merry christmas to all...

(jocelyn k. brown photography...there's nothing this gal can't do)

...and to all...

a whole lotta presents.

i wish christmas was year round.

Every little thing about this season makes me smile.   

one month love letter.

photo courtesy of jocelyn k. brown photography.

I'm a total copy-cat...this girl writes love letters to her boy.  And I stole the idea from her.  I actually just wanted to cut and paste her love letters onto my blog...they are really something else.  But figured by month 6 or 7 someone would figure it out.  And when Carson started asking why some of the letters were in Polish, it might be kinda awkward.  So without further adieu...here goes it:

Carson Ryan,

How to put into words what you have brought to our lives?  Besides, sleepless nights, sore nipples, and a lot of dirty diapers...you have brought us such a feeling of complete and total happiness.  Everyone says, 'oh you have a boy and a girl...how perfect.'  But it's more than that, it's more than you being a boy.  It's just you.  You are the little guy that makes this family feel 'just right'.  You are the one that has made sense of something I never thought would.  You are the one that has put my heart at total and absolute peace.  You are the one who makes me feel like our little family is completely...well...complete.  Your little baby noises make me smile ear to ear, the way you can sleep through any and everything (except the night) drives me crazy, and your tiny little body makes me just want to squeeze you to pieces. 
You don't do much yet.  We forgot how good newborns are at doing absolutely nothing...oh except crying.  You eat...A LOT, you sleep a little less than you used to, which gives us a lot of 'open eye' time, and you still stare at us like we are strangers.  But you're starting to warm up.  I swear I've seen you smile when I'm talking to you and you always calm right away to my voice, you watch your sister with the most worried, old man face (probably because whenever she's in the vicinity you are getting poked and prodded), you hate being licked by Rudy, and you fall into the deepest sleep the minute you are in your dad's arms. 
It was truly love at first sight when we saw you buddy.  The tears in your dad's eyes when he calmly said to me "Oh my God Meg, it's a boy" are still there whenever he stares at you.  And as for me, well I have a crush on you that makes me feel so giddy it's almost like we should be in a John Hughes film together (I'll be Samantha Baker, you be Jake Ryan).  Everyone always says it's so different with the second...and it's true, it is.  Because with you, we just enjoy.  We're not worried about this or that.  We're just focused on you.  And I couldn't imagine anything more wonderful than teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, absolutely perfect, little, you.

xoxo

Your completely smitten Mama

cousin movie.

Every year, for as long as I can remember my mom would take all my little cousins to lunch and a movie.  We have a HUGE family (I have like 30 cousins...for reals), so instead of buying each kiddo a present, my mom would take them all out for the afternoon instead.  She comes loaded with candy bags, and absolutely zero rules.  A kid's heaven.  And she has continued the tradition with her grandkids, grandkids cousins, and great nieces.  So here we are, at cousin movie year 23, the new generation.  Mom, you're the best.

a little something for santa.

He's a WAY better parent than me.  I hate doing this kind of stuff.  Just hate it.  I hate the mess, hate how much longer it takes, hate doing things out of order, hate the way it makes my heart race, hate that I inevitably lose my patience.  I accept it.  I'm a sucky mom.  That's why she has grandparents.

Carson, taking it all in.  This was before he almost scooted himself off the counter.  True story.  It

could have been ugly.

Now if they could just last until St. Nick gets here.

P.S. They didn't.

pete & repeat.

They do a lot of this...

...and a lot of this...

...and a lot of this...

...and a lot of this.

carson firsts.

First time 'chillin'.

First time 'watching' Caillou.

First tubby.

First time sleeping...not in someone's arms.

First unsupervised playdate with Hadley.  He had 'surgery'.

First U-Village shopping trip.

First E.T. reenactment...second unsupervised playdate with Hadley.

First nap with Zaide.

First walk.

First yawn caught on camera.

First football game.

First threesome...third and final playdate with Hadley.

First trip to the cabin.

Oh Cars, we have so much to do!

we've come a long way.

Almost one.

Almost two.

Almost three.

Almost four.

And finally got it.

waiting to meet the big man.

Dear Santa:

"I want a beauty parlor and a stocking.  And next year I want three horses, a barn, and some hay."

xoxo

Hadley Jane

my little entrepreneur.

One of my nearest, dearest, most favorite people...in the whole wide world...ventured out into something new.  She got sick of the same old thing, and is taking a chance.  And this is just one more reason why I think she is greater than great.  She's not afraid...of anything...except midgets.  KIDDING!  So go to her website, and buy her stuff.  It's cuter than cute and will make you smile.  And those of you that have a dog...and then had a kid...you'll totally 'get it'.  Plus, when she becomes a millionaire, I'm quite certain she'll buy me a car, and maybe pay our mortgage.  Jame, I am so proud of you, and I still love you, even if you live in stupid Utah.

Hospital stay...take two.

We managed to make the best of it.  Even after I cried when I found out I would be staying for another three days.  My mom and I had a slumber party the first night (Carson could not stay with me without another adult there at all times...annoying.)  What an amazing little guest she was, every time Carson woke up to eat, she would wake up too, and then change him when I finished.  I asked her if she wanted to move in to our house.  Plus, she looks smokin' in a hospital gown.  Oh the fun we had.  Hads and I 'rode' the hospital bed, it was wild, even threw our hands in the air a couple of times.  We had Incentive Spirometer contests (Ry won...he has amazing lung capacity), the SCD's (the pump things on my legs) made me feel like I was at a spa, and we had so many visitors that we kind of felt like celebrities.  An added bonus, my dad and Ryan got to watch the Apple Cup there...couldn't imagine a better ambiance.  Thank you everyone for making life bearable, your visits, dinners, phone calls, texts, emails...well, they made life worth living (how's that for dramatic).

Evergreen Hospital...our home away from home.