Christmas has come and gone, New Years too. We all handled it like champs, even Leo.

Boo and Leo visited Santa, and he didn’t bat an eye. He rocked his Santa suit and made sure he smiled at every single person he could.

We are still nursing/pumping bottle feeding exclusively, but man likes to chew on little frozen blocks of breast milk…best thing ever in his mind.

Boo got an award at school last month, for being a good citizen and showing empathy to others. My kid rocks for sure!

Hunter has been bowling and working on his game. Using a new ball that is heavier has shown some challenges, but he is working through like the determined guy he is. He has made some amazing strides! His new coaches are very impressed so far!

Did I mention in just over a month he turns 15…sweet mercy…

Leo is now 5 months old, and changes so much each day.

He is in the startings of teething, so fingers are constantly in his mouth, along with anything else he can get his hands on.

My goal is to write more in 2012, I miss my space…

He is a smiley, lovey, goofy boy.

He loves to be in his saucer, to sit in his high chair during dinner and to eat.

Boy does he like to eat!

We had his check up last week, and he jumped from the 23% to the 56% in two months. His doctor is very happy with how he is doing, he is so healthy!! We are going to hold off on any food til six months, he just needs me!

How wonderful does that sound! He just needs me.

While I know they are in good hands, it doesn’t make it any easier for me. I never thought I would be the one wishing I could stay home, but I find my self dreaming of it.

But, in the mean time I will sit at work and plug away waiting to get home to them.

One of Boo’s best friends is changing schools starting next week, and she is miserable.

Her and Alex have been friends for a few years, have been through the teasing “Boo loves Alex” and such. But somehow they have been friends through it all.

Last night she decided to make him a friendship bracelet and wrote him a sweet note to say good-bye and I will miss you.

I have asked her how she is doing, but she keeps saying she is okay.

I know she will miss him, and I hate the way she is feeling. Her emotions are so close to the surface right now, so vulnerable to tears and unhappiness. This is a rough age for her. She needs her friends around, and not having Alex will be hard for her, he was the one she always had lunch with, played on the playground with and studied for tests with.

This is a lesson I hate her having to learn.

Moved 4 times

Began (continued) raising 3 children

Dealt with Kindergarten 2 times

Had multiple trips to the cabin, Iowa and other fun places

Got our crazy dog

Bought our house

Fought

Made up

Loved

Laughed

Grown

And so much more.

10 years ago today I married Hubby, the man that I loved so much then and even more today. The father of my children, the man who can make me laugh and groan at his jokes.

The man who pushes me to be a better person while becoming a better person himself. The man who puts up with my wild array of crap, but still hugs me whenever I need. The man who puts up with my continual quoting of cheesy movie lines as they fit into conversations (or don’t really), and even started doing it himself as much as he will deny it.

Happy 10 year anniversary Hubby. I love you.

He is still sleeping, the rest of us are up and starting the day.

Listening to him talk and grunt in his sleep is such a gift to me right now. The best gift ever. I will miss him so much today, the longest we have been apart since he was born.

But tomorrow I go back to work part-time, but still 5ish hours I will be away from my little man, the one that stole my heart almost 2 months ago.

Today I will drop him off with my friend, and then drive away not fighting the tears that started already this morning. Today I will keep myself busy, until 1:30 when I will hug him tighter and then snuggle him all night long.

Today I will leave Leo for the first time.

And today I turn 32. Not what I had in mind…

I am linking this up with Heather’s Just Write. Be sure to read the other posts, they are fantastic!

The past almost two months have been filled with love, happiness and worry like any “new mom”. While I am not a new mom, it has been forever since we have had an infant in the house, even since a toddler! My niece is now almost 10 months old, and she is mobile people, watch out!

When I was contacted to write about Baby Safety Month by the wonderful people at Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to I jumped at the chance. There are new standards coming out every day, and who knows them all! Not me that is for sure!

UL has created a wonderful website, Safety at Home, that is filled with tips and ways to make your home safe for your growing child, from infancy to when they go away to college. They even have a Halloween Safety section!

I was able to review their Childhood Safety Timeline, it chronicles the stages of a child’s life, and the things you can do to make your home safe. Many of these things are simple, cover outlets, lock cabinets and put chemicals FAR away from your childs reach. But so many are things that you wouldn’t really thing of but are so simple when you think of it:

• A high chairs legs are supposed to be wider than the base
• Get down to child proof your home, being on their level will make the many corners and objects that you may not notice very obvious.
• Unplug night lights when not in use, light bulbs are fragile and easily broken by little hands.

So simple, but how often do you think of night lights! Here are some more tips!

Baby Safety is key to protect your child from an early start. Knowing the proper standards and having the tools to make the changes needed is so important!

Many thanks to the Safety at Home website, and UL for making these tools available to the public, and for having so many wonderful ideas and tips! So many things I never would have thought of.

