Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful for my family. We're a little bit of a mixed bunch and we've had some losses that hurt pretty badly. But also some recent additions that have brought a lot of happiness.
Maybe becoming a mom myself has made me appreciate my family a lot more. Whatever the reason, I'm glad that I have gotten closer to them. I can't imagine not having these wonderful people to spend the holiday with.
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A Month of Gratitude: Day 16
I am grateful that I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Illinois. It's been more than a year since I've seen most of my family back "home." My lovely niece was out here to visit this summer. And I got to go back to see my nephew graduate from high school last May. That was the last time I saw two of my brothers and their families. And it's been longer than that since I saw my brother who lives in Michigan. We haven't seen him and his family since Thanksgiving two years ago. We need to remedy that.
I don't think Milo really remembers his aunts and uncles because he said, "I can't see Uncle Jim. He's mad at me." What's that about?
It's been too long since we've spent time with my side of the family. I'm thankful we get to see them soon. They are all going to get big ol' bear hugs.
I don't think Milo really remembers his aunts and uncles because he said, "I can't see Uncle Jim. He's mad at me." What's that about?
It's been too long since we've spent time with my side of the family. I'm thankful we get to see them soon. They are all going to get big ol' bear hugs.
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| "I'm strong!" |
Friday, November 1, 2013
A Month of Gratitude
Halloween's behind us, and regardless of what the stores and television would have us believe, Christmas is still almost two months away. I won't go on about how commercialized Christmas has become. Charlie Brown bemoaned that fact 48 years ago, so it's not a new thing. And never mind that some retailers are starting "Black Friday" on Thanksgiving ("We're so thankful for all we have, we need to rush out and buy more!").
But I do think we sometimes forget Thanksgiving comes first, and it's kind of a big deal of a holiday. I firmly believe we should count our blessings daily. Sometimes we forget though, and a holiday all about being thankful for what we have is a good reminder.
In that spirit, I plan to fill my blog with a month of gratitude.
Today, I am expressing my thanks for the people in my life that make me feel needed and useful. They keep me grounded. I know I am loved.
But I do think we sometimes forget Thanksgiving comes first, and it's kind of a big deal of a holiday. I firmly believe we should count our blessings daily. Sometimes we forget though, and a holiday all about being thankful for what we have is a good reminder.
In that spirit, I plan to fill my blog with a month of gratitude.
Today, I am expressing my thanks for the people in my life that make me feel needed and useful. They keep me grounded. I know I am loved.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween
My boy is getting to be really independent. This is probably the last Halloween I'll be able to dress him in a costume of my choosing. I suspect next year he'll want to dress up as a superhero or Thomas the train or something worse. And it won't be long before he won't want Mom and Dad dressing up with him.
Until then, I will enjoy how cute he looks for his first three Halloweens.
Have a spooky but safe Halloween, everybody!
Until then, I will enjoy how cute he looks for his first three Halloweens.
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| First Halloween: Baby Spock |
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| Second Halloween: Raccoon (or My Neighbor Totoro) |
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| This Halloween: Robot |
Have a spooky but safe Halloween, everybody!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
21 months
Dear Milo,
What the what. How did you get to be 21 months old? No really. So much of the past 21 months has been a blur. I'm already starting to think about your second birthday party.
This last month has been especially crazy. You have made such advances in your behavior and your language skills. And you have such a cute and funny personality.
You've suddenly become quite social with other kids. You play really well with other little boys. Today, at the grocery store you wanted to climb out of the cart to go play with another boy about your age. He tried to climb out too. His mommy and I had to strap you boys down. It was very cute.
You finally got to play later today with one of your friends from The Little Gym, and the two of you had a laugh riot playing together. You got a shiny new haircut during our play date today too. Afterwards, you were standing across the room. I called to you to get a better look at your hair. You turned toward me, and, with your new haircut, you suddenly looked a lot like your Uncle Jim when he was little.
Unfortunately, you were wore out from playing all afternoon and didn't want to pose for a good picture. But I am seeing a lot more of me and my family features in your little face. It's pretty cool and you're still really cute. So it's OK for you to look like anybody. As long as you're still you.
You had your first (and hopefully not last) white Christmas. You love the snow and still want to play in the dirty piles that linger for a long time around here. (I don't let you!)
