Celebrating Baughman Style

Did you know......

1. the most unusual thing I said this week was, "baby Jesus is not a weapon"
2. when someone tells Ty he is cute, he excitedly responds, "I know"! (humble?)
3. you can never have too many Christmas decorations (according to Kate)
4. Lauren thinks we are buying her a Mustang convertible for her 16th birthday (she's new here)
5. I am capable of dressing up and leaving my house without someone wiping their nose on me
6. I love babies in overalls
7. There are Christmas trees that snow (Ty loved that)
8. There are Christmas trees with train tracks suspended half way up (Ty really loved that!)
9. I am apparently a slacker when it comes to Christmas decorating
10. Greg says he used to be really smart but has traded some of his intellect for coolness. I'll just leave that one alone! 

 

Kate's Handmade Christmas

Per our conversation a few months ago, the older girls indicated they weren't interested in decorating for Christmas and really didn't care much for the tree so I allowed Kate to create her own special touches. We made applesauce and cinnamon ornaments with cookie cutters. She made paper snowflakes for the tree and then went a little crazy in her room with colorful ones too....it's a little "Clark Griswald" in style but girlfriend is happy! We spent countless hours stringing cranberries and popcorn and even made an advent chain to help us count down the days until Christmas. I borrowed a playful tree topper from my friend, Jennifer. It's Santa's sleigh rotating around the top of the tree. It's rather adorable. Mom allowed me to use Grandma's quilt as a tree skirt and I was able to display Grandma's nativity this year too as Ty is a little more trustworthy and Colby can't yet reach the shelf it sits upon! My favorite nativity is displayed on Greg's childhood bible.....just a few personal touches to make it feel special amongst the busyness that is "the most wonderful time of the year".

Ho-Ho-Ho

It was good

Thankfulness

I recently finished Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are and started my own gratitude journal. The premise is to recognize all the many blessings or gifts given each of us by God. The book opened with the author's eye witness account of her four year old sister's sudden death and being raised by a mother in constant grief and a father who questions a God who would allow such senseless tragedy. She was honest and raw. Her personal journal recording her initial 1000 gifts was intertwined throughout applicable scripture, biblical truth and her journey toward total faith in a loving God who extends grace in all aspects of life. It was beautiful and challenging. Beyond the obvious blessings of my family, health and home, simple gifts are being noted.
1. giggles
2. post bath time baby scents
3. bedtime prayers and stories
4. sofa cushion forts
5. Colby and Ty napping at the same time!
6. hot showers
7. morning cup of tea prepared by Greg
8. imaginations at work
9. random phone call from a friend
10. evening walks
I'm just starting this journey of gratitude and look forward to seeing what God plans to do with me in the process.

Momma's boy? Not quite!

His shirt says "lock up your daughters" and we call that "truth in advertising"! We walked in the door from church last night and found Lauren's friend had arrived while we were in route. Ty stopped cold and stared at her until Lauren introduced Skyla. He followed me into the bedroom and quietly whispered, "Sky is pretty". I asked him to repeat himself and then questioned him because it was dark outside. He said, "come here" and lead me to the living room and pointed at Skyla and whispered, "Skyla pretty". Uh-oh! He picked out a movie and tried to sit with her on the couch. First date? Yikes.

He is pretty smitten by Lauren's friend Delaney whom he calls "My Laney" as well. Lauren being pretty has also been pointed out. All three of those girls have long dark hair. He's two!

He broke out with a cold sore last week. It healed quickly and we thought we were well on our way to kicking this little virus as he has not had an outbreak since Father's Day. He has been medication free since then as well. This morning he woke up with another and after his nap, an even bigger one so we started meds this afternoon. We will only treat for the outbreak rather than extended periods for prevention. It seems everyone we know is fighting some kind of bug these days so I can only assume his body was fighting off germs and he just became susceptible once again. This is of course in perfect time for photos on Thursday with grandparents!

Who needs toys?

Oh the weather outside is.....WET!

But we didn't let that stop us from having a colorful birthday celebration! Lauren was initially granted an afternoon off for lunch and a hair appointment for her birthday today but after being sent home yesterday with a migraine, she opted out and stayed at school to catch up on her workload. I was proud of her maturity in making such a decision but was disappointed we didn't get time away together.

I surprised her after school with birthday brownies and her friend's mom was able to fit her in tonight so her pink hair has returned.

All in all, it was a rocking good day!

Happy birthday Lauren from your biggest fans! We love you!