new baby [in the oven]

No no, I haven't gotten to my #5 resolution yet, but I do have a new baby in the kitchen.

Kitchen gadgets [especially pretty ones that I've been drooling over for ages] totally get me all geeky an' stuff.

I'm swelling with pride:

She is currently simmering a chicken dish that I made up. If it tastes as divine as it smells I will share the recipe. Yum!!

Circus of Love

My super talented friend/brother-from-another-mother Benjamin Dunn is an amazing musician and he recently released his latest album. Along with my husband our closest friends, I had the privilege to participate in his first official music video. It was so fun! You can see me standing behind the drummer. Chris described me as 'as the girl doing high-claps'.

Also, his website and his album is available for sale on iTunes.

cheers!

Y.

11 months (10 days late)

11 months?

how did that happen??

well my little man all I have to say is: leaps and bounds.

you're growing up in leaps and bounds.

you and I have conversations now.

I ask you 'how did you sleep baby' and you reply 'addsubbbs bueejah mmrrm leedibuh rroooo rrooo.'

which I interpret 'I slept beautifully mama love rue rue'

we have conversations like that all the time, and I look forward to the day that I can actually understand you.

on your 11th monthiversay you were very sick and threw up on me and then you made it all better by taking your first three steps. It was miraculously fun to watch. You haven't tried it again though, so I am enjoying the last few weeks of you crawling, ever.

just this weekend you became a sweet little snuggle bug. I will rephrase and say you've always been sweet, but you have never been a snuggle bug. Out of the blue you crawled up to me and nuzzled your head in my neck. And then later that day you crawled up to me and put your head on my knees. And you haven't stopped the spontaneous snuggling & nuzzling. I am SO happy about it too. Another new development is whenever you see a blanket you will dive headfirst onto it, lay flat and wiggle around like a fish, all while smiling and giggling/squealing/shrieking with delight. So I purposely leave your soft blankets around the house, cause it's just so.darn.cute.

you make me very proud. I love getting to know the little amazing person that you are.

happy 11 months of life!

xo, Mama

red peckers & roller coasters

{tired arms from waving a white flag}

The Brink Haus has seen some high high's and some looow lowwwww's today.

It all started with a frantic cry from his room at 12:30 last night.

As usual I reached into the crib to find his pacifier and re-plug, but what I found instead was a warm puddle of vomit. I turn on the light and see Rue crying and rubbing his eyes/heads/face with little vomit hands. 'Chris [I know you have to get up at 6 to shovel your car and give a presentation to the owner of your company on your new design and you need your brain working tomorrow, but I need you to come here and] help!'

So we get him cleaned up, new bedding, and he's sleeping again within minutes. I figure [hope really] that his tummy must've been upset and it's nothing to worry about. I doze off to sleep.

Around 1:30 I hear him cry again. More vomit. At that point I realized it is something more serious and probably is that strange vomit/viral bug that has been traveling around all the church kids. [MOMS OUT THERE- If your kid is sick puhlease, DON'T bring them to play-dates!] I laid awake for another hour or two racked with anxiety. Of course there was nothing more that I could do at that point, but I'm his mother....it's my job to worry.

This morning he woke up an hour later than usual, we snuggled in bed and everything seemed hunky dory. Until, you guessed it, more vomit. I called our pediatrician and he confirmed based on symptoms that it is a viral 24-48 bug going around. With some extra TLC the afternoon seemed to have finally turned around. He was happy and eating and talking away. Then out of the blue came the screaming. The frantic screaming. The being cut with ten thousand little daggers screaming. I couldn't figure it out! I took him upstairs to change his diaper and what do I find? A huge crap and terrible diaper rash, with the worst of it on le Pecker. Thanks to my 3-day long STUPID HEAD COLD, I couldn't smell his overly full diaper! mom fail.

Uggghhhhhhhhhhhh. Rue, if you read this someday, I am SO SORRY. [I only have the best intentions when it comes to your pecker. And I don't mean that in an awkward way. I'm gonna stop typing my thoughts now.] So, I'm feeling like I earned a crappy mom award.

I can't breathe, my kid has a red pecker, and it's only wednesday.

Mr. Moo-moo & the sled brigade

We [finally!] had our first snow day of the year!

A little powder, a new fuzzy hat and a brand new sled from the G-P's made this fun afternoon possible.

Mr. Moo-moo L-O-V-E-D his first sledding experience and we loved being the reindeer that pulled him around. Isn't that a funny thing about being a parent? You actually don't need to have fun yourself, but when your kid has fun, you do too!?

Donned in a super dense 3-6 month bear cub sleeper [you think I should update my kids' winter wardrobe?] little man could hardly move but that did not keep him from having a blast! Kicking his feet, giggling, and flashing us his 2 pearly whites. Oh, be still my heart!

a talented pair

A story I forgot to share:

A while back I was changing Rue. Well, trying to. He's a moving target.

So he was squirming allll over the place. I nearly couldn't hold him down any longer.

In the blink of an eye he had flipped over, crouched onto his knees and then stood up and had reached into the baskets on the shelf next to the changing station. Then...it happened. His feet slipped from under him and fell feet first, into.......

The hamper.

The hamper full of cushioning dirty clothes. There aren't many moments that I am proud of neglecting full hampers...but that day, I WAS PROUD.

This is a mom fail moment that made me laugh instead of cry, and I especially want to remember laughing moments.

:)

a holiday pho-tauge collection

i've been slacking in the cute photo department.

no longer!

here are some darling recents!

Thankfully I swam in her gene pool:

my family including my rue's great grandma D!

celebrating our first family christmas

great grandma D

new hat. new shirt.

Christmas Sunggles.

Rue's first sled!

looking like a little/big boy!

bathtime/two teethies

daddy & rue snuggles

my, what a big belly you have!

Hoods up, Glocks out

That's my man-handling motto for 2011 : Hoods up, Glocks out.

2010 rocked my world hard and instead of begging the new year to be gentle with me, I've decided to be proactive. I'm gonna kick some ass and take some names!

So here's my ballsy new year's resolutions list in no particular order:

1. Get out of debt

2. Spend more QT with my favorite people

3. Purge! Rid my life of excess things and time robbers

4. Allow myself more grace. I am still growing up after all

5. Make time to pursue my art

6. Spend more time in the kitchen trying new recipes

5. {in a slightly uncertain, sheepish voice} get pregnant?

That last one's 'the doozy' for me since becoming a mom was the most difficult part of 2010. But the hard days are behind me and the bad memories have faded. I am so in love with my son and I can totally see the shiny in this whole mom deal. So, we'll see!?

Cheers friends! I hope you too have made some kickin' resolutions for yourself.

2011 HOLLA.