On the mend

Barrett's been feeling icky for about a week now. It started with a runny nose, then a little cough and fevers off and on. He just hasn't been himself for a few days. I hate to see him sick, but I do love all the extra cuddle time he is requiring.

I took these pictures Monday night. I was cleaning up dishes in the kitchen and told Justin to take him in and get his bath ready. Once I realized he wasn't doing what I'd asked (he usually doesn't on the first request anyway), I peeked around the corner and saw this. Justin told me, "I can't make him get up, when he's laying here so sweet like this." He was pretty sweet, but you can tell even through the pictures, that he's just not feeling well. We had our usual Monday night pizza, and he hardly ate any.

I think he seems to be on the mend now. Our doctor started him on an antibiotic Monday, that he'll take for 3 days. I want him to be feeling well for Thanksgiving!

22 months

Nope, I didn't forget about taking your monthly monkey pictures! We took them on the 18th, just before bed time. You'd had your bath, you were in your jammies, and we were drinking milk and reading stories...then we called Kylie to wish her a Happy 11th Birthday, and she was really wanting to come see her Mr. B! Even though we had the toys picked up, the family room lights out, and we were snuggling on the couch reading, we invited them over to see YOU! I told Kylie it was only because it was her birthday! Mimi, Kylie and Emily all came over to love on you!! You drug ALL the toys back out, you wrestled with the girls, and you laughed and laughed. They were here about 30 minutes, and were worried they'd gotten you all riled up and disrupted your bedtime. But after they left, we read one more story, and you went right to bed. You're so easy!

What a great way to celebrate 22 months!

On another note....
I FINISHED my {2008 Blog Book} tonight! 24 hours before the special ended!
Ahh...it feels so great!

(some screen shots of my book preview)

I ordered the 8x10 hardcover book, with the ImageWrap. My book was around 220 pages, and I told Justin that the 2009 book will probably be MUCH bigger. Yikes! I can't wait to get my book in the mail. It's supposed to ship on or before December 3rd. Happy Birthday to ME!!

Which Housewife are you?

So...it's 11 p.m., and I've been working on wedding invites all night long. I watched tonight's episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County, while I was working. Thought it would be fun to take a little break and find out which Housewife I am...since they have an online quiz for it, and all!

I'm a little confused...

It tells me that I am "Alexis" (The newest housewife)

But the picture is of Lynne?!?!?

I agree that I'm a perfectionist, and I put my whole heart into whatever I do :)

If you're an O.C. drama-lover like me, OR just need a break too...
Go take the personality test HERE and find out who you are!

Letters to my Little Bear~20th Edition

Happy 22 months, Little Bear!!!

I've probably said this before, but I really, really mean it now...you are at the most fun age yet!! I am amazed by you every single day. Doing things I had no idea you could do (putting both boots on by yourself, and on the right feet). Saying words I didn't know you even knew! The other night while I was in the kitchen making super, you and Daddy were playing on the floor in the family room. You were coloring, and I heard him ask you "what color is this, Barrett"? Without missing a beat, you answered "purple." I immediately popped my head around the corner to ask Daddy, "was that right"? Sure enough, it was. I told him, I didn't even know that you knew that color/word!

Some new words this month:
snack (this means fruit snacks), teacher, children, rag, pizza, guy, bunny, trash

You're saying so many {new} words every day, I can't even keep up with them! I need to carry a notebook around in my back pocket to write them all down!

You're still not the greatest eater in the world, but I think that's pretty typical for a toddler. I'll just keep putting meals in front of you, and hopefully one of these days you'll start eating a little more of them. There are a few things that you'll clean off your plate: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and pizza. You LOVE pizza! We've been enjoying the Monday night "Beat the Clock" special at Gambino's Pizza. You can't beat a $6.00 large pizza! But even better, you can't beat the excitement of your squeals when we bring it home and put it on the table!!

Just last night, Daddy and I were on the couch watching tv and you spilled a little water from your sippy cup on the carpet. You looked at us and said what we thought was "snack." We just looked at you in confusion, and said "it's okay honey, it's just water." Next thing we knew you headed down the hall, and we heard drawers opening and closing. I looked to Daddy and said, what in the world is he doing? Before long, you were headed back in with one of your washcloths from the bathroom drawer. You bent down and cleaned up the water. You had been telling us "rag," not "snack." What a good little boy...every tiny little thing you do makes us proud!

You are a total BOY, and getting more and more independent every day. You love playing with cars and throwing the football. The day I took these, you were playing on the floor with a car that Grandma and Papa got you. I love watching the 'wheels turn' while you're deep in concentration, and playing on your own. As you can see, you love to wear hats too! You put them on yourself, and I love that you were wearing this one backwards on this day :) You've always got one on...even just playing around the house. Either this one, your blue baseball helmet, your cowboy hat, your brown stocking cap, or one of Daddy's ball caps.

