December 2015

We had a really excellent month in December! It was jam-packed with fun things to do, mixed with some good old-fashioned holiday travel. Take a look!

As for general life stuff, E.J. and I enjoyed some nice weather bike rides...

Happy little biker down by the river

...Ellie perfected her trademark "hunch-and-pout" (threenagers, am I right?)...

We see this sight daily.

...and the kids enjoyed some quality reading time with Daddy.

E.J. is still working on the "sit still for books" concept.

Ellie also kept us on our toes with a couple different illnesses, one of which sent us to the ER during a St. Pete visit and the other resulted in a renal ultrasound at the children's hospital here in Jax, but both ended up being nothing to worry about. And, she handled both like a pro! The kid rocks at doctors.

Giving her new stuffed puppy a checkup at the hospital in St. Pete; and eating her reward for impressive behavior after her ultrasound, with new purple turtle (a gift from the ultrasound tech) close at hand.

As for other (more fun) events, we kicked off the month with a Star Wars-themed mini-birthday party for Eric (which has thrown both of our children into a full-fledged Star Wars obsession now).

Happy Star Wars birthday, Eric!

That same night, we trimmed our trusty little Christmas tree and adorned it with a brand new light-up angel.

It was a family effort!

Of course, we took the kids to see Santa, as one does in December. (EJ cried the whole time except for this exact moment. Shout-out to the photographer with the quick trigger finger!)

2015 Santa photo! I just can't with these sweeties.

We also attended the tree lighting in San Marco Square, which included a very nice little program put on by local school children.

The San Marco Christmas tree in Balis Park

We also went to Holidays in Hemming Park, which had "snow" for the poor, deprived Florida kids to play in. In all honestly it was a pitiful substitute for the real thing, but my particular poor, deprived Florida kid loved it, so it works.

Snow!!!!

We also had to stop by Christmas in Avondale again this year, and once again had a blast munching on popcorn, making Christmas crafts, dancing at a silent disco and goofing off in the photobooth.

Christmas in Avondale

We went to Sweet Pete's Winter Wonderland that included more crafts, sweets, storytime, another (slightly more realistic but still not really) fake snow encounter, and a meet-and-greet with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, about which one child was more excited than the other.

Fun at Sweet Pete's

We went back to Hemming Park yet again for ForceFest, which brought Ellie face-to-face with her current favorite celebrity.

That child loves her some R2D2.

We also had lots of visitors, including Papa...

At Jacksonville Beach

...Aunt Heather...

The kids are obsessed with Heather's white noise app on her phone. Who wouldn't be, though?

...and my mom, Kelley and Cathy, who all came up for Ellie's ballet recital. And as for the recital, well, it...went. I'll have more about that in another post because it very much warrants its own post.

Top Ellie on stage at her recital. Not sure which one she is? Oh, she's the one refusing to sit in favor of standing and sulking. You can't miss her.

Bottom: E.J. looking quite dapper for the occasion; and Ellie's fan club, all of whom traveled four hours to watch her stand motionless on a stage. Bless them.

While my mom and Heather were in town, we had our own little "Grammy Christmas" with a gift exchange and dinner.

Grammy Christmas!

They also stuck around for Ellie's school Christmas program, which also...went.

For heavens sake.

On the plus side, Ellie may not have put on much of a show, but E.J. looked like this:

He just needs to stop.

So, there's that.

Heather and I also took the kids to the library for a pajama storytime. They each brought stuffed animals with them, and then the stuffed animals had a sleepover at the library! When we picked them up the next day, we were given a page of pictures of all the shenanigans our buddies got into overnight.

Pajama storytime - we brought the Grinch!

Heather also held down the fort for an evening so Eric and I could go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night! We loved it!

Star Wars nerd-ing it up!

Ellie and I had some holiday fun together, making Christmas cut-out cookies...

Messy hands!

...and going to see The Nutcracker! It was Ellie's first time and she did great. At one point she looked at me and said, "It's just so beautiful." Naturally, we had to stop by Target afterwards to get her a Nutcracker of her own.

A great girls' day out!

We spent about a week in St. Pete around Christmas, and on our way down there we stopped at my mom's house for a day. We splashed in her fountain, played with her toys, and the kids got a couple more gifts.

Fun at Grammy's house

In St. Pete, we had lots of fun hanging out with Papa and Heather (including making a gingerbread house and gingerbread men)...

