come on, mom...

our conversation went something like this...

pratt: "mom, what.in.the.world!?"

me: "pratt, they are wrist rattles. try it, you'll love them! they make noise when you move your hands!"

pratt: "first things first mom. i'm a boy. i don't wear bracelets. especially when they look so much like slap bracelets!"

after a few seconds of play...

pratt: "you're right mom. i do love them. but let's not tell dad...he might think i'm into jewelry or something!"

thanks nana! he couldn't quit looking at them...and luckily i washed them. because he inevitably got them in his mouth.

dad's birthday.

we celebrated your dad's birthday yesterday. we started the day by going to a new church. we're visiting...and i don't like it..the visiting part. not the going to church part. i miss our old church...maybe i'll get over it. i hope so. i know i should be open to new things...but yuck. i don't wanna be.

here is pratt all ready for church. in his cute pediped shoes from allyson!

after church we ate at our new favorite breakfast nook. and then we came home and began getting ready for small group. it was here last night. we had potato soup, mexican cornbread, cookie's special salad and hot fudge pudding down under. oh, and chocolate chip cookies. homeade. they were yummy. i've finally figured out the secret ingredient.

we had a wonderful night with our small group family and then you decided it'd be super cool to stay up until 10. but you finally fell asleep, on your own in your own bed (go, pratt!) and then you slept until 6. and this time i didn't wake up to check on you! maybe i've finally stopped worrying! almost 4 months later! woohoo, go me!

i think it was the first night of constant, uninterrupted sleep since the beginning of my third trimester!

it's cold here today. we've played with toys. read books. but we haven't gone outside. i need to go check the mail...but there is ice everywhere. and it's raining. so much so that ace just went to the side of the front porch and hiked his leg. that's how cold and wet it is here.

your daddy had a wonderful birthday. we are so blessed to have him in our lives. i hope that you grow up...and you become just.like.him. exactly like him. i mean that. and i'm lucky to be able to say it. and mean it.

we love you.

sandy hair, blows in the air...

so i opened the door this morning. it was the ups man. he handed me the package...and sort of looked at me funny. like sort of tilted his head to the side...and half smiled.

i thought..."what's his problem? i mean, i'm still in my pjs...so what!".

that was around 9 am.

it's now 1130. and i just looked at myself in the mirror. first time today. and this is what i saw....



now i realize that he was wondering how in the world i got my hair that way.

folks....this is motherhood. i don't know how i did it. i couldn't recreate this birds nest if i tried.

dear pratt.

dear pratt,

tomorrow is your daddy's birthday. he will be 29. yes, he married an older woman. he likes to tell people that. all.the.time.

tonight cookie and my dad (still no name) came up for dinner. clint chose johnny carino's...but the wait was too long. so we went to panera bread instead. you flirted with a little girl who looked to be about 6 months old. she smiled at you...you smiled at her. you two went back and forth like this the entire time we were there. i already know that you're going to be a flirt. you can't help it. it's in your genes. your daddy's genes.

afterwards, your dad wanted cold stone creamery. let me tell you about this place. oh, man...where to begin?

it's ice cream. and anything you could possibly dream of...mixed into the ice cream. and when you walk in the door, the people scream, "welcome to cold stone!". i love it there. you will too someday.

you are now asleep in bed. the past two nights you have slept from 9 to 6 am. your dad told you before he put you to bed, "pratt, the only gift i want from you is another full nights sleep." we'll see if you give it to him.

below is a picture of you and your daddy that i took tonight. you love him. you laugh at him. you giggle. you melt his heart in the morning. and that is hard.hard. to do. he's not a morning person. but you might have converted him. we love to get you in our bed in the morning. that is by far, your favorite time of day.

sleep tight little monkey. and we'll see you in the morning. or before then...whatever you choose :)

we love you.

pratt loves...

a. being naked.

he is NOT my child. i couldn't pick my naked body out of a lineup of naked bodies. seriously. i really can't.



in this picture...he looks like he's thinking, "oh man...is mom going to put this on that blog!?"

b. sitting in his bumbo seat. and c. his new balance tennis shoes. (thanks sugar!)

he looks so grown up in these pictures. it makes me sad. he shouldn't be able to sit up already. he should still need to be laying down. cradled. held like a baby. but he hates that. he hates hates hates to be held like a baby.

when you make him lay like that, he straightens his legs out. makes them stiff. like kids do in walmart when their parents are trying to spank them.

it's pretty funny. sometimes i do it just to see him stiffen up.

i'm mean, i know.

a new year.

not to sound cliche...but seriously. it's already 2009? where did it go?

nana came and stayed with pratt last night. she gave up her new years eve so clint and i could go enjoy the night with good friends. thank you nana!

here is the picture she forwarded me around 9. i love it. sound asleep.



we had a wonderful dinner at bonefish grill with allie and tyler. the bang bang shrimp is my all time fave. possibly my favorite shrimp dish ever. clint figured out that it's the sushi hot sauce that they use on it. we had it as an appetizer...and i had bang bang tacos. i only ate one of them and was full. so clint ate the second one. and every time he would reach over with his chop sticks to take a shrimp, he would say, "bang.bang." i'm laughing sitting here thinking about it.

oh, and we had chocolate creme brulee. yum.o.

it was so nice to get out and visit with our friends. usually when allie and i have lunch it's work. i mean, one eats while the other holds pratt. and then the other eats. it's hectic. just wait till there are three kids. that will be great.

thanks you guys for a wonderful, much needed dinner. we love you both.

by the time the ball dropped, we were home. in bed. pratt woke up around 1115. almost like he knew we were about to be home. maybe he sensed us or something. anyway, i was laying with him in bed when the ball dropped. didn't even see it. i woke to clint kissing my forehead and saying, "happy new year!"

pretty much...the BEST new years eve ever.

more pictures from saturday's christmas.