31

70 degree weather. We had so much fun at the park and we even got to watch the firefighters practice or flush out a hydrant or something. Regardless, it was toddler happiness.

30

Free Cafe Rio lunch? Yes please.

29

We spent our Sunday afternoon skyping with family. So fun!

28

In an effort to salvage what was supposed to be a fun family weekend in NYC, we decided to opt out for a fun family weekend in DC. While the Dumbo and the transportation (esp. the trains) exhibit were a big hit at the American History Museum, the highlight of the expereince probably was happening to take a tower tour of the Old Post Office. What a view!

27

We learned the art of jumping puddles. What a glorious discovery.

26

I felt like death today. This was a common sight as I didn't even want to make it up onto the bed.

25

It doesn't matter how many trains we have at home, she loves playing at other train tables when we are out and about as well.

24

an amazingly warm winter day lead to Punkin finally getting to the top of the chain ladder all by herself. short little legs can be such a burden.

23

last min a friend watch Punkin for me so I could get an oil change all by myself. dreamy.

22

One of our favorite games. Now we only need to find some goofy hats to wear while playing!

21

We got snow that turned to ice over night. We tried playing in it. The most fun we had was probably cleaning off the cars. Punkin loved it so much, she used her little mitts to clean off the bumpers of other cars as well! Anyway, too icy to really play in it, but she sure loved exploring the icy terrain.  (We loved her little footprints. I was surprised that her weight even broke through the ice.)

I love...

.... that my kid loves books. :)

20

Daddy, Let's open this one first!

19

A penny for every year completed!

18

It is so hard for me to pick just one photo!!! Since we've had a lot of punkin lately, here is one... 30 fortune balloons ripe for jumping in. (The Punkin photo is the first sign of her trying to undress herself, she took one arm out of her shirt and put it through her neckhole.awesome....)

17

Peek-a-boo at the mall play area. There really should be more places to get your wiggles out during the winter..... Luckily, my kid doesn't get bored at this one (yet!)

16

Trying to recover from all the weekend's fun, and that little cough that won't go away. Who doesn't love a good couch snuggle and a show?

15

oh there is so much I love about this photo. the rug, the awesome fabric beanbag, the fancy chair just our girl's size, the zebra skin in the background; just to name a few. Oh the life of a diplomat! A girl can dream, right?

14

A clue to where we went today. I'll try to add more photos later. I have lots!

13

A local institution. Get there a little before noon and there is no wait! (On a weekday at least!)

January 12 on 12

so it wasn't until too late in the day that I realized I had taken too few unique photos for my 12 photos on the 12th of every month in 2012. Needless to day, I did what anyone would do, I decided to still do it, but fill in with a few photos from OTHER days where we did the same thing.  Most of the photos were on the 12th and I'm not going to tell which were from other days.

EARLY morning gym, trains, out for errands, happy to see Grammy and Grandpa, blocks, over/under game at the table, getting Grandpa to wear girly hair clips, getting Grammy to be funny and play fun games, MORE out and about (aka pick up dad from work,) dinner at a fav tex mex joint, and a bath. Great special day where we got to play with some of the Grandparents!

12

Fun with Grammy....

11

Finally took down the Christmas decorations, it is always a bitter sweet time. No more Christmas, but everything looks so clean and new when you take them down.

10

A creative way to ride on a shopping cart, or some enchilladas for a sick friend? I have a hard time picking just one photo some days.

9

...and now it is snowing? ugh. today is looking worse and worse.

baby hair

I am trying to teach my daughter to sit still for cute hair. One of the perks I get as a mom of a little little girl with long long hair is that I get to do it, right? Well, the problem is that her hair is really thin and it slides out of every one of my normal hairdos. Now I'm trying to get creative. Here was my latest attempt.  Oh, wait, for the record, there is a second problem - trying to get a wiggly toddler to sit still while I do her hair. This style worked to keep it out of her face, and it worked with her wiggly-ness.

8

Bubbles on a warm January day. Everyone had fun.

7

Slide city at "the pit." How could we not go play in the park on a 60 degree day? (Okay, yes, she has her winter coat on, but she was fighting off a cough!)

6

Sometimes you just can't get that monkey off your back. (Or a toddler who can't stop giggling. Either way, loads of fun.)

5

What is better than one? Two. Two beautiful red heads. (They also have the same name and the same birthday!) It was so much fun to let them finally meet!

