Bloggin' Break

This was a wonderful Christmas!

Hendrix enjoyed meeting his Aunti Em, who made it home on a standby flight from London, a few days late because of snow, but still before Christmas.  :)  She enjoyed making up for lost time with him, and he really took a quick liking to her.  I am sure that it helps that she looks and sounds alot like Mommy!  lol

We got our new van just in time for me to take it home for the holidays.  I love the smooth ride and all the space.  We sure filled it up for the return trip home with all of Hendrix's loot.

Hendrix made out like a bandit this Christmas.  He got so many good toys and clothes and books, for right now I would say his favorite gift is his jumparoo toy that plays music.   Thank you Papa and Nana. :)  He had a very special first Christmas, and I am already looking forward to next year when he will be able to actually open his presents himself!

It was wonderful to have my entire family in the same room for a couple different occasions, and I was thrilled that my brother's fiance, Hannah, was able to join us for Christmas morning.  I love all the commotion at my parent's house!

I have a ton of beautiful pictures that I can't wait to share with you (yes, I literally have a couple hundred pictures of the holiday weekend.....), but unfortunately, our laptop decided to give up the fight on us.  It was three years old and we knew that it was going to need to be replaced soon. 

We have had enough financial hits this month that we are going to try to make do without a computer until we can save up a little more cash.   While we managed to stay within our Christmas present budget this year (I think that might be a first!), we have some medical expenses from my gallbladder surgery, and the whole new van thing kind of threw our budget out the window. lol 

Until we get a new computer, I won't be able to share my photos with you, and I may even take a little break from blogging.  :(  Please be patient with me, and I will catch you up on our lives as soon as I can!

In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday

giggles while naked. what's not to love?

Aunt Kate

Grandpa Jon

These shots were all captured by my new camera. ;)

Merry Christmas!

Warm Holiday Wishes From My Family to Yours!

We began our Christmas celebrations last weekend by spending time with my in-laws.  We went to an extended family reunion, and then opened presents with them on Sunday morning as if it was Christmas morning.

Hendrix was excited to open his stocking and presents.....

.....with a little help from Daddy of course!

I think his favorite gift so far this year is his wagon, which he can't wait to use!  

And Mommy's favorite gift is this camera (and all the accessories) that she is still trying to figure out how to use. ;)

I have great plans to photograph this adorable face as much as possible!

In other news:

My sister who has been studying abroad in London all semester is on her way home as we speak.  She is currently somewhere between Chicago and Iowa and I am dying to see her and introduce my darling son to her.  That moment will be super special!

We are also in the process of trading-

my smashed up Ford Focus that was totaled in an accident last week (the other driver was at fault for not yielding) 

for my first official "mom" wheels. :)  I am hoping that we can get all the logistics worked out in time to drive it home for Christmas. ;)  

We are spending this weekend with my folks and siblings and I am very much looking forward to some more family fun!

Happy Holidays!

His Smile is Back!

Well we did it.  We survived Hendrix's first encounter with the flu.  Yick. Yick. and Yick.  I am so glad he is better!  I got it first last week and was home from work on Wednesday and Thursday, and then it took him down just as I was feeling better.  I was amazed at how hard he tried to be a happy boy for little spurts in between long phases of grumpiness.  Poor little guy.  Needless to say, I spent most of the weekend just holding him.  It was so hard to tell if he was better, because he would start acting "normal" again and wake up from a nap in a great mood.......then I'd hand him off to Daddy and he'd soon be inconsolable again.  I can't wait until he can tell me what's wrong and how to make it better.  In the meantime, we have discovered that only Mommy can make it better when he is sick.


During one of those spurts in which we thought he was better, we went to this big Christmas event that took place at our church.

There was a petting zoo and Hendrix got to see some sheep up close and personal.

I am not sure what a llama has to do with Christmas, but Hendrix got to see his first one of those too. ;)

Then the kiddos put on a Christmas pageant, and I didn't get any photos of that as I was busy trying to keep Hendrix quiet and entertained, which is more work these days.  He is getting big enough to be vocal during these kinds of events; even when he is happy, he is making noises.  

He is so patient to let me play dress-up with him, and I have enjoyed digging out his size 6-9 month clothing that he received as gifts and have just been waiting for him to grow into.  Check out this little outfit he got from my grandparents:

Doesn't he just look like he could play a role in the movie "Grease" with that little sweater on??!!  I think it is SO CUTE!

And, of course, he has no shortage of Santa and holiday gear!

I am loving the soft and warm fleece outfits as we got our first 'real' snow over the weekend and temps dipped down into the single digits.  I had every intention of taking a picture of Hendrix playing in the first snow, BUT it was just too cold!

I finished our homemade Christmas ornament project over the weekend, so stay tuned for the official unveiling of those....they turned out great!  

Also got our Christmas letter typed up and labels ready to slap on our Christmas cards when they get here.....which should be around Thursday.  Am I the only person that uses the UPS website to track her order every morning to see if it is still scheduled to deliver on time?!?!  LOL  I get really excited about anything either photo related, or holiday related; so that makes Christmas cards a double whammy!  It's a weakness, I know.  

