Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, from our family, to yours!

The Fam - heading out to Grandma and Grandpap's house

 

Pretty Miss Nora

  Starting in on Presents!

 

Putting my new lens to work - Bokeh!

 

Four stockings hung (though one still needs a name - oops!)

 

Through the pocket doors

 

Santa Came!!!

33 Weeks - Celebrity Spotting

My mom got me candid today at the Como Zoo... Baby is 33 weeks and halfway to my knees!

And we got a nice picture at the Conservatory, too, right before Joseph fell into some bushes, Ha!:

Happy 5th Anniversary!

OK, so I'm being lazy and copying a bunch of it from our 3yr anniversary post, but I'm adding on, so that counts, right???

Happy Anniversary to my love. I wouldn't want to have done this with anyone else!

Grad school graduation
Notre Dame - May 2003

Alaska - August 2004

Engaged
Chicago - May 5, 2005

Notre Dame - August 2005

Wedding
Notre Dame, June 2006
Wise Old Tree - June, 2006

Wedding Reception
Notre Dame, June 2006
Pittsburgh
Christmas 2006Hawaii - January 2008

Alaska - May 2008

Atlanta - March 2009

Notre Dame, September 2009

Biltmore, Asheville, NC - October 2010
Christmas - 2010

We went to Pittsuburgh

And took one photo. Oops. Maybe Grandma has more on her camera?

Waiting for the school bus to drive by - is there anything more exciting?

We spent most of the time house hunting, though T.J. got to golf in a charity fundraiser for one of his old high school friends, and I got lots of relaxation time. The weather was pretty lousy, but I'm sure we'll get used to it in a few years! Our grand master plan is to move in November, after the baby is born and before T.J.'s brother gets married. Because that timing shouldn't be stressful or difficult, right?

We put an offer in on a house, but it sounds like the sellers are not ready to negotiate. Ours is the 4th offer they've received in over a year and they've never even countered! We'll see if ours is the lucky one. It's a nice house, with a great yard, so we'll be happy if we get it. But if not, we'll just keep looking.

DomerBabyII is growing like crazy! Or, I am at least. That could be the 2 cakes, 4 dozen (at least) cookies, 2 boxes of klondikes and 4 quarts of ice cream at T.J.'s parent's house last week. NO, I did not eat all of that. But I did what I could to keep the inlaw's happy! ;)

Today I went maternity clothes shopping so that I can be somewhat presentable. Not much of my wardrobe from last time works, since I was pregnant at a different time of the year and I was working, so the majority of my maternity wear was winter work stuff. Not so good for 90 degree weather at the park!

Next week our plan is to head to Florida for the holiday weekend! We're going to visit our friends Kathy and Pat in Jacksonville, then Sian and Marcus in Gainesville. I can't wait. It should be a great time. Hopefully Joseph won't mind the drive too much. It's only about 5.5 hours, so it shouldn't be too awful.

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we had an excellent time! They helped me (read: did all the work) for 9 jars of jam, played with Joseph, and cooked! Not to mention, we got a date night out of it. Totally awesome.

Again, we put Grandma and Grandpa on the train during rush hour to go back to the airport. Joseph now does the "Papa...airport...Mawma... Oota" schtik with them, too. Usually when I say we're going to skype with them. He's definitely getting some long-term memory! Not that he'll recall any of this in years, but it's fun to see him remember stuff more than an hour old!

One of our daily walks around the apartment complex

At the aquarium

Checking out the roses with Grandpa

At the Botanical Gardens

Grandma taught Joseph to say Cheese!

A whole month?

Since I posted pictures of my baby? I'm sorry, peeps. I'll try to do better here. Get ready for a marathon.

Auntie Debbie came in early April. Since she flew in and out during rush hour, we made her take the train and walked up to meet her. Ever since then, when Joseph hears the commuter train I usually get some form of "Auntie...train...airport...Ooota (Minnesota)". I guess she made an impression this time!



Fickle child, eh?

Catching Up on Christmas, Part 1

Auntie Debbie came to visit with us, and we had a great time! Joseph loved playing with Auntie - she plays the best games! And reads fun books!

Reading with Auntie on Christmas Eve morning

Mama: "Let's take a nice photo in front of the tree"
Jopseh: "OK, can I be frankenstein?"
Mama: "Whatever"

Slaving away in the kitchen

Family Foto

See how much more fun Auntie is?

Pittsburgh Comes to Atlanta

Though we didn't plan it this way originally, our trip up to Ohio was only a week before T.J.'s parents had decided to come to Atlanta for their yearly visit. It worked out really well, though, in that Joseph was used to having them around. Mama and Daddy used it to their advantage to go out a few times and leave bedtime to Grandma and Grandpa!

Here are some photos from their trip:

Joseph's current favorite: the zoo train

Grandpap teaching Joseph about riding motorcycles

Through the tunnel!

Playground fun

Look, it's Dory!

Mama loves it when Grandma takes photos - cause then she is in some!

What're you looking at?

Pffffft!

Grandma and Granpap at the aquarium with Joseph

Well rested mama

Yum, tasty truck!

Visit to Pittsburgh

T.J. and I had a wedding to attend in Ohio, so we flew into Pittsburgh and dropped Joseph off with the grandparents for the weekend! It worked out really well for everyone. I'm not sure who had more fun, to be honest. We flew up on Wednesday and left them on Friday, so Joseph had a couple of days to get acclimated. Then we all flew back to Atlanta on Sunday. He ate, slept, and behaved very well for grandma and grandpap, which made us all happy!

Having a snack with MeeMaw

Envisioning a bright future with Auntie Mar. OK, they are just looking at a light.

Became a human towel at the playground after a big rain

Faux Hawk at its finest - Sunscreen is good goop.

Keeping an eye on the house

Before leaving Joseph for 2 DAYS! Yeah, my smile is slightly forced. :)

Go Steelers!

Gussied up to go to a party with Grandpap

Again, what's up with him aging YEARS in photos?

Say Cheese!