We have had almost no snow here this winter. It's a blessing in some ways, being as I work in construction and we own a window cleaning business. But on the other hand, I REALLY love a good snow day. I was glad we got at least one little snow a few weeks back to take Elle out in. We stood her up in the snow and she just stared all around her in awe. Nothing particularly exciting or memorable happened, but I know I will still remember it forever. :)

I'm back!

Well, it's officially been a million years since I last blogged. But instead of spending 45 minutes explaining why, I'll just give you a quick glimpse:That's about all I've been doing for months now. Ten to be exact.

That's right. Elle is almost ten months old now. TEN! It's hard for me to wrap my mind around. I've had a daughter for ten whole months. She's learned how to eat solids. She's learned how to crawl. She says MaMa, DaDa, & Uh-Oh. She's just 30 seconds away from walking.

My life has found some new sort of normal. Before I had a baby of my own, I thought that at this point I'd pretty much have it all figured out. But to be completely honest, I'm STILL trying to get the hang of this Mom thing! Every day something new happens and I am faced with the responsibilty of deciding what to do. I told my sister the other day that there should be handbook on being a Mom. Then it occured to me that there are a million handbooks out there for that very thing. But you know what I mean! There should be just one. And it should contain every single problem that exists in parenthood, and it should tell you exactly what to do. It should never utter the words "your best judgement" or "your intuition" or "each child is different." But I guess there are a million handbooks on parenting because every situation IS very individual and different for each person.

Every single thing that happens with Elle is new to us. And every single day I am learning new things about myself. Not only as a Mom, but as a person in general. That's one part of becoming a Mom that I truly underestimated. I guess I underestimated on my coffee budget too. :)

Okay, I'll stop here. But I promise I'll try to become more regular at blogging again. I still keep up with so many blogs, and I love that you guys are all better at blogging than me! Keep it up!

RAMBLINGS

I was watching an episode of Mad Men just now, and I noticed in the background that Don's apartment needs a window cleaning. You know you have a window cleaning business when..... :)

Just look at this sleeping baby (see below). She's so incredibly precious to me.

When I think about it, I spend a lot of my life laying in my bed with my feet out in front of me, staring at the wall. Actually, I guess I'm staring at old episodes of Seinfeld instead of the wall. But anyways, this is what my wall looks like.

Last weekend, I happily took on the task of making 50 cupcakes for my nephew Bear's 8th birthday party. Have you ever made 50 cupcakes? Did I mention that I only have one cupcake pan? Anyone who knows me in real life knows I'm not much of a cook. But baking is a whole different story. Somehow, baking is kind of fun to me. Plus, really, there's nothing better than a cupcake with an army man on top.

Just for fun, here's a shot of Daddy and Little. They make me happy.

And finally, Elle Bell and her Momma. Funny enough, we don't get many pictures of the 2 of us. I'm always walking around with the camera. Well, maybe not the camera, but my phone anyways. I'm always grateful when I happen upon a picture of the 2 of us. Elle is my world. :)

Right now I'm sitting at my desktop trying to filter through all the million things that go on each day that make me think, "I should blog that." The problem is, it's always a fleeting thought because by the time I get to a computer at night and have a free hand, I usually just pass out on my pillow!

But I'm having a rare moment right now. Elle Bell has drifted off to sleep, where she'll likely stay for several hours to come, Joe is off doing Joe things, the dogs are snoring at my feet, and the cats are lazing around the house quietly somewhere. (Did I mention lately that we have a lot of living creatures in our house?)

Even if you're all bored to death with it, can I talk about my child a little more? She has been doing so many cute things lately. Like, she found her tongue (See below - Elle with her Uncle Chris).

Oh, and as of a couple of days ago, she noticed the dogs. Like, for real this time. Every time she sees them she gets a HUGE grin on her face and she follows them with her eyes as they move around the room. Melt my heart.

She's such a happy baby. I feel so blessed to be her Momma.

