Dearest Christmas, Please Come Back!!

So, I'm sordof in denial that Christmas is over. I refused to let Ryan take down our Christmas tree last night, and instead we left the lights on and slept by it all night. Christmas just went by too fast, and I'm having a hard time letting it go.

Ryan's family just left yesterday (we had a blast having them all here for Christmas) and Chanley and I have no idea what to do with ourselves now that they have left. We have just bummed around in our pj's all day...trying to entertain ourselves (and failing) and trying to get used to the quiet again. Chanley keeps trying to go outside because she thinks all her friends are out there playing without her. She LOVED having everyone here. She absolutely refused to take any naps the whole week, because she didn't want to miss out on any of the fun. Poor girl was running on no steam whatsoever by the end, but did suprisingly well! She would wake up every morning at the crack of dawn, sit straight up and listen for Carter and Syd. When she heard them she would get so excited! We all had a fantastic time. We don't get to see family very often, so this was such a treat for us.

Hense, the roaming around aimlessly in our pajamas all day.{*sigh*} Hopefully we'll reach a full recovery soon. :)

Thanks for coming Dianna, Mark, Tay-Tay, Brand, Jesse, Syd, and Carter. We miss you!! Please come back! :)

I did an awful job taking pics of our fun week, but I'll try to scrounge some up from Brandi and post them. But for now, here's some pics of our house. I had a fun time decorating this year. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Our Sweet Lil' Girl

Chanley is SUCH a sweet, cuddly girl and I love it! She is so good at giving hugs and kisses, and loves just to cuddle up on my lap. It's heaven. :)

Cute experience. The other day we were eating at A and W. Chanley wanted to get down from the table and walk around, so we let her. Next thing I know she was walking towards an older lady in a nearby booth. This was a little uncharacteristic of her, since she's pretty shy around new faces. Anyway she went right up to her and just put her little hand on this lady's leg. Then she put her head on her leg and gave her a hug. (Well, her leg a hug, since that's all she could reach.) The lady just melted. :) She looked at me like, "I think she's hugging me!" She told us that Chanley just made her night.

I just love my girl.

Just the Three of Us

We had such a good Thanksgiving weekend. Just the 3 of us. :) We stayed in most of the time, but it was perfect. Just cause.

We...

Laughed (a lot.)

Stayed in our PJ's for 3 days straight. (Ok, maybe that was just me. Ry just loves it when I wear my sweats. Not.) ;)

Cuddled on the couch.

Ate Turkey and Pie together.

Watched a lot of football. (Even Chanley seemed interested. Ry was so proud.) There was one point she had fries in one hand and pizza in the other while she was watching football and Ry gushed, "Channy, you're SUCH a good girl!"

Decorated our tree. The best part by far was Chan's excitement when we turned on the lights. She ooh'd and aw'd all night. Lil' cutie.

Wrapped presents. (Well, tried anyway. Chanley was helping.) :)

Listened to Christmas music.

Stayed up late watching movies. (Ok, Ry stayed up late while I snored next to him.)

Watched old Christmas cartoons. Love those!

Shopped the Black Friday madness....yeah dumb move.

Took naps. Glorious naps.

Memory I don't want to forget.

Tonight we were all laying on mom and dad's bed. Chanley's so funny. Sometimes she just gets in a really cuddly mood. (Which i LOVE.) Chanley would lay her head on my chest and give me a big hug for like 15 sec, and then sit up and lay on Ryan's chest and do the same thing. Then she'd sit up and lay her little head on my chest again, and then Ryan's... She went back and forth. Just cuddling with us. She must have done that for 20 minutes. She had this cute little grin on her face and she just melted our hearts to pieces. It was one of those moments that I could have stayed in forever.

I know, mushy mushy! I love it. :)

I am so THANKFUL for my little family. Hope ya'll had a good Thanksgiving.

Watchin' Football. Can't have Thanksgiving without football, or so I'm told. (Bah!)

I had to share...

Chanley's gift for Ryan for Father's Day. We put these in a frame for him to put in his office. Believe me getting Chanley AND the words in the same shot was not an easy feat, but we had fun. :)

Ry, thank you so much for being such a wonderful father to Chan.
She couldn't adore you more.

