farewell 2011.

2011 you treated me really good this year. and while you threw me some unexpected curve balls i finally learned my lesson that life doesn't go according to "my plan" and for that, i'm forever grateful. the memories you gave me this year are cherished and marked as my favorite year so far.



because in 2011 i....

• became a mother ( even though i'm sure baby T would have to argue that i'm still trying to get this mother thing down. he's so patient with me that one.)
• finished my first block of my teaching program
• stopped working full-time at a job i less then liked
• went on un unbelievable romantic trip with the hubs which we dubbed our babymoon vacation
• traveled to washington, twice!
• made some new friends and visited with old ones that live far away
• had my dad come visit for ten days during the holidays
• tasted the amaziness of Trophy's and started my quest to find an equally delicious cupcake bakery in the valley. i have yet to succeed on this one
• saved a bunch of money like adults

things that had to go in 2011....

• the money we saved earlier in the year
• my pregnant belly, pregnant cravings, pregnant bladder, pregnant swollen feet, pregnant back aches
• my long hair. i'm now sporting a mid length bob that requires a fifth of the amount of time to get ready
• tank and weezy's ridiculous amount of allergies (crossing our fingers their allergy shots got rid of them for good)
• black beauty (the hub's huge lifted diesel. it didn't really scream family friendly so we traded it for the mazda. we still have yet to name it though)
• my old cell phone. i was still rocking the first cell phone ever made and was convinced i would never use anything else. but when the battery forever died i had to get a smart phone to replace it and lets just say i was wrong.
• a good nights sleep (babies tend to do that)
• the hub's massive closet. he finally consented to letting me get rid of some of his clothes to free up space for me
• baby T's newborn, 3 month, 6 month, and some nine month clothing. he's grown so fast and he's only five and a half months

excited about 2012 because....

• we celebrate our third year wedding anniversary three days into the new year :)
• following through on my new years resolutions
• like getting back in shape (i want to take up yoga and zumba) and start running again
• summer comes again (i want my olive complexion back)
• so will baby T's first birthday
• getting more schooling under my belt (someday i'll graduate, someday....)
• the new season of jersey shore (i'm not proud of this one)
• experiencing an awesome year with baby T and my amazing hubs

2012 you have alot to live up to. let's see what you got.

christmas run-down according to baby T

1. picked out a christmas tree

2. helped mom and dad decorate

3. ugly sweater christmas party

4. got smooched by my friend gracie

5. met my grandpa ili for the first time and became buddies

6. sat on santa's lap and looked adorable

7. got spoiled on christmas morning

christmas eve procrastination

(excuse the picture quality, it was taken on my phone)

we've been busy preparing for christmas this past week shopping for presents, throwing christmas parties, spending time with family, and running to the mall christmas eve morning to get pictures with santa since we are lame parents and have put it off/forgotten till the last very possible day. baby T was fearless with santa. he took turns giving wide toothless smiles at the camera and leaning back to gaze up at mr kringle. more pictures and updates to come but for now we're soaking up every minute of T's first christmas. Happy Holidays!

original GLEEker

remember how studly my grandpa is? don't be fooled my grandma is just as feisty and unpredictable. she once ate a whole gallon of chocolate ice cream in thirty minutes. dj was there, he couldn't believe it. and when we were able to stop laughing long enough to ask her why she ate it all she simply said because it tasted so good. after that response eating the whole gallon seemed like the only reasonable thing to do.

 today while i was over at their house visiting i noticed my grandma had on what i can only assume was her old high school sweater. i had no idea she was so current even back then. when i asked her if she was in glee club in high school she replied, "well i have a sweater that says so so i suppose i was." oh dementia, bless her heart. between chatting her up about her glee club days that she doesn't remember and sneaking peeks at my grandpa giving eskimo kisses and baby talking to T it was a pretty memorable visit.

mom brains

last weekend i attended a bridal shower of a childhood friend with my mom and baby T in tow. everyone at the shower kept asking me how old T was in which i replied, "he'll be five months on the tenth" only to realize the next day that the shower was on the tenth. i'm pretty sure i didn't make sense to half the people i talked to. my brains have officially turned into mom brains. so overworked by multitasking (i can nurse T, type one handed on the computer, ge tank and weezy to see whose at the door, and talk to the hubs all at once) that it no longer can function regularly most of the time. i'm considering making myself flashcards to help keep my brain on point but i'd probabaly forget them somewhere after making them.

happy 5 months T! hopefully i'll be thinking a little more clearly on your 6 month mark....

it's begining to look a lot like christmas.

T was in awe while we put up the christmas tree. celebrating the holidays is already that much more fun with this little stud.

the northwest episodes: des moines pier

one of the places we visited while in washington was the des moines pier. we weren't there long because it was pretty cold and by that i mean freezing. i'm pretty sure some fisherman were looking at me funny with no coat and slippers (aka flip flops. dj thinks it's so weird that i call them slippers, not sure why) on. we were hoping to see a few fishermen pull up their full crab pots but we had no luck, so we just "ooh"ed and "aah"ed over the incredibly beautiful puget sound instead.

the northwest episodes: the reception

ever since we got my cousin's invite in the mail  awhile back i've been pretty much counting the days till their reception and it did not disappoint. an intimate party (at their favorite restaurant when they were dating, super cute) with close family, friends and amazing food (the vanilla on vanilla cupcakes and pizza were outrageously delicious) made the reception pretty perfect.