All better

Brendan is feeling much better luckily and back to his normal self. After 5 days of throwing up and diarrhea, I'm very glad that we're done with that. It was a long 5 days.

I know it's still a little early, but I've been working on our Christmas stockings so I can put them up next week. After 6 years of being married, Chris and I never got around to getting stockings so I figured I better get on the ball. Brendan's was the first to be completed.


And Chris even contributed. I didn't like any of the stocking patterns I found so he helped me draw one out and this is what we came up with. I think it looks pretty good!

Now I just have to finish ours and we'll be all set!

Hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

While I have a minute...

Today has been quite the day and Brendan is finally napping, giving me a few moments of rest. He seems to have caught some nasty bug and has been throwing up. He's not able to keep anything down but for the most part, he is in good spirits. We went through this last year, so we know the drill. He'll be on a diet of toast today.

And just for fun, some pictures of Mary and Brendan. Mary wasn't very happy when Stephanie left for class but I couldn't help taking a picture. It was pretty cute.


Brendan gave her a hug to help cheer her up.


And then proceeded to play with a car on top of her head. She didn't mind though. I think she's used to Brendan putting things on her head by now.


She was fun to have over and Brendan enjoyed every minute of it. And it was super nice when we had to run a few errands with the two of them in tow. For some reason, Mary's presence seemed to help Brendan behave much better than normal. Thanks, Mary!

It's been a crazy week

Our lives have been a bit hectic this past week and I'm very much looking forward to the weekend. Mostly because this weekend involves some fun birthday activities and celebrations. Yay!

This week has been good too. Brendan recently started saying some more words, miraculously. Now, this probably isn't a big deal to most of you but for me, it was HUGE. Brendan refuses to talk. He can say a handful of words but will not use them. I've tried forcing him too but decided against it since I don't want him to have a negative association with talking. So we've waited patiently and I have a feeling that he'll be taking off real soon. This week, he freely spoke when I asked him to repeat back to me: "train", "gross", "cool", "cat", "teeth" and "cookie". He's still got a ways to go, but this definitely eased some of the stress and worry I feel about him not talking.

Brendan doesn't usually like to read books with me but has recently begun to request we read Walter the Farting Dog over and over. He loves this book and so do. It's hilarious.

I love this time together. It's not very often that Brendan is still.

We've also had lots of time outside despite the cold and rainy weather. Brendan never seems to care what it's like outside, he's just happy to be free to run around like a maniac. He always has to bring a ball with him too and often gets it stuck under a car. Chris is nice enough to fetch them for him. I love this picture.

And we've had some of these moments too around here. *sigh* For the most part though, Brendan's pretty easy to please but he's pretty close to the "Terrible Two's" and I think he started early.

I love that sad face. I don't remember what he was angry about- it could have been anything but luckily he gets over it pretty quickly.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Adorable!

For anyone out there who loves cute pictures of kittens, check out the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. They foster kittens until old enough to be adopted and blog about their adventures.

If only Chris wasn't allergic to cats. It would also help if he didn't hate them. How can you not love kittens... I just don't get it.

I am in Heaven

I seriously have the best husband, hands down. I can't stress that enough. For an early birthday present, I finally wore him down enough and he got me a digital SLR camera. I've had it less than 24 hours but I think I'm in love. It's so wonderful and I don't even know how to use it fully yet.

I've been playing with it since it came home with us last night and I wanted to share some of the pics I've taken of Brendan.

I couldn't have a more handsome subject. He's fascinated by the new big camera and is always trying to get closer to it.



Hopefully as I learn what this baby can do, I'll be able to share some more. Thanks, Chris. You're the BEST!!!

Hello November

Mmmm... I love November. Partially because it just happens to be my birthday month but also because the leaves are gorgeous this time of year and the air is nice and crisp. I'll probably be tried of all the leaves in our yard and the chilly dry air in a couple weeks, but for now it is so refreshing. I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving with lots of family. It will be so nice to be able to spend the holiday with people we love. And there are two radio stations that have already started playing Christmas music. Joy! I'm not one of those people who mind it early- I think it's fantastic.

So the mood here in the Near home is fabulous and I'm looking forward to a wonderful month. Our darling boy has been sweet too, making me more at ease for the winter that we'll be spending mostly indoors. He's adjusting well and luckily there is a McDonald's with a Play Place about 2 minutes from where we live for the days that he needs to get some energy out.

This is for my Mother and whomever gave her this book for Brendan. He LOVES that it plays music when you push the buttons. He carries it around with him and plays the songs over and over. He wanted it very badly when we put him to bed last night and was happy as a clam with it.


Brendan also loves to play peek-a-boo with Chris before he goes to sleep. He seems to be the happiest when we are putting him down for the night.


And don't forget to vote tomorrow! Another reason to love November!!