Exhale

Finally, I am starting to feel like I can come up for some air. It's been a whirlwind since Thanksgiving! The holiday season is always busy, but it really kicked my ass this year. There was so much to do in what seemed like a very short amount of time. It was all good, but just a lot.

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.

Before

After

On January 10th, Ian started swimming lessons at the Rec Center. The hope was a fun time for him and Casey on Sunday mornings and some time for me to relax alone. Well, the first class went great. Ian loved it and came home telling me all about the bubbles he blew! However, the next 2 classes didn't go so well. We decided to hold off on them for a bit and we will just take him to free swimming a few times and see how that goes. Doesn't he look so cute in his swimming trunks though? The good news is we were still able to get into the winter music classes and we started back with those this morning. He was shy at first, but as soon as his friend Ella arrived he was ready to play!

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!

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!

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!

It is hard to believe January is almost over and we are onto February. No complaints here though...I am ready for flip flops!! We are enjoying our laid back weekend and hope all of you are as well. Looking forward to the Super Bowl next weekend. Go Colts!