Just a Pajamas Kind of Day

Yep, we are hanging out in our PJs today...it's cold outside and we aren't in a rush to get moving.  :)  Not to mention we survived the 13 hour drive (over half in the rain!) home last night from Indiana....so I am feeling kinda worn out.  It was a LONG day in the car, but Henry did surprisingly well.  We took our time and stopped about 3 times throughout the drive.  Thankful to be home, but miss our families already.  Glad Christmas is around the corner!  :)

Thanksgiving

I honestly have so much to be thankful for this year.  I love having a holiday where we get to sit back and reflect on this last year and all the things we've been blessed with.  The Lord has given me so much in my life - so thankful to be HIS child and loved by Him.  I'm in awe that he continuously loves me back. 

I'm thankful for Peter - his unfailing love for me, his solid leadership in our marriage, his patience with my quirks (and my wide-range of emotions this last year), the way he's been a father to Henry, his quiet sense of humor, and how he works so hard for our family, allowing me to stay at home with our son.   

I'm so thankful for my sweet little boy - who has brought us both so much joy and happiness.  I don't know what my life would be like without him, even after these short 5 months.  We love watching him grow, smile, laugh, talk...so thankful for who he is and are praying for the man he will become.  I know God has some big plans for his life.  Praying that Peter and I can be examples of Jesus on a daily basis, teaching him/showing him what it looks like to be disciples of Him. 

I'm also so incredibly blessed by the family and people in my life.  There are so many people that have loved me and come alongside me in my life...I wouldn't be who I am today without them (many of you are reading this now).  As I look back on the various chapters in my life, I realize how God placed people in my path at just the right time - to teach, encourage, grow with, walk alongside...it's amazing to see how your friendships were just what I needed at that moment in life.  And I desperately wish that many of you were STILL living life with me now...so even though I can't thank so many of you, know that your lives and the things you've done in my life haven't gone unnoticed.   

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...may you feel loved and surrounded by family and loved ones today.  Know that I'm thankful for YOU.  

**Thanks Hank and Geri for the ADORABLE Thanksgiving outfit!  :)

Christmas Cards...

So most people who know me know that I struggle with getting out cards.  I've been meaning to do a Christmas card since Pete and I married, but it has yet to happen.  I always think of it too late (when many of your beautiful cards come in the mail...) and I shrug it off for next year.  I'm organized in many areas of my life, but sending a card or remembering a birthday/anniversary is NOT one of my strengths and I hope to get better at this.   I appreciate it when people remember things about me...there is nothing better when an unexpected card finds itself in my mailbox.  It brightens my day and makes me feel special. I need to do better at returning the favor and passing that same feeling on to others.  

Now that I have Henry, I'm hoping to at least do a Christmas card this year.  I know a Christmas card won't be totally unexpected this time of year (although from me, maybe...), but at least it would be one small way for us to let people know we love and appreciate them.  Peter and I have honestly  loved receiving all of yours over the years.  At one point, our refridgerator was full of all your faces so we could see and think about you throughout the year.  This year I'm thinking about displaying your cards like this (Thank you Pinterest for the ideas...I love you but hate you at the same time...you suck me in and I can't pull myself away!):   

 or like this on our pantry door in the kitchen:






(Although maybe not with such thick/cheesy ribbon...I'm thinking green)

Being a teacher, I have loads of clothes pins to clip the cards onto the ribbon.









To get ME even more motivated in sending out cards this year, I'm going to participate in Tiny Prints' blogger promotion.  Looking through the various printing companies out there, I'm most impressed by Tiny Prints' Christmas Card selection and I'm having a hard time deciding which card I'm going to use for my first annual Von Tobel Christmas Card.   They have such a wide variety - from cute, to classic, to vintage, and it is going to be difficult to choose just one.

Here are some of my favorites:
(You can access any of these cards by clicking the actual card...it will take you to the direct link on Tiny Prints.)

djkf  

 Being that I'm a new mom and definitely have been BLESSED this year...

   

Something that makes finding your card super easy is all the different categories like: Christmas, Christmas Religious, New Years… etc.  I love how they let you narrow your decision down by using the filter on the left side of their Christmas card page.  Click on all the things that you would like to apply to your card and it will sort through, giving you all the options.

Do you see how hard my decision is going to be?  They are all so different and I can see Henry's adorable face on all of them.  :)  If this tempts you (or reminds you that you need to get going on your Christmas cards), head on over to Tiny Prints.  They are even offering specials right now, due to it being the holidays season.


