Put a sticker on it...

Okay, it's entirely possible I'm wayy too excited about finding this 1977 beauty for only 1.99 at Goodwill today. But, I'm even more excited about my awesome idea to put this sticker from one of our favorite farmer's market vendors on the side:

What's even more awesome? Hendrix LOVES IT. Thank you, Goodwill. :)

BEST. GIFT. EVER.

We received a lot of awesome gifts from each other and from family this Christmas. We are BLESSED. However, there was one gift that took the cake. My parents told us before they came down that they wanted to treat us to an overnight stay in a hotel while they watched Henry.

When they got here, we went onto priceline.com. We knew we wanted to stay downtown Austin, and we knew we wanted to stay in a nice hotel. So, we took our chances and bid on any 4 star hotel in the downtown area. I had my hopes set on the Omni Hotel, and we got it for 76 bucks! WE. WERE. STOKED.

on the train

My parents had set aside money for how much they thought the hotel would cost, and they gave us the balance to go out on the town. Seriously, I have the greatest parents in the world.

the view from our room

Eric and I took an afternoon Metro train into the city. We didn't want to deal with having a car, and it made things so much easier! We checked into the hotel, had the concierge make our reservations for dinner, went and scoped out our awesome room, and took off to explore.

snacks at Starbucks

I'm glad they told us ahead of time, because let's be real, we needed some time to emotionally prepare to be without Henry. Even just walking around the city (being only gone for about 3 hours), we were missing him! We had to keep reminding ourselves that he was FINE.

lovers.

Quite easily, the highlight of our trip was our dinner. We ate at Parkside Restaurant, and we dropped mad cash there. It was the best meal I've ever eaten. Eric had Farm Chicken and I had Braised Beef Cheeks. Mostly, we just enjoyed sitting across from each other and getting the chance to really talk.

We kept saying, "Happy Anniversary," because everything felt SO SPECIAL. After dinner, we got Ben and Jerry's ice cream from the lobby, went back up to the room, got into the hotel robes and cuddled up. We watched TV and laughed till we finally fell asleep. We both kept saying, "Love you, Hendo!" We missed our favorite cuddle bud, but it was nice to not be kicked in the face during the night!

yes. it was as comfortable as it looks :)

We woke up relatively early, because, mama's gotta feed the baby. We ate at the Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe. It was good, but no food tastes the same after our meal at Parkside. We're ruined.

ah, breakfast.

After breakfast, we got a few souvenir presents (we promised Hendo we'd bring him something and we wanted to thank my parents and my sister for watching him). Then, we went back to the room, and packed up. My parents picked us up, and we left from the hotel straight to one of our favorite cafe's in Austin. Hendo was asleep in the car, and we finally woke him up because we couldn't stand it anymore. Turns out, he didn't miss us at all. He didn't even want to sit by mom for lunch. The grandparents and Aunt Cora ruined him! :)

the fam at Magnolia Cafe!

Thank you, mom and dad! WE LOVE YOU!!!!! Anytime you want to relive the experience is FINE BY US!!!!

A Year in Review

January! Of note this month? I realized (quite painfully) that one should never trust a bad hair colorist twice. Other than that? Hendo was the cutest ever.

In February, Hendrix and I flew to Illinois to celebrate my lil' sister's 16th birthday. I also got my hair fixed by my girl, Kristen back home, and the seeing world screamed, "THANK YOU!!!!" For Valentines day, we celebrated at home with our new tradition a "VALENTINES FORT!"

In March, I made quite possibly the best meal I've ever made-- corned beef and cabbage. I'm telling you, it was ridiculous. I threw myself a 27th birthday party, complete with a scavenger hunt! Also of note, Hendrix fell asleep without the aid of my cuddles as shown above for the first time in his toddler life.

In April, we hosted a big Easter party at our house. It was so fun. Eric celebrated his 28th birthday. Our family all went to a minor league baseball game to celebrate. It was Hendrix's first, and we had a blast.

In May, we met the Werners for the Temple . It was insanely hot, but it was also AWESOME. Hendo and I also went to the Austin Children's Museum with our good friends Heather and Ella. It was so fun to see Hendrix actually understanding a few of the exhibits.

In June, we traveled BY TRAIN to Illinois to visit my whole family (specifically, my sister, who is serving in the Peace Corps). We had a great trip, and we were able to visit with tons of friends.

In July, Hendrix took his very first swim lessons! I found out I was PREGGERS on July 4th. One of my old students, who was an exchange student from Germany, came to stay with us. We also were visited by the Underwood's (who are old friends of ours from college). It was a busy and AWESOME month!

In August, the nausea came. It was also the summer of heat and draught here in Texas. So, we spent a lot of time in the pool, and I spent a lot of time complaining. My parents flew Hendo and I home (before the 2 year old ticket price). We were able to watch two of my great friends from college get hitched.

In September, we celebrated! First, we went to the Children's Museum for Henry's friend Francis' birthday. Then, we celebrated our 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY by pigging out on sushi and sneaking dollar candy into the dollar movie theater to watch Bridesmaids. Next, were my niece and nephews big birthdays (15 and 16)! Then, we saw both of them off to HOMECOMING. Finally, was Hendo's big number 2 (his birthday celebration took place in October).

