What is your occupation?

Yesterday morning, I was home alone with Katie and Amber. For those that didn't know, I was watching the dog while my parents were in Rome (poor them). There was a knock at the door and I assumed it was a package that was supposed to arrive today. Note: I am an online shopping addict.

I ran to the door only to find an investigator that wanted to interview me because my neighbor was getting a clearance. I've done probably 5 of these interviews, so I know what they are about but warned her that I had a dog (that I was trying to push back from the door) and a baby in the house. Another note: I still call Katie a baby!

She didnt' seem to mind and came in to interview me. She asked all the normal questions and then said "For your occupation, do you want me to put Full Time Mother?"!?!?! I went on to tell her that I really do have a career and job title. But I really wanted to say that even if you go to work, you are still a Full Time Mother, in my opinion. Yes, going to work is a little bit of a break, but I'm still making doctor appointments, planning meals, etc.

YES...I am a Full Time Mother/Finance Manager/MBA student/dog sitter.

So, what is your occupation? :)

Katie's first time in the snow

Today it snowed for a short time, but I wanted to get Katie outside in case we don't get any good snowfalls this year! We're hoping for a good snowfall so she can really enjoy it...but this will have to do, for now. If you listen carefully, you will hear her "huffing" with excitement!

"Wow, this stuff looks pretty cool!"

"Chase me, Mommy!"

Holiday recap

I have so much to catch up on and I've been putting it off for too long! Below is a recap of our past month...be prepared for a long post!

Katie has been a very busy girl and is talking more than ever. She is becoming quite a helper and likes to clean up her highchair, brush her hair and throw away trash. Below is a video of how she helped us put ornaments on the tree.

Dec 20th - I held my first cookie exchange and I think it was a success. The cookies were delicious and we all went home with plenty of cookies to share with family and friends! It was great to get everyone together before the holidays and see friends that we hadn't seen in awhile.

Before we knew it, Christmas had arrived and Katie was ready for all the excitement! We were NOT ready for all the new toys though...oy vey! We started the morning by opening gifts at our house, just the three of us. Katie was excited to see everything under the tree, although she was not too good at opening her gifts. We had to do most of the unwrapping, but she was happy once the gift was revealed.

After Christmas at our house, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's...where we met up with Uncle Mikey and Caitlin.

She was pretty tired after a full morning of unwrapping. Getting all those gifts must be hard work! In one of the pictures below, you will see that she kept laying on the floor and saying "night night".

She did pretty well for herself and has lots of new things to play with......puzzles, legos, plastic food, coloring books, crayons, clothes, a pink telephone, a car wheel with all kinds of gadgets, shoes, a puppy, and even twin baby dolls. The post wouldn't be complete without a display of Uncle Mikey's car toy.

An early gift

Sometimes it really is the little things that mean the most. My aunt was going through old photos and found a picture of me, at 1 year old. She couldn't believe the resemblance to the holiday picture of Katie. She scanned them both and emailed them to me and I am just shocked.

The two pictures are below. I can't even stop looking at them...it just amazes me. Obviously this wasn't meant as a Christmas present, but it is one of the coolest things anyone has ever sent me. It almost makes me want to cry looking at it. My baby looks just like me!

Good deal

If you know me, you know I love online shopping. Today is "free shipping day"...who knew? See the site for a list of retailers.

http://www.freeshippingday.com/

Holiday party #1

At this time of year, it seems that the gift we need most is TIME. I don't know where the time goes and just hope I'm using it wisely! I've been busy preparing for the holidays, finishing school work (on time) and spending time with Katie. She went to the Exxon Mobil holiday party last weekend and had a blast. She did go last year, but was more like a lump of coal (3 months old).

This year was quite different...she ran around like a mad woman and made friends everywhere she went. Luckily, she looked adorable in her cream colored dress with little pearls (even though she spent some time running and sliding on the floor).

Some kids may be scared of the toy soldier on stilts or the fairies with wigs, but not Katie. She took there hands and I think she wanted to bring them home with her.

LOVE THIS PICTURE!

She even sat with Santa and Mrs. Claus. We didn't get any big smiles, but she did like the fact that Mrs. Claus had a stack of holiday books.

Katie went to her a couple times during the party, saying her favorite word "booooohhhk boooooohhhhk".
We all had a great time at the party and look forward to more festivities this holiday. Next up, my first cookie exchange. Ack...I better get cleaning!

Car seats - rear vs. forward facing

For those of you with car seats, you know that rear facing can be a pain when trying to soothe a crying child...or retrieve a toy, which is often the case when Katie flings them around the back seat.

It is mandatory to have the car seat rear facing up to 1 year of age, but there is a huge movement towards keeping children rear facing for as long as possible. As my pediatrician to us, it is easier to fix broken legs (if they jam into the rear seat) than a broken spine (which often happens when a child is forward facing).

I received the below site today that has a video depicting crash tests in both scenarios. I'm not saying what is right or wrong (ok, maybe I am), but just wanted everyone to be informed.
http://www.joelsjourney.org/curriculum.html