Terms of Endearment

When Maddox was born, Graham and I were completely taken with her. She was our Pumpkin, Sweetheart, and Sugar Bear. Baby Girl, Love Love, and Little Lamb. Since Harper and Henry have come along, my terms of endearment have remained consistent. However, nobody told me that Graham had an arsenal of his own nicknames saved up for his son, just waiting to be unleashed. In the last three months Henry has been called Brisket, Brosef, Brusket, Skillet, Sirloin, T-bone, and Knucklehead just to name a few. Most make me laugh. A few I've had to put my foot down for Henry's sake. All are said out of love and that makes me very happy!

What terms of endearment do you have for the little ones in your life?




Our sweet Henry, or should I say "Brisket".





Daddy and Henry. Quite a pair!

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Where Have All the Good Boys Gone?

I have to say that it has all been just a vicious rumor until now. For years, I have heard that cute clothes for little boys just didn't exist, but what did I care, I only had Miss Maddy to dress up. And boy, have I had fun doing that! All the sweet little embellishments, the lace, the buttons, the ruffles. What a treat! Of course, I'm having fun passing down Maddy's baby clothes to Harper now and enjoying them the second time around.

But boys clothes are another story. Thankfully, at this point the majority of Henry's wardrobe is supplied by my sis-in-law who has two cute and very cool little guys of her own. But, when the time comes to do some shopping for Henry, I am at a loss on who has the market for the best things!

Furthermore, what is up with my son's future career being chosen for him by the objects on his clothes? I'm pretty sure young Henry won't grow up to be "mommy's little slugger" or a NBA star. I'm sure he'll be interested in construction vehicles (as most children are) but must there be every digger, dump truck, and plow imaginable drawn on my son's chest? Some designer or company out there must be getting more creative...

So come on all you moms of cute little guys, share your secrets! Who makes it and where can I buy it at reasonable prices?

Here's a few things I found just bummin' around today.




Love the look of this old turntable. Very cool. Found at Nordstrom.





Tea is one of my favorite companies. Sizes 0-8. This layered one piece has a nice geometric pattern.




Cute little outfit from Gymboree. This store always has the whole outfit put together for you. Great for those of us pinched for time, but can get pricey.





This argyle may be about as preppy as I am going to get with little Henry, but if you know of more traditional companies with great boys' attire (smocking, monogram, john johns), I am willing to take a look and keep an open mind, although my husband might kill me.


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Our Life in Pictures

Six years ago today I married the "one whom my soul loves". We were wed on New Year's night in the library at Georgetown College surrounded by family and friends. It was a wonderful beginning, but the years that followed have been even better. Our marriage is not always easy, not perfect, but strong and growing with each passing year. What better way to remember the last six years than in pictures?


Our first moments together on our wedding day, January 1st, 2005.



We look so young! Correction. We were so young!




Always the jokester, Graham surprises me with this little stunt.




Sharing a laugh after the breath spray incident.




Red velvet cake. My favorite! We saved the the top tier for our one year anniversary, but it was terrible a year later! Yuck!




First dance with my husband.





We spent our first year of marriage in California. Graham was in the Army learing Korean at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. We didn't get to travel as much as we'd like (because we were broke!), but we managed to make it to Big Sur and San Fransisco (as seen in the pics above).




In 2006, we moved to Washington state, and just before our second wedding anniversary, we welcomed Maddox Olivia into our lives. She was born in Ft. Lewis, WA.





We spent three years in Washington about an hour south of Seattle. What a beautiful state as you can see from the pictures taken at Puget Sound and Olympic National Park. Graham deployed twice while we lived here, once for six months and once for close to a year. Maddox and I lived in Kentucky during the second deployment in 2008.




In 2009, Graham ended his service in the Army and we bought our first house in Virginia. We love it here!



Family pic on the lawn at the University of Virginia.





One of our trips to DC.



I love to travel with my husband. We went to Italy in 2007 and took this picture in Positano. It was the honeymoon we never had (because Graham was in school at the time!).





We cruised to the southern Carribean in 2009 after Graham came home from a deployment. Took this picture in Barbados.





Family vacation to Edisto Island, SC in 2009.




We took Maddox to Disney World this spring just before Graham left for Afghanistan for five months.