What you've been up to:

*You're still going to school (Kid's Day In) at our church every Friday from 9am-1pm, and you're still crying every time I leave you there. It breaks my heart, but I know you only cry for a little while, and then you get to playing. All of the teachers are so sweet, and they let you sit in their lap, and they read to you until you stop crying. I know this, because I watch through the window for a few minutes. I can't leave until I know my baby is okay. I know you love it there, because you talk about "school" all the time. You love to carry around the pictures you've made at school. Last Friday they gave us a picture magnet of all the kids and teachers from Halloween. You carry that thing with you everywhere, pointing out and saying Jackson, Lydia, Addison, Miss Molly, Miss Ellen, etc. Last week, they had to call me because you were extra sad, and they were worried about you. You weren't crying, but they just said you weren't yourself. I came to pick up you early that day. This week, I get to stay and help in your class...so that means you'll be extra ornery!

*On Tuesday mornings (and sometime Thursday mornings), we go to playgroup.

*On Wednesday mornings, we go to story-time at the Library with Mrs. Jo. We read one of your favorite books, "Brown Bear." It melts my heart a little, each time I hear you mumble "brown bear, brown bear, what do you see"...I might be the only one that understand what you're saying, but it's still adorable! This book is where you learned the words teacher and children. Mimi just loves to hear you say children.

*Today, you had your H1N1 vaccination, and you were such a good boy! We were in and out of there in about 5 minutes. We'll go back next month for your second dose.

We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday next week. Your Uncle Bobby and Aunt Jenn will be coming home on Wednesday night, and your Uncle Jeff will also be home for the holiday! You haven't seen any of them in a long time. They will be so surprised and what a little man you are! Mommy also celebrates a birthday next week (shh...don't tell anyone that I'm going to be 30)!

We love you more than anything, Little Bear! I can't even imagine our lives without you. You bring us so much joy and laughter. My favorite times are spent cuddling with you, listening to your belly laughs as Daddy tickles you, and your squeals of excitement as we chase you around the house. The other day while Daddy was home for lunch, you were so tired, you fell asleep in my arms on the couch. You haven't really done that since you were a baby. I loved every second of holding you there in the crook of my arm, watching you breathe. I could have held you there for the whole three hours of your afternoon nap, but I put you in your bed when Daddy went back to work! It makes me sad that you're not a baby anymore...but I love watching the little man that you're becoming.

Love you to the moon and back,
Mommy and Daddy

{my family}

Last weekend we had Kim take our family pictures for us. I'd had it on the calendar for awhile, and was really looking forward to it. I had Justin haul my big brown chair out to the country. He wasn't too happy about that, and of course getting a toddler to hold still and look at the camera is quite the job. I guess I felt a little like most of my clients, worrying that we weren't getting any "keepers." Justin was grumpy, Barrett was distracted and ornery, and I was stressed. It added to my frustration that the weather and evening sunlight were perfect, and Barrett didn't want to sit still long enough to take advantage of it. But, Kim did a great job, and I am really excited with what we were able to get....even if Barrett is eating fruit snacks in 90% of the pictures! Can you tell?!?!

After we were done with the family pictures, I tried to get a few of Barrett in his new hat. I bought it from the sweetest lady on Etsy, and got a great deal. I'd been looking at several of these, and they were all around $30. I got this one for $16...I told her what colors I wanted, and she made it made it fast and shipped it for free! She was great to work with, and even told me if I sent her a picture to use in her listings, that she'd give me 30% off my next purchase!

So, there they are...our 2009 family pictures! I'm sharing my favorites with you here, because I'm not even sure I'll get around to doing Christmas cards this year. I'm too busy doing them for everyone else :)

Thanks again, Kim!!

Dress-up

Oh my goodness, I've been a horrible blogger lately! I hate that I haven't been posting very often...for my loyal readers, and for the sake of our memories! Things are just so crazy right now with my business, and I hardly have time to even breathe! I am still loving every minute of it, but with portrait sessions, editing, assembling wedding invites, and my duties as a wife and mother...I could really use a few more hours in the day! I am looking forward to next month, when things will slow down and I can enjoy the holidays!

Of course I'm also forcing myself to work on my Blurb book every chance I get!! I have decided in 2010, I will slurp my posts and pictures into Blurb at the end of each month. That way I'm not doing a whole year's worth and then trying to tweak the layout. I am WAY too anal for that business! Plus, I'm finding that it's telling me some of my images are low resolution and may not print well?!?! I don't understand it. Anyone that's done a book know about this? It doesn't make sense...I will have three images in a post (example: 4th of July) that were all taken the same day, with the same camera, uploaded the same way, etc. AND it's telling me that two of them are fine, but one has the little low-resolution "warning" symbol over it? Anyone? It's only frustrating to me because all of my pictures from my 2008 blog are on the PC in our office. I only use that computer if I'm printing invites or envelopes for clients, and I don't have the Booksmart software downloaded on it. I'm not sure what's the easiest way to get these pictures replaced. I don't want to have to leave them out of the book!

AND...what's a post without a few pictures!?!
(A few pictures that might be fun to share with Barrett's first girlfriend)

Barrett loves to dress-up in our clothes, hats and shoes. Every morning while I'm in the bathroom getting ready, he's sitting on the floor of our closet putting on our shoes. He loves Daddy's work boots, cowboy boot and tennis shoes. He likes my flip flops and high heels. He also loves to wear Daddy's hats around. And yes, he's also still sporting the Christmas capri jammies. They're all the rage, people!

