Holiday Round-Up | Christmas Tree

jason & i were struggling to find the christmas spirit this year. after spending two holiday seasons in one of the most magical places in the world it was hard to feel christmas-y in 80 degree weather. but, we buckled down & pulled out the ho-ho-ho for our sweet baby boy's first christmas!

beckham & i were in the thick of our colds again, so we bundled our boy up & headed to the christmas tree lot down the street. not the most festive but hey, he's only 7 months! the red & white tent ushered us in & we were ready to tree hunt!

we let our snot-nosed boy smell, taste & touch any tree he wanted until we found our perfect tree, the tree that would be the home to beckham's first christmas gifts. jason spotted this very full beauty & we knew it was time to pack her up & take her home. 

after rearranging some furniture we found the perfect spot to dress our tree. after layers of ornaments & lights it was time to capture our sweet boy taking her in.

he was pretty smitten with the beauty that stood before him & i must say i can't blame him.

Holiday Round-Up | Thanksgiving

despite all the craziness around here, we managed to really enjoy this holiday season. we soaked in as much family & friend time as we could & we're completely delighted to watch the sparkle in B's baby blues as he absorbed all the sights and sounds of the season.

thanksgiving is our BIG holiday. my parents always host about twenty people & i wouldn't want it any other way. it is the perfect kick start to the months ahead. my job, each & every year, is to design the table. this year i decided on a vintage farmhouse feel. a long wood table, mason jars, twine, doily table runner & babies breath.

as much as i wanted my table to be the star...wink, wink! let's keep it real. we all know who stole the show.

 these two are going to be trouble together.

 and these two...same path! trouble.

jason's job this thanksgiving was to carve the turkey. it was his first time. my mom bought him a power carving knife & told him to watch some videos! he achieved total success. no surprise! i realize this photo captures him carving ham. he did that, too!

 the gang enjoying the delicious meal that was so graciously prepared.

 tough work being a local celebrity.

we truly have so much to be thankful for this year. we are blessed in so many ways, from being able to buy our first home to being close to family & friends again. our greatest blessing this year is beckham. we are so fortunate to have a happy, healthy baby boy. i think so often, as a society, we take for granted the miracle of life. childbirth has been something that amazed me long before we had beckham. welcoming our first child into the world solidified my awestruck feelings about this incredible gift. a gift i cherish each day.

thanksgiving is a day to celebrate the amazing gifts we are each given. a day to reflect on all the things we are so fortunate to have. a day to come together with family & friends. the feelings we carry near to our heart on this day, are feelings i try to hold tight to all year long. every day brings an opportunity to be thankful. and for that i am so thankful.

Seven Months

little mister,
  wow, has it really already been a month? this month has been a whirlwind. since thanksgiving, i have felt like we have been on space mountain. you know, the first part of the ride where you are in that tunnel going uphill & it's mimicking warp speed? that's been our house this month; a high speed uphill battle. after you & i have swapped colds back & forth, your cold is finally exiting stage left. after nearly two months of snot, cough & congestion, it appears you are coming back. we forgot how loud you were because you just haven't felt well.
  but, our biggest battle this month has been your sweet fur sister, abigail. you sure are curious why she has that funny cone around her neck & why she has been extra lazy lately. well buddy, she isn't really lazy, our poor baby girl is fighting to save her vision in her right eye. she has gone through three surgeries, with an additional one scheduled for thursday. fingers crossed the procedure on thursday will save her eye; if not, you may have a pirate fur sister. needless to say, mama & dada are pretty exhausted from all the stress on the home front. we are hoping the next few weeks will bring better nights of sleep.

  well, enough of that nonsense. let's move on to your milestones for the month. you have gone from rocking in the crawl position to scooting to full on army crawling. you typically do a sequence of one real crawl to two army crawls back to one real crawl to two army crawls & so on until you reach your final destination. your favorite object of desire? mama's iPhone. Project Baby Proof House is in full swing.
  you have mastered "da-da." you say it all day long. when i look at you & say "ma-ma" you very confidently, with no hesitation, almost as if i am the one who is confused, say "DA-DA!" you have only said ma-ma a few times. you'll get there.
  this month you have delighted in food. you have tried butternut squash, sweet potato, avocado & bananas. you do pretty well with each new flavor but you still prefer mama's milk to anything you've tried.

