Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! I got a new camera lens (yay!)! Happy Birthday to me!

In case you were wondering, I'm 29. Thanks for all the great gifts!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We had a very nice Christmas here. Lots of presents, food and family. My house looks like a bomb exploded in it. Ian got some great stuff, lots og puzzles books, musical things, playsets, clothes etc. The day flew by so fast, I barely saw what he got. Tomorrow I'll get a chance to look through it all, and will post further details, in case you are interested. He handled the day pretty well. Had some melt downs, but for the most part, he did a great job. I know he loved having my parents there (they spent the night). I have more to say, but I'm really too tired to say it. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

A Little Christmas Spirit

It's amazing what you can find when you have too much time on your hands and a bored toddler.

Dominic the Donkey

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Enjoy!

Posted especially for Annee and Missy! :)

Swing Swing Swing

Low Riders

Christmas Meme

I found this meme on another blog. Thought I'd share it with you. :)

Wrapping paper or gift bag?
I like to wrap gifts when possible. I get a weird thrill out of wrapping.

Real tree or artificial?
Fake. The real ones bother our allergies, plus I have a hard enough time getting my fake tree (which stays up on the storage side of my basement all year) decorated.

When do you put up your tree?
Sometime before Christmas. (It's up with no lights or decorations, hopefully this weekend)

When do you take down your tree?
Before Feb. 1 :)

Do you like eggnog?
Yuck. A drink made with eggs. Uck.

Favorite gift received as a child?
Apple II E computer or maybe the Barbie Dream House

Hardest person to buy for?
My Father

Easiest person to buy for?
My Son

Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail! I love getting them. I even mail peoples card that I see all the time because I just think it's nice to find something in your mailbox besides bills and junk.

Favorite Christmas movie?
Duh. A Christmas Story.

When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Black Friday

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I don't think so. I often save things with the intent to re-gift, but then I feel bad about passing along a not-so-nice gift. Then I usually free cycle it.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Cookies.

White or colored lights?
Colored. Blinking is ok, but only as long as they all blink in the same patten. Nothing drives me more crazy than lights that blink differently.

Favorite Christmas song?
Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses and Star of Wonder by the Bare Naked Ladies

Traveling for Christmas or stay home?
Home

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers?
Yes.

Angel or Star on top of tree?
Star - I have the best star from when I was a kid. :)

Open presents Christmas Eve or Morning?
Christmas morning, even though I WISH SOMEONE WOULD LET ME OPEN THEM ON CHRISTMAS EVE!

Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Barely being able to handle my own life and then throwing baking, cleaning, wrapping, shopping, Christmas card mailing, visits to Santa, etc. etc. on top of it.

What I love most about Christmas?
Christmas Carols, Traditions, Buying for my son

Now, Then, and Forever Ago

Ian and the Bear - Bloopers

Here's Your Lens Cap Mama!

An Impish Look

"O"

Today Ian sat in his highchair making tracing imaginary circles with his finger and saying "o". Where does he get this stuff?

Raking Time

Happy 20 & 21 Month Birthday

Dear Ian,

I missed your 20 month birthday letter, and 21 months is coming up quick, so it's a combined letter this time. You get cuter every single day. You've been really into teasing and playing games in the last few weeks. Every morning, when I try to get you from your crib, you say, "out" and when I go to get you, you drop down into the crib so I can't reach you. When I go sit back down, you say, "out", etc. This carries on for a long time. You've also started speaking a lot more in the past month. You're favorites are kitty, uh-oh, mama, de-da-dee (daddy), key, gigi (grandmom), titi, and eat. You've also learned alot of animal sounds, including bird (teet-teet). You also know that Santa says "ho ho ho" and that Daddy snores (you pretend to be sleeping and snore).

You are very into your routines. You play with the vegetables on the bed, you have to have your two kitties, plastic frog, stack of books, stuffed nemo and two blankies to sleep in your crib, and have to turn the light on yourself before you go up the stairs.

Your favorite TV show is still Jack's Big Music Show. You love Laurie Berkner and you listen to her CD in the car. Your favorite foods are still grapes and apples. You also added bananas this month. You are pretty anti-carbohydrate, and you basically exist on fruit, yogurt and the random meat product that you deem worthy of consumption. Your favorite toys are your puzzles, books, your push wagon, legos, and your plastic fruit/veggies. You've finally made friends with Chloe (Aunt Denise's dog) and you tell her to "hush" when she barks. Other things you really like are the moon, Christmas lights, and your stuffed cats (big kitty and little kitty). You don't like the noise of the heater clicking on or the sound of the cell phone ringing.

I love you lots and lots, Stinky McStinkerson. :)

Love,
Mama

Everyone Likes Carmel Dip :)

When Photoshoots Go Bad

Football - American or European?

Playing with Shaving Cream

A View From the Crib

Let The Shopping Begin

It's 5:59 am. I'm fully dressed. Black Friday shopping shall commence when Missy arrives. Happy bargin hunting!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so many things to be thankful for this year. I am thankful most of all for my son, who is doing so well. Hopefully we'll have some pictures later when all the family arrives.

The Amazing Alphabet

Ian can identify almost all of the letters. He literally points to them and says the name. The scary thing is, it's not just on his one alphabet puzzle, it's all types of different prints, fonts, etc.

We didn't teach him that either. He just started learning them.

By the time he's three, he'll probably be a better speller than I am. :)

Rain Rain Go Away

It's been rainy and cold here for four days. I think it's finally going to get warmer tomorrow.

Baaf

On Saturday, we went to see my parents. Then we went to the aquarium. Ian liked seeing the fish. He kept saying baaf through the entire aquarium, which is his way of saying bath. He really wanted to take a baaf with the aligators, but I didn't think that would be a good idea. After an exhausting hour of chasing him around the aquarium, we left. He saw the beach and went running. It was going well until he saw the water. He wanted to go in, but it was 49 degrees out, so no water for him. This led to a nice long tantrum that involved us carrying him screaming off the beach. He promptly passed out in the car on the way home. It was a fun day.

Aquarium/Beach Pictures