ten on ten - ten days late! December 2012

So here's the scoop, I took pics on the 10th, left town on the 11th and never got a post done.  

BUT, now we're home and here's my ten:

all dressed in his snow bibs and flannel shirt for going outside but distracted by trains 

I love seeing the things he puts together in play these days!

new mittens!

(I was going to save them for the Christmas stocking but to be perfectly honest, I didn't feel like going out to the cold car and hunting down other mittens that might or might not end up being there - it was easier to dig in the gift drawer)  

playing in the snow!  

a special Christmas mug from my Grandmother, my dad's mom

making eggnog coffee cake I'd seen on pinterest

a very good little kitchen helper - he's going to be baking *for* me before I know it!

another case of laziness in one day - so see that back beater?  It wouldn't snap in all the way, I fiddled a while then gave up deciding it would work fine.  Well, then my little helper and I got a spatula jammed in between the bowl and beater and before I knew it this beater had completely "mangled and tangled" itself (as David said over and over) beyond use.  Bummer!

The space program is alive and well in our house!

(and no it wasn't cold inside but someone enjoyed wearing his winter gear all the way until naptime)

an afternoon treat of a video - I don't remember which one but probably Boz or Chugginton

I was really enjoying this book I got via interlibrary loan but I  had to return it before our trip without finishing it.  Bummer!

Ready to go into the oven!  (It had to chill for 8 hours)  I took it to the second annual sock exchange party with women from my church and it was yummy if I do say so myself.  I have another one and a dairy free one for David in the freezer waiting to be pulled out for breakfast one day this week with our company here.  First I have to get past my glucose test tomorrow.  Uggh!

Daddy's off work, let's drive trains over his head!

Hope you are having a lovely December.  I'd love to hear your comments and what you're up to.

Kelly

a big night

Last night was a big night.  

We went to the zoo's Electric Safari to see all of the Christmas lights and some animals.  The giraffes are kind of the focal point of the zoo here you might say.  I think there are 22 of them, including a baby born on my parents' anniversary in August!  That little baby is soo cute.  

Well, last night my "little baby" who has been scared of the giraffes from day one when we're up close and yet lately has been saying at home that giraffes are his favorite animal, asked for some lettuce.  

I couldn't believe he wanted to feed them so you'd better believe I forked over the $2 for lettuce to feed the giraffes.  He had so much fun!  It was adorable!  

This is him feeding the baby giraffe.  So cute.  He was thanking the giraffe too.  Adorable and so sweet.

Does the zoo in your area do anything for Christmas? 

Kelly

We love the library

Hope you're having a great day! Any favorite book recommendations for us or library tips?

Kelly

Christmastime is here

old photo but I still like it

taking a walk

I love this photo.  It was taken last year about this time.  We had gone on a family walk and the weather was gorgeous.  I hope you're having gorgeous weather where you are today.  

Kelly

ten on ten - November 2012

Once again, better late than never, right??

We started off Saturday morning with a photo shoot since we found out that we're expecting a baby girl to be a sister to our precious big boy!

Very shortly after the first photo was taken it started to rain so we ran to a nearby coffee shop.  

For lunch we ended up at an adorable little German cafe that we had been wanting to try out.  

The food was amazing and the service couldn't have been more attentive.  They had a little German "grocery" too where we picked up some stocking stuffers for each other.  

It was a fun family date on a Saturday!

stroller and balloons waiting for us outside

what was waiting for me when I got home - a little weekend cleaning was in order after a busy week

"I waked up!" 

(maybe so or maybe you never went to sleep)

self portrait on the way to a wonderful date night with my sweet husband

My terrific parents kept the boy!

Nosh

an amazing cheese plate!

Those nut encrusted things?  Grapes filled with cheese!

(don't worry, my doctor cleared me to eat all cheeses that are pasteurized so I'm good. If this baby has a dairy allergy like her brother I'm looking at a year or so of no dairy in my diet while I'm nursing so you can bet I'm filling up on all safe dairy now!)

And speaking of filling up on dairy, the creme brulee sampler bowls stacked up at the end of a very satisfying meal with great company!

creme brulee flavors in case you're wondering were almond, salted caramel and coconut!

photos 1, 8, 9, & 10 taken by Adrian

linking up here

baby on the way

hayride

first hayride

second hayride

Happy November everyone!

I'm enjoying a fresh start to a new month this morning.

If you read Jesus Calling, I especially enjoyed this morning's entry.

Kelly

pumpkins!

preschool

Today has been a MUCH better day "after preschool"!

