It Has Been a Good Year

A little Year in Review based on questions from Jenn

(click on the purple links to see the posts)

Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't really make any this year. In January, I was so sick, I think making it through my pregnancy was the only thing on my mind. I haven't really thought about this year yet, but back in 2011, my friend Martha challenged us to name things we wouldn't want to change about ourselves and I still really like that list. 

Every day, my goals are to be kinder, have more patience, be a better wife and raise my boys to be good people. 

Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes. That would be me. And here is the story about Wells' arrival.

Did anyone close to you die?

Fortunately, the answer here is no.

What countries did you visit?

Um, none. But we did go on a few trips this year:

• Surprised the boys with a trip to Disney

• An impromptu trip to Tahoe
• Went back to San Diego
• An impromptu trip to Yosemite
• We moved from Monterey back to the East Coast
• We went to Myrtle Beach with Kev's family
• West Point for Kev's 10 Year Reunion

What would you like to have in 2014 that you didn't have in 2013?

A good night's sleep. I actually told my older sister in law the other day that the best gift someone could give me right now would be a night in a hotel all by myself. Seriously, I love him, but not even Kev's invited. I want the whole bed.

What dates from 2013 will be etched upon your memory, and why? 

• The Great Blate
• Beach BBQs in January 
• Announcing that I was expecting our third child 
• Kev got promoted to Major
• My mom came to visit
• Watching the boys' reactions to us having another boy
• A post about Motherhood
• A third pregnancy belly update
• Bummy and Kathleen came to visit
• Cullen turned 4
• The boys had the best week ever
• We partied at the farm
• Bought a house in DC and moved in while 37 weeks pregnant
• The day Wells was born

What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Surviving everyday being out numbered by my children. More importantly, feeling fulfilled by that survival.

What was your biggest failure?

I fail every day, so it would be hard to single one out. But remember when Bennett's birthday was a disaster? And when I had a week where everything went wrong? Those were pretty solid examples. And of course last week, when I gave Wells our dead dog's stocking (which was clearly 

from a time before children when we thought our dog was important enough to have a stocking).

What's the best thing you ate?

Breakfast the day after having Wells.. because I didn't throw it up for the first time in 240 days.

What's the best thing you bought?

Our house. I really didn't want to buy a house in DC and I really didn't want a split level. Turns out, it is the best layout for a family with small children and the location and size of this house is going to make it a great rental property in a few years.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? 

Not being pregnant anymore. And having my favorite dessert again.

What do you wish you'd done more of?

We did a lot this year. I am not sure I could have squeezed in anything else.

Compared to this time last year, are you: a) richer or poorer? b) happier or sadder? c) thinner or fatter?

a) A tiny bit richer because people pay me to take their pictures

b) Absolutely happier... have you heard Wells laugh? Do you know that my mom babysits for free? That Cullen can get himself dressed and put his on shoes on? That Bennett can communicate in words, not just tantrums (most of the time)? That Kev got promoted to Major?

 It has been a good year.

c) 21 pounds thinner

Did you fall in love in 2013?

Yes, with Wells, with my boys for the way they love Wells and with my husband all over again for being the most amazing father in the world

What was your favorite TV program?

Curious George, Cat in the Hat, Daniel Tiger... O wait, adult TV? Ummmm... Auburn's 2013 football season.

How did you spend Christmas?

Christmas Eve-Eve celebrating my older brother's engagement, Christmas Eve visiting my grandparents and going to Mass with Kev's parents. Christmas morning with my little family of 5, Christmas Day with my family and Grandma and Ray and the 26th with Kev's family. Oh, and the 28th at my sister in law's wedding (Can't wait to share all that with you).

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?

Ate chinese, had our families over and got new pots and pans. I turned 30!

How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2013?

Enormous, then squishy, then sort of back to normal.

What kept you sane?

My 9:04am daily phone call to my mother. She bears the brunt of my complaining, therefore, by 9:14am, I am over whatever is annoying me and can carry on with my day as a happy person. Thanks, mom. 

Tell me a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013. 

Count my blessings, then count them again.

 I've said it before, but I really think blogging makes me a better person. Having the capability to find the good in everyday, or the humor in the tough ones, really makes life a lot more manageable. I've learned to pay attention to the details, to appreciate the small little moments that would otherwise be fleeting, and I have been able to capture it all in our family's digital story book.  I have this incredibly beautiful and blessed life and I am so thankful to be able to share it with all of you.

