8 Months and Counting

The goodness just keeps on coming. Lots of foods, hanging out with friends, family, and more.

You love looking through your books. There are a couple of favorites you have: Stories Jesus Told, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, and Busy Bible Storybook.The third book listed of these three has a pop-up page that you absolutely love. You will open and close it till you find it again. Fun stuff for you, little man.

You also love story time with Daddy. You and him read a book every night before bed. You are so engaged the whole time!

Our friend, Jessy, lost her Daddy this past month. You got all dressed up and brought many smiles to many faces. You were such a sweet boy and Jess loves you very much!

Daddy and Mama celebrated our 2 year anniversary. While we went to dinner you spent some quality time with Rebekah. You have tons of fun with her and she loves seeing you!

You look forward to play time with Daddy. I think it's definitely your favorite time. You laugh, squeal, roll, army crawl, face dive, push up, pull, and so much more. Daddy loves this time too.

We all go to Bible Study every Thursday still. You continue to enjoy watching all the kids playing while we have our Bible Study discussion.

Baby boy you have 6 teeth! Your top 4 have been making their way out this month and definitely had a break through.You've been exploring your little chompers and all their functionality.

You are army crawling and getting on all fours. You have yet to master full-on crawling but you definitely know how to make your way around.

Bath time is a favorite for you. You love the water. It calms you so much. You take one every night with Daddy and Mama's help.

You continue to love solids. You've had: zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato with garlic seasoning, kiwi, chicken, cucumber, potato, celery, and apple sauce. You continue to enjoy all the other foods you gobbled in the previous months as well as your new sippy cup! Oh, how you love your sippy cup with a straw. Thank you, BLW for a healthy eating baby boy who loves his food!

You have had tons of fun seeing all of your friends! You've had quite a few playdates this month. We went to hang out with Gianna and Theresa, Daniel, George, Laura, and Max, Ben, Em, and Greg, Claire and Anna, and even Molly and Lucy made an appearance while all the Dad's were getting to work! You and I are very blessed, little one. God has blessed us with some amazing friends to share good times with.

It appears that you and Daniel are having a very intriguing conversation in the picture above.

Below, is when we went over to George, Laura, and Max's house while Daddy helped all the other Dad's move our friends into their new home. You liked the pop up toys.

You enjoy your mornings in Daddy and Mama's bed. You roll around everywhere. You would even roll off the bed if I let you. You enjoy waking up Daddy and, as much as he appreciates his sleep, I know he loves your little hands waking him up.

Also, you are quite the babbler. You have the skill of baby babble down. And of course we have to throw in some mad squealing abilities. This house will never be the same and we have you to thank for that.

There is something about this purple lid that you love. You will take this lid on and off as many times as we put it on. It's a challenge that you are always up for. 

You've been signing Milk this month. It's so exciting seeing you communicate with us through sign! Excited for you to start using more signs we've been learning.

Mama's friend from grad school, along with her two daughters and husband, visited us on their drive through Texas back up to Wisconsin. They loved meeting you and Mama was so happy to see her friend that she hadn't seen in so long!

Uncle Godfather ran a 1/2 marathon trail run! Your uncle loves challenges like these and would love you to grow up and enjoy them too. He drove over to our place after our run and spent some time with you. Y'all had fun, as always.

This month, we actually got to see Uncle Godfather three times! He loves you so much and is so proud of you and all you are doing. We also got to see Uncle Godfather's girlfriend for lunch one Saturday, which was so nice.

You are so wonderful at restaurants! You wait patiently for your meal and sit up like a big boy; meanwhile, observe all that is going on around us. 

It was a great month, sweetheart! We are really enjoying watching your sweet and fun personality develop. We're so proud of you!

Love you, 

Mama

Happy Anniversary, my love.

It's so hard to believe it's been two years! Only because it has flown by and so much has happened - so much good that is. We've been so blessed in our marriage. I have loved being married to you. You, the amazing man that God brought into my life so many years ago.

Thank you for being so wonderful. Thank you for being so kind. Thank you for your patience. For your goodness. For your gentle heart. For the way you care for me and our son. Thank you for your strength and determination. Thank you for always encouraging me to be me and to strive to be better. Thank you for the way you father our son. It's beautiful. It's more than beautiful. Thank you. In all, Thank you for the way you love me - your wife and mother of your son.














Image of happy wife below.

Happy anniversary, my love, my husband, and my best friend. 

