lunch break

...christmas in photos - part three - memories

...the day after christmas, we took charlie out to the Brandywine River Museum, a place I frequented for field trips over the years:

...Charlie is particularly interested in still-life.

...And in trains:

(...and, ahem, in crawling under rope barriers to become one with the exhibits).

...afterward, we stopped to show Ken my old elementary school. I hadn't been back in a long time. Forever, really. Maybe since I left. I could see my friends and I playing four-square. I could see the May-Pole on the field behind the school. A random memory of losing a tooth in a piece of pizza in the cafeteria came back. And then my little boy took off to the playground where I played. And it was freezing and windy but it was wonderful too:

I want to thank whichever kid or teacher forgot to pick up that last ball before leaving for Christmas break and put it in a spot perfect for my Charlie to find.

...christmas in photos - part two - the actual day

...at first he was overwhelmed, but that quickly passed when he realized it.was.all.for.him!

(And why yes, I'm in my pajamas. You know me and my mantra of truth in blogging).

Testing out his new balance bike with pops:

...little clara stayed close by all morning, taking it all in:

...she managed to walk away with a few presents (everything had to be taste tested):

...presents make her happy too:

...hair clips do not:

...i'm pretty sure a staple of every two year-olds christmas is a choo-choo:

...we took our traditional cousin shot (a few minutes too late after one of the cousins had left) and there wasn't a good shot in the bunch. But I feel like the fact that hardly anyone is looking at the camera kind of defines our life right now. It's too crazy to look straight-on!

...clara with her beauty of an auntie, devin:

...we spent the last week up at my parents house (yes, God bless them for putting up with not only me, my toddler, and my infant, but all the crap that comes with them). It's a Christmas miracle that the only thing we managed to forget was a cooler.

...11

...11 years ago today we got married. Tonight we celebrated by wearing as many clashing patterns as humanly possible, dinner out, and selecting lights for the new house.  And look! I'm wearing lipstick!

Life is different than it was 11 years ago, that's for sure. But good in all the right ways.

(My mom and I are slightly obsessed with Kate Middleton. She got me this dress after seeing Kate wear it. Ken did not get me the matching diamond and sapphire ring. He's saving that for the 12 year anniversary).

...christmas in photos - part one - the presents that weren't for a two year-old

...because it isn't Christmas without some twine (and tags from Elle's Studio):

...studio calico county fair

...I had approximately 23 minutes to scrapbook last month, so I made the most of it with these three layouts from Studio Calico's County Fair kit:

...i imagine this is how i will feel

...for his first sleepover, his first night at sleep-away camp, his first night at college, and the night he moves away from home for good:

Charlie's first night in a big-boy bed (at gamma and poppy's). Why does my heart hurt?

...from our little family to yours

I sold out this year and went commercial instead of designing my own card. Thank God for minted and the designers that are way more talented than me.

I hope you and your families have a magical day.

...if you squint real hard, it almost looks real

...the good thing is that next year, it will be real.

...and so will the upstairs, which we saw for the first time today.

...the kid's playroom:

...charlie's room:

...clara's room (door is to her walk-in closet and she'll have a window seat in the window. I grew up wanting a window seat, so I'm living vicariously through my children):

...master bedroom. I think the venting units are a nice decorative touch and we might keep them:

...master bath (shower and tub). The shower is huge. I could lay down in it. I might some day. I am putting a bench in it and the builder called me the other day to ask where I wanted the bench. I said, "I don't know, Mike, where would you want to shave your legs?"

...and when we turned right in the master bath, the heavens opened up, the sun sang, and tears came to my eyes. I present...the master closet:

(It is bigger than Charlie's bedroom in our house in Baltimore. I'm not kidding).

...And here she is today. Estimating about 8-9 weeks of work left. It can't come soon enough:

Merry Christmas, Little House in the Big Woods.

...525,600 minutes, 525,600 moments so dear

...(and now you are all going to have that song in your head).

A few weeks ago I made my most favorite scrapbook page ever. Even Ken was impressed. And it was for this class at Studio Calico. I'm not sure I ever mentioned that for Charlie's first year, I took a picture every single day. So typical first child, right?

I love that the class is self-paced and there's no pressure. I'm all about no pressure these days. And I'm reposting this because I forgot I get to do a giveaway! Leave a comment below for a chance to enroll in the class for free.

Here's a sneak of my favorite scrapbook page ever:

...and since I'm sharing those sneaks, I'll also share some of Studio Calico's January kit and add-ons:

...meet clara

...she has some spunk. She is noisier and harder to soothe than charlie ever was. She sleeps better at night than he ever did. She is not a fan of naps, or the car (but today she napped in the car, so go figure). She has a big bald spot on the back of her head. She laughs at the air because the air is funny. She still smells like the Catholic Church. She has long fingers and her left ear sticks out. She has the biggest blue eyes (Ken calls them cow eyes). She burrows herself in your armpit when you cradle her (because who doesn't love the smell of armpits?) She loves being lifted up like superwoman. She gets schmutz stuck between her fingers and her toes. She farts like a senior citizen. She turns four months old this week and I realized this weekend I'd never posted a video of her. So here she is:

She is also getting physical therapy for low muscle tone. So we took this video to show the physical therapists that they really don't know what they are talking about - low muscle tone be-damned!

(Note: Rental house. Rental rug. The only things in the video that are ours are the toys and the baby).