More Christmas fun

...had a lovely Christmas lasagna and gift exchange with Eric's siblings at Kelley's house...

Lots of fun at Aunt Kelley's!

...and checked out the lights in downtown St. Pete, giving Ellie a chance to try her hand (feet?) at "glice " skating (NOT a hit).

Christmas festivities in downtown St. Pete

On Christmas Eve, we had a nice dinner with my dad and Heather then went to church together, where the kids were outfitted as an angel and a shepherd and given glow-sticks to hold during the candelit singing of "Silent Night."

Christmas Eve 2015

On Christmas morning, we opened gifts at Papa's house.

Opening gifts on Christmas morning, including Ellie's new favorite outfit from Aunt Heather

That afternoon, we went for an amazing dinner at Eric's Aunt Patty and Uncle Steve's house, and had a really wonderful time with the whole family.

Great times with family!

After the holiday, we came back to Jacksonville to do our own little Christmas celebration at home. We kicked things off with ZooLights, including a Storm Trooper encounter (Star Wars is EVERYWHERE) and some s'mores.

Santa was also there, and Mrs. Claus even got E.J. to smile!

Back at home, we scattered our reindeer food on the lawn, put out cookies and milk for Santa and sent the children off to bed in adorable coordinating Christmas pajamas for our belated family Christmas Eve.

Cuuuuuute.

Then, Santa went to work while Eric and I relaxed with shrimp, wine, and A Christmas Story.

Christmas Eve at our house!

Our belated Christmas morning was so nice, with the kids each receiving some new favorite presents (cowboy dress-up and a stuffed R2D2 for Ellie; an Arlo the Dinosaur rocker and new football for E.J.). We spent some time at the park that afternoon, finished up all our Advent calendars (Ellie was really into that this year) and had a little birthday party for Jesus.

Christmas Day!

We closed out our 2015 with a really excellent New Year's Eve, starting with the Noon Year's Eve celebration at the zoo. We made crafts and joined the masses for an apple juice toast as the ball dropped on the Great Lawn at noon.

Happy Noon Year!

That afternoon, I ran my very first 5k! I'll have to post more about running, because by the way, I do that now. Eric was a great coach and the kids did great in the jogging stroller. The course was very pleasant, through downtown and along the river, and I was greeted at the finish line with a medal and a beer. Lesson learned: I will run for beer.

My first 5k!

That evening, we did an early countdown and another apple juice toast with the kids before putting them to bed (thanks to Netflix for offering an on-demand countdown!).

Cheers to the new year!

Then, Eric and I finished out the year with champagne, TV, and a view of the Jacksonville fireworks at midnight right from our front yard.

Happy New Year!

And that, my friends, is how you end a year.

The W. family is ready for 2016!

November 2015

I figured I'd kick off my triumphant return to the blog with one of those more general recaps I was talking about because, hey. We had a really great holiday season!

Spoiler alert: the kids were adorable in November. E.J. melted my heart into a giant puddle when he wanted to wear his Mickey in Ellie's ring sling, and somehow he is turning into quite a little boy (no longer a baby)!

Babywearing E.J.

LOOK AT HIM.

As for Ellie, she continued to rock her trademark fashion sense in her free time, when she wasn't busy taking painfully sweet school pictures.

Looking amazing, as always.

Ellie's first school picture!

Our month got off to a great start with a day spent in Gainesville for the UF Homecoming Parade. We had a great time taking the kids around campus to all our old haunts!

W. Family in Gainesville - Go Gators!

Heather came to visit and she and I got to have lunch out, just the two of us! We even had some margaritas. Heeeey.

Just living the dream.

We finally made it out to the St. Johns Town Center for their Christmas tree lighting! They had live music, an appearance by Santa and fireworks, which Ellie handled quite well thanks to her "ear mouse."

Let's light up that Christmas tree!

Eric and I got to have a date night to see the new Hunger Games movie, thanks to a visit from my mom!

Also, we found a movie theater with a bar and recliners. So. LET'S DO THIS.

While my mom was in town, we also had a little "girls' night out" for movie night at the zoo. We got to ride the carousel, pet the stingrays, enjoy a BBQ dinner and watch Finding Nemo on the Great Lawn. Ellie was quite tickled about being out at the zoo after dark!

Girls' night!

Ellie had her first school program! She played the part of the turkey in the school Thanksgiving skit (while dressed as a pilgrim), and afterwards we were able to stay for a "feast" in her classroom. It was adorable and she did great!

