winter days.

we spent the rest of december having perfect days full of christmas crafts, regular advent celebrations, magical smells of christmas goodies, happy family nights, healthy days, love, peace, and joy.

ha.

HAHA.

hahahahaha.

hardly.

but, wouldn't that be swell.

moving on.

these eye lashes and those cheeks.  

oh heck, and those lips and that little nose.

#swoon.

 saturday morning donut deliveries have basically become a tradition.

i don't mind, neither do my sweatpants
#babygotback.

 he loves to snuggle and hold hands

but typically just while we are watching a "show".

so, judge if you will, we've been hitting up the TV a lot bit.

hey, i'm pregnant, out of energy, and it's cold out.

he's bored. i'm bored. so why not snuggle?

also, he's got longer nails than me.

#nailbiterproblems

 he won't eat eggs.  its a texture thing.

but he loves to help crack them.

#raweggsfreakmeout

 we eat "smoomies" daily.

he tells me, "i don't like it noisy blender, momma"

but he clings onto me like a koala and manages to pull through that noisy blender.

then we sip our smoomies.
#hestillhatesthevacuumtoo

 i wrapped mr leif's deer antlers in twine.

it turned out ok.  

and then when we came home from being in nebraski over christmas, they were on the floor.

and the twine was all falling off.

i guess i can't hang stuff very well.

erg.  

#deerdown!deerdown!

 dude.  look at him.

the tv is on? he totally vege's out.  it's scary. i know.

don't worry you tv haters.

mr leif cancelled our cable.

it's a thing he does.

we do cycles of cable.

a few months of cable, a few months without.

it seems like we always have it during football season? 

i'm just wondering what i'll do during those late night nursing sesh's.

last time i got awkwardly hooked on criminal minds.

#ineedtochangemychalkboard

 yeah.  it became a huge issue, and fast.

he found the "ddd's" or romy code for dvd's.

and he asks all day long to watch a moomie.

so i started lying and said our player was broken.

#topnotchmom

 we had an awesome girls night.  

jess, molly, amanda, and i got all dressed up, lookin cute, and went out on the town.

HA. kidding.

actually, we just hung out in our sweatpants and ate pathetic amounts of junkfood.

i'm so happy to have a "net" here in kansas city.

now, if we could all live on the same street, or start a commune.

#happyheart

oh yeah. and one day i spotted mr leif on pinterest.

actually he's on it a lot, nosey-ing around on my food board.

 but i didn't title it "these pins are for mr leif, he cooks, not me" for nothin.

dudes gotta check out my latest cravings.

#mostofthemarejunkfood

 and this dude finally graduated away from bottles.

yep. no more milk in bottles for him.

which means no more milk, as he refuses to drink it from a cup.

but dang. he's eating us out of the house.

like today?  

breakfast: toast with honey, blackberries, and animal crackers

snack: wheat thins

lunch: noodles, 2 helpings of green beans and a bunch of blackberries, and then seconds on noodles

snack: wheat thins and crab dip left over from the husker game.

dinner: double cheeseburger from mcdonalds, because he said "i need meat momma" while we were running errands around 6, plus a whole banana, half an apple, wheat thins and cheese.

seriously.

this kid used to be such a weird eater.

now he's like a madman who's starving all day.

#grocerybillwentup

ok, there!

now.

stay tuned.

if i can get back into the swing of things, i'll write a bit about christmas.

and maybe i'll actually give you a pregnancy update! i'm 28 weeks!

and i might even share my motto/goal/plan for 2013.

but.

don't get too excited...

romes doesn't really let me on the computer much anymore.

he gets jealous if i even try to type a quick email for bible study, and then he starts throwing things at the computer screen.

which then leads to a time out.  a few tears.  a little prayer together, and then me giving up on the email and finishing it later that night.

so blogging is slipping away.

but i'm sure when i have a baby in march i'll pick things up again.

because then i'll have all sorts of time on my hands.

HA!

kidding. i'll probably go all preggo nesting on you and write a bajillion posts this next month.

right?

ok. dear me.  i need go put on some fluffy socks, this house has a draft or something.

#brrrrrr.

if you're a PETA person, don't read this.

actually, it's not that cruel.  but some people go a bit crazy when you partake in animal things. 

like horse carriage rides.

but let's just move on.

you can't NOT go down to the plaza during christmas, if you live in KC.

and, you can't NOT go on a horse carriage ride.