And since we are loving two today, you get a bonus photo! After we left the cafe, Punkin insisted on sitting in these little chairs. It was such a nice day, I let her have a few moments to sit and soak up the sunshine before heading out on our walk.

baby braids

I had to share this. Back before Christmas, I tried to do french braid pigtails on Punkin. It is a challenging task seeing that she doesn't like to stay still for very long. I think it is so cute and I love that my year and a half year old has enough hair to do fun things like this!

4

It was recently pointed out to me that my project 365 is technically a project 366. So be it, I forgot it was a leap year. The way I see it is that it is project 365 with a bonus day! That being said, no one else needs to correct me on this matter. Thank you.  Today was rough on us, just because my kid had a cough that sounded nasty enough that I didn't really want her around other people. She wasn't acting sick and didn't understand why she had to stay inside all day. (Oh yeah, and it turned rather bitterly cold her so I didn't want to just go on a walk or something.) So today was a rather boring play around the house day. I was a little tired after staying up for the game last night, so it worked for me. That all said, today's photo was from tonight's bath. I am doing everything I can to steam that cough right out of her system so she can go play with friends again tomorrow.

Stay At Home Mom

I stay at home with my daughter. There are times that I seriously wish that I still worked, but most of the time, I wouldn't trade it for the world. The adjustment to not working has been a challenge for me. I often tell people that, once all my kids (no, not an announcement, we do just hope some day to have more than one) hit kindergarten, then I'd go back to work. I don't know if that will actually be the case, depends on the day really, but it seems like an easy enough concept for people to grasp and then shut up about the topic.

I am incredibly tired of people judging me negatively for making this choice - especially other mothers. I choose to be there with my kid and raise her. I get to have tender and difficult moments all day long with her. For better or for worse, I teach her things. I do not pay someone else to do these things for the bulk of my child's waking hours. I don't have to abide by someone else's disciplining techniques or their schedule. Maybe she'd be better off if I did work and put her in daycare. Maybe I'd be a better person to be around with the structure of a work day dictating my actions and behavior. The thing is, the maybes don't matter. I made my choice. It is tough financially on our family due to where we live and where my husband is at in his career. (You know, since he graduated about 3 weeks ago.)  I wouldn't trade the moments for the world when, all day long I get to snuggle with her while we read books, take nature walks together, laugh to myself as I see myself in her pouty little tantrums, and basically teach her about the world and about love.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a judgement of those mothers who do work. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves based on their circumstances. Trust me, there are days that I beg to go back to work. I actually struggle every time I pass the buildings where I once worked or where I dream to work (which is daily, esp. when I take my husband to work.) I am just saying, this is my choice. Don't think I'm less of a person for it. Don't walk away from me at a cocktail party when you find out that I currently am working on raising my daughter rather than paying someone else to do so. I have a lot to offer and if you don't see the value in my current "job," then so be it. I will never regret staying home with my daughter. These are precious years that I will never get back. This is more important to me than working in, what I consider to be, the very important field which I pursued for many years. Other people can do those jobs, but no one else can be my little girl's mother.

3

We watched the Michigan/VT game. It was tense. Just moments before this photo was taken, our friend, MP, actually had his sweatshirt on his head in an act of trying to release that tension/anticipation that only comes from watching tense plays in the big game.  (Sorry for the blury photo. It was more about the moment this time.)

2

If today's photo were to actually depict the day, it would be us watching football or packing up old baby gear that Punkin no longer uses and putting it into storage. Instead, I give you this offering of Punkin at the grocery store. All we needed was one little pepper. I let Punkin carry it to the register. In all honesty, she loved the task. What she didn't love was me snapping this photo. We rarely ever see a mean face like this, so I had to capture it for documentation's sake.

1

I have decided to give a go at a Project 365 this year - posting photos every day. (Well, I can't say I will post every day on time, but there will be photos from every day.) Today's photo is brought to you by my toddler who couldn't get enough of the exercise ball tonight. She might grow to have the best baby core ever if she keeps this game up! Seriously, she was just using our hands for basic support. She was rolling all around the ball using her abs all by herself!

Constitution

So I've been thinking about the Constitution today.
The Articles of Confederation Failed Miserably, but the Constitution did not, even though it was put through quite a test in 1812. My thoughts on the matter? The Articles of Confederation are what man did on his own while the Constitution was a document inspired by God. What are you doing to ensure that the Constitution will be upholded by your leaders? Just a random Sunday thought....