Ellie's Thanksgiving program, including her list of things she's thankful for. Don't mind my weeping over here.

We went down to St. Petersburg for Thanksgiving, where we enjoyed a tasty feast at my dad's house followed by dessert at Kelley's house with Eric's family, including new baby Summer.

Top: Dinner with my dad and Heather, including Ellie pointing at the one thing on that whole table she would willingly eat: rolls.

Bottom: E.J. meeting new cousin Summer, and Ellie loving on cousin Colton.

After all our feasting, we helped my dad trim his Christmas tree. It was nice to have Heather here for all of that this year, and it was E.J.'s first true exposure to the wonder of the Miss Piggy ornament.

Papa's house is ready for Christmas!

The day after Thanksgiving, Heather treated us to a day at Busch Gardens (via some free passes she had), and we had a great day there.

Busch Gardens!

Busch Gardens highlights included meeting Elmo...

The kids are SO HAPPY right now.

...Ellie actually going on stage (by herself!) during the Christmas show...

You might look at this photo and think she's a natural at being on stage, but just you wait. I have more recaps to come.

...and taking in another (excellent!) show in the company of Tony Dungy.

E.J. just kicking it with Tony

And of course, we wrapped up November by dusting off our Christmas spirit! Bring it on, December!

These festive children are ready for some more holiday fun!

The State of the Blog

So. You've probably noticed that I've been pretty quiet over here. Aside from a couple random posts, this blog has been largely silent since...November? I think? That's a long absence.

I figured I should check in to make it clear that I am NOT pregnant or sick or going through any kind of major life change that is keeping me away. Frankly, I just got burned out and decided to take a little break.

I've always said I'll keep the blog going as long as I continue to enjoy writing it. By late fall, I was not enjoying it. It was starting to feel like a chore. I realize this was entirely my own doing, of course: I don't get paid for this, nobody advertises here, I don't have a boss who makes me write according to a certain schedule. But I put all this pressure on myself to document everything, to keep up with everything we were doing, to get this recap posted so I could post this next thing by that day because the next post needs to go up and this other day, and so on. I was devoting a lot of time to posting here and not really enjoying it. I also was letting recaps of our activities take priority over more thoughtful posts, and I didn't feel like I was really writing anymore, if that makes sense. Although I started the blog for the purpose of sharing our day-to-day lives with long-distance family, I also appreciated it as a forum for sharing some more meaningful thoughts along the way. Recently, I've felt like that part of it has largely gotten lost.

I was also concerned that it was keeping me from other projects I've had on the backburner. Nothing major, of course, just little things—mostly memory documentation stuff. I've put such a priority on blogging everything we do because I love having that record of our lives. And it really has come in handy! Eric and I have looked back at old blog posts to more thoroughly revisit past memories countless times. But, I had to pause to remind myself that this blog is not a permanent record. Blogger could up and decide to shut down tomorrow, for all I know, and all this work I have put into "preserving" our pictures and stories could disappear with it. I realized that I was spending time recording things here but not creating anything tangible and lasting, like photo albums of our pictures that we can actually flip through with our fingers. I always meant to do things like that, but I was devoting my limited free time to the blog and it just wasn't getting done.

So I started debating what to do: keep on keeping on? Shut this whole thing down entirely? Try shifting my posting style? Take a "leave of absence," of sorts?

Basically, I decided to take the holidays off. I just gave myself a little blog vacation and figured I'd reevaluate in the new year. Obviously, I enjoyed my newfound extra free time, as my hiatus has now stretched almost entirely through January. I've felt more relaxed and have actually gotten a lot of other little projects done, or at least made some headway.

I do wonder if that means I'm ready to hang it up, to end this experiment after nearly eight years of writing about our lives.

But I'm just not sure I'm ready to really end it just yet. I do enjoy sharing our memories and our photos and our family with whomever out there is still reading. And here we are, once again on the precipice of another great change in our lives (the next step in Eric's career change, whatever that may end up being), and it's something I think I'd like to document as we go. So maybe the end has not yet come.

So my verdict? I'm planning to keep on posting, for now. But I'm going to try to do some things differently. If I want to recap things, I'm planning to keep it to either major events or larger, more vague "This Is What We've Been Up To" kinds of posts. I hope to share more meaningful posts, too; maybe try to do a little more real writing. Basically I'm going to give myself some grace and let the blog just be what it will be going forward; no expectations. It's not a chore, it's an outlet.

