The Nutcracker

One of the big events planned for the holiday season was a girls trip to see the Nutcracker ballet with my mom, sisters and two women that I've considered second moms since I was in fifth grade. These ladies and their families have had a hand in help shaping me into the woman I've become and it's such a blessing to have the opportunity to pull qualities and characteristics from them that I hope to emulate as a mom. The fact that they were able to join us made the day that much better.

At three and a half I wanted to make sure that Bella had the best chance possible of making it through the ballet without any meltdowns so about a week before Thanksgiving we started reading the book every couple nights and I borrowed Barbie and the Nutcracker from the library (the Barbie movie, while keeping true to the Nutcracker story, was brutal). Prior to the ballet she was able to recite the parts of the story she was looking forward to seeing so I was confident we'd make it through.

While the whole ballet was amazing, nothing was better than Bella's awe watching it. When the curtains raised and the orchestra was loudly playing, her head looked like a typewriter scanning left to right and back again trying to soak it all in. Not to say she wasn't a little confused though - about twenty minutes into the performance she asked me when the ballerinas were coming out. Apparently if you're not wearing a tutu, you're just not that serious. She also lost interest pretty quickly into the second act when al the different dancers in the Land of Sweets were performing. She wanted to dance in front of her seat, and as long as she was quiet I didn't have a problem with it. -until I turned to get her some fruit snacks to buy time and by the time I turned back around she was standing on her tiptoes hands raised above her head dancing her own ballet down the aisle... fortunately when the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince (?) came out for their performance Bean was completely captivated once again.

When the final curtain fell and we were herded out of the auditorium the dancers were in the lobby to greet everyone for pictures, which was a really nice surprise because Bella was stoicly excited to see them up close and immediately followed her cousin Lili's lead to ask for autographs and pose pretty for a picture. I'm pretty sure we either got a picture or an autograph from 90% of the performers and were definitely among the last ones to leave. If she chooses to be a ballet roadie I suppose I should count my blessings...

a holiday girls night to the Nutcracker - makes my heart happy

for every cute picture there were about five goofy ones... come on, just. say. cheese.

NeRdY tHiRtY

Justin turned thirty last week and it was really important to me to throw him a birthday party that would make him feel as loved and appreciated as he is by so many. Since his birthday is so close to Halloween, and he's an engineer that loves over-explaining, I decided to have some fun with the theme and threw a "Nerdy Thirty" party for him. Everyone was encouraged to come dressed as a nerd and for the most part, people really got into it and came dressed the part! 

I started planning the party a few months ago since I knew it'd be a little hectic to take on a big party so close after having a baby and I was really pleased with how everything turned out. I had a lot of help from his mom and was able to remain pretty stress-free until the days immediately leading up to it. Justin's mom made a ginormous cupcake for the centerpiece of the dessert table and the plan was to stencil in a bunch of math symbols until we found this ridiculously huge Smarties that fit with the theme perfectly! The remainder of the cupcakes had Nerds or a "30" graphic I made - all in all I think it looked really sharp and even though it was cupcakes, still masculine.

I borrowed a couple ideas I saw online as birthday cards and made them my own by blowing them up and hanging on the walls so you couldn't miss the nerd theme no matter where you were. I also had my brother send me a math equation that equaled 30 and I scribbled it repeatedly on our front door Goodwill Hunting style and a couple other places throughout the house (convenient having a high school math teacher at your beckon call!). Still, even after Justin tried to explain what all the symbols were, I have no clue. I have to admit, planning this party (especially the decorations) made me feel a little stupid since I often didn't understand the joke or know if it was funny until Justin started laughing.

Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of the pictures of the tables for appetizers or the chili bar. I'm not sure if I was the biggest fan of the chili bar, but it's fine if I was because it was a cold autumn night and it was delicious. We had three different types of chili (beans, no beans and white chicken chili) with all the condiments available (cheese, sour cream, onions, cornbread and Fritos). But by the time people were over and it was time to set the food out, my camera was borrowed for our mock photo booth (and I was a little too tipsy after a half hour to remember to snag it back) but it all went with our color scheme and looked really cool.

