Bittersweet

I'm sitting here thinking about how great it is to have pretty much everything ready for our trip to Mexico. In 1 week we will be on the beach, hopefully a little inebriated. But my chest is tight and my stomach hurts a little. 2 years ago, these feelings would have been caused by excitement and eagerness. But now that I have my sweet little boy, my chest is tight from withholding a tiny bit of tears imagining how much I'm going to miss that charming smile of his. And my stomach hurts for fear of anything happening while we're away. It's true that life is never the same after having a child. But it's not the big things, like being more tired or having less time to yourself, that surprise me. It's times like these where I truly think twice about if I should just stay here and let Cory have a fun Mexican getaway! Of course, I would never really be that crazy! But just the thought crossing through my mind reminds me of just how much I would sacrifice for that little boy. Every single day I fall in love with him more and more. Even though this potty training thing is KILLING me (I have zero patience for it, and fully expect him to be potty trained when we get back from our trip because I cannot handle it!). I would take Holdyn peeing all over me over any day I ever had before he was in my life. So Holdyn... Mama loves you. I promise to be extra safe and buy you something awesome. I know you're not going to even miss us, what with having Grandmas and Aunts smothering you every second we're gone. But we will MISS you. I already miss you and you're asleep in the the next room. I love you buddy :)

1 year ago today...

It's time for another "1 year ago today..."!! I love doing these because I wasn't blogging a year ago so it gives me a chance to document my memories from way back then :)

So... 1 year ago today we were celebrating my brother's birthday. We went bowling and got some dang cute pics. It was a lot of fun and Holdyn was, of course, an angel! Just a little side note... I've come to realize after looking at these pictures, that Holdyn could very well be related to a bowling ball of some sort. Look at the similarities...

Playing his favorite game of "Tick, Tock" with Aunt Amber...

The Compound

Well, it all really happened. The compound was finished and we have tons of snowboardy things in our backyard for boys to get hurt on. Here are some pics from before it snowed of Holdyn and Cory having a freaking blast!

And here's my noise with dirt on it!

These might be my favorite videos of all time! You can't tell because the videos are so small, but Holdyn has the biggest grin on his face, even while receiving whip-lash!

When it snowed, Cory decided to sit Holdyn on his snowboard and send him down the ramp. This is what happens when Mom is sick and stuck inside watching the boys play.

So far, we have made it through the winter without any serious injuries.

We've had fun having our "rail jams" and midnight BBQs. I like watching the boys from my nice warm kitchen :) And it keeps Cory pretty happy!

Holdyn's Faces

Sometimes I look at Holdyn and see him make the exact faces his dad makes! These pics are from my mom's camera from babysitting a couple weeks ago and all of these faces were made within a 10 minute time period!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!! (A little late, I know!) We had an amazing Christmas and hope you all did as well. This year was especially fun for us because Holdyn was soaking up every ounce of Christmas! December was filled with gasps and oohs and aahs from Holdyn. Anytime we drove anywhere, Holdyn would point out the lights on every single house and gasp so dramatically, we're lucky he never had anything in his mouth or he would have for sure choked! It all started with getting out Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving...

Holdyn helped carry around the lights for Dad until he was ready for them.

Then he "helped" dad wrap the tree...

Holdyn had so much fun decorating the Christmas tree and has been extremely good about not touching the tree this whole month.

We left his decorations exactly as he put them, hence the sideways ornaments...

Here are my 2 very favorite ornaments...



And here is the finished product...

This season has been so much more magical with Holdyn around. Last year I was pretty emotional during Christmas but I chalked it up to having a 6 month old. Well having an 18 month old isn't any better! As we were helping Santa set up Holdyn's toys, I couldn't stop telling Cory how much fun I was having! It is indescribable how much excitement a parent feels thinking about their child on Christmas morning. I expect that it will only be getting better in the coming years :)

Every year on Christmas Eve, we make the trek out to Alpine to see Cory's dad's family. Holdyn had so much fun playing with all of his cousins! Then we went to my grandma's to open our traditional Christmas Eve Jammies! Holdyn enjoyed opening everyone else's presents just as much as he enjoyed opening his...

I woke up bright and early Christmas morning and waited to hear my alarm clock (my sweet boy singing.) Within 3 minutes of Holdyn waking up, he was toddling down the hall to see what "Ho Ho Ho" brought! He sat down and started playing with his toys immediately. Cool, calm, collected, and super happy!!

It was low key and so much fun. I cherished those couple of hours at home because I knew frenzy was about to begin as we made the grandparent rounds. Holdyn on the other hand, couldn't wait to get out the door to see what else he was getting!!

Our family was very generous. Not only did we lose control on Holdyn's Christmas, but his grandparents went crazy too! He got a motorized motorcycle...a Power Wheels four wheeler, the cutest Elmo Live I have ever seen, and much much more! He is in heaven going from toy to toy to toy! Cory and I got some great stuff too! A new camera, a GPS, and a trip to Mexico to name a few!! I got Cory a new watch, some shirts, a razor and snowboard boots he's been wanting for awhile!!

Cory did really well this year, as always! He gave me a bunch of books I've been wanting to read, a darling Willow Tree figurine to add to my collection, new car mats, a magazine subscription, cute Roxy shoes, and a Forever 21 gift card to buy some cute Mexico clothes! Here was the after math of Christmas morning...

And for my favorite picture from Christmas '08...

Notice the tag still on Cory's pants, even after I brought it to his attention!

And Holdyn's face is priceless as he's looking around to see if anyone can see that he's touching his Daddy's new tool box even though he's not supposed to be! It was a nice little surprise to find this picture on the camera :)

It was a great day and we had tons of fun. Thank you everyone for your generosity, we love you very much! I'm feeling the "Christmas is over" blues :( But I am thrilled to say Peace Out to 2008 and ring in 2009, our best year yet! We have some serious goals to accomplish this year and I'm anxiously excited! Come on 2009, we're ready for you!!

One year ago today...

Holdyn had his first

celery stick :)

These are some of my favorite pics ever of him!