"Happy Christmas" (War is Over)

I just love that song, know which one I'm talking about? It sums up the year, as well as the holiday season for me.

I'm finally a little organized and just might manage to have all of my shopping and wrapping done by midnight on Christmas Eve. Hallelujah! And it looks as if we might, just might, have a semi-white Christmas this year thanks to the snow we got this weekend.

It's been a wonderful year, full of making memories with our crazy 18 month old. I cannot believe this is his 2nd Christmas already...as part of an early gift to Brendan, I've written this letter:

Dear Brendan,

It's been an action packed year for you, little man! You've traveled more this year than many people do in a lifetime. One trip to Florida, one to Texas, and 2 fun trips to Idaho. And with the exception of one of those flights, you are an expert at flying now which makes me so happy. You've cut a total of 9 teeth and are working on a 10th as we speak. In February you swam in your first swimming pool and put your little toes in the sand in Naples. In May we visited Daddy in Houston where you (officially) learned to crawl and discovered your love of cars. In June you gave Daddy the best Fathers Day gift ever, by saying your first word which was none other than- CAR. We also traveled to Idaho to meet your other Grandma's and Grandpa's, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a great time. This summer we spent many days on the beach and playing with friends in your froggy pool in the yard. In November we traveled to Idaho again to spend some special time with family, and that is when Grandpa Pat taught you how to walk! It was amazing and the perfect 60th birthday gift for Grandpa Pat. He was so, so proud. You've had 2 haircuts this year which would make lots of Momma's with bald babies out there very jealous, and you still have tons of hair that's hard to comb after baths. You survived a few bad colds, the coxsackie virus, 3 ear infections, and a whopping stomach bug.

At just 18 months, you cannot get any more perfect. Despite the terrible 2's you've now entered, you keep us laughing every day. You're quite the chatterbox and love to talk on cell phones. You've discovered how pens work which is okay, as long as you stick with paper and not furniture. You love to help Mommy cook, empty the dishwasher, and fold clothes which can be interesting and fun. You and Daddy listen to music and play with your cars in the family room, or you guys kick the soccer ball around the backyard. Toilet flushing has become a favorite past time of yours, as well as emptying out Mommy's make up bag to see what floats. Books are becoming your best friend. My favorite moments are sitting on the sofa, watching you pick out books that you want Mommy to read. I'm not too sure books can replace your fondness of cars, but as long as you take an interest in both, then I'm happy. You're still a binky and blankie baby, but there are no plans to take either of those away, anytime soon. You love our Christmas tree and I'm not quite sure how you're going to handle the day we take it down. I'm sure you'll miss saying "tee! tee!" when Mommy plugs the lights in every morning. You're so smart, Brendan. You head for the stairs when Mommy says "bath time!" and you are already counting and can say the letter "D" in your name. You run away from us when we pull out a diaper to change you. When you're tired, you stick your face in your blankie and beg for us to put you to bed.

Mommy could go on and on about how much you have enriched our family every minute, but Christmas is 3 days away and I've got a long list of things to do. When you read this letter years from now, just know this...if someone were to ask us what we did with our lives before you came alone, we wouldn't know what to say. You have made us "Momma" and "Dadda." That's all we know, and that's what we're most proud of.

Merry Christmas Brendan!!!
Love,
Mommy

I apologize.

I've been avoiding my own blog like the plague. If you'll notice, my last post was November 15th. I feel so behind and very out of the loop. It's the holidays, ya know?? I'm at the point where I'm not sure which end is up. I'm sure I'm forgiven, right? Once January hits, I'll be blogging like a maniac again. You have my word.

I don't even have much time to write tonight, so I also apologize for being a tease. But I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive and kicking.

In a nutshell:

The trip to Idaho was wonderful. Well, I feel guilty saying it was wonderful actually, because my Uncle Frank who had been battling cancer for a year, passed away while we were in town. In a way, I found it to be such a blessing that I was able to see him in his final hours and say goodbye. It was heartbreaking. He was my most favorite uncle, and such a remarkable man. He left the way I would want to go though...surrounded by his entire loving family, peacefully at home. At one point I stood by his bedside and the tears just flowed. It was my turn to whisper how much I loved him and how much I will miss him. I stood by his bed and was reminded of a time about 5 years ago when I was in town visiting. I had called my Aunt Julie and Uncle Frank to let them know I'd be stopping by. I pulled into the driveway and before I could even take the key out of the ignition, Uncle Frank appeared with huge hugs and a bright smile. Aunt Julie followed behind with the same. I'll never forget that moment, feeling so welcome and loved in their presence. Aunt Julie is sad. She's lost her best friend too soon. She put on a very good show for all of us, but I know deep down, her heart is missing the biggest of pieces. Uncle Frank, the family is missing a very dear member. We all love you so very much.

*tears*

Ahem. On a lighter note. Brendan and I were able to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday with him, as well as catch up with Uncle Shawn and Aunt Kat and the kiddies. It was so funny to see Brendan play with his cousins this time around. Abbie roughed him up a bit while Tyler did his best to play referee. I love the how the dynamic is so different when Brendan plays with his cousins vs. playgroup buddies. When he plays with Tyler and Abbie, they can wrestle, taunt eachother, and the tear the house apart, and it's just not a big deal. If someone gets hurt, oh well! It's just a whole different ball game and I love it. My brother-in-law better get with the program STAT or else B-Lo is shit out of luck for east coast cousins to beat up on. He was totally eaten up by all the grandparents of course....and did you know? Brendan is now WALKING! That's right folks! My Dad taught him how to walk within the first few hours of visiting. Isn't that something? I'll post the video as soon as I figure out how to do it.....

Thanksgiving was wonderful and now Christmas is on it's merry way! Crap! Which brings me back to reality. I've got to get off this dang computer and go finish the Christmas cards. I will fill in the blanks on some more good stuff at a later date.

Here are some pictures of the trip for your viewing pleasure. Oh and more thing incase you're wondering, Brendan was a total DREAM on the flights to and from. Total dream. Whoever invented the matchbox car gets a huge A+ in my book!