....the amount of pictures I have taken lately that are still yet to be posted is quite daunting.....I believe I was looking at a number in the 200s last night when I uploaded some pictures from the memory stick......Before gasping at the overwhelming realization that I have been a bad, bad blogger; I had poured a glass of wine, opened my computer to energetically fill my blank slate, enjoyed the silence of a quiet house with Christmas carols softly chanting from the television and was immediately stressed out upon realizing what a backlog I have going on here......the sound of car breaks or a record being scratched immediately interrupted my relaxed and jovial state of mind as I slouched back with an overwhelming sigh.....
......I'm not even going to begin with the I am so busy line because everyone I know is busy this time of year.....if you aren't busy, then you must ignore Thanksgiving through Christmastime and the parties that coincide with such festivities.....or you've escaped to a tropical island and ditched all communication with the real world.....
.....but yes, things have been busy; however more relevant to my lack of blogging lately is that I also have a baby that, dare I say it out loud....sorry, Brody!.....but truly, he just doesn't sleep.....period.....and due to the shortage of zzzzs this Momma is getting, my old routine of slipping in a few blog posts per week has been traded in for some shut eye......because it's hard for this Momma to savor every minute with one eye shut.....
.....but when he does sleep, I could watch him all night long....
.....so with my time being a hot commodity right now, sleep calling my name and a fire burning desire to keep this blog current and lively, I have decided to present the cliff note version of our blessed, beautiful big city life.....
....here's what's been happenin'....
....despite weekends that have been full of birthday parties, Christmas preparation, trips to the storage unit for needed goods and holiday festivities, we have squeezed in family time whenever we see opportunity.....so I took advantage of Wall Street being slow the week of Thanksgiving to pay Daddy a visit at the office......
....we've also taken detours from errands to enjoy our children and relish unseasonably mild weather.....
....goodbye trip to Ikea to finish our foyer project that took twice as long to finish than I planned......
....he took the kids and I took the shopping bags....
.....hello detour through Brooklyn....
....this playground looked fun.....
.....and we worked up an appetite playing, but also discovered there was real TexMex in the neighborhood.....
....Callie eats guac and queso just like a real Texan....
....Stef's side of the family would have been impressed with the dent we made at the table.....
.....and it's amazing how the spontaneous, unexpected times in the midst of a crazed weekend can hold the dearest moments.....
....and the dearest moment from the entire Ikea/Brooklyn day was Stefan's surprise purchase of a new highchair for Brody.....the former mode of breaking bread was using one of the four barstools to hold Brody's booster seat and tray.....four barstools and five family members has meant that Mommy stands for family meals....not that Stefan hasn't offered to be the vertical family member, but it has always been easier for me because then I can quickly get to the milk, ketchup, napkins, more rice, new fork or whatever request is being made by the girls and Daddy can supervise the table while I do the fetching.....
....a new chair for Brody, two seats for the girls and two seats for the parents makes for good family meals....and Stefan's sly Ikea gesture to make that happen made this Momma feel very loved....
.....my marriage is in a great place and for that I am thankful.....
....new lip gloss for a date night with my husband....
....and date nights have been key to break away from activity.....when I say we have had birthday parties, we have had birthday parties....
.....of course we had Elsie's on Thanksgiving Day this year.....
....but many of our besties have also had their day of celebration, making for an exceptionally jolly December.....
....as well as quite the crafty month, too.....good thing these parties offer a creative activity because we have been pretty bleak in that area at home lately.....although Elsie crafts enough for the five of us during her quiet time.....I have her collections spread throughout the apartment to prove it......
....this new four year old can color, paint, glue, cut, write letters, draw pictures, mold, sculpt or decorate anything and everything all day long.....
.....and sister isn't far behind.....she actually did paint last week for 45 minutes while Elsie was at school.....so I should probably take back the bleak comment.....
....but our infrequency in getting into the organized art making has to do with the timing for when we bust out crayons, small pieces for decorating and scissors.....Brody has to be taking one of his two naps or he is hands on and head deep into the craft box.......he turned 7 months and within one week he mastered the skills of sitting alone, crawling and ended the week of accomplishments when Stefan greeted him one morning and our little man was giddy and proud......
....Brody is quite the over achiever when it comes to motor skills and he may take after his Daddy and be walking by 9 months.....stay tuned for that milestone....
.....although, I thought Stefan was kidding when he passed me the baby at some dark hour of the morning and told me, I found him standing up and shaking the crib side rails like a gorilla......I clarified three times to make sure Stefan had it right.....and he did.....
.....so we had an emergency move the mattress down before he falls out project that evening.....and for the record, it's not an easy job with our crib or I would have done it myself, even at the dark morning hour.....
....but mattress high or low, nothing stops the girls from jumping in the instant they hear his sweet coos.....I had something simmering on my stove when I heard him wake from his nap the other day and by the time I got to his room to swoop him up for some afternoon play, the biggest sister in the house had already begun.....
....and although Brody is popular around here, sisterhood has also been at its finest these last few weeks.....
....and despite the hustle and bustle of the year or the sluggish days I have from a long night with a sweet baby, we still try to find our moments to block everything out and focus only on the here and now.....
....because overall, it's pretty jolly and merry around here.....
....even with one eye shut....
.....good night.....
