365

I'm excited to be a part of a 365 project. I wasn't going to participate because I really stink at following through with big goals... Really. And, I know I need to make small goals, achieve them, blah blah... I know all this. (Blah blah, whatever) is what my son says right now when he 'thinks' he's smarting off and being sassy. It really just makes us start laughing. We start imitating him and then we all start laughing.

Anywho, I digress... I started the project but didn't think too much about how or what I wanted to do. I was hoping that especially in the beginning my pictures would be taken during the daytime whether inside or outside. Gotta love that natural light! Then maybe towards the middle of the project, work more with my flash. I need help with that. Also, I want to have some kind of caption to go with the photo each day. I kind of have some ideas for the end of the year... what I'd like to do with the photos. So, I'm excited to have a diary/scrapbook of sorts. I'm enjoying it so far... It's been a lot of fun!

all about Christmas post!

Quite a few nights before Christmas, Santa asked Mom and Dad what Gabe would like for Christmas. We told him 'anything pirate'. So, Santa enlisted Dad's help in making this pirate's treasure chest for Gabe. (This is how we explained how it ended up fitting through the chimney and so Gabe would know his Dad made it for him). Greg and I had so much fun setting it up! As soon as Greg said he wanted to build Gabe a treasure chest, I started thinking about the necklaces, gold coins, and ring pops we could use to make it 'real' on Christmas morning. I think it turned out pretty well. Gabe was so surprised! In order to find the treasure chest, he and Dad had to follow the map, while I waited downstairs with the video camera right next to the treasure.

Greg made the map to start at the tree, go through the hallway, around our kitchen table, and down to the basement. He used coffee and matches to age it.


Ssshhh... It's a secret... His pirate chest has a false bottom where we hid the Lego pirate guys he so badly wanted for Christmas. He still thinks that compartment is pretty sweet. One of the things I love about Gabe's Dad so much is that he thinks of so many creative things that I know he would've dreamed of when he was little. His Dad, PawPaw, was really great about making little Greggie's dreams come true too. If Greggie liked pirates, his Dad totally would've made sure he had a treasure chest on Christmas morning.

And these two presents! The diver helmet and the pirate sword! To understand the diver helmet, first you must understand the thought behind the pirate sword. My Aunt Connie, whom we affectionately refer to as 'Aunt Buck', gave us all the gifts our parents didn't want us to have when we were little: noisy toys that took 8 D batteries, silly string (cans and cans of it), playdoh, and nerf guns. So, it was no surprise when Gabe got this sword from her! She let us sleep in the livingroom, rearrange furniture, and stay up as late as we wanted when my parents were gone. It was nothing to move the Super Nintendo into the livingroom, make a tent, and stay up til 10:00 (we thought we were rebels!). She was and is THE best Aunt. Aunt Lindsey is like that. She loves having Gabe come to stay the night. She and Mom both boast that there are no rules at their homes. I'm so glad he'll have a fun aunt that will let him call the shots while Mom and Dad are gone. :) And, I know if Aunt Jenny lived closer she'd remember Aunt Buck and do the same! Aunt Lindsey knew he liked diver guys, so somehow she found this diver helmet online somewhere! How awesome.

My sweet boy on Christmas before opening his presents. He was so great in receiving his gifts. He never reacted like he was disappointed or anything - even when he got some clothes!

And, here he is with his pirate ship from Abba & PawPaw H! Oh my goodness. The kid LOVES this. He even asks to take it in the tub. He took it to his other Abba & Papa's the other night so he could show it to Papa Doug and so he could take it in their big spa tub. Whenever my parents watch him, he HAS to take a bath there. He loves their big tub!

Here he is playing with the Transformer garage-thingy I got him for Christmas. Greg and I like to do a gift that's just from mom or just from dad. So, I picked these. They were a pretty big hit. Greg got Gabe a slot car set. It wasn't this exact one, but it WAS a big hit as well!

