Thinking about Christmas...

This fall, every time I've walked into a store full of Christmas decorations, I've had a little pang in my chest. The reminders of Christmas are also reminders of an upcoming birthday... Elliott will be a year old! I'm not ready for it.

It seems that we do Christmas cards approximately every-other year, and last year they didn't happen. We've never done a photo card, and I've wanted this year to be our first. It only makes sense- we have a new person to introduce! When I start browsing the Christmas cards, though, I see the birthday invitations, too- maybe I should save the annual photo card for the First Birthday Invites? Or maybe both?

I take a ton of pictures, as you well know, since I regularly bombard the blog with them. What you may not know is, I have very, very few prints of these pictures. It's just in the last couple weeks I've printed any pictures at all of our almost-10-month-old! Bad mommy. (To my credit, I did create a Shutterfly photo book in addition to getting some prints. That should get me some extra credit or something.) A photo Christmas card would serve the dual purpose of wishing loved ones a happy holidays AND getting them a printed picture of our family, which pretty much none of them have.

Now to figure out where and when to get a nice family photo taken...

Do you want the chance to make photo cards from Shutterfly, too? 

• Jump on the Groupon deal expiring tonight (10/21) - 40 5x7 photo cards for $40
• If you have a blog, and would like to write a post about your Christmas cards, register here for 25 free cards.
• Enter here to win 25 photo cards! Leave a comment with your family's Christmas card tradition- I need inspiration! I'll pick THREE winners next Friday, October 28.

(Disclosure: I was provided with photo cards and prizes by Shutterfly. As always, these words and opinions are my own.)

Packed Full

We just had a crazy busy weekend. All really good stuff, just busy.

Friday, Ashley, Paul, and Savannah rolled in, and we got to share a meal with them. They were staying the weekend with us, and we got to chat with them until way past my bedtime.

Saturday morning, I got up early-ish to make a dish to carry along to a get-together later in the day, then Elliott accompanied me to a baby shower for Josh's cousin. This new little guy will be the closest in age to Elliott, of the local cousins & second cousins. I expect they'll be best buddies at future family reunions and Christmas parties!

From the baby shower, we headed home to let the dog out and pick up the bean dip, then went straight to Marion, to a college-friends reunion. The group that showed up for dinner was bigger than ever, and it was so refreshing be able to catch up with everyone and watch the ever-growing group of kids play together. I wish we could have had more time!

We headed home from Marion late and went straight to bed, because Josh had to be at church early-early Sunday. After seeing off Ashley & crew, I only had to leave for church sort-of early, to pick up a friend on the way there. After church, we went to lunch with my friend, dropped her off, and hurriedly got ready for the last event of the weekend, dinner with our bible study group. We still had a few things to pick up from the store & prepare!

Dinner and discussion was great, and we were home somewhat early. After the dishes were done and the house was sort-of put back together, we just collapsed into bed. Big weekend. 'Tis the season.

sunday

The morning started early-
Elliott decided it was time to be up!

I snuck out to the garden before church
the long stretch without rain had been broken Friday night, but just barely. It was enough to encourage a bunch of cherry tomatoes to turn red, though, and for the squash plant to set a few more crooknecks. I dug the rest of the onions, and picked the first full-sized tomato

It was good to be back in our worship service. With traveling and visiting with friends, it had been a month since we had worshiped together. Elliott moved from the 'little babies' nursery to the 'crawlers' room, where the toys are far more interesting. Lots of sad babies made Elliott cry too, but I went & reassured him it was fun to be at church, and he was alright the rest of the time.

We ran into friends- they're buying their first house! That was exciting news.

After church, we had more good news- family was coming to visit that afternoon. We went out to lunch after church. Elliott discovered he likes pickles, but doesn't like cooked carrots.

Family was waiting for us when we got home. The boys continued working on the siding project. My mother in law and I took Elliott to Goodwill, where we looked for a few things. I'm super-thankful for the friends who let us use their hand-me-down clothes from their winter-born boys, but Elliott is moving into 12 month clothes, and all the  12-month clothes for winter-born boys are for winter, go figure. Long sleeves will not work for these 90 degree days. I picked him up a couple outfits.

