Virtual Christmas Card

We have our car insurance through State Farm and every year they send us a new pack of return address labels with super cute Christmas decorations on them. This year they have gingerbread men, Christmas trees, or snowmen on them. They remind me each year that I should take a moment and write down the happenings of this year and stay in contact with friends and family through the customary mailing of Christmas cards. Needless to say, each year passes me by and I have NO Christmas cards to show for it :)

Being a first-time mom, Shutterfly has received several orders from me and now with the holidays approaching they have received several more. Out of the kindness of this company's heart they sent me an email with a code for 10 free Christmas cards - that combined with the super cute return address labels meant this was my year!

I have written out my envelopes and stamped and sealed all 10 to be sent out to immediate family, once you start to create your family list you realize how many friends you would love to include...I have high hopes that if I can't get a reorder in time for this year next year looks promising...but bear with me people baby steps....baby steps.

Stinker's First Thanksgiving!!!

We drove over to Arizona for the long weekend. Its amazing how one tiny person and add a couple more stops along the way :) Here are some pics from our time with Grammy and Poppa.

Stinker's measuring stick - someday when this cactus is full grown we can look back at this pic

Stinker loved this texture of this one

Camo Boys

They are just about the same height :)

Cuddling outside with Poppa

Storytime with Grandmommy86 a Clifford story while holding Clifford :)

We went for walks to work off our Thanksgiving meal!

Grammy and I daringly ventured out to Kohls the day after Thanksgiving (just like last year but not at 3AM!) and Stinker was so great! We made friends with the people standing in line and they all thought he was so cute ahaha. The next day Speedy and I got a massage it was so awesome, seriously the best one I have ever got. I kept walking around saying "I miss Niki" (the woman who gave me my massage). This was the first date Speedy and I have had since Stinker came along! Needless to say, we had a great weekend.

Welcome to the North Pole!

This past weekend it poured rain and was very chilly so spontaneously Speedy and I decided to order in Marie Calendars and watch a movie. We ordered total comfort food...chicken potpie and country fried steak dinners with a slice of pie each :) Filled our bellies with warm food while we snuggled under blankets and watched a movie so fun!

Over the weekend, we decorated for Christmas...as my facebook status said: "usually i am a strick 'after thanksgiving' christmas decorator but i couldnt take it anymore, so i opened the windows to cool down the apartment so i could drink hot coco and transform it into the north pole"... i love this time of year!


Last year was the first year Speedy and I had a Christmas tree of our own - it was so fun. This year with Stinker it is even better!

Bath Time!

Stinker's hair is growing in more and more everyday but still in the same spot...straight down the middle! :)






So...after his bath I combed his hair straight back to really spike his mohawk (this is the first time I intentionally 'styled' it this way!) It ended up drying this way and looked so cute :)

Nursery Buddy

Here are some pics of Stinker and his buddy enjoying the church nursery. This buddy is just 4 months older than Stinker and is FULL of personality :)



It has been so enjoyable to see how these two are very different. Stinker is quiet, observant, curious, and focused. His buddy is charismatic, chatty, excitable, and a bit of a daredevil it seems. As they continue to grow up together it will be interesting to see how these differences solidify and/or change over time.


Here Stinker was learning how jumpers are really supposed to be used! He usually sucks on the fabric although he is spinning himself around to bat at the toys more these days. His buddy goes to town on these things it was entertaining to watch Stinker enamored with all the noise his buddy was able to make!

An Outfit for Daddy

A downhill skiing polo and your 'I love my Irish Daddy' bib! Daddy used to be an avid skier, and he loves his Irish heritage... Everyone says you and daddy look so much alike you are his 'mini-me'. They even get your names confused - just last night at community group one of our church elders called your daddy by your name :)

Brace Yourself

This weekend, while we were walking up the stairs to our apartment with our arms full of groceries, we went to unlock our door. Speedy set the baby carrier down to get out his keys and we noticed a little hand clutching the side of his carseat...scared much??

It was so hilarious we burst in the door to quick grab the camera to document this. (Can you tell we are 1st time parents??? hahaha)

Meet Curious George

George has been recruited to assist Clifford in joining our parenting team. So, Cliffy is on part-time since he has made it through the wash a couple thousand times and is looking a bit ratty :)

Mohawk Man

Many people at our church have commented on how they like Stinker's mohawk. They thought I have been cutting it this way! But I am happy to say this all-naturaaaaal :)

New Camera

So we had to break down and buy a big, fancy, camera that neither of us know how to operate solely for the purpose of capturing those many precious moments we experience daily as we watch our little one exploring his world.

We had a picnic by the harbor and ocean for the chilly afternoon and practiced using the camera. Our poor little guy will prolly be blind with all the pics we keep taking of him!

Here are some pics of him playing in his crib (just another excuse to use the camera).

Baby's First Halloween!

We went to our friend's house and got the kiddos together in costume. We all happened to have a bit of an animal theme going...a giraffe, a monkey, and our little bumblebee :)

The night was a bit overwhelming for the little animals (as you can tell) from the pics but what a blast anyway!