Adventurous

Wow. He is growing so fast.

Who knew that a little boy could brighten up the world and bring so much extra joy? I didn't have a clue how happy being a mom to this little guy would make me. Not a clue. He absolutely illuminates each and every day. I never want this world to be anything but a happy place for him.

He is so curious and adventurous. He's social and happy. He loves to gives hugs and kisses to everyone. I could smooch on his cheeks all day long, and I do. I never want to do anything to squelch his unique, vibrant, and joyful personality.

He giggles and talks all day. He is so animated with his facial expressions and gestures. We laugh as he trys to mimic our words and expressions. He gets so excited with everything there is to see, hear, and experiment with. The world is his playground.

He's adventuresome and curious about the world around him. He wants to climb on everything. He loves figuring out how things work, putting things together, and putting his little legs to the test, seeing how fast they can go. So while he is exploring his universe, I will be admiring his every move and encouraging his independence. I love him. I LOVE him.

Oldies

I was browsing my picture archives and came across these beauties. CLASSIC.
These are some of my very favotire pictures. Like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words". I think these speak for themselves. (Taken Dec. 05.)


Look how scared he looks, I love it.


I just love the facial expressions. We always had, and still have so much fun together. I am so happy to be married to someone I can play and laugh with.

It's PRINCESS to you!

Matt's glasses somehow managed to find themselves under the merciless tires of our automobile. The poor guy is practically blind without them.

We made an emergency trip into the eye doctor, and $300 later, he's got an even stronger prescription (they'll be ready in a week, hope he makes it that long). I am wondering if he's going to actually go blind. Each time we go his eyes are worse...yikes.

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We went to Walmart to get the new frames and prescription. Matt was so funny; he was trying to get a free pair since the frames he had were supposed to be indestructable, the "bendy" kind. The lady was just laughing at him and staring at his glasses in a crumpled heep. They were sort of busy, so I decided to pick up a few things while we waited.

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Apparently they were ready before I was, so Matt and the optical lady decided to have some fun. Pretty soon my "name" is being called on the loudspeaker...

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"Princess Wood, will you please come see your handsome husband at the optical center?" (oh, and it was definitely announced more than once). I just started laughing.

Matt started calling me "princess" when he was first speaking again, and it sort of stuck. It's a bit corny, but he actually believes I am a princess, so to speak, so I figure I'll let him go on believing it until he figures out the truth. I am just waiting for the day when Kaden calls me princess...

Please watch this...

This wonderful post/video had me laughing, crying, and smiling ear to ear all at the same time. I will watch this over and over. This amazing woman has it right. There is always a reason to smile. I am so inspired by her words and her family, I literally could curl up in the fetal position and cry. Cry because I'm thankful, because I can empathize with her, because of the truth, power and love we all have, and well, just because I am one big cry baby. That's right, probably the biggest cry baby ever.

Also, Mindy's real song, Feather in the Wind might be my new favorite. The lyrics are unbelievable, so real, and the creative camera work and art of the video are fantastic. I'm a fan. Wish so badly that I could cruise on down to Mesa for the concert.

My favorites---well, a few of them...

I am SO excited to have updated family pictures. I cannot believe how fast Kaden grows and changes. He is getting so big. He is still smiley and happy and a ball of constant energy. He's learning to talk and is obsessed with cars and anything else that moves. He is freakin' hilarious and a constant source of entertainment.




I also love the updated pictures because Matt's smile is looking more and more natural, like the "old Matt". Looking at the progression of pictures over the last few years is another positive affirmation that he is still getting better all of the time....and, he's as handsome as ever.


This must be the most kissed baby that's ever existed (and I honestly mean that with no sarcasm or exaggeration). His cheeks are just so squishy and soft, SO KISSABLE. I'm obsessed.


He was obsessed with the water, completely enthralled. It made the picture-taking a little tough, but who has time or patience for pictures when there is so much new territory to be explored?!?!






The colors were gorgeous . I absolutely LOVE the fall.


Our little monkey boy.


He looks like such a big boy. My little man.


My favorite one of the three of us. Traci did a great job. Now I just have to decide which ones I want to blow up into life-size posters....haha. I promise I am not narcissistic, although after reading this over again, it really does seem that way. I've already admitted that I am a little, okay A LOT, obsessed with my family. That can't be a bad thing.

Happiness comes in small packages

and I get a lot of them.

Lots and lots of little packages bundled up especially for me, each day. No matter what is going on, there is ALWAYS a present, or dozens of them, sent to each and every person, every day. Taking a moment to find them, acknowledge them, appreciate and be thankful for them, makes happiness a lasting and real thing. I am happy to say that I am happy.

We love to laugh

I know I have written pleanty of times about how lucky I feel to have such close, fun friends. I absolutely love my friends. They keep me sane, make me laugh, give advice, lend a listening ear, etc. I just cannot get enough of my girls. I got to see Katie and Andrea while I was in Utah, and like always, we just picked up right where we left off. We roomed together in college and have a lot of fun, silly memories.