Uncle Grant stopped by with his jolly Santa bag slung over his shoulder as well! His gift for Gabe was a bacon buddy, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bandaids, bacon soap, and a huge bag of real bacon bits. My child loves bacon. This was a great gift! Uncle Grant brought me an owl bracelet and an owl mug and he brought Greg some caffeine mints and a pizza pi cutter! Here's a picture of my bracelet:



When we went up North for Anna's birthday, hosted by Rene's parents, Greg commented on how much he loved the soda .... Jarritos! So, Rene's parents decided to surprise Greg with some and unknowingly, Jenny & Rene had also bought Greg some! So, Greg's got a bag full of Jarritos to go through. I think he's made a pretty good dent by now!

Oh, and sweet Dougie! At Christmas, Dougie was almost 8 months old. He's sitting up really well, rolling over, spinning on his tummy, and definitely scooting if he wants something bad enough (like a cell phone!) He's such a little joy. It was great to see him on his first Christmas. Aunt Bri was really happy to have a lot of cuddle time with her two favorite little ones.

Aaaaaaand, Banana! This girl - She totally cracks me up! She is at juuuuuust the right age where it is near impossible to get a picture of her! Jenny got this dress set from my in laws when Anna was tiny and wanted to get a nice picture of her in it. Do you think we got it? Nope. This is the only picture out of several that was in focus! Ha! We kept teasing her dad about it. She is definitely developing a little personality all her own. She's a little fiesty, very sweet, and completely adorable.

Well, I'd say overall, it was a very wonderful Christmas. It was an absolute delight to experience Christmas morning with a near 5 year old. And, I was so proud of him - how gracious he was, how well-behaved, and how sweet he was with his little cousins. He is a wonderful kid. I'm so happy and blessed to be his mom. Speaking of 5 years old, we've got a pirate birthday coming up. So, this momma better get busy. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas. God is so good in all He has given us.

Coming around...

I have been wanting to do a Christmas post for a few days, but I have been (and still kind of am) under the weather. It started a few days ago. I decided to make lasagna for dinner because starting tomorrow, Greg and I are dieting hard core. *New Year's resolution cliche, I know* But anyway, so I made this awesome dinner. I get ready to serve it and I am so incredibly nauseous. I was so ticked too. I had been looking forward to this dinner because I don't make it very often and to having a good carb meal before going all healthy. I couldn't do it. I nibbled two bites down, and went for the couch. By 7:00, the puke marathon began. Every hour until the next morning. (sorry to be so graphic!)

I hadn't been sick like this since college... or as Ted Mosby would say "Puke free since '93" (or 2000 in my case). It was horrible. The whole next day, my back hurt so bad but I couldn't get out of bed. I had the craziest reoccuring dreams too... they were so vivid. Then yesterday, NYE, I was dizzy all day. Mom and Dad kept Gabe overnight so we could have dinner. We ended up buying expensive steaks and desserts from The Fresh Market, and suddenly, my appetite was back! We also had a How I Met Your Mother marathon. Very low key, but a wonderful night with my husband. Now, today, the nausea has come back. I don't get it. Weirdest flu ever.

Also, I must mention... I have the greatest husband. He has really taken over parenting while I've been under the weather. Thank you to my Marshmallow. xoxo Your Lilypad. :)

Greg, this is for you...

I have really been wanting to do a Christmas post and talk about how wonderful everything was... how it was a great Christmas Eve at the Herrmans, spent with my amazing in laws and my neices and nephews. And, how I got to see little Dougie on his first Christmas and spend some time with Anna Banana. I'm afraid I'm just gonna have to do that post a little later.

Gabe's had a blast playing with all of his new toys and has even chosen some of his old toys to donate. He's really good about letting go of things he doesn't play with anymore.

In other news, I am going to try to do a 365 project this year - a photo a day. The above is my day one photo... I just realized that's a mega-ginormous picture of me... yeah, sorry about that. I hope by this time next year I will have taken 365 pictures and lost quite a few pounds. That's a goal... Here's hoping I can make it happen.

