Welcome Baby Anna!

My good friend, Marianne, had her 2nd baby, another daughter, at 4:25pm on Wednesday, December 27th. Baby Anna was 7 lbs. 12 oz. I was waiting until they decided on a name before I posted a congratulatory blog! CONGRATULATIONS to Marianne and Brad, she's beautiful! I know Lea will be a wonderful older sister!

(I'm so glad she said I could post pictures! Isn't she beautiful!?)

Also, I posted a few Cmas pictures on my 'video blog' if you'd like to check it out.

The First Day of Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my grandparents, mom, brother and Stephanie on Saturday, Dec. 16th at our house. It was a great! We had chicken tetrazini that mom made and I prepared some green beans and fruit salad. I even got out the nice Christmas dishes that 'M' gave us a few years back. Riley, of course, hit the motherload in gifts! Here are probably too many pictures!

Being silly and playing with Aunt Cutie's cap

He stole Uncle Danny's spot, so Danny was taking it back!

Our Christmas tree loaded up with all the gifts! I love the way that looks!

Diego Rescue Pak from Nana

Guitar/Violin from Nana

Piano/Xylophone from Nana

Fisher Price Time to Learn Preschool from Danny & Stephanie

Alphabet Learning Training Station from Nana

Activity Table from Grandma and PaPa

TJ Bearytales with extra book from Grandma Doris

Mom got a short pool cue for the tight corners at her house

We gave Danny & Stephanie a new Fisher Price star light show for the new baby

(and a couple of other toys as well)

PaPa and Grandma LOVED their basket o' goodies!

Uncle Danny was such a big help opening and putting together all of Riley's new toys...Chris was videotaping and I was helping him unwrap, so Danny just stepped in and did it...what a great uncle!

The next day - playing with all his new toys!

Christmas Party

Chris had his annual work Cmas party a couple of weeks ago (I think it was on Dec. 9th) and we had a blast! This year we rented a room in the hotel the party was in so we could attend the 'after party' and not have to worry about driving home. Here are some pictures!

Self Portrait shot with Amy

Shot of 'gaming' area - and there's Jason too!


Chris playing some Black Jack

Another Self Portrait - I didn't take very many picture so I gotta show the bad ones too!

Another pic of me and Amy

'Outfit Shot'

Chris and Me

Chris, Amy, Me and Chris - I love those guys!

Shot of Chris and 'the boss' shooting some pool at the after party -

this is a hotel room by the way!

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

We visited Santa last Friday and it went GREAT! Riley was so excited to see him, as he kept saying 'Seenta...Hug! Seenta...Hug!'. However, there was a short line when we went, so mom held our place while I let Riley play in the mall play area (it was RIGHT by Santa, probably for that reason). The line went really fast, so he only got to play for 10 minutes or so, which he was not happy about...AND...his diaper got twisted and when mom was holding him on her hip he peed down his pants! LOL You'll be able to see it in some of the pictures...what a memory! Guess you could say he was so excited to see Santa that he peed his pants! He did so great with Santa - Loved him, hugged him, read with him. Hope it stays that way!

He just climbed up and snuggled in - all by himself! Glad I keep that camera handy!

He gathered all the decorations around him - I thought this face was too funny, he picking up a decoration and 'overexagerating' how heavy it is!


Here he is at play area - he was just up and down the slides the whole time

More play time

Riley and Nana right before seeing Santa

Chris touched up this picture to hide the 'pee pee'

Reading with Santa

Still reading - but looked up for a picture

Train ride after seeing Santa - he deserved it!

The Christmas Blessing

More quotes from this amazing book series!

"We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff we are in, and that is where we have to prove our mettle." - Oswald Chambers

"All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant." - Henry David Thoreau

"All happy families resemble each other, each unhappy family is unhappy it its own way." - Leo Tolstoy

"Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guns." - Steve Prefontaine

"No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently." - Agnes de Mille

"We meet no ordinary people in our lives." - C.S. Lewis

"The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved." - Victor Hugo

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

"Hope, like faith, is nothing if it is not courageous; it is nothing if it is not ridiculous." - Thornton Wilder

"A mircale, my friend, is an event which creates faith." - George Bernard Shaw

"Only a life lived for others is the life worthwhile." - Albert Einstein

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."" - Erma Bombeck

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places, but there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is mingled with grief, love grows perhaps the greater." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face...You must do the thing you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles." - Willa Cather

"...let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us." - Paul of Tarsus

I know that each of these quotes will mean something different, something special, to each of us; but I just wish that they can provide you with the peace, comfort, hope and faith they have me. I also want to think each of you for being a part of my life, you have all touched my life more than you will ever know. Thank you.

Here is a link to the song "The Christmas Shoes", based on the first book...scroll down to the bottom to be directed to the music. Enjoy.
http://www.his-forever.com/christmas_shoes_by_newsong.htm

Christmas Magic

Riley and I made some cookies together last week and we both had a blast! I bought the kind that you just punch out the shapes and he helped place them on the cookie sheet (didn't get any pics of that cuz battery was out), then after they were baked we decorated with icing. Icing is the best 'paint', cuz you can just like it off your fingers!

Here are some pictures another 'magical' time we had together!

Starting to decorate

Proud of his 'creation'


He could not wait for a bite, kept asking, but did really well waiting


Yummy icing!



Our final 'products' - mine are on the right and his are on the left, in case you were wondering! *wink* And there are a couple on his plate that I 'helped' with!

The edible aftermath!

