My Little Big Boy...

...He's still got some of his baby characteristics, and I feel especially fortunate to continue enjoying and experiencing them as he grows more mature and independent.

• Humming - Everett still hums a high-low melody when he's just drifting off to sleep or just waking up.  He's done it since he was a newborn, and I love to listen to him and know that he's in a place of deep comfort.
• Wrapped up - Everett still loves to be wrapped up.  We swaddled him for a LONG time because he loved it so much, and he still loves to be bundled up.  He also likes it when I wrap my arms all the way aroung him and pull him very close to me when we cuddle in the mornings.  The tighter the better, and this is the only way to get him to fall asleep for another 15-30 minutes. 
• Blankets - He still prefers the muslin swaddling blankets that Brandi bought him, and he still prefers to put the blanket right on top of his face.  It was so alarming when he was a baby, but now I just roll with it.
• Tucking his hands - If I pick up Everett in the middle of the night, he still wants me to hold him right in the middle of my chest (gets way harder not to shift to one side when they weigh 30 lbs), and he likes to tuck his hands under his tummy.

He's a tenderhearted boy, and I love sharing my days with him.

It's never too late to give Thanks

It's never too late to GIVE THANKS.

(That's a lie. It's been a yesr since I wrote this, which definitely feels late.)

In this case, we gave thanks before, on time, and after the official Thanksgiving holiday... it's just that I'm late in writing about.  (Well, I'm late in writing about pretty much everything these days)

Cox / Cheung / Rotelli

Matt, Nat, Joey, Everett, and Spike (the hedgehog) invited us to an early Thanksgiving dinner.  We had a great time, shared a million laughs, and shared a beautiful candlelit meal around Natalie's table.


Schaffers

The Schaffers continue to shower us with hospitality.  Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with the Schaffer family has become a bit of a tradition, but every year I'm awash with a brand new sense of gratitude for their kindness.

Smokin' Turkeys!

While Christopher and I love to cook, we've never attempted a turkey.  It's such a high-risk time... Do you spend an extra $40 on a turkey just to practice?  Do you wait until the BIG day to try it out, and then chance failure on the centerpiece of dinner?  Well, this year Kroger's shipment of organic/free-range turkeys arrived the day AFTER Thanksgiving, so they were all immediately marked down to SIX DOLLARS.  I grabbed two, and Chris smoked them.  We never even ended up putting any of it in freezer, so next year we will get at least 3.  Smoked turkey enchiladas, smoked turkey sandwiches, smoked turkey chilie, black beans w/ smoked turkey stock... Mmmm!

Everett's Learning About Christmas

Nevermind that Everett fell in love with Away In A Manger last year and has asked me to read it and sing it every night since... This year (2014) Everett is LOVING Christmas!


Dear Everett, here's what you love most about Christmas:

SONGS

• Away in A Manger
• Jingle Bells (especially when playing in the bathtub)
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town. 

Hearing this last one in a public place is sure to lead to laughter and lots of "Ho Ho Ho, Who..Know!" which never fails to make everyone within earshot smile and give me a  knowing grin. A grin that says "He may be a little tornado of activity now, but these days are precious and you should go right home and blog about them so you don't forget".  (Or something like that anyway. :)) 

BOOKS

• Follow the Star (sweet book about Balthazar's camel)
• Away In A Manger
• Shepherd Boy's Story
• Night Before Christmas (narrated by PawPaw). 

FOOD 

• Gingerbread cookies - We hosted the Cheungs & Rotellis again last night (our 4th year I think!), and you were swiping each cookie with one stripe of icing and then eating them as quickly as you could. 
• Egg Nog - This isn't something I'm crazy about, but you've developed an affinity for egg nog and TWICE this weekend we caught you in the kitchen drinking it out of the jug.  :/  I think it's safe to say the jug is yours now.  You win!  :)
• Candycanes - you can spot one from a mile away.  You love strong mints (Altoids are your favorite), and you can devour an entire candy cane in about 60 seconds.

TREE
You love the tree.  You admire the tree.  You burst with enthusiasm for the tree.  With all of those things comes a curiosity that is much bigger than your little body.  You remove the ornaments you can reach for a full inspection.  And sometimes, in the case of Caro's beloved t-ball ornament, your inspection leads to an armless plastic girl, and a tearful real-live girl.  You are repentant though, and she is forgiving.  You two teach me much about love and forgiveness. 

NATIVITY
I saved this one for last because it has been the most exciting part of the season so far.  Last year, we gave you the Little People Nativity Scene for Christmas.  You were too little to fully understand it, but this year you LOVE it. We have a little board book that happens to have illustrations that look very much like your set, so I've boxed them up together and you get them out and lay down on your tummy and play every day.  You can identify all of the people, and you always make us smile when you stick Baby Jesus on top of the structure. 

 

Day Off Bay-Bay!!

About once a year I take a day off, all to myself.  Today's calendar was meeting-free, so I decided to be opportunitistic and I took my day off early in 2015! Sometimes I let the day get away from me and feel a little defeated, but so far I've used my day off quite wisely I think!

I read an entire book.  I'm on a Rainbow Rowell kick this days (thanks to Leah V), and I decided to start FanGirl last night while Caro and I were cuddled in bed.  It was 2:30am before I fell asleep, but it felt GREAT to start the "me time" with my favorite indulgent activity!

I worked out.  Piloxing is my favorite group class right now, and I was able to go to a rare weekday class.  As luck would have it, my friend Rachel is on her weekend shift rotation, so she was there as well.  We worked hard, and then chatted about kids and Colts football.  So fun!

I ate a great breakfast.   Broccoli, turkey breast, and gouda omelet.  Tasteeeeee!

I visited Caroline at school.  Caroline loves to have visitors at lunchtime, but I can rarely make it because her lunch is 1:15-2pm in the afternoon.  I stopped by to see her and her friends, and I was able to help her out by bringing her MathBowl folder so she didn't have to worry about it.  I love seeing her and her friends, they always cheer me right up!

I sat in a coffee shop for two hours.  My drink was comped, and I enjoyed a delicious peppermint mocha Pike.  I used the time to browse FB, look at old photos of Chris and I on our early adventures, began making our Uganda arrangements.

I fed my soul.  I was able to read two chapters of Come Thirsty, the Max Lucado book I'm doing with my Women's Bible Study at Meridian Street w/ Nat.  It's a great book so far, and I'm SO excited about what God will reveal to me during this study. My soul IS thirsty.

I helped a friend.   A dear friend's mother has been in the ICU for a couple of weeks.  Caroline and I brought her and her family dinner.  It was a simple Subway meal, but I love it when God provides us opportunities share His love with others..through food.  :)

I journaled.  Journaling, or blogging, is the most meaningful gift I give myself.  It's a way to remember and recall.  I rarely do it because it requires so much focus, but today I did, and I know I will be SO glad when I look back and have some anecdotes to remember. 



There's still a little time left in the day... I wonder how I can fill it purposefully!