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life; Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise, God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things; And when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in His arms. Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you today and every day. He will either shield you from suffering or will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations. -St. Francis de Sales

Month 7 (a month late)

Ice cream, home videos, lots of tissue/meds, and missing our families

First of all, Happy New Years’s Eve to everyone! The start of a new year is always such a great time, normally spent with family and/or friends. Bringing in the new year with special loved ones has always been important to GeekMan and I and we fondly can look back on all the wonderful NYE get togethers we’ve been blessed with.

But this year is turning out to be a little different.

I am curled up under a blanket, in bed, with a low grade fever, a cough/itchy throat, sinus pressure along with a mild headache that refuses to go away, and a runny/stuffed nose. Yes, thank you sinus infection. It has been awhile since we met but as you would have it you are here with me now.

Meanwhile, I am listening to my wonderful Husband sing, dance, and play with our sweet Bigfoot. I love hearing them interact and listening to them while in bed is definitely making my soul happy.

This NYE is a bit different from many that we have had previous. First off, I’m sick (boo!); secondly, we are away from family and friends; and thirdly, we have the sweetest new addition to our family - fresh from my womb just a little over 6 months ago.  All of the above just means we have to get creative. GeekMan and I decided a perfect way to bring in the new year would be to watch old home videos from 2011, which I am so excited about. We’re talking family trip videos, many of Bigfoots firsts, Bigfoots arrival and all that led up to it, holidays, family, friends and more! I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend our time tonight given my health isn’t up to par for anything else.

I guess, the point in getting this post out is that, while in bed, I remember Sister K (Special K) and how she always encouraged me to see the blessings in all times and to be thankful. Without being sick the idea of reflecting on our year via all the videos we took may not have happened at all. And now we have this to hopefully do every year (whether that be a few days after the NY since we’ll be with family+friends or on NYE like today). As much as we’ll miss bringing in the New Year with family we love, I’m thankful that we get to have this special time to do so with our little family - not to mention, dear husband got me a pint of some delicious looking Blue Bell ice cream! Yes, our NYE plans had to be changed a bit last minute. But, thank you Lord for the wonderful family that you have given us that always have a place ready for our little family come the holidays.

I admit, I was pretty bummed and really missing that we wouldn’t be celebrating the new year with family. And, I really don’t like being sick! But, after some bed time and listening to my amazing husband and wonderful little boy I think I have things in better perspective. All it took was opening my eyes, ears, heart, and soul to our God who is always loving us and desires good things for those who love Him. How a thankful heart can change everything!

Family, we miss you, love you and are so grateful for you! Holy Family, pray for us all, near and far, those we know and those we don’t.

Any others out there doing something different this year? Prayers for a wonderful time bringing in the new year as well as a blessed 2012!

Family, become what you are…the family has the mission to guard, reveal, and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride. -Blessed John Paul II

Married couples ought to pray together each night, for their commonprayer is more than the separate prayer of each. -Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Holy Family, Pray for us.

Husbands have 3 jobs: Protect her. Provide for her. Position her togrow in Christ. -Jimmy Needham

Baby boy is half a year old (two months ago!)

Month 6 in Pics

Your first Teddy!:D

You love being superman! Flying around everywhere and pretending to fly while on your belly.

You spent some time with Great Grandma over Thanksgiving.

You play with your Eintein Gym in a whole new way.

Your first Christmas tree!

You hung out with some of your second cousins. They love you tons!

Ohh, that face!

Your feet are your new toy.

and you really love your teddy :)

Sleep bandits caught on camera! You have your two bottom teeth!

You still absolutely love playing with Lily...

...and jumping in your jumperoo!

Oh my dearest, Seph. You are so WONDERFUL and filled with amazing goodness that can only be from up above!

And So They Begin...

Our family traditions, that is!!

Christmas is nearing. This year is different from any other Christmas. Not only am I a Mama now, but with being a Mama comes him who will eventually call me Mama, my little Bigfoot.

Because of our little sweetness, there’s a new whimsical feel to this year’s Advent. There’s a feeling of anticipation and wanting to do more to make everything special for our little guy - special and meaningful. Wanting to make the reality of Advent as present as possible in our home, from the Christmas decor to the celebrations of all the special Feast days that surround this time.

We started with St. Nicholas’s Feast day. Below is the wonderful story of today’s Santa.

Nicholas’ parents died when he was just a teenager. His parents left him a lot of money which made him a rich young man. He went to live with his uncle who was a priest.

Nicholas heard about a man who had lost all his money. He had three daughters who were old enough to get married. But in those days young women had to have money in order to get married. This money was a “dowry” and it was used to help the new family get started. If you didn’t have dowry money, you didn’t get married.

This family was so poor they had nothing left to eat. The daughters were going to be sold as slaves because they couldn’t live at home any longer. They were very sad. They wouldn’t be able to have families of their own. And they would have to be slaves—no longer able to decide where they would live or what they would do.

