Goodbye 2011..........

2011 was a good year.  I can't say I felt all that great for half of it (thanks to the pregnancy) but in the end Leo joined our family.  I think I summed up 2011 very well in my Thankful Thursday post, so I won't reflect too much on the past year. 

What surprised me was that when I looked back to find my New Years Resolutions to see if I accomplished any (haha) there was nothing to be found.  I didn't have any, which is crazy since I am a fan of them.  I know a big focus of the past few years has been to get out of debt and get money into savings and guess what............we did both.  We have no credit card debt, are down to one student loan, and have enough in savings that if both of us lost our jobs, at the same time, we could live for 3 months.   We are all happy and healthy, so without any resolutions I think we are doing pretty good.

Since I love New Years Eve and Mike hates it, and we didn't have a sitter, we decided to dress up and head to dinner as a family.  We had a great time.  Gwen and I wore beads and fun tiaras.  When we got home from dinner we did a photo shoot and did poppers that shot out confetti.  Mike and I ended up staying  up past midnight drinking.  I realized the next day that there is a reason I go to bed by 9:00 and only have one or two glasses of wine.

Here are some pictures from the photo shoot.  We are a fine looking family if I do say so myself!!

Zoo Lights

The weather was gorgeous so we bundled up the kiddos and headed to the Denver Zoo for their annual Zoo Lights.  What a "zoo" it was.  Way too many people, not enough parking, and a driving free for all.  As I was looking at all the gorgeous lights and listening to Christmas music, I realized what a grump I have become when it comes to crowds, events, kids.....etc.  I need to just relax and enjoy my new life which involves all three :-)

We had a great time anyway.  Gorgeous lights, great music, and great company.  What more can you ask for?  Leo was mesmerized the entire time, so that is never a bad thing.......

Thankful Thursday Year End 2011 Edition

Nobody told me that having two children would be significantly harder than one, so Thankful Thursday had taken a backseat thanks to lack of time.  I did want to do a final Thankful Thursday of 2011 and it will encompass what in 2011 I was most thankful for.

1.  Leo.  After a very long and very uncomfortable/miserable pregnancy I gave birth to a 7 lb 10 oz baby boy.   There are so many things about him and the experience that brought/bring me so much joy:

• I never have to be pregnant again
• I got to truly enjoy my labor.  I never thought that could happen, but watching my mother's face as she watched her grandson be born was priceless.  Watching Mike hold his son for the first time brings tears to my eyes.  I got to look around and take the whole experience in.   I can close my eyes and see those images as vividly as it happened.
• Being able to tell my father that he has a grandson and seeing his face for the first time as he met his grandson (when Leo was only a few hours old) was one of the best things I will ever experience.  My dad deserved a boy as much as my husband did.
• Seeing Gwen beam as she met Leo for the first time.  Someone told me that their first picture would be my favorite and I can't argue with that.  Even now I love watching them interact and it is my favorite thing about having two kids.  Leo's face lights up and he talks to her the moment he knows she is around.  She is always hugging and kissing him and just loves her "baby bruder". 
• That feeling of being complete.  I feel like Mike and I now flow as a complete unit.  We have the perfect family and I am so ready to experience the future with everyone.  I just hope they don't grow too fast!
• Re-visiting those "firsts".  I never thought I would get as excited as I did to see Leo roll over, eat solids...etc, but I do. 
• His smile.  I forgot how amazing it is when you enter a room and see the biggest, most beautiful smile looking at you.  His smile is contagious and even after the worst day, it makes life perfect.

2.  Michael.  I could never had made it through my pregnancy without him.  I could not be the mother I want to be to my children, without him.   I could have never breastfed as long as I am, without him.  He is the most amazing father and husband any woman could ask for.  I am not a religious person, but I thank God for him everyday.  He grocery shops and does laundry.  He takes care of Gwen while I am busy taking care of Leo.  He works hard and gives back to his family.  He cooks dinner most nights.  No matter how horrible and bitchy I am, he loves me unconditionally.  If I had one wish for my children it would be that Leo turns out like him and Gwen finds someone just like him.  The world would be a better place with more people like him in it.  For him, I am so thankful.

3.  The things Gwen says.  She is so funny and witty without even knowing it.  It is straight from her pure innocence.  The other day we were talking about how we don't eat flowers.  She says "we eat cauliflower".  She talks very matter of fact and keeps us laughing all the time.  Our new way of punishing her is by taking away toys and putting them in the "naughty jar".  She tries to negotiate what will go in there when she is bad.  She is WAY too smart for her own good.   She absorbs and remembers EVERYTHING.  99% she is a joy to be around and keeps life very light hearted.

4.  New friends/new life.  This year we finally met some great people in our neighborhood.  We spent so much time outside with them this summer (until all hours) and even had them over for Christmas Eve.  Gwen loves to play with Aiden and we really enjoy the company of the parents.  It feels like when we were kids and we would go knock on the neighbor's door to play.  We do that now...........sometimes through texting though..........it is almost 2012.

