Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 The Most Amazing Year Yet!

I cannot honestly believe that today is the very last day of this most amazing year they call 2010!! Seriously this year changed out lives so much but we couldn't be more grateful for all the changes!!

2010 is the year we finally became parents to the most gorgeous baby boy ever! And man oh man has he grown up quickly! I can't believe the child we brought home from the hospital is the same little man! Both equally as cute but the things he can do now!! It just blows my mind how quickly he has grown in 9 short months!! I truly understand when my mom told me time flies and we grew up way too quickly!!

His first ever picture from the hospital :)

4 months old taken by Sandra in Aviano :)

Almost 8 months old taken by Fritsche Photography also done here in Italy :)

Its really amazing to just see how big he has gotten over the last several months. Simply amazing!

Our son really has made our year but we have also just had a great year!

1. We were matched in February with our birthmother! The day changed our lives forever!
2. We left for the birth of our son at the end of March and he was born during our travels.
3. The beginning of April we met the most beautiful baby boy ever!
4. We also made several new friends throughout the adoption process! Its amazing how adoption can bring together so many people :)
5. My hubby got a new job which has made our little world that much better!
6. My sister got a new start :)
7. We've celebrated many firsts with our baby boy! Can't get more exciting than that!
8. Became part of an adoption support group that is amazing and we LOVE the people who are part of it!!

We are also very grateful for our amazing family (yes you friends know you're family too!) and all they do for us! They love the newest addition to our family to death and we couldn't honestly ask for much more than that, but they are all spoiling him to death which he is thoroughly enjoying! I'm just so thrilled with this past year its not even funny and I'm kinda sad to see it go :( Its brought so much new life changing things that were amazing I can't even wait to see what 2011 has in store for this little family!!

GOOD BYE 2010!! YOU WILL NEVER IN OUR FAMILY BE FORGOTTEN! YOU BROUGHT US OUR FIRST BORN AND THE FIRST GRANDCHILD INTO BOTH FAMILIES :) 

Monday, December 13, 2010

Wonderful Weekend

We had the greatest weekend :)

On Saturday we got to meet the cutest newest baby girl ever (there are several adorable baby girls we know) and I had almost forgot how fragile a newborn baby can feel! Baby boy has gotten so big so fast and it was only 8 months ago he was smaller than this baby girl! I can't believe my little tank use to be that tiny!! I loved holding her and she ALMOST I stress the word ALMOST because as many of you know we've decided not to parent another infant but more than likely toddler to young child age the next time we adopt :) I adored holding her though and truly missed when my little man was that little!

Afterwards we had kebabs from our favorite shop with our friends the Petraes. They're one of our most favorite people over here (we do have a few so don't worry you may be one as well LOL). They brought baby boy some super awesome gifts! My favorite a Dallas Cowboys shirt! Yes they rock like that! So we had an enjoyable evening with them.

On Sunday we woke up to a surprise of no power for over six hours! We didn't let it get us down though. We enjoyed each others company and played with baby boy until we were able to shower and go out for the day.

Once we were able to shower we headed up to Udine for our friends little girls 1st birthday party! It was so fun! Our friends little girl kept giving our little man Kisses it was soooo cute! He also got to meet Santa Claus (our friends dad dressed up for the kids) and Nathan just wasn't having that! If you know him you know he is a very happy go lucky baby and LOVES people so it was odd to see him cry! He really did not like Santa at all and balled his eyes out. Daddy did rescue him and he'd bury his face in daddy's chest and then peak at Santa and start to cry all over again. It was so cute and so sad all at the same time! I did get pics of everything but I'm waiting for my new adapter to come in the mail so when it gets here I'll do a giant post with tons of pictures!

I hope everyone else had a fantabulous weekend :) I know we did and we're blessed to have all these amazing people in it to make it so great!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

I LOVE Shutterfly

I absolutely love love Shutterfly and I seriously just discovered them. We made our Christmas Cards through them and so far everyone has loved them! I also placed our first order of pics through them and they came super fast even living all the way overseas! This is the Thank You Card I've created for all his gifts he's getting this year the little stinker! Seriously check them out you can do so much more as well!