**Oh and if you blog and want to participate in this promotion (and be compensated with some free Christmas cards), here’s how!!  But hurry...don't know how long this promotion will last!

Mirror

We have a mirror on the floor in the hall upstairs.  Don't ask me why it's not on the wall...it's a long story (ahem...Peter!).  But our new favorite thing to do is sit in front of it.  Henry would seriously sit there all day it I would let him.  He'll play with his toys and then glance up into the mirror - to look at me and to see if he is still there.  Then he'll be back to his toy.  He'll flap his arms, talk to himself, and giggle.  It's the cutest thing.  :)

It's Starting to Get Cold...

So I was digging around in Henry's closet...looking at his hat options and trying to decide whether or not I needed to buy one for him.  I came across this hat in his drawer - I had forgotten about it, due to our extremely warm summer.

What's so special about this hat, you may ask? 

Well it was Peter's hat when he was a baby.  His mom said that he wore it all the time when he was Henry's age.  :)  I think we'll keep it and he's going to be wearing it a LOT this winter (along with another hat I'll blog about at a later time...we got it in the mail the other day from some good friends).

Notice the excessive amount of drool in these pictures...that tooth HAS to be coming soon!








And since I've been dabbling a little with Instagram...here are some ones we took inside.

Henry is FIVE Months Old! :)

Henry turned FIVE months old yesterday.  Can't believe he is so old...time is flying by.  I have loved the changes in him and the new things he's able to do.  I have to admit...I like the snuggly newborn stage, but I prefer where he is NOW over him being an infant (even though I still miss snuggling with him - he doesn't let me unless he's REALLY tired).

 Henry's been "flapping" his arms like crazy.  It's his favorite thing to do when he's sitting up.

 He's been a great job sitting up by himself.  No falling over this month.  

 I love this look and we get it often from him - and he usually ruffles his eyebrows, too.  It's almost as if he's asking, "What ARE you doing mom?" 

These shots were taken after we were done...He has been loving his toes!

Oh my word...look at how BIG he is! 

Things Henry's able to do at FIVE months:

• Weighs 17.12 pounds and is 26.4 in long.   So his weight has slowed down a little, which I'm thankful.  :)
• Sitting up.  He's still not completely stable, but getting better by the day.  He can sit for periods at a time and play with the toys beside him.  I have to keep some pillows around him for when he DOES fall...although he's been a tough kid and it barely phases him when he falls without the pillows.
• Playing on his belly.  He hasn't been a fan of playing on his belly until recently.  If there are some toys in front of him, he'll roll around the floor, chasing them around the room.  I seriously turned my back the other day and he was all the way on the other side of the room.  I don't know if I'm ready for this...
• Still drooling like crazy, but no tooth yet.  We're waiting...
• He's been able to hold himself up while he's being held.  I can really tell a difference when I'm carrying him around.  
• "Talking" all the time, but especially when he's waiting for us to take him out of his crib.  
• As of yesterday, he's not being swaddled.  He's been rolling too much in his crib (wanted to sleep on his stomach) and the doctor said it was time to let it go.  The last few days have been an adjustment, but he's getting the hang of it...and loving being able to sleep more on his side and even his stomach (which makes me a little nervous).
•   Still not sleeping through the night, but making improvements.  We've had to let him cry awhile the last few nights and each night he's been crying a little less.  Last night I nursed him at 10:15 pm and he didn't want to nurse again until 7 am!  :)  I'm FINALLY getting some more sleep!  
• The time change has been an adjustment, but he's back to his 6:30 pm - 7 am schedule, for which we are thankful.  The 5:30 am wake-up calls were not welcomed! 

We just love this little boy.  He's brought us so much joy and we can't imagine our lives without him.  Like I said before, we are loving this new stage - with more mobility and more awareness of the things around him.   We're so excited to be home for the holidays, so our families can see how much he's grown and changed.  :)

Halloween

So as my usual routine, I'm a little late with Henry's Halloween pictures.  We were given two outfits from my mother-in-law.  One was my little nephew's that he wore last year and the other she found.  He looked adorable in both of them and we used any excuse to show them off.  He wore the monkey outfit to our small group and we have even used the top as a jacket on various occasions.  He wore the horse on Halloween evening.  We didn't go out trick-or-treating, but we got together with friends and we were able to to show him off.  :)

Our good friend Jen snapped some pictures of Henry in both outfits...I'm still not good at bringing my camera wherever we go, as well as actually TAKING pictures when I have my camera.  Need to work on that.  Plus Jen has a great eye for things and a better camera.  Thanks again Jen for taking some amazing pictures.  :)