Baby Picture Sunday - Snuggle Bugs

Because it's very, very late and I am very, very tired here is a drive by entry for this week's Baby Picture Sunday sponsored by Who Says 8 is Enough? You can visit there to join in yourself or just to get some links to some other cute baby pictures.

This week's theme is Snuggle Bugs and whatever that phrase makes you think of. Since I wanted to try to get pictures of Katie and Timmy at about the same age, I've come up with these:

Katie 1 1/2 months

Timmy 1 month

They actually look very similar as babies to me - but not necessarily in these pictures. They do both sure know how to snuggle, though!

Edited to add - I'm also getting a little ticked off at this point cause I really thought Timmy was generally way more smiley than Katie was as a baby (my memories of her are of her being a way more serious baby) - but when going back to get a picture of her for this post I noticed I was getting her smiling on camera for WEEKS by this point. Who says boys are easier? P.S. (As Vodka Mom would add at the end.)

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Twinkles of a Smile

Apparently I was looking at the wrong pics when trying to post the smiley ones I mentioned here. I warn you, I still didn't get the full on smiles I was expecting to see...but my slow camera did get some "twinklings"of a smile....

Better luck next time, I hope!

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Friday Foto Fiesta - SMILES

I did it, I did it. I finally did it. I FINALLY caught some smiles on
camera!!!! Timmy started smiling at 2 days old - those cute quick little gas
smiles and started smiling for real at 4 weeks old - but I have had a hard
time proving it. His happiest time is around 7-8am and well usually I'm in bed
playing with him and don't have my camera nearby.

OK, well scratch all that!!! The pictures I thought were great and just uploaded don't even look like smiles once on the big screen. WAHH! Well, here's some other cute ones to get you through the day though.

And well, for the sake of complete randomness, I decided to throw in this last one. Katie has turned out to be an extraordinary photographer. She actually takes some pretty good pictures of us - but this one cracked me up when I just saw it during my upload. Capturing her favorite show "Max and Ruby" for prosperity...

For more great pics head over to Candid Carrie today to see who is playing along for her Friday Foto Fiesta!

And someday soon, I'll get our pics from Christmas week all together to share. There's just so many that picking the best of the best may take me some time. We did have a great holiday, though, and I hope you did too!

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Makes My Monday!

What Makes my Monday is thinking about some fun parts of our weekend. Saturday night I had some special alone time with Katie. We haven't been to church in quite awhile and before we went back for Christmas I wanted to go just the two of us. I wanted her to be reintroduced in a one-on-one setting instead of the circus that will be the entire family including Timmy and my in-laws. She tends to act up way more easily when going places with extra family members. It was very special to me because I love going to church and am excited at the idea of her going with me on a regular basis. She did fairly well other than some quiet gymnastics on the pew in front of us during communion prayer, silent tears when she didn't get to receive communion herself, oh and the time I was praying for strength and direction in parenting and turned to see her sitting on the seat with both feet/legs straight up in the air. But for a 3 1/2 year old, I was overall pleased with her behavior. As a reward, afterwards we went to a local lawn and garden center and got to visit with Santa, his elf and his reindeer. She loved getting to see Santa again..a very friendly Santa, who spoke with her for quite awhile. She even remembered to ask for a Dora watch, a car, and a baby doll.

My other favorite part of the weekend was how imaginatively Katie was playing yesterday. It makes my day for her to play with her toys and dolls happily instead of watching tv or playing on the computer. First, I caught her doing some holiday dancing with her dolls. I particularly love that she had them set up in chairs like a little audience and then that she took turns dancing with them just like her daddy was dancing with her and I was dancing with Timmy in the kitchen the other night (pretend you don't notice the butt picking).

And then after I was out doing some Christmas shopping I came home to this sight. She had set up a holiday tea party. Of course she needed Timmy's carseat and bouncy chair for extra seating as well. (I swear Katie and the cat use the car seat, stroller, and bouncy seat more than Timmy does.) Every baby/animal had their own cup and bowl full of play food - all brought up from the basement.

So, alone time with my girl, getting to church this weekend, and witnessing Katie's imaginitive play just Make My Monday. If you want to see what making other people's Monday's, head over to Twinfatuation.

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Baby Picture Sunday - Christmas Morning

I am SO excited for Christmas morning this year!! Who Says 8 is Enough? chose Christmas mornings as the theme for this week's Baby Picture Sunday and I'm more than happy to jump in with my pics.

2005

My serious little 6 month-old. It took us a few days to open her gifts since each one was a wonder to her.

2006
Katie was definatley excited about her toys - but still a serious little girl for the most part. We opened presents throughout the day so that she could enjoy her new toys.
2007
Katie was really thrilled about Christmas morning last year. She was more than eager to open up all her presents that morning...but she did still want to open the package of every toy and play with it a bit before moving on to the next one. I wonder what this year will bring...is she of the age to rip through opening everything up right away or will she want to open up everything to play a bit before moving on to the next one? I know she was excited last year...but she is so much more aware of Christmas and Santa and baby Jesus this year that it just makes being a mom so much fun!

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Friday Foto Finish Fiesta - Tree Decorating, Hanna outfits, a visit, and a partridge in a pear tree...

