smiling until I smile more....

Recently, I have found myself smiling so much that when I realize it, it makes me smile more.  I like this!  I've pretty much always been a fun loving person, I have my crankiness, but don't we all?  I think it mostly has to do with Oliver.... God couldn't have given me a greater gift.  He makes me smile the most.  Even at 4 in the morning when he's wailing with his eyes still slammed shut so that he almost can't even hold onto the crib because he's not really awake.  I smile even then.

I had this moment, a few weeks ago that was one of the most surreal moments I have ever had.  Until staying home with Oliver, I had done the nanny thing for many years, thus doing many bath times.  Some of the older ones had toys or always all over the tub, and some had baskets of bath toys sitting around.  It was always just another bath time.  About a moth ago, Oliver got to smart for his baby bath, and too active for the sink, so we just decided even though he was still small that it was time for him just to take a big boy bath in the tub.  For Christmas, he got a few bath toys that we put on his Santa list.  And this was my moment:

As I got ready for bed, I passed by the bathroom and saw this.... My one year old's bath toys, I have a one year old, he takes a big boy bath, he has toys and there they are, all lined up.  Out of all the baths I've given, and all the bath toys I've cleaned up, never could I imagine that one day it would all be mine.

And since then, I've been smiling.  My life isn't always rainbows and butterflies... but there are so many reasons to smile like it is!

My brother David, he works at Medieval Times!  I never really used to like that place, I'd been once before and I guess it was fun but I thought it was over rated, but David invited us for his 19th birthday and it was thrilling... he got to be the squire for our section, so awesome!  I have a whole new appreciation for David and his job! And he loves it, can't ask for better.

We all have new friends this year.... Well for Nate it's an old friendship renewed.  These are the girls and the guys at new years... first pictures of 2013

Kim, me, and Alisha

Brian (Alisha's husband) Nate, Tarik (Kim's husband) and Tommy (Tarik's brother)

                                      
And this is Axton, he's a new friend for Oliver.  His mom Meghan, and Kim (who has baby Rylee) and I get together now for play dates and these two have so much fun crawling around and "sharing" toys!  Its so great  to see Oliver enjoying time with another baby!  Axton is a cutie :)  Alisha is also expecting a baby boy in a few months and we can't wait for her to join us when the baby is ready to have some fun!

Another surreal feeling I had, was one morning I was looking out the window, Oliver was letting me sleep in a little bit, and I noticed this familiar sight

This is the tree outside my bedroom window.  What caught my attention was those little balls that hang off the tree.  I don't even know what they are, but when the wind blows they are almost mesmerizing. Seeds I guess?  I realized that I hadn't noticed them yet this year... and thats because this time last year I was practically confined to my bedroom, pumping for Oliver every two hours, or at the hospital where my tiny boy was  just 6 weeks old, starting his uphill battle with his heart rate and feedings, but just starting to give us the sweetest SMILES!

so if I wasn't watching TV, I was usually trying to sleep but would end up watching the tree with the wind! And they look like they move a lot faster at night.  I remember watching them in the dark and then by morning they would seem to have slowed down with the clouds behind them!  Since I'm no longer in my bedroom for very long, I had yet to notice them this year!

And then there was this moment...

The one where a new baby really starts looking at you and interacting with smiles and little sounds.  Lyla is almost two months old and is definitely a keeper <3

Oh.... and can anyone say RAY-VENS!!!!!! (stolen from our good friend Mrs. Leary lol)  I don't often super gloat or anything, but come on, you all thought we couldn't beat Manning, welllll 38-35 baby!!!

And this is the moment when we realized we had a real chance of winning the game last night, with pop-pop and Oliver saying "ta-da!!!!"

So you tell me.... what's not to smile about?