Glitter And Gold 2011 Holiday Thank You 3x5 folded card
Create modern holiday cards at Shutterfly
View the entire collection of cards.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Coming to End

I cannot believe Christmas is almost here! Someone find me a machine that slows down time and keeps my baby a baby :( He's going to be one years old before I even know it and I'm not too crazy about that idea!!

I will admit though I am super excited about his first Christmas and yes I probably got him way too many toys for his age but he is our first and only child for goodness sake! I can spoil him all I want within reason of course. Don't worry I didn't go into buying him gifts and I certainly didn't charge anything :) But he is definitely a spoiled little man! And the gifts we have aren't even including the ones our families are going to send man oh man is he going to make out this year LOL

I do think some of the toys daddy picked out for his son are ones he would like to play with which I think is freaking hilarious!

Well what have we done this month?


Nothing too exciting. We did get to go and see the Harlem Globetrotters live on base and that was sooo much fun. We of course took lots of pics and of course my comp will now no longer read the damn card! The hubby is going to get a new adapter and hopefully that will fix the problem and if it does I'll post more recent pics of the cutest baby boy ever and pics from that night as well :)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

I started this once and then changed my blogs and started new ones and it got lost in the shuffle. I am going to try it again since I've been pretty faithful to this blog!

Here are the rules if you missed the first round:

