Happily Ever After

Even though my prince drives a green volvo instead of a white horse, even though my castle is 1200 square feet instead of on 1200 acres, even though my furry friends howl instead of sing, even though I sometimes (and I do mean very seldomly) sing off key instead of always carrying a perfect tune, I am very much living my happily ever after. Maybe it is the little girl who still controls most of my thoughts, but I like to picture my life as one big Disney movie. From scrubbing floors like Cinderella to daydreaming like Alice to dancing around like Baloo (for Harrison of course) I am always incorporating silly songs into my day. As my favorite line from my favorite song in my favorite broadway (Wicked of course) goes, "I couldn't be happier, because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true".

My Prince

My Castle

My Furry Friends

Me Carrying a Perfect Tune

And this just makes me happy...

The Doting Sister

Normally I use this space to dote and gush about my darling little blue eyed, chubby cheeked, animated, ingenious precious tyke.  Because I don't want to be one of those mothers, I won't be talking about him at all in this post :)  Instead I will be doting on someone else.....my beautiful sister Courtney (also referred to in this blog as Auntie Coco). 

In October of 2008, Courtney and her husband, Ryan,  moved to Alaska.  Ryan is in the Air Force and is currently stationed at the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.  This has been the most trying experience in Courtney's life..  Her love for her husband is evident in the sacrifices she has made, but God has used this journey to strengthen Courtney and Ryan as individuals and as husband and wife.  Courtney has used this time away from home to "find herself".  And while doing so, she has made some incredible memories.  The most recent experience she can add to her Alaska scrapbook is the Mrs. Alaska pageant.  She didn't win, but her facebook status the day after the pageant says it all...."I didn't win but I sure did have a blast!!"

Here are some pictures of her from her pageant.  I am just a little proud (if you couldn't tell!).

Lauren, Chelsea and I couldn't be there to cheer for her, but we let her know how proud we are of her!!

Play Dates

I don't care what some moms say.  In my short experience as a mommy play dates are more for me than HD.  Sometimes it is nice to know all the crazy thoughts I sometimes have are completely normal.  Not to mention how much I enjoy people talking to me with out drooling on me or trying to eat my hair.  I have been blessed with some wonderful ladies that I try to keep up with on a weekly basis.  Their friendship and wisdom is appreciated beyond words!!  Last week my sweet friend Lindsay had us over for the morning and I thought I would share some precious pictures from that morning. 

Will was so precious with Harrison.  He was constantly checking on Harrison and giving him kisses!

Anna is about as cute as it gets!  She just wasn't feeling this picture, poor girl! 

The picture above is one of the sweetest moments I have ever witnessed.  Anna was sent to time out and after a ew minutes there she was still upset and all I could hear was her sweetly saying "pray".  Next thing I know, Will got up and prayed with her (while hugging her) and then felt she was ready to leave time out.  Good job Lindsay!  That was such a precious moment!!  

And this picture is from a couple months back courtesy of Rachel Webb.  I look forward to every Friday morning when I have the chance to visit with other Shelbyville moms!

Talk Derby To Me

7 Months Old!!!

Month seven has so far been my hands down favorite as a mommy.  Harrison has so much personality and I love discovering new things about him every day.  He is able to communicate with me now and he very clearly lets me know what he likes and what he does't like.  He may not be crawling yet, but that doesn't stop him from going where his little heart desires.  My little Einstein can do a 360 on his belly and then roll until he has made it to his destination.  We have finally mastered a wonderful sleep routine (including 10 hours at night and 2 awesome naps during the day).  He drops items on the floor from his highchair simply because he can (and when I do not return the items there is much grunting involved).  He is easily distracted by his daddy and any of our three animals.  He gives wonderfully sloppy kisses.  He waives to say hello and bye-bye and even does a "special" wave Auntie Lolo taught him (see picture below).

Here is a list of Harrison's 7 favorite things right now:

1.   Finger Foods

2.  Back scratches / back massages

3.  Molly, Reese and Eli (in that order)

4.  Grunting

5.  Peek A Boo

6.  Toys that play music

7. Being tickled

Here are some pictures of my precious growing boy.

Nap Time

Giving Kisses

Tickle Time

Kisses From Molly

Here is a video from this morning.  Hope you enjoy his grunting as much as I do!

Here I Come To Save The Day!!!!

The victim......

The attacker.....

The hero..... 

About an hour ago, I had my first real scare as a mommy.  I was cleaning the kitchen as Harrison was napping when I heard the baby monitor begin to beep which meant the monitor had been knocked over.  I went in Harrison's room expecting to see that his head had bumped into the monitor as he napped peacefully.  Instead I was horrified at what I found.  My son's precious chunky leg was caught between the rails of his crib and he was calmly laying on his back holding the baby monitor.  As I walked over to move his leg, my stomach dropped as I realized it was stuck.  The poor boy's thunder thigh was lodged between the rails of his crib and was not budging.  I tried to carefully move his leg up and that is when he started to wail!!  In a frantic panic, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the trusty can of generic brand PAM.  After greasing up my chunkster, his leg came loose with a little redness to show for his traumatic experience.  

    

He quickly forgot his red knee with a visit from Reese!

Explaining my hiatus.....

So there isn't much to explain other than the fact that I have been extremely busy and much of my downtown has been spent exhausted on the couch trying to squeeze in a little r&r.  I absolutely love spring but it can also be a little overwhelming.  Suddenly there is gorgeous weather to be enjoyed, spring cleaning to be accomplished, yard work and other home projects that have had to wait for a little sunshine, and exercise so that the bathing suit and summer clothes don't seem so intimidating. 

Here is a quick update for the last 10 days:

Yardsales = Awesome Deals.  My sweet friend Lindsay and I got up at the crack of dawn last Saturday in an effort to sniff out amazing bargains.  I scored a brand new InStep jogging stroller for $30 and 2 pair of never-been-worn Clarks for $1 each!  Check out my finds.... 

Not everyone on craigslist is a murderer.  Matt decided it was time to sell his motorcycle so we turned to trusty Craigslist.  After several emails back and forth, a potential buyer asked if they could come out on Wednesday evening to which Matt agreed even though he was scheduled to referee a soccer game.  When he asked me if I could handle the sale my first thought was "My husband is leaving me alone with my baby and some psycho from craigslist".  To make a long story short, the buyers ended up being a sweet young couple.  I immediately clicked with the wife and by the of our meeting, I was asking them to buy the home for sale on our street.  Lesson learned: Give people the benefit of the doubt (not everyone on Craigslist is a murderer!).

Separation Anxiety = Mommy Insanity  As of four days ago, Harrison is now aware of every time I leave the room.  Can you sense my excitement?!?!?! 

Maintaining a house = A LOT OF WORK  Spring time always has me itching to complete a To Do List that has been slowly accumulating over the winter.  Even with a brand new home (it will be four years next week), the maintenance seems never ending.  Although it is a lot of work, you wont hear this happy homeowner complaining!

Boot Camp is kicking my booty!!  I am too tired to say anything else about it :)