Holiday Round-Up | Santa's Village

i know my posts are usually filled with many words or a story of sorts. i have fallen so behind with blogging & my mind has felt like scrambled eggs lately, especially when it comes to writing a blog post. but, i really want to get these goodies up here. even if it is nearing the end of february.

just down the street from our house is the most magical place to see santa. it truly was a slice of holiday heaven served up on a chilly night. the lights twinkled & danced as we took the tiny train to see santa perched on his stage. the night was perfection, especially with the addition of the floods & the harpers.

beckham was sure curious about the red suit, big white bearded man. he just inspected his face & held his hand the whole time.

i know this is the 1st year of a new family tradition! enjoy a piece of our magical ho-ho-ho evening!

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