We'll see how it goes. Maybe this will end up being the beginning of the end, but I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet!

Thanks for sticking around, friends.

I Want to Remember

Today E.J. is 18 months old! A whole year and a half. I can hardly believe it. For some reason I think of him as still much more of a baby than Ellie was at this age. Maybe that's just because he is my baby, maybe it's selective memory, maybe it's because he's still so small (he is just barely 20 pounds, fully clothed—still rocking that fourth percentile for weight!). Who knows, really. Whatever the reason, I can't believe we're on the downhill towards his second birthday already!

When Ellie hit 18 months, I wrote a bit about the difference in documentation for the first 12 months of life versus the remainder. With E.J., my experience is similar: his first 12 months were recorded via his baby book, baby calendar, monthly letters and other regular blog posts. However, after his first birthday, the baby books and calendars were filled up and we shift to only writing yearly letters. This makes sense, of course, if for no other reason just because it's simply not sustainable to maintain that kind of intense record-keeping long-term. However, E.J. is still growing and changing every day, and he has already changed so much in the last six months. By the time his second birthday rolls around, he'll seem like a whole new kid, I'm sure.

So as this day approached I've been thinking about a lot of the little "E.J.-isms" that I love so much: those little things he does that right now that I swear I'll never forget, but in reality, I know that they will fade from memory far quicker than I can even expect. I wanted to write down a few of my favorites so even though the formal documentation has come to an end, someday I can look back and remember these little pieces of 18-month-old E.J.

Baby signs: E.J. picked up baby signs quite quickly and does them as needed. He's not quite as gung-ho about it as Ellie was, but he has his arsenal of signs and uses them appropriately. His most favorites seem to be "more," "all done," and "milk."

Signing "more" at the end of a carousel ride!

His little giggle when you accurately guess what he wants: It's just the sweetest. He gets the best smile, too!

VIDEO: E.J. knows what he wants!

His dinosaur roar: E.J. loves dinosaurs, and not only does he do a baby sign for dinosaur, but he accompanies it with a little "dinosaur roar" that is just sort of a quiet, breathy exclamation. It is so precious and it's one of my favorite things.

VIDEO: E.J.'s dinosaur roar

His little "I'm trying to get something I can't" grunt: He just makes it sound like he's trying so hard, bless his little heart! He would sometimes just look at you and make the noise as his way of asking for help! Now, however, this has largely been replaced by one of his favorite words: "stuck" (he pronounces it more like "duck").

VIDEO: He really wants that baseball to come out of his lamp!

His Hulk Smash: Usually, E.J. is the happiest, most easy-going kid. But sometimes...well, let's just say you don't want to make him angry.

VIDEO: Hell hath no fury like a toddler who can't wear the space helmet.

His waving:  He waves at everybody: family, friends, the grocery store cashiers, people walking down the street, football players on TV, passing dogs. As of just the past week or so, he often also accompanies it with a, "Hiiii, [Name]!"

The way he squeals and yells "Mama" when he first sees me after an extended absence: I can't even deal.

The way he loves his Papa: E.J. has a real soft spot in his heart for my dad, and whenever his Papa is around, that's who he wants. When he was very sick last week, he cuddled with me but every now and then would lift his head and pitifully ask for Papa.

Buds

The way he rolls over when I put him to bed: As soon as I lay him in his crib, he rolls over towards the wall (always towards the wall) and sleeps on his belly with his knees underneath him and his little butt in the air.

For heavens sake.

The way he says "water": Currently, he says "wuuur!" It's super cute.

VIDEO: E.J. wants some "wuuur"

Other E.J. sayings: In addition to "duck" and "wuuuur" and his dinosaur roar, E.J. also loves to say "Elmo," "Gickey" (Mickey), "Mama," "Dada," "choo choo" (train, obviously), "football" and "baseball." He also sort of says "shoes," "grapes" and "peas" by just making a "sssssss" sound, and anything he wants to call by name but can't say he just calls "Dada" (that's what he calls Ellie and Achilles!). He also says "run, run, run!" while he runs, and "me, me, me!" when I ask who's ready to do something. All adorable, and all so fleeting—I know the baby talk doesn't last long!

 

VIDEO: Me, me, me!

"Cheese": When I'm taking a picture of Ellie, E.J. always goes to stand next to her and says "cheeeese!" right along with her! Sometimes he'll even invite a picture on his own, and back up against the wall or a special item and say "cheeese." So cute.