I love being goofy and feeling like I can act like my nerdy self. I love friends who can laugh along with me, and still love me even though I am a big dork. I love that my friends are big dorks too. Let's face it, we are ridiculous sometimes, and I'm not afraid to admit that. In fact, I love that we can just be ourselves, laugh to our hearts content, and leave feeling lighter and refreshed.

It's true that laughter is the best medicine. It is my favorite thing to do (well, one of 'em).

My very best picture, ever. It shows the essence of my true, inner-nerd. And, that's okay, I'm okay with it.

Nuptials, dancing, food galore, and a bit of frostbite...

This beautiful place was the setting for Matt's dad's wedding. On October 11th, Keith married Kim overlooking Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe. The scenery was breathtaking, as was the 30 degree, windy, snowy weather. Despite nearly getting frostbite, and taking 2 full days to finally warm up, the wedding was beautiful. We are so happy for Keith to have found such a kind, loving woman to marry. We wish them the very best and a lifetime of happiness together.

With Kara and Heidi before the wedding.

Kim's dad, with Kim and Sophia (her 4-year-old daughter). I love that Sophie is carrying her bouquet like a football, up-side-down. She was so cute posing like a little princess the whole time. She didn't even complain about the cold. I guess she was too excited for her wedding. She kept saying, "today we are marrying Keith." She is adorable.

Poor Kim was practically convulsing, but she looked beautiful.

The wedding party. Poor Matt is allergic to the cold, and his face was getting so puffy and red. We actually skipped out on the last pictures to go sit in the warm car. I was okay with that too ;).

Matt and I at the luncheon. After about 5 mugs of hot chocolate we were finally starting to thaw out a bit. The food throughout the day was spectacular. I am not sure I have ever been so well-fed in my life. It was all gourmet and I was in Heaven. I may have come home with a few extra pounds, but it was well worth it.

Keith and his kiddos. A very good looking bunch, I'd say.

The reception was loads of fun. We were back in the warmer part of CA, and much more comfortable. Of course there was a catered plethora of more amazing cuisine, which we gladly partook of. Keith and Kim suprised everyone with a choreographed first dance. It was one of the most entertaining things I've seen in my entire life. They were completely jammin', she was sassy, and the guests just couldn't get enough. I was wanting an encore.

I love how happy they look in this picture. They were having so much fun!

Looking good!

Sophie got in on the action too. She was amazing and completely stole the show. I could probably learn a few things from her!

I have to say that I just loved looking at my handsome man dressed up in a tux all day. He looked SO good, mmmm mmmm.

The Outtakes...

Traci took a few updated family photos for us. Kaden was so distracted by the water, cars, and was itching to run around and explore. My arms were numb from wrestling with Kaden. Matt was tired and yawning the whole time. At one point, Kaden was excited and threw his head back, giving Matt a fat lip. Needless to say, Traci managed to get some great shots. Here are a few funny ones that didn't turn out so great, but they made me laugh.

He's used to us both holding his hands and swinging him while we walk. He has gotten to where he expects it and won't even put his feet down. He was swinging in every single one of these pictures.

"But I just want to go play, and we've been doing this forever!"


The very next shot was this one. He gets over things quickly... (plus, a car was driving by).


We got about 5 pictures with Matt yawning, he just couldn't stop.


I scratched my hand and had to show him. He always acts like he feels sorry for me, hah.

I'll be posting the good ones later. I am excited about them; she did a great job. Kaden looks so old though!

BRIGHT Green!

Is the color of Kaden's new room.


And I love it. I finally picked a paint color, painted the entire room, and actually LIKED the end results. Believe me when I say, this NEVER happens. I usually paint a room 2 or 3 times before I am satisfied.

And THIS is what Kaden and Matt did while I was hard at work...


They watched Cars---the only movie Kaden will sit through. It works like a charm everytime. And, because it works so well, I have to be careful not to give in to the temptation to turn it on everytime I need to get something done...


Painting is one of those things that I am excited to do, that I love to do for a while. Eventually, the excitement wears off and the monotony sets in and I am anxious to get it over with. I was sore from this job because my roller wasn't thick enough and I had to push it against the wall to avoid white spots from the texture.

I finished though and would have to say it looks great. I am excited to put all of Kaden's little things in and personalize it for him. I think he's going to love it.

The fuits of our labors.

My friend Andrea has the most wonderful apple orchard, as well as some pear trees. Growing up, we spent a lot of time in the orchard. One of my very favorite pastimes is playing mushy-apple baseball. We would dress in our grubby clothes and play baseball with the yucky apples. When you hit those things with a bat they completely explode and go everywhere. We also had such a fun time setting the apples on the road and watching them burst as cars drove over them. And people wondered how we kept busy growing up in a small town....we were never bored.


She was here to visit last week and we found ourselves back out in the fruit trees. This time, we picked boxes and boxes of pears. I could not believe how many pears one tree can produce.


Kaden had a fun time helping out. When he got tired, he put his blanket on the box and laid down on the pears.


The Matts


I am in heaven with the box we got to take home--I will be living off of pears for a few weeks.