn't get home until late (close to midnight) so it was right to bed until Christmas morning! This was the first year that C and i have ever done Christmas morning just us and Z of course, so it was really fun. We all had breakfast and then tore into the presents =) I am a huge fan of Christmas and a giver at that so C and Z made out like bandits! I got a couple of great gifts from my wonderful husband too which i am very grateful for. I got an ihome this year so i finally have a radio! i am very big on having some kind of background noise on nearly all the time so for the longest time it has been the TV but now we are listening to alot more music and Z loves to dance! We spent the whole day together which was my favorite gift of all! The next day i cleaned and packed to get ready to head down to C's parents for the weekend. That was a blast as always! I got to finish an entire book! Have i mentioned how much i love my mother in law? She is really great! Z also had his first ice cream cone down there which you can tell by the pic below he loved!

Enjoying some ice cream...

The kiddo also got some quality time in with his puppies =) all in all it was an amazing Christmas spent with an even more amazing family.

Christmas~time is Here...

This past weekend we went to my parents house for Christmas, and it was great! My mom and i shopped in TC until about 9pm which is funny if you know that we planned on being back to her house by about 1 or 2 in the afternoon.. haha.. But we had a blast! Z did great, we rented one of those cars at the mall and he rode in that nearly the whole time, when he got crabby i let him watch The Backyardigans on my Ipod which i had handy just for that reason. It was so cute that we decided to take a picture, which we immediately got in trouble for, turns out you can't take pictures in the mall, especially in front of the jewelry stores! oops. =) we did get the shot though but its on my moms camera.. After a while Z fell asleep which was so funny because he was still sitting straight up, i had to put my moms jacket next to him and lean him over so he could really sleep. Too cute.

After we got back we wrapped all the presents and had some great family time. I miss that, we don't really get to see my family all that often. The next morning we woke up and had a great family breakfast (with only a few mishaps..) then we opened presents! I love watching the joy on everyones faces when they see what they got. Its not just about getting stuff to me, its about seeing what the other person thinks you would like, i really put alot of thought into gifts that i give most of the time. Its a reflection of a lot of things to me. But i did get some really great things (thanks family =) And i was just overall very blessed to get spend time with my mom and dad, and my sister and future brother in law, and of course my amazing husband and my hilariously adorable son.

Above are a couple of the family photos we took. Every year i like to try and get a few, whether or not they turn out is a whole different story... getting everyone outside, dressed nice, and looking happy is something like pulling teeth i would imagine.. haha..

Zeke

Just a couple of shots of Z i thought were too cute to pass up =)

Just a quick update to let you know that i have not in fact fallen off the face of the planet =)
Things are getting better around here, i am getting better.. well emotionally anyways.. I am so thankful for the wonderful family that i have and the great friends that i get to spend my time with. Things could be ALOT worse that's for sure.. so thanks to all of you who have taken the time just to care, it means more to me than you know.
On to better things, the kiddo has a new favorite person (?) and word, Elmo.. couldn't come at a better time actually as i let C talk me into getting him the Elmo Live for Christmas, he actually chose to watch an Elmo DVD [that we borrowed from our wonderful neighbor] over Sponge bob, which is a HUGE deal! haha, I'm actually pretty excited that he is choosing the more educational show for once! Oh something that i am pretty excited about and anyone who doesn't like TV as much as i do look away now, i am going to get a Tivo for us, i really took time to think about it, which i never do... and decided that i would be a good investment for us. Now there will be no more arguments over me choosing TV over other things (to be fair its not all TV in general, i just have my shows and i don't like to miss them... ) and i can save the educational cartoons for Z so that if he really wants to watch something when nothing is on then i am set! Okay i really ought to get off here since this was just supposed to be a quick update! And we are going to be running late for Church!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....

It has been snowing here almost non-stop it seems.. The first few days of snow were wonderful, we were able to go out and play in the snow and the kids and i both loved it! However, this week (and the week before...) we have not been able to go out at all, we have tried, but the poor kiddos can't walk in such deep snow so they fall face first and get mad because they can't get up in all their snow gear! (sound familiar?) It would be so funny to watch if they weren't so mad about it! So we have been spending most of our days inside.. okay all of our days! We were able to make it out to the library the other day but other than some weekend shopping we have cooped up in this house for too long! I think it may be starting to get to me... i have been pretty restless this week,,, i have the urge to just run.. However Doctors orders are i must rest.... that's a while different story that i would write about if i even knew what the heck was going on! however.. i don't... but i will let you all know as soon as i do.. whenever that may be..... So for now i am off to talk with my husband, at least if i am going to be inside i can have some adult conversation!

Busy Days....

I can't believe it has been a month since i have been on here! I guess we've just been busy!! Doing alot of Christmas shopping, which i love! some people don't care for it but i find nothing more enjoyable than being able to pick out the perfect gift for someone i love. Shopping for Z has been a blast too, i know we are overdoing it and i don't care! Is that bad? haha.. i just want to be able to give my son everything, and since i know that we will have more (at least one) kids in the future i know most of the stuff will get tons of use! I have had all my decorations up since just before Thanksgiving and my tree up since the day after... I love the holidays!!

Thanksgiving was not what i was really hoping for but at least we got to see family. I had really hoped to be able to see my family this year but no such luck, however i do love my in-laws very much so it was still a good holiday.. My mother in law bought a HUGE turkey to feed 4 people and a toddler and made a roast to go with it! However since we did celebrate at our house i got to do at least some of the cooking!!! (if you knew my mother in law you would know what a treat that is =) The following day we were able to visit with my brother in law and his fiance which was nice, J and i went to TC and did some shopping which i can never get enough of!! Then Sunday we went out and got our Christmas tree! I think i will take a cue from a dear friend (yes you =) and post a picture on here, that is if i can get my son to leave the decorations alone!!! The first few days he did very well just looking, but as time goes on he becomes bolder and now he will just look at me and pull them off!! So none are in the same place as i put them! Oh well, someday i am sure i will look back and wish he was still that small... He is just getting so big and getting to the point where he is adding words to his vocabulary at least every week, the other day C and i took him to the library and he said Bee & Bird, He also started bending his knees a little and saying ready then running all the way across the room, it is hilarious! Oh he also closes his eyes super tight now when he is being shy or nervous, or if you tell him its time for "night night" but only if he is super tired.. The other day i had a Doc. appt and i took him with me, when they had to take my blood pressure Z got so mad at the lady he was screaming and hitting her and trying to take off the cuff, it was adorable! haha, he was trying to protect his mommy,, My sweet boy! He is just the greatest.