 Yesterday, Shannon commented on my Christmas post and said 'Somehow,you manage to keep it real, and still make it seem magical.' and I would like to think that she nailed my approach to life in that sentence. 

Thank you for being here and finding the magic with us, in the good times and bad.

Happy New Year!

Cheers to an even better 2014!

A Bunch Of Pictures Of My Spoiled Rotten Children

Let's dive right into Christmas morning:

So in my husband's family, every Christmas morning, the kids had to line up on the stairs and take pictures one by one coming down. In my family, we were allowed to open one gift under our mini-tree upstairs and then could wait around the big tree until my parents had coffee. Apparently, I have a lot of my parents in me, because while Kev was running around turning on Bing Crosby and trying to get the boys to wait at the top of the stairs so I could take a picture, I was fumbling half awake, noting to myself that next year, coffee before stairs will definitely be instated. So this is the best picture we got. 

Sorry, Kev. 

 Bennett is OB-sessed with these Little People flap open books. When I found "What People Do" I was so excited to have something new to read with him. And we have read it 2981340928439028 times since last Wednesday.

 Wells. 

Poor third child. At first, we weren't going to buy him anything, because as long as we feed him, he is pretty unconcerned with life, but then we realized that the boys would notice and think he was on the Naughty List, so we ran out and grabbed a bunch of 12 month clothes and wrapped them up. On Christmas Eve we also realized that he didn't have a stocking, so we flipped the one around that said our dead dog's name and passed it off as Wells'. 

Parents of the Year over here. 

Christmas lights are ah-mazing!

 On Cullen's Christmas list was: A football, A football tee for kick offs, football gloves and a drum. He got all of the above, plus a few extras.

 Bennett asked for Monster Trucks and cars. His wishes were also granted.

I asked for wine. Check. 

Kev didn't ask for much, so we got him fancy bourbon. 

 Our sweet neighbor Gus was cleaning out his toys before Christmas and asked if he could give Bennett this Police-Fire house because B always plays with it when we are over at their house. It was definitely one of Bennett's favorite things and so sweet of Gussy to think of us!

 The aftermath

 Later that day, my family came over to celebrate Christmas Day and Kev and Bummy surprised me with this: 

Patent pending- don't steal our idea!

 Ever since Wells was born, one boy has to be in the third row of my Yukon and I always complain about what a pain it is to have to throw things back at them and how much easier my life would be if I had a basket and a pulley system, so Kev and Bummy somehow game up with this ingenious invention. It even runs on a motor and I have a little button to send it back and bring it back up to the front. Amazing, right? 

All in all, it was a wonderful, blessed day with our family (we spent Christmas Eve visit my Oma and Opa and going to Mass with Kev's parents, but no pictures were taken).

We are so grateful for all that we have and the people we have to share it with. 

As an end note, here are my boys, wearing helmets, singing songs about Baby Jesus. 

Merry Christmas!

Things

A few notables:

-We have been trying to do a lot of the holiday highlights DC has to offer and while we didn't cross off everything on our list, here are a few we did do:

Zoolights at the National Zoo.
We actually did this a few weeks ago but I never blogged about it. Luckily, my mom did. Here is the post about that.

Christmas at National Harbor.
We headed over to the Gaylord National to see the light/music show last Sunday. Upon arrival, Bennett scarfed down a cookie, and then threw it up... All down Kev's back... We didn't see the light show.

At least they looked cute on the way there

Season's Greetings at the Botanical Gardens
Last Thursday, just Bennett, Wells and I went on a little adventure into the city to 'see the trains' at the Botanical Gardens.

We are hoping to go see Christmas at Mt. Vernon this afternoon, but we will see if that actually happens.

-Wells had his 4 month check up on Wednesday morning. He weighs 17lbs 11oz and is 27 inches long.

Yay! I am giant!

-I updated my blog list over there ---> to all of your lovely people who I read often and who comment over here often even when I am behind on reading. So if you are looking for some new blogs, check out anyone on that list. Chances are they are funny and/or good photographer and/or have cute kids. If I left you out and you want to be over there, please let me know! I know there are some that I overlooked.

-Another blog business thing: do you follow your blogs through facebook? I have been toying with the idea of doing a 'fan' page to keep you updated on when a new post goes up. I am just curious how many of you would find that helpful?

