Wow...

I guess this is what happens when it doesn't get above 20 for a whole day!

Is this record skipping?

Because it keeps playing the same part over and over and over... but I don't mind!
I'm not even making this up!!!

I'm getting way too used to this!

I could really just enjoy being home every day and spend time hanging out with Theo and playing in the snow. However, I know it's only temporary. Today should be nice and laid back (just like yesterday), but we're also going to do things like put away clothes from the laundry, do the dishes, pick up stuff that we just sat down when we came home on Saturday, etc.
So far this morning I have eaten some cereal, enjoyed looking out the window, and changed Theo's diaper! Speaking of that boy...

Also, we have quite the collection of icicles just outside our front window... it must be cold!

A whole day of snow!

Just to keep updating more often than necessary today I'll put up two great things about this afternoon... first this:


Awesome!!!

Secondarily, I took Todd for a walk and found out that a) the snow is crazy deep and Todd had to really work hard to keep from being covered in snow, and b) the slow speed of cars on I-5 create an incredibly peaceful and quiet evening. Snow rules!

Errands in the snow

The roads looked okay when Andy and Todd went on their walk, so we decided to brave the elements and head out to run our errands. Andy decided to take the freeway since there had probably been more cars on it already and it would be more clear. The store was just one exit south from our house, so it wasn't far, but we were driving 28 mph, so it took longer than it usually does. We returned a movie and went to Fred Meyer for some groceries and craft supplies for some ornaments we're making for the kids at church. Exciting, huh?

On the way home, Theo fell asleep (around 11:30) and he's still asleep now (about 2:00!). I keep checking on him to make sure he's still breathing! Andy has been doing laundry and reading things on the internet and sometimes helping me with my craft project. I've been putting paint, glitter, ribbons, confetti, and pretty much anything else neat I can find into clear, glass balls. I'm on the Children's Committee at church and we're using these homemade decorations to decorate a tree at the church. On Christmas Eve, each child will be able to choose and ornament they like and take it home. We were planning on decorating them at small group tonight, but it looks like we won't be going (or having it at all) since the snow is still going strong.

Oh, Theo's eyes are opening now, so I know he's fine and he's probably pretty hungry now, too! The weather forecast for tomorrow says we should have a high temp of 30 degrees. I am guessing that is will keep snowing most of the day and Theo and I might get to enjoy a day off with Daddy tomorrow. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I can dream, right?

Thanksgiving Pics and Theo's 1st Snow!

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving and the day after. We had a great time visiting family, but we're excited to be home, too. It took us the normal amount of time to get home (a couple of hours) and it snowed a little on the way. This morning we woke up to a few inches of snow and it's still going strong. Theo is napping, Andy and Todd are out for a walk and to survey the driving conditions (we have a couple of nearby errands we can run if the roads are ok), and I am sitting here in my boots and snowpants; ready to get going! The view out the windows is so beautiful. Our overgrown garden, filled with weeds from summer, used to look like a project left undone, but now it looks like a glittering fairy forest. It's so pretty. Our huge hawthorne bush has cute little red berries that peek out of the snow. I'm sure we'll take more pictures today and we'll post them later. Enjoy the snow if you're getting any.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's 10am on Thanksgiving morning and we are observing all of our family traditions. We have 1) eaten bubble bread for breakfast 2) watched some of the Macy's parade (why are there so many scenes from Broadway musicals in in these days?) 3) the boys have watched some football (Detroit finally scored a touchdown!) 4) and mom has done some online shopping for Christmas (I guess that's a new one). Theo is enjoying some snuggling time with his Memaw and we're all about to finally get our showers and start making the food! It should be fun! Pictures to come later. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Changing Table Photos

I was looking through some earlier pictures of Theo and noticed that his changing table is a popular place for me to take his pic! Here are a few for you to see. It's amazing how much he has changed already.

Our sweet little napper

With Thanksgiving and lots of activity approaching, I am trying to make sure Theo has a couple of good naps during the day and that he is well rested. He sleeps very, very well at night (with a few feedings), but tends to seem a little sleepy in the afternoons. He is taking a nap right now and I'm taking advantage of this time to do some laundry and pick up a bit around the house. We don't have much planned for this evening, but we are going to put away Theo's clothes that he has outgrown and get out the 3-6 months size clothes. I know this is the momma in me talking, but "I'm so excited!" Whoever knew that getting out the next size of clothes would thrill me so! There are just a few things in this next size that we were given that I can't wait to put him in! I'll have to take a few pictures of the big event tonight and post them for you to see. I can't even imagine attempting to get Theo to model anything new today. He is not a big fan of clothes being put on over his head. I can't believe he is almost 3 months old already. The time is flying by so quickly and I know that it will only continue to do so. Sometimes I think about how long we should wait before we have another baby. I don't want Theo and his next sibling to be too far apart in age....gosh, it's such a hard thing to even think about. I know he's growing up fast, so I'm sure that time will come before we know it. I will just leave it in God's hands. He has done such a beautiful job of planning our family so far and I know we can trust him to do what is best. It is so hard for me to reconcile my continuing grief over the loss of our first baby and my happiness with Theo. If that baby had been born, Theo wouldn't be here. God is teaching me a valuable lesson in trust and in being content where you are. "Bloom where you are planted", right? Quote for the day: "Children must feel loved before love has any meaning for them."