  you pull up on everything. you love grabbing our shirts & pulling yourself from the sit position to a standing position. standing is all you want to do. when we hold your hands you will walk forwards & backwards with us.
  you love to be startled. you jump slightly & then look at us with a big gummy grin. yep, still gummy, which equals NO teeth. you have really started to laugh. i mean full on chuckle. you think it is so funny when we announce "kiss" in this silly voice & then duck our faces in for a BIG smooch.
  you adore the dogs. you will crawl over to them & "kiss" their backs & grab their hair. they have been very good with you so far. especially sweet abigail. she sure doesn't feel well but she lets you pull & tug on her as much as you like.

  this month was full of celebrations. december is a busy month for us! there is christmas, of course (more on that later). uncle andrew's birthday (christmas day!), followed by mama's 30th birthday two days later & auntie anna's birthday on the same day, followed by grandma patti's birthday & great-aunt ann's birthday the day after, finally finishing with new year's! let's keep it real, this december was all about you & celebrating your first christmas. it did not disappoint.

   each month you change & grow by leaps & bounds & each month your dada & i sit here, scratching our heads wondering how it happened. you are by far our best gift this holiday season, this year, this lifetime. there is something special about you & we aren't the only people that think so. i think you are going to do big things in this world & we can't wait to be by your side cheering you on.

here is to 2012!
love & kisses,
mama

Six Months

beckham,

  happy, happy half-birthday little man! you are six whole months. from today on, each day that passes puts you closer to your first birthday than the day we welcomed you into our family. how did this happen? on the bright side, for you, you're only six months away from tasting your first piece of cake. score.

the past month has been a roller coaster ride. i am going to put a call into the tooth fairy & ask when your teeth will be coming in because you are seriously uncomfortable. on top of your teeth discomfort, you have come down with your first cold. that has awarded you the nickname "snots." you don't seem to mind the snot sucker but you hate & i mean HATE when we wipe your nose. between the teethies & the snots, a whole night of sleep has become a distant memory! my fingers have turned black & blue from crossing them so hard, in hopes that you will soon be back to your normal sleeping schedule! PLEASE!?

you, little mister, are determined to be mobile. you have conquered scooting backwards, which completely annoys you. with each scoot scoot you end up further & further away from your object of desire, usually my iPhone. but don't fear, my dear, over the last couple of days you have successfully gotten in the crawl position & rocked forward. i fear we are extremely close to days of a mobile baby! watch out world, beckham is about to be on the loose! oh, i must mention, you are obsessed with climbing backwards off the sofa. you love standing on the wood floors & gazing back up at us. without fail this activity makes you giggle & squeal with delight.

 

just this week you have started saying "da da, da da, da da!" which has your dada completely delighted. this month you got to taste a little baby oatmeal but today marks the start of your newest adventure...food! your first food taste test will be butternut squash. dada & i whipped up a batch the other night! if you're anything like your parental unit, you will be happy as a clam to try anything at least once. 

ah, i must mention, when you get really worked up, typically because i am not holding you 24/7 you start making raspberries over & over & over again. hard not to giggle because it's so cute & sad all at the same time. 

one of our new delights is looking over & seeing you sitting up in between me & your dada. to add some excitement to our day, you now grab the collar of my shirt & pull yourself into a stand. oh & the smile you get when you succeed. cutest thing ever. your mouth is like a hungry great white shark, you aggressively attack our noses, dada's hat or anything else you can get you mouth around. it cracks us up! you come in for the kill before we can even protect ourselves!

you truly are a delight. there is definitely something special about you. you have stolen many hearts already, including mine. i may be biased, but i'm also 100% right. i am so thankful for the amazing gift you are each & every day of my life. 

with mad love & major kisses,

mama