goodbye to another great year

{christmas in canada 2009}

Highlights of '09

*finding out I was having a baby girl

*finishing another semester of school

*deciding to go back to school but this time I will to be learning about cosmetology

*traveling to Cancun, Texas, Canada and Washington D.C.

*feeling a baby grow inside me

*celebrating another year being married to my bestie

*not having to work ALL YEAR! (a blessing and a curse)

and leading the pack by a long shot:

*being able to experience the birth of my first child

This was the best year of my life this far.

Here's to the new year and many more adventures that await.

we're back

and our first order of business...

what do you do when you get home from a trip to find your fridge empty?

we call in for two Cafe Rio salads

mine was the sweet pork,

and the husband just had to have the steak and chicken.

it was the perfect cherry to top off our Christmas holiday.

we were nice and shared with the babe.

after all she needs her fair share of greens(tortilla strips).

4 months of sunshine

from this little chick-a-de.

Okay, maybe not 4 whole months of non stop sunshine.. but pretty close! Vivian is 4 months young. At four months she is:

-13.2 lbs.

-25 inches

-wearing 3-6mo and 6-9mo and sometimes 0-3mo dresses

-follows you with her eyes from across the room

-sucks on her hand or anything in sight

-has grabbed her toes a few times

-is rolling over but not very often

-loves her baths

-will stare at her reflection(I have found when I get ready all I have to do is put her in the bumbo in front of the mirror and she will stil for at least 10 minutes without getting bored)

-holds her head with no problem

-smiles at everyone

-loves people and LOVES attention even more

-laughs at funny noises and faces

-has started a social laugh(when Chuck and I are laughing about something she will start in just because we are)

-has become ticklish

-makes noises all day long in a full range of tones(she likes the high pitched squeal)

-still waking up 1-2 times a night :(

-likes music with a thick beat(think club mix)

-definitely has blue eyes

-is an equal mix of her mama and daddy

Nicknames at 4 months:

-bubs

-vivi

-vee

-vivibug

-stinker

How can they change so much in only four months?? I look at her "old" newborn photos and she is not the same baby that I brought home all those weeks ago. She changes everyday and is learning all the time. We sure love her and feel blessed to have her in our lives. She is a great baby and I really have nothing to complain about.

We are also excited for Vivi to meet just about the rest of her Aunts, Uncles and cousins over the Christmas/New Year holiday.

Stay strong an healthy my little one!

love,

mama

Hot Chocolate w/ Chef Browne

Wednesday night was deemed hot coco and movie night. You know in the song "Let it Snow" where it says, "since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."? That was the definition of Wednesday night. Chuck didn't have class on Thursday so we decided to stay up late, make hot coco, and watch a Christmas movie. And we took pictures of it... we are such nerds. Hey, we don't get out much anymore so even a stay at home movie night was cause for celebration.

This is the recipe we use for hot coco:

4oz. high quality chocolate

2 TBS. cocoa powder

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

Combine milk, cream, vanilla, and sugar on low heat. Whisk in cocoa. Add chocolate and stir until smooth. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

To make salted carmel or peanut butter hot chocolate smooth caramel or pb around the inside of the mug you will serve your hot coco in (if you are making salted caramel sprinkle a little sea salt on top of the caramel) and then pour the hot coco in the mug. The caramel or pb will melt into the drink. It is delicious!!

Enjoying the chocolaty goodness:

What it looked like outside:

It's Christmas Time

The tree we have "on loan"..

We were going to go without a tree this year since we are driving up to Canada for the holiday, but our friends offered up their tree for our use.

It has really changed the feeling of our home. I love it.

Merry Christmas!

Here is the little one staying warm with her dad's touque.

D.C. with the Smiths

Thanksgiving this year was spent with my sister Kristen and her little family. We planned this trip either just before Vivian was born or right after. It was our first trip together as a family of three and I was a little worried about making the trip in one piece. Traveling with a baby is a little eye opening. But overall, Vivian did great. There were a few fussy moments, but many more smiles to make up for them. I guess we can just count this as our test run for Christmas, which is a twenty hour round trip to Canada. Now that, I am a little worried about....

Anyway, on to the trip.

Here are a few pictures from the first couple days. Kristen and Aaron are amazing hosts. The first full day we were there was Thanksgiving and we basically just hung out and cooked. It was wonderful to be with family on Thanksgiving. In a perfect world I would live in the same city as all of siblings and their families.

After Thanksgiving, Kristen and I bravely set out to try "Midnight Madness" in D.C. Hard to believe but it was my first time experiencing the madness. It was more fun just hanging out together and experiencing it. The next day we went out to dinner at Legal Seafood. It was so good! It really makes a difference when you go to a nice restaurant. I forgot what it

feels like. I makes me excited for Valentine's day. After dinner we got some treats from a place called Coco Sala. I ordered the salted caramel hot chocolate. It was the perfect thing to sip while we drove around the city. Aaron gave us the guided tour in a warm car. It was perfect.

Kristen offered to watch Vivian for a day so we could go sightseeing. We appreciate the rare moments alone much more since V was born. We started out by going to the Holocaust museum. This was a big to-do on Chuck's list, it was my second time going and it was just as I remembered... depressing. It was also very thought-provoking and it's almost unbelievable that something so horrific happened. All-in-all it was so much fun to spend time together sightseeing for the day. D.C. is an amazing place. I have to admit, it made me feel more patriotic just being there. I asked Chuck if the city made him wish he was American... he said no. I think he was lying.

On Saturday we took a little day trip to Monticello. It was the home Thomas Jefferson built and it's on the back of the nickel. It was a neat experience. I went when I was in high school with my mom and two sisters. It was a little different than I remembered... maybe it was our tour guide. She was a little irritating, but it made for funny jokes. After the tour we ate some dinner and started our trek home.

On our last day there we took some family pictures for our Christmas card. It was a difficult task trying to get all three of us smiling and looking at the camera. It was hard enough when I had to find picture where both Chuck and I looked decent... now we have a little one in the mix. It's a whole new ball game now. I am sure it will only get more exciting as our family grows. Here's to the many more family Christmas card photo sessions.

fabric?

I am in need of a change of space. My apartment has had the same decor for about 19 months. I am getting so tired of looking at the same old thing! For Christmas I am asking for new fabric so I can change my space. The stuff I have now is a mix, most of it is from Ikea. I am at a total loss. Please help me! I need some fabric recommendations. I love Heather Bailey and of course Amy Butler. Do you know of any great lines I can look into?

This is what I have now. I still love it, but it's getting a little too familiar.

I love grey, orange, green, and yellow. But I am open to many colors.


If you have any ideas, let me know! Thanks.