Happy 4th of July!

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I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day!

As you are joining with family & friends, laughing, eating delicious food, watching brightly colored displays of crazy pyros enjoying their one day to freely blow crap up and enjoying the freedom you have to do so... please remember today is about our freedom, our independence, & our right to enjoy greasy fries and juicy cheeseburgers and playfully tease our loved ones in the sunshine of today.

 It is also about remembering WHY we have those freedoms.

I know that we have memorial day for that purpose, but the men and women who work so hard for days on end sacrificing THEIR time with their own family and friends wishing they could have that hour to relax and laugh with their loved ones and sip iced tea in the front lawn deserve much more than just one day. They deserve everyday that we can give,

Because thats what they give for us.
Every. Single. Day.

 I am blessed enough to have quite a few of these glorious people in my life, & I want to make sure that they know that I love & appreciate them immensely for all that they do. 
It is because of them that I get to sit back & watch my beautiful baby boy taste great new foods, play with his friends, & marvel at the exploding colors in the sky with so much excitement in his smile. 

For that I am eternally grateful.

So whether its with your family around the table before food, said aloud before that first firework, or to yourself before the night is over... take the time to send love & thanks to our troops. Past & present, because I have to believe that while they are out fighting for us.. we can all spare a moment to think of them. 

<3

Have a wonderful day, be safe... & Happy 4th everyone!

My baby boy is ONE!

*Unfortunately, things have been a bit hectic for us the last few weeks
 resulting in me not being able to get these posts up at the correct times. So sorry about that!*

I can't believe it. 

Has it seriously been 365 days since this beautiful little boy made his way into my world with such wonderfully tiny hands and breathtaking eyes and a heart stopping smile?

It hardly feel like its been a year.. Now I see what they mean by time flies..

And just look at my little man now,

 He's even walking now! Do you know how crazy that is? But so Awesome...

Everyday he makes me smile more and more, teaching me to view things a different way and laugh about everything. Showing me again and again not to take life so seriously and to enjoy the here and now before its the gone and done. 

Happy Birthday Kai Nicolas!

I love this kid more than life itself, our family was truly incomplete without him!

All photos thanks to Jeni @ Jeni Woodman Photography!
She is the ONLY one I trust with these yearly memories.

What's Up Buttercup?

My last post was explaining just how much I wish to write more frequently.. but the need for cuddling my little bug takes priority. The same is still true..

 but my little man is getting older..
 & heavier... & sweatier...

And he doesn't want to cuddle the whole time like he used to. now he likes to toss about, put his feet over my chest and his hands in my face.

No mommy, no cuddling, but don't you dare travel beyond where I can still touch your knee.

It's adorably annoying.

So we have been trying to do nap times in the crib, which has been leaving me open to up to an hour of "mommy time", which Ryan & I have decided needs to be FOR me. not chores. 

So unless I'm catching up on sleep, or taking a nice long shower..
 (Baby monitor within reach)
 I've been catching up on some old favorite pastimes. One being pen pal writing!

There is nothing I like more than getting something other than bills and ads in the snail mail box!

 I LOVE it! So now I have joined in on a few pen pal lists, and I realized while writing everyone I would say that if they wanted faces with the names in my letters they should look here, but to be aware it wasn't up to date. Then sitting here thinking of something to do I thought, well what the hell.. maybe you should UPDATE that damn blog. 

DerDaDerr.

-_-

Sometimes my brain moves at the pace of a comatose sloth. 

So whats up with us?

Other than taking up snail-mailing as an endurance sport, Ryan & I have been working really hard on getting Mia (His 2000 Subaru Outback) all ready for the summer season. After his very spendy & patiently waited for xmas present, that means new coil-overs, wheels, HID fog lights, Window tinting.. and so on and so on...

He's a very excited husband right now. 

As for me, I've been busily preparing for Kai's first birthday...

His FIRST birthday?! 
OHMYGAWD.

When the HELL did that happen??

Geezus.

But I'm really super excited for his party...
 He's super in to Mike Wazowski from Monster's Inc.
 

 We decided to go with that for the theme.
So I did what most mommy's in my situation would do...
I hit up the holy grail of party throwing ideas:

That site is so awesome.

 I've already incorporated some of these ideas for the big day.
Ooooooh I can't wait! I'm so super excited!! :)

That's pretty much it.
...Otherwise, here are a few random pix from here and there ...

 

 

Don't forget to check out
my photo blog Pocket Memories

Naptime is prime mommy time.

I want to write.

Everyday I think about it.

Kai goes down for a nap, and I think to myself about what I might want to do with the small amount of free time I have in front of me. I should write. I have the time... but I also have so many other things I want to do. What should I decide? Catch up on my reading?? I haven't watched Ellen in forever, let alone any of my other shows. Should I finish that hat I had started crocheting? 

So many options..

But than I see the kitchen. All in disarray from cooking Ryan's dinner before he left for work. Dishes piled on the counters and in  the sink, garbage full, floor needing a good clean. I glance at the couch with the pile of clean laundry I tossed onto it when Kai started to get to fussy that needs folding, or the basket next to it of clothes still needing to be washed. The dog snoring on the floor below the table reminds me how desperately I need to vacuum before Kai wakes up and starts crawling around becoming a mini baby lint roller. 

Among a million other household chores screaming my name I can feel a decision being made. Priorities are aligning as the pull of enticement draws me in. That's it.. its decided for me, no longer do I wonder what will get done first. 

My eyes close & I take a deep breath..

& join my son for a nap. 

Time to play a little catch-up

So over the last year or so my blog posts have been sparse, if even at all. 

With the pregnancy & school, and then moving to Spokane, having the baby, and then moving back home.. 
I have just had no time to devote to my writing. 

Which sucks, cause I really love writing here. 

I love this community and all of the wonderful people I have met within it. 

Whats happened since I last wrote?

Well you heard me right before, we have moved back to the Seattle area. We still have our place in Spokane, but things were just getting to hectic with the house, & with the baby and I found out its going to take a little extra work to graduate since I've been out of school for so long. Plus we were really unhappy being away from family. So we came to the conclusion that the move was a little premature & after a little shuffling around we have moved back in with Anthony & Melissa like we had when I FIRST started this blog. 

It's amazing how things can come back around, huh?

So now that things are starting to settle down, the holidays are in full swing, & little man is old enough to be self entertained for short periods of time,
 I've started to end up with a little me time. :)

So my goal this month, is to jump back in whenever I get the chance. I'm not making promises on any literary ingeniousness or anything like that... but at least some minimum participation. :)

Bare with me.. things might get a little bumpy.

And just for fun, a few pictures of my handsome little nugget... he's getting so big!!