Happy New Year!

2009 is here and in full force! We enjoyed our time away from work and with family. It was exactly what we all needed. NYE was a quiet night at home. Ian and I caught up on the best of 2008 - thanks Maggie!

Maggie & John brought over yummy pizza for dinner. We had a few drinks while flipping back and forth between Carson Daly (ugh), Ryan Seacrest (more ugh), and crazy stuntmen in Vegas (mildy entertaining).

New Year's Day was great. We hosted a dinner party, so spent most of the day prepping and cleaning. Casey did a wonderful job with the meal. Of course. I tried to help where I could, but my biggest job was watching Ian. We had so much fun. He loves his new truck and I got a cute video of him walking behind it.

Our friends all joined us for an Indian dinner to welcome 2009. It was so nice to have our favorite peeps in one place. Casey bought me some Polaroid film for Christmas and I couldn't wait to bust out my camera. Ian was able to hang for a bit before bedtime. He passed out his birthday party invitations before hittin' the hay. The crafty bitch in me did a swell job if I do say so myself...

Friday, I headed north with Kate and Ella for another Carter's trip. Ian was awake so we thought he should tag along. It was a good time. Kate was in search of a cute dress for Ella's upcoming photos and well, I was in search of...pants, shoes, a hoodie. You name it. I didn't do too much damage though. I can wait to splurge for his birthday;)

Casey and I have started to discuss our remodeling projects. We spent Friday night in the basement organizing all our stuff. We have a contractor coming over on Thursday to discuss ideas. Yay! We often talk about our kitchen remodel, but know that is a few years away (we're holdin' out for IKEA). We originally decided to do nothing in our kitchen. We figured why put any money into it when we are just going to change it all down the road. But after our dinner party on Thursday, I realized I just could not take our kitchen faucet anymore. We researched some faucets on Friday night and headed out Saturday AM to find one. Casey installed it with no problems and I was happy as a clam for the rest of the weekend! Check out the before and after shots. Honestly - anything would have been better. I am geeked to have a sprayer that actually works and a clearance of more than 2 inches:)

Apparently, a new faucet was just what I needed to light a fire under me. I spent most of Sunday in the kitchen. I made carrot cake cupcakes. Delicious! Then I dove in and made some goodies for Ian. We decided it was time to introduce some spices to his life, so he now has Peas & Onion, Carrots & Cumin, Peaches & Cinnamon, Corn & Marjoram and Mangos to choose from. Yum! I also spent some time organizing Ian's baby scrapbook. I have started to piece it together. I was hoping to have it done by his first birthday...we'll see. I have been known to pull off crazier stuff.

We have settled into our normal routine again. Daycare, work, daycare, play, dinner, bedtime, more work, more dinner, bedtime. Then get up the next day and do it all over again. It is so worth it though. Proof - the video below. Wishing a fabulous new year to you and yours...