4th of July

Dravyn's second 4th of July went really well.  She loves stomping on snappers, and helping her daddy light smoke bombs.  She also rode a tricycle for the first time, she didn't really "get" it, only pushing it correctly about half a rotation but she had fun!  It was a great day even though we spent most of the day building her birthday surprise in the backyard.

 

 

 

Stomp Stomp Stomp

What I got when I asked for a smile.

A super happy girl!

 

I hope you had a happy Independence Day.

The one with boom and falls.

So... I am pretty much frustrated with everything lately.  I think it has something to do with not having a good nights sleep in the last month. Well, that and other things, but for now we will leave it at that.

Dravyn has learned that fireworks go "Boom!" and then fall, and she loves them so much.  Therefore I have decided to fill the rest of this blog post with "fire booms".

To all moms, happy Mother's Day.

Like all people I have a mother that I was born to.  I know that she loves me and I love her too.  I will always remember playing in the snow as a child and have her call us in to wrap up in a big fluffy blanket and rocking us and playing guitar for us until we were warm enough to go outside again.  I will always appreciate her being my Girl Scout leader,  being there for me at choir performances, and for the time she painted a moon on my bedroom wall in glitter paint.  But for several reasons I don't intend to go into now she is not the only mother I have had.



My mother and I opening presents, for some reason I can't remember when this was.

My mother and I at my wedding.

 

Her mother, my grandma T took me in and I lived with her for the second half of my 8th grade year.  I honestly don't remember much from that time in my life, lets call it selective memory.  I am sure I was a huge pain in the butt because frankly what preteen girl isn't?  But I know she did her best, put me in the best school available, and opened her home to my brother and I even though she didn't have to. She dealt with requirements, classes, and court dates and me a girl grieving a situation I could never get back.  And I will love her forever.

 

My grandma and grandpa T at my wedding.

Grandma T holding baby girl.

 

Then I lived with my grandma B during my high school years.  She gave me the love, space, and independence I needed.  She gave me a home with yummy food, family dinners, and a lot of beauty.  She was there through several things, like some people I really care about being arrested,  my uncle dying, and high school which is pretty hard alone.  She has been my hero for along time for the way she is the glue that holds that whole side of my family together.

Grandma and Grandpa B at my wedding.

 

Grandma B holding Dravyn, her first great grand baby.

 

After high school I went to college and met an amazing man who is now my husband, and I gained another mother.  A mom who helped plan our wedding, asked for details after every prenatal and baby appointment at the doctor, who is a lifesaver for taking baby girl off my hands when I feel like I am going to rip my hair out, and who deals with us still being in her house after what was supposed to be "just a little while" but has been 3 years.

The mother and Father In law.

 

Mother in-law with Dravyn on her first day.

 

But I also have my Mummy.  She may biologically be my aunt, but she is so much more.  She took care of me before I was old enough to go to school, she always is there when i need advice, knows all kinds of things about me,  always welcomes us for visits, and is the one who I wanted with me the day I became a mommy.  She is Dravyn's Grummy, and is a great mom to her other 3 daughters.



Mummy and Dravyn on her first day.

Mummy helping me get my shoes on before my wedding.

Me and Hawaiian Mummy.  Did I mention she is always up for my crazy ideas?

 

I hope that I give my daughter all the love these women have showed me, and that when she gets older she feels as lucky to have me as I do to have them.  Being a mother is not easy, it is constant worry and constant chaos, but also constant love.  I wish every mother a happy Mother's Day and hope someone else does the dishes.

Christmas 2012

The last couple of weeks have flown by and as I was looking through pictures and getting ready to write this post one thing kept coming to mind.  I just can't believe how much difference a year can make.


Last year, well I guess year before last now, December 2011.

This years Christmas photo. Yes I know I put it in the last post also, but seeing the two pictures together really shows the difference.


Christmas was a lot of fun this year.  It included all the classic holiday situations the house was crowded, children were running everywhere, we ate too much, someone ended up at the ER, along with going to Christmas church service, Christmas P.J.'s, opening gifts, laughing and togetherness.  It was all as it should be.

Dravyn's favorite Christmas gift was a vacuum the same color as mine.  She loves the thing and "helps" all the time now.

The day after Christmas we took family pictures, and said goodbye as family members went back home.

She is really into sticking her tongue out lately.

The whole gang.

The fur babies wanted in on the camera love too.

That day we also took down the tree and re-arranged the furniture while Dravyn slept, I like keeping the tree up longer, but I feared for the ornaments, the days of Dravyn staying out of the tree are over.  We hung out the next few days, had a Home Improvement marathon, and we Dravyn played with our her new stuff.  Of course I got sick, and was sick for about a week just starting to feel better yesterday
and I think I am back to normal today.

It snowed right around the New Year, and it made me so happy, I just love snow, plus Kevin stayed up with me until midnight New Years Eve, so I got a kiss, and drank some sparkling grape juice.

I am so lucky to have a husband and a daughter that I love so much.  I truly feel blessed, and am so excited to start a new year with them.  In this calendar year I will be celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary, I suppose I will be trying to potty train Dravyn, hopefully Kevin and I will get to go to another NASCAR race, I really want to take Dravyn to the zoo for the first time, and work on my business.  But more importantly I hope this year is full of laughter, smiles, and hugs, and I hope to recognize, appreciate, and remember those moments.

I hope your holiday season was wonderful.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas breakfast is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  It is held at my grandparents house every year.  I haven't gotten to go for the last few years, so this year we are going to have biscuits and gravy here on Christmas morning.

But there are plenty of things I still get to do.  Like go see the drive through lights display at Way of Salvation.  I didn't get to take pictures there, I will be honest I was too busy letting Dravyn out of her chair and holding her so she could dance to the music and get a better view of the lights.  I promise I put her right back in and strapped her in before we even got back on the road.  This year we also went to the Precious Moments chapel and looked at the lights there.

 

We got to watch a bell choir, another of my favorite things around Christmas.

 

 

 



We have also started a couple new traditions for Dravyn.  We read the story of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve last year and plan to do that again.  We also let her unwrap a gift each year on Christmas Eve, a new pair of Christmas pajamas.  I can't wait for next week.  I think she will be able to enjoy opening presents even more this year, and I get more time with my husband.

In case I don't post again until after Christmas, I hope everyone has a great Christmas.

The Christmas Parade

Last year for the Christmas parade it was freezing, they had set up fire barrels around the square and people were huddled around them shivering.  Dravyn was almost 5 months old, bundled up to the point of not being able to move much, and honestly was too young to enjoy it anyway.

This year was much different.  We wore short sleaves and jeans to the square, and brought Dravyns jacket in case she got chilly.  It was great weather, and Dravyn was in a great mood, running everywhere and watching everyone and everything.

 

 

They lit the Christmas lights on the square right before the parade.  One of my favorite things to do is to go to the square and walk around when the lights are on it is just so beautiful and peaceful.

 

 



The pop chorus sang some songs and did really great, there were a couple soloists who also did a good job, even though the microphone didn't reach to where they were singing and their sheet music tried to blow away.

 

 

 

The night finished up with the parade, candy, a drive around to look at a house that has an awesome lights display, and burgers back home.  It was just another one of the fun activities this time of year.

 

 

 

Now that the parade is over I shall wait for the snow.