My Valentine

Here we are, in all of our "royal" glory. I love this man. I've loved him for more than 10 years now. Every good thing in my life is as a result of him. He has given me everything I've ever wanted...beautiful children, the chance to stay home and raise them, a wonderful house and secure lifestyle, and a partner who is always, always on my side. I could not ask for more.

Only 6 Months Late!

For Cooper's 1st birthday party, I made a slideshow of some of our favorite pictures from his first year. I meant to share it with friends and family who were not at the party, but my computer crashed, and techno-unsavvy me wasn't sure how to post it from the DVD copy. I'm still not sure, but I had also made one at a website, so I'm finally getting around to importing it here.

I can't believe how big my baby has gotten. He is such a joy!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Little Paleontologist

Warning: completely biased mommy report about to commence!

It's no secret to anyone who knows us that Griffin is into dinosaurs. It's been almost a year now, and the obsession isn't close to waning. Like every interest he's had so far, Chad and I have run full out with this one. We get new dino books every week at the library, have 1,236 dinosaur toys (not really sure this is an exaggeration!), and dig for dinosaurs on a regular basis, either at home with kits or at the Children's Museum. Christmas day, surrounded by dozens of new toys, he spent 5 happy hours digging in a mound of rock for T-Rex bones!

But what I was unprepared for is the depth of Griffin's dinosaur passion. He doesn't just like the toys, or think dinosaurs are cool because they roar. Oh no, my boy loves his particular favorites (right now Compsagnathus and Velociraptor) for intelligent, well thought-out reasons. He refuses to work on identifying letters, but can name upwards of 75 dinosaurs.

And now my new favorite development: he has a favorite paleontologist! He watched a documentary on Jack Horner, who discovered Maiasaura bones, and then we read a book. Now he talks all about him, tells us random people in restaurants looks like him... It's a riot! A few days ago we wrote a letter telling Jack Horner that he's our favorite and asking him some questions. We're very hopeful we get a response. What 4 year old has a favorite paleontologist? He thinks he's cooler than Superman right now!!

I know that every kid develops interests and then they pass. We've seen that a few times already. But I don't think it's a bad bet at all to predict a future as a paleontologist for my baby. Lucky for me, he said I can come on his digs with him...as long as I stay by the flagged areas!

The Big Kid Bed

The benefit of having a child who refuses to eat or grow is that they can stay in their toddler bed way past most other kids their age. So Griffin (who is 4 years and 2 months old!) has only recently outgrown his (and really, he hasn't, it's just that his stuffed dinosaur family has grown so immense there was no room left for him in the bed). We had to decide between a normal twin bed or bunk beds. So what did we end up with? The totally impractical loft bed complete with slide and fort! We found it on craigslist and paid $175 for it, but we've seen it new for $600, so I feel pretty good about the price. And what boy wouldn't love this bed? It's in great shape, and thus far, Griffin is in love. He keeps his most of his "family" up on the bed with him, and the overflow lives in the fort below, along with a comfy beanbag chair and a bunch of books. As soon as we come up with a good light down there, it will be an awesome reading nook. He looks so little in that bed at night, and he's still getting used to the idea of a top sheet and comforter, but I think it's a match made in heaven right now!

Less.

What's your word?

I follow a blog by one of my favorite scrapbookers, Ali Edwards (http://aliedwards.typepad.com/) Every year, she suggests finding a word that best encompasses who you will be, want to be, strive to be for the new year. For instance, some people on there have picked "patience," "nurture," "balance."

I think there is a very intrinsic value to consciously picking a word that you want to BE, and sharing it with others to help hold yourself accountable. As soon as I heard the idea, I took the process seriously. I have been struggling for three weeks now to choose my word. Chad and I have had lengthy discussions about what I should pick (he really does humor me!). I had it narrowed down to "play" (because I wish I would relax and enjoy the kids more than I do), and "blessed," because I really want to just enjoy what I have and realize how lucky I am. But neither of those was absolutely THE word.

And then...I started freaking out about money. And worrying. And I was talking to my mom, and I told her I needed to "spend less, eat less, and own less." And that was my epiphany. My word is less!

So that's my goal for this year, and I'm writing it here to help hold myself accountable. I started with spending less (one day down!), and next up is owning less. I've been in the mood to have a major purge for months, so that one shouldn't be too bad. Eating less, well...I love my food, but I'm vowing to work on it!

Well, what's your word?

Christmas Morning (Christmas Pictures, Part II)

We woke bright and early at about 7 a.m. on Christmas morning. Luckily Griffin is still young enough to be willing to snuggle in bed with mommy and daddy until closer to 8! We and he went downstairs and started opening presents even though Cooper was sleeping, and it gave us some nice alone time with him. The very first thing he saw was Kota sitting in the corner, and he was very shy at first. It was almost like he couldn't believe it was finally in his living room after months of waiting and hoping. He wanted to feed him his leaf right away.

After Cooper woke up, he opened presents too, with a bit of assistance. One of his favorites was these maracas that light up. He is really musical, and he had a good time making a ton of noise.

Funnily enough, he absolutely loves brushing his teeth. So he had about 4 toothbrushes in his stocking, and I am pretty sure those were his favorite new "toy."

After we opened presents, we enjoyed these yummy overnight cinnamon rolls. They are super delicious, and I love that I can prepare them the night before and just pop them in the oven while we open gifts. It's become a new Christmas-only tradition (and a good thing, since there must be 10,000 calories in it!)

After breakfast and some playtime, we headed over to the Solomons for more gifts with Grandma Kathie, Grandpa Jim, and Uncle Dan, Uncle Jeff, and Aunt Meagan. What a great start to our Christmas!

Waiting for Good News...Updated

Well, we heard back from the doctor's office and Cooper's test results were normal (kind of). His lymphocytes are high and his neutrophils are low (do not Google this, every result screams Leukemia, but after my brief panic Chad assured me his white blood count wasn't high enough to put this on the differential list). Chad says it means Cooper has a very nasty virus and is having a heck of a time fighting it off. The doctor's office did say he will probably need to repeat the bloodwork again at some point, so yay for that since it was such a good time! He has been really sick since Sunday, and I am finally taking him in this afternoon to get his ears looked at again. I am actually praying an ear infection is the problem, so he can get meds and start to feel better (also start eating and sleeping and whine less!). Does it make me a bad mom to root for illness?