Look at these hams posing for me!

His penguin shuffle: This is relatively new, enough so that I don't have a video of it. But E.J. gets this little smile and shuffles his feet along like a little penguin.

His "fancy" smile: When E.J. puts something on that makes him feel fancy, he gets this little smirk and struts around. You can just tell he feels cool!

The bath: E.J. LOVES the bath. As soon as he hears the hot water heater kick on, he starts signing, "bath! bath!" He loves to play in the water and especially loves having it dumped over his head.

Bath time for E.J.!

Blowing kisses: I've said it before and I'll say it again: if (IF IF IF) we end up having more kids, it will likely be a direct result of E.J. blowing kisses to me as I lay him down in his crib. Because MAN, is it precious.

VIDEO: E.J. blows kisses

His snack cups: The kid seriously carries a snack cup around like a security blanket. He always has a snack cup in hand. Usually he's munching on crackers, but sometimes he'll carry it even when it's empty.

The weight of him against me when he cuddles: E.J. has been on the move for over a year now, and he rarely stops to cuddle with me for any length of time. However, recently he has been sick and has had some trouble sleeping, which has left him curled up in my lap, resting against me with his head on my chest or shoulder on more than one occasion. I don't like to see my little man unhappy, of course, but I just sit there and soak him in and try to remember exactly how he feels all curled up so perfectly in my arms.

That lopsided smile: E.J.'s teeth are coming in all sorts of funky (not in the ordlerly manner that Ellie's did), and so he still has four teeth on top and only three on bottom and I just love that little lopsided grin. He has the best smile, and he shows it off regularly.

That face!

I just love being this little boy's mama so much. Happy half birthday, E.J.!

Farewell, 2015

Here we are again! Another ending to another year that has passed by in the blink of an eye.

This year had a lot of ups for us, and a couple of major downs. This year we said goodbye to both Eric's mother and grandmother, and it is still hard to believe they're both gone. We have also been struggling with some more uncertainty as to what the future holds for us, though we are confident in God's plan and look forward to finding out what He has in store.

As for the more positive parts of the year:

• We made two trips to Disney World this year, including one that featured Eric's successful completion of the Disney marathon! 

• After a long battle against solid food, E.J. started eating and now eats constantly (though his nonstop movement keeps him contentedly in the fourth percentile for weight and size 6-9-month pants, the little shrimp!).

• We celebrated birthdays for all, including a Doc McStuffins-themed third birthday party for Ellie, a Star Wars-themed 33rd birthday party for Eric, a we're-leaving-on-a-two-week-road-trip-in-two-days-themed 33rd birthday mini-celebration for me, and a "Hole in ONE" golf-themed party for E.J.'s very first birthday, which also coincided with a great July Fourth celebration here in Jacksonville. Eric and I also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary this year! Additionally, we attended celebrations in honor of both my parents' 60th birthdays.

• The kids racked up their own list of celebrity sightings, including myriad PBS Kids stars and Disney characters ( such as Thomas the Train, Disney princesses, Mickey et al., Sesame Street friends, Daniel Tiger, and Buddy from Dinosaur Train). They loved every second of it!

• The big summer highlight was our two-week road trip that included stops in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Sesame Place, Pittsburgh, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood at Idlewild, Cleveland for the annual Hesterman reunion, and Pinehurst, NC. The kids were angels and we made some really wonderful family memories!

• Eric started his third year of teaching (honors students this year!) and Ellie started preschool. She also started ballet lessons after school.

• We went crazy with Halloween activities and had a blast in this year's family costumes inspired by the Disney movie Tangled!

• We got to watch Ellie perform in her school Thanksgiving program, and watched her sulk her way through both her ballet recital and Christmas program. At least she has true sulking talent so it was quite a sight to see.

• We enjoyed very nice holidays in St. Pete, spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas proper with family. We followed that up with our own family Christmas celebration back at home in Jacksonville, which was really special as both kids were very into it this year (Ellie especially). 

• We wrapped up the year today with the VyStar New Year's Eve Run—my very first 5k! Eric has been helping me train and it went so well.

What a year! 2016 promises to be another filled with potential change and, hopefully, continued progress down the path that will lead us to where we are meant to be. In the meantime, we are enjoying each other, our family, and all that Jacksonville has to offer.

May 2016 bring happiness and good health to you and your loved ones, friends. Wishing you all the best!