Ohhhh the photo booth. That ended up being a lot of fun and everyone checked egos at the door and were really goofy and had a good time - which thrilled me because I was a little nervous about it. Justin had some old sheets from college that had a dark blue and light blue checker pattern that reminded me of graph paper so I stretched it out, stapled it to a wooden frame and we hung it on the wall in the kitchen so when people stood with it and a hollow picture frame it made for some fun pictures!

Ugh, I also missed a full-length photo of Justin and I in our "costumes". He was in a NASA lab coat and a shirt with the pi sign on it with high-water jeans, white socks and dress shoes. It was hilarious, and oddly not that different from his everyday... haha! I had a graphic t-shirt with suspenders, pigtails, thick glasses with tape, a pleated skirt, white knee high socks and Chuck Ts. 

Austin was a bit of a distraction as I was trying to write the math equation on the door:

My Mister Mister

This boy warms my heart. He completely makes me a crazy person but he cracks me up and definitely keeps me on my toes. One of my greatest hopes for him is that he'll keep the joy that he finds in everything (even though it tends to be found in a cabinet or drawer he shouldn't be getting into) and he'll continue to be known for his ear-to-ear smile. God bless it.

To One of the Best

As per usual, there is much to blog about. For some reason I can’t commit to the keystrokes to make them happen… I need to give an update on the pregnancy with Baby Gump (previa is still firmly in place so c-section it is. meh.), a treasured and must needed visit from my sister and her kiddos, the car shopping experience for a car I don’t even want (just call me Soccer Mom!) and general updates on my Littles including speech screenings for Bella, development milestones for Austin, some one liners from Bell and pictures and videos that make my heart happy. None of those will be covered today though, instead in honor of one of my best friends’ birthdays I want to talk about Miss Mandy Lee.

To date one of my favorite summers of my life started immediately after high school graduation and lasted until the day my new found friend went to college. It’s been dubbed the summer of Dana and Mandy and we have countless inside jokes that always come up when we’re reminiscing – and we laugh every time because separately we’re pretty funny but together we’re downright hilarious. at least that’s what we’ll tell you with every opportunity.

Mandy and I were in similar social circles in high school – which is a lie because she was way more popular than I was but we at least had overlapping friends so I’ll call it a similar circle – and during one off period toward the end of the school year we were talking about how unfair it was that we don’t get to wear any special ropes to signify our almost-smarty pants, because we may not have had a high enough GPA to warrant them, but we sure tried hard. sometimes. We exchanged numbers and decided we were going to go to the craft store and find our own that we’d wear for good measure. That of course never happened but it was enough to start us on our merry way…

That summer we went to Rockies games, youth group outings, crashed boys only trips to Water World, celebrated birthdays, had our first drink (okay, mine.), went to clubs for the first time (okay, again mine. yeah, 18 and up. haha!) a most-memorable trip to Kansas, speeding tickets, crushes, etc. etc. A few highlights include the time we were at the water park bouncing our tube back and forth to each other while waiting in line, and when I almost fell down the stairs of the tower of the ride we were waiting for because I wasn’t looking when she bounced it to me, this old guy told us our stupidity was a team effort. I’m pretty sure we were meant to be offended but we found it hysterical and it’s been our mantra ever since. On our drive to KU to visit my sister we stopped at a gas station to pee – which happened at least ten times – and each time we’d don our Hawaiian hats and leis and make our way in. One stop a little boy tugged on his dad’s shirt and asked why we’re dressed like that. His response was that we clearly didn’t get enough attention as children. Again, may offend most but we laugh about it still.

