One and A Half

This past week we celebrated a very special 'Half Birthday' at our house. On September 26th Norah Grace turned one and a half. When asked her age I still answer in months but I am always quickly corrected by Liam who says "no Mommy, she is one and a half now!" With all of our birthdays falling in the Fall and Winter we have started a little tradition in our house of celebrating 'half birthdays'. Our celebrations have not involved anything big and fancy but just a little recognition of what I believe is a special day especially in the eyes of a child. So far our tradition has only evolved to include doughnuts for breakfast, a pretty special treat when you are use to things like oatmeal or yogurt and with the excitement that gathered from the kids, right now I would say that is enough especially for one little girl who LOOVVVEEESS doughnuts!! I think one of my favorite parts of having my own family is starting new traditions and seeing my kids remember them, look forward to them, and really enjoy them. I seriously love traditions and hope that this is something that my kids come to look forward to as much as I do.

Here are a few shots of the 'Half Birthday' Girl at the park enjoying the amazing fall weather that has taken over our area. We were quite a hit at the park and met up with a few of our friends who got to share in our little 'half birthday' breakfast treat.

And since I am in the habit of updating the blog only about every six months I will give you a little update on my sweet baby girl. She is a MESS!! She is funny and silly and spunky and sassy and sweet all at the same time. She loves to laugh and smile and flirt. She is always smiling and waving and saying hi to everyone we meet. She meets few people she considers strangers and will go to just about anyone who will hold her without hesitation especially if there is the promise of food. She loves to make people laugh and in my opinion is pretty funny and absolutely adorable.

She loves to talk and talk and talk and talk and talk....she can say just about anything she wants to and sometimes things you don't want her to. Her vocabulary and comprehension at only 18 months always seems to catch me by surprise.

She loves to sing and dance and can regularly be seen swaying from side to side or spinning around and around singing "Row, row, row, row, row, row...boat...merrily, merrily, merrily....dream."

She takes after her mommy and loves any and all things sweet especially ice cream and cupcakes. She has learned the word cupcake and with just that one word and a pretty stinkin' cute smile has figured out how to sweet talk her way into free cupcakes at our favorite cupcake shop, Georgetown Cupcakes.

She can regularly be found climbing on just about any and everything. On many occasions when cooking dinner I will hear her calling my name only to turn around and find her standing in the middle of our dining room table. This is a major problem because after climbing her second favorite activity is jumping....on that one she takes after her daddy and is a going to be quite the daredevil.

She loves playing with her baby dolls and I normally find her carrying at least three of them around at a time. She likes to wrap them up and blankets and put them 'night night' in Liam's bedroom which is by far her favorite place to play. She can normally be found sitting in Liam's room on his bed surrounded by all the toys she has moved from her room and the den into his room to play.

And last but not least she absolutely without a doubt thinks that her big brother hung the moon! She calls him "Bo-Bo" which we think is short for brother. She wants to do any and everything he does. She loves to have him chase her around the house and steals his toys regularly not because she wants the toy but more importantly she wants his attention. He is the first thing she asks about when she wakes up in the morning and the only thing she mentions at night when you ask her who she wants to pray for. She loves him and I pray that it stays this way forever.

Until next time....(which is hopefully going to be sooner than 6 months)

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

1 Corinthians 15:10

Our sweet Norah Grace,

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you more than words can say. You bring more joy to our lives and we are so thankful that God picked us to be your parents. Your sweet, easy-going spirit is just what our family needed. We learn something new about you everyday. You can be spunky and sassy or snuggly and sweet. You love to cuddly but often times want to jump out of mommy's arms in an attempt to keep up with your big brother. You are just days away from running, we think you might skip walking all together. Today on your first birthday, you have taken your most steps so far walking about 10 or so steps before falling down with a huge smile only to get right back up and do it over again. You are talking up a storm! You surprise us everyday with a new word or sound or sign. Your first word was dog but now you are also saying: mama, dada, papa, all done, go, hey, bye-bye, yep and most recently, hey y'all (taught to you by your papa on a recent visit.) You love to play with your brother and you let him know who's boss when he tries to push you around. You can not sit still long enough to read a book but love to play with them in your crib when you are protesting nap time. You love to give hugs and big, wet open mouth kisses. You like playing trains and cars with your brother, your favorite part is to sneak in and still the trains right of the tracks. We call you "swiper" because you are sneaky and quick and can get into just about anything if we turn our heads for just a second. Your brother also affectionately refers to you as "Godzilla" for the times that you have trashed a tower or destroyed a puzzle. You love to be outside and get really excited to go down the slide and could probably swing in the swing all day if we would push you. 

We pray everyday that you know you are loved by us and by God, that you know you are beautiful both inside and out, and that you know we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You are God's "grace" to us and we are so thankful for your sweet little life.  

Love, 

Mommy, Daddy, & Liam

Project 52 | Week 1 | A Year In Our Lives

So as it is with most things with me I am getting off to a later than anticipated start with my Project 52. It is a good thing that one of my life's motto's is "Better late than never!" Since I am pretty certain that isn't actually a good thing I am working to change it and well this is hopefully going to help.

I have been thinking about doing something like this for a while and really truly want to commit to doing something for my family. I want my kids to have photos from their childhood, not all the posed shots where I make sure they are wearing super cute matching outfits but the ones that really show what it was like growing up in our home. I want them to be able to look back and see and hopefully remember their favorite stuffed animal, reading books at bedtime with daddy, taking a bubble bath together, playing in the snow, our beloved Sadie-dog, being best friends with each other, and so many other moments from our lives as a family.