A LITTLE SAP AND THE 4TH OF JULY

Little is almost 3 months old now. That means that for almost 3 months, I have been taking care of an infant. I remember when I was pregnant, I was really nervous about what lied ahead. I knew that having a baby was going to be so much work. I was nervous about how on Earth I was going to make it through my already busy days and manage to still take care of a child.

In the beginning I remember thinking I didn't know if I could do it. I remember being so tired and overwhelmed. But already, in just 3 short months, I feel so differently. I'm still tired of course, but it really does get easier. We're learning about each other every day. I really have learned to tell when she's crying because she just bored, or when she's hurting. And I think she's starting to know who I am. She's beginning to calm down easiest when I'm the one holding her.

Selfishly, I love this. :)

To all the other Moms out there, do you still wake up LITERALLY every day (at 6 am of course), and just fall in love all over again?

Anyways! Enough sap. :) Below you will find some fabulous 4th of July weekend pics taken by none other than the fabulous Kori Hudson. Aside from Christmas, the Fourth is my favorite holiday. We got to visit with a ton of great family, and it totally charged my batteries!

The Hudson Crew

A Little Cossatot Fun

A Bunch of Cousins and our Faux "Camp Gray" Tattoos - We coined my parents house Camp Gray this trip. It was pretty fitting - 18 people sleeping in one house! Side note - Mena totally has a tattoo parlor now! The people at Modern Ink were awesome!

A Little Hula Fun

My Pretty Mama

My Cousin Dacota, Elle, and I

Shiloh and His Mama

Little and Her Daddy

Me and Sis

I'VE GOT BEEF WITH THE BEEF

I went to Target yesterday to buy a new white bow for E.B. I had to buy it cause I lost her old white bow, and it's really our favorite accessory. That and our pink paci, which we also manage to misplace a lot. But that's not the point of the story.

As I was checking out, the food court was practically calling my name. So I decided to give in and buy a Target hot dog and an Icee. I was really excited to get a hot dog, because I ended up going without one the entire time I was pregnant. Now, most people who know me and my love for a good hot dog already know that Target hot dogs are my favorite. However, I learned yesterday that they no longer serve regular hot dogs. They only serve all beef hot dogs. While most people would think this to be a good development, I'm devastated. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheap taste of preservatives and sodium in every bite. Sigh.

C'est La Vie. I ended up buying the hot dog anyways, and wallowing in my own disappointment.

But let's end this on a happier note. Today, Elle Bell rolled over! It wasn't on purpose, and she had no idea she did it. But I was so excited! Atta girl. Can't wait to see if she does it again! :)

Goodnight from me and sweet love!

RAMBLINGS

Every now and then when I'm writing down the date, I have to do a quick double take.  I'm not complaining at all, but is it really June already?  I'm pretty sure I JUST wished everyone Happy New Year and wrote down my resolutions.  Sheesh!  

Elle Bell says hi, and look at my cool flower Aunt Koko made me!

Switching subjects, my husband is in love with my baby.  And this makes me even more in love with him.  It's the most precious part of my day when I watch him hold her.  And despite what you see pictured below, she's pretty in love with him too!  But sometimes, when you're 7 weeks old, you just gotta fuss!  Learning to raise a child together brings so much new greatness to our marriage.  I can't say enough how I excited I am about taking this journey with Joe.  

Elle spends a lot of her life sleeping right now.  It's nice because she's so sweet and happy when she's sleeping.  Is there anything better than a sleeping baby?  On a side note, when I was holding her earlier today, she tilted her head back a little more than usual and I discovered that she's been storing things under her double chin.  Dog fur, milk, and other unidentified specks.  Note to self: wipe under the baby's chin every time she eats.  I have so much to learn about this whole motherhood thing.