The night before the oldest daughter was to be sold, she washed her stockings and put them in front of the fire to dry. Then all of them went to sleep—the father and the three daughters.

In the morning the daughter saw a lump in her stocking. Reaching in, she found a small, heavy bag. It had gold inside! Enough to provide food for the family and money for her dowry. Oh, how happy they were!

The next morning, another bag with gold was found. Imagine! Two of the daughters would now be saved. Such joy!

And the next night, the father planned to stay awake to find out who was helping his daughters. He dozed off, but heard a small “clink” as another bag landed in the room. Quickly he jumped up and ran out the door. Who did he catch ducking around the corner?

Nicholas, the young man who lived with his uncle. “Nicholas, it is you! Thank you for helping us—I hardly know what to say!” Nicholas said, “Please, do not thank me—thank God that your prayers have been answered. Do not tell others about me.”

Nicholas continued helping people. He always tried to help secretly. He didn’t want any attention or thanks. Years passed and he was chosen to be a bishop. Bishopslook after their people as shepherds look after their sheep. And that is what Nicholas did. When there wasn’t any food, he found wheat; so no one went hungry. He always helped people in trouble. All his life Nicholas showed people how to love God and care for each other.

Everyone loved Nicholas. After he died, they told stories of the good and kind things Nicholas had done. Sailors took these stories about Nicholas everywhere they went. Some of the stories were about his special care for children—helping and protecting them when danger threatened. And so more and more people learned about good, kind Nicholas. They wanted to be like him. He is an example of how we should live. And that is why he became a saint.

This is the story of the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas. To this day people say that St. Nicholas, or Santa, is the special friend of children.

—Carol Myers

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/real-santa/

St. Nicholas shared his wealth with all around him, and we hope by celebrating his life, that our little guy will learn that it is in giving that we receive.

Also, in that we had yet to buy our stockings that would be filled with gold chocolate coins (representing the money St. Nicholas shared) and candy canes (Bishop’s crook), I searched online to find a way to make some of our own (something Amanda friendly). GeekMan thought that they’d be a smidge more special if I made them and after some thought, I agreed. Through my search on Pinterest I found this lovely blog post and got excited! They were easy enough to make and they could be personalized.

Not anything too creative since that doesn’t seem to be my forte at this point in life. haha. Although, at one time, I did think of myself as one to have somewhat of a creative ability. Maybe I just need to spend some more time nourishing that part of me?


Tadaaa! I have to say, after dabbling in some DIY projects during the holidays, I am definitely feeling an itch to create more, which is exciting. So, behold, the stockings we now have to fill with gold coins, candy canes, and whatever else our little hearts desire! So, thank you, Laura, for sharing your amazing creative talents and encouraging the little creative spark in me.

Now on to other Holiday treats and family traditions.

We celebrated Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And I made cookies on the Feast of St. Lucy (since I didn’t have any yeast to make cinnamon rolls or another sweet bread).

We have our Christmas tree! This year we decided to go with an Advent theme to encourage our Advent journey. A pretty pink and purple it is, along with sparkling white lights, some St. Nick ornaments, our little Nativity under our tree is ready with sweet Child Jesus awaiting His place in the manger, and an ornament that represents GeekMan and I, and one for our sweet Bigfoot. The tree will continue to morph, I’m sure, over the years, but for now, this is our dear Christmas tree.




Sweet Child Jesus awaiting His birthday.


Our nativity under the tree awaiting the most precious gift of all to be placed there Christmas day.


Another little DIY I found on Pinterest is this little idea from this site. It’s basically a little kid-friendly tree for our Bigfoot to decorate, once he’s old enough. I went ahead and made the tree this year and will add other decor in the year to come (i.e. more colored ornaments, , garland, and presents). I’m thinking a Jesse Advent Tree, but for now we have some Marian blue going on. It’s a work in progress, but I’m excited for when Bigfoot will be at the age where he’ll be interested.


And, of course, we have our Advent wreath.


I suppose that’s all for now. We have a few other little things here and there and other thoughts and to-do’s we’d like to implement during this beautiful season (i.e. 12 days of Christmas, the journey of the Three Kings and the Epiphany), but I will save that either for another post or another year when we are actually implementing.

I tell you what, our little one has really kicked us into gear in regards to starting our family traditions and joyful celebrations throughout the season, and we are both so thankful for that.
What sort of traditions are going on in your home? Would love to hear them!

Santa meet Bigfoot. Bigfoot meet Santa. haha.

We’ve got a classic first-timer on our hands.