Thankful Thursday

Another wonderful week has come and gone!

A peaceful and relaxing weekend
Dinner with friends
Taking Owen to the Science Center and surviving the craziness!
Eating dinner at TGI Fridays...my favorite meal of the week because Owen was quite the hit with the wait staff
Eating a Chips Ahoy Sundae at TGI with Owen and Jer
Watching the movie UP...so cute!
Working out with Steff
New workout clothes from Sport Authority
Taking my first Zumba class and looking like an idiot but loving every minute!
Owen taking his FIRST STEPS!  YAY!
Hosting InterACT at our house
Laughing at an email with the words gym ROCKSTAR in it
Cleaning out my wallet and my purse and organizing my coupons
Huggies OverNight diapers
Grocery shopping and having a fridge full of food
Watching Owen play in the bathtub
Having quiet time just for me
Anticipating the very wonderful weekend that is on its way!

And we have take off!!!

It's OFFICIAL!  Owen has taken his first steps!

Jer and I were playing with him in the living room and he let go of Jer's hands and walked. 5 whole steps from Jeremy to the middle of the room.  I still can't believe we were both home hanging out and it happened!    Watch out world! Owen is on the loose!

Way to go little man! You're growing up sooo fast!!

Vacation Daydreaming - Honeymoon Part 3

We were submersed in beauty.  From the flowering shrubs filled with fuschia blooms and the waving green palms, to the white stucco walls blending as a backdrop with the woven trellises lining the walkways...no details went unnoticed.  Beautiful mosaics of black stone decorated the walking paths around the pools and between the resturants. Even the light fixtures mimicked the trellises with matching woven detail.

The pools were likes seas of crystal blue water, just begging us to take a swim. The beach was a long strip of soft brown sand.  Huge waves rollin one after another after another off in the distance.  A hazy outline of mountains was also visible...making it feel like we were sitting in a beautiful bowl of colors and sites and sounds.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just wanted to take a minute to thank the sweetheart who has been in my life for 12 Valentine's already.  AND the little sweetheart who I will be celebrating Vday with for the first time ever!  I love you both :)

Jer,

I can't imagine life without you.  I can't believe that this October is our 5 year wedding anniversary.  It's amazing where life takes you...and I'm glad you are by my side :)  Thank you for everything.

Love,
Your wife

Owen,

Happy 1st Valentine's Day Bubba!  It's crazy to me that you've been in our lives for only 11 short months and I don't know how I lived without you before.  Thank you for lighting up my life in ways I didn't know were possible.  I love you chubba cheeks!

Love,
Momma

Thankful Thursday...one day late...

So last week my Thankful post was 2 days late. This week, it's only one day late. I consider that an improvement right?  Here is what I was thankful for, blessed by or made made happier by this week! 

Lunch and time with spent with my Mom
Spending a fabulous evening as Linoski's
That Deci...though she got out of our fence 3 times in the past 2 weeks and we have no idea why...she has managed to cross Godfrey Road at least twice and come out unscathed.
Going on a date with Jer
Delicious food at Red Lobster and having a giftcard to boot!
Warming my toes by the fireplace for a long time Saturday night
Sleeping in
Spending Superbowl with Jonnie, April, David, Alicia and Juan (pictures to come)
Missing most of Superbowl because I was chasing Owen around and chatting...but being able to recapture the commercials online the next day!
Quiet week nights and a chance to veg out in my sweats every night this week
Dinners and more episodes of LOST with my hubby
Owen saying something I'm pretty sure was supposed to be Mom and patting my shoulder
Riding to work with Jer twice this week
Watching Owen balance himself on his own two feet...with no assistance.  He's gonna be walking any day.
Getting very close to caught up on LOST
Starting Dear John and planning a girls night to go see it!  Can't wait!
Stacey bringing us amazing Moonlight for dinner and a chance to enjoy an evening with her
Making little kid valentines for the first time in forever!
A long day of meetings followed by an evening with my best friend...awesome!

What a great week!

This Time Last Year...

As Owen's first birthday approaches...I've been thinking about what life was like just a year ago.  Steff and I talked a long time on Friday night about all of that.  My pregnancy, Owen's birth, life since then.  It was an amazing conversation.  And she asked me something I hadn't really thought about.  Does it feel like it's been a long time...or does it feel like it was just yesterday.  The funny thing is...when I think about it...I feel like it's both.  So very many things have changed and become different since then, I'd swear it should have been a few years ago.  Change doesn't happen that fast does it??  But then I look at our son...and he's almost a year old and I can't believe how fast that first year has gone.  It's almost over already.  It truly does feel like we were bringing him home yesterday.  And the baby I held in my arms at 2am...has changed into an adorable happy little boy.  How is it possible that I can feel like it's been forever yet gone so very fast? I'm not even sure I understand that part of my feelings.  But anyway...it made me want to go back and look at some old blogs from this time last year.  Here were a few highlights from the beginning of 2009 for the Linley's....before we became the Linley 3!

We took our first childbirth class.

I took an evaluation of pregnancy up to that point.