You've started mimicking words and sounds more and more so I've told Daddy he needs to work on cleaning up his language. One of our favorite games right now is what does the animal say. I ask, "What does the monkey say?" And you answer, "Oh oh ah." I ask, "What does the dinosaur say?" and you reply, "Rawr!" You have a pretty large repertoire now, including chicken, dog, cat, elephant and train conductor. It's awesome. And so are you.
Every day, even when I'm exhausted, even when I'm frustrated because you're frustrated, even when you don't do exactly what I ask of you, you make me laugh and smile. You make me proud to be your mom. You make me so happy.
I love you, baby. (Even if you aren't a baby any more.)
Love,
Mama
What the what. How did you get to be 21 months old? No really. So much of the past 21 months has been a blur. I'm already starting to think about your second birthday party.
This last month has been especially crazy. You have made such advances in your behavior and your language skills. And you have such a cute and funny personality.
You've suddenly become quite social with other kids. You play really well with other little boys. Today, at the grocery store you wanted to climb out of the cart to go play with another boy about your age. He tried to climb out too. His mommy and I had to strap you boys down. It was very cute.
You finally got to play later today with one of your friends from The Little Gym, and the two of you had a laugh riot playing together. You got a shiny new haircut during our play date today too. Afterwards, you were standing across the room. I called to you to get a better look at your hair. You turned toward me, and, with your new haircut, you suddenly looked a lot like your Uncle Jim when he was little.
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| Uncle Jim and Uncle Joe |
Unfortunately, you were wore out from playing all afternoon and didn't want to pose for a good picture. But I am seeing a lot more of me and my family features in your little face. It's pretty cool and you're still really cute. So it's OK for you to look like anybody. As long as you're still you.
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| Can you see the resemblance? |
Our second Christmas together was a ton of fun. You really got into opening presents. You really liked your new Meowsic kitty keyboard and your wooden train set.
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| The train was more fun out of the box. |
You had your first (and hopefully not last) white Christmas. You love the snow and still want to play in the dirty piles that linger for a long time around here. (I don't let you!)
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| Trying to make a snow angel on Christmas Day |
You've started mimicking words and sounds more and more so I've told Daddy he needs to work on cleaning up his language. One of our favorite games right now is what does the animal say. I ask, "What does the monkey say?" And you answer, "Oh oh ah." I ask, "What does the dinosaur say?" and you reply, "Rawr!" You have a pretty large repertoire now, including chicken, dog, cat, elephant and train conductor. It's awesome. And so are you.
Every day, even when I'm exhausted, even when I'm frustrated because you're frustrated, even when you don't do exactly what I ask of you, you make me laugh and smile. You make me proud to be your mom. You make me so happy.
I love you, baby. (Even if you aren't a baby any more.)
Love,
Mama
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Daddy Talk: Road Trip
Having a Thanksgiving celebration on the road can be tough on the participants involved.
Thinking about the details, you have something like a 1 in 140 chance of dying in a car accident on America's roads. Add to that a screaming baby and the whole idea of a road trip seems like a bad idea. But it wasn't.
The boy is still pretty unreasonable when he gets cranky, but mostly you know what's coming down. It's food or he needs to take a friggin' nap and won't. The nap is the killer as you can't spoon up a nap. Seeing family after driving 8 hours on the road really has its own fun and sense of relief when you reach your destination. In this case, mostly relief as the boy went to sleep. Surprisingly enough he didn't wear down quite enough and was up bright and early the next day.
Add the stress of travel to and from the location as well as cooking Thanksgiving dinner and you have the makings of at least one or two blowups. I am proud to say with all that we had only one and a really tasty turkey and a pretty good Thanksgiving celebration.
Thinking about the details, you have something like a 1 in 140 chance of dying in a car accident on America's roads. Add to that a screaming baby and the whole idea of a road trip seems like a bad idea. But it wasn't.
The boy is still pretty unreasonable when he gets cranky, but mostly you know what's coming down. It's food or he needs to take a friggin' nap and won't. The nap is the killer as you can't spoon up a nap. Seeing family after driving 8 hours on the road really has its own fun and sense of relief when you reach your destination. In this case, mostly relief as the boy went to sleep. Surprisingly enough he didn't wear down quite enough and was up bright and early the next day.
