All I Ever Wanted . . .

. . . is right here in this little picture.

Everything that matters . . . is right here in this little picture.

My whole world . . . is right here in this little picture.

For this I am so incredibly blessed and thankful.

Quack

Way back in August I decided to redecorate Andrew's bathroom incorporating a yellow ducky theme after I had these pictures taken . . .
This is what his bathroom looked like at the time. And really, there was nothing wrong with it in it's current condition, but it just wasn't very kid friendly.

It took a bit of shopping, and finally some online shopping and ordering, but I finally acquired all of the accessories, towels, and shower curtain. Let's just say that it wasn't exactly one stop shopping, and it took Macy's a couple of tries to get the right things sent out. Then it took a while longer for me to decide on just the right color blue paint for the walls. And that was all the easy part! It was much harder to find a block of time to just get it done. I'm pleased to say that the transformation occurred last weekend!

I really like the shower curtain. It's cotton and the ducks and dots are both chenille so there's a really nice texture to it.

I think Andrew's pictures perfectly complete the decor.

I'm sure that by the time he is old enough to realize that's his naked behind on the wall it will be time for me to take it down. Until then, it stays!

All in all, I'm completely thrilled with how nice the bathroom turned out. It is really a happy and cheerful place to be now, and I'm sure Andrew will like it too. I just realized that he hasn't even seen it! Right now he is still taking his baths in my bathroom because it is just plain easier for me. I guess for his next bath we will have to break in his bathroom!

Special Places

Everyone has their own special place. I'm not talking about places like a lake, or a beach, or a park, or a walking trail . . . I'm talking about a special place within the home. This is a place where one can go to be alone, to pursue hobbies, or to just be.

Andrew seems to have found his place. There's only one problem - it's also Molly's place. We'll see what happens if they ever both want to occupy the space at the same time.

My special place is this little corner of my bedroom. I love, love, love my cushy chair.
It's my favorite place ever to curl up with a good book. Napping is pretty fantastic in this chair as well. And, I must admit, this spot is my quiet little refuge when our house gets just too crazy and noisy during family events. I like to relax in this chair while I chat on the phone catching up with my girlfriends in California. When I'm upset, this is the place I retreat to. I've even spent a little bit of time in this comforting spot with my tears. When Andrew was tiny he and I spent many nights in this chair before he learned to sleep by himself. So, when I think of my special place within our home, this is it.

I look forward to watching Andrew as he finds his own special place. One that he won't have to share with Molly.

And I'm pretty sure that Brian's special place is the, um, commode in the master bathroom, considering the amount of time he spends there. That's also where he keeps his magazines and does his best singing.

So, where is your special place?

Trick-or-Treat!

Andrew had been carting his orange pumpkin bucket around the house for days before Halloween ever arrived. He's at the stage where he loves putting his toys in things and moving them all over the house. Here he is as we were getting ready to leave the house.
We visited my parent's house first, and Andrew was all business. My mom didn't give him candy. She gave him a banana. Which he promptly began to eat, peel and all.

Next we went to our friend's house, and Andrew just tried to push his way in the door.

Once inside, he didn't want candy, or even to play with his friend Ryann. He just wanted to play with a plastic pumpkin.

Andrew practiced at our front door while he waited to visit the neighbors.

We passed out candy from the comfort of our patio chairs on the driveway (complete with pizza and adult beverages as well). Andrew was visited by lots of friends in the neighborhood.

All in all, it was a great night, and probably my personal best ever for the most fun on Halloween night. It's been a long time coming . . .

You Knew This Was Bound to Happen

Honestly, I just can't help myself! Is there a self-help group for moms (how cool is that . . . I still get excited when 'mom' refers to me) who just can't help but have pictures taken of their super adorable munchkins?

So how are you and your kids dressing up for Halloween? And what kind of treats are you handing out?

That's My Boy!

I dropped off Andrew with his babysitter, Donna, much later than I usually do. So, when he arrived he had already had breakfast and was ready to play with the other kids. There is another little girl, Mary, who is just a few months older and he adores her. "Baby Andoo" as the little girls call him, made his way to Mary to hug her. As soon as his hands touched her she recoiled backwards in horror. Well, this upset his balance and my sweet Andy-Pants fell into her and knocked her over. Mary cried. After both kids were picked up and dusted off my persistent boy attempted another hug, with the same disastrous results, and more tears from Mary.

After picking up both kids again I told Andrew to go give Ryann a hug (she's almost 2 1/2 and he's been good friends with her since birth). He toddled off to give Ryann a hug. As soon as he hugged her she embraced him as well, and then proceeded to give him a big smooch on the cheek!

It was just the cutest thing ever and I truly wish I had a camera in hand to capture the moment. I guess it's just a moment I'll have to save in my mind's eye . . . .