God is good!  

Thank you to all of my mom friends who have given me suggestions and advice and to those of you who have prayed!

Happy day. 

Kelly

Iceland

Because I don't know if I'm ever going to get around to posting about the rest of our Europe trip in order, I thought I'd go ahead and post this collage that Adrian made from the Iceland portion of our trip.

Have you ever been to Iceland? 

We kind of went on a whim.  While looking for flights Iceland Air was significantly cheaper than the other airlines and they allow you to stop over in Iceland to or from Europe/America without any extra fees or anything.

We are so, so glad we went!

It was gorgeous!!

Three of these four photos were taken at the Blue Lagoon.

It was amazing!!!

We rented a car and took a total of about a six hour road trip to see it and get back to our hotel but it was completely worth it.  

We saw some parking areas off the road after driving along the only real road that goes around the island of Iceland for several hours.  We realized we must have found it. 

We parked, climbed up a hill and once we reached the crest all of that ice and the blue, blue water was what we saw!  It was a neat sense of discovery.  

I would highly recommend it, the waterfalls, hiking, etc. if you ever get to go to Iceland!

Kelly

my first visit to the state I now live in

I didn't grow up coming to Colorado.  

We weren't a skiing family and our family vacations usually were to visit our family in California or to San Antonio.  

I didn't go on wilderness trek in high school although my brother did.

The very first time I made it to Colorado was October of 2006 to visit my friend Emily.  

This picture was taken at Garden of the Gods on a rainy day as we made a quick trip into Colorado Springs for me to meet up with a college friend.  

Among other things, we wanted to talk about our experiences on eharmony since we had both joined.  Little did I know that just a couple weeks after this trip that I would get matched with Adrian on eharmony (on this exact date actually) and that here, six years later we would be married and have moved to Colorado!  

Crazy!  Oh yeah, and have one child and another on the way.

You just never know how God is going to work do you?

I wonder what He has planned next for me and for you?

It will be exciting to see.

So, what about you, have you ever been to Colorado?

Kelly

anniversary dinner

Our anniversary was on an ordinary Thursday but I am so thankful for a husband who is a great cook and can even turn a family dinner on a Thursday into something extra special.  Yum!

spinach goat cheese risotto!

something new

This beauty came into our house recently and it is pretty neat!

Kelly

updated ten on ten

covers from taking a nap as soon as I got home from preschool drop off

Unfortunately I am not sleeping the greatest so far this pregnancy.  I wake up in the middle of the night a lot and have a hard time falling back to sleep.

My friend Sarah's wonderful pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe held up with washi tape in my kitchen.  I love these and I love washi tape!  

I have become a huge price per ounce shopper lately.  Is the store brand the better deal or something on sale or something with a coupon?  Kroger pumpkin won out and I like the packaging too.

Orange pumpkin and orange spatulas that were a wedding gift.  

The leaves around here this year are just gorgeous!  I love driving around town and seeing them all.

apple print painting made at preschool

I am so thankful my sweet boy is getting to have these types of experiences with other kids.  He is LOVING preschool and doesn't like to leave.  We just go once a week and it is perfect for us right now.  

Cookies ready to go into the oven.  

They turned out GREAT despite me remembering to make any changes for altitude.  

brewing tea for dinner with our neighbors

We got a new "fancy" thermostat to help save money on utilities.  I like the name.  You know the marketers were playing to the women with that one.  

So far these first two weeks of preschool, this little guy has NOT napped despite the fact that I think he really is tired.  My friend said that maybe he's just so stimulated that he's not ready to fall asleep.  

Any advice there?  Have your kids done something similar?

Well, not napping does not really produce a cheerful boy and late afternoons are ROUGH.  Particularly since we were in "getting ready for company" mode.  He got these sprinkles out of the baking drawer which he knows he's not supposed to do and then they spilled out all over the kitchen floor and he started eating them off the (not so clean) floor.  

I chose just to avert my eyes and pretend I didn't see it.  I didn't see what good one more time out was going to do for us that afternoon and he was happy and quiet for about 20 minutes eating those things off the floor.  Sometimes in choosing your battles you just choose peace I think.  

bowls stacked up for big people and little people

all ready for chili that I just *may* have gotten a bit over zealous with the cayenne in but I LOVED it.  

place setting ready to go (and pushed far back from the edge of the table till we were actually ready to sit down since that's the season of life we're in)

So there you have it, words and pictures from our October 10, 2012.

Kelly