Even though we’re not able to talk as much as we once did, I don’t feel like we’ve ever drifted. My life settled quickly with a husband, babies and a mortgage while she’s traveled all over and lived in Miami, New York City and now Los Angeles. It’s such a blessing how even with fairly different lifestyles our unspoken connection and similarities compliment each other and I truly believe we bring out the best in each other. She has one of the kindest hearts I know and a child-like innocence in the way she chooses to view the world around her that draws you in and makes you want to be around her. At the same time, she’s a strong woman that knows her value and doesn’t allow others to take advantage of it. Best part is, at the end of the day she’s much like me – feisty as hell. a perfect compliment!

Here’s to you Mandy – MissYouLoveYou!

country road trip

Because I forgot my camera on the "adventure" Bella, Austin and I went on last weekend, I'm left to tell the story the same way Justin got it throughout the trip, via picture messages. We packed up and took off for a five hour drive on Thursday, made it past Cincinnati and then finished the road trip to Nashville another five hours later the next day... thankfully the trip went much smoother than I thought. Bella was thrilled about going on our adventure, and more importantly the movies she got to watch in the car, so the meltdowns were nonexistent.

who needs a binky? this kid's ready for his first road trip!

they saved all their energy all day for the hour before (and ultimately after) bedtime - it would have been annoying if it weren't so cute watching them play together!

Bella loved getting spoiled, especially with a trip to the ice cream parlor...
she was in her element.

we figured it was the safest way to travel in Nashville...

sharing a bed with Bella at the hotels was an awesome time.

we had a great few days spent in Nashville - Emily and Rob were great hosts and Bella was completely enamored with them both. She trailed Ms. Emily around the house asking question after question (actually it was usually the exact same question repeated 15 times) and then playing Mr. Rob's piano and singing for their friends when they came over. It was nice to spend time with Witt and catch up with her in her element... I miss my friend!

Feliz Natal!

I love that we've had the opportunity to go see the same Santa with Bella so we can watch her grow with each consecutive year. and now we watch as our family grows long with St. Nick as well! It certainly adds to it that this is hands down the best Santa I've seen - and he's legitimately great with the babies. Miracle on 34th Street anyone?

2010 - Bella 2 1/2 years, Austin 9 months

2009 - Bella 18 months

2008 - Bella 7 months

MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

"Ten Things from 2010" Photo Edition

Our Christmas family newsletter (yes, I'm one of those) but complete with pictures...

1. On March 19th Austin Lee was born at 8 lbs 8 oz and 20 inches. The newest addition to our little family quickly filled a void we didn’t know was missing and we’ve settled fairly seamlessly into a family of four.


2. Bella is a fantastic big sister to Austin – she simply loves to love on him. She's so proud of her ability to trap his attention and he's more than content giving it to her.


3. Justin and I celebrated five years of marriage with a weekend trip to Chicago. Joined by my sister, Andrea, and brother-in-law we went on a boat tour, caught a game at Wrigley Field, ate deep-dish pizza, went to the top of Sear’s Tower and spent time on Magnificent Mile shopping. No one could tell we were tourists I’m sure.


4. Bella’s vocabulary increased abundantly and we are the receiving end of her hilarious, rambunctious and independent spirit that’s newly evident through words and phrases she’s learned.

okay, no picture for this, but you can watch her sing "bringing home a bumblebee" here

5. Austin has smiled throughout each and every day he’s been alive and has blessed us with every single one of them. It’s not uncommon to get stopped when we go out from people commenting on his smile.

6. We were blessed and thankful for the opportunity to give the Lord what is His in September when we dedicated Austin at church. It was one of the first moments of truly relinquishing ownership of our child and recognizing that he is the Lord's.

((no photos of this one but the video of his dedication is here!))

7. Because we didn’t have enough on our plates, we put our house on the market two days after Austin was born. We’ve had multiple open houses and a few showings but no love from buyers. If you know someone looking, tell them to buy our house. but seriously…

this was taken the day we bought our house in March 2005

8. Acquiring the attention span to (almost) watch a full-length movie, Bell’s love of Disney Princesses has increased despite Justin’s best efforts. fine, despite mine too.

9. Bella and Dana recently enrolled in Mommy and Me gymnastics (or to Bella: “doodastics”) and it’s become the perfect outlet for her extra energy. She loves it and I love watching her obvious pride of the new tricks she learns weekly.