VIDEO: A look back at our year in 2015

Signing off for 2015,

Meghan

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Love and peace to you this holiday season!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I know a couple of kids who are all ready for Christmas!

Thirty-Three is the Way To Be

Today is Eric's 33rd birthday! We have some Christmas-y fun planned for tonight after work (plus cake and that sort of thing, naturally), but otherwise it's a pretty laid back birthday for him. As for me, I opted to keep with tradition and am spending my day thinking of all the reasons why I love my husband!

In addition to all the reasons previously listed (see: 32, 30, 29, 28, 27, and 26), here are 33 bright, shiny, new reasons why I love Eric!

33 Things I Love About My 33-Year-Old-Husband

(in no particular order)

1. I love that whenever he sees E.J. looking at/playing with a Mickey Mouse, Eric says "Oh, boy! It's Mickey Mouse!" in full-out Mickey voice.
2. I love that he always makes the phone calls that I don't want to make.
3. I love that he is willing to push the jogging stroller for me so that we can all go for family runs together, and I can just focus on running (I'm a newbie!).
4. I also love that he praises my "fast" running pace even though we all know it's far slower than he would run on his own. I appreciate him slowing down for me.
5. I love that he is SO EXCITED about the new Star Wars movie.
6. I love how "Clark Kent" he looks in his new glasses.
7. I love that he is the type of person that is willing to change his opinion on important topics. He actively seeks out convincing arguments on both sides and when presented with information that contradicts his current stance, he will amend his position according to what he now recognizes as truth.
8. I love that in his math classes every day, he writes the date as a math equation. So nerdy, but so adorable.
9. I love that he cares so much about exposing his students to the full range of options before them for college and life after high school.
10. I love how hard he works in search of the perfect next step for him, his career and our family.
11. I love the way he calls E.J. "the big guy." (Ellie must love it too, because she has adopted it herself!)
12. I love that he will always read books to Ellie. Always. I complain about it sometimes, when bedtime has long passed and I'm ready to get her tucked in and get on with our night, but he insists it's important and I know that he's right. I'm glad he doesn't allow that to be brushed aside.
13. I love that when he reads to the kids he creates different voices for all the characters. And, if there are other people around, instead of toning it down (as I would likely do), he embraces it and asks them to read the part of the narrator so he can better focus on his characters.
14. I love the way he stirs pasta.
15. I love the way he stepped up and took care of things when his mother and his grandmother passed away.
16. I love the beautiful words he wrote and spoke about his mother and his grandmother at their memorial services.
17. I love that he always sleeps on the couch without complaint when I am sick, so I can cough and sneeze all night without worrying about disturbing him (and still having the comfortable bed).
18. I love that he is always willing to crack or massage my back at my request.
19. I love that he always tells me I'm beautiful even when I don't feel it. And by the way he looks at me, I know he's not just saying it; he really means it.
20. I love that he is constantly in pursuit of knowledge. He is always reading, studying and learning, and enjoying it.
21. I love that he always drives when we ride in the car together.
22. I love that he texts me a nice little "good morning, have a good day" message every morning when he leaves for work.
23. I love that he takes our cars for oil changes for us.
24. I love that he doesn't think twice about donning a tiara and sitting down for a princess tea party with Ellie.
25. I love the way he eats Kit-Kats (even though it's wrong).
26. I love that as soon as he saw I was feeling sad about my sister leaving for another six months (at least) in Japan, he started talking about ways to get me over there for a visit, even if he can't come with me (and of the two of us, he has always been the one who wants to visit Asia). He can really be very selfless like that.
27. I love that he is always willing to give the kids use of the entire house for their play, while I usually try to contain them (read: contain the mess) to the main living area. He wants them to explore!
28. I love that he is so amused when our kids do something clever to get their way, that he will likely give in.
29. I love that he takes Achilles to the vet for his shots for me.
30. I love that he is willing to give up his holidays in our home this year in favor of being in St. Petersburg while my sister is home this Christmas.
31. I love that he points out when it has been a while since we've hugged (by "a while" I mean roughly a day) and makes sure to remedy the situation.
32. I love that he did Japanese cosmetic face masks with Heather and me over Thanksgiving.
33. I love how much he values our marriage and how steadfastly committed he is to sharing a long, happy life together with me.

Happy birthday to a truly great man!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Ellie Kitty

Doesn't this little kitty have the prettiest blue eyes?