I tried and tried to get the baby to nap, but the visitors were far too exciting. As dinner approached, I wondered what to feed the group. The perfect summer meal was waiting in the kitchen, and was thrown together quickly- green beans from Josh's parents' garden, corn and cantaloupe from the farmer's market, grassfed beef made into hamburgers, topped with onions and tomatoes picked just a few hours before, and homemade pickles. Brownies were conveniently already made to finish off the meal. Perfect.

At the end of the day, I discovered another friend is getting married. Two weddings on the calendar for me coming up. Weddings, houses, babies. Lots of excitement.

It was a good day.

First Fourth

Elliott had his first Fourth of July last weekend! It was a long, fun weekend full of festivities. For the first time this year, we got the ever-popular Old Navy Flag Shirts, and matched at the parade. Corny, I know- but we'll laugh about it in 15 years.



As always, the highlight of the weekend was the Lebanon parade!



The parade starts with a line of fire engines, and the sirens were worrisome. Grandma covered Elliott's ears, but he still looks concerned.


I took the following picture because I wanted to fact-check the parade float.

FALSE. The first American flag (or, a declaration of the first flag) was created on June 14, 1777. Betsy Ross said she sewed one in May, 1776. "At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the United States had no official national flag." [source] So. Get your facts straight, Parade Float.

Lots of candy was being thrown, but I'm the Mean Mom who didn't let her kid have any candy. Instead, because it was so hot, I let him chew on a wrapped ice pop.

And, seriously, a sheriff marching in the parade walked up to him and held out a dum-dum lollipop for him to take. Besides the fact that it's hard candy and pure sugar, it the stick's a serious choking hazard for a 6-month-old baby! Maybe next year I'll be a nicer mom. Or, maybe I'll just let him collect candy, and then I'll eat it all.

Elliott's cousin's t-ball team came in first, so he was in the parade, and we waved and cheered.



After the parade, there was a cookout, and swimming, and card-playing, and a nap.



We watched fireworks on the horizon our whole way home. It was a good day.

Happy Father's Day!

Five Years

When a kid in my life has his fifth birthday, I say excitedly to them, "You're a whole hand old!" and they, without fail, beam really big. Five years!

Today, we're a whole hand married!

The wedding seems like a lifetime ago, though I know that five years isn't a long time. When we got married, I was two weeks out of college, neither of us had started our jobs, our apartment was barely set up, and we were both driving Honda Civics. Now, we have a house we're already considering when we might move out of, a dog, and a baby. I've worked the same job for almost 5 years. I drive a family-car sedan and Josh drives a SUV/minivan thing. We're Grown-Ups.

We had our biggest adventure yet this year as we became parents. I always knew Josh would be a wonderful father, but I had no idea how wonderful. Watching him with Elliott has made me melt into a puddle and fall even more in love with him. (But that's a post to save for Father's Day in a couple weeks.)

Five years from now? Who knows what our family will look like. Whatever adventures await us (and, raising a kid is a big one!),  I'm glad to have Josh as a partner as we tackle them. As I tell him all the time, I couldn't make it without him.

Engagement - Wedding - 1st Anniversary - 2nd Anniversary - 3rd Anniversary - 4th Anniversary

Random notes

I didn't mean to take a blogging break. Life just happened, and I haven't sat down to write about it. (Also, our internet at home has been  flaky, and we're about to throw in the towel with the DSL company.)

Saturday, we went to my now-5-year-old nephew's birthday party. As always, time with family was great.

Spongebob Squarepants ranks with my least-favorite cartoons, but my sister-in-law throws great themed parties, every single birthday. This time around, they got the cake from The Fig Tree, and new local bakery and cafe, and the lady there did an amazing job.

I also spent hours this weekend cleaning green garlic that I dug out of our garden, about 25 lbs worth, mostly because it was growing in the way. If you'd like any, The Farming Engineers will be selling it at the opening weekend of the Carmel Farmers' Market. Growing in our yard right now: Strawberries, raspberries, mulberries, peas, broccoli, onions, carrots.



I won't be at the farmers' market because, this week, we're preparing for our first road trip as a family of three! Elliott got a comfy new car seat yesterday. We're making lists, trying to figure out what we need to do before we leave and figure out what we do and don't need to pack. I can't wait for my grandparents to meet their first great-grandchild! Also, I'm hoping this long-road-trip-with-a-baby thing goes well. Fingers crossed.


Question for parents: Babies under 6 months aren't supposed to wear sunscreen. So, how do you get outside with Baby? We plan on going to a national park and hiking. Can we do it?


