My Valentines

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. I love the combination of red and pink, chocolates and flowers, romance and fun. To get ready for the big day this year, I wore a different pair of Valentine's Day socks each day this week (thanks, Mom). I always enjoy this holiday, but I think this was my favorite Valentine's Day.

Earlier this week, I was surprised when two dozen red roses appeared on our doorstep. My wonderful husband had sent them to me on behalf of Stetson. Stetson also had gifts arrive in the mail from both sets of grandparents. Thank you!

I was so tired on the morning of Valentine's Day, however. Stetson had gone two days with hardly any sleep -- and so had I. (It appears it was due to antibiotics upsetting his stomach). But the stress of two sleepless days was completely erased when my husband whisked me away for dinner and to see Wicked. It was amazing! I had a wonderful time with our friends the Cowdens, and I'm so grateful to the Folkmans for watching Stetson. And a special thanks to Lafe for making my day. Of course, I took a picture with Stetson and of Stetson, but not with Lafe! So here's a picture of us from December.

Winter Visitors

The best part of Stetson's birthday was that my big sister came to visit! What would the world be without sisters?

We were so lucky that my sister Heather and her son Luke braved the Cleveland winter to come stay with us for a few days. Stetson and Luke are great buddies! The boys played while we read and relaxed...it was perfect! We were so sad when they had to leave. Stetson and I have been in hibernation mode since they left.

Birthday Boy

Stetson turned one last Saturday. Stetson was born on Groundhog's Day, and the joke was that we hoped he wouldn't see his shadow and go back! We can hardly believe that it's already been a year since he joined our little family. He has brought so much joy to our home. We had a really fun time celebrating his birthday. We went out for a birthday breakfast then had a small party that night.

Macaroni Monster

Lafe snapped these great pictures after we let Stetson feed himself macaroni and cheese. He went through a week-long phase where he refused to eat anything unless it was finger food. This was by far the messiest meal we've had!

Laundry Day

We snapped this picture while we were in Arizona. We panicked when we realized that we couldn't see Stetson, so we went looking through my parents' house trying to find him. Lafe finally found him like this -- in the upstairs laundry room, peering out from the dryer. We had no idea he was such a climber!

This shot is perfect for today. I'm aggravated about laundry. I'm finally finishing up this week's. I usually do all my laundry on Thursdays, but this week our little family of three managed to dirty enough clothing for eight loads of laundry. I put the blame on winter. Winter clothes are bulky and they always end up soggy. Plus you have to wear so many clothes in the winter! Today Stetson had on socks, an undershirt, and pajama bottoms all underneath a t-shirt, pants and jacket. Of course, he then managed to knock over a bowl of soup I'd left on the counter, covering himself in potato stickiness. So we're on our second set of everything.

Stetson is always a big help when it comes to laundry. He loves playing in the baskets and pulling all the clothes out. Yesterday he even helped me sort my sock drawer. Before moving to Cleveland, I thought that socks epitomized winter. Only in the most frigid of conditions would I be forced to wear socks and shoes. On the rare chance that flip-flops would not do, then I'd endure a cute pair of socks for a day or two. But moving to Cleveland, I've learned that not all socks work for winter. For example, cute socks just don't cut it. No, we're in the world of wool now. Plus, your shoes get covered in snow so you're always taking them off at people's houses. Your socks have to be in completely presentable condition. So Stetson and I went through my drawer, throwing out any socks with holes and putting the cute, thin socks I used to love at the bottom. Stetson's favorite part was when I'd put my hand in one to check for holes and then use it as a puppet. It was good for an hour of sock puppet goodness! I guess there are some good to laundry (besides the whole looking presentable and smelling good part).

So here's to the Sisyphean task of laundry. And longing for the flip-floppin' days of summer.

To a new year and new adventures!

2007 was a pretty exciting year for us -- we had a baby, applied to dental school, got accepted to dental school, packed up and moved to Cleveland. So we made sure to send it out with a bang!

We spent a month in Arizona eating, shopping, and visiting with friends and family. Stetson was the busiest of all! While we were in Arizona, he...

... cut three new teeth (bringing the grand total to four). His new toothy grin makes him even more adorable than before.

... threw a fit when Santa came to visit (even though it was Poppa).

... celebrated his first Christmas. I don't understand all the hype about a white Christmas. I'll take green any day!


... went on his first small airplane ride. (He's been on 13 commercial flights).

... took his first trip to Disneyland. (We went with my family. Sadly, Lafe couldn't be there because he had to go back to school.)

... learned to walk! (This is actually another picture at Disneyland. I just realized that we don't have any pictures of Stetson walking!)

After all that partying, we're glad to be back home, although we miss all the family and great weather. We look forward to all that 2008 holds for us. Happy New Year!

Christmas in Arizona

We celebrated a very merry Christmas with both of our families in Arizona. Stetson was so sleepy on Christmas morning that we let him sleep while we opened presents. He woke up for breakfast omelets, then opened his presents when the cousins came over.

No Christmas Day nap for us! After cleaning up, we headed to Dane and Alysen's. We opened more presents, stuffed our faces and played Guitar Hero. We also learned that Stetson loves lemon meringue pie. Here are some highlights from that day...