...always a good sign...

...of a good nights sleep...

please excuse the poor photo quality - snapped with my iPhone

our lunch date.

Thursdays are Gymboree Play & Learn days for Eli and I and we love visiting with the other boys and girls as well as their mamas. Because the Gymboree facility is a bit of a commute from our home, I usually pack a "picnic-in-the-car" lunch for Eli to have once we have pulled into the parking lot, to ensure that he has his lunch before class begins and we are able to get there on time. However, after the snow fell in Louisville last week and we were home bound for a few days, I decided to try our first ever Mama & Eli lunch date. Because Chick-fil-a is close to Gymboree, what better place could we have enjoyed our lunch before class?!? Eli just munched away on his first ever chicken nuggets, veggies, & fruit, while I also got to enjoy a yummy lunch. What fun we had on our special date and at our class!

you are.

You are our sunshine,

our only sunshine.

You make us happy...when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear,

how much we love you.

Please don't take our sunshine away.

...every time I think of you, I give thanks to God...
Philippians 1:3

it's cold outside...wear a scarf.

As the snow comes down in Louisville, it's the perfect day to cozy yourself into a scarf. I love wearing scarves with my coats and to complement an outfit. I'm always looking for new and fun ways to tie them. Here are seven great ways to do just that...love it, love it, love it!

Enjoy! Hope you are staying warm!

let's read.

Eli loves books! He loves to look at them, turn their pages, lift up their flaps, open and close them, touch the pictures, and close them when they are finished. We have lots of special reading time during the day before his two naps and at bedtime. And at times, if he is having a fussy moment where nothing else seems to suit him, reading a book is always the answer. Books distract and take tears away and bring smiles and precious laughs. Eli received so many nice, new books for Christmas and we are slowly working them into our familiar favorites. Andy and I are taking a cue from little Eli and are diving back into our love of reading. As one of my New Year's resolutions, I am going to try to read at least one book each month...and I'm taking Andy along.

My January Book

Andy's January Book

We hope you are picking some good books to enjoy this year!

i think i'm in love.

...really...this is just too mighty delicious not to share...

{nutella hot chocolate}

the 4 ingredients that you will need
{nutella, milk, cinnamon, & reddi wip}

{1}

measure one cup of milk. with your saucepan on medium heat, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk. add two spoonfuls of nutella (and then lick the spoon clean). whisk until combined.

{2}

whisk in remaining milk.

{3}

add a pinch of cinnamon. continue whisking until milk is frothy.

{4}

pour into your coziest mug. top with as much reddi wip as you like and add one last pinch of cinnamon. yum, yum, yum...so easy...so delicious...so cozy!

enjoy!

how much wood can a woodchuck chuck?

Mysterious knawing marks have been found at the Freeman residence on the future footboard of one covertable crib belonging to Eli B. Freeman. Not visable a few days ago as his mother remarked, "Wow! We sure are lucky that our precious little boy hasn't decided to teethe using his crib as a teething toy."

cute. funny. constantly in motion and often into things he shouldn't be exploring.
With 8 teeth and all four molars trying to break through his gums, this adorable 13 month old may look cute and snuggly, but beware, he has one mean bite.

~

I actually thought that we were out of the woods with "teething on his crib". I guess that I was all too wrong! Luckily after a quick trip to Babies 'R' Us and hopefully a little furniture polish, I was and will be able to remedy our problem. On a mission to buy a gummy strip made especially for this problem, I discovered the Easy Teether in the very same section. Because our little woodchuck simply did not chew only on the top of his rail, but also the curve leading up to the rail, I decided to simply cover the entire space. What will he try next week?!?

a delicious beginning.

our quiet new year's eve.

New Year's Eve was a wonderful day spent with family...our little family. Without party hats and horns, we enjoyed the end of 2010 with a trip to COSTCO for necessities plus a few extras, a yummy lunch at Cheddars, & a nice New Year's Eve dinner out at our favorite sushi restaurant, Sake Blue. After Andy surprised me last New Year's Eve with special sushi take-out from Sake Blue (after all, this time last year, after having a baby one month before, I was lucky to keep my eyes open on New Year's Eve), we decided to make "a sushi dinner" our special family New Year's Eve tradition!

...Enjoying lunch at Cheddars with my sweet boys...
Daddy should be so proud that Eli was keeping tabs on the football game above.

...loving our sushi dinner at Sake Blue...
More interested in his next bite than getting his picture taken, this is the best picture that we could manage.

"I will not eat mashed potatoes. I will not eat homemade applesauce. I turn my nose up at any fruit that is slimy or soft. I will push rice and pasta right back out of my mouth, but give me shrimp and I just can't get enough"

...at least our little guy has good taste...

Loud or quiet, we hope that your New Year's Eve was great!

happy new year.