-Friday morning I have the boys' Christmas Pageant, Kev's graduation from his Major course and my grandma's retirement mass from the Elementary school I went to as a kid. They all start at 9. If anyone know how to split themselves in thirds, please pass along the info! (For the record, I am going to the boys' pageant, my father-in-law and almost brother in law are going to Kev's graduation and my mom, brothers and several aunts and uncles will be there for Grandma, but o how I wish I could be at all 3!)

-Speaking of my future brother in law, my sister in law is getting married next Saturday and I got to go to her final bridal fitting last night. She seriously looks like she walked out of a magazine. I can't wait!

-You read that right up there: she is getting married next Saturday. So we are looking at Christmas Eve visiting my Oma and Opa and going to Mass with Kev's parents. Christmas morning at our house. My family and Grandparents over for Christmas Day, Christmas at Kev's parents on the 26th, Rehearsal Dinner on the 27th, wedding on the 28th. Whew. 

With all that said, I won't be blogging next week and will just be enjoying this special time with my family. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

(There will likely be an instagram here and there, so feel free to follow along @katedaffodils)

On Choosing Traditions

The first holiday season that Kev and I were together, we spent Thanksgiving with his family. 

(It must be noted that we come from very different families: his is very emotional and mine is not.)

 That first Thanksgiving, he told me that we would go around the table and say what we were Thankful for before dinner (thank goodness he warned me) and I dreaded that moment because in my family, we just assume, we don't say those kind of thing aloud. 

Along came dinner and I was one of the first to share. I mumbled something to the effects of "Kev, and that we are getting married" turned bright red and stared at my plate for the next 20 minutes while everyone else spoke. 

(It is a miracle that his family still let him marry me after that awkwardness.)

A month later, it was Christmas and Kev was spending it with my family. My youngest brother was 14 and had spent the last 3 months in a wheelchair after a dirt bike accident and Christmas was the beginning of him walking on his own again. For the last gift of the morning, my two other brothers presented Tommy with a poem along these lines:

Rose are Red,

Violets are Blue

You no longer have to ride in a cart,

So here is a three second head start.

And then proceed to chase him through the house and beat him up. 

(It is a miracle that my family let me marry Kev after he didn't participate.)

The point? A great challenge of marriage, especially once you have a kids, is deciding which traditions to chose from each family. We are still learning, deciding and picking up on our own new traditions, even after 8 years together.

One family tradition that in a non-negotiable for me is the making of Gingerbread Houses. 

As a kid, I so clearly remember my mom pulling out my grandfather's hand written recipes and cutouts and making the houses with us (and often a houseful of aunts and cousins).

My grandfather's recipes

 I loved the touch and smell of Papa's recipe book (he passed away when I was in 3rd grade) and even though I cheated and bought the store kit from Michael's, I want my boys to know how special these houses are.

All these years later, I am thankful for both of our families and the traditions that they have taught us to share with our boys.

You Probably Won't Be Getting a Christmas Card This Year

(Again)

Let's Talk Wells

There is a little chunk of a baby turning 4 months old on Saturday, and aside from pointing out his cheeks and chins, I feel like he doesn't get a lot of spotlight around here, so I thought we would give him his very own post today.

Where to begin... 

Wells is such a joy. He is the perfect addition to our family. Sometimes we look around and wonder how in the world we ended up with 3 kids, but most times, we can't even remember our life without them. 

 Wells has big, piercing blue eyes and the sweetest of all smiles. He also just started the real belly laugh and you must watch this video. I promise it will be the highlight of your day. 

He is still all cheeks and chins and o how I love them all (they are still worth the mention).

 He is sort of on a schedule.

 He wakes up around 7am, nurses, is up for an hour, takes an hour long nap then is out and about with me during the morning, nursing again and taking a cat nap in there somewhere. Then he has a bottle of formula around 1pm and goes down for his afternoon nap at the same time as his big brothers. He's up around 3, nurses around 4, hangs out until 630 and then either has a bottle of formula or nurses again between 6:30-7 and is down for the night. He is up once on a good night around 3am for a quick nurse and back to bed. On a bad night, he is up at 10, 1, 3 and 5. We pray for not a lot of nights like that. I am grateful that he is able to take a bottle and doesn't flinch between breast milk and formula. 

