We had a low-key New Year's Eve. Maggie and John came over - we watched some TV, played Wii and amazingly I was able to stay awake until almost 1 AM. I don't remember the last time I was awake at that time - by choice that is. I just enjoyed having time with my family to relax. On New Year's Day we took the plunge and replaced the toilet in our Master Bathroom. It was about time! I am so happy to no longer have a fickle mustard colored toilet, but now I want to update the rest of the bathroom to match the toilet! We are hoping to tackle that in 2010 - we'll see.
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Mom and Bob arrived on the 20th. They arrived a day early so Casey and I could go out to dinner to celebrate my 34th birthday on the 21st. It was a nice treat! We enjoyed a nice dinner at Tibet's in Louisville. We were also going to see a movie, but there weren't any movies out at the moment that I just had to see. Plenty that I could have seen, but none that I felt like dropping $20 on. Let's be honest - I really only go to the movies for the popcorn anyway:) Ian had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa. My Mom got some great pictures, but I forgot to get them off her camera before she headed back home. Bummer. They said Ian did great and it was as if he didn't even know we were gone. He was fast asleep when we got home, so he missed out on my delicious cake from Cold Stone Creamery. I was stuffed, but wasn't going to miss out on cake on my birthday!
On Saturday, the 23rd, Mr. Ian turned 2! It is hard to believe that he is a toddler. He will always be my baby, but he gives me "that look" when I call him a baby. He is walking and talking a mile a minute, constantly exploring this fabulous world around him. He had a nasty cold at the first of the year and it seemed to hang on forever, we were worried that he might not be up for his party but it cleared up just in time. We had plenty of friends and family over for a party in the afternoon. He had a blast opening presents and eating cupcakes from Grandma Jane!.jpg)
I made his invitations over the New Year's holiday. I found these really cute monster stickers so we decided to go with that theme. Nothing crazy - we have plenty of years to come for over the top birthdays. I did find this cool patch on Etsy and sewed it onto a shirt for him to wear. Not the best picture, but at least you can see the patch:) My Mom made delicious cupcakes that matched the monster on his invitations! She always does a great job. This year we decided to ask our friends to bring donations for the local OUR center instead of gifts for Ian. We knew that he would be receiving a lot of gifts from family and it would be a great way for us to give back. We adopted a couple of families during Christmastime from the OUR Center so I contacted them to see what ideas they had for his party. They suggested (because of his age) that everyone bring baby items to donate. I am pleased to report that we have an estimated $200 in donations to drop off next week! Thank you so much to everyone who brought a donation - we know there are many little babies who will benefit from your generosity!
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All in all, it was a great month! We took Ian to the dr. on the 26th for his 2 year check-up. He did great and the dr. said he is doing great. He weighed 24.6 lbs. and is 32 1/4 inches tall. He was able to show the dr. his belly, eyes, ears and nose. Then showed her how good he is at running around and getting into everything. Ha! Here is an adorable picture I got of him on my phone while waiting for the dr. to arrive. He looks so hard at work!
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We drove around for about an hour looking at a few houses. Our local paper publishes a listing of local homes worthy of a peep. Well, some were worthy anyway. It was so cute to hear the "aaaahhhhs" from the back seat as we passed by the homes. Now each night on our drive home he points and shouts "lights" as we drive thru downtown. It is too cute!
Ian has also picked up a new hobby - he loves to vaccuum! And to think this is the same little boy who was terrified of the vaccuum as a baby. He would cry everytime we had to break it out. I got this video the other morning and I just couldn't resist sharing it!.jpg)
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As if decorating a tree wasn't enough to cram into one holiday weekend we also decided to take Ian to see Santa. Last year we took him to our local mall and while that was fine, the cost of the pictures was ridiculous. I decided this year I would try to be more proactive. Thus, Bass Pro Shops for a free photo with Santa! I saw an ad on TV and thought we should give it a shot. When you arrive you get a Bass Pass which gives you a time to start lining up. Fortunately, we got there rather early but it was still a 3 hour adventure by the time all was said and done. They had a Santa's Wonderland to entertain the kids while waiting for their picture. Most of it was geared towards older children, but Ian did enjoy playing with the fake snow and hanging out in the snowball tent. That is until one of the older kids knocked him down - it was game over at that point. So, we ventured throughout the rest of the store. It is huge! Ian loved the Arctic Cat display and all he wanted to do was climb on each one to test it out. .jpg)
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As you can see, the potty is the latest and greatest in our house! We busted it out a few days before Thanksgiving. Ian has really started to show an interest in the potty and loves reading his books about the potty. We aren't in any kind of training mode just yet - just breaking the ice if you will. He likes to sit on it from time to time, but mostly he loves that he can use it as a stool to get to all the goodies on the bathroom counter. Man, he has a serious reach! I guess I should look at it as a motivator to stay clean and organized. Right...

We avoided Black Friday, but were pleasantly surprised to learn a lot of stores still had good deals on Saturday and A LOT less people. I was able to get a lot of our holiday shopping done this weekend. Now if the gifts could just wrap themselves we'd be all set. Anyway, we stopped at Culver's for lunch and I couldn't resist taking a picture of Ian in this bib. He needs a shirt with the same logo, "I'm as cute as a Butterburger is delicious!" I love Wisconsin..jpg)
