Easton,
It's pretty cute that you are learning where your belly button is and love to pull up your shirt when someone asks "Where's Easton's belly?" It is entirely another story to do it to a grownup. Mama and Daddy don't mind so much but the first time you do this to someone other than us, I don't know if I'll be able to hold it together. Just thought you should know.
Goodness knows what will happen when we teach you names for the rest of your body parts. Hehe
Love,
Mama

Baby,
I like to write letters to your brother. I thought it was time to start writing to you too. We had an ultrasound to see whether you are a boy or a girl but that day you must have been feeling modest. That's ok. Most times Mama will want all your "parts" to be covered up. But next time? Next time it's OK to just let it all hang out, OK? Thanks!

Also, thanks more than I can possibly mention for not making me throw up any more. I loved you then but I love you even more now. :) I promise I'll try to eat less junk and more veggies, OK? We don't want you to come out only wanting pizza and bread instead of milk, right?

You move around a lot more than your brother did. In fact, right after I got up off of the exam table from having my ultrasound that day, you started doing flips in my belly. Your daddy got to feel you kick for the first time about two weeks ago. He didn't get to feel that with Easton until much later because Easton just didn't seem to want to move around a whole lot. I love feeling you move around in my tummy. I wish we knew for certain whether you are a boy or a girl because I think it would be fun to pick out a name, decorate your room and "get to know you" a little better but for now I'm just really enjoying those times when you decide to say hello. Keep it up, litle one!

I love you!
Love,
Mama

Snow Day!!!

Easton had such fun watching the snow come down that we decided to go outside and get a closer look at the snow. He didn't know quite what to think when I bundled him up, took him outside and plopped him down in the middle of all that cold, white stuff. He did like the snowball I made for him though. He thought it tasted pretty good. He held onto it for a while and then got pretty mad when his hands got too cold.

When he'd had enough of the cold, we went inside and had hot chocolate. Well, Mama had hot chocolate. Easton had warm milk with a teeny, tiny bit of chocolate in it. He thought it was the most delicious stuff on Earth. I don't think I've ever seen him suck down a sippy cup of milk as fast as he did today. I think I even heard him say he can't wait til it snows again so he can have more. :)

And the tooth!!!! Did you see the tooth? I have been taking SO many pictures trying to get a good one of his new tooth but he didn't want any part of that. So get a good look folks, because it sure took a lot of work to get these pictures!

Easton helps himself while we have the fridge door open...

I found my camera cable! Now I can get rid of the 99 pictures on my camera and take some new ones!

Easton eats spaghetti

(notice the splash of milk on the bridge of his nose. Too cute!)

I want to help, Mom! Easton climbs into the dishwasher to see what he can get into.

Easton and his friend Olivia play in his ball pit in the toy corner of our living room

Easton rides his zebra

Eating 'nanas for breakfast...Easton's favorite!

Funny smile...lately this has been Easton's favorite way to be silly.

Guess he doesn't want us to see that brand new tooth. :)

Watching it snow

Did I finally get my closet cleaned out? YES! It looks gorgeous! I got rid of three huge 55 gallon trash bags of clothes (1 was garbage and two I will donate to Goodwill) and put three huge plastic totes of clothes in storage. Before, you couldn't even WALK in our walk-in closet. We had tons of plastic totes full of clothes I needed to go through, shoes everywhere. It was a nightmare! I even took before and after pictures but I can't find the cord for the camera! But it looks good enough that I had a friend come look at all my hard work when she came over. She was less than impressed but trust me...it was a MAJOR difference! Wow! Now it looks like I have nothing to wear. Guess it's time to go shopping. NOT!

Amy's Invite-Your-Friends-Over Crock Pot Chili

1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground chuck
2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 cans dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans diced tomatoes (I used the ones that said "ready for chili")
1/2 to 1 cup dried onion flakes (I didn't measure this but I probably used close to 1 cup)
1 can beef broth
4 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Brown turkey and hamburger meat. Drain if needed. Add to crockpot. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine. Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese.
You can cut this recipe in half easily but it freezes really well. I make the full recipe and freeze leftovers. Hey, cook once and save yourself the work, right? :)

What am I doing today? Trying to get up the nerve to face the mountain of clothes that is waiting for me in my bedroom. No, not dirty laundry. Clothes that are hanging in my closet that I can no longer fit into. Some I haven't been able to wear in over 2 years. I really, REALLY want these clothes to be boxed up, labeled and put somewhere I can't see them every single day. But do I want to do that myself? Uh, NO! I want the clean-out-the-closet fairy to swoop down, wave her pink, sparkly magic wand and POOF! It's done. (Didn't know her wand was pink and sparkly? Me neither til just now.)

Seriously. I have at least 3 sizes of regular clothes and probably two or three sizes of maternity clothes that don't fit right now. I'm glad to have been given so many maternity clothes but most of them are too small or the wrong season. UGH!!! Anybody want to help me? I think I could muster up enough willpower to dive right on in if this ordeal did not involve me trying on many, many clothes just to find that they DON'T FIT!

Now what to do? Keep these clothes and hope I'll eventually fit into the smallest sizes? (Probably not very good for my iffy self-esteem/body image right now.) Donate all but a very small portion to Goodwill? (Oooh, think of the tax-write off and all that extra space in my closet!)

It's hard being pregnant! Nothing fits right!!! Even the maternity clothes that "fit" don't exactly fit right and if they do, it's not for long!

But now's a good time to do it...Easton and Jason are taking a nap and the house is quiet. What I really want to do is go find somewhere to get my hair done but it's FREEZING outside and I don't want to get out. Maybe getting my hair done will be my reward for getting this closet cleaned out. And my homework done. And the dishes done. And the laundry. Bleh!