5. My maternity leave.  I was able to spend 12+ weeks off of work.  I got to take Gwen swimming and to music class.  We went to the aquarium and the zoo.  We "played played played" as Gwen would say.  I got to spend the quiet days by the pool with Leo.  He would sleep and I would read.  I got to really figure out what is important in life and I realized that I need to not spend my life in front of the computer.  Mike and I are on this 2 year goal of me going part time.  I even joined the ranks of Stella & Dot to help supplement income so we can save more to get us to reach that goal.  I want to be able to be there for Gwen before and after school.  I want it to be me that she talks to at the end of the day.  Hopefully when I write this in 2014, I can say that our goal has come true.

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope you can look back at your 2011 and be as thankful for it as I was of my 2011. 

Sledding Pictures

Here are some pictures from our sledding adventure on Christmas Day.  We were so proud of Gwen for being brave and sledding with her dad and by herself.  She surprises us all the time!

5 Months

I thought each month when I posted the latest "month" birthday for Leo that I would be freaked at how fast time is flying by.  I am starting to think that is not the case.  I remember right after he was born I would sit and feed him in the rocking chair looking out the window at the long summer days.  Those summer days turned into chilly fall ones, followed by snow and Christmas lights.  It seems like such a long time ago that he was born, but at the same time "how is my baby already 5 months?"

Leo is finally eating solids.  Daycare got him to eat oatmeal and he is eating bananas at home.  I am hoping this eventually slows down his milk intake as he eats so much that I can barely keep up!  He is rolling over and is starting to sit up.  He is constantly talking, laughing, smiling, and kicking his feet.  His toothless smile lights up a room.  He has also started this really high pitched girly scream which is pretty funny.  He still doesn't have a schedule and is up 1-2 times per night.  Sometimes he wakes up screaming he is so hungry.  Hoping the solids help a bit. He loves spending time in his jumparoo and his favorite person in the world is Gwen.  As much of a pain in the ass as he is, there is nothing in the world more amazing than watching him interact with his sister.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Pictures

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

This was the first year that we would not have any family visit or visit any family for Christmas.  When I realized this last month I was actually heart broken.  Why didn't anybody want to spend Leo's first Christmas with him? 

In the end, it turned out to be a great weekend.  The 23rd I got to bake cookies with Gwen.  We made chocolate meatballs and Gingerbread Girls/Boys.  On Christmas Eve we fought the crowd and saw Santa.  We then had our neighbors over and Emily/Tom for dinner.   It was very low key.  We ate ham, mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese and green bean casserole.  All the food was delicious and most of the company was great...........with the exception of Gwen.  Seriously, it was BY FAR the worst I have ever seen her.  She was horrible all day.  At one point during dinner I had enough so I swatted her on the butt (which I RARELY do) and threw her in her bedroom.  She was screaming so loud.  I seriously debated whether or not Santa would come.  It was awful.  I figure it is from the anticipation of Santa because she was great on Christmas day.

On Christmas Day Gwen looked out at the tree and saw a slide.  She was so excited.  It was so wonderful watching her as she unwrapped all of her gifts.  We of course had to open everything right then and there..........she even stripped down to put on her ballet outfit we bought her to go with ballet classes.   Emily and Tom had spent the night so they got to enjoy watching her as well.  We did a great job with the gifts because there weren't so many that she was overwhelmed.  We got through them in like 2 hours.  After gifts we had mimosas and a cheesy ham/potato casserole.  We then went sledding with the neighbors.  It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.  After sledding came naps (both kids napped AT THE SAME TIME) and lots of playing with the new toys. 

Leo enjoyed his first Christmas.  He got his first car which is controlled by a rattle.  He loves it.  He's mesmerized when the car moves.  He also got to enjoy rides down the slide with his sister.  I felt a smidge of sadness because we will never have another "first Christmas" with one of our children.  Oh well, now it will only get more fun :-) 

A Visit to Santa

Two kids have made me a procrastinator so on Christmas Eve morning we headed to the mall for the annual Santa picture. Gwen is now 1-3 with Santa....she didn't cry this year and either did Leo!!

Gwen told Santa she wanted a castle and then gave him a hug. I can't wait to see her face when she opens said castle!!

Enjoy pictures from today:

Makes Me Laugh Every Time

The Polar Express

The Polar Express is a beautiful story about a train that takes kids to the North Pole to see Santa.  At the end all the children get bells.   When we had the opportunity to take Gwen on the Polar Express, we jumped at it.  How wonderful and fun.  The one thing that was never mentioned in the story is how after the train, on the way home, in the middle of nowhere, in pitch black darkness, and 27 degrees you would hear what sounds like water pouring in your backseat when in reality it is your 3 year old throwing up all over herself.  Mind you this happened 15 minutes into a 2 hour trip home.  Thankfully, she happened to throw up all in her jacket so it didn't get all over my backseat......or smell.  Luckily we were right by a "point of interest" turn off.  The only issue was the freezing cold/pitch black dark.  On top of this fun, Leo was screaming because he had to drink cold milk (he managed to suffer down 3 oz).

That fun evening led to Gwen throwing up a few times at home (luckily she passed out and slept the rest of the car trip), followed by the stomach flu hitting the rest of us.  It was a rough weekend.........damn train!!

Anyway........the Polar Express was cute.  They had Christmas Carols playing, cookies, chocolate milk, a bar, and everyone saw Santa.  The train smelled of old people. That was my only real complaint.  We all had a great time (we went with our neighbors.....Aiden is Gwen's good friend).

Enjoy some pictures from this semi-enjoyable Friday night :-)

He Loves His Sister...........Most Of The Time