We got some amazing pictures taken!

We had my favorite night of childbirth class by far.

We took another childbirth class.

Mom went with me to my 30 week check-up.

We went and saw some eagles with Mom and Dad.

We got ready for our shower.

We had an amazing shower.

We lost Great-Grandma Linley.

We began nursery construction.

We had our 33 week appointment.

Finally completed our baby classes!!

I did a little recapping.  Loved Legally Blonde :)

Just a few weeks to the date...I was put on bed rest.

I appreciated Jer and Steff.

I began to feel pretty huge!

Then it wasn't long before it was March and I'm saving the rest of that recap for Owen's birthday :)  Boy things sure look different this February!  Thanks Steff for the inspiration for this post.  How time flies!

Vacation Day Dreaming - Our Honeymoon Part II

Welcome to Mexico!!

A salty breeze blew the hair off my forehead as two ceiling-to-floor glass doors glided open.  White and tan marble floor stretched out in front of us and led us to a huge open lobby full of clean-lined furniture.  A man dressed in a crisp white uniform held two flutes of bubbling champaigne and with a warm, welcoming smile bellowed, "Hola Amigos!  Welcome to MEXICO!" They locked our wrists with pink plastic signyfying our freedom for the next four day.  Within ten minutes we had shrugged off our Midwestern layers and were ready to hit the beach.  Jeremy locked his hand in mine and we stepped out another set of huge glass doors. Ready to explore and celebrate our new life together!

Thankful Thursday...two days late.

Last week/weekend left me feeling very blessed for the little things in life. The little things that leave you comfortable, healthy, and often times I take for granted.  I remember soaking in the tub and trying to make my achy chills go away and all I could think about were the people in Haiti.  Who don't have the luxury of even making a glass of water to drink...much less soaking away sickness in a tub full of bubbles and hot water.  So anyway...there are some simpler things that made my list this week...but it was a great way to be reminded of what I truly am thankful for each and everyday. 

Edy's Fruit Bars
Tylenol Severe Cold Day and Night
The Devil's Wear Prada on DVD
Health insurance
Running water
Clean Laundry
Patience
Seeing sunshine
Joining Facebook
My Mom and her huge heart.
Moms and their amazing ability to know just what you need...even when you don't!
Suprise Olga's for dinner...thank you Stacey :)
Little boy's laughter filling my house.
Owen showing ME how to clap
Talking to my Aunt Jenni on the phone
A thank you kiss from Jer for helping take care of him and his injured knee
That Jer's knee injuring from baskteball wasn't near as bad as it could have been...just ice and Advil and rest!
Energy and motivation to do what needed to be done around home.
Appreciating all that Jer does around the house when he isn't wearing a knee brace ;)
Working out and a workout routine with my best friend.  YAY!
A wonderfully self-indulged jump into the tanning bed.  So nice.
Reading quotes from The Hangover and laughing out loud!
The song Jer made up about our insane dog...I laughed so hard I cried.
Wearing jeans, tennis shoes and my Bears Jersery to work
Owen's fantastic mood Thursday morning and how he stretched his arms to me before I left so I could give him one more goodbye hug and kiss.

Thank you God.  My cup truly runneth over!

Listen

As an after thought, I wanted to include a link to the actual song mentioned in my last post.  It makes it better ;)

Lyrics that fit...

This song was on a CD of mine. The first time I heard it...I remembered thinking about how perfectly this fit how I felt about my relationship with Jeremy.  How some days I want to shut everything else out...and remember what's good and true.  So I took the time to write Jer something that told him just how much he meant to me. I pasted the lyrics along with my letter in a document. I printed it all out and left it for Jer on his car.  I remember it feeling good to put it out there. And I found that old document on my desktop the other day.  

A lot of people talk about marriage and how hard it is.  How "just you wait" one day...you'll feel like vacationing seperately.  And you'll spend a lot of your time angry with each other.  20 years will do that to you.  Maybe I'm lucky...or maybe I just expect more from my marriage than that...and there is a chance that maybe I am just naive.  But I hope in 20 years, lyrics like these are still finding their way into letters I leave for Jer on his windshield before he leaves for work.

Let it go – Gavin DeGraw


I can’t live without you
Set my goals around you
Takes a little extra time but it all works out
You’re a shining ember
I’ll be shining armor
Just look up into my eyes
I won’t let you down
And I’ll always be here
Yes I’ll always be here

Let it go
Settle into me
Let it go
Let it all go
Except for me
I’m the one you found
Just hold on
Hold onto me now
Why don’t we play hooky?
We can both get lucky
Better to get lucky than to go to work today
We don’t have to shower
You won’t wait in traffic
Take our daily panic and we’ll put it all away
And we’ll always be near
We’ll should always be near

Let it go
Settle into me
Let it go
Let it all go
Except for me
I’m the one you found
Just hold on
Hold on to me now

Don’t you know you’re the one for me?
After all, anyone can see

Owen vs. the Biter Biscuit

Owen won the battle...but not without a good healthy mess first!