Photo of the Year!

For the past 8 days, we've talked about our year. For the next 7 days (with a break in between for a special prompt), we're going to talk about the best things of 2011, then we'll round out the month planning for 2012.

Today, please post your best photo of the year. It doesn't have to be the best technically, it doesn't have to be the best visually, but it should be a photo that you consider the best. Does it have special meaning? Is it of a significant event or moment?

I couldn't pick just one picture, since I do have two children and have very special moments with both of them this year. So I decided to pick a special moment with both of them!

For Malachi, it would be getting to celebrate his first birthday with him! I have longed for children for such a long time, and the first birthday is such a huge milestone! With adoption, we were open to adopting a child 0-12 months which means we could have potentially missed out on a first birthday. But God was great to us, and we were able to have so many of Malachi's firsts with him, but the greatest moment for me was his first birthday! This picture was taken the night of his first birthday!

And then there is Elias. Our little peanut baby! Just getting him home from the hospital was such a big moment and I couldn't wait to photograph how TEENY TINY he was! This is one of my very favorite pictures of him! He was so tiny, so precious, and perfect! Around this time, I just loved to watch him breath. His ability to breath was such a miracle to me.

Catch Phrase

What's your trademark phrase? Not sure? How about a quote or saying that you repeat often? Bonus points if it's new for 2011, but we won't be upset if it's been around longer than that. Try to put it in context for us if it's a little abstract.

So my biggest made up "catch phrase" would be the fact that I mess sayings up, and not even on purpose. I always seem to mix up well known saying. The one I have done most common is "it's not brain science." It used to drive my hubby nuts that I can never get sayings right, but now I think he just finds it funny!

20 Weeks

I had my 20 week appointment yesterday! In addition to that appointment, I also had my anatomy scan :)

Here is our precious baby #3! All curled up in what appears to be a very uncomfortable position.

And here is his/her beautiful face :)

Precious little piggies!

And another picture of the awkward positioning! The tech could not believe how this baby was laying in there!

With that being said, we did not find out the gender, as curious as I was! The important thing is that everything is looking good on our little one! Baby was weighing in at a perfect 12 ounces! We are quickly approaching that 1lb weight mark :)

Even though I am carrying this baby very different than I carried Eli, this little baby seems to love hanging out really low just like Eli did. I am not sure if that increases the risk of having the same problem since the head is already on my cervix. Heart rate was in the 150's and everything is as it should be.

My doctor warned that it is time to start being cautious. I knew that day would eventually come, but I did not expect it quite this early. I am glad she is being extra cautious though and I want nothing more than to have a healthy full term baby this time. I feel like these last 20 weeks are going to be more nerve wracking than the first 20. I have been having a lot of braxton hicks contractions but since they are random and not more than 4 an hour, they sound like nothing to be worried about. So we press on into the next month of pregnancy, taking it a day, week, month at a time!

Achievement

What goal did you set for yourself and achieve this year? Did you achieve something you didn't think you could? Did you win an award? Did you set a record? Did you finally get your VCR from 1985 to stop blinking 12:00? C'mon, share it! Today is your chance to brag and get a resounding round of interweb applause.

Well, my biggest achievement this year was birthing my son :) I feel like birth was one of the most amazing things I have ever done! It was a very cool experience. I remember laughing so much while I was pushing. My doctor had everyone in the room laughing so hard. The moment he came out, my laughter turned into tears at this precious miracle that I grew in my tummy for 36 weeks. I remember my doctor looking over at me and asking me how I felt and I told her that it was pretty amazing and she agreed with me. The fact that the female body is capable of protecting and giving a fetus everything it needs to grow into this beautiful baby - so incredible! That our bodies can stretch so much while we are pregnant and then have contractions that force the baby out - just such a perfectly knit together plan! So yes, even though my body didn't bake the baby as long as it should have, and even though I didn't win that martyr award and instead opted for an epidural - it was still a major lifetime achievement for me and something I longed to accomplish in my life!

Toddler Fun

Lately I have met my match with a certain little toddler boy. I knew that this day would come, but I honestly was caught off guard by just how HARD dealing with a misbehaving toddler could be. I was not enjoying constantly dealing with a toddler who would not obey and I was certainly not enjoying that the source he took his frustration out on was his poor little brother.

I had been attempting the use of timeouts and was not really seeing much of an improvement. My frustration was reaching its peak quickly. But over the weekend I was able to do a lot of reading on how to become a better parent and implemented a few minor changes to my discipline this week.

I didn't change very much at all, but the slight changes I have made seem to be making a world of difference! I am staying calm, stating what behavior is not allowed, and then following through with immediate discipline (timeouts in the same room that I am in) if he does not obey! Such a simple thing to do, but I am so amazed in how quickly this has helped with his behavior. For the first time, I now see that my son respects my authority!