Add the stress of travel to and from the location as well as cooking Thanksgiving dinner and you have the makings of at least one or two blowups. I am proud to say with all that we had only one and a really tasty turkey and a pretty good Thanksgiving celebration.
Friday, November 16, 2012
19 months
Dear Milo,
Am I ever going to stop being surprised by how fast time passes? Probably not. Before I know it, I'll be writing, "Dear Milo, you're 19 years old today." And I will faint at how quickly it went.
You're 19 months old today. [Fainting.] The past month has been filled with so much fun. You got to go trick or treating this year and actually sort of got what it was about. You are doing somersaults all by yourself -- even at The Little Gym where your teacher can see you doing them.
You are saying -- or trying to say -- lots of new words. You're mimicking Daddy and me a lot. Although, you still don't call me Mommy or Mama or anything, except possibly Dada sometimes. You seem to think your name is Mama. Or maybe you just think Milo and Mama are the same word. Or -- and this is not beyond the realm of possibility based on your growing sense of humor -- you're just screwing with me. One day you said Mama while babbling about the dog and Dada. You looked at me with an oops sort of grin that made me think you know exactly who Mama is. Lucky you're so damn cute.
The time change messed with your sleep schedule for a bit. Mostly it made you -- and me -- cranky. Plus, you seem to be getting all your teeth right now. Those little buggers are sure slow in coming. You've had a constantly running nose. So, along with the fun stuff this month, there have been plenty of tears. But mostly fun.
We got our family portraits done by a very nice lady, Courtney at CKE Photography. Not only was it a good time, but we got a whole bunch of really great pictures. Look out, family, you're getting pics for Christmas.
Lately, you've been saying/singing, "Doopah doopah da." It's a little like a jazz scat, and I'm not sure where it came from. It's totally cute though, and Daddy and I sing it back to you. So much so that the other night when I checked on you before I went to bed, you said, "Doopah da" to me in your sleep. It was so freaking cute, I had to call your daddy, who was out of town, and tell him about it. In fact, you're saying it right now -- while you're supposed to be napping.
It's OK, though because you're playing happily by yourself in your crib. Even when you don't nap now, you usually have some quiet time. I really appreciate that, sweetie. I have been trying to take more time for myself and I think that helps us both. You're awesome and all, but mommies need breaks and so do little boys.
The next month is going to be another whirlwind month, with visiting Auntie for Thanksgiving and prepping for the big holiday. It'll be fun though, just like every day with you is filled with fun.
I love you, sweetness. So much.
Love,
Mommy
Am I ever going to stop being surprised by how fast time passes? Probably not. Before I know it, I'll be writing, "Dear Milo, you're 19 years old today." And I will faint at how quickly it went.
You're 19 months old today. [Fainting.] The past month has been filled with so much fun. You got to go trick or treating this year and actually sort of got what it was about. You are doing somersaults all by yourself -- even at The Little Gym where your teacher can see you doing them.
You are saying -- or trying to say -- lots of new words. You're mimicking Daddy and me a lot. Although, you still don't call me Mommy or Mama or anything, except possibly Dada sometimes. You seem to think your name is Mama. Or maybe you just think Milo and Mama are the same word. Or -- and this is not beyond the realm of possibility based on your growing sense of humor -- you're just screwing with me. One day you said Mama while babbling about the dog and Dada. You looked at me with an oops sort of grin that made me think you know exactly who Mama is. Lucky you're so damn cute.
The time change messed with your sleep schedule for a bit. Mostly it made you -- and me -- cranky. Plus, you seem to be getting all your teeth right now. Those little buggers are sure slow in coming. You've had a constantly running nose. So, along with the fun stuff this month, there have been plenty of tears. But mostly fun.
We got our family portraits done by a very nice lady, Courtney at CKE Photography. Not only was it a good time, but we got a whole bunch of really great pictures. Look out, family, you're getting pics for Christmas.
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| Photo by CKE Photography. Costume by Carter's. Cute by Milo. |
Lately, you've been saying/singing, "Doopah doopah da." It's a little like a jazz scat, and I'm not sure where it came from. It's totally cute though, and Daddy and I sing it back to you. So much so that the other night when I checked on you before I went to bed, you said, "Doopah da" to me in your sleep. It was so freaking cute, I had to call your daddy, who was out of town, and tell him about it. In fact, you're saying it right now -- while you're supposed to be napping.