First Annual Family Day

What?!?!? You didn't know that yesterday, October 25th, was Family Day? Let alone the First Annual Family Day?

OK, there's good reason for that . . . . Family Day is not a national holiday, or even a Hallmark holiday, it's a holiday that I made up in my own little head to celebrate Andrew's adoption finalization day.

See? Here we were last year . . .

And how do we celebrate Family Day? Well, first of all, we hang out together all day and do family stuff. Unfortunately, yesterday this meant doing laundry. Brian has been on-call at the hospital seemingly since we got back from Maryland, and he kept getting called in yesterday. Also, we had my dad over for the day so we didn't exactly have any outings planned. Anyhow, we did have a nice dinner planned. Brian bbq'd rib-eye steaks and we also had sweet potato fries and sauteed zucchini. Let's also 'fess up and say that Andy doesn't care for rib-eyes, or zucchini, for that matter. After eating a bunch of sweet potato fries and refusing to touch anything else we finally made him a peanut butter sandwich. Which he rubbed all over his head. Which resulted in this look after I mopped him off . . . .

But back to Family Day . . . . it simply wouldn't be complete without a pretty cake. C'mon, all celebrations require cake!

Unfortunately, before we got to the cake course Brian was called into work. That left me, my dad, and Andy to celebrate.

Andy was very excited about getting his hands on the cake, and just didn't know where to start.

I guess such things really take a lot of thought and contemplation.

Leave it to Molly to show how to get started. Yes, she ran her tongue over the back side of the cake.

The pictures stopped right about now. I got a look at the clock and realized that we needed to get my dad back over to his house before his wheelchair turned into a pumpkin. I cut some cake for him and we took it with us. By the time I got home at 10:00 Brian had just gotten home and was not so much in the celebratory mood. He went to take a shower, and I had a piece of Family Cake by myself.

So, Family Day didn't quite go as I had planned, but that's more than OK, there is always next year. I didn't get any family pictures of the 3 of us, and that's OK too. We had a good time playing with our boy and that's what matters.

And now that we've had our first annual Family Day I've done all kinds of thinking. I think everyone should have one, even if you don't have an adoption to celebrate. I'm going to encourage all the other families in our family to also celebrate on October 25 . . . but for the rest of you, please pick out another date that you can celebrate being a family. And just so you know, you don't have to have kids to celebrate Family Day. All that you need is a day set aside to celebrate being together and happy. Oh, and a pretty cake wouldn't hurt either.

Please leave me a comment letting me know when your Family Day is going to be!

Perfect for a Sunday

Or any day, really . . .

Please click on the link, and enjoy . . . .

Amazing Grace

Oh, and please share in the comments how you felt after listening. I'll even go first . . .It made me feel at peace and very relaxed; all is well and we are so very lucky.

A real post will come soon. Scout's honor . . .

Glorius Gettysburg

One part of our trip that I was really looking forward to was going to Gettysburg. I really enjoy US history, and even more, I love being in old, historical areas of our country. Yesterday we drove up to Gettysburg and spent the day at the visitor center and taking a car tour of the area. First of all, I was so impressed by the quality of the museum, and even more so, by the vastness of the landscape scarred by this event. Actually, I was totally unprepared. I was also unprepared for the sheer numbers of monuments. Totally unprepared, but totally touched.

Actually being able to see this landscape totally brought to life the events of those three days of battle and literally brought history alive. If you haven't been to visit, and ever get the chance, please make sure that you spend a day here.

We also had a bit of walk around time, and seeing as that is Andy's favorite activity right now, he had a blast. He loved walking in the leaves and watching the squirrels scurry by.

After our touring we went back to the hotel to freshen up and rest a little bit. Then, Jackie and Carlos took us out for dinner in honor of Brian's birthday yesterday. We went to a really old, historic restaurant/tavern and enjoyed a very cozy meal amidst civil war decor. I'd really like to go back someday to explore the rest of Gettysburg, including all of the shops. Oh, and the ghost tour sounds like fun too!

All Roads Lead to Baseball

Being married to a self-proclaimed baseball freak does lead to some interesting day trips, not to mention, attending a lot of games; whether it be for a favorite team or not. Any time that we travel anywhere, if there is any connection to baseball to be found, you can be sure we will make a stop. If it's during the regular baseball season this means seeing a game in the local stadium. If one happens to be driving through the corn fields of Iowa, it means stopping at the Bob Feller birthplace and museum. And if one happens to be visiting a major city during the playoffs (who's team isn't talented enough to make the playoffs) then it means visiting the stadium for a stadium tour.

It also means that if one's baby doesn't want to be taking a stadium tour, then one wanders the stadium alone (except for said baby) while her dear hubby tours the innards of the stadium and learns all sorts of semi-worthless trivia.