Just to see how it works

I'm putting up an old video (when I say old I only mean about three weeks ago) of Theo and I playing piano "together." He was the one actually hitting the keys, but I don't think he was really reading the music... I guess we'll give him some time to pick that up!
Once I figure out how this whole youtube thing works I'll probably put up something more recent. To the concert!

An Electric Morning

I haven't posted in a few days because we lost power and heat on Wednesday at 10 o'clock in the morning and finally got it back on Thursday at 8:45pm. We spent our 2 electricity free days "visiting" friends (a.k.a. bumming heat and lights off of them), going out to eat, trying not to freak out too much (that's me I'm talking about...Theo and Andy and Todd were just fine with it), and trying not to go to bed before 9:00 (mostly because there wasn't much to do after it got dark). This morning Theo and I have been enjoying the heat and listening to the radio. He is so happy when he wakes up. He was playing with an Eeyore rattle that my Dad gave us before he was born and I realized he is definitely out of touch with Winnie the Pooh culture. Isn't Eeyore supposed to be depressing? Theo obviously doesn't think so!

Big Boy!!

For those of you who are curious, Theo weighed in this evening at a whopping 15 lbs. 2 oz.! What a beautiful, big boy! His Daddy is at conferences this evening and Theo has been having a little bit of a rough day (poor guy), so we've just spent the evening rocking and singing together. Not a bad way to spend a Monday if you ask me. I'm not entirely sure what's up with Theo today. He seems extra gassy and uncomfortable. It has been a little worse this evening, but nothing too bad. He just seems a little easily upsetable (is that a word?) this evening. At least he's wearing himself out, so he should sleep well, right? I'm just glad that we've had so many easy, peaceful days and sweet, sleepy nights lately, so a tough day doesn't wear us out like it used to. I know that as Anne of Green Gables always said, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.....yet." I will keep that in mind in Parenting Land, too. Well, my little man is awake and whimpering, so I'd better go soothe him and remind him that I'm here and he's not alone. Ah...a mother's life.

Well, at least it didn't rain!

So our adventure to Husky Stadium was a great time thanks in part solely to Theodore's unrelenting cuteness. The Huskies themselves did very little to make the day enjoyable... in fact I have read several articles suggesting this was the worst Husky game they had ever seen. I personally would agree. The fact that UW had gained less than 100 yards through 3 quarters was absolutely pathetic. The most astounding stat to me is that the quarterbacks went 11-44!! That's atrocious. I witnessed almost all of the poorly thrown passes and numerous drops in person. Thankfully I had to change Theo's diaper twice so I missed a few of the dropped passes! Riding the bus to and from the game was also a highlight for everyone (ourselves and those around us). Theo drew oohs and ahhs from everyone he passed. On the way back to Northgate Sarah had to stand up the whole way (which was actually better because Theo stayed more calm) and she did a great job of holding a baby while standing on a crowded bus going 65 miles an hour on I-5!

We were gone for 9 hours today and I'm worn out, but the little boy is just as funny and enjoyable as ever. He was quite nice to hold on the windy day as a source of heat. Thankfully for him he won't be able to remember how terrible a game it was. Thankfully for me it didn't matter how terrible a game it was because it was great to have Sarah and him sitting next to me.

Theo says....

Memaw's Visit

Theo's Memaw came to visit yesterday and will go home today. I had a long interpreting job and needed someone to watch him who would be able to bring him to me to nurse when he needed me. It all worked out so well. He only needed to nurse once and he seemed fairly content with mom. It helps that she loves to rock him (which he loves) and she sounds like me (who talks to him most). Andy got to go into work a little later this morning since it was a teacher in-service day, so we stayed up a little bit late last night and watched Cars. It was a pretty good movie and it had a couple of really looud scenes that woke Theo up, so I had to get him back to sleep a couple of times. He slept well though. He did wake up at 4:30 and wanted to play, so I laid him on my lap in bed and went back to sleep! He eventually went to sleep on my chest and did finally go back to bed at some point. I don't know when because I don't have a clock on my side of the bed (and I'm glad I don't!!). Mom has to leave today around noon, so we're playing with Theo and just taking it easy this morning. Lots of fun! I have to work this afternoon at 2:00, so today is fairly simple for me. Well, I have fun people having fun next to me, so I'd better get off this computer and go have fun!

Prioritizing

I had a big To-Do list for today. I had planned on cleaning the house (my mom is coming to watch Theo tomorrow and I don't want her to see the mess), going to the fabric store (I found a great pattern for a fleece sling), and running some other errands (3 of which I actually did accomplish). I didn't get much done, but my day was very rewarding. I spent the morning running errands with our little boy and my afternoon snuggling with him and nursing him on the couch while we watched the movie "Click". Some of the movie was just what I expected, but the heart of the movie had much more impact on me than I thought it would. It was all about aligning your priorities to put famiy first. It was wonderful to watch that sentiment in a movie while it played out simultaneously in my own arms. I am enjoying seeing Theodore change and develop everyday, but deep down, I really do not want our little guy to grow up. It's all happening so fast.

Free time

Theo went to bed at 8:30 tonight, so I've spent the last hour in the bath and Andy spent part of it reading and part playing a football video game. It is nice to have this free time some nights, but I do spend part of it fretting about whether I should go check on Theo or not. He has grown up so much, but he is still so small and fragile. My fretting is partly motivated by that maternal sense of responsibility, but I have realized that it is more often motivated by my immense, unstopable love for him. I'd better go check on him right now!