Hey, NASA

Wanna know something that will make you feel pretty small?! Try standing out in a giant field and looking up into the sky for 5 minutes and watching the International Space Station pass by!

Blake, myself, and GDaddy heard about this opportunity and we couldn't miss it. We actually were just curious to see if we could actually spot it. We drove out into the edge of the field and we knew about what time it was supposed to pass. Blake had the compass and we knew what directions to look. Sure enough, at 5:39 we saw a big steadily moving ball of light come across the field. It looked like a big bright moving star. Blake was able to see it and he pointed to it as it moved. We tried to explain what it was, but it's kind of hard to do that when you are baffled by the whole concept yourself.

When we got back home we googled all kinds of fun facts about the International Space Station. It just makes me feel so small to know that 6 people were in that ball of light orbiting Earth. I find it crazy to think that we even have the technology and skills to even do that. Then I can't even comprehend the whole galaxy thought and how there is SO much out there we don't even know about. Wow!

Simply a really cool moment that lasted 5 minutes. Moments like that are really fun to make you put things into perspective. This wasn't really on our bucket list... but I think it can be a good thing to check off.

Watch the International Space Station orbit over us - Check!! :)

Christmas Magic

Christmas Magic is a beautiful thing. It's like a blanket that covers the world my world and makes everything beautiful. This year was a little more difficult than recent years for obvious reasons, but watching the "Christmas magic" in Blake's eyes was amazing!

Christmas Eve we spent the morning with my mom's family. Blake enjoyed playing with his cousins and opening presents. We then came home and made dinner for my dad and Memommy. We enjoyed their company and loved being at home with our Christmas decorations. Blake was able to open his first Christmas Eve Box!! It contained some new PJ's, a little toy (Plane), and a Christmas movie. After my dad and Memommy left, Blake and I made cookies and watched the movie. We had a blast waiting for Santa! :)

Christmas morning was even better!!! Blake was so excited to see that Santa came and left him lots of gifts! The first gift he opened was his very much requested Paw Patrol Headquarters! He even got a lot of little Paw Patrol characters! His "big" gift was a Nabi Jr. - a tablet with lots of learning apps. He got a Batman! He also got some learning letter games. From the grandparents he got Leap Frog Reader stuff, Buzz Lightyear belt, and more mini superheros! He was spoiled rotten this year! :) Santa got me a pair of boots! Very happy about that!

 So sad that the Christmas season is moving on... marketing and ads are already jumping on the next holiday. Whew. I have had such a great month with Blake doing all kinds of fun things. I am so excited about playing with Blake and his new toys over the next week that we have off together! YAY! I am even more excited about the new year coming up! I have a feeling it will be a great year. :) 

Gingerbread Houses

The other night Blake and I decorated gingerbread houses!!! I had a feeling that Blake at this age would be a GREAT at decorating... and I was right! He was a pro! He also was great at taste testing the candy. :) Such a great evening with my little buddy.

Blake said that we made our house, G-Daddy's house, and Granny & Papa's house. Haha! So cute!! And our houses look WAY better than the box pictures. :)

Santa and Rudy

Christmas at Blake's age is such a wonderful time. Watching him get so excited about small holiday traditions just brings joy to my life. Of course the most popular Christmas tradition is SANTA! I think this is also the year that toddlers either do the fight or flight with the whole Santa thing. Haha. I battled with deciding where and when and how to do the Santa thing with Blake. My concern was that Blake was going to not want to sit with Santa or get his picture taken with him. Blake gets very stubborn so  he will not budge if he doesn't want to do something. Also, I was not going to pay the going rate for a Santa picture package of $25+ .

Thankfully Memommy mentioned to us that Santa was going to be in the Rolesville area a few Friday nights. We decided to try it out! By the way,... did I mention it was free?! On the way there I tried to pump Blake up and we went over what he would tell Santa. I tried to also prepare him for sitting on Santa's lap and taking a picture. He was pretty excited about it.... but the true test was when he would actually see Santa!

And this is what happened....

My sweet boy went right up to Santa and sat in his lap!! :) They talked about how he liked Superman and Paw Patrol. He even showed Santa his muscles!!I could not have been more proud of him. There is no doubt that he is on the nice list this year!!


Blake is also getting to know one of Santa's helpers this year.... Rudy has joined our house to help make sure Blake is a good boy! Each night Rudy finds himself doing something silly in our house. Each morning Blake gets to wake up and see what Rudy has been up to. Rudy is one silly little elf and we love laughing at him each morning. :) Here are some of the things he has been doing this week...

Disney on Ice

Blake and I were lucky enough to go to Disney on Ice this year... thanks to Granny! Granny and I took the day off of work and we took Blake on the date! He had a blast!!! He was able to see Mickey, Buzz Lightyear, Goofy, and Olaf from Frozen!

This was the first real performance that Blake has ever been too and his eyes were wide open the whole time. He didn't skip a beat! I think we will have to plan a few more things like this again in our future.