Other random thoughts:

• I appreciated both Alissa & Catherine's reminder- our kids are God's, not ours.
• Speaking of that, did I mention we dedicated Elliott at church on Mother's Day? 
• And our nephew had his first communion?
• I need a haircut. Postpartum hair loss has hit me hard during the last month.
• To tide the dog hair loss in our house, Casey was groomed Thursday. He looks so cute, and is shedding a lot less. Yay!
• I was excited to hear about a TOMS Shoes drop at a ministry in Haiti we support. I LOVE my TOMS shoes!

Elliott and Daddy

I snapped this photo this weekend, while Josh & Elliott were hanging out in the morning sunshine. Everyone says that Elliott looks just like Josh. These two have a really special bond. While I may be able to make Elliott stop crying, probably because I'm the Food Source, Josh can make Elliott smile, almost without fail.

It melts my heart every single time.




I'm so, so glad these two are in my life, and love each other so much. I'm so glad that Josh is a confident, involved father. When he keeps Elliott, he's not "babysitting," he's parenting,* and doing an as-good or better job than I would. I don't know how moms do this on their own- either because they're single or because dad has to be away or unavailable. My friend Beth has been talking about her Josh and how much his presence means to her, too. The comments on her post all agree - Dads matter, and parenting's a lot easier when it's a two-person job.

I probably should have saved this post for Father's Day or something, but my heart is overflowing right now. I'm so blessed.

(* I've got a pet peeve of dads or apologetic moms calling the time dads spend parenting alone as "babysitting". If you're the parent, you're not a babysitter, and there should be no apology or annoyance from anyone. They're your kids.)

Our Almost-Christmas Miracle

Santa was too busy on Christmas, so sent the stork instead! The stork apparently doesn't do overnight shipping, so Elliott Casper arrived yesterday, born naturally in the water December 26th, at 7:28 am. 8 lbs even, 22 in long, and just perfect!



We've been home since about 1pm yesterday, and everyone's doing great (but Mom & Dad are tired!) Birth story forthcoming. We are crazy-blessed.

Thoughts at 33 weeks

Because everyone else is doing it...



My nephew gave me a big hug this weekend, and can barely get his fingers to touch all the way around me. I walk by mirrors and think to myself, "Am I really that huge? Because I don't feel that huge." Realistically, I know I'm not that huge, but I feel even smaller- I still have a pretty good energy level and feel like I can do pretty much anything (Except bending. And twisting.)

Josh and I are starting to get a little antsy. Not because I'm tired of being pregnant, but because (we think) we're ready to have a baby in the house. We want to meet this kid- to hold him, to rock him, to watch him sleep, to coo his name, to be Mommy and Daddy- even to change his diapers and be woken up in the middle of the night. We've got the car seat in the car, the batteries in the swing (thankfully, our only baby-related thing so far requiring a battery!), the baby monitor plugged in, and the clothes organized and washed. We've got a packet from the birth center, including a packing list and an official form for the birth certificate (along with a bunch of consent forms I need to research and sign). Baby's gone from feeling real to feeling real in a more urgent sense!

This weekend, we became even more ready when our family and friends threw us two baby showers, and blessed our socks off- as well as got us some socks for Baby, among other things. Both parties, coincidentally, had a Book theme, so our little guy has an awesome start on his board book library now! Next week is baby shower #3 with some of my mom's friends.



So. Blessed.

On the Radio

I heard this on the way to work yesterday, on the radio.

It's not an anniversary

or a birthday

or any sort of special occasion.

We've been married 4 years, 3 months, 12 days.

We'll meet our first son in about three and a half months.

No milestones to celebrate-

just the realization that I couldn't make it without Josh.

That the Stuff of Life like grocery shopping and refinancing and choosing car insurance and mowing the lawn would be so much harder without him by my side.
That I wouldn't trade our big adventures and small adventures and boring weekends for the world.

(Read the lyrics)

Cars are Silly, part 2

See Cars are Silly, Part 1

Oh my, it's been a week since I posted. Whoops!

We had a great Labor Day weekend (mostly- I'll get to that...) with friends, boating on a lake & catching up. I have pictures, but haven't been sitting down at home long enough to get pictures uploaded. I'll work on that.

What have I been up to? Car shopping, unfortunately.

