Break out the China

This afternoon/evening I hosted a table at the M.O.M.S (Mothers of Ministry Sharing) Celebration dinner at church. MOMS is a class that I took last spring not long after X was born. I then co-facilitated the session last fall. So, for the spring session this year I decided to stay involved by being a prayer sponsor and hosting a table at the dinner that is the culmination event at the end of the session (remember my "night out" last fall). It was pretty easy. I had to bring a tablecloth, my good china, and decorations to set a table for six. My assigned theme was "comfort" so I decided to add a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup to each place setting as a little take home gift. It turned out cute, but unfortunately I forgot my camera so I don't have any pics of my exquisite table scape!

It was fun to get out my china since I can probably count on one had the number of times I've used it in the past 6 years. It is simple but really beautiful and I hope that in 30 years I still love it as much as I do today. (The above is a picture of my pattern that I found on the web) But, the timing wasn't the greatest for my china seeing that we are going to be moving out of here in about 10 days (I didn't know this when I volunteered for this event several months ago!) I had to postpone packing all this stuff until after this event. Oh well, it gives me the answer to my "what should I pack today" question that I seem to be asking myself each morning.

Speaking of packing, in a strange twist of events it decided to snow here last night. Well, that's kind of a bummer when you've already packed all your sweaters and winter coats. So, guess who was digging through boxes in the garage this morning to find something to wear???? The snow melted in record time and by this evening there wasn't even any left. It was kinda sweet to get one last snowfall at this house so I'm not complaining.

Walter took X to his mom's for dinner tonight while I was out. From what I hear they had a great visit and X ate like a horse. That's my boy!

A Flurry of Activity

I've been using "pre-made" posts for the last week or so that I had saved up. Well, I'm all out now, so it's time to get current.

The only word that describes our life right now is BUSY. Since we accepted a contract on our house (almost 2 weeks ago) we have been going non stop with all that has to be done to prepare to move out, as well as prepare to move in to the new house. The closings don't line up so we'll be staying with my parents for a few weeks in between.

I've never moved like this before so I have no idea how to pack an entire house. When we moved here when we got married, I came from living with my parents and had nothing but my clothes and my bedroom set. I'm quickly seeing how much we've accumulated in 6 years...and it's frightening! Do I really need all this stuff? I don't think so -- and that is why I'm creating a HUGE garage sale pile!

Xavier is my packing buddy during the day. He's been pretty good about it up until yesterday when he revolted by busting a few of my eye shadows and putting all my curling irons in the bathtub (empty!) When he decides that I'm not paying attention to him enough he follows me around holding a book up and whines at me until I stop, put him in my lap, and read to him. Today he only took a 1 hour nap (normal is 2-3 hours) which produced quite an unhappy little boy come mid afternoon. I ended up abandoning the packing all together and we headed to the park instead hoping that would cheer him up. This evening I noticed what I think is the culprit of this sudden mood and sleeping change -- his first molar broke through on top. I also noticed a very swollen area on his bottom gum where it looks like another one is coming in - yeah fun!

And, wouldn't ya know it that just as all this real estate flurry is going on, my name finally comes up for not one, but three books that I've been on waiting lists for at the library. So, now I have the extra pressure of trying to get these books read in the next 2 weeks. I can't renew them since they are on reserve, so if I don't read them now I'll have to go back on the list and who knows when it will be before I get them again. I've already given up on one of the books, but I'm determined to get the other 2 read. Who needs sleep anyway, right?

Speaking of sleep -- I'm starting to freak out that Xavier is going to regress on his whole "I finally go to sleep on my own at night" thing once we move. We are taking his crib (and his white noise CD) with us to my parents house, and obviously it will be with us at the new house, so I'm hoping that familiarity will help him. This is going to be a LOT of change for him in the next few months and I just need to keep reminding myself that I must have patience with him and try to surround him with as many familiar things as I can.

OK, enough words -- on to a few pics...and then off to read!

Xavier helping Daddy make calls for homeowners insurance quotes

Climbing on his new toy -- moving boxes!

He was so tired from packing, that X feel asleep in the middle of lunch!

An Apple a Day....

It's fun to sit on Grandma's counter and play with the fruit basket. (Sorry mom, I'm pretty sure he licked some of them!)

And it's an added bonus when you see that Grandpa is on the other side of the window BBQ'in you a steak!!

Same PJ's - Different Day

Previously I'd posted about how I let X hang in his pj's frequently. This was another one of those days. I'm wondering if being in your pj's all day induces sleep though. This is how I found X in the living room just shortly before lunch.

