more ben cuteness

not to gush on my ben boy too much, but here's some more heart- warming stuff i want to capture before i forget.

yesterday on ben's daycare daily news sheet, his teacher wrote:
"Ben ate so much he was about to pop. He helped pick up blocks, one at a time. During circle time, he did itsy-bitsy spider all by himself, clapped hands and pulled up to furniture. Has been happy all day. Even roared when we reviewed the alphabet and we made the lion sounds!"

doesn't this sound like the typical toddler to you? it sure does to me.

and to think that statistically somewhere between 80-90% of women who find out they are pregnant with a child with DS will choose to terminate.

sad, sad, sad. look at what they would be missing.

little fingers

every day i wear this necklace.


it was given to me by my three kiddos last year and it's become a part of me.
it reads maman je t'aime which means mom i love you in french.

and every night, when i put ben to sleep, i rock him for a few minutes to settle him down and to get in some last snuggles for the night.
as we rock and listen to his lullaby music, his chubby little fingers play with my necklace.
he touches it and rubs it and sometimes gives it a gentle tug. but ultimately, as i listen to his breathing slow down and feel his head getting heavy on my shoulder, he falls asleep clenching my heart in his hand.

literally and figuratively.


i love this child.


so.very.much.

farewell cottage living

anyone who is close to me knows my addiction to magazines.
and cottage living is my all-time fave.
so you can imagine my deep sadness when i found out that my nov/dec. issue would be my last.
they are closing their doors and moving on after advertising sales slumped.

what in the world am i going to do without my heather chadduck and my fran keenan?
have you seen their creations? pure perfection.

here are a few of heather's designs:






and a couple of fran's too:






i don't know what i'm going to do, but i will surely miss 'em! and i hope i get to see their talents again really soon.

i {HEART} you

today was ben's annual appointment with the pediatric cardiologist.
i knew he's been doing well and all, but i yearn to hear to it from a doctor--any doctor.

so this morning we arrived at his appointment, walked in, went back to the exam room and five minutes later i skipped out with a huge smile on my face!

the doctor told me ben's heart looks perfect.
oh, and awesome.
i feel so happy!

so what better to do when you're all happy and stuff, than to go to target.
that place is oozing with happiness.

i bought anna these cutie pie sandals--i know she'll lurve the cupcakes!
i also got these fun dish towels for my girls' night pokerkeeno gift. but i could have easily bought these instead. they are both so cute.

and to top off the crazy cuteness, i also bought anna some of these bed sheets and these too for her new big girl (full size) bed that will be coming later this week.
(did i mention we got josh some bunk beds and so we are going to be playing musical beds?? God bless craigslist!)

last thing, i bought myself this shirt. and although the picture really makes it look kind of fug, it really is very cute and organic looking. i think it will look great with some capris and a big chunky brown earthy necklace. you know how i like anything with brown on it.

the boys were very well behaved and we had a good time, well until i rounded the corner and spotted all their new home stuff (where the global bazzar stuff usually is and the christmas stuff was, you know.) then i just had to run out of there before i did anymore post-christmas damage!

now i'm off to tackle our master bedroom closet. how does it get so messy so fast? (this question is directed towards my hubby, so i'll let him answer that)

p.s. i think i said "cute" like 10 times in this post. sorry.
p.s.s. target has their christmas stuff 90% off! i'm just sayin.

ordinary day

today was just an ordinary day.
again, we mostly stayed in our pajamas and hung out.

i made my favorite black bean chili. yummy!


josh, of course, hates it and cried all through dinner.

we watched football and played around on the floor.
lots of giggling and wrestling and all around goofiness.




none of the kids wanted to go to bed, but when it's 8pm, they all know the drill.
i'm very thankful for our routine.

i got a fitness magazine in the mail yesterday (a big hint from john). and we all tried to do some of the C-R-A-Z-Y exercises in it. it was hilarious, but also kind of sad.

so i'm going to try then again tomorrow.
if i can even walk!

a simple thank you

yesterday, wrapped in our newspaper, was a thank you card.
it was from our paper carrier.

i had totally forgot that i mailed her a card for christmas, a simple card, with $10 in it. and i had anna sign it too. inside i told her it wasn't much, but that we appreciated her and merry christmas.

so you can imagine my surprise when i received a thank you from her.
and it was so touching.
she wrote anna a special note that said, "Anna, I love your pretty card. It is on my refrigerator now. Thank you!"

it made me smile and again, remember the reason for the season.

even though the christmas decorations are put away and the cookies all gone, the music has stopped playing and the lights are all wrapped up, christmas spirit still is here. and i'm so thankful once again for that small baby in a manger that changed our lives forever.

resolutions are still being pondered. i promise i'll post soon about my thoughts...even if only to officially document my goals for this new year.