Now, as I posted previously I am never at a loss for great ideas but don't have the best track record for finishing the projects that I start. So I am hoping with you guys to keep me accountable and my kids as the true reason behind doing this project I will be able to keep it up and by the end of the year have an album full of images for them to look back on in the years to come that really show what our everyday life is all about.

I am going to try and follow a loose theme based on the week of the month.

1st Week of the Month: A room in our life
2nd Week of the Month: Capturing Relationships
3rd Week of the Month: Seasonal or Our Daily Routine
4th Week of the Month: The details of life
5th Week of the Month: A little something extra

So here is week 1....a little late of course!

Word of the Year

I have seen this done year after year on various blogs that I follow and always thought "hey I should do that" but never carried through with the idea and there in lies my problem and the reason for MY "Word of the Year"! At first I thought my word would be finish but something about that just wasn't sitting right with me. If I am going to stick with this word the entire year I needed it to be more positive and that is how I ended up with accomplish.

If you ask my husband, I am never at a loss for great ideas but bring most of those great ideas to completion well that is a problem....just take a look around my house. I normally have the motivation and creative genius to get a project started but somewhere along the way I loose sight of my goal, I get bored, I come up with something better more creative, I get tired or I get sidetracked, and in the end I normally get frustrated and so do my loved ones. So in an early attempt to avoid marriage counseling (just kidding, it's not that bad yet) I am making this my word of the year. I am making myself accountable for the currently "un-accomplished" projects I have laying around and those things I plan on taking on this year.

I have a lot of things that I would like to accomplish this year personally, professionally, spiritually, physically, and creatively.  I am going to start my list here, for the world to see (or at least the handful of you that still read our blog, "hi mom")! As I move through this list, accomplishing things, checking them off, and adding new ones I pray that God will more clearly reveal his plan to me for my life and the life of my family. I pray that I may accomplish tasks both great and small that bring Him glory daily and that I will be a model to my children of the importance of finishing what they start.

My List

• Train for & finish a half marathon
• Finish "Liam's First Year" Album
• Start & finish "Norah Grace's First Year" Album
• Start, maintain, & finish a "Project 52" photography blog
• Finish loosing the baby weight I gained with Norah Grace
• Go on vacation with our amazing friends, the Lees!
• Read at least one book a month
• Get 8 hours of sleep at least one night a week
• Spend at least one weekend with my Ginas
• Go on a date night at least once a month with just my husband
• Teach Liam all of the letters of the alphabet

stay tuned....

growing up...

"Be strong & courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, 

for the LORD your God will be with your wherever  you go." 

Joshua 1:9

My sweet Liam, My first born. My heart of hearts. My monkey man. You made me a mommy and daily I stand in awe of you. Grateful for every breath that you take. In love with you beyond anything I can describe. I am amazed at the boy you are becoming. You are learning what it means to love God, to love others, and to be thankful. You are too smart for your own good and definitely for my own good. You are a wonderful big brother and Norah Grace thinks you hung the moon. You have a kind and gentle soul and a very tender heart. You can be quiet and thoughtful and loud and precocious. You are whitty and wise and challenging to a fault. You are stubborn and strong-willed and for you, I want to be a better person, to lead by example and ask for your forgiveness when I fail you at this.

I am not ready for you to grow up so quickly but time is something that I can not stop and as each day passes I pray that I may grow with you. My little love, you are my sunshine and you brighten every day. You make my life better just by being in it.  As we move along this journey together, I promise to always walk beside and hold your hand (and carry you when I can). I will always listen to you. Always hug & kiss you goodnight. Always fight for you. Pray for you without failing. And love you unconditionally. I will be proud of you always. I am forever grateful to be your mama and I know that God has an amazing plan for your life.

We love you beyond words. To the moon and back (and back and back and back and back.)  

30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 1

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Colossians 3:17 

It is not often that I actually take time to think about the things that I am thankful for much less share them with someone else but this month I am committing myself and my family to doing that everyday. Our family is so incredibly blessed and I want Liam and Norah Grace to grow to understand that all of the "things" that we have are not our own but a gift from God and for that we should be grateful and show thanksgiving. We started this tonight with Liam during his bedtime routine and my plan to write each of the things he is thankful for down each night and then display them in our house some how...I haven't quite gotten that far yet but I am sure that I will find something cute on Pinterest! 

In the meantime, tonight Liam was thankful for... PJs (because they keep you warm). And I, I am so very thankful for my sweet hubby. He is my best friend, an amazing father, a brilliant doctor, a great son (and son-in-law), a great brother, and so much more. He is hardworking, funny, compassionate, witty, loving, and kind. He does so much to provide for our family and although I am certain I do not tell him enough, I am so very thankful for him.  And I thank God everyday that I am blessed me with such an amazing man for a husband.

Just stay this little...

Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

~Taylor Swift

My sweet Norah Grace,

You are the light of our lives. Your sweet smile can light up a room and that is a good thing because you are always smiling! You have the most infectious laugh that just captivates anyone that passes by and makes your whole body move and bounce and wiggle. You absolutely love your big brother and he loves you back with his whole heart. He loves to tell you how pretty you look and kiss you goodnight and he has promised me he will still do this when you are older (and I am going to hold him to it.) You have your daddy wrapped around your little fingers and I hope that is right where you keep him. You always greet him with a laugh and a wiggle and your sweet flirty smile when he comes home from work and you snuggle in tight as he picks you up. As much as you love your daddy you are still a mama's girl. I love rocking with you during a middle of the night dates.  If I could have three more of you I would in a heart beat but I know that you are "the one and only ever you" and I promise to treasure each and every moment with you my sweet happy girl. I can not believe you are 6 months old today but I also can not remember a day without you. 

I love you baby girl! 

Mommy