O Christmas Tree...

This year, Corban has a Christmas tree for the very first time.  Josh and I thought he'd finally appreciate the novelty of it, and that he did.  We had a good time watching him explore the ornaments.  He particularly liked taking a glittered fern in each hand and violently shaking them, to watch all the glitter fall off onto the carpet.  There's still glitter everywhere -

 

I think it was our second Christmas together that I gathered our decorations.  I think its just gorgeous (and, big surprise, its bird themed)

 So, when I put first put this tree together, being pre-child, I thought, I'm never going to put on a bunch of cheesy handmade ornaments.  But then, last Sunday, Corban left nursery swinging a gift bag, never looking more proud.  Inside I found the most precious popsicle stick snowflake, and I couldn't wait to add it to my carefully designed tree.  It stands out, but its probably my favorite piece on there.

Just Checking In...

Hello again.  I actually made it back!  My mom has been complaining that I haven't updated my blog in a while, which I knew, but when I got on tonight its actually been four months since I posted.  Yikes.  Pregnancy sure has its way of taking over your life.

I've actually been feeling really well for the last two months.  Morning sickness (or should we just start calling it "all-day sickness") departed and sleep returned.  And then the very next week Corban got the stomach flu.  He got better and then Josh caught a cold.  And then I spent two full weeks trying to clean up the mess of my life - quite literally.  My house was full of dirty dishes and dirty laundry.  Life had been reset.  For about 30 seconds. 

Bring in Thanksgiving, a stomach flu of my own, and the beginning of Christmas mayhem, and Life fell apart again.  BUT! Things have settled down once again.  Back to blogging!

So, the big news (a few weeks old now) is that baby-to-be is a boy.  And I am so excited.  Despite how fun it would be to have a girl, I was hoping for another boy.  I love the idea of "brothers" and hopefully Corban and our next little boy will be the best of buds.  And boys are awesome.  Corban is a bundle of energy and so much fun.  He's hilarious, and very sweet, and he's like my own little best friend I get to hang out with every day.  Sometimes, its hard to imagine how my heart can possibly expand to love another child as much, but I'm sure as soon as I meet him I'll understand.  For now, I'm enjoying the last few months of being mommy to just one and loving every minute with my little sweetheart.

Happy news...

Well, many of you already know, but Josh and I are happy to announce that we'll soon have a new addition to our family.  Baby #2 is on it's way!

I'm only about 8 weeks along, and it feels so early to be telling everyone.  For us, at least, there's a little joy in sharing such special knowledge just between the two of us.  Weird? I know.  But - I've been feeling pretty crappy, and I was tired of pretending to be feeling fine to hide a pregnancy.

During the last couple weeks I've been wondering why I wanted to be pregnant again.  With Corban, I was tired - really tired - but that's not so bad.  This time, I'm tired - really tired - but also nauseous and dealing with insomnia about every third night.  I can't say I've been too pleasant to be around.  Well, at least for Josh and Corban.  Poor Corban.  These days are not the best examples of my parenting skills.  But, I'm sure we'll survive each other.  And I'm so happy he'll have the chance to be a big brother.  He's a sweet boy and I know he'll be wonderful.

Father's Day Presents

For Father's Day this year, I had a last minute stroke of genius (meaning Saturday morning).  Right next to the Ventura Lassen's store is a California native plant nursery.  Josh and I were there a while back getting some vegetables and I saw they had a great selection of succulents.  So, I decided I would put together some manly plant arrangements...

For Josh

For Grandpa Deever and Grandpa Lassen

Succulents are amazing plants.  There is such a huge variety with lots of shapes, heights, and colors, which lend to some really cool and really easy arrangements.  And, they're drought resistant!  Perfect for men.

One step closer to domestication...

Take a look at my birthday present -

 

I'm in love with this machine, even if I've only sewn one thing so far (it always takes me a while to get going with new things).  When I was a teenager, I never thought that I'd ever really sew.  It seemed complicated, and kind of like something only old ladies did.  But - seeing some of the awesome things Gayle makes (ask to see her aprons!) and lots of amazing projects out in blogland, I've gotten the itch to start sewing.  And so has my sister-in-law, Megan.  So we're taking a sewing class together at Joanne's and it starts tomorrow. Exciting!

So, thanks so much Mom & Dad, Peter & Gayle, Grandpa Deever, and Grandma & Grandpa Hanson.  One of the best birthday presents ever.

Nojoqui Falls

I've been a bit behind on photo organization, so I just looked at these photos we took back in March.  We took a trip to Solvang for breakfast and decided to check out the local waterfall.  We went right after a big rainstorm, so the falls were quite impressive...

I was about to say "it was a nice hike to the falls," but seeing that it was less than a 1/4 mile from the parking lot, I'll say, "it was a nice walk to the falls." But it was really beautiful.  It was still overcast from the recent storms and brisk and everything smelled cleaned.  Since it was so short we had Corban walk and let him stop often to explore.

We threw rocks...

And played with sticks...

And climbed rocks...

There was a ton of mud, but we somehow managed to keep Corban out of most of it.  A small miracle. It was really the perfect time to visit, and it made me feel better that we didn't drive an hour and a half just to have breakfast.  But who wouldn't drive an hour and a half for hard rolls?

Mother's Day Gifts

I know this is a bit belated, but I got my craft on for Mother's Day and wanted to share my handiwork -

I made this bracelet for Josh's mom...

And this for my mom...

That's me in the middle!  I didn't have baby photos for Gayle's kids, so she got stock photos.

I felt so proud of myself because I actually planned and made these gifts a whole week in advance (as opposed to the usual night before routine).  Thank goodness for Martha Stewart's website.  I don't care what anyone says about her, I adore everything she does.