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

  1. To make quilted Christmas ornaments
  2. To make a quilt out of Nathan's 1st year of clothes
  3. To make Nathan a scrapbook/lifebook (made an album and first year book)
  4. To make an album of our travels
  5. To make a cookie salad
  6. To get brave and make a yeast bread
  7. To try 50 new recipes (1. Mint Brownies 2. chicken spaghetti 3. soft chocolate cookies 4. truffle pie 5. sloppy joes 6. meatloaf 7. beef stew with beer and paprika 8. Alfredo Sauce 9. pasta alla vodka 10. parmesan chicken brocoli 11. another mac and cheese recipe 12. pepper jack mac and cheese 13. chocolate chip kiss cookies 14. upside down pepperoni pizza casserole 15. chili cheese potato bake 16. beef tostadas 17. lasgna soup 18. noodle bake 19. knock you naked brownies 20. Hershey's chocolate chip cookies 21. easy granola bars 22. michigan granola bars 23. No bake granola bars 24. white chicken enchiladas 25. spicy dr. pepper shreddedd pork 26. BBQ Chicken Pizza )
  8. To make truffles yum!
  9. To make Irish Carbomb cupcakes
  10. Make a homemade cheesecake
  11. To organize the crawl space and get everything into plastic tubs
  12. To get Nathan a toy box/bin something! (I found some bins that could be utilized for this instead of tossing them Jan. 2011)
  13. To work on my weight! 50 lbs sounds reasonable in this amount of time! (3 more off go me!)
  14. To pay off some bills! (May something 2011!! YAY!)
  15. To save x amount in savings
  16. To see Rome
  17. To see Pisa/Florence
  18. Take the Crotia Boat Tour
  19. To go to Oktober Fest
  20. To allow a friend to baby sit Nathan (we're not too fond of this but it will have to happen eventually) (I left him with some friends while I ran an errand. It may have been for an hour but hey it counts!)
  21. To pass things Nathan outgrowns/doesn't need to those who need them (done regularly)
  22. To thin our home out by at least 300 items :) (1. Blender, 2. stand mixer, 3. exersaucer, 4. highchair, 3. suitcases 4. glasses 5. bookshelves 7. glider 8. baby bouncer 9. bottles/sterilizer 10. ps2 11. xbox 12. desk 13. diapers 14. moby wrap 15. old clothes 16. highchair (another one) 17. books 18. flower pots 19. license plate holder 20. vases 21. purses)
  23. To Not Drink coke for a whole month! or sobe! no caffine!
  24. To finish all my teas before I add to my collection
  25. To make a playdate a month for Nathan
  26. To take Nathan out for a walk everyday for one month
  27. To have a Christmas angel whether it be from the tree at the bx or donations to somewhere like Reece's Rainbow
  28. To get a better camera so we can get this little turkey on camera better! he's too fast for the one I have lol (got a new one!! Yay! see new toy post! may 2011)
  29. To finish the third blanket I started to crochet
  30. To actually knit a blanket or scarf just to complete something lol
  31. get Nathan a new bedroom set when we move to the states
  32. sell all Nathan's baby things before we move (sold his moby wrap, cloth diapers, giving away/donating clothes, handing down toys and bottles to cousin, sold the glider from his room)
  33. spend a christmas with family and not military family but actual fam ily
  34. pay off my car
  35. look for an affordable truck
  36. start having a movie night with my boys :) (love movie night with my boys)
  37. plan like a monthly game night with friends (well its not games but we eat together monthly so that counts!)
  38. to go to a concert!
  39. to get my monthly budget on track with the hubby's approval (budget on track woohoo!)
  40. to make a meatless meal a week
  41. to get a better cleaning routine down
  42. to read the entire bible
  43. to read at least 10 books on my bookshelf that I haven't read (on hold til after move)
  44. to cook something with coconut oil
  45. to stop using paper towels (we stopped for awhile but the hubby refuses to stop)
  46. to stop using paper plates (we are officially done with paper plates woohoo!)
  47. to get some plastic and/or non breakable cups (my mom sent me some for nathan and his little friends woohoo Dec 2010)
  48. to get a couple bread pans (I bought some Paula Deen metal ones that I LOVE! DONE!)
  49. to clean the kitchen out and get rid of things I don't use (yay done!)
  50. to get some more storage containers for the kitchen
  51. to start fixing up the Mustang so it can be a daily driver
  52. to get at least one in classroom class done
  53. get a tattoo in honor of Nathan
  54. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the Alphabet
  55. go camping
  56. go sledding
  57. build a snowman
  58. run a 5k
  59. donate blood
  60. become a bone marrow donor
  61. make pasta from scratch
  62. send a post card to post secrets
  63. make a living will
  64. have a family potrait taken
  65. try zumba
  66. do p90 and actually finish it
  67. to go to Carnivale in Venice (went this year 2011 with a bunch of awesome friends!)
  68. to attend one of the high school plays on base
  69. open a savings account for Nathan
  70. to frame all the pictures of nathan we have so far
  71. get a new hair cut
  72. dye my hair
  73. go a whole week without complaining :)
  74. make my own cleaning supplies (loving the laundry soap, using baking soda instead of comet)
  75. make Nathan's Halloween costume
  76. learn Spanish
  77. start to learn to play the guitar
  78. get a sewing machine
  79. have a family picnic
  80. take a cooking class
  81. take a cake decorating class
  82. decorate my bedroom (just got a mirror to redo for it, now to find some artwork)
  83. cross stitch something
  84. give a friend a homemade gift (I made accordian photo albums for bday gifts this year three done! I gave friends handmade bracelets this year as well)
  85. not log onto facebook for a week!
  86. give up junk food for a month
  87. participate in a charity walk/run
  88. start the adoption process at our next duty station!
  89. learn to make my own curtians
  90. do a cleanse
  91. start a family tradition
  92. no fast food for a month (done while the hubby was gone)
  93. visit my sister in Texas
  94. visit friends in South Carolina
  95. write a list of important people in my life and send them all cards :)
  96. ask 10 people to recommend a book and actually read it
  97. write one new poem
  98. rewatch every season of Gilmore Girls
  99. find 5 movies that relate to adoption in a postive way (1. Meet the Robinsons, 2. Despicable Me 3. Tarzan 4. Hercules 5. Angels in the Outfield)
  100. try five new restuarants in Italy (1. chinese 2. Japanese Osaka)
  101. go geocaching at least once!
Ok so this is starting today Dec. 4, 2010 and should end around August 31, 2013 (wow that seems forever away!)