October started out with a trip to the ER for me. Dramatic, I know. After spending most of the night getting sick/ hooked up to an IV, we woke up and got it in gear for Hendrix's FARM PARTY! It was a great success thanks to my family and friends, who all pitched in when I could not. Shortly after the party, we traveled with Ya-ya to Iowa to celebrate Eric's cousin's wedding. We had a blast, and Hendo got to spend time with his 2nd cousins, who we wish were around the corner. Then, my mom came to pick us up and we spent a calm week with my grandma and her. Hendrix weaned himself this month! It was an easy transition for both of us, I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. We found out on October 28th that we were HAVING A BOY!!! And then on the 29th, we threw A HALLOWEEN PARTY! :)

In November, we chilled out our lives. As you can see, we were quite busy in the previous months. However, my Aunts, Tracey and Ann both came to visit Ann's family, who lives in Austin. In an odd turn of events, their RV was damaged, and so their trip was extended! We got to spend tons of quality time with them (although, it's never enough). If only they would move here! We celebrated Thanksgiving at Ya-ya and Papa's house, and I ate my way through more pie than I care to reveal. :)

December was Christmas filled! We finally found a church we love! We started a few new traditions including Elf on the Shelf (thanks to Great Aunt Sherry), and an advent calendar. Watching Hendo's excitement grow every day has been more fun than we ever imagined. We had a great visit from more friends from college, the Preuls! We had a blast just spending time with them and their gorgeous daughter, and exploring South Austin together. I finished Hendo's first year scrapbook! We celebrated Christmas day at Andy and Liz's beautiful new house, and had a blast fighting over grab bag gifts by playing Minute to Win It games. Then, the next day, my family arrived. We had a perfect week with them. They treated Eric and I to an overnight (our first without Hendo) at the Omni Hotel in Austin. Eric and I had the best time. Luckily, Hendrix KNOWS his extended family. We are blessed to have been able to see them so much in the past year.

All in all, 2011 was wonderful. SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!!!! I can't wait to see what 2012 brings.

Looking back on 2011... and that resolution of mine :)

I don't know if you remember MY 2011 RESOLUTION ? Yeah, it was a big one. Looking back, I think if I had made the rules even more strict, I would feel a lot worse than I do. Honestly, I'd say I stuck to it by about 80%. So, if my goal had been to loose 20 pounds, I would have lost 16 pounds!!! Thinking about it like that, I feel really proud of myself. I have gotten rid of WAY more than I brought into the house. And most of what I did bring into the house adhered to my guidelines, or was calculated. I honestly can't think of a purchase that I regret AT ALL.

Now, one thing I have to say I'm ashamed I could not say goodbye to, and I feel a little guilty about? BABY GAP. Isn't that ridiculous? The truth of the matter is, their sales prices were usually CHEAPER than a lot of the Goodwills around here. Plus, their clothes are so nice and so cute. So, I still bought my lil' dude some new duds. He got a lot more things 2nd hand, but, I couldn't kill that love. And you know what? In the spirit of not being tough on myself, it's okay. :)

I'm proud of myself. I've grown up a lot this year. I'm moving in the right direction for my family.

This year, I don't have a new big resolution. I'm having a baby in 2 months. I'm going to have to adapt and change to accommodate a brand new life. My resolution is to be open, flexible and present. That will be big enough. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Hendrix's First Year Scrapbook!

Well, I did it. I finally finished Henry's scrapbook. I kept it pretty simple in hopes that it wouldn't take me long, but boy did it ever. However, the last few months, it's been GAME ON with my procrastination. With this next little one on the way, I knew this scrapbook would end up on my "list of unfinished things." I wasn't having it. So, I buckled down at every nap time I could and made it happen.

I plan on starting Roscoe's (Yes, this lil' babe's name!!! I'm keeping it off Facebook for now. The peanut gallery gave us too much commentary over Hendrix :) in January. Hopefully, I can have the bare bones done before he pops out! That way, I can keep up with it as we go. WOULDN'T THAT BE IDEAL? After that, I plan on making "A Year in Our Lives" picture books online. I figure I'll stick with the month by month idea and do special pages for holidays... That means, I'm behind already. I need to get on that. :)

It's all about Christmas time here. I'm so glad I don't have this still hanging over my head! What did you do to chronicle your babes when they were babes? Is is on your unfinished list? Any ideas for future documenting?

27 weeks, baby!

Things are in full swing here. Christmas is around the corner, and then this little guy follows soon after. We are working on quite a few (probably too many) DIY projects, washing and folding baby clothes and snuggling Hendo like crazy. I am carrying MUCH lower this time around, and already I am finding myself almost unable to pick Henry up. I'm having to sit down to do a lot more. I'm trying SO HARD to be conscious of taking it easy, but it's not easy this time of year, is it?

So, I'm forcing myself to SLOW DOWN. To sit. To lay on the floor in Henry's room while he plays. This little one will be here so soon. I am already aching to hold him. Oh, boy. I'm in trouble! :)