One of the books I read stated how we have to get our young children to respect us. That we are the first authority figure in their lives and if we are unable to get their respect at a young age, then they will never learn to respect God's ultimate authority over their lives. That really struck me! I want to raise Godly young men and that is going to require a lot of work on my part.

I also was concerned that all this disciplining I have been doing would hurt my relationship with him. But it has not done that at all! He respects me, but he is also showing more affection with me. Also because I am not showing my frustration, but reacting calmly because I am dealing with the problems before they escalate, we are having more fun together!

So, it is not ALL work around here. I am actually enjoying a lot of the time with my toddler. Pinterest has been an awesome source of ideas to entertain my little boy and I am collecting supplies to do a few more fun projects with him. He is growing old enough now that I am feeling a lot more comfortable that he will be able to handle things like play dough and finger paints without eating all of it :)

So we started with colored rice!

And it becomes a play toy, similar to sand.

It took a couple seconds of me showing him what to do,but he caught on fast!

He's watched me cook enough for is imagination started to take off a little and he was stirring things up and using the measuring cups!

I thought he would enjoy playing, but I had no idea how much he would love it. The fun lasted an hour before I had to make him take a nap. He was very sad that I made the fun stop :(

My precious, precious growing boy!

Thelma and Louise

So far you've summed up the year in one word, admitted your vices, touted your virtues, revealed your superpower, and let us in on your theme song, but no superhero does it alone ...

Who is the Thelma to your Louise? Who is your partner in crime? Did you reacquaint yourself with an old friend? Did you make a new friend? Or, perhaps, you are a lone ranger?

Take some time today to look back on how you spent your year and give a shout out to anyone that helped to make it special. If you don't have any close friends that fit the bill, think about who you spend your time with on a regular basis, who is the bright spot in your day? Maybe you joke around with a coworker just to get through the day. Maybe the barista who serves your coffee knows your order by heart and/or knows when to suggest you mix it up. Who makes your life just a little bit better just by being themselves?

Well of course the Thelma to my Louise has, and always will be my incredible husband! No question about that!!! He is my best friend and the love of my life! He always has my back and I always have his. When we're away from each other, I am always wanting to talk with him and share things about my day with him. He knows more about me than anyone else ever could and there are moments in my life that I cannot imagine having anyone else but that amazing man by my side! He helps me with everything and challenges me to become a better wife and mother. There is only one man crazy enough to want to live life with me! Only one man who can face the challenge of 3 kids under 2 and STILL be willing to talk to me about the next addition somewhere down the line :) He truly is everything I could ever ask for and so much more!

Weekend Away!

Since the year we first got married, Peter and I have been fortunate to get-away for a weekend near the end of the year! Most years we have ended up at the beach, but we've also gotten away to the mountains in Central Oregon. Having my parents be a part of a timeshare makes getting away in December super cheap and easy!

My parents actually had the timeshare for the week, but my dad got a teaching opportunity for the weekend so they offered to switch out with us and keep the kids while we took the weekend - um YEAH, we'll take it!!!

I just came out of a really rough week with discipline issues with our strong-willed toddler so a little break came at just the perfect time!

Our living room for the weekend:

We usually end up further down the coast, but this year we got to go to Seaside! If you've ever been to Seaside Oregon, then you know the most well known location in Seaside is this roundabout - so the view from our room was the best prime real estate in the city :)

And seriously, the weather was gorgeous and perfect! It was cold but not windy - so beautiful! Driving through the mountains and seeing our coast really makes me feel so blessed to live in the most beautiful part of the US!!!

We did a little bit of walking around and shopping! Peter was quite happy to find his favorite, impossible in the US to find candy bar :) We also picked up a few of the best melt in your mouth caramels - mmmmm!!!

And no trip away is complete without our breakfast staple sticky buns! So simple to make and oh so yummy!

The weekend away was very refreshing! It felt so strange to NOT be chasing kids around. It gave us enough peace and quiet for Peter to complete his last task in becoming a CPA - passing the Ethics part of his Exam!

It also gave me plenty of time to kick back and read some good books on parenting boys and some ideas on disciplining a toddler. We've been having a rough go around with toddler brutality to baby brother. I was beginning to feel totally clueless on how to handle things, but it was great to get an opportunity to sit down and read and realize that I am handling things the way they need to be handled and that this phase is VERY normal for a 19 month old and to just keep pressing forward and do what I'm doing :)

It was so great to just be able to enjoy my husband's company but by that second night away, I was very ready to get my boys back in my arms :) It was a perfect little winter getaway!!!