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you! This year has been a wonderful one for me and my family. I know it's technically Christmas Eve, but I don't plan on being on the computer on Christmas day! We're heading to my inlaws for Christmas Eve where we will enjoy fondue. This year, there will be chocolate fondue!! On Christmas day, we'll head up to my parents to hang out in the afternoon and then have dinner with some extended family that evening.

It bears repeating that this has been a wonderful year. I am a very happy mom and wife... especially lately. I have just really felt content and happiness in my relationship with my spouse and my child. I learned so much this year about how to be a better wife and mom. God has blessed me so much with a wonderful family - a loving husband and an amazing son. Gabe has been so lovey lately and an absolute delight.

I started a great job this year and I work with/for wonderful people. Greg also began a new job and has made me very proud. I think of where I was last year at this time... A time of uncertainty. I didn't know what my career would be. Now, I'm enjoying seasonal work, getting a job where I am able to spend more time with my boy and I can take pride in taking care of our home.

God has taught me so much this year. I am so thankful for His gifts to me. My husband, my child, my job, my amazing friends, and my salvation. The gifts under the tree are certainly nice to give and to recieve. But the real gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger was given to us all those years ago. A gift. In the form of a baby, grown in the womb of a virgin, we were given the ultimate gift of salvation. If you haven't opened it yet, it's there waiting for you...

I wish you all the peace, joy, and happiness this season brings. May God bless you!!

baking day

Last Sunday, Grandma Herrman hosted the annual baking day. She has a huge kitchen table covered with tons of cookies she baked. We had a great day. Everyone makes it up there and she and PawPaw invite my parents too. It's a great day for Gabe to spend with both sets of grandparents.

The table was literally covered with sugary goodness. And, we got to take a big ol' tub of stuff home with us.

I always make sure to try and get a picture of the cousins too... they're all growing up so fast.

Christmas Fellowship

This is one of my favorite ornaments from my mother in law. I'm not sure where she got it, but I love it.

We are hosting a dinner tonight for our former Bible study group. I'm really excited that we'll all be sharing some fellowship time, especially around Christmas. It's such a wonderful time of year. I love it! It's been a long time since we all got together for a meal and just caught up with each other.

We have had so many wonderful times with this group. We learned a lot from each other. I know for myself, I learned a lot about parenting my child. Some of the members who had children older than my son were such a help in giving advice. Others who have children the same age have been great for comparing stories and situations, as well as giving advice.

Our group just kind of stopped meeting... People lives/schedules changed, more children were added to our families, and life just kind of took over. We've recently started going back to a church we'd left and I'm really hoping to get involved in another study after the first of the year. I love meeting with other people who are thirsty for learning more about Christ. I love the debates and talking through things. I love reading scripture and praying together.

I'm very thankful for the seasons I was able to share with these people.

Getting some air

We decided this year would be a great one to get Gabe involved in a winter sport. We are so happy he'll be having some exercise practicing. We bought him a smaller basketball like the one in the picture so he and his Dad can practice in the garage. I better practice my dribbling too... it's been a few years since I played at my Dad's garage. Dad used to own a mechanic's garage in the town I was raised. He put a basketball hoop up in the back part and with the large concrete floors, we had a lot of room to practice. We played 'horse' and 'pig'. It was so much fun!

Gabe did great at practice. They did warm ups, laps around half of the gym, and took turns dribbling up to shoot. The coach was great with them! Gabe really loved it.

Before practice, Greg asked Gabe if he had any questions about basketball... His only question was, "what if I have to fart?" Oh geez...

Then, after practice we asked him if he liked it and if he had any other questions. His response was... "Yeah, why didn't MY coach wear a black and white striped shirt?" We'd better explain the difference between referees and coaches! How innocent and sweet!!



And, here he is, getting some air. I know the quality of this picture sucks, but I'm still learning with action shots. And, it was in a gym... no fun to photograph! But, look at his air and his little tongue sticking out. How cute is he?? A little Jordan.

I hope you are all getting ready for Christmas despite this crazy weather! Holy cow. It totally doesn't feel like there are only 11 days until Christmas! It's hard to get in the magical mood when there's no snow on the ground.