Christmas Part II, and a whole lotta extra

Hello, old friends.

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since I updated. I actually had to go back and look at where I left off to see where I should start!

I had a quick photo shoot to do before we set off for New Jersey's Christmas Part II. I drove out to Crane Beach - there is something so beautiful about beaches in the winter.

Then we were off.

I spent the week getting a major baby fix. Brayden is leaving the infant stage and becoming a baby - smiles, coos, and giggles galore! Which means that I was spending lots of time snuggling into his little baby neck, and not a lot of time taking pictures. Perfection. :)

Going home, and then editing the pictures, makes me get so sentimental about my own childhood. I love sharing the things with the girls that were just the normal every-day occurrences of how I grew up, but I know for them, it is magical. And I love that they won't take it for granted like I did - that it will just add to the awesomeness of going to visit their grandparents.

Like wide, open spaces. I always wanted neighbors growing up. Now? Not so much.

Having a virtual petting zoo in the back yard. It helps that now it's not my responsibility to feed, water, or muck stalls.

Complete with a hours-old baby lamb, of course.

Cousins galore. We always had cousins around when we were little. And now that 2011 brought the girls cousins, it's harder being away.

Billing. OK, I'm kidding. But Addy had a lot of fun helping do office work.

We had a great week of seeing family, and Pete ran a quick road race with his uncles. We're not going to discuss how they all finished - sometimes, you get faster with age. Pete's training for a marathon in February (in Hyannis no less), and has had some real difficulty with shin splints, but seems to be on the mend.

Then it was back to MA and back to real life. One of the best things post-Christmas is the need to clean out, purge, and reorganize everything to make room for the new stuff. So, I've spent much of the week getting life out of a state of disrepair and back under control. Piles of laundry, washed and folded? Check. New toy storage set up and filled with toys? Check. Old or off-season clothes tossed into a bin and tossed into the basement? Check.
Adding fuel to the fire under my butt to get everything back in order has been the finalization of a new position at work. I will once again be working as a nurse practitioner, filling in for the NP in pediatric cardiology who is going out on maternity leave. It's a temporary position, but it is nice to know I will have regular hours for the next few months.

So it's not only sad and sentimental, I had to note that there are things we love about home, like
Shopping with friends

Hanging in pajamas

Stickers

iPads and ponytails

 And, lest you get lulled into the false notion that everything is as rosy as the pictures portray... hello, Terrible Twos.

I've been doing a lot of DIY projects - but haven't done a good job of taking pictures as I go. I'm working on changing that - so watch out for lots of "I MADE THIS!?" posts, coming soon.

Happy New Year. We're gearing up for an awesome 2012.