Last Friday night, we FINALLY got our tree decorated. Our tree is prelit with white lights (we add the colored ones) and this year the lights were out in the top section. We had the tree out since Thanksgiving weekend, but Chris was fiddling with it since then to try to get it to work. He finally wound up removing all the lights from the top section and restringing with white lights to match the rest of the tree. By the way, let me point out the awesome Hanna Andersson dress Katie is wearing. They're clothes are so awesome, since they just grow with the kid. It's a size 90 and STILL fits (who cares if the arms are a little short). It's the equivalent of like a size 3 and was bought 2 years ago. Katie has generally grown a size a season and I am currently buying her 110 (a size 5 equivalent). She has never been able to wear the same clothes 2 years in a row from any other clothing store - but she can with most of her Hanna's! Katie was SO excited to help put up ornaments - the first year she got to help! Her new absolute favorite show is Max & Ruby and there is a recent episode where they are putting ornaments on their tree so she was so excited when I asked her if she wanted to help decorate the tree that she jumped up off the couch immediately. She was so cute - I put ornaments for her to use on the arm of the couch and every single one she would ask so sweetly - "Mama, mama, I do this one?" and when reminded over and over again - "Yes, you can do all the ones I put here," I was told "Oh, THANKYOU, thankyou SO much mommy!!!" (Repeat this scenario for every ornament and make sure you pronounce the mama with a stress on the second syllable - whenever Katie is really pleased with me she turns French and I become maMa)

Ok, I am a bad mom though. I've read a bunch of other blogs about the kids decorating and the wonderful moms leaving up the ornament clusters because that's how the kids did it, yada, yada - it's so cute ;), and I did leave up lots of Katie clusters - but I draw the line at every ornament on the same branch. So, I snapped my picture to remember how cute and funny she was and then redistributed appropriately.

And finally, I just wanted to show off the finished tree AND Katie's newest and my current favorite Hanna Andersson outfit. She was all dressed up for this past Sunday when we had a visit from our Aunt Dannette and Aunt Kathy. We had so much fun visiting with them!!! (and Yes, Timmy is wearing clothes from H. A. as well - although the girl clothes are my favorite).

I hope you weren't really expecting a partridge in a pear tree - that was just for effect :)!!

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Musical Memories - Join In!!

As I was driving this morning, Sophie B. Hawkins' "As I Lay Me Down to Sleep" came on the radio. Automatically, I could picture the "Party of Five" episode where Julia went to a Sophie B. Hawkins concert and Sophie was singing this song. I remember because after this episode I loved it so much I had to run out and buy the CD - still a favorite, but now very scratched up.

I think there a lot of songs out there that can be associated with a tv show...well at least for me. Particularly because I have always been a fan of the teenage drama shows (yes, and still am - I can't grow up - Gossip Girl is my current favorite!). A lot of these shows feature bands in one way or another to suck their target audience in (and I'm a prime example of it working). Party of Five had it's characters going to see concerts. One Tree Hill has a nightclub (although, I'm not into the current teenage music so I'm lost on any favorites there).

And that leads me to Beverly Hills, 90210, the ORIGINAL (although, I'm a watcher of the new one too - I know - embarrassing). Of course, there was the Peach Pit After Dark that featured many an artist - but my next most associated song is none other than REM's "Losing My Religion". The "Brenda and Dylan breakup song". I mean seriously, for my generation it's the "Where were you when JR was shot?" moment. I drive Chris nuts with certain songs because as soon as they come on the radio I'll chime in oh..the "this or that" song. He just groans and tells me, "Yes, you say that EVERY time it comes on."

So, do YOU have any major musical memory songs that you drive someone nuts with recounting your memory EVERY time the song comes on? Those were my "tv" memory songs. Now, onto real life...

Of course, Counting Crows "Omaha", "Round Here", or "Mrs. Jones" always bring me back to the summer of '92. My first kiss in Ocean City, NJ. (I actually DO have a picture of the "morning after", but my couch is currently blocking my picture albums to make room for the Christmas tree. That CD was one of my first, and I played it over and over that week while we were on vacation in Ocean City.

Next for me is "Lovefools" by the Cardigans - the ULTIMATE get ready to party song for me. It brings me back to the Spring of '97. I was a freshman at college, pledging D Phi E. (The pic above is my pledge class (Cheryl, Jessica, Ann Marie, me, and Jill) - ahh the version of me that Chris fell in love with (we started dating the fall of '96). Almost every time we would be going to an off campus party or mixer that song would be playing on the radio. Those of us not driving would already be drunk and we would blast it on the radio and all sing along. I hear that song and am just instantly in a good mood.

I LOL just thinking about the next one - I could have a giveaway to have my followers guess what song reminds me of the above picture - but I doubt anyone would get it....who would have guessed Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"? See, this is the song we chose to have the wedding party walk into at our wedding. HOWEVER, the DJ misunderstood and started it as our grandparents and parents walked in. So, everyone heard "ALL ABOARD", and in rolls Chris's 80 something year old grandma. I never even would have known except some of Chris's friends laughingly told us what a funny sight it was, and I just laugh thinking about it.

There are many other musical memories for me, but probably the #1 for me is Firehouse's "When I Look into Your Eyes." Chris and I never had "a song," even after 7 years of dating. So, when it came time to choose a song for us to have our wedding dance to, we were stumped. At the time we were trying to decide, we had frequent weekend road trips up and down the NJ Parkway or NJ Turnpike to travel between North Jersey and our family in South Jersey. Our best musical compromise was the As Seen on TV, "Monster Ballads". (Go ahead laugh if you want, but it's an awesome CD). It has the bands Chris loves, and all the rock ballads that I love. So, one day when were driving I started listening closely to all the lyrics of the songs on the CD and "When I Look into Your Eyes" jumped out at me as the perfect song for us to dance to. I do have picture of our dance, but I look way gross, so I put in a wedding pic I like a little more.

I would love to read about your top 5 memory making songs!!!! Leave me a comment or better yet, blog about it. But, don't forget to leave me a comment and tell me your playing along. I'll add a link to your blog below if you want to join in!!!

Playing along:

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