I choose to supplement because our life is crazy-town and I often forget to feed myself in the right way to produce enough milk and I like the idea of a controlled amount from the formula to supplement what I might miss during my meals on the go.

 Plus, sometimes, it is just nice to have a break.

It works well for us. 

 He loves his jumpy seat thingy and is trying so hard to figure out how to make his hands do what he wants them to. He also loves laying on his changing table, looking around in the boys' rooms and any time Cullen and Bennett talk to him.

 Postpartum wise, I am back in all my pants and to my normal weight, but still pretty squishy. But let's be honest, I've had 3 kids in 5 years, so squishy-ness is kind of part of the game unless I really put some effort into it. And well, I'm not putting any effort in it right now. 

Maybe in the Spring? 

...Maybe I'll just embrace the tankini.

Overall, we are just loving all of Wells. 

I told my mom the other day, I feel like for the first time, I am able to really able to relish in his baby-ness. With Cullen, I was paranoid about everything, all the time. Then with Bennett, I just wanted him to get bigger and easier so it would be easier for me. Now, I am not paranoid about much of anything and C and B have each other to hang out with, so I just get to enjoy every little bit of my baby. Even though I know all the little milestones that are coming, I still am amazed by how these little people grow and figure out all the wonders of our beautiful world. 

Happy 4 Months of life my darling boy!

The Power of Power

After some wintery weather on Sunday, we woke up Monday morning to a very cold, very dark house. Our power was out and would remain that way until late on Tuesday afternoon. Luckily, we are so blessed to have our families here and lots of options for warm, bight places to pass the time. 

We packed a day bag and headed to my mom's apartment on Monday morning, assuming the power would be out for a few hours and we would go back home. So I didn't bring my camera with me, but the day included:

-A trip to the book store, where Cullen ever so cleverly found a lego set and a football book and said "Mommy....actually....Marme? I need to ask you something..." and naturally, came back home with legos and a football book (B opted for legos and a monster truck book.)

-a two boy cuddle nap in Uncle Tommy's room

-An intense game of run-around-the-lobby-as-fast-as-you-can

-fort building

-A trip with Papa to the ice cream store

And as night approached and no power was restored, Kev got off work and grabbed some more things for overnight, dropped the dog off at the kennel and joined us. 

We woke up Tuesday to more snow, and still no power so we decided to head down to my inlaws for the day. The snow was falling for most the morning and the boys had a blast, especially since Nana, Pop and Aunt Katie were all home too.

All the boys spent a long time playing Topple,

taking naps, playing in the basement, watching old VHS movies and cuddling with Nana

We found out that afternoon from a neighbor that the power had been restored, so we stayed through dinner and then packed up again to head home. 

We were very grateful to be in our own beds last night but so thankful that our parents were here to take care of us the past two days!

It's A Wonderful Life

I don't know what has gotten into me lately, but sometimes, I take at look at these three and just tear up over how blessed we are. Life lately has been really good (exhausting, but really, really good). And this weekend was just perfect.

On Saturday morning, the boys' school hosted a Breakfast with Santa so I put the boys in their amazing matching sweater vests (hand knitted by Sue) and we headed up to school. I was surprised by how okay Bennett was with Santa (he tells me every morning that our Elf 'isn't real') and of course, Cullen jumped right up there and started listing his Christmas wishes (A football, football gloves, a football stand, a football jersey...)

 Wells joined in too. 

All he wants for Christmas are pants that fit his giant legs.

 It was a cold, but beautiful day out and we weren't quite ready to go home after our visit with Santa, so we went up to Old Town and caught the end of the Scottish Parade. Since it was an unplanned outing, we made due with what we had in the car and C ended up in my vest.

 Bennett loved the bag pipers, liked actually cried when we started walking away, which led to us staying way longer than we intended.

 Then it was home for naps, followed by another great Auburn win (and now a trip to the National Championship!)

Sunday, we woke up early and made it to Mass, then walked out to snow! The boys were so excited. C doesn't remember snow from when we lived in NC and B's only experience with it was during our trip to Tahoe last year, so watching them light up at it falling from the sky was so amazing. 

 We were supposed to go down to my in-laws' in the afternoon, but decided to stay home because of the icy road conditions. To make up for not visiting Nana and Pop, the boys and I spent the afternoon making sugar cookies.

And that ended the recipe for a perfect weekend. 

I truly have a wonderful life.