First Live Performance - Check!
First Time Seeing Disney Characters Live - Check! 

Ho Ho Tree

Blake is back from Utah and it is time for us to get in the Christmas Spirit!!!! I am honestly loving Christmas this year... like it might be my favorite Christmas so far! Blake is at such a fun age and I can literally see the "Christmas magic" in his eyes. He gets so excited about the smallest things. I am just so excited about seeing Christmas from his perspective this year. :)

Today we got to go pick out our Christmas Tree, or should I say the Ho Ho Tree as Blake calls it. Haha! We went to the cutest little tree lot and let Blake run around. I still don't think Blake really "gets" the picking out of the tree, but I love seeing him run around and get excited. It makes me laugh because you can see his wheels turning. Kind of like - "Why in the world are we bringing a tree into the house?!?! Not sure why, but I like it!"

Blake was going a million miles an hour at the tree lot, so I was glad that GDaddy went with us to help! We also really needed his help to actually get the tree home and in the house. Thank goodness for family, right?!

 
Blake was really amused by this snowman at the tree lot... first instinct was to honk his nose!! HAHA. Because what else would you do with a life size snowman?! :)

 
When we got the tree inside, Blake wanted to "get in" it. He also has already hid some of his toys in it. Oh boy... I hope we can actually decorate it! We are planning on decorating the tree (trying to) while watching The Polar Express tomorrow! Can't wait! 

Mommy Break

Blake has had the amazing opportunity to go to Utah with Ryan to visit family for 5-6 days. It seems like they are having a great time according to the pictures, updates, and phone calls I am getting. :)

While Blake is gone, I figured this would be a little time to focus on myself and be productive. I have done some Christmas shopping, ran errands, wrapped presents, gotten my nails done, grocery shopped, and more. However, it has been spending time with my friends that has been the best.

This has been the longest I have been away from Blake and it has partly driven me nuts. The house is just way too quiet and I miss him SO much. My life revolves around him on a daily basis, so it has been an adjustment not to have him around. I almost didn't know what to do with my time. Luckily my friends stepped in and kept me busy. I am very grateful!

Blake comes home on Monday! I am beyond ready to have him back and start our Christmas tradition fun! :)  This momma is ready to have her little buddy back!

Ice Skating Girlfriends

One thing I have learned to LOVE and appreciate the most recently has been my girlfriends. When life seems to be going all wrong, it is those special girlfriends that make you laugh, cry with you, and have your back no matter what. Friendships like that really do last for a lifetime!

This past weekend it was my amazing friend, Rita's, birthday! She and I are in very similar life situations and we have learned to lean on each other. So, of course, it was only natural that we spend her birthday together. Our mutual friend Jodi(and another beautiful friend) planned our girls day!

We started off at an amazing brunch at The Oxford in downtown Raleigh. We ate our hearts out. They had an omelet station that was my favorite!

Then we took on the outside ice skating rink in downtown! Well... they called it an ice skating rink. I think it was more of a snowy palette of cement. Haha! Either way, it was a bucket list item that we checked off! We had a blast goofing off with out figure skating skills. :)

After we killed our ankles on the rink, we went and relaxed in the Starbucks across the street. What a great day! I think Rita really enjoyed her day and I know that a little girl time was exactly what I needed to recharge my single mommy life! 

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

This morning we enjoyed a brunch with my Dad and Memommy. We are still a little weak from all the sickness, so it was nice to start our day off slowly.

Blake and I took a nice long nap and then we went to my mom's. We were able to see all of that side of the family, including grandparents and baby cousins! Blake had a great time playing with the other little ones. :)

 

Now to the real meaning of Thanksgiving... This isn't the Thanksgiving that I had originally expected. Our family is obviously a little different than last year, but it has made me more grateful than ever. First of all, I am grateful for family! I am grateful for my biggest blessing, which is Blake. He is my world. I am grateful for my family and friends who have supported Blake and I over the past 6 months. I am grateful for the priority of being a mommy, one which I hold dear to my heart. 

Also, I am grateful for this journey. I do not understand it yet, but I know I am learning a lot. I am learning what I want for my life and Blake's. Equally, I am learning what I do not want for us. I am also learning about ME. That's something I thought only college bound teenagers did, but I am learning that it is important to rediscover yourself at several times during your life. I am grateful for the things I am being able to experience and enjoy.... even the challenges! 

I am grateful for the future. I am not sure what all it holds, but I know that for the first time in a long time I feel open and excited about it. Whatever comes, I know I can look at it with a new attitude. I am healthy, happy, and surrounded by blessings daily. Looking at the last 6 months of my life, I could easily be down and depressed about what has happened... but I refuse to do that. Instead, we are grateful!!!!!!

Say Cheese

Say Cheese.... We survived the flu!!! :)

Flu First

Blake has always been the healthiest kid... until now. He sadly came down with the flu of all things! It happened very suddenly and since then we have been in a whirlwind of movies, juice, medicine, and more. Haha.

