winterfest

last night we went downtown to raleigh's first ever winterfest. the weather was a little bit chilly, but we were glad it wasn't raining. we saw santa, had our photo taken, watched the tree lighting, listened to some terrible music, haha (which included michelle branch, do you even remember her 15 minutes of fame?), explored the bb&t building while we waited for our photo to be printed, and checked out the store/cafe fronts while we strolled down fayetteville street. it was a good time.

22 months

it's been 4 months since i made a post about what malcolm has been up to lately. he is 22 months now, and it's a little hard to believe that he will be turning 2 in only two short months! wow, time flies. he is constantly learning and trying new things, and every time he does something new, or funny, or oh so smart, i think to myself "i need to write this down, so i won't forget to blog about it", but then i forget. life is busy with a toddler (and a teenager). so here is a list of the most recent things that i can remember right now.

• his new words are "jack", "tattoo" (he also points at them, and tries to wash them off when i give him a bath), "popcorn", "tofu", "peek", "no" (which means NO), and "noOooO" (which means YES, haha!), and "yesh" (but he doesn't know that it means yes)



• he can walk down the stairs unassisted (but uses the wall for support)



• he goes to bed silently, without any tears. the "cry it out" technique was the best thing that ever happened to us, haha



• he can take off his clothes, and he loves to run around naked, especially after the bath



• he likes to sniff things, he really enjoys discovering new smells



• he tries to spit water out of his mouth while in the tub. daddy taught him this, and it's pretty funny to watch



• he will sit quietly and watch tv (pbs kids) or a dvd



• he can jump (both feet off the floor), do a belly-flop (usually onto daddy), karate kick, spin in circles, and bounce onto his bum (sometimes all at the same time!)



• he claps, laughs out loud, and gets excited when he sees something he likes (he never really did this before, until now)



• he can open the fridge and climb inside, so we had to put locks on it and the oven



• he loves to look at books and have them read to him



• when he farts, or anyone else does, he cracks up and laughs, he thinks it is hilarious... and i think he is too



• he loves pushing the furniture around, like the dining chairs, side table, and coffee table



• he loves to help me clean the house, he dusts, and tries to sweep and vacuum (i need to get him some play cleaning supplies for christmas)

i'm sure there are lots of things i forgot, so i will try to update it later :)

carb coma

this is the meal i made last night! tofurky (with carrots, potatoes, and onions), mashed potatoes and gravy, and yams with brown sugar. holy carb fest, haha. it was a little exhausting to eat, but it was delicious! i also made a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert too, since the other two that i made last week were for other people to enjoy.

we spent the whole day inside, because of all the rain, and we watched this little gem over and over. we love this movie! (i couldn't find a clip of my favorite part, but this one is pretty funny)

mail

oh, how i love to receive packages in the mail! especially during this time of the year, when i am ordering gifts online, and waiting patiently for them to arrive. two lovely items arrived last week, that i had ordered from etsy, but i cannot show you them because they are gifts (no peeking!)

yesterday i received this giant box of goodies, sent to me by our good friend jayme! holy crap, christmas came early for me, haha! in preparation of her move across the country, she was cleaning out her apartment, and was kind enough to add all of this awesome stuff to my nightmare collection. thank you so much jayme! i just put the string of lights on our christmas tree, and they look so cute. i will post photos of it later.

i got this great eric carle pop-up advent calendar on ebay. each day, you open a door, and there is a tiny paper ornament inside that you can hang on the tree. so cute! plus the little boxes open, so i will put some little treats in them for alanna. we will start it today when she gets home from school.

and i got this adorable woodland kit on etsy for us to make. i think they will be the cutest little ornaments. heidi kenney's blog is one of my favorites. i love the little treat that she included in my package too, so rad!

malcolm's newest friend!

our friend lynn gave birth to her first child yesterday! her husband justin is one of danny's closest friends, and we are all so very excited for the both of them! they live in charlotte, about 2.5 hours from us, so we will be able to visit and see him soon. i can hardly wait... i love that new baby smell, haha! congratulations justin and lynn! he is beautiful, and looks just like his papa!

dexter ruggles pope

born: november 30th, 2009 @ 6:52 pm

6lbs 3oz

marbles, friends & food

yesterday the kids and i went to marbles kids museum in downtown raleigh. this was our first time there, and it was so much fun. we were invited to a birthday party, by my friend kitra, for her son dylan who just turned one. malcolm spent the entire time running (and me chasing), so we were both exhausted by the end of the trip. i took a bunch of photos:

malcolm and dylan (and alanna in the corner)

having snacks

dylan (in the middle) with his little cake

(kitra holding the cake)

after the party, we explored the museum and played for about 2 hours

i loved that they had this quote painted on the wall

he was yelling "nooo" at that little girl.

he did not want to share the register with her, haha

driving a boat

and a car

hula hoops!

he loved this drum

looking out over the main foyer

he also loved playing with the mr. potato heads

after the museum, we took malcolm home to danny so that he could take a nap, and then alanna and i went to a second thanxxxgiving dinner of sorts. a few of danny's friends throw an after thanksgiving feast every year, a couple days after the holiday. it was an all vegan pot-luck... or more like a smörgåsbord, haha! the food was delicious, and we had a nice time hanging out. thanks for inviting us lia!

a small sampling of the dessert options, yum!

(i stole this photo from chris jew's fb page)

the whole group, alanna and i are in the middle of the back row

(i also stole this photo from fb)

thanksgiving 2009

we had a great time yesterday. we ate way too much delicious food, and spent the day with people we love. i wish we could have spent the day with my family as well, we miss you guys. i hope you all had a happy thanksgiving too.

mashed potatoes, green beans, tofurky (cooked with carrots, potatoes, and onion), sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, crescent rolls, "chicken" pot pie, and gravy... a perfect vegan thanksgiving meal!

malcolm, ready to dig in

all done, and ready to get out of that damn chair, haha

dessert! vegan pumpkin "cheesecake", cookies n' cream cake (in honor of compton's upcoming birthday), chocolate pudding pie, and apple crisp, yum!


relaxing after eating too many sweet treats



playing out in the backyard

for the past two weeks, i've been posting things i am thankful for on my facebook page each day. i figured i should list them here too. of course there are many more things i could add to the list, if i had a lot more time...

i am thankful:

(in no particular order, kinda just what i was feeling from day to day)

• that i am vegan (12 awesome years)
• for my husband
• that i am a mother
• for the changing seasons, especially autumn!
• for the internerd (and this blog), so i can keep in touch with my family and friends
• for our healthy family, and for the good health of my parents
• that malcolm has become a good sleeper (finally!)
• that i didn't have to take alanna to see "new moon", haha
• that we have our our own washer & dryer (i seriously cannot imagine having to do our laundry at a laundromat, ugh!)
• that i've been able to stay at home with malcolm for the past 21 months
• for the top of a brand new jar of vegenaise (i love the start of a new bottle, haha)
• for the childhood that i had (i had the best parents, siblings and friends. my life as a child was so much fun!)
• for all the terrible relationships i endured over the years... because they made me stronger and more grateful (if it weren't for all the wrong guys, i wouldn't be who or where i am right now)
• for my mother-in-law, and the amazing (huge) vegan feast that she makes us each year!
• for my family and friends... here in nc, in salt lake city, and all over the country (i love and miss you guys!)

and i am adding this one today:

• that i am no longer working retail, and that i didn't have to work today (black friday), haha