I was contacted to review the Childhood Safety Timeline, all thoughts and opinons are my own.

It is 4:30 am.

Mama’s tired. Boo is tired. Leo is up 2 hours later.

The quiet of her breath, the quiet of the house at such an early hour makes me want to watch her sleep. These few minutes of just us make me so grateful for this wonder of a girl. 9 years old, so wise and kind that it doesn’t seem possible to be so young.

This girl who will drop everything to run when her baby brother cries, when her older brother walks in the door, or when she hears the garage door saying that Daddy is home. This girl who is growing so fast I worry I will blink and miss it all.

I will take the 4:30 wake up, even when she is miserable just to have these quiet moments to savor. These moments that make me remember that while life has changed dramatically in the past year, she is still my little girl who needs me and her Daddy so much.

I lay beside her, willing and hoping her to feel better as the sleep overtakes me for just a little while, before the reality of our new life sets back in.

This is being linked up with Heather’s Just Write, a link up of free writing that she so awesomely started.

Back in August we headed down for Grandma’s 90th birthday party, he was a rock star the entire weekend! Being passed around from cousin to cousin, Aunt to Uncle, and lots of snuggles in his Great-Grandma’s experienced lap. He was fantastic! All the kids were so awesome that we made the entire 3 1/2 hour drive without stopping.

Not even once!

Process that one…I normally have to stop at least once for myself! It was fantastic!

This past Monday we headed almost 6 hours north to my Aunt’s house for a visit. She hasn’t been well, and we wanted, no needed her to meet her newest Great-Niece and Great-Nephew. I needed some hugs, and to tell her once again how very much we all loved her.

Leo and his cousin (Big Sis was with, along with my niece) were AMAZING the entire drive up! This is what I saw 99% of the way, since I was sitting in the back like I was banished to the kids table (I have the shortest legs, it made the most sense but still).

The bubbles he pushes out about do me in every single time!

We spent time with my Aunt, spent the night at my Cousin’s house (who is 5 years younger than my Dad and NOT the oldest child of said Aunt…process that one!) and even got to see my 2nd cousin whom I haven’t seen since about 1995 when my Grandpa passed away. It was a family filled two days, and the kids had had enough by the time we left to come home.

See…poor guy (those cheeks make me crazy!!)

We started the long drive home, and BOTH babies stayed awake. My niece fell asleep and Leo decided he NEEDED to eat again even though he ate as we were getting ready to leave. For real kid! We stopped, I nursed him while Dad and Big Sis ate and then we hit the road again. Then my Niece was hungry…we did not time this well at all on the way home.

6 hours later…we made it home. I was exhausted, Leo was exhausted and I swear he danced when we free from his car seat. I am serious! He spent the next almost hour attached to me, barely taking a breath it felt like. The boy likes to eat!

All in all…both kids rocked the car ride and my Dad REALLY rocked having two infants and me and Big Sis in the truck for 11 hours of driving! It was so worth all the other problems to get to see my Aunt and many cousins. It had been too long.

We knew that as we found out about Leo that as long as he was at all like his Daddy or his Brother that everything would be perfection. This song has spoken that many many times to me as I worried and stressed about anything and everything that could happen down the road.

Anything Like Me – Brad Paisley

I remember sayin’ I don’t care either way
Just as long as he or she is healthy, I’m okay
And then the doctor pointed to the corner of the screen
And said, “You see that thing right there? Well, you know what that means”

I started wondering who he was going to be
And I thought heaven help us if he’s anything like me

He’ll probably climb a tree too tall and ride his bike too fast
End up every summer wearin’ something in a cast
He’s gonna throw a ball and break some glass
In a window down the street

He’s gonna get in trouble, oh, he’s gonna get in fights
I’m gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It’s safe to say that I’m gonna get my payback
If he’s anything like me

I can see him right now, knees all skinned up
With a magnifying glass tryin’ to melt a Tonka truck
Won’t he be a sight with his football helmet on?
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/brad-paisley-lyrics/anything-like-me-lyrics.html -]
That’ll be his first love ’til his first love comes along

He’ll get his heart broke by the time he’s in his teens
And heaven help him if he’s anything like me

He’ll probably stay out too late and drive his car too fast
Get a speeding ticket, he’ll pay for mowing grass
He’s gonna get caught skippin’ class
And be grounded for a week

He’s gonna get into trouble, we’re gonna get in fights
I’m gonna lose my temper and some sleep
It’s safe to say that I’m gonna get my payback
If he’s anything like me

He’s gonna love me
And hate me along the way
The years are gonna fly by
And I already dread the day

He’s gonna hug his mama, he’s gonna shake my hand
He’s gonna act like he can’t wait to leave

But as he drives out he’ll cry his eyes out
If he’s anything like me
There’s worst folks to be like, oh, he’ll be alright
If he’s anything like me