Christmas of 2003

Bryan and I had been together since May of this year. I was in my third semester of college and was working as a waitress until October, so I had very little money. Bryan was working for his dad at the time. He was able to put a lot of money into savings and had a really great truck! My dream truck.
But, that's another story.
So, one weekend while I was visiting Bryan, close to the Christmas holiday, he told me that he was going to give me my present early. I argued because I don't like opening gifts early and there really wasn't any reason because we were going to be spending the holidays together anyway. But, he convinced me it was for a good reason.
On Friday night, Bryan tells me what my gift is: He was going to pay for the presents that I picked out for my family.
So, on Saturday morning, we headed to the bank and he pulls out a nice chunk of change. I asked if he really needed that much and he said that he wanted me to be able to pick out whatever I wanted for each of my family.
Out we went. In one day, we got each of my family a gift and Bryan managed to pick out his own family's as well.
Come Christmas day, it was wonderful watching every open their gifts. We even got "chewed" out for buying my grampa a gift. He thought it was too expensive but we argued that that was my Christmas present and that's what we wanted to get for him. So there. :)

Best Christmas present, ever.

Our daughter's poo smells like buttered popcorn.

Oh yes, it's true. It really does. And the weird thing is, I don't eat buttered popcorn.

Bryan went to the store for me yesterday. I asked him to pick up some deli roast beef for sandwiches. He bought a pound and a half at $10.99/lb. He just thought that's how much it was. What he didn't know was that the cheaper $2.99/lb was hidden to the right by very sneaking Hy-Vee masterminds.

We have been warned of a very horrendous winter storm. I'm still waiting for it to unleash it's fury. Should I say that? Will it be worse because I did?

Have I mentioned how gorgeous my daughter's eyelashes are? They are incredible. Bryan has them, too. Not me. Well, they're long but not thick and bat-licious. You know. How girls will bat their eyes at guys.. oh, nevermind.
Oh! She laughed for the first time yesterday! It was beautiful. And Bryan was the cause. He's so proud. And he should be.

6 days til Christmas and I still have 4 presents to buy for. Bryan has one. Me! And he still hasn't bought it. However, my bro-in-law still has like all but a couple of the family (his and his wife's) to buy for. Crazy.
Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about my favorite Christmas present of all time. My very favorite. I'll give you a hint.. it's from Bryan. Can you guess? I bet not.

Three Months Yesterday

I was going to blog yesterday but I only found time for one post and it wasn't even that long! I think it took me a minute and a half to write.
So anywho...
3 months.. can you believe it?? Oh, sorry. Amelia is three months (and a day, now). So let's update:

• She can hold her head up really well now
• She follows us with her eyes as we move around the house
• We're working on tummy time but she still doesn't really dig it
• She gets really excited when we are getting ready to change her diaper/clothes -- kicking her legs
  
• She fusses to stand and she stands really well.. dancing and such when she's up
• She's getting a schedule down
• She goes to sleep at 8pm, eats at 10pm, 4am and 6am -- so not too bad, we're working on it
• She's almost has a laugh happening -- right now it comes out as one "ha" mixed in with a sqeal
  

There's probably more but 9:47 is still early for me so I'll just have to add more in future posts.

So, yesterday, we got a lot of snow. Yay. I always enjoy snow. I don't mind driving in it (since I'm from Iowa and we have gotten snow every year since we've moved here ;) but I do always like it better when I don't have to go anywhere.
I did manage to get some laundry done yesterday. All of it, in fact, made it to the washer at least. Bryan was lovely enough to put it into the dryer for me this morning.
Last night, Amelia was off. I'm not sure what was wrong but she didn't go to sleep at 8, but sneaked past her bedtime hour and stayed awake until 10. She was so upset that she was crying so I sang her our song. Yeah, we have a song. When I was pregnant with her I would sing to her His Eye Is On The Sparrow so that is what I started singing to her last night. And it worked like a charm. After a few moments of singing it to her I took her into her room to change her diaper. As we were heading in there she started to calm. By the time I laid her on the changing pad she was happy as a clam. Smiling, kicking and no fussing or crying. She just kept on as I sang to her. After changing her diaper I put her in her bassinet and it took her a half an hour to fall asleep. You'd be proud though, when she fussed a bit I didn't take her out, I just gave her her paci back, or rocked her bassinet. I did want to take her out and cuddle with her when she still wasn't falling asleep but "drawing" with her finger on the wall of her bassinet. But she fell asleep quickly then so did I. She didn't have a great night of sleep but it wasn't bad.
So anyway, that's my Amelia story of the day. Right now she is sleeping peacefully in her swing so I should get some laundry folded and put away.

You'll like this one

Indian Corn

Ingredients:
1lb hamburger
1 can of corn
1 can of salsa
cheddar cheese
sour cream

Directions:
Cook hamburger until browned. Add corn, let simmer until corn is heated through. Add salsa, heat until everything is heated thoroughly. Serve in bowls. Add cheese and sour cream to liking. Dip with chips and enjoy!

As long as you have someone to hold onto.

I realized that I talk a lot about Amelia and not enough about my Bryan. So in light of Emily's Thankful Thursday, I thought I'd list the things I love and am thankful about my husband.

• I'm thankful that he chose me to be his wife.
• I'm grateful that he is a wonderful daddy to our daughter.
• I appreciate how smart he is, that he shares his wealth in knowledge and that he makes you feel smart right along with him.
  
• He is a wonderful provider and takes care of us.
  
• He's a sexy geek. Can I say that? Yes, I can because he is :D
• He's handsome and doesn't know it which makes him all the more handsome.
• I love his sense of humor and he's really funny.
• He makes me smile.
• He makes me happy.
• He's really sweet.
• He gets along with my mom really well.
  
• He only wants to get the best for me. Have you seen my easel? Have you seen my camera??
• He forgives me.
• He loves me.
• He has a love for music.
  
• We share similar passions.
  
• He's fun to play video games with.
  
• He takes care of me when I'm sick.
• He's considerate.
• He's kind.
• He's great conversation.
• He knows lots of weird facts and they're interesting.
• He's generous.
• I'm grateful that he's so understanding.
• I love the fact that he's willing to cuddle.
• I enjoy it that he finds it silly that I miss him when he's even upstairs.
  

I could probably go on and on but these are just a few of the things that I'm really thankful for in him. He's a blessing to me and I'm really thankful that he's Amelia's dad. I didn't have that in my life so I'm grateful that she gets it in hers. It's one of the reasons that I married him, I knew he'd be a great father to our children.
So, thank you Bryan and I give thanks for you. I love you. A lot, a lot, a lot.