By the way...If you were praying for Stellan, but haven't heard the AMAZING news, you'll want to go check it out!
The game is over...and God, Stellan's doctors and Stellan all hit a HOME RUN! Wow!

praying for Stellan

He needs your prayers today...sweet baby Stellan does

In April, we wore orange and prayed for Stellan, as he battled SVT.
Today we're praying for him still, as he undergoes heart surgery in Boston.
I've been reading Mckmama's updates all day.

I've never met this family. I only know them through their blog.
But today, their battle is weighing heavy on my heart. Please join me, and say a little prayer for Stellan, his family, and the doctors that are operating on him.

I'm laying it out there...

Laying it out there...so that you all can help hold me accountable!

You hear me talk (all the time) about how I make updating this blog so important, because it is our family scrapbook. Where I document all of our family memories with pictures and journaling. AND how I plan to print a blog book each year of all my posts, so that we will have an actual scrapbook to hold in our hands. I started my blog in April of 2008, and at the end of 2008, I started working on our blog book for all of my 2008 posts and pictures. I "slurped" all into a book at Blurb. Well, I didn't really know what I was doing at the time, and it was all a little overwhelming to me! Plus I'm way too much of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this.

NOW...it's November 2009!
Almost another year of posting has gone by, and I still haven't printed my 2008 book! Eek!

Here what my book looks like now...in the designing stages of the software:

So, I got just the {push} I needed the other day to FINISH the stinkin' 2008 book and get it printed before the end of the year! An email from Blurb with THIS OFFER! 20% off a book AND free shipping!! If you're interested in making a blog book, I think anyone can use this offer and code. You just have to create an account, download the slurping software (Booksmart), and get started! Don't be a slacker like me though, and take a whole year to print your book :)

Here is a sample of one of the blog books a Blurb user has made....

You can flip through the book HERE

It's easy to see I'm sooo excited about this...so WHY is it taking me forever and a day to get it finished and printed?!?! Not sure, but that's why I'm telling you, my friends! The above offer is good through November 24th, so that is my deadline! I hope to be able to share pictures of my finished book with you sometime in December!

Wish me luck! Happy book-making to you, if you decide to give it a whirl!

Halloween '09: Part II

We have a tradition with our friends (Brent & Megan and Audra & Kane) to get together and carve pumpkins every year. I think we've been doing it for about four years, but I'm not quite sure. Megan, is that right? (*Not right...see end of post!! Time flies!)

The evenings festivities have changed a bit over the years. When we first started, it was just the couples...we engaged in adult conversation, enjoyed adult beverages and were all able to leisurely carve pumpkins. In 2007, Megan, Audra and I were ALL pregnant...so we engaged in adult conversation, skipped the adult beverages, and leisurely carved pumpkins. This year, the kids are all between the ages of 20 months and 23 months...we engage in kiddie talk, and discuss if we should get the H1N1 vaccination for our children, continuously pick up food and toys from the floor, and one spouse from each couple carves a pumpkin, while the others watch the children.

It's a bit different, but every bit as FUN! Thanks to Megan and Brent for hosting! They have the perfect front porch for our annual group picture.

Just for fun...here are some pictures from previous years:


2008...
We didn't carve pumpkins this year, the kids were little and it would have been crazy!
We were happy to have Hadley (and her mommy & daddy) with us though!

2007...babies in the bellies
The night we got together was our 5th Anniversary, so they made a special treat for us!

2006...can't find this year's pictures.


2005....had to dig back in my shutterfly account and copy these pictures!
So, sorry the quality is horrible and they're little.

2004...can't find this year's either


2003...REALLY, we started it this long ago?!?!
That's what the file on my Shutterfly account said! Probably right, we all look so young!

What a great tradition! Looking forward to many more years of it!
Next year we'll have the newest (7 month-old) Hittle baby with us. Whoa, that's crazy to think!

Halloween '09: Part I

A few pictures of our little cowboy...

Barrett's Mimi helped me make the leather chaps and vest. I found the wranglers and boots at a consignment sale,
and the hat was borrowed from his cousin Emily.

I made Barrett this little bucket on Friday. It was a little last minute, but that was when I realized he didn't have anything to carry for his candy. Kim and I had made lots of these decorated paint buckets, several years ago. I remember making one for my niece Emma's 2nd or 3rd Halloween. I even have a black, white and orange one I use every year to put our candy in for trick-or-treaters. All the ones I've made before are frilly and have lots of ribbons around the handle. So I decided to use twine for the handle of Barrett's, and I found some stickers at Walmart. It was the ONLY sheet of cowboy stickers they had, but they were perfect! Barrett loved carrying it around, and every time we'd stop somewhere he would empty all the candy out, and then slowly put it all back in. Now that Halloween is over, I'm going to empty out the candy and hide the bucket. I'm planning a cowboy theme for this 2nd birthday, so it will be used again for that!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!
Halloween '09: Part II (the annual pumpkin carving party)...coming soon