The Goose is Getting Fat!

Christmas is coming! Here are some photos of our first Christmas in our new place. Love that we got to do outdoor decorations this year. Jared was so excited!  Oh, and the boys are excited too.

Santa Hat Chair Covers.  My mother-in-law bought these for us girls one Christmas.  I LOVE them!  Need two more now that we have a bigger table, though.

Our Italian Nativity set.  It's really from Italy.  Thanks to my dear friend Erica Gifford coordinating it's purchase as a wedding gift to Jared and me.  It is still my favorite wedding gift.

Grayson was fascinated.  He still is and it will be a challenge keeping ornaments on this tree.

Ethan was so helpful over the past couple of days.  Christmas morning is going to be soooooooo fun.

Our stockings.  Ethan's, Jared's and mine were made by my college roomie, Nicole.  I requested the pattern and with the help of my Aunt Teresa, we did Grayson's and Landon's.  They are so cute hanging all together.

Full shot of our tree.

Outside lights! Thanks to Norb and Sabra, Jared got the front lawn he's been dreaming of.  (The reindeer blink and I couldn't get them all three at the same time.)

Our "Elf on the Shelf".  Ethan is not convinced that he is real.  He said today that he thinks he is pretend. 

These boys were worn out after all their work.

Knowledge

Ethan: My favorite word is Knowledge.
Jared: Knowledge?  How do you know that word?
Ethan: It's knowledge.  Knowledge is Spanish.

Just Thinking about my Brother

I have had my brother, Tony, on my mind so much lately.  I just love this guy!  I hardly get to see him since we don't live in the same town and when I do visit, he is always working.  He is one of the hardest working people I know.  But, he wouldn't be a Hesson if he wasn't.  Tony is celebrating his "Golden Birthday" on November 27, which may be why he is on my mind so much this week.  Tony is a great brother and person.  I think most of the time he doesn't even realize how awesome he is.  In celebration of his 27 years, here are a few photos and 27 things I love about Tony.

1. His smile, the real one that lights up his eyes.

2. His cupcakes, seriously this boy can bake.

3. His sense of humor, though most of the time he and Stacey are razzing me, he is so funny.

4.  His work ethic.  I love how Tony can put his all into everything he does.

5. His persistence.  I know life hasn't always been easy for him and he has persevered through some tough stuff.

6.  That he always finds the best ways to scare me with that forsaken clown.

7. Memories of our sleepovers in the living room and at Nana's house as kids.  He is the best back scratcher, y'all.

8.  His love for the Wu-Tang Clan.  I don't get it, but love that he does.

9. Memories of the 8 months or so that Tony lived with us.  He took such great care of me while I was a crazy pregnant lady.

9.  That he is always surprising me.  Be it with the aforementioned clown, or a kind deed, or a prank that makes me cry (also I was crazy and pregnant at the time).

10.  His love for his family.  Not many brothers are cool enough to tell their sisters I love you in front of all their friends in high school.

11.  Memories of going to soccer games his senior year.  That was a tough year for me, and those games and his company really helped me get through that year. 

12.  That he is so adventurous.  He spent a month in Borneo and got corn rows in Venezuela.  Need I say more?

13.  That he is nostalgic.  We love our Gummi Bears DVD.  By the way, I hear Thundercats are making a comeback.

14. Memories of you tagging along to high school basketball games and patiently waiting while I cheered and Stacey kept stats.  Those were really awesome times for me.

15. How great he is with my kids.  He is definitely the fun uncle.

16. Your splish-splash.  You know what I'm talking about.

17.  That crazy curly hair of yours. You've got style, dude.

18.  That you have a pair of Reeboks in every color.  I wish I were as fashionable as you.

19. Your hugs.  I love those.

20. Your talent for film.  Would love to see you put yourself out there more on that one.

21.  That you are so patient.  Especially with my boys.  They love when you let them do manly things with you, like move sprinklers and plant bushes.

