The First Post of 2010!

It is 2010 and I feel good. Great, actually! Yesterday was a very typical New Year's Day for me; it is admittedly my least favorite day of the entire year. We always leave our decorations up from the day after Thanksgiving (or a bit earlier!) until New Year's Day. That always leaves January 1st a bit of a downer...the parties are all over and the fun is coming down and being packed into boxes. It is never a great day for me, but it was even tougher this year because Colin was cognizant of what I was doing and asking over and over why we were taking down the beautiful lights and Christmas trees. It was a rather blah day. Today, however, is a new day! I liked waking up to the fresh clean house and the bright winter sunshine coming in through the windows. I found myself making a mental list of new household items that I would like to get for the coming year and thinking about re-doing one of the extra bedrooms as a playroom for Colin. I feel initiative washing over me, the type of which can only happen at the beginning of a new year; a fresh slate. I sat down at the computer with my cup of tea (Jer is out of town for work and I am too lazy to make a pot of coffee for one person) and began checking email while Colin watched Olivia. He walked into the office, holding his bowl of dry cheerios and a serious face. He wanted to tell me something and began forming his words. "Mommy, I dropped Cheer-we-woh's on the couch...but...I....um...I picked them up....and...um...I picked them up and put them in the bowl!". I got down on his level and hugged him hard, thanking him for picking them up so nicely. Watching him standing there in the hallway, concentrating very hard on telling me his story using all his words and forming a perfect and complete sentence was a wonderful moment for me. It reminded me how far we have come since 2009 began and Colin was still saying only a couple of words. He is such a little boy now in comparison and I find the change that occurred in one short year to be awe inspiring. I can't help but think about how different things will be next year at this time and wonder what amazing new things I am up for, but can't fathom now. I think that big things are in store for our family this year...I feel it!

I also want to get back to my original blog style, which was more day to day updates about the little mundane things we do. My goal in starting the blog was to record the small stuff that we forget so soon and relive it down the road when my children are long past trips to the library for story time and runs to McDonald's for nuggets and playtime. As I get busy, I tend to blog about the big stuff and write big picture "philosophical" kinds of things that are important to me, but I get away from the little stuff. SO, let's get back to boring, shall we? :-) Colin is going through a stage that baffles me at the moment...he hates getting dressed. HATES IT. He screams and flails around every single time that I try to get him dressed. It has gotten so distressing that on occasion we don't make it out of the house until after his afternoon nap, simply because I am so loathe to go through the dressing process. That is not a good thing. Spending the day in pajama's is fun every now and then, but I can't get into that habit. Life is better when we are active and busy, so I need to power through. Once we go through the kicking and screaming of getting dressed, he calms down and things go back to normal. It seems strange to me, but I figure that it is just a stage. He also fights diaper changes with a vengeance including the same kicking and screaming. I think potty training may be around the corner, but I continue to be on the fence about starting it. I keep looking for the clear and obvious signs that he is ready, but they remain elusive to me. He does not mind having a dirty diaper in the least and shows absolutely no interest in the potty or using it. We have had the fluke moments of success, but those are rare and not consistent. I thought to leave it up to Colin and not set up for disaster by starting him on my time clock instead of his, but I think we will go ahead and try it regardless this spring. I think about this a lot!

In other news, I got the worst haircut of all time two days ago. My lovely long layers, which I spent a YEAR growing back out, are now hacked up and look almost exactly like this:
Looking like Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in 1982 is not what I was going for. To make matters worse, it only looks like that on ONE side...the haircut is an uneven shambles with one side clearly and horribly longer than the other. I have spent the last 48 hours in a ponytail and trying desperately to will time to rewind so that I could run from that girl and her scissors. It is only hair, I know, and will grow out. I have an appointment with the salon manager on Tuesday for her to hopefully fix the crazy lopsided haircut (free of charge, of course) but I know that fixing it will mean that I will be right back in a short haircut, which is exactly what I did not want. I am so upset about it. Last February, I got a heavily layered (but good) haircut that I immediately did not like and wanted to grow out. I spent almost a year doing so, and thus had a mess of split ends that needed a simple trim. I am really unhappy that one year later, I am right back where I started. Probably even SHORTER since the hack job on the right side of my head starts way up top. Lovely. I am trying hard to stay positive, so...Happy New Year, friends! :-)

The Last Picture of 2009

Here it is, folks! Hot off the presses!! The last official picture of 2009. We set the camera up with the timer and managed to get this one on the first try. We are celebrating at home exactly as we did last year...we decided to have our second annual seafood party with our little family of three. It was wonderful!! We had shrimp cocktail, filet and scallops and some wonderful brie. Tonight has been the perfect ending to an amazing and eventful year. I spent the morning in heaven; Jer gave me a day of pampering for my Christmas present and today I cashed it in. I had a pedicure, hair cut and color. The pedicure was sinful and I don't remember the last time that I have relaxed like that. Our night has been peaceful, fun and full of good food. Colin is now sound asleep and Jer and I have popped the cork on the champagne. We are sitting here in bed, watching "Steven Segal; Lawman" on the DVR and waiting for Dick Clark to start at 10:30. Yep, just another wild New Year's Eve. ;-)

2009 has been a year of blessings; new friends, new niece, and good health. I lost my uncle, but I am happy to know that he is watching over us from heaven now. My little baby has become a funny and wonderful little boy. Overall, the joys and gifts have outweighed the challenges. I am excited beyond words for 2010...the start of a new decade. When this decade started, I was a girl of 22 going to college. I had yet to leave my hometown in East Texas. I has just gotten my first job in aviation...a very low level position greeting private jets. I had yet to meet Jeremy. The 2000's ushered in the career that would be my life and livelihood. It took me to live in Pennsylvania, California, and New York...and finally back home to Texas. It brought me some of the greatest friends of my lifetime. I met my husband, married him, and had our first child. We bought a house in the suburbs and finally settled down. I gained a nephew and niece and brother-in-law that I adore. It is hard to sum up 10 years in a blog post, but suffice it to say that I was blessed beyond measure during the last ten years of my life and I cannot wait to see what the next have in store for me. Happy New Year!!!

