Winter Illness

So, be careful what you wish for.  We had a little warm snap (as opposed to a cold one) a couple of weeks ago.  It got up to around 80 degrees for a whole week.  Everyone loved it...but me.  I wanted the cold back. So, I prayed that the Lord would send the cold back our way.  Boy did He!  Not only did the temperature drop, I actually GOT a cold.  Amongst other things involving the pregnancy, it's been a rough 3 weeks.  Now, Kameen is sick with a cold.  So, the last few days we've been home sick.  How have we been keeping busy, you ask?  He has watched a lot of TV, which makes me feel like the world's laziest mom.  Other than the aforementioned TV marathon, we have been painting, coloring, reading, and building things.  It's been really rainy or we would have played outside a bit, even with the illness, because I believe that fresh air is healing.  Hopefully, it will at least be less rainy for a couple of days this week so we can breath some fresh air...and cough because of it. But, to everything there is a season, and purpose.  Therefore, I will not complain.  Oh yes, we did manage to take him for his first bowling experience before his illness really hit.  He did great for about 6 turns (out of 10), but then he was pretty much done.

 

This didn't last long

 

Perfect day for the slow cooker

 

He really loves his watercolor books

 

Markers!

 

Bowling fun!

 

He actually out-bowled Mom and Dad on his first try!

Good Housekeeping

Life around here is moving fast and furious. We have 10 weeks to go until we welcome our baby girl into the world!  We have several loose ends to finish up in the house before all of our projects that we started when we moved in are complete.  Currently we are finishing the half bath (which has been sinkless since June).  We are also potentially going to have our kitchen floors "fixed," to correct what hubby did in error (hey, he admits it too!).  We have a few touch-ups to do in our master bath, including finishing up a cabinet we bought to store our towels in and getting a bench put into the walk-in shower.

And then there's the kids' rooms.  We have never really gotten Kameen's room put together since we moved in almost a year ago.  We pretty much just landed in the house and kept on living.  In order to make the baby's room a baby's room, we need to make Kameen's room into a big boy room, i.e. with a big bed and new dresser (which we already have), so the baby can have the changing table.  And, the baby's room, well, it's totally put together in my head, but is completely empty and scattered in reality.  All of this overwhelms me, but I just try to take it one day at a time, have FUN with it, get done what I can, and praise God I have a home to decorate!  If anyone wants to come help or donate, please come on down and I'll pay you with yummy homecooked food!

Hanging the light in the half bath

Always our helper!

We have quite a few of these around here.

With our lil' handyman, this kind of thing gets dangerous.

Kameen's room. So sad, so boring.

New chest of drawers, and soon-to-be new baby's changing table

Our lil' princess's room.  She'll be sleeping naked on the floor I guess...

Christmas and New Year's Wrap-Up

After arriving in East Texas, we went to visit with lots of family.  Kameen was not very friendly with the extended family.  I think it was a combination of lack of sleep and being ready to go home (which he told us he wanted to do everyday of the trip).  We spent 3 days in East Texas and headed home on New Year's Day.  There is little to tell about our New Year's Eve "Bash."  It was really more like a New Year's Eve "Crash," as we were asleep pretty much right at midnight.  Oh well, there is always next year. I fell off in my picture taking due to a combination of   a.) exhaustion from a week of travel   b.) having to scavenge for food just to get enough calories (which, according to my latest pee test, I did a very poor job of)   c.) having a clingy 2-year-old.

Having not one, but TWO, bowls of ice cream with his cousins

Trying to escape the arms of his very sweet and loving Great Granny.

OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN AN AIIIIRRRRPLANE!

What a fun time we've had this Christmas!  It started the weekend before Christmas when we went to the Live Bethlehem in Burnet, Texas.  It was crowded but an AMAZING opportunity to see what it was like on the first Christmas, the night of Jesus's birth.  Then, we spent Christmas Eve in Austin with my parents, ate good food and opened lots of fun little gifts.  Then, off we flew to Virginia on Christmas Day to spend time with the hubby's family.  Tomorrow we will leave to go back to Texas and on to East Texas to visit with more of hubby's family.  Kameen is a trooper, and has been so good the whole time (well, within reason for a 2 year old!). 

Kameen got to pet a real camel at the Live Bethlehem

Gifts at Meemaw and Papaw's house

A wonderful feast when we arrived in Virginia

Taking a break after a LONG day of travel

Yay presents!

Fun in the SNOW!!!

Celebrating

The holiday season is in full swing, and I am very excited about Christmas this year.  Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year - music, decorating, food, cold weather, and the birthday celebration of our King! What's not to love?  I definitely had a lull in my Christmas enthusiasm between the time I left my parents' house (and got married) and when I became a parent.  That's a 5 year lull!  But, now that I'm a mommy and get to start my own family traditions for Christmas, I'm more excited than ever.  Last year, I was unable to decorate my house because we were in the middle of trying to sell it, and our realtor asked that we keep it simple. The year before, Kameen was just a month old and....well, enough said.  So, this is the first year after becoming a parent that I feel like we can really get into the spirit of Christmas and make the most of it.  We've decked our halls, we will be reading our Christmas story books, we've bought a few gifts, our travel arrangements are made to spend time with family, and our ears are full of the music of the season.  We are CELEBRATING!

This is Kameen last year at Christmas

Here he is this year!

Decorating fun!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Boy, oh boy, you are TWO!  I can't believe how you've grown and changed over the past 2 years.  You are talking more and more each day, and it is so cool to hear all that you have to say.  This year we gave you a workbench and tools, a bike, a puzzle, a movie, and some new shoes.  Meemaw and Papaw gave you a train set and a new book. You love it all! You are such a busy bee, as always. You are still very opinionated and demanding, but I think we've finally gotten used to it. You know all your colors and shapes, and you're starting to count as well. We are expecting a baby sister soon, and you talk often about the baby in Mama's belly. We think you'll like her when she arrives. We love you so much, and can't wait to see what the coming year holds. Here are some pictures of how much you've grown!

Just a few minutes old

One year old!

On your second birthday

Because we're expanding....expecting.

So, I know I'm the only one who reads and writes to this blog, but I wanted to give it a fresh look because as you may have guessed or know, we are expecting again.  March 24 we expect to welcome a daughter into our world.  I like blogging, and want to continue to do it.  So....here....we....go!