Have I mentioned how much FUN I am having this holiday season!?!? I cannot stress enough - although most of you are lucky enough to already know from first hand experience - how amazing, special, miraculous, magical, wonderful and blessed it feels to be spending this time with my son. I feel like the luckiest person alive...I can only hope he knows.

The Christmas Shoes

A good friend and I read books together and this season we chose a series by Donna VanLiere tha begins with 'The Christmas Shoes'. It is a book about, well, this is from the sleeve:
"Sometimes the things that can change your life will cross yoru path in one instance - and then, in a fleeting moment, they're gone. But if you open your eyes and watch carefully, you will believe..."
If you haven't read this series, I suggest you do. It is sad, but it's full of hope and faith as well. I wanted to share some of the quotes that begin each chapter because many of them have really hit me hard, giving me hope in life, and comfort in loss.

"God gave us the greatest proof of love that the world has ever seen." - Andrew Murray

"The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." - Vincent van Gogh

"Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue." - Eugene O'Neill

"Life must be lived forwards, but it can be understood only backwards." - Soren Kierkegaard

"Faith is not intelligent understanding, faith is deliberate commitment to a Person where I see no way." - Oswald Chambers

"Every happening, great or small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message." - Malcolm Muggeridge

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." - C.S. Lewis

"Death's power is limited - It cannot eradicate memories or slay love. It cannot destroy even the threadbare fait or permanently hobble the smallest hope in God. It cannot permeate the soul and it cannot cripple the spirit. It merely spearates us for a while. That is the only power death can claim - No more." - Donna VanLiere

Most of us have lost someone close to us and Christmas can be a difficult time to bear that loss, but I found comfort in these words and I hope you do too.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

We put up the Christmas tree this weekend and Riley helped for the first time. He had a blast...we all did! Here's a video and some pictures of our special family time!




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I've said it before and I'll say it again...holidays are so magical with kids! I have looked forward to this for so long, I can't believe the time is here. Riley is enjoying Christmas so much already...snowmen, Santa, trees, presents, everything! I hope every one of you is having an unforgettable, special, wonderful, MAGICAL season as well!

Happy Holidays!

NO NEMO NO!!!

As previously mentioned, 'Finding Nemo' is Riley's FAVORITE movie...he'd watch it all day everday if we'd let him. He has a favorite line from the movie as well, "Nemo No! No Nemo No!" which is said by Marlin when Nemo is taken away by P. Sherman. He says it when he wakes up, he says it all day long, he says it when he goes to bed! His Nana bought him a Nemo toy cell phone last weekend and he'll open it up, put it to his ear and proceed to warn Nemo "No Nemo No!". It's absolutely adorable! I really need to get it on video.


Hug & Kiss. I really have the sweetest little boy around! He will ask for hugs and kisses. He'll be running around playing and just come up and give me a hug, then say 'kiss'...because as you well know, hugs and kisses are just better together. And if someone else is around, he'll run straight to them, because he doesn't want to leave them out. Adorable! In the grocery store, I sometimes have trouble steering the cart because he just leans over and hugs me so much! He'll keep saying, "more...more" as we travel through the store. Am I lucky or what?!?!

Boy does he love Christmas lights too! We were driving home from dinner Friday night and he saw his first decorated house and couldn't take his eyes off it! When we passed it he says 'More!', so we drive around looking for more and as soon as we pass the house with lights he's back there saying 'Lights! More!'. So far, we always oblige. It's so amazing to see his face light up. This holiday season is going to be MAGICAL!



Speaking of...I put up some Cmas decorations yesterday during Riley's nap, so when he got up, there was a bit of a change. He LOVED the change! I've got a wall Cmas tree up and he just stopped, stared, and said "Kissmiss Tee"...Very Good Riley! I was only able to get 2 of my animated 'guys' out (a dancing snowman and a moving Tigger), but he carried those around all night! Just loves pushing the buttons. I didn't know how he would react, I know some kids are afraid of animated decorations like that, but he loves them so far! Like I said, it's going to be MAGICAL!

Riley's learned who 'Santa' is through pictures...got him some Santa books at the library and had a couple of last year...watching movies, etc. We are trying to get him 'acquainted' with him in hopes that there will be no crying when we take him next weekend. He did perfect last year...they told me to just sit Riley on Santa's lap facing outward, to not let him see Santa BEFORE the picture (he was 9 months, but so brave, I didn't think there would be a problem, but even Santa said it was better safe than sorry). We got a great picture, then Santa turned Riley around, and Riley was just fascinated with his beard! It was so cute! Santa told us how cute he was and just kept holding him as long as he could...he said he doesn't have a chance to hold the younger kids much cuz they are usually so afraid of him! Hope it's the same this year!

Riley is just so darn precious, and growing so fast, I can't possibly remember everything new and adorable he's doing now! lol OH! One more thing: He's putting 'sentences' together...or at least trying...saying things like 'Daddy's...work' 'Nana's house' 'Bear's bed', etc. Yesterday he actually said 'Can I see that?' when we were at the bookstore! He can also count to 20...sort of...most of the time it's by every other number...or sometimes he'll go off and say 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and then you say 10, 11, and he'll continue with 12, 13, 14, 15...pretty amazing!!! This whole parenting thing is just pretty amazing!!! I LOVE IT!


I've been absolutely horrible at taking pictures (didn't even take a single one at Thanksgiving because we were too busy chasing Riley around other people's houses), so I have none to accompany this post. Sad. :-( Just wait until after Christmas though...I'm gonna need a back-up battery for all the pictures of Riley and his cousins, presents, family...I can't wait! But, that's another post!