love bug

been bitten by the bug. or slipped a happy pill. or drank the elixir of gladness. whatever it is, it arrived last week and i surely hope it's here to stay.

i'm really not sure why. not like we live in a sunny, tropical locale. sure, we've had some rays of sunshine peeking through now and again, but mainly it's overcast and gray with periods of snow showers and temps in the 20s. and it's not like harper has been a happy little clam 24/7. we have our moments, when she tests the limits of my patience and tolerance while my pregnancy hormones are raging and i'm way too tired and i'm feeling the early signs of braxton-hicks from running after her for bathtime, wrestling her to get on her coat and picking her up when she bats those baby blues at me all. the. time.

so, i'm listing out my reasons for being happy and so very in the moment right now:

1. harper's potty training is going so well! we've managed to convince her that nappies just aren't cool anymore. and even though we do have the occasional accident (hello, in the target shopping cart down the valentine's aisle, ahem), we're on the road to dryer days!

2. my recent addiction to crafts. i have a blank spot where my thanksgiving and christmas banners used to hang, so here's what i did about it.

3. harper's recent addiction to crafts. she woke up after nap this weekend and said mommy, i want to make something. when i asked her if she wanted to make something with food or with paper, she didn't hesitate with her paper decision. i jumped for joy! crafting with my little?! heaven!

4. the colors red, pink and white flooding the stores make my heart pitter-patter. i don't know why, but i just love valentine's day. and the ending of those busy holidays in november and december, turning the corner of a new year and still knowing that we have 3 (or 4, more realistically) months of cold, snow and grayness makes me leap toward early celebrations of the holiday of love. and there's more to come of this delicious love-ly day, because i signed up for willette photography's the joy of love 28-day online class. so, you lucky people you, you get to soak up my sappiness for the next 6 weeks!

side note: um, yes, i'm the one at joann's who lugs her camera into the aisles and takes photos. yes, the crazy one with the toddler and the bags and the felt and window clings falling out of my hands as i snap away at the yumminess of it all.

5. these yummy morsels. i bought the bag last week, and they're almost gone. but they're oh so good and very entertaining. sometimes, i play magic 8 ball with them, asking questions or thinking of a person and then pick one out without looking. good times.

6. enjoying the winter weather. don't get me wrong, i am longing for the sunshine and warmth and my feet in the beachy sand right about now, but i'm not going to let that ruin the winter fun we can have or lost sight of what's important about this very moment. when those big, fat snowflakes fall, i grab my girl and my camera and we bundle up and head outside for a good time.

7. sledding. finding whatever hill you can (even a foot high molehill in the backyard) and wheeee-ing down it. and spending the day with daddy. we had an amazing snowday last february, and i'm praying to the snow heavens above that we get another one of those days this year.

8. my little moving into a big girl bed. seeing her this past weekend sleeping peacefully in her full, while the crib right next to the bed lay empty. {sigh} she's growing up so fast, but it also means that it's not much longer until this little growing in my belly makes {his or her} grand entrance. and for that, i can't wait. to see harper become a big sister is something i'm so looking forward to. more pics of her bed to come- her duvet is on back order (of course!)

9. names, names, names. my mind is flooded with baby names! everything i throw out there or write on our dry erase board either gets the immediate veto by michael or given an ah, that's ok to keep on there for now. but he won't give me any himself, so i just keep them going and going and going. any suggestions from any of you out there??

so, there it is. my happiness for the moment. hoping it lasts and keeps the warmth through these wintry months ahead.

about face

here is my entry for this week's i heart faces photography contest, entitled "best face photo of 2010." this photo was taken within the last few weeks, after much learning over the past year about photography, and i love how my baby's baby blues just pop, sans editing.

good for something

harper is a joy. she's always good for a snuggle and some love. but we've also discovered she's great for a laugh, and we're bound to laugh with her or at something she says or does at least once a day. her school has even commented on several occasions that they will miss her comic relief when she moves on to preschool next year. yesterday, we had quite a belly buster.

an hour into her nap, when we could still hear on the monitor that she wasn't even close to settling down and i could see her standing and jumping in her crib (yes, still in a crib, but transitioning to a big girl bed next weekend!), michael went in to try and get her settled. she fought back, and just as he was turning to leave to try to get her to put herself to sleep, i heard lots of laughter. i went it to investigate, and all he could do was point.