One more thing.  On my way to work the other day, I went into a local coffee house to grab my iced mocha with half-caf and no whip.  I brought Elle inside in her carrier, made my order, and then set the carrier on the ground next to me.  She was out of the high traffic area and no where NEAR the coffee pouring counter.  Meanwhile, an older lady came by me with a scowl on her face and asked "Is that your baby?"  I immediately decided that, since my hand was on the baby carrier and she still wasn't sure if it was my baby,  she couldn't be about to say anything intelligent.  I politely answered that it was, indeed, my baby.  Then she proceeded to tell me that I had better get my baby out of there because someone was going to spill coffee on her.  Sigh.  I'm sure she was just trying to be helpful, but she was kind of ugly instead, and after she left the girls on either side of me remarked about how rude she was.  I guess this is only the first of many times that people are going to give me unsolicited advice on my child.  Such is life I suppose!

Just to let you know, we made it to work just fine that day without any coffee spilling mishaps!

Well, adios my friends.  Enjoy your evening, and if you think about it, glance outside your window at dusk tonight and check out the lightning bugs.  It's summertime y'all!

MY HAPPY GIRL

I was making the bed the other day and Elle was in such a good mood that I had to stop and take a video. I'm sorry I've turned into such a sap. :)

WE LOVE YOU, GARNER!

My Mom underwent knee surgery yesterday, and E.B. wanted to send her a message:

We love you!

She Works Hard For the Money

As a working Mom (I can't believe I just used those words to describe myself), I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to bring Elle to work with me for the past several weeks. (Shout out to Gayle for making this possible!) She'll continue to come to work with me until the beginning of July, so I get to have a few more weeks of spending the day with my little cuddle bug.

Elle Bell enjoying a little mobile time at work!

Can we please talk about daycare? Before Elle was born, I visited several daycares in town, and I was very.......surprised at the atmosphere inside them. To be honest, I had never really spent any time in a daycare, so I had no idea what to expect. They're all so loud and chaotic! In the beginning, the thought of taking her to any of them made me want to cry. But shortly after she was born, I did a little more searching and found one that is perfect for us. And my final thoughts on daycare are that I think it will be good for her to get a little exposure to some germs, and to be around other noises and kids. And as she gets bigger, I think the socialization will be good for her. I hope. :)

Today my little family woke up early to take the cats to the vet for their yearly shots. It's still amazing to me how much longer every single thing takes to do.

You know how everyone always likes to tell you what it's gonna be like to have a baby? They say "you'll be exhausted", "it'll take you longer to go places", "sleep when the baby sleeps." Well, as it turns out, they're right about EVERYTHING. I really thought I was gonna be able to beat it all. I thought I would surely be different. Boy was I wrong!

But just to let it be said, it's all so completely worth it.

Anyways, Elle Bell and I took our first LONG walk from my house, to the park, and back. It felt so great to get some sun, and to get the exercise! I forgot to take a picture on the walk, but I took one earlier. So here you go! Happy Saturday!

I'M BACK - AND WITH A BABY!

Hey guys! Let's just go ahead and start this post off with some pictures of my new little one!

Meet Elliott "Elle" Gray Hiryak
Born April 14th - weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces!
(She's about 5 weeks in this picture though)

I cannot tell you how in love I am with my sweet Elle Bell. She's the most incredible thing that I've even experienced.

I also cannot tell you how many times I've meant to sit down and write a million blog posts about her and the experience of becoming a Mom. I plan on keeping up much better now though!

In the meantime, I just want to say that being a mom is amazing. It's so completely surreal still. Sometimes I feel like I'm still the 6 year old little girl playing with a baby doll in my bedroom. But then she cries and I am quickly reminded that she's the real deal!

Hope you're having a great Friday night - and hope to see you guys more often from now on!

NEW RESOLUTIONS

Okay - I realize this is several days late, but I wanted to do a post about New Year's Resolutions! I am well aware that no one EVER actually keeps up with all of their resolutions, but there's something great and refreshing about making new ones every year. For me, it's all about new hope. Here is my post about resolutions from last year. Just for kicks - I want to list the ones I actually did complete:

1) I read several books! Maybe not 7, because I kind of lost track - but at least like 5! That's exciting for me!

