the everyday...

Sometimes it amazes me how fate works...how you get that reminder of what life is really about just at the moment you need it most.

Just yesterday I was stressing (and blogging) about making sure Boogie has the perfect Christmas. Then today, a friend shared an article that basically put me in my place. It brought me back to reality.

I need to stop stressing about making sure Boogie's Christmas experience is exactly how I remember Christmas always being. His Christmas experience will be magical because it's HIS experience. That Christmas is just one day of the year. That what is truly important is the everyday tradition; the everyday experiences and memories. Why I let myself get wrapped up in the hype, I don't know.

The everyday is exactly the reason I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Another wise friend said that Boogie "will have amazing memories because he has amazing parents;" and to me that is what truly matters.  That I strive everyday to show him how much I love him. The laughs, the snuggles, even the tears....the everyday.....

this Season...

I have been busy; stressing over the Christmas Season.  A few weeks ago, it finally hit me that we are now responsible for ensuring that Boogie has meaningful and memorable holiday traditions. The past few years we've just gone with the flow and not really worried about 'tradition.' But now, I feel pressure to make sure that Boogie can grow up loving the Christmas season, just like I did.

J and I grew up with very different holiday traditions, neither one better than the other, just different....

J's entire extended family lives in the same small town in Iowa (or very close by). So, holidays were quick trips spent hoping from one house to the next over a long weekend and then back home. He grew up seeing both sides of the family at every holiday.

My family is spread across the country.  We rotated every year; Thanksgiving with the Dunwiddies, Christmas with the Lockharts, then the next year we switched.  Some of my greatest memories growing up are the times surrounding Christmas.  When we were with the Dunwiddies, it was my two cousins and I on cots in my grandparent's living room with Poppy on a cot at our feet and grandma on the couch at our heads.  We'd stay up all night (grandma and poppy included) just laughing...at nothing. Lockhart Christmases were usually spent in a secluded farm house on the side of a mountain in Pennsylvania. We'd spend 4-5 days holed up in the middle of nowhere, all 15+ of us!  We'd hike the mountain to cut down a tree, make ornaments and play board games all night.  On Christmas morning all the cousins would pile at the top of the stairs, waiting for all the grownups to wake up, so we could finally race downstairs to see what Santa had left.

Christmas was such a magical time as a kid and I want to be sure it's just as magical for Boogie.  I want him to look forward to traditions every year. To one day look back and be able to say "this is what we always did at Christmas." I think this has been one of the first moments as a parent that I've realized how important things like that are and how I'm responsible for making good memories and traditions for him.

I'll be honest, it's been hard to figure out what the right thing to do is.  He has 3 sets of grandparents, 4 households of great-grandparents and countless aunts, uncles and cousins.  While I think it's important that he sees all of his family, I feel like we're pulled in every direction.  I feel like we're trying to fit into everyone else's traditions and plans instead of making our own.  Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself to make things perfect for him.  This Season just kind of crept up on me and I wasn't really expecting how hard this would be.

November roundup...

I just realized it's been a long time since I've updated this! Ooops! We've been busy!

It seems like overnight Boogie has turn from a tiny baby into a "big boy." He laughs, even when playing alone, he'll crack himself up.  He will "talk" your ear off and loves to listen to himself.  He's definitely found his outdoor voice and will sit there and yell for 20 minutes straight; not sad yell or angry yell or "i need something" yell, just yell to see how loud he can get.  Now, if we could teach him to find his indoor voice....

He loves the puppies (not sure how much they love him yet).  They too, crack him up...I didn't realize they were so funny!  Sophie is really good with him and let's him yank on her. Stewie Wussie, on the other hand, isn't so sure and usually just keeps his distance.

Boogie celebrated his first Thanksgiving! Although he didn't get to enjoy the delicious food...he did look super cute and got to hang out with family...

He is really close to sitting on his own.  He can usually hold upright for 30 seconds or so....he tends to get distracted and forget he's sitting and then....plop.

Big D, aka "The Fuzzy Man," came home for Thanksgiving.  Boogie got a major kick out of his beard and they were instant buds. He also got some great pics...

Boogie definitely thinks he's a big boy....he is now attempting to CRAWL!! The remote (his favorite "toy") is his biggest motivation.  He gets his knees up under and pushes up onto his hands then throws out his arms and legs and......belly flops :)  He does usually move a little bit....backwards....I'm sure he'll get this mastered before we're ready for it though!

So, ya...we've been busy.  I think that concludes our November Roundup....