Happy Birthday!

Today is my 31st birthday!

I'm finally to the point that I don't get asked for ID!!! It's only taken 10 years!
I guess when I'm 80 and look like I'm 60, I'll be happy. Ha!!

Today was a wonderful day. I woke up to two smiling faces, three if you count Zack.
We spent the morning playing. We went out for lunch together and then I went shopping durning nap time. Lots of people, lots of sales. I love to shop and enjoyed my time. Once home, we got the kids ready and ventured to Target. Gotta love Target!! Even Dylan loves Target!
After picking up a few things, we got take out from Olive Garden. Going to restaurants these days are challenging. Either one or both kids act up causing a very stressful dinner. It's easier to just get take out. I love Olive Garden, and received a few gift cards, so it was only appropriate to use one. After dinner, Dylan helped me blow out candles on my cake, 31 candles!
Phew, where has time gone? I feel like it was just yesterday that I was riding my purple bike with a banana seat! Ha! Just kidding! But really, I don't feel 31. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing?!?

My day was filled with fun, relaxation, laughter, and family. Just the right combination!

We didn't take many pictures today. Zack did capture Dylan & I with my cake. I could resist taking one of Emersyn with the cake. She loves chocolate and making a mess. So give her a piece of cake, and let the entertainment begin!

Happy Birthday to me! One more year under my belt... Check!

Technology

This is technology at its best!

The Elf on the Shelf

After Thanksgiving we started the famous Elf on the Shelf. Our elf is named Jingle.
Everyday he sat in a special spot and watched the happenings around the Henry house. He flew back to the North Pole nightly to report to Santa. We had a few days where Jingle had to report that Dylan had been naughty.
Last year Jingle spent a month with us, but Dylan's understanding of the concept was much less. This was the first year Jingle made an impact. Dylan would look forward to finding Jingle every morning. He even would talk to Jingle, say hello, or wave. Sometimes Jingle wrote Dylan notes to remind him to have his listening ears on. While Emersyn didn't quite know Jingles purpose, she was excited to find him. She would call him Buddy because she couldn't say Jingle.

Jingle moved every night. He hung upside down, sat in many places, but always behaved. Some families have elves that got into mischief, but our elf was setting a good example for our kids, so he kept it simple. (This year at least!)
Only once did Jingle make Dylan cry. It was an accident and he did write Dylan an apology note. He took apart Dylan's Lego dragon to make himself a chair. Dylan cried that day. (Good work on Daddy's part... He felt bad)

Dylan became attached to Jingle. On his last night with us, Dylan was sad. Before he went to bed, he went down stairs and whispered something to Jingle. Zack & I watched from upstairs so we have no idea what he said. We did hear him say goodbye though. Melted my heart!
We explained to Dylan that Jingle would be back next year. That made him smile.

So until next year....

I love baking!

Baking is something I love to do. Whether it be from scratch or pre made, I love it!
Since we were going to be home for Christmas this year, I decided I'd do more holiday baking than I usually do.

At the beginning of the month I started off with a list of things I wanted to make, not realizing how fast the month would go by.
I made all but one thing, so that's pretty good.
I made cut outs, peppermint bark, Italian chocolate ball cookies, snowflake chocolates, chocolate covered pretzels with holiday drizzle. I wanted to make cake pops but I just didn't have time. My favorite was my Grandmas italian chocolate ball recipe. Those are my favorite holiday cookies.

Next year I want to try 12 days of baking. 12 different things. Yum!

The Moon

Emersyn loves the moon! Every night we go outside or look through the window to find it. When she sees it, her face just lights up with the biggest smile. She points and says 'moon'. I then sing her 'I See The Moon' song, the song that was once sung to me as a child. She always asks for an encore. (She hasn't quite figured out how terrible my voice is.)

We do own 'Goodnight Moon', which we occasionally read at bedtime, but she prefers to skip most of the pages.

When we can't see the moon, she puts both her hands up in question and says 'moon?'. I always see the disappointment on her face those days.

It's the little things in life that make us happy!

Emersyn Eye Update

As most of you know, when Emersyn was a few months old, she developed a hemangioma on her left eye lid. This is a bump, too many blood vessels in one area, that we've been watching closely to make sure it did not impair her vision.

The type of hemangioma that she has usually hits its peak in growth after a few months and then stops growing. In her case, it could take years before it goes away. The eye doctor said it should be completely gone by age 7. That's a long time in my mind. So every few months Emersyn goes to get her vision checked.
They want to make sure that the hemangioma isn't causing her eye lid to droop into the area of the pupil. If this happened, it could cause some blindness in that eye. Thankfully this has never happened! Emersyn's 'bump' stopped growing a few months after we discovered it. It has never bothered her, and has never created a problem. As she grow and time passes, the area has become skin tone color and smaller. This is fantastic news!!

At her appointment on Monday she received a clean bill of vision. Both eyes are basically the same. The hemangioma is only expected to decrease in size. The doctor also checks to make sure her vision hasn't changed since her surgery,
I was so pleased with the results!!!

Now, because her eyes were dilated, she was given some glasses to wear on our way home. The elderly people in the eye center were loving it. Emersyn got more smiles and comments about her glasses. I think she was basking in her instant rise to stardom! In the parking lot she was waving to people! Of course, the people all waved back, grinning from ear to ear!

Check her out!

Christmas Pups

Can't resist their cuteness!!

Busy, Busy

This time of year seems to be so busy. I have a never ending list of things to do. Shopping, wrapping presents, school functions, parties, cookie making. All fun things that take away from blogging.
I actually can't believe it's December 12th.
Wasn't it just Thanksgiving?

With all that being said, my posts might be fewer this month. I think about updating, but finding time is a challenge.

I have lots of upcoming posts though, so stay tuned!