It's OK, though because you're playing happily by yourself in your crib. Even when you don't nap now, you usually have some quiet time. I really appreciate that, sweetie. I have been trying to take more time for myself and I think that helps us both. You're awesome and all, but mommies need breaks and so do little boys.
The next month is going to be another whirlwind month, with visiting Auntie for Thanksgiving and prepping for the big holiday. It'll be fun though, just like every day with you is filled with fun.
I love you, sweetness. So much.
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
This Halloween, I thought it would be extra scary to let Milo help with decorating the pumpkin. A toddler wielding a carving knife is probably the most frightening thing I can imagine, but I didn't let things get that scary. Instead, I allowed Milo to unleash the fury of finger paints -- on himself and the innocent pumpkin. (With a nod to Parenting.com's safety tips)
Here's hoping your Halloween is fun and safe and full of sweet treats.
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| The artist at work |
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| Deep in concentration |
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| Proud of himself |
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| Spooky! |
Friday, April 6, 2012
Friday flashback
My little bunny, last Easter, just a few days old.
My little bunny, this year, squeezed into the same hat. Such a big boy.
My little bunny, this year, squeezed into the same hat. Such a big boy.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
Out with the old
I know 2011 was a pretty crappy year for a lot of people but for me, it was one of the best. Obviously, I had a better year than others because I was blessed with my son this year. And because I was told I'd never have children (suck it, fertility "specialists") I feel doubly blessed.
Sure, there were lots of sleepless nights and plenty of tears, but all in all, 2011 has been the best year. I have experienced so much joy, so many surprises, so many proud moments.
On top of the wonder of becoming (and being) a mama, I got to spend Thanksgiving with my brothers and their amazing families. (I love that we all got together and it wasn't because someone died!)
So, as 2011 draws to a close, I feel for everyone who had a crappy year and pray that 2012 brings you health and happiness. And for those of us who had a lovely 2011, here's to more smiles and laughter in the coming 12 months.
Sure, there were lots of sleepless nights and plenty of tears, but all in all, 2011 has been the best year. I have experienced so much joy, so many surprises, so many proud moments.
On top of the wonder of becoming (and being) a mama, I got to spend Thanksgiving with my brothers and their amazing families. (I love that we all got together and it wasn't because someone died!)
So, as 2011 draws to a close, I feel for everyone who had a crappy year and pray that 2012 brings you health and happiness. And for those of us who had a lovely 2011, here's to more smiles and laughter in the coming 12 months.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Milo and Grandma Louise
Milo never met his Grandma Louise (my mom) but that doesn't stop him from loving her.
Shortly after we got to Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving, Milo saw a picture of Grandma. He immediately started smiling. And every time someone holding him would walk near it, he smiled. He even reached for it.
I'm usually quite skeptical and only sort of sappy, but I think Milo knows his grandma looks out for him somehow.
Shortly after we got to Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving, Milo saw a picture of Grandma. He immediately started smiling. And every time someone holding him would walk near it, he smiled. He even reached for it.
I'm usually quite skeptical and only sort of sappy, but I think Milo knows his grandma looks out for him somehow.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Not so spooky
Milo's first Halloween was more geeky than spooky.
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| Trekkie family |
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| Detail of Baby Spock ears -- made by yours truly |
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| Baby Spock dispatches a baby monkey |
Saturday, April 30, 2011
In case you missed it
Yesterday was Arbor Day. In honor of the day, the S.O. and I had trees planted for Milo.
You probably can't read the above certificate that came with the trees. Part of it says, "The trees planted for you is an act of optimism and kindness, a labor of love and a commitment to stewardship."
I like to believe that having and raising a child is a bit like planting trees: We must be optimistic and kind, love him through thick and thin, and take care of him until he can care for himself.
Today, he is two weeks old. I can't say the past two weeks have been easy. But I wouldn't trade them for anything.
I like to believe that having and raising a child is a bit like planting trees: We must be optimistic and kind, love him through thick and thin, and take care of him until he can care for himself.
Today, he is two weeks old. I can't say the past two weeks have been easy. But I wouldn't trade them for anything.
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