Christmas In Pictures

Caysen liked opening presents this year.  He opened his stocking first where he found two pairs of sunglasses and some goldfish crackers (among other things).  He was so excited about those two items that it took him a while before he decided he wanted to see what was in all the boxes. 

Here he is with his loot ;) 

We had a traditional Christmas meal with ham, prime rib, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, carrots, green beans, and chocolate pudding cake (Lance's favorite) for dessert. 

Lance was really excited about his Christmas present ;) 

My Grandma "Honey" got to be with us which made my heart happy. 

After presents and food, we went on a little stroll through the neighborhood. 

 It was pretty chilly so Caysen was bundled up.

While on our walk, I was reminded of the beauty that is literally right outside my front door. 

Sometimes I can't believe I live here!

We had a wonderful Christmas blessed with friends, family, and love.

You're Getting Sleepy

This is what our sweet boy does when he's fighting sleep:

Too Cute!!

Shengdan jie kuaile: Merry Christmas!

Family Portraits

Allison Ragsdale Photgraphy

"Weee"

Sometimes Caysen just babbles, but other times he is saying actual words...we just can't always figure out what those words are.  He recently started saying "Weee" and we couldn't figure out what he was saying.  Now we know and we think it is absolutely adorable!  He loves his Zoey!!

His speech therapist wanted me to make note of all the words he has (meaninfully) said this week so I thought I'd record it here for memory's sake:

Mama

Dada

Gramps (ga)

Snack (nack)

Bottle (Bot Bot)

Cup (puh)

Zoey (Weee or Buh-Wee)

Max (Ka)

Blankie (Kee)

Ball (Ba)

Feet

Open (O, Op)

Eat

Up

More (Mo)

Boat (Bo)

Book (Boo)

Work (Wor)

Keys

Dog (Do)

Butt

Water (Wa)

Head (He)

Hat (Ha)

Bite (Bot)

Bath (Ba)

Baby Steps

Crafting the Laundry Room

When we bought our house, the laundry room looked like this:

Not bad, just a little boring.

So, I spiced it up a bit with new paint and here's what it looks like now:

The wall color is difficult to read in pictures, but it's in the grellow family; more closely related to yellow than green.

The mailboxes for our neighborhood are practically right outside of our front door, so I wanted to find a convenient place to avoid losing keep the mail key.

I found this idea and decided to give it a try.  Here's what I came up with:

I still have more plans for the laundry room, but I'm happy with it for now; I guess a room is never really finished. ;)

Words

Stranger: "How old is he?"

Me: "He's two."

.....Awkward Silence....

Stranger: "He's so small."

Me: "Yeah, he was born really early so he's still catching up."

Stranger: "Is he going to be ok?" or "Is there anything else wrong with him?" or "Is he going to catch up eventually?"

This is a conversation I have every time we go out in public which is pretty much daily.  Actually, I'm keeping it mild.  Some of the things people have said/asked would blow you away!  I totally get that our sweet boy is itty-bitty (just like his Tummy Mom and his Mama) and when people ask how old he is, they aren't expecting me to say he's two.  But, the questions that people ask are still difficult to swallow. 

At first, I didn't really care when people asked these questions, but lately I'm not loving it.  Caysen is understanding more and more and it breaks my heart to think that he will grow up hearing people say things that make him feel anything less than perfect just the way he is.  I don't want him to think of himself as Caysen, the boy who is "too small" and "not normal".  I want him to think of himself as Caysen, the boy who is "kind" and "loving" and "confident" and "just the way God made me" and so many other things.

Most people mean well and have just never experienced what Caysen has, so I can't expect them to see it through our eyes.  However, knowing this doesn't make it any easier to accept that our precious boy might be convinced by strangers that he is anything less than the most wonderful blessing and miracle we could ever imagine.

Our sweet boy was born early...really early.  According to science, he shouldn't have made it; but I'm just sure that God's got big plans for him.  He gave him the tough, determined personality he would need to overcome the obstacles in the first days, weeks, and months of his life.  I just hope that hearing these comments from strangers doesn't knock him down and take that strength away.

Sometimes I'm tempted to shut the rest of the world out and just let him be with Mama and Daddy, two people who swoon over his every move and think that everything he does is "the cutest thing ever", but I know that he can handle it and he's going to be ok.  Besides, he'd miss out on an aweful lot of good if it was just Mama, Daddy, and Caysen 24/7. 

This is my feeble attempt at reminding people to think before you speak and remember, even little ears can hear you.

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soap-box now and I'll try to return to positive, upbeat, happy blogger soon. ;)

Get Your Craft On

Now that we're all settled in our new house (sort of), I've had a few chances to put my craft room to good use.  The first project I tackled was a fall wreath.  My inspiration came from here.  I guess I'm a little more boring and neutral so I took the original idea and changed it a bit to suit my taste.  Here's what I did: 

My supplies included a foam wreath, 1 yard of burlap, ribbon and other embellishments, scissors, and hot-glue.

I cut the burlap into about 1 inch strips.  I found that I could get two strips out of each short length of the yard.

I tied my burlap strips around the wreath alternating the directions of my knots.  Then I added my embellishments and it was ready to be hung.

Here's the finished product hanging on the front door.

Even Mr. Kirk thought the wreath was super cool...or is that super cheesy?  The focus in this picture is horrible, but how could I not post it.  You're welcome dear husband.  ;) 



Learning How to Whistle

Living Room Progress

On move-in day, our living room looked like this: 

It had to get worse before it could get better.  The first order of business was picking a new paint color:

Then our new sofa (and other furniture) was delivered:

Here's what the living room looks like now:

Here are the three projects we're still working on:

1. Have mantle built and installed.

2. Hang pictures and mirror.

3. DIY new-to-us chairs for either side of the end table.

I'm sure as soon as we mark off these three tasks, six more will magically appear ;)

Let's Go on a Date

Lance and I celebrated our 6th anniversary this month.  I found this gift idea on Pinterest and decided to take it and make it my own.  Here's what I came up with:

So we have 12 dates planned, one for each month of the next year.  Husband Man has to wait until the first of each month to open that month's date; it's the gift that keeps on giving!  I am super excited about all the fun dates I have planned!! 

Birthday Boy

On Caysen's actual birthday, we gave him his favorite treat, ICECREAM!! 

We decided to have his party a week later since we just moved into our house a month ago.  We're still not completely moved in, but I needed every day possible to get things put in place before the party!

Here are some pics from his "Very Hungry Caterpillar" themed party:

Thanks to my wonderful SIL for helping me make Caysen's party extra cute!!  And thanks to all the guests who came, Caysen had a blast and completely wore himself out! ;)