While in Afghanistan on a government contract, my dear husband got the phone call that changed his life. We were expecting twins!



On October 14, 2010, we welcomed Henry and Harper to the mix.




Graham once naively said that he'd like to have his family completed by the time he was 30. Henry and Harper arrived just 3 days before his 31st birthday. Ha!



So, what do the next six years hold for us? Graham is hoping to go back to school to attain a master's degree in foreign policy in the next few years. We'd love to spend a year in Europe while our children are pre-schoolers/early grade schoolers and have seen job opportunites for Graham in Germany, Italy, and the UK. I'd also love to go back to non-profit work when Henry and Harper start school. And someday, we would both like to adopt a child. Will it all happen? Who knows! But if the next six years are anything like the first, they will be full of adventure and surprises!

Happy New Year!

Your Next Baby Gift

Attending a special baby shower in the new year? Or looking for a one-of-a-kind gift for that sweet niece or nephew? I've got the perfect thing for you! It's the Baby Mop!








Would you like to add one more special touch to your gift? Try the Bucktooth Binky!



Seriously, Graham and I just spent an hour on a website called Cracked, and couldn't stop laughing.

Hope this gives you a good chuckle!


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Are They Twins?

Yesterday, I braved the unknown and went to a grocery store in Culpeper with all three of my children. It was scary. Meltdowns could occur at any moment. I was by myself. Anything could happen... Luckily, the babies slept through the whole trip and Maddox walked right by my side the entire time. However, in the store I was asked no less than half a dozen times, "Are they twins?" Of course I always smiled sweetly and said yes, but here is how I wanted to respond:

A. They are the same size, you idiots!

B. They are wearing coordinating hats. Need I say more?

C. Do you really think that a person in their right mind would venture out by themselves with two infants in which one didn't belong to them? Of course, they're twins!

So please friends, next time you see a mother of multiples out at the grocery store with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face because she's terrified that one of her children could lose it at any moment, don't ask her stupid questions. Just offer to push her second grocery cart around because her other one is filled with babies.

Santa and Jesus

So, Maddox and I are watching Disney's Beauty and the Beast together yesterday and it gets to the final fight scene where Gaston knifes the Beast in the back. Although she's seen the movie a million times, Maddy gasps at the violence, then says "Mommy, Santa and Jesus would not appreciate that." After I composed myself, we continued to talk about Jesus's love for all people, even the ones he doesn't appreciate! Teachable moments, I love 'em.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Like most of you out there, Christmas is my favorite time of year. The colors, smells, tastes, and traditions of the holidays are ingrained in my soul. From cinnamon and cloves simmering on the stove to the bright red of a flowering poinsettia plant, I love this season. Even the nasty fruitcakes in the grocery store take me back to days gone by. Now that we have our own family, Graham and I are creating new traditions while being sure to integrate some of our individual family customs into the holidays.

One such tradition that we have incorporated each year since we got married is buying a real tree to decorate at Christmas. There have been years where we have been lucky enough to get the whole wonderful experience at a tree farm and other years where we walk up and down aisles of spruce and fir trees at a store or lot. Regardless, the evergreens always come home smelling and looking beautiful.

This year, Graham and Maddox went out to search for a Christmas tree while I stayed home with Henry and Harper. It was good father/daughter bonding time for them and I was happy to give them that opportunity. When they came home later that morning, both were so excited to have found the "perfect" tree. Full, sturdy, and tall, this tree was going to be memorable. . .

The first worrisome moment came we brought the thing into the house. "Wow, it looks bigger in here than it did outside," my dear husband observed. The huge trunk also gave us pause. Then the moment came where we hoisted it up into the tree stand. Uh-oh. Turns out we had a 10 foot tree on our hands! After a good laugh, Graham started hacking at the poor tree trunk with a hatchet. (I am still cleaning up wood chips that went flying all over the room!)

In the end, our tree has turned out to be lovely. Most of the ornaments are from our childhood making it very special indeed. Best of all, we added another Christmas memory that will live on in our family for a long time!

Graham and Maddox so proud of their tree!




The uh-oh moment. Tree is too tall!!



Henry checks out the decorated tree later that day.



Merry Christmas!