Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Shame on Me

       Shame on me for taking so long to get some holiday photos up. I've just been recovering from all of the holiday fabulousness. I'll be back soon. Until then...

Monday, December 13, 2010

Hellooooooo Santa!


       What has one sick baby, one sick mama, one busy fireman and one long to-do list? Our household. That's what. I'm starting to think that that tune "the most wonderful time of the year," should go something like "the most chaotic time of the year," "the most exhausting time of the year," or "the busiest time of the year." Not to be a scrooge, because I love the holiday season just as much as the next gal, but during the other 11 months of the year I seem to forget how utterly crazy the month of December is. 
       This weekend was jam packed with holiday festivities. On Friday night we had our first holiday party of the season, hosted by the Meek's Bay Fire Department where Jon volunteers.  It was filled with good food, a visit from Santa, and fire engines. What could possibly better then that?
We were pretty excited to see what Nolan 
would think of the the ole' guy. 
We anticipated some pretty loud screaming. 
But the kid surprised us. 
Funny enough, this Santa was a woman. 
I think I heard a rumor that it was one of the fireman's wives.
This photo will go down as Nolan's first photo with Santa. 
Thoroughly enjoying his goofy expression.
We took Nolan on a tour of the trucks.
Notice Nolan's fire truck sweater...
...and socks.

       Friday nights festivities were followed by some gift wrapping and lots of cookie baking on Saturday. On Sunday we got to go to a cookie swap party. Everyone that came had a baby or kiddo in tow, so we swapped lots of stories and tips about baby food, sleeping, chilcare and milestones. I didn't take any photos of the cookies (which I've enjoyed several of today), but I did take lots of pics of BABIES!
Meet Huck, Romi, Hannah, and of course Nolan.
Hmmm...3 tame and manageable heads of hair + Nolan.
Hannah was showing off her crawling skills all day.
I love to think that all these kids may end up in highschool together.
Yes, Nolan is wearing the same pants as a girl. 
And socks. 
Jon said that I can't dress him anymore.

It was a great holiday weekend and the days 
before Santa arrives are really winding down now.
Hope that you're enjoying the holiday season!

Monday, December 6, 2010

The Fairest Tree in All the Land

       This Sunday, we took advantage of some time off together to get in the holiday spirit. With Jon gone all day on Saturday and a very busy couple of weeks ahead of us, we wanted to get our tree put up in our house while we had the chance. This year, I very much wanted to fork over a little dough to purchase a tree from a tree farm. We've cut ours down in the woods for the past few years, and while the experience is great, you get what you pay for. As in...a tree that leaves a little to be desired. But when our plans to visit a tree farm were foiled by bad weather, we went out and purchased ourselves another permit so that we could go and hunt our own. 
       Every year we've gone to a different area to cut down our tree. This year, we landed ourselves on the West Shore of Tahoe in an area we had no idea existed. So after driving around and scouting out our kill, we pulled ourselves over and got to work. 
I had the best view of them all. 
This little guy.
We strapped on some borrowed snowshoes and headed uphill.
Jon actually took a few pictures of me with Nolan, 
which is pretty rare.
Man, dog and saw.
Nolan even wore his lumber jack shirt.
Jon finally found a tree that he was happy with. 
{It actually doesn't look nearly as fat in this picture as it really is.}
We've decided that tree selection and cutting is his territory.
And all other holiday items are left to me.
And so, with his eye on the prize. 
He got to work.
Here comes my lumberjack now.
Nolan took a two hour nap after we got home, which allowed us
to dig in to all our boxes of decor. 
Two exhausting hours later, the Milam halls were decked. 
      Natural Christmas trees, while they feel so right, don't look quite so right. They're a bit sparse and quite oddly proportioned. But they are nice on the pocketbook. Once we own our own home, I vow to find myself a picture perfect tree. 
Hunt down a tree... check.
Deck the halls... check.
Christmas tunes in the house... check.
And... Christmas cards have been ordered... another check!!!

This great day is being followed up by a not so great day. 
Nolan heads to childcare Monday.
For his first time. 
Not sure who this will be harder on. 
Him or me?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Best Friends Forever

...Or at least the next 13 years or so.
       In our house, Jon and I are chum. We're just here to pay the bills and do the chores. Blue is the real prize. Nolan will babble to Blue, not to us. He laughs and stares and Blue provides lots of kisses. We actually have to try to steal Nolan's attention away from Blue... regularly. I don't really know how people raise a baby without a dog around. I guess you buy lots of toys. We have very few toys... just a baby loving dog. And we're starting to think that Nolan's first word won't be "mom" or "dad," but "Blue." 