22. You are a great soccer player, bro.

23. That you love Arrested Development as much as me.  "Hey, Brother."

24.  That you are willing to cook me dinner even after you've been cooking all day at work and it's late.  (Most of these times occurred when I was a crazy pregnant lady.)

25. How much you love your family.

26. That you have successfully put up with two sisters, who often forget that they're not your mom.  We just love you.

And, for 27. A wish that you will find someone who thinks you're even more amazing than I do.  I love you, brother. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

  

Grayson is 2 To-day!

Grayson is 2 today.  It is so hard for me to believe that he is 2 years old.  Grayson brings so much joy to our family.  He is full of energy and loves to snuggle.  Grayson struggles to communicate, but we all understand his sweet smile and must admit that when he says, "Eh?" over and over again it is pretty cute.  Grayson loves to eat popcorn, wave at the garbage men, ride his bike, drink chocolate milk, make mischief, and help Mommy with chores.  He has such a sweet spirit about him and truly is a joy.  Happy Birthday to our sweet Grayson.

Grayson at about 2 months.  Definitely smoochable!

Grayson at 5 months.  Love those cheks and chunky thighs.

First trip to the beach at 9 months.  I think he likes it.

Christmas 2010.  Grayson is one here and already starting to look like a big boy.

I'm 2 and I'm awesome.  Happy Birthday, Grayson.

Blessings

All month I have been trying to be more mindful of the blessings in my life.  I truly have more blessings than I can count.  That said, I can't seem to stop thinking about the things I don't have and want.  Mostly I want to be debt free and be in a position to stay home full time with my boys.  We are working towards those things, but it takes a lot longer to diminish debt than it does to accrue it.  School loans are a beast! 
In the end, we truly have so much to be grateful for and I think the rest will fall into place as we continue to do the very best we can.

Ethan's Birthday Party

My wonderful brother-in-law, Joe, made a sweet video documenting Ethan's 4th Birthday Party.  This is so awesome.  Wanted to share.
http://joesvideos.tumblr.com/
The password is youtubestinks

Laundry

Okay, so I know this post is about to make me seem even cooler than I already seem.  Read on if you think you can handle it.  This is my king-sized bed after the laundry was folded today.  I swear this stuff has begun to breed.  I did about 5 loads today.  That is a lot for me.  I try to do 2 loads a day to keep on top of stuff.  With the messiest about to be 2 year old and a 9 month old that has serious, stinky reflux, we change clothes a lot throughout the day.  I joked with Jared that I should list laundry as my hobby because I spend so much of my time doing it.  I don't even know if this picture does it justice.  It is seriously, a lot of laundry.  On top of clothing, sheets, towels, etc, I also cloth diaper so I do diaper laundry each week as well.  Needless to say, I am definitely going to start listing laundry as my hobby. 
I am not really complaining.  A friend of mine once said that she enjoys laundry because she knows she won't be folding itty-bitty clothes forever.  Basically, the less laundry I have, the bigger my children will be.  Thinking of it that way makes me stop and appreciate what this mountain really means.  My children are still sweet babies that brighten my life each day.  I will cherish each sock I successfully match and roll.  I will linger as I fold tiny shorts.  And, I will not cringe when I empty that stinky diaper pail.  Maybe having laundry as a hobby isn't so terrible after all.

Landon is 9 months old

Landon is 9 months old today!  I really can hardly believe it.  He used to be so small and now he is so big.  He weighed in at 21 lbs 9 oz at his doctor's visit and is about 39 inches long.  He is a big, happy boy.  His personality has really started to come out and he is so happy.  He smiles all the time and he laughs and makes the silliest faces.  Here he is after his bath yesterday.  Below he is about 1 day old, snuggling with Jared.  Landon is about ready to crawl full time now.  He can feed himself some soft foods and loves oatmeal.  He can get from laying down to sitting position and really likes going after his big brother's toys.  So hard to believe he is 9 months old!