Once upon a time, at the beginning of last summer, we replaced our hail-damaged Civic with a Volvo station wagon. The size of the car met our needs perfectly, and we were sure it would for the foreseeable future. In September last year, we had repairs that totaled $700, which we weren't thrilled about, but chalked it up to maintenance.

We took the Volvo on a few different adventures, up mountains, across many states, and it has done great and been very comfortable. Except.

What I haven't mentioned is, since that first repair, we've put another few thousand dollars into it. Just this summer, it's been in the shop four times- including last weekend, where it stranded us 2 hours from home. The second and third repair this summer, we said "We'll give it one more chance since we like it so much." The fourth? It was (seriously!) a $2 part that broke, but "It's a nothing part until you don't got one" (Name that quote!). It was the last straw. We're car shopping while the car's still working and we can trade it in.

So, I'll probably be MIA until we get this issue well-researched and figured out. I'm thankful we have a working car now, and I'm thankful we had the foresight to save a car fund on top of that, so we'll hopefully, this time, be getting something that really will last us for a while.

In the meantime, if anyone wants to leave a comment with input on a Subaru Forester, Subaru Outback, Mazda5, or Ford Freestyle (Taurus X), feel free. We're looking for something that will hold carseats, people, & stuff for trips but isn't a minivan (Josh) or an SUV (me). Being wagon-like is a plus. Also, as we learned, reliability is high on the list. Ready? Go!

Going (Really) Unplugged

The last time Josh and I went on a vacation that was more than just a long weekend, it was to Georgia with my parents to visit my grandparents. That was over a year ago. We're ready for another break!

We're leaving Saturday for a road trip! We're camping along the way- the first couple nights at Niagara Falls, a couple more in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and most of the rest of the nights in Maine near Acadia National Park. Oh my, I can't wait.

We figure, it will be a long while before we'll be able to do another trip with multiple 8+ hour drives and many nights in a row sleeping in a tent, so this is our opportunity to get it out of our system. Also, we can't wait to see this part of the country, where neither of us has been. I'm coming home with a LOT of pictures. Brace yourselves.

I'm a little nervous about this 10-days-camping thing. I mean, I think 2 nights- maybe 3- is the most I've ever done. I expect we'll get really good at cooking over a fire and setting up the tent. Also, I'm praying for good weather- a long camping trip in the rain would be no fun. I'll also be more "unplugged" than I've been in a long time this week- not only unplugged from the Internet, but even without electricity! None of the sites we've reserved have electric hookups. So, don't let anything exciting happen while I'm gone.

Any tips on what to see or where to go in these areas? At Niagara Falls, we'll have to stay on the US side since we don't have passports (I know, I know). Besides that, we have an open schedule. What should we plan?

Good examples

"Always a bridesmaid, never a bride"

I was a bridesmaid just once before I was married- and, hours after the wedding, my boyfriend proposed. I was a bride about a year and a half later- four years ago.

And then, when I got married, I learned there was a new way to be "left out". Maybe I should coin "Always the babysitter, never the baby mama"?

In the last 4 years since getting married, I've had OVER TWENTY-FIVE babies born around me, to friends, family, and coworkers (yes, I counted). At least seven more are on the way as I write this. Six more didn't make it out of utero, and I grieved with the parents at the tragedy of miscarriage.

In this time, I've seen:

• babies adopted by their parents and babies born to their parents
• pregnancies that were long planned and those that weren't at all
• babies come two months early, and babies come over a week late
• babies born at home, and babies born at the hospital
• newborns home after just a day, and NICU stays of over a month 
• friends get epidurals and friends birth naturally and friends get c-sections, planned and unplanned
• babies with lots of hair and babies with no hair
• babies that wear Pampers and babies that wear cloth diapers
• babies who weaned in less than six months and babies who weaned in more than two years
• baby names inspired by the Bible, place names, culture, family, and literature
• parents who carry their baby in a carseat, and parents who carry their baby strapped to their chest
• happy babies and fussy babies
• social babies and reserved babies
• toddlers potty trained at 18 months, and toddlers uninterested in pottying at three.
• one-year-olds who talk and two-year-olds who don't
• moms who work and moms who stay home
• dads who work and dads who stay home
• parents who send their kids to babysitters, and parents who babysit others' kids
• parents who homeschool and parents who public-school
• "bow ties" to "hairbows" in about a 2:1 ratio (Boys! Everywhere!)