Oh, and there's the free pony rides.
So if you're thinking of having a kiddo, go out and get yourself an amazing yellow lab, stat. 
A mellow lab. 
A well behaved lab.
 A baby loving lab. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A Swinging Thanksgiving

       The holiday's are getting more and more chaotic at the Hay-abode. But with chaos comes fun and entertainment. Imagine four kiddos added to our already busy Thanksgiving table; an almost three year old, a just one year old, a two-and-a-half week old, and our nearly five month old!  This combo certainly doesn't lend itself to peaceful Thanksgiving conversation. More like crying, fussing, and parents taking turns eating, but clearly we have a lot to be thankful for.
Like big cousins, who help watch the little cousins.

Like the newest member of our family...Colby. 
Like birthday gifts.
{We have an absurd number of family birthdays 
in November & December.}
And grandma cuddles.
Like cousins sharing toys.
Nolan took Roxy's ride for a spin.

And so she bit him. 
Kidding...she went in for a kiss and a little face grab. 
He survived. 
Like first holidays as a family.
And dogs that wait patiently for leftovers.
Like babies that are becoming experts at the 
3+ hour ride to grandma's house.
. . . . . . . . .
On Friday we took Nolan to the park for his first time. 
Him and Roxy tried out the swings together. 
I think Nolan may still be just a wee-bit small. 



Now we're getting started on our Christmas to-do list.
There's a tree to cut down.
Cards to make.
Cookies to bake.
A house to decorate. 
Gifts to be shopped for.
Just to name a few.

Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Project: Loose the Baby Weight. Final Update.

       I know it's been a while since I've talked about the post baby body project and I'm back with my last installment. Losing the last few baby pounds became pretty low on the priority list when I returned to work. And it's remained low on the list. Happily though, on a whim, I slipped on my last few pairs of jeans this week... and they all fit. Kinda tight... but they fit! So, in my book I've achieved success. I'm going to stick with healthy eating and walks with the boys, as a means to maintain. Once Nolan's schedule normalizes, I'm planning on re-joining up at the gym and getting back into hitting the gym early in the morning before Nolan wakes up. But that is surely a few months off. This week,  I'll trying to fit in a few runs, to help counterbalance the Thanksgiving feasting that is just around the corner!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Give Thanks

       In our house, it's official. The holidays have arrived. Snow is on our doorstop and we've had our first taste of holiday festivities. This is the fourth year that we've hosted a Thanksgiving get together for our friends. Although, this year it was an edited version. Chalk it up to the new baby and the fact that I'm always sick of turkey by the time the real Thanksgiving comes around, but this year we decided to opt for an easy-peasy, no fuss, appetizer-giving. We asked all of our friends to bring an appetizer to share and we whipped up some fondue and some pulled chicken sliders. And on top of all of the Thanks we were celebrating not 1, not 2, but 3 birthdays! So that called for some special dessert. But let me rewind a bit- there were a couple of other highlights this weekend that shouldn't be overlooked.
       Such as, the white stuff. And lots of it. True, we got a dusting a couple of weeks ago, but we've been getting buried by this stuff since Friday. And it's now Monday. Yeah, do the math. We've ended up with about 3 feet at our house and it's forecasted to continue through tonight and tomorrow. Sunday morning, Jon hopped out of bed and assumed the role of shoveler (It's one of his best roles). After getting Nolan bundled up, we joined him for some family fun in the snow. And can I just get an "Amen" for hand-me-downs? We received this amazing Patagonia snowsuit hand-me-down that I've already grown quite fond of. 
       After snow play and bickering with the husband about all the chores that needed to get done (insert: I was frantically running around the house, with a baby strapped to me, trying to get everything cleaned up and Jon comes to the door to tell me to come and watch him and Blue playing in the snow ), I headed to the grocery store for our last necessities. About a block and a half from our house I proceeded to slide myself and my jeep into a big snowbank. And get stuck. Bad. I walked back up the hill to fetch my dear husband to help 
un-stick me. Unfortunately we didn't take the camera with us, but picture the two of us digging, pushing, trying and re-trying until the jeep was freed. Eventually, I made it to the store.
Okay, enough babbling already.
Let's get on with the photos.
That's my boy in his snow suit.
And my car in the back, buried in snow.

Have I mentioned that babies don't
 look at cameras when you ask them to?

Okay, enough with the snow already.
I failed to take many good photos of the party.
The lighting was terrible. 
I was busy talking, baby bouncing, and eating. 
But, here's a few.


And there were baby friends.
For the special occasion, I opted to make miniature Boston Cream Pies.
{Note: I didn't get around to taking a photo until most had been eaten.}
They hit the spot.
And there you have it. 

Can I just say how much I L-O-V-E short work weeks?
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!