MIA

Sorry everyone I have been awful about updating lately! What can I say, life has been NUTS! I have about a gajillion pics I need to post of our recent adventures. Since I last posted we went to Nebraska to visit Ryan's sister, and went to Idaho to visit my family for two weeks. Not to mention Father's day, 4th of july, girls camp, and just plain summer pics...Don't worry I'll post all those soon. Until then I'll post a recent pic of Chanley. She's growing up so stinkin fast!! It makes me a little sad...

Here's just a few updates on our lil girl.

-She's got tonz of hair all of a sudden! And in the sun it almost has a reddish look to it. We pretty much think she's the cutest baby in the world. I've had a hard time putting pig tails in her hair though because it makes her look older. :)

::She just got her 4th tooth!! She doesn't look like my baby Chanley anymore...she's looking like a little girl! (tears *sniff*) Can you tell I'm having a little trouble getting used to this growing up crap. :) Anyway she did pretty good teething wise. She all of a sudden bit me a lot more and started drooling, but other than that I had no idea she was cutting teeth!
But let me tell ya those little buggers are sharp!

-She loves to swim and be outside, we're pretty much at the pool every day. She also loves to go on walks in her stroller. Any time the door opens she is bookin' it over there to try to get outside.

::She is starting to say momma!! She's been saying dadda for awhile but not momma... needless to say I was pretty excited the first time she said it. Don't laugh but it almost made me cry.

-She is soooo ticklish. Particularly her feet, under her arms, and under her chin. It is hilarious how loud she giggles. She also loves it when I lay her down and tickle her with my hair.

::She loves to walk, but isn't quite brave enough to do it on her own yet. We bought her this toy that she can walk behind and push and she gets this big triumphant smile on her face.

-She has learned how to take off her diaper. That's been fun. :)

::She is a very good eater. She especially loves fruit. The other day I was making freezer jam with my mom and she sat in her high chair for 2 hours eating strawberries. Needless to say she is a roley-poley baby. She has rolls on her wrists, her belly, her thighs...aw we love it! You just have to squeeze and kiss those chubby cheeks.

-She loves to make messes. I feel like some days all I do is just follow her around picking up after her. She really loves to scatter papers (then try to eat them), and pull all the dvd's off the shelves (and put them in her mouth), and the speakers...well you get the idea.

::She love to clap, wave and jabber. We just discovered Barney and she loves it when they sing. She starts to move her arms and clap with the music. She also loves it when mommy sings and dances in the kitchen with her.

-She LOVES her daddy. Everyday when he comes home from work she gets so excited and just wants daddy to play with her. Ryan is also amazing at putting her to bed every night. She'll just lay her head down, look up to make sure he's still there, then put her head back down and repeat it until she falls asleep. Its so adorable.

::She's a really, easy-going, relaxed, chill baby and for that I am very grateful. She does pretty good at keeping to her schedule during the day but is even happy if she skips a nap. The only issue we're having is that she LOVES to wake up in the middle of the night and come to bed with mom and dad. Any advice anyone on how to get her to sleep in her crib all night? I complain about her not sleeping through the night, but secretly I know I will miss her little hands grabbing at my face in an attempt to wake me up every morning. There's nothing better than waking up to her little smiling face next to mine.

Every day I marvel at the many blessings in my life. Sometimes I just watch Chanley and get so overwhelmed with joy knowing I am her mother. She brings so much laughter and happiness into our lives. I'm so grateful for my Chanley girl.

--::--

3 years baby!

Yesterday Ryan and I celebrated our 3rd year anniversary. Wow I can't believe it! It blows my mind how fast time flies, and yet I can't remember life without Ryan. He's my best friend... he's my everything. He continues to amaze me every day and I'm more in love with him now than ever. Don't get me wrong our marriage has it's bad days just like everyone else's, but when it comes down to it he's the one I want next to me at the end of the day and the one I want to wake up to in the morning.

I love you babe. Here's to many more tomorrow's together.

You are my sunshine

Mother's Day 2010
Hope all you awesome women out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I know I sure did.
Now that I am a mother I have a teeny tiny idea of what my mom went through raising all of us.
Being a mom means your time is no longer your own.
My mom is the perfect example of sacrifice and love.
She would do anything for us.
Mom, THANK YOU!
I only hope I can be the kind of mother to Chanley that you are to all of us.

Also thank you Dianna, for raising such a wonderful son.
I couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law.

~~::~~

Ryan and Chanley--THANK YOU for making my first Mother's Day so special,
{I even got breakfast and dinner out of the deal!} I love you both so much!

~doesn't get any better than this~