Later that afternoon after a real nap, we headed outside to play with friends. X, in all his pj cuteness, managed to snag a ride with an older woman!

Then it was back inside for a little relaxing on the couch before it was time for a bath and a new set of jammies!

Old Videos - May 2008

I'm having trouble viewing videos on my computer, but they seem just fine when I upload them to blogger. I thought I'd put these old ones up so I know I have them somewhere that I can view them correctly. This way I can finally delete them off my memory card -- they are draining the space on my camera!!


These were taken at the end of May 2008 -- Xavier was about 6 months old.

Big EXCITING Changes

There are 2 big changes going on at our home right now.....

We accepted a contract on our house this weekend and put a contract on a home we hope to purchase. We still have appraisals, inspections, and a bunch of paperwork to get through, but if all goes well we will be moving in April! (It's only been about 48 hours, but I'm already enjoying the fact that I don't need to keep my house in perfect order for showings now. We let some dishes pile up in the sink last night and just stood back and smiled!)

Equally( if not more) exciting is that Xavier is FINALLY going to sleep on his own now at night. It only took 14 MONTHS for this to happen! We've had almost a full week of this new routine and it's going really well. X had been a "rock me to sleep or I'll scream my head off forever" kind of kid up until this point. We started noticing recently that he was extremely restless while being rocked. We thought this might be his way of saying he's ready to be in the crib where he can move around and get comfy. So, we cautiously tried it one night by giving him his bottle, rocking him for a minute or two, then putting him in the crib. Success! He cried for about 15 seconds, then rolled around silently for a good 25 minutes, and finally went to to sleep. As the week progressed the time it took for him to actually get to sleep has decreased. He might cry for a minute once he's been in there a bit and I go back in and lay him down and sing a quick song. Some nights he hasn't made a sound and just went to sleep. It sure beats rocking a 25lb squirmy kiddo for 30 minutes until he finally wears out!

Say a prayer for us that X keeps his new bedtime routine and that we have smooth sailing with all this house stuff!

(Sorry, no pictures today -- I'm working from the laptop)

Waking Up Happy

Gone are the days of knowing Xavier was awake because you hear him crying. Nah, that stuff's for babies! Now days you hear him babbling, walking around in the crib, and playing with his beloved "Skipit".

Why hello there Mommy!

Did you come to get me??

Giving love to Skipit.

.....and then dangling him off the side.

Here's poor Skipit being pushed overboard. I kinda egg'd him on!

Wordless Wednesday

One is Fun!

This weekend we went to a birthday party for our good friend Win, who was turning one. It was a great day. The weather was nice and the park area was perfect for little ones to run around while safely contained within a fence! Win's mom and dad, Brian and Andrea, made some amazing food for the brunch. I LOVE their cooking and practically had to wipe the drool from my chin as we arrived to find a huge spread of egg casserole, ham, cinnamon rolls, muffins, apple crisp, etc. Needless to say I stuffed myself silly. Xavier definitely takes after me in that he ate a ton of food as well. Andrea had set up these cute little muffin cups of finger foods for the little ones. Well, my child decided he'd just belly up to the tray and have at it. Needless to say we're still working on his party etiquette! All in all it was a wonderful event and we're so thankful to have been invited. Happy Birthday Win!!!

The birthday Boy!!!

X found a ball he liked to tote around.


Our little family

Snackin away!

You know it's a good party when you fall asleep on the

way home with a balloon in your hand!

Little Red Riding Hood

I am just in love with this little face!

How could we be so lucky that he is ours?

Thanks God -- you did good!

Just a little off the top

The hair on my boy has been getting a little out of control lately....

I decided to give him a cut. This was X's 4th visit to "Salon Mommy". He did pretty well but got freaked out when I tried to trim up his neck. So, once again it's a little uneven, but oh well. And in true X fashion, he wouldn't look at the camera for his "after" pictures. He was reading his bible book and made it clear he could not be bothered!

Hiding from the "mom-a-razzi" (get it?! ...I know, poor attempt at humor)

It's Fun to Fall in Your Crib

This is one of Xavier's new favorite things to do. Unfortunately I didn't realize I was holding the camera in the wrong orientation and can't figure out how to rotate the video (leave me a comment if you know!) But, you can still get the idea of how much he enjoys this!

Hangin in my PJs

Who wouldn't want to go around all day in their pjs? I have been letting Xavier do this a lot lately because his jammies just look so comfy....and it cuts down on laundry! Check out my little man....

Happy as a clam!

Do these make my butt look big?

Head banging...rockin out in my jammies!

So Big!

Hi Mommy -- want a close up of me?

Ok, no more pictures, I need to play!