Peter and dinner

Instagram unfortunately has kind of taken the place of my blog. It's just so easy to post straight from my phone without having to come up with, you know, a whole blog post. But I want to try to share everything here as well so at least those of you that faithfully read this can stay up-to-date. ;)

Here is a picture of Peter that I took last night. I was feeding him pears and had looked down to get another spoonful, and out of the corner of my eye I see his face break into the biggest grin I've seen in a while. He makes me laugh with his random and unabashed joy. :)

And another, because that face.

And this is the dinner I made last night, pre-cooking. ;) I have been making a lot of new recipes lately so I feel a cooking post coming soon, but I loved that all the color in my crockpot got captured on my phone. 

Peter // 6 & 7 Months

Poor little Peter. He has been on many major trips since his birth 7 months ago! He has been such a trooper with all the traveling. I am very thankful for a nice car seat, toys to distract, music to calm, and family to help. :P The top picture was taken on Peter's 6-month birthday, as we were on our way to South Dakota. Bottom picture is the only semi-decent one I got on his 7-month birthday on the 16th of this month. 

He is now able to sit up unassisted, with only occasional fall-overs. :) We've started some solid foods, and he LOVES it! So far we've done bananas and sweet potatoes, and they are major hits. Soon we will start something new! He is just beginning to figure out the whole crawling thing. Chris and I have caught him getting up on all fours for a few moments before collapsing again. :) I'll put him down on one end of the bed, and when I come back, he's scooted/rolled himself all the way to the far corner. The days of hanging out on the bed are swiftly passing. :( He weighs 19 lbs. 5 oz., and is 27 3/4" long. We still haven't seen a real tooth yet, but I thought the drool was bad a month ago......OOOOOH boy! Poor kid is drenched at the end of the day. He's in Size 4 diapers, and I was happy to find that Aldi diapers work just as well as any others, and are way better a price! Peter still loves his trips to the doctor, We figured out that my little guy was blessed with the same thorn in the flesh that I was - ingrown toenails. They sound like no big deal, but let me tell you, they are a constant annoyance and can get very, very painful. We can't do much about Peter's right now, but as he gets older we will be looking into some sort of operation so he doesn't have to live with that. 

Well, adios for now. Sure do miss blogging. I've actually had things to do lately which is good, but I get full of words and need to put them somewhere. :)

my best friend

"Because of you I can slowly but surely feel myself becoming the me I have always dreamed of being."                Tyler Knott Gregson


Recently the entire world of social media celebrated National Best Friend Day, complete with hashtags and warm fuzzies. I posted this picture on Facebook but wanted to share it here as well. 

This is my best friend, Christopher. We have a blast together. He makes me laugh and he laughs at me. ;) He patiently watches me grow in my cooking skills. He's always supportive. He plays piano with me and is almost as well-versed in Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera as I am! He can quote "Jabberwocky" from memory. He works very hard for our family. He loves Italian food and takes me to lots of restaurants even though he knows I order the same thing every time. He holds my hand when we pray. He lets me vent. He dances with me in the kitchen. :) He truly communicates and listens. I love him with all my heart and am so thankful for his friendship in our marriage! 

Faith - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
    Come drifting home with broken masts and sails;
I shall believe the Hand which never fails
    From seeming evil worketh good for me;
And though I weep because those sails are battered,
    Still will I cry, while my best hopes lie shattered,
                                 I trust in thee.

I will not doubt, though all my prayers return
    Unanswered from the still, white Realm above;
I shall believe it is an all-wise Love
    Which has refused those things for which I yearn;
And though at times I cannot keep from grieving,
    Yet the pure ardour of my fixed believing
                                  Undimmed shall burn.

I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
    And troubles swarm like bees about a hive;
I shall believe the heights for which I strive
    Are only reached by anguish and by pain;
And though I groan and tremble with my crosses,
    I yet shall see, through my severest losses,
                                 The greater gain.

I will not doubt; well anchored in the faith,
    Like some staunch ship, my soul braves every gale,
So strong its courage that it will not fail
    To breast the mighty unknown sea of Death.
Oh, may I cry when body parts with spirit,
    I do not doubt, so listening worlds may hear it,
                                 With my last breath.             

Les Misérables

Les Mis. Why all the fuss? Well, for me, I fell in love with it slowly. In pieces. And very skeptically. 

My first exposure to it was in a church library. I was semi-responsible for processing books, checking them back in and shelving them, and sometimes making the very difficult decision of whether or not a book was clean enough to remain on the shelves. (Big mistake. Give only one person that authority or let all the books stay. But moving on.) I glanced at the back cover, saw the word prostitution or something similar, and immediately proceeded in having a small heart attack. I made a few appeals and then threw the book away. 

Fast forward a few years and a woman named Susan Boyle makes internet history by singing a beautiful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream." I loved the song, but knew it was from Les Mis which I still hadn't really looked into so I was like whatever. 

A few years after that, I learned a friend of mine loved the book and highly recommended it. Well, you know how much I HATE books and reading. I had it in my hands the next day. 

The book is 1,500 pages long or something. The unabridged version has many French passages that I could mostly translate but still had to look up on occasion. There are long chapters that get dry, then drier than dry. I was reading a LONG time, but it was shortly into my married life and it was nice to keep my brain occupied during long, lonely days. 

When I finished it, I bawled every single tear out of my eyes. The story of redemption is made only more beautiful by the complex and interwoven characters - their passions, their sorrows, their joys. I immediately emailed my friend and told her how much I loved it. 

But I knew there was a musical some guys came up with based on the book. I knew I already loved "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Bring Him Home." I wasn't surprised to discover MANY new favorites after listening to the musical on CD. I enjoyed two different DVDs of live performances and dreamed of watching a live production whenever it came through Chicago.

Well, last night a friend treated me to an absolutely amazing performance of Les Misérables at the beautiful Paramount Theater.

We both refrained from singing along even though we have almost all of it memorized, and thoroughly enjoyed fangirling during the intermission. And of course we got matching mugs after the show! 

Thank you, Mrs. H., for the wonderful night out, and for recommending Les Mis to me in the first place. ;) 

Peter // 5 Months

So I kind of failed to get a nice pic of Peter today. :( He really lost it this afternoon and I was in no mood to try to make him smile after all that. But he turned 5 months today. 

He weighs about 17.5 pounds. He's in Size 3 diapers. He completely outgrew his bassinet, so tonight we set up his pack-n-play and he'll sleep in that till we figure out how to magically create more space. He can almost sit up unassisted, and has learned to talk in a super high, ventriloquist voice that makes us laugh. He has gone back to waking up 1-2 times a night, so I'm dying. :P He's gotten a lot more fussy with his gums being more sensitive. We laugh because the ONLY thing that works to calm him down every single time he's super mad is to play a certain song. The second I play it on my phone he goes completely silent and listens until it's finished. :) Yay for music and technology! 

So thankful for my little boy. Can't wait to get outside more and enjoy the warmer weather!

Easter // 2015

I hope you had a wonderful Easter last Sunday! Our little family had just gotten back from the FL Keys, so we were thankful to have a short and sweet lunch with my family and then get long naps! I was distraught over forgetting to get Peter his first Easter basket, but I guess there's always next year. ;)