(actually, you can avoid both if you want to save money)

but.  homegirl here did not protest, when mr leif wrote up on the calendar for last saturday, 

"christmas family fun day"

so, we finally got that tree up (i'll post about that later!) before roman's nap, and after? 

we bundled up and took off to the plaza.  

first stop?

coffee.  

romy sat there, top of the table, so cute while we waited for our warm drinks (and our cookie!)

he wore his "puffy coat and hat"..... a combo he is FINALLY beginning to accept.

[he was anti-puffy coat and itchy hat for a while, HA!]

and then we waited in line for like 20 minutes.

but this dude was a trooper.

there were people to watch, cars and trucks to admire, and horsey poop to giggle at.

and my only picture of a horse carriage.  is blurry.

but oh well.  we were in mid-ride, and i just couldn't get an action shot.... i mean, we were going like 1 mile an hour.  so you know, just hard to focus i guess?

 mi loves.

here we are mid-ride.

roman was pretty much in awe the whole time.

though, he spent most of the ride trying to find a "biiiiiiiiiiig truck"

he wasn't too successful.  sorry romes, not a lot of big trucks down around the plaza.

a night out isn't complete without noodles.

so, duh. off to our mecca, noodles and co.

 [he's got a thing for the "up-up-up-up stairs"]

we shared a drink.

don't even ask me about his backwashing issues.

 we double fisted our noo-noo's.

 and we did a mini photo shoot right therrrrr in da booth.

 then, he found an "owie"

 which led to labeling the parts on my face?

[be jealous. you know you wish you could have cheesy fingers touching your face, top friday night right there!]

 and.....the end.

we were home by 7:30!

i know!  score!

heartbreak for CT

i keep singing this hymn today, over and over... 

so heartbroken for the families in connecticut.  come, lord jesus, come.

i keep remembering all the "practice code reds" we did at the school I taught at each quarter of the year, and can't imagine one of them being the real thing.... our schools shouldn't have to prepare for this, practice for it, let alone experience.  poor little children.

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

[here's a slightly different, but beautiful version of this hymn]

moments to remember.

afternoon bathtime.

he says, "i'm a dolphin, not a puffer fish, not a shark"

 nighttime with daddy.

must.read.steamshovel.book.

 a total champ at mommy's checkup.

though, he hid behind the curtain anytime a nurse or dr. would walk in :)

 our imperfect advent attempts.  

so sweet, so real for this stage of life.

 trips to nordstroms for rides on the escalator.

[and so mommy can pretend like she's there to shop, but in reality she's wearing a handmedown shirt, leggings from 4 years ago, and $7 shoes from marshalls]

 measuring everything in the house, just to be like daddy.

 asking to go to target, coming around the corner in these.

 5:45pm rescue from daddy, when momma is about.to.lose.her.mind.

 those times, every time, when i turn around when we're in the car and i see this face.  every time.

 post nap snuggles.  i usually replay bob the builder at least twice so we can keep snuggling.

oh, such a sweet time.

our little family of three.

just trying to take time to stop, appreciate, enjoy, and sip in the good stuff.

nerd alert.

i have no words.

yes. i dressed my son as napoleon dynamite. 

and yes, he thought he was so, SO cool in those boots.

he just strutted his stuff right over to the park.  

i was thankful we were the only ones there, he was bummed he couldn't show off his gear.

you should have seen him trying to climb up this contraption with those boots on.

he wouldn't let me help him.  it took him at least 8 tries.

success.

 cheesehead.

 oh, i love him.

family fotos.

there's a beautiful photographer here in kansas city, her name is ashley.

she captured our family, with love, grace, patience, and a heart for little roman.

the fact that any of these turned out is amazing, it was 20 degrees. cloudy. dreary......... 

and roman was a.n.g.r.y. the whole time.

she, too has a little boy, madden.  

and she is a gem.

i found a new friend. and am so thankful for this sweet girl.  and so thankful for these photos.

it's so fun to see our family grow and change.  photography is such an amazing art, what a blessing it is to capture life.  

ok.  i'm done being cheesy.

but really, i'm just so thankful we can stop time and remember it with photos. 

mi familia. fall 2012.

[photo overload ahead]