here's what we discovered...

she had taken off her nappie and placed it on george before re-zippering herself up in her jammies. she couldn't understand why we we both had to take a seat for fear we'd fall over with chuckles. when we asked where her nappie was, she told us that george needed it. i have to admit it was a pretty darn good diapering job. she may just be lining herself up for a gig when this little one arrives in 3 months.

so proud of herself. needless to say, she didn't nap after that. i just had to pick her up and give her loving for the joy and happiness she brings to our lives every day.

holiday joy found

i participated in willette photography's finding the holiday joy online class this holiday season. and while most of my holiday photos are embedded within other posts about numerous topics that have come up over the past month, i've chosen a few of my favorites to repost. this class definitely helped to re-energize my photography passion that i found last february, as well as to improve my photog knowledge. thank you willette photography!

the letter from santa

the first gift she chose from her stocking

the candy tree at annual polish christmas eve wiligia

wrapping gifts

holiday nights at greenfield village

playing in (and eating) the snow

cheddar bunnies from her stocking

decorating cookies

red, our elf on a shelf

our advent calendar

our town's holiday parade

snuggling up for a favorite holiday book

warming up with some hot chocolate after trimming the tree

harper's first ornament

ornaments

the completed tree from our front door view

putting the santa on top of the tree

lighting the tree

reflections

so much to look back on in 2010, and so much to look forward to in 2011.

we started another tradition, with our first annual new years eve day pajama breakfast. we rang in the upcoming new year with family and friends, coffee, mimosas and lots of food. and the only requirement was that jammies must be worn, and no one seemed to mind. this will definitely be an annual event, and i can see the guest list expanding next year. i love to entertain.

and when the last of the muffins had been consumed...



and the last of the mimosas poured...



we relished in the relaxation of the rest of the day.

the weather brought an unusual heat wave in the form of rain and 50 degrees, so we ventured outside after nap to find some puddles.



harper located her tricycle hidden in the garage, put away for the winter months, and insisted that she ride it. i was shocked by how much she's grown in the last few months. at the end of summer, she wasn't able to reach the pedals. but just look at her now.

watching an airplane in the sky

michael and i have never been ones to really enjoy celebrating new years eve out. we'd much prefer to stay in, cozied up in pajamas, snuggling with our little and toasting the new year with each other in a quiet celebration. after whipping up a quick dinner and dessert, we played for a bit in our newly re-organized basement (which looks like the toys-r-us storage room) and bathed harper before laying her down for sweet dreams.

but just because we stayed in last night doesn't mean we never used to go out. as i was preparing dinner, i reminisced about past new year eves. parties at his parents house with an out of control, fully stocked bar. up north weekends with friends where we set up taxi rides home at the same time as dinner reservations were made, and where war paint was applied to the cheeks before the couch dancing ensued when we finally made it back to our condo. oh, those were fun times, but i don't need those types of celebrations anymore. i only need this to make my night and year complete.

we enjoyed the last hours of 2010. we lit the good candlesticks. we drank pseudo-champagne. we let the bedtime hour slide a bit. we filled our bellies with brownies and ice cream post-dinner, a bit too close to bedtime. michael and i watched a movie and then the ball drop in times square. and as the seconds slowly rolled over to the date 1.1.11, tears slowly rolled down my cheeks.

i look back at how much my little bean has changed over 2010.

january 2010

january 2010

12.31.10

12.31.10

and how excited i am that we are adding to our family this year. lots of change coming, lots of good. i reflect on the past year and how it's not only changed harper, it's changed me. how i've grown. and how much more this life has to hold for us. i look back and see that this blog officially got off and running again in february, and how much i've had to say over the past 11 months. and it's only going to continue. i love being able to get my words and thoughts out there, even if only for myself to read and reflect on, but to put down on paper my feelings and thoughts and memories for harper and this new little-to-be to look back on down the road. i love where this little life has taken us, and look even more forward to the journey in store for us in 2011 and beyond.

happy new year. enjoy all the littles this year has in store for you.