Holiday Pictures 2009

I took a ton of pictures during the holidays (go figure.)  Here are some of my faves.....

It was recently brought to my attention that a certain uncle has been neglected on our little blog.  I always worry about posting pictures of people that I don't have an OK from.  I got the OK.  Meet Uncle C......

Jordan's grandma made these GORGEOUS ornaments a long time ago.  Note the kitty and the santa train.  I *heart* them oh so very much.  They remind me of being a little kid and helping mom decorate with ornaments she and her mom made.  I can still smell the old cardboard boxes that housed them in the off-season.

I want to hug them.  Ok, so I hugged the kitty ... once ... ok, twice.

Cooper got a sock monkey and I think he likes it!

Of all the toys ... Holden has enjoyed his dollar-bin microphone, plastic recorder and a used up gift wrap tube the most.  Who knew?  NOTE *super cute faux-n book booster seat!

Ten minutes after unloading the car at my mom and dad's house, the snow started sticking.  I can't believe we had a white Christmas!

Sawyer is so good at sharing hugs and toys with our "into everything" Holden.

Notice sleepy eyes on Christmas morning...... (and drum stick that is not his.)

Holden's ride is in the background. He hopped from his to Sawyer's over and over.

Beckett has the yummiest looking skin ... pictured with our new "sister."

And Beckett, again.  Little snow baby.

Cooper and Beckett sharing their Christmas wishlists....

We hope everyone had a fun and festive holiday!

-Carmen

Happy 2 Months Cooper!

My sweet little Cooper is changing so fast.  He is slowly gaining weight and starting to stretch out.  His eyes are clearing up (baby haze,) and he is looking around and smiling some.

Cooper loves to be swaddled, snuggle and to swing. If he is fussy, one of these, or a combination will usually cure what ails him.

-Carmen

Flags for Foundation

We spent a few hours over the weekend marking the now *flora free* earth with flags in preparation for the foundation engineer.  It was so exciting to have some idea what the view from our front porch will look like.

Holden was a big help as always.

We also met with our SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel) company that will be creating and assembling the shell of the house.  Our visit included a tour of the factory area where the panels are made.  Pretty neat stuff!  The guys were working on walls for a local school while we were there.

-Carmen

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Our annual ornament exchange was this week combined with my ... uh-hem ... birthday.  Yea for being 21, again and again and again (and several more times!!!)

This is one of the angels I *made* (thanks to mom for the help!) ....

I had a great time with my fave gals and the best chicken tamales EVER.  These sweeties gifted me a certificate for a 1 hour massage at a local spa!  I am looking forward to some pampering.  Thanks, ladies!

Cooper looks like a tiny old man in the arms of a my friend L's hubby/wrestler!

-Carmen

Land Update and Driveway

I know it is hard to distinguish grand scheme from nothingness right now, but bare with us.  You will start to see it, too!

The pad for the foundation and driveway are done!

I'm standing in the front right corner of the property (facing house.)  The backyard ends on the visible horizon....

From back corner looking at street .....

Driveway and hubby in jacket...

The path home.....

-Carmen

Moving Earth

Today is a good day to move some dirt!

The boys and I are visiting Mimi and PawPaw so hubby emailed pictures of the earth-shattering groundbreaking. 

The ground has barely dried out *note the moat in our front yard, but every little bit of progress gets us one day closer to being HOME!

-Carmen

Holden and Santa 09

We had a brief brush with the big guy this evening, and I wanted to get this posted so I can quit thinking about it and place "worry" someplace else for a while ...

Is it me or does Santa seem down?  Holden even looks bummed.

Santa was super jolly last year when we visited him.

Granted we were just one of a bazillion families making good on Santa's invitation, today ... at the end of the day, but WOW.  Someone, get this poor guy some cocoa.

____________________

I am incredibly sleep deprived ...

It doesn't matter what time of day it is, someone either needs to be fed, diapered, held, burped or bathed (even hubby needs some of these things.)  It is becoming increasingly difficult to function on sporadic sleep that seldom exceeds 3 hour stints.  I'm going back to work in a couple of weeks so cross your fingers that the young'ins become a little more self-sufficient VERY soon (I'll take one miracle with a side of fat chance, please.)

All is peaceful in our apartment for the moment and I hear rhythmic snoring from the living room.  I think I'll take advantage of the peace and try on a little snoozing of my own before someone notices and requires attention.

-Carmen

Soul Windows

I love Cooper's eyes.  They are different and I find myself lost and swimming in them when he allows it.  I think they look a lot like his dad's eyes.

Check out the label on Sam's onesie.  Poster child for snuggles?  I have to add that I saw Sam today and he was absolutely sweet and content .... and he is gorgeous.

-Carmen

Happy 23 Months Holden!

My favorite thing about life with Holden this month is that he is starting to form a unique creative side.

For quite a while he didn't "get" coloring.  He would delicately drag the crayons across the page as though concerned for their safety.

But this month..........