Blake hates his medicine by the way. He will scream and fight it every time, including saying, "I'm gonna cry..." :(  I have actually gotten a great workout trying to restrain him and get the medicine actually in him. We are both on Tamiflu and we hope to recover soon! No mommy likes to see her little boy sick.

It really makes you grateful for the healthy days....

Snuggle Bug

I am the luckiest mommy in the world because my little boy still LOVES to snuggle with me!!!

Blake will sneak into bed with me in the middle of the night and we will snuggle close all night and then in the morning too. It takes us forever to get out of bed because we snuggle and laugh and talk. Then Blake will say, "Lay back down, Mommy!" How can you say no to that?!?!

We also snuggle and watch TV. Blake will often get one end of the couch and I will get the other and we will share a blanket. He is also known to still crawl in my lap and watch TV with me...sometimes holding my hand. Sigh... can he please stay like this forever?!

Here we also have our regular after bath snuggles. I will wrap him in the towel and then he will snuggle me tight as he looks at himself in the mirror...and makes faces. :)

Snuggles are literally the best things ever. They keep me going and put a smile on my face. I know there will be a day when he won't want to snuggle with me anymore or hold my hand. How long do you think I could possible keep this going!?!?!? :) Haha!

Fall & Football

Blake and I have taken advantage of some of the beautiful Fall afternoons that we have had. Afterschool we have gone outside and played our little hearts out. Blake is learning to really love football! He can catch it and throw it like such a big boy. However, he is kind of a ball hog ;) His favorite part is getting chased! Haha.

We have also enjoyed having our snack outside and reading books. Blake is such a smart boy! He is now learning the ABC song and he also can count objects up to 5. He still loves reading books and even has some book favorites.

This weekend marks the official change in weather. It will now start being a little too cold for us to be enjoying these wonderful afternoons. We are going to have to get creative and find new ways to have some indoor fun. I have a feeling this winter with a busy little toddler will be very interesting! I will have to get my super mommy entertaining skills out. :)

Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween!!! This year Blake wanted to be....Superman! Shocking, right?! I tried taking him to Target and finding him an actual costume, but he just wanted to wear his Superman shirt with his cape and that was fine by me! :)

This year was a big step for Blake because this was his first year trick-or-treating at an actual neighborhood! We practiced our "Halloween etiquette" all week, but I still wasn't sure how he might react to the whole tradition.

Oh boy did he surprise us all!!! Blake went wild with happiness. He was so energetic when going to the different houses. He would run up to a house, say trick or treat, thank the givers, and then he would do a victory dance because he got candy! HAHA!

It was also cute to see his reactions to the other kids dressed up. I think Blake thought they were really the characters and he was on Hollywood Blvd. He saw Elsa and Anna from Frozen. He also got really excited when he saw a little boy dressed as the fire dog from Paw Patrol. However, his favorite was seeing a family dressed as The Incredibles. He literally thought they were the real thing! We went and talked to them and luckily the family played along and talked to Blake. He was star struck and thought he was the coolest kid in the world meeting the actual Incredible Superheros. HAHA! It made my night!

I think his first official night of trick-or-treating was a success. He even got a special sleepover with Granny (Rae) and Papa. He had a wonderful night.

It's nights like this that I am the proudest mommy in the world! I am first of all so proud at the little boy Blake is turning into. He is growing so quickly. Secondly, I loved stepping back and watching him experience the night. He was so polite and social and energetic and fun. People loved talking to him and meeting him. I can't help but just beam with pride. I couldn't ask for him to be any better! He is my world and my best buddy!

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

This past Thursday I took a day off of work to spend it with Blake. We had the very important job of picking out the perfect pumpkin and we took that very seriously ;)

It is our yearly tradition to go to Hillridge Farms for our pumpkin picking. Blake really likes that place because of the train, but I think he had fun with the other activities too.

Overall, mission accomplished! We did pick out the two most perfect pumpkins! Spending the day with Blake was amazing and I am so glad we gets these moments together!! He is a hoot!!! :)

Super Blake

One of the things I love most about being a mommy is watching the phases and interests that Blake experiences. I find it so amazing how certain things catch his interest. First it was Thomas the Train, then it was Cars and Planes, and now it is Superman. :)

A few weeks ago Blake saw The Incredibles for the first time. That was his first exposure to superheros. He also has a few Superman shirts, so I guess it was only a matter of time before he would become fascinated with them. A few days ago he said "Superman to the rescue!" and then he wanted to "fly". Flying is a great arm workout by the way!

Luckily Granny, Papa, and Aunt T found a Superman shirt with a cape on it! That cape has made all the difference! He hasn't taken the shirt off for 3 days... except to sleep! He loves it! I think we might have a good idea of what he will be for Halloween too....

Superman (ahem Super Blake) has been great at "saving" mommy from any danger at the house...like pretend spiders and monsters. However, Superman also does normal things like playing soccer...

...and flexing his muscles...

...and reading books....

...and hanging out with his favorite ladies! :)

We love our little superhero!!!