Random Update

I've been doing a lot of fluff posts because we've been really busy this holiday season, but there are a couple of random things (and pictures) I want to record so here goes:

my sweet baby girl

• Sawyer gets excited, claps, and yells "yeah" when he is proud of himself.  Lately he has been randomly asking me and Kyle to cheer for him for no apparent reason.
• Nora LOVES it when I sing.  No one else shares her enthusiasm for my vocal talent.  When Kyle sings to her she is stone faced.  When I sing her eyes brighten and she gets the biggest smile.
• We went to look at Christmas lights on Sunday.  Sawyer enjoyed the lights, but the big news of the night...we turned his car seat forward so he could see the lights.  He was a big fan, but once we got home we immediately turned it back...sorry bud you're still too little.
• I spent all day Saturday sewing Christmas gifts.  I didn't get enough done. 
• On Friday our church held a Parent's Night Out event.  Kyle and I took advantage of the free babysitting by going out to eat then looking for my birthday present.
• Yes, my birthday was over a month ago, but I have yet to find the item Kyle wanted to give me.  His gift was a zip-up hoodie.  My zip-up hoodies are everyday attire while I'm nursing and my current hoodies have multiple holes so my dear husband decided to remedy this issue with a new hoodie for my birthday. However, after two shopping attempts I have come away empty handed.
• This leads me to my next issue...the after baby body.  I'm trying to stay positive because following Sawyer's birth it took 5 or 6 months to get my body back to normal but I'm losing patience.  I haven't bought new, fashionable clothes since before I became pregnant with Sawyer which was February 2009 (nearly 3 years ago!) so I feel a little dowdy and old.   But I'm waiting until those last 10 pounds are gone then I'm going to buy some skinny jeans (probably the last person on the planet who doesn't own a pair) and a new pair of boots.
• I've been going to the gym regularly.  I enjoy running but my knees have been hurting...another reason I am feeling old.  I'm going to start some cross training to give my knees a break.
• Nora easily goes 4 hours between feedings.  I'm so thankful.
• I swore I would never do a theme birthday party for my children.  But that is already going down the drain for Sawyer's 2nd birthday...can you guess what the theme will be?



Oh my!

• As the new year approaches I need to find some way to contribute to the family income. Jobs that fit into our family routine are few and far between. I've always told myself I would never open an Etsy store because I only wanted to do my crafts as a hobby, but out of sheer necessity I'm contemplating opening a shop.  The question is what should I make? If I do it I want it to be professional and have a strong identity. I can produce lots of different things, but I want to do something unique (which is a difficult task) and specific (I don't want to produce 50 different products).  I'm still thinking...I may need to do some market research... 
• Sawyer can say all of the alphabet letters by repeating what we say.  He can sing the song by himself to letter G.  And he is starting the process of letter recognition, he's got A, B, H, and I down.
• It's official Nora does not have brown eyes.  She had very dark eyes at birth with no hint of blue, but as the days go by they continue to lighten.  Right now they are a light gray.  I would be very surprised if they turn blue.  I think they are going to be hazel.
• In our life group at church we've been studying Joshua.  The last few weeks we've been reviewing all the lands that were captured and the division of the land.  It's been interesting to see how these chapters that I often disregard and find difficult to read because it does not seem to apply to my life really does have lessons for my life.  I could go on and on about our life group and the things we're learning, but one of my favorite parts is we begin our time in a large group and have learning time with the whole congregation.  Then we split into small  groups and have a time of application, fellowship, and praying.  We're in the young married's group (though we're a little older than most of the couples).  I've really enjoyed building friendships in this group.
• We have 3 Christmas parties in the next week, I'm hosting a Bible study, and helping serve at a wedding.  I'm looking forward to a fun week!

my boys snuggling before nap...well one of them is already taking a nap