I think he gets it!  Now "cuh-ruh-ring" is a daily request.  A request met by sincere and overly dramatic pouting when denied.

Maybe he has some of his mommy's artsy side???  I'm crossing my fingers.

-Carmen

Tree Trimming 09

We aren't decorating a tree of our own until we move into the new house (hopefully mid-year,) so Nana and Rowdy graciously allowed us to help decorate their tree yesterday.  Holden thoroughly enjoyed pulling ornaments out of the boxes and tossing them over his shoulder while Cooper snoozed on the couch.

-Carmen

A Prairie View

Big news in our household!  We closed on the land!!!!!!

It's finally official that our Forever House is uh-happenin.

Now we wait for the squishy earth to dry out a bit so that excavation can commence.

This morning, my Love and I decided to visit our little patch of rolling prairie.  I am standing on the "front porch."  Isn't it beautiful?

-Carmen

Sugar Babies

We had pictures done when Holden was born with Sugar Photography and felt strongly Cooper deserved the same breathtaking images.

I have to say the build up to our Sugar shoot was stressing me out.  With all of our belongings in storage, we dug through boxes looking for just the right swaddle blankets, and still not satisfied with what we were wearing, hit the stores one more time the night before our session trying to strike a good balance between casual ... and not .. and definitely not matchy-matchy.

I wore a BLACK top to conceal my postpartum belly, but Jen put me in a different top when we got there.  I'm so glad she did.  The color is purrrrrfect!

As mentioned our dearest Jen captured incredible family photos with our new addition and we got a peek on her blog.

The slideshow of all the images is done.  Click on picture of Cooper and *yours truly* to see my sweeties and me ... the knit cap and diaper cover Little Buddha is sporting are my creations.

-Carmen

A Little Warm and Fuzzy

My one year anniversary at work was in October. The year sure went by quickly.

Today, I was deeply honored to accept the Newcomer of the Year award at the annual Employee Banquet for the entire organization.

It feels incredible when peers you deeply respect let you know they are proud to have you on their team. And this is a team I'm thrilled to be a part of.

-Carmen

Big Boy Bed ~ Follow Up

I am happy to report that Holden did NOT get up again last night. Jordan found him still snoozing away this morning in his big boy bed like a professional.

Good job Little Man!

-Carmen

Big Boy Bed ~ Godspeed

We converted Holden's crib into a toddler bed this evening.

So far so good. We let Holden play on it for several hours this evening. Every time we left the room, he would drag us back in by the hand to show us his "new" bed and pat the mattress for us to sit next to him. Ecstatic doesn't begin to describe his reaction.

At "nite nite," we had a serious discussion about his responsibilities as a big boy in a big boy bed.

About 45 minutes after I tucked him in and turned out the lights, he toddled into the living room ... with Blue Bear 1 (he recently received Blue Bear Too as back up from MiMi) under his arm and Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

I gently escorted him back to his room, tucked him in and went over the rules again.

It's been another hour. He hasn't emerged again.

I'm sure I will see him about the time I start dreaming about flying.

Wish us luck!

-Carmen

Happy 1 Month Cooper!

Happy first month with us, sweet Cooper!

This itty-bitty guy is starting to fill out and chub-up a little. He is also starting to sleep for a stretch of a few ... not just a couple ... of hours at night.

Cooper is holding up his head sometimes. He clearly recognizes and welcomes a bottle and burp cloth with a loud smack of his lips and bugged out eyes.

We have affectionately dubbed Cooper, "Nugget," "Little Bit," "Coop," "Coopster," "Little Bubba," and "Little Buddha."

Cooper is a super cuddly baby and will sleep for hours if you oblige him with the use of your chest.

Sam is now also 1 month old. The boys can often be found telling secrets and swapping war stories ...

-Carmen

Thanksgiving 09 ~ 3

Our third Thanksgiving celebration was today. This party was hosted by my cousin and her hubby in their gorgeous first house. Everything was yummy and cousin H's decorations are lovely.

My family likes to play games (of the board or video variety) so after dinner our Cruise Director (Cousin H) busted out Catch Phrase and Cranium. We had a blast!

Here is Little Bit sporting his Thanksgiving onesie....

Holden discovered this week that almost all of his pants have pockets. He frequently checks to make sure his hands fit in them.
Sawyer and Holden couldn't get enough of the huge mirror and played in front of it for hours! Even in a heated struggle for "MY BALL" they couldn't take their eyes off of themselves.
This is MiMi with the two newbies.... my sister's new baby Sam, who is 2 days older than Cooper (shown with the Coopster.)
I tried to get some cute "twin-like" picture of the two of them, but one was asleep while the other was awake all day (Cooper was just blinking in the picture above.) Baby Sam is noticeably larger than Cooper ... or Cooper is just incredibly tiny ... I think Coop is super tiny.

Sis and I are going to try to hook up this week to try and snap some pictures of them together.
I hope everyone had a blessed holiday!

-Carmen