10. In the middle of November I left the Cleveland Cavaliers and took my talents south to Olmsted Falls, officially becoming a stay-at-home mom. A month later we’re still in the process of adapting to one another on a fulltime basis, but I’m already sure the right decision was made!

ready or not...

This is how I found Bella this morning during hide-and-seek...

she really committed to her hiding place!

Seriously, I love this girl so much. She's hilarious and a little bit crazy!

My Little Patriot

Happy 4th of July!

Morning Sunshine!

a picture from our trip to Loveland - she cracks me up!

we welcome with love...

Austin is five weeks old now - I keep meaning to post his birth story, and the time keeps passing. I will get it online soon, but not today. I want to share all the nuances that he has and the little personality traits that shine through already, but not today. Today, I'm exhausted again.

She's Going the Distance...

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time... I took a mandatory hiatus from working out during the pregnancy, but am now ready to very likely embarrass myself and throw myself under the bus. Now, to make a short story way too long - I ran track for 10 years from middle school through college, but I hate running. I mean hate it - abhor, loathe, despise, detest and scorn running (thank you dictionary.com!). True story: the initial reason I became a pole vaulter was to avoid a hard running workout the sprinters were doing that day. I saw the pole vaulters only had to take 14 steps before the attempt, and throwing myself over a bar 8+ feet in the air was a small price to pay to only have to take 14 steps and avoid the awful workouts.

So, with all this in mind - I'm putting it in writing, telling the world (or at least the few people reading this) and committing to run a half marathon. The ideal race that I'm striving for isn't until next February, so I have plenty of time to work up to it, is the San Blas Half Marathon - IN PUERTO RICO! haha, Justin makes fun of me since the only way to get me to commit to the crazy of 13.1 miles is to take me to Puerto Rico to do it! -plus I know it's going to be the best way to lose the baby weight and tone all the body parts that now rival cottage cheese.

My parents were planning on going to Puerto Rico in February with my grandma for this marathon anyway, so now we're going to try to crash it and actually run. My grandma goes every year to watch with her family whose house is on the race route and they all sit around, drink rum and spray all the runners with the water hose. The entire race is one giant party (1,000 runners and 250,000 spectators!) so Justin, my sister Andrea and I will hopefully be going to join the party and give them someone specifically to cheer for! Nothing's guaranteed though, because apparently it costs a few dollars to get there, but that's the goal. plus, I've already decided shirts Andrea and I will wear if it works out. Nerd Alert - that's fine.

I got started with my training today - I stretched, strapped on the iPod, panicked and then hit the road with Justin and the babies...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

yep, this should be no problem at all...

Making His Arrival

Austin Lee

8 lbs 8 oz 20"

in the meantime...

no new news on the baby front... I could have sworn today would be the day. I woke up and he's dropped even more and it feels like I'm carrying a bowling ball in my pelvis. The relatively constant feeling of misery aside, we're really trying to enjoy these last few days with Bella as a single child (even as the weekends are typically reserved for getting projects done around the house in preparation for a hopeful sale).

The weather's gotten a little nicer and she absolutely loves to go outside and play... J spends a lot of the hour while they wait for me to get home playing in the yard with her and Rocky and then we take her on walks with us. She likes to hold Rock's leash but it never works well for either party - even worse for Justin actually because he has to go chase him when she lets go! anyway, a few new favorites of Bella:

singing in the rain...

a born rebel. obviously.

a "shhh don't tell Mommy moment" at dinner when I was working:

Don't Blink.

Star Light, Star Bright
First Star I See Tonight

I Wish I May

I Wish I Might

Have This Wish I Wish Tonight...

I miss my baby girl... what happened?!
They say they grow so quickly, but this is just absurd.

We made the move for Bell into a big girl bed and I have to say the girl was flawless! We are so ridiculously lucky how well she adapts to change, here's hoping that carries over when her little brother joins the family in a few short weeks...