Flashback to 2010...why not?

This is a whole other story...2010, newly pregnant with the baby that didn't make it.  I was so happy, and then just weeks later...devastated...but I like these pictures.  I feel pretty in them...

November 27-29, 2013

And thus November ending, quietly, peacefully, with an intimate thanksgiving dinner at our house and then my annual day after thanksgiving tradition, putting up the Christmas tree!

Flashback Friday Fun-2012 Pregnancy Nesting Photos

When we got our baby chicks!

When they went out to the henhouse for the first time.  I had so much anxiety for their safety I couldn't sleep sometimes at night!!!

Growing into big, beautiful hens!

Aurelien doing lots of home improvement projects.

And a few more home improvement projects...

Lots of nourishing meals being cooked to feed me and the baby!

And then we actually nursed a baby bird who had fallen from the nest...we kept him alive for over 3 weeks, but then sadly he died a week after William was born.

Hope you enjoyed this Flashback!!!

Love you so much

I love my guys.  Can you tell?

November 24-26, 2013

After a few days to recover from our awesome houseguests, it was time to have a playdate with Shelly and the girls and to scrapbook with mama again!  And that's just what we did!!! 

Walking Begins

Oh no!  Here comes trouble!  William beginning to be mobile!  LOL!!!!

play dance love laugh

Yep, that's pretty much the prescription for a happy life!  Whether you're 1 or 100 or anywhere in between!!!  Try it and you'll see!

Lan Tzu Chinese Garden Date

This was a fun date on a beautiful, sunny late spring day.  My parents watched William for us while we went to Portland's Lan Tzu Chinese Garden, and the Museum of Contemporary Craft.  I was rocking the Chinook Book Coupons that day!   The garden is only a block square but it feels so much bigger when you're inside.  It's definitely one of the hidden gems of our city!  Very fun and romantic date!!!

darling cute precious sweet delight OURS

Here's my two beautiful guys!  Love them SOOOOOOOOOOO much!

An Awesome Ordinary Day

Here we are, just lovin' on our little man, treasuring every precious, ordinary second we have with him!  Love love love!!!

The Last Day!

Goodbye Mutti!  We love you! Bon Voyage et a Bientot!!!!!

No bubbles for this baby!

William had a pretty good time at his cousin's second birthday party, except for the bubble machine!  He was not a big fan of it AT ALL!!!!!  I'm happy to say that he loves it now!

November 16-18, 2013

The very last few days of Mutti's visit we just quietly stayed at home and cooked and hung out together, just enjoying spending quality time with each other.

Our Adventures in St. Palais

This is such a lovely town on the Atlantic coast of France.  Unfortunately for me I was deathly ill while we were there!  LOL!  Sooooooo I don't remember much besides that.  We did get to spend some time with Claude, Aurelien's aunt, which is good because shortly afterwards she found out she had cancer and she just passed away a few weeks ago.  So it was sooooo good that she got to meet William and spend a little time with him.  He looks very much like her, in fact, so it was quite sweet.

November 13-16, 2013

Still enjoying Mutti during the last few days of her visit, family dinners at home and out...good times!

Forever Love

Here she is, the happiest, most grateful mommy in the world!  I never thought it would actually happen, after over 10 years of trying, and 15 years of wanting to be a mama!!!  My miracle baby loves!

William's French First Birthday Party

This was such a fun party, even though William had pinkeye and wasn't feeling well.  It was very sophisticated and French.  I felt like I was in some awesome movie set in France!

Cousins Love

William has A LOT of cousins.  I haven't even tried counting yet, but it's gotta be approaching 20, especially if you count his 2 second cousins and one on the way...so here he is a year and a half ago with 3 of the bigger kiddos...what a span in ages!!!!  He is definitely the baby of that generation!

In the Kiddy Pool

First time in the Kiddy pool, and it was a success!!!

November 9-11, 2013

So for some reason when I was scrapbooking the month of November, 2013 I decided to take a sort of Project Life approach with the titles...no idea why.  I don't remember...so we continued to enjoy our visit with Mutti, and my niece Audrey came to visit, and we took some pretty walks...good times!

Paris Interlude

For some reason which I don't exactly remember now we had a few days to just rest and hang out in Aurelien's sister's apartment in Paris.  Which was wonderful, actually!  It was crazy hot, so here's William in the buff trying to stay cool!

Here we are travelling around Paris by foot, bus, and train!  William loves it all!

This was a very important moment, meeting Aurelien's grandmother, Mamet, the last Great-Grandmother that William still has.  Pretty awesome!!!!

Fall Play Dates

William and I had some fun play dates the fall of 2013, including these 2: one to OMSI, and one with Tana and Shelly and all our littlest ones.  Very fun times!

Crater Lake

We always have so much fun when William's French Grandma, Mutti, comes to visit!  This time we took a road trip and met her in Ashland where we stayed for a couple of days, the main purpose of which was to see Crater Lake.  On the road William fell asleep (it was a very long drive!) and Aurelien put all his stuffed animals around his head for a charming photo op!!!  LOL!!!!  Love my funny husband!

And here we are at the lake!  Notice the picture of the tiny chubby baby hand holding snow for the first time...TOO ADORABLE!!!!!! SQUISHY!!!!!

First Week of November 2013

And the little man was loving it.  His personality was starting to emerge more and more...and his French grandmother had just arrived for a visit...

Girly Pink Ombre Altered Clock

This is the second time that I've created an altered clock using Tim Holtz's clocks.  This was my ultra girly, pink, ombre take this time around.  I like how it turned out!

A Great Day in June, 2013, with Friends

Here's Aurelien and I enjoying our respective playdates with friends.  It's so awesome to be able to hang out with your baby, your friend, and their baby!  One of the definite perks of  being a parent!

My 36th Birthday Beach Trip

I had a wonderful afternoon with William on the beach while Aurelien napped at the hotel.  It is such a beautiful memory!  William ate so much sand, I was worried he was going to be sick.  (He wasn't!) And of course we had to stop at Mo's and have clam chowder!

September 11-18, 2013 (Yes, totally random and out of order, I know!!!)

Some wonderful, fun memories as we settled back into our lives in Portland.

Yay! We're Home!

ALWAYS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD to come home after a long trip. ALWAYS!!!!!!

William and Sophie Get Acquainted

There were a lot of babies born all around the same time in our neighborhood, which was soooooooo fun!  What's even more fun is that most of them were girls!  So William will be lucky when he's older, he'll be one of the only boys in the neighborhood with all these lovely girls around!!!  LOL!!!  So on this beautiful springtime day, he was getting to know our  neighbor's daughter, Sophie.  William is only about a month and a half older than Sophie, but look at how much bigger he is!  Our son is such a big boy, seriously as big as a 3 year old now  We must have giants in our genetics or something!