The posts from my homework folder... all letters to Easton written AFTER I was done with my homework. No procrastination for once! :)

Sunday, Jan 3 2009
Easton,
You said banana for the first time today. You were playing in the living room floor with your plastic fruit. You held up the bananas and said "'Nana". Daddy and I couldn't believe it! Sure, you've eaten bananas before and I'm sure we've said "Easton, this is a banana" but it's not like we sat down with you and said "Easton, this plastic fruit right here is a BANANA. Can you say banana?" And plus, we haven't bought any bananas in weeks! You sure do have a good memory, little man! The very next day, you and I went to the grocery store and I let you pick out your own 'nanas to eat. You got very mad when I wouldn't let you have one right there in the store. But eww gross! I can't let you eat a green banana, no matter how much you might try to convince me otherwise.
Love,
Mama

Wednesday, Jan, 7 2009
Easton,
We had lunch today with Ms. Katy at the Snow White Grill in old town Winchester. The place has been around forever and we finally had a chance to stop in. It's a tiny little place with only about 20 seats at a long counter. It was an adventure trying to eat there with you on my lap. You had a grilled cheese sandwich and french fries. Well, mostly you had grilled cheese and ketchup. You kept sucking all the ketchup off the fries and putting them back in the basket. Through careful manipulation and lots of baby wipes and napkins, we both managed to get out of there with only minor ketchup on our shirts. They had blue Christmas ornaments hanging over the counter. You tried so hard to reach them! Then Ms. Katy tried to reach one and couldn't. When I tried to reach one and did, you made us all laugh with a well-timed "WOW!". My little guy, for now I am drinking in the fact that such a minor little thing impresses you. For now, mama does magic! One day you will not be so easily impressed and that will be a sad day indeed.
Love,
Mama

Friday, Jan 9, 2009
Easton,
Our friends Ms. Katy, Jessica, Brett and Olivia came over for dinner and games tonight. You and Olivia had a fun time playing in your little toy corner in the living room. When it was bedtime, you had a hard time sleeping. Later that night, you woke up with a fever and runny nose. We think you are either coming down with a cold or trying to finally get some teeth. Hope you're feeling better soon!
Love,
Mama

Saturday, Jan 10, 2009
Easton,
You woke up with a new tooth this morning! And you DO have a cold afterall. Poor guy! You must be feeling crummy. You've been running a fever off and on all night and into today but don't seem to be too affected by that to let it interfere with your playing. You said "Want 'nana" today. It's the first time you've put two words together to tell us what you want. Yay, Easton! Also, we're working on teaching you to clap and to point to different parts of your body when asked. You have absolutely no interest in that game though. You look at me like I'm crazy if I ask you where your nose is. Kinda like "Mama, I know darn well where my nose is. Why are you asking me such a silly question?" OK, maybe we'll not play that game for a while. :) You are obsessed with bananas. Every day you ask for "nana" every single time you are anywhere near the kitchen. You eat two of them for breakfast with a whole bottle or cup of milk and still want more. We're gradually trying to get you to switch from bottles to cups. You want no part of sippy cups. It's either a bottle or a big boy cup with straw. Hopefully you decide once and for all that you like big kid cups and don't care for bottles any more but for now, you've gotta have that morning bottle. The other two meals, you're fine with a cup but it's gotta be a bottle after breakfast. That's OK. We'll work on that. And also if we could just get you to stop throwing EVERYTHING in the floor! I keep telling Daddy we need a dog just to eat all the food you throw on the floor. He's not going for it, so could you knock it off with the throwing stuff? I'm tired of sweeping the floor!
Love,
Mama

Looks like we'll have to keep waiting. I had my appt today and had TWO types of ultrasound and the little stinker just wouldn't cooperate. That's my kiddo for ya! Easton was the same way. Today, the dr even tried pushing on my belly (OUCH!) and everything else she could think of but she just could not get a good look. I have another ultrasound on March 23rd and hopefully he (or she?) will be more cooperative then. Darn! I really wanted to go out and buy something pink or blue after my appt today! Guess we'll just wait until March. Other than not being able to tell the sex of the baby, the dr said everything looks good. She looked at the new baby and then looked over at Easton and said "Boy, this one's sure got a big head!" She knew just by looking at both babies' heads exactly why I had to have a c-section with Easton. Yep. That's my kids for ya...big noggins and full of personality. :)

I have 3 or 4 posts written down...in my homework notebook. Haven't had time to post them here yet. I'm too busy watching movies w/Jason and taking care of Easton. Plus, my office is such a disaster I don't even want to go in long enough to get on the computer. YUCK! Hopefully this week I'll tackle the mess and post those blog entries.
Oh yeah...and this Thursday is the big day! We get to see if we'll have to repaint the room we're going to use for the new baby. Right now it's a very pale lavender. We'll let you know if it stays purple or switches to another color. Can't have our boy (if we're having one) sleeping in a purple room. :)

Resolutions
In 2009 there will be...

• less procrastinating!
• less t.v. watching
• more weekly meal plans (that REALLY helps stick to our budget!!)
• more grocery shopping (once a week instead of once a month...again, helps w/the budget)
• more organizing...starting with the office.
• more painting...hallway, kitchen, redo master bath (with the safe NO VOC, low odor paint of course)
• more reading with Easton. That kid is the reading-est boy I ever did know!
• less stressing out
• more game nights with my hubby
• more hanging out w/friends
• less being a homebody
• more taking pictures and POSTING ON MY BLOG!!!
• more commenting on my favorite blogs
• more emailing and keeping in touch with friends and family.
• one more person added to our household...holy cow! :)