One year ago: The Last Picture of 2008

Three Christmases

This is going by just a little too fast...

Christmas 2007


Christmas 2008


Christmas 2009

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

I love Christmas. I am sure this comes as a major shock, what with me saying that about 300 times in the last month of posts. This year was probably the best one yet and I only say that every year. Well, not every year. Christmas 2006 was not good...I was newly pregnant with Colin and very VERY sick...but other than that small glitch, I ALWAYS LOVE CHRISTMAS. We got to my parents house in Tyler on Wednesday evening, the day before Christmas Eve. I think the moment that I walked into that house made my whole year. Everything was warm and cozy, bathed in soft lights and the glow of decorations. Nothing in the whole world beats my childhood home dressed up for Christmas. It smelled like home...cookies, fudge, apple cider and egg nog. Every corner of the house was covered in family memories; ornaments spanning decades, the stuffed reindeer that my dad adores, and my mother's Santa collection just to name a few. Her tree is always the most wonderful thing that I have ever seen and this year did not disappoint. There were presents EVERYWHERE and my sisters were in the middle of the living room floor with wrapping paper and ribbon strewn all around them. Cory was on the couch with a sleeping Pryce in his arms, my mom was helping wrap and Jackson was building with blocks on the kitchen floor. My dad arrived home at the same moment we did and his booming voice filled the air with happiness. My immediate family all under one perfectly decorated sweet smelling roof. Perfection. We spent that night eating chex mix, fudge, tea cakes, cracker cookies, and Chick-Fil-A while wrapping presents and playing with Colin, Jackson and Pryce. It was after 10:30pm when Colin got to bed, which is insanely late for him. We were just all having too much fun. The grown-ups stayed up late into the night putting together the giant Thomas trains that my mom got the boys and wrapping more presents. Christmas Eve dawned bright and COLD and we spent the day drinking hot spiced cider, eating everything we could get our hands on, watching Christmas specials from the DVR and having a blast. We were all sitting around when it happened...SNOW. IT SNOWED!!!!!! We were running around like little children, taking pictures, hugging and even jumping up and down at one point. (I should say that my sisters and I were jumping up and down while Jer shook his head in disbelief) :-) I have only witnessed one white Christmas in my whole life, the year I could not get home from PA. It was wonderful, but I was very homesick at the time. There has been no snow in Texas on Christmas in my lifetime at least. It was like magic and it made my memory of this year one of my most treasured to date. It was like every Christmas song was coming true before my eyes. That night, my sisters and I put on our annual Christmas pj's and we had a huge feast cooked by my mom...chicken spaghetti, baked beans, potato salad, seven layer salad, cornbread salad, two kinds of cheese dips with crackers, and the half ton of desserts. HEAVEN! We stayed up super late that night after Colin went to bed (getting ready for Santa) and Christmas Day was upon us in what felt like an instant. I slept with Colin in one of the extra bedrooms because we forgot to bring his bed rails and Jer slept in the living room. That morning, Colin sat straight up in bed and said, "Mommy! Big presents?!?!". It took my breath away....he got it!! I alerted Jer and we walked into the living room to see the spread from Santa. A work bench with lots of tools and equipment (including a working drill!), car sets, a battery operated train that was chugging around the track when we walked in, and a giant fire truck...not to mention the stockings and other goodies. Colin gasped and ran for everything, shouting "Look! Look at this!". He also ran over and noted that Santa ate his cookies and drank all his milk, which was insanely adorable. By the time my sister Meredith and her family arrived, I had my famous "monkey muffins" cooking in the oven and the cider and coffee were flowing. We had the most wonderful day opening presents (my parents got me TWO cast iron skillets and a deep fryer!!), eating and just loving each other. Oh, and laughing hysterically at Cory and Jer at any given moment. Those two are keepers. ;-) I know that I get long winded when talking about Christmas, so I will end this post for now, but don't be surprised if I wax poetic on the subject again. There are so many cute little individual moments that I want to remember. What a spectacular holiday!! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Here come the pictures...

Sitting with my sisters on Christmas morning in our matching pj's...may we never get too old for this. :-) My mom was so proud of herself because they have little white kittens on them that look just like Musette, which is an old childhood movie that we obsessed over. As you would imagine, they were a hit.

Colin with his awesome new work bench on Christmas morning...Aunt Alieson in the background on the laptop.

Colin and Jackson opening presents together. They were SO PRECIOUS in those pj's from my parents.

My mom and Colin opening gifts...my dad is sitting there in the chair.

Colin and Jackson went absolutely INSANE over the Thomas trains from my parents. You have never seen such joy. I will never forget this moment!

Colin and his precious baby cousin, Pryce. He loves her SO MUCH. He is also rocking a pretty messy spaghetti face. :-)

Hugging my wonderful husband in the SNOW. ON CHRISTMAS EVE! Did I mention the snow? ;-)

We were such dorks...this was when the snow first started and we were running around in the driveway jumping up and down. :-)

Colin and Mommy in the snow outside my parents front door.

It would not be Christmas if I was not acting silly. Nice antlers. :-)

One view of the tree when we walked into my parents house on the 23rd. There are no words for how much I love this tree and every memory on it.