2) I paid off all my credit card debt! Done! Feels amazing!

3) I helped one animal get adopted! It was little Millie!

4) I got through the Book of Genesis. That one was tough - but I did it!

5) There was one secret resolution - and I totally achieved it! It was to try for a baby. As you can see below, it worked! (Thanks for the photo Hudsons!)

Anyways - not to ramble on - but I have a couple of Resolutions for 2011. Here we go:

1) Read the books of Exodus & Leviticus

2) Pick a church to attend regularly

3) Give birth to a sweet baby girl, and learn how to be a Mom

4) Help an animal get adopted

5) Get back in shape after baby!

Here's to a happy and healthy 2011 for everyone!

THE COOLEST THING EVER

I know that for most of you, these are just another girl's ultrasound pictures, but for me, they are the sweetest things I have ever seen. Growing a human is the coolest thing I've ever done. Oh, and it's a girl! :)

16 Week Belly :)

FACEBOOK

I was talking to a friend the other day, and she pointed out how strange Facebook is. Don't misinterpret - I love Facebook, and I play on it all the time! She was referring to the fact that with Facebook, you have to be the same person to every single person you know.

I mean, you know know how when you're hanging out with your Grandma, there are certain things you'd talk about with her? And when you're talking to a business contact, there are certain things you'd talk about with them. You have all these different personas to keep with all these different people, and they rarely cross paths in real life. But all of a sudden, Facebook came into our lives, and we're communicating with all these people at once!

So when you update your status, you're telling your Grandma, your next door neighbor, and your 15 year old cousin all about the same things. It's strange to think about it - there's no separation! You tell them all. Just thought that was interesting. In a way, it kinda makes life easier. No more personalities to juggle! :)

On a side note, I'm growing a small baby bump. How fun is that? :) Pictures soon.

I'm laying in bed tonight curled up with my dogs, and my husband is asleep by my side.  I just popped in "The Holiday," and I got all weepy at a commercial for a movie called "Catch and Release."  (Note to self, rent Catch and Release)  (Other note to self, pregnancy hormones make me irrationally weepy.)  

I feel like I'm in such a great place in my life.  I feel so truly happy.  Joe and I just recently completely paid off all of the credit card debt we accrued in college, and are working on a plan to pay off my student loans.  My sister and bro in law just had a sweet baby boy, their final addition to their family, and holding him makes me so happy. My parents come to town to visit all the time, so I get to see them frequently.  I feel healthy and unstressed.  Fall is in the air. And in April, I get to become a Mommy.  Something I've really been wanting for a little while now.  Life is truly good right now.

Sometimes, when things are going good, it makes me worried about what's around the corner.  But I have to remind myself that whatever is around the next bend, it's going to come whether I'm prepared or not.  So the best thing to do is just to sit back, kick my feet up, and enjoy life's blessings.

I'm grateful for my life every day.  And for now, even if it's just for five minutes, I'm good.  

Sorry for my sappy little post.  :)

Happy fall evening my friends!

Guess What?

Guess what guys?  We're expecting!  Baby Hiryak is due on April 11, 2011!  I've know for a while now, but I was trying to keep it relatively quiet until our first ultrasound, which was today!  So, low and behold, we have a healthy little bun cooking!  More to come on this, just wanted to fill you in on our little secret!

Hey guys! Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that today is Free Tea Day at McAlister's Deli! No purchase necessary! Just go into any McAlister's, and walk out with a free tea! Awesome!

WELCOME SHILOH!

My newest nephew, Shiloh Bruff Hudson, was born at 12:07 am on July 27th. He weighed in at 4 pounds and 13 ounces. He's so little! Congrats to my sis and bro on their new bundle!

Mama with Shiloh

Daddy with Shiloh

The kids seeing him for the first time.