Most of all, I've seen all these babies grow up in loving homes, on their way to being great people, surrounded by great parents. Watching my friends, coworkers, and family, I've learned a lot, and filed it away for future reference.

And,

after all these great examples,

now it's finally our turn.


Coming New Year's-ish. Can't wait.

4 years

Four years. I spent 4 years as a baby & toddler, then went to preschool and elementary school for 4 years before I spent 4 years in Hawaii. I spent 4 years in high school, and 4 years in college, and, now, today: 4 years in marriage.

It seems like every 4 years of my life marks a stage, milestone, where I move on to the Next Thing after the 4 years are up. I remember, after spending 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade in Indiana, I was so, so ready to move on. Putting down roots for more than 4 years was a foreign concept to me, and I was antsy. Alas, our family stayed put, and I finished out high school in Indiana, only to begin another 4-year odyssey.

It doesn't feel like it's been 4 years since our wedding. The time has flown. I know the next 4 years will hold even more adventures than the last 4 have, and I'm beyond excited to tackle them with Josh. In a way, I'm not as antsy to move on to the Next Thing as I have been at the end of past 4-year segments of my life, because I love our life as it is- but I am so ready to embrace what's coming, too. In 4 more years, our life will be totally different than how it is now, just as our life looks totally different than it did 4 years ago. I can't wait.

Engagement - Wedding - 1st Anniversary - 2nd Anniversary - 3rd Anniversary

This weekend we were in Chicago visiting my sister, and, as I posted the picture, I realized that Chicago is where it all started, with our engagement in January of 2005. Seems appropriate.

Congrats, Aaron & Heidi!

From Aaron & Heidi Wedding

This was our first (and only?) wedding of the year. As our friends get older, most are already married, and baby showers are replacing wedding showers in frequency. Aaron is one of Josh's cousins, and we trekked to Oshkosh to celebrate with him and his glowing bride Heidi.

My favorite part of the ceremony was when the priest began to give the homily. Most weddings include a short sermon, and, while the bride and groom are being addressed most of the time, the sermon is only vaguely directed at them, with wider lessons and sometimes even a gospel presentation for the attendees. Aaron and Heidi were seated toward the back of the stage, and the priest unfolded a folding chair, and sat facing them, his back to the pews. He spoke to them directly- it was almost as if we were sitting in on the last session of premarital counseling rather than being preached at. I loved it, because the focus of the message was obviously to build into and support the couple- the whole point of all the friends and family being at the ceremony in the first place.

The rest of the wedding and reception was beautiful, too- check out the rest of the pictures:


After the wedding, we swung by Chicago & hung out with my sister and had a delightful time. Of course we visited Millennium Park, because, what better free activity is there to do in downtown Chicago?


I saw the coolest bike rack ever.


Also, they bought us frozen yogurt/kefir. Yum.

Big Weekend!

I'm so excited for the long weekend! We're starting off early-early tomorrow morning heading to meet with family, then caravaning to Oshkosh, WI for a family wedding. We'll get to see family who we don't get to see very frequently, so it will be a welcome trip. Of course, we'll get to celebrate with the groom and bride Aaron and Heidi, too, which will be delightful. I better remember my camera- I forgot it a couple weeks ago at my nephew's birthday party, and I'm super-bummed.

On Sunday we'll get to swing down and visit the Big City when we stop to see my sister in Chicago. It'll be good to visit with her, even though I got to have lunch with her just a few weeks ago when she & her husband were in town for the Mini Marathon. Always good to see her. (Also, check out their new fitness and healthy eating blog, where they promote exercising and diets that work. They're so far ahead of me in that respect, it's not funny.)

And, it's a long weekend! My dad's birthday is on Memorial Day, so we'll have a cookout with my parents and probably attend another cookout with friends, too. We have lots of social plans over the next 3 days- hopefully I can keep up!

What're you up to this weekend?

A Beautiful Sunday

What was I up to yesterday? Well, it was a full day. Here's a little of what I joined the extended family in doing...

Easter Egg hiding


Easter Egg finding


Blowing bubbles


Shaping balloons


Building


Wresting


Riding


Running


And a lot of sitting around...


But, mostly, we were celebrating!


See all the pictures from the weekend (Yes, there's more!):

mammaw bday 10