Hope everyone is filled with the joy of the season, and having a great week!

Three Months Old

Hendrix keeps crossing milestones.  He is now three months old.  This is a shot from his photo shoot with Lora Patten last Friday and, as you can see from the photo, he was super adorable but not interested in sharing his smiley face with us.  Oh. well.  

There are lots of other great shots, and I just finished ordering our Christmas card!  I can't wait to share them with everyone, but I am going to wait to post the other pictures until the cards are in the mail.  Gotta save a little suspense. ;)

He has been helping Momma get ready for Christmas.  He really has been Santa's little helper. :)  After his pictures on Friday, we went shopping and I both started and finished my Christmas shopping.  He was so patient with me, and I couldn't believe that he put up with my 9 hour shopping spree.  

We saw our first snow flurries while we were shopping, how appropriate!  

My brother and his girlfriend Rachel met me at the mall in the evening, and we had fun going out to dinner together.  Hendrix was a happy lil' guy.

His newest achievement as a 3-month-old is finding his fists.  He likes to put them up to his mouth and either lick them, or chew on them.  It is so funny to watch.

He loves playing with Daddy every chance he can get.

And playing with his lil' girl pals - here he is with Abigail, who is just a day younger than him.  I think that he has passed her up in size now (though he was smaller than her when he was born).

He is generally very happy and freely shares his smiles.  He also makes noises and is trying to figure out laughing.

His stocking is hung,

He has a few ornaments of his own,

And at least half of the presents under the tree are for him.

Come Christmas, don't be late!

Mommy Hendrix is waiting!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.....

Yes, I am a sucker for Christmas music.  I. Love. It.  

While I may have gotten a head start on Christmas celebrations by hanging up our outdoor lights the weekend before Thanksgiving, I feel like I am a little bit behind on everything else related to Christmas preparations.  

This munchkin is Santa's little helper this year.  While he is giving me motivation to make this the best Christmas ever, he is also the biggest distraction ever!  ;)  He really enjoys looking at the lights on the Christmas tree, and he looks really good in red and green!  lol  

We have an appointment for him to get his pictures taken on Friday (his 3 month shots......already?!?) and I am still trying to figure out what he is going to wear.  I am hoping to get a fabulous shot to use on our Christmas card.  :)

We will be ordering our Christmas cards from Shutterfly again this year as we have had great luck with them in the past.  They have the most professional looking designs and I couldn't be happier with the prices.  Last year we got our cards within a week of ordering them without paying for expedited shipping.  

I am drawn to the classy simplicity of this Snowflake Card

 but then again I like the idea of compiling several of my favorite pics like on this Merry Memories Chartreuse Card

  I am thinking I might try to include a family shot, one from his newborn shoot, and another one or two pictures that are current. :)

Shutterfly wants to give me 50 free cards just for sharing this.  If you are a blogger interested in free Christmas cards, click here to read more about the offer. 

I guess I better get back to typing up my Christmas letter, researching which stores will have the best prices for my shopping trip this weekend, and working on those homemade ornaments for friends and family.  

But first, I plan to curl up next to this tree with a cup of hot cocoa and a snuggly little boy.

Happy December. And happy Christmas planning! 

More Thanksgiving Fun

I have been healing up and feeling much better as each day passes.  By Friday I was already done taking the Vicodin and had switched to just tylenol.  I still wasn't holding Hendrix very much, but I felt okay with that since he was getting snuggles from everyone else in my family.  Now I feel confident enough to hold him, but I need to have someone else pick him up and hand him over to me.  I am trying to be very careful and follow the doc's orders.

We celebrated my little brother's birthday on Friday night, and he loved the new briefcase we got for him.  Go ahead and count those candles......he is getting pretty old ;)

We spent lots of time playing games at my parent's house.  There were lots of people home for the holidays since I have 6 younger brothers and sisters, 3 of whom have significant others that will put up with us. :)  Hendrix is getting used to being around lots of noise and activity.  

Saturday night we had our family football game.  I refrained from playing this year, and easily settled into my role as time keeper, score keeper, and referee. 

'The Ballers' beat 'The Victorious Secret' with a score of 5 to 3.

Hendrix slept peacefully throughout the whole game.  I imagine by next year, he will be wanting to toddle around in a jersey of his own. ;)

Today we went to my Grandparent's house for a final Thanksgiving celebration.  This was alot of fun as we have a new member in the family this year (my brother's fiance, Hannah), and also because I was finally able to actually eat all the Thanksgiving foods!  

He enjoyed some special snuggles with his great grandparents, but we had to start stripping him of his clothes, because it was really warm with all the bodies in one room.

When we finally made it home after our long weekend away, we decided to put up our Christmas tree so we can start thinking about the next holiday. 

Hooray!  I LOVE Christmas :)

Hendrix has been so happy to be back in his own home.  He had an exhausting time being passed around so that all his family could love on him, and he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when he recognized that he was in his own surroundings.  He was so smiley while we changed him for bed, and awfully lumpy in daddy's arms just a few moments later. :)