Busy Growing

A recap of my life since I last posted on December 8th. Morning sickness, fatigue, Christmas, illness, New Year's, my Birthday, the end of the 1st trimester, end of morning sickness at 16 weeks, it's a girl!, Kindermusik, family fun, Ethan's birthday, Nanas' birthdays, day trip to NYC with Mom, spring planting, beach days, finger painting, and the end of the 2nd trimester.

It is finally spring here in New England. The Bartlet pear trees, forsythia, and magnolias are in full bloom. My peas and lettuce are growing out in the garden and I planted green beans in the cold frame on Saturday. The tulips my mom and ethan planted last spring are in full bloom and gorgeous! My little horticulturist can even point out and name tulips and daffodils.

The past weekend was super busy and gorgeous. We picked out the countertop and hardware for the cabinets. I can't wait to see the kitchen finished and dreading the demolishen and construction phase. We went to the park with Ethan and flew kites, dug in the sand, and played on the playground equipment. Josh cleaned the garage and I cleaned up the front garden. It's no wonder my back is killing me today.

Snow day

We had our first snow yesterday. It was the nice heavy snow that coats the trees and just makes the place look like a winter wonderland. Of course, I didn't take any pictures, but it was beautiful.

Friday night Josh and I brought the Christmas tree in and put lights on it. This was the first year that the tree fit without major cutting of the bottom or the top. It only took us 9 years to figure out how to estimate the height of a ceiling when buying a tree. When Ethan got up Saturday morning Josh took him downstairs and turned on the tree. His eyes went very wide as he saw the colorful new addition to our living room. Of course, he credits his father with the whole thing. After a waffle breakfast, we turned on Christmas music, drank some eggnog, and decorated the tree. Ethan was not too sure why he wasn't allowed to play and explore every ornament, but there was only some minor crying. The little guy was so excited about the tree he refused to nap. I decorated the mantel and put decorations up around the house. I love decorating for Christmas.

In the evening, Josh's parents came over to babysit and we went out to dinner and to an ugly sweater party in Boston.

Sunday we did some Christmas shopping and watched the Pats. A nice relaxing family Sunday.

We are pretty much done shopping for all the kids in the family, which just leaves us with our parents and my brother.

Thankful

We had a really nice Thanksgiving with my parents and Tyler yesterday. The turkey was scrumptious, everyone was full of good cheer, and we went for our morning hike. This year I'm thankful for my family, especially my husband who is currently hanging Christmas lights in the rain, my health, my job, my home, and that a new government administration is taking office in January (hopefully, our economy and the health of our nation will be stimulated by new ideas).

What's cooking

Initially, I was to do all the Thanksgiving cooking, but plans have changed, which is fine. Cooking 3 dishes is enough when there is a toddler underfoot. So I'm preparing pecan pie with cranberry sauce, regular old cranberry sauce, corn pudding, and rolls. The rolls I made a week ago and are in the freezer, so they don't count towards today's chaos. Ethan and I have already made one emergency run to the grocery store (I was short a third of a cup of corn syrup for the pecan pie). Ethan has been bribed to play by himself with a mylar balloon. It is 11:30 and all I've made is the pecan pie. I'm hoping some elves or Aida wash the dishes in the sink so I can start on the cranberry sauces.

I swear I feed my child

Ethan is definitely a toddler (stubborn, willful, funny, demanding). Most of the time Ethan and I just hang out at home and read stories, play, and do chores. He is a breeze when we are at home or when we go grocery shopping. It is times when we need to do something out of the ordinary that I am suddenly reminded that he is a toddler. On Sunday the whole family got dressed up and went to the mall to have a family picture taken for holiday cards. Well, Mr. Ethan wanted nothing to do with having his picture taken. There were tears and attempts to make a run for it out of the store. Luckily he has a tell before he makes the dash. He gets this huge grin on his face and then races off. As I tried to coax my child to sit still, it struck me how I had this preconceived notion that we would have our picture taken and Ethan would sit where I wanted him to and smile on command. Hard to believe I'm still naive after being a mommy for 20+ months. We managed it though. At the end of the picture taking, I noticed Ethan with a plastic Christmas garland. Then I noticed he was trying to eat the berries off the garland. By the time Josh pried the garland out of his mouth he had bitten off two berries, which Josh made him spit out. Maybe he was hungry or just trying to exert some control over the situation. But I swear I feed him.

Hair cut

Before

After

Fallen Solider

Today a solider was buried in Beverly who died from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. I had wanted to go to pay my respects as he traveled through the city to the cemetery where he will be buried. Unfortunately, Ethan and I were unable to go because of naptime. However, I thought about that young man today and what he sacrificed. As I pushed my son in his swing this morning and listened to him alternate "wheeee" with "mommy," I thought about a mother less than a mile from me who was looking at a casket drapped in an American flag and was saying goodbye to her son. I am grateful to the men and women who serve in the military. My brother is one of them. I just pray that my own child never enlists.