:: Waking up Baby Brother ::

:: First you must knock on the door to see if you can come in ::

:: Then you scale the wall of the crib ::
:: I can do it, I can do it! ::
:: View from the inside...Cole's waiting, this is quite the process you know! :::: Oh there you are! ::
:: "He's right here Mama" :::: "It's a party in my crib" :::: "Mama, you should tell him it's dangerous climbing up to my crib like that" :::: "But I'm happy to see ya'll anyway!" ::

:: Talk about talent! ::

:: When you can't colour with your hands but with your feet! Ha Ha!!! ::

:: Before she was born ::

:: When we got the call in the middle of the night that the baby was on it's way, I couldn't sleep so I got up and wrote this little letter to "Baby Hungerford" ~ Babies are such a gift! ::

***

Dear Baby Hungerford,

Welcome to the world!

We have waited for your arrival for 9 months and now we get to hold you and see what perfection God made in you.

You are so loved; before you even had eyes, ears and a nose…you were loved. Your Mummy has taken all the necessary measures to ensure that you have grown to be the healthiest you could possibly be, and here you are as perfect as can be!

Mummy and Daddy could not have expected to fall in love so quickly without measure but now you are here; you are the most amazing treasure.

Welcome to the world baby, we can’t wait to know you and to see what plans God has for your life. Take life with all its twists and turns and run with it, you are part of a special plan knit together by God’s own hand.

Welcome to the world Baby
Hungerford ~ You are loved!

All of our hugs and kisses,
Uncle Paul, Aunty Shawna,
Cousin Jacob & Cousin Cole

***

Isn't she beautiful!

:: Victoria's First Hour ::

:: I didn't get too many photo's - however, here are the few that I did get from Victoria's first hour. She is a delightful little bundle. I was so wound up last night once we returned home I could barely sleep....okay, I slept well but not deep, I just kept on re-living her arrival ::

:: I'm an Auntie! ::

:: I am finally the Auntie to a very beautiful baby girl! ::

:: Victoria Patricia-Jane Hungerford ::

...made her appearance into the world at 7:48 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs 14 oz and 20" in length ::

:: Jennifer did an amazing job of birthing Victoria -- I think she even surprised herself at how well she did and how smoothly it went - Great job Jen! :: :: Congratulations Michael & Jennifer...

God's richest blessings on your sweet family ::

:: FYI : Jennifer's middle name is Victoria, hence the first name...Jennifer's Mom's name (My MIL) is Patricia and Michael's Mom's name is Jane, isn't that great, they were able to incorporate all three Mom's names - that is such an honour ::

:: Getting Ready ::

:: Waiting around home knowing that there is so much action going on at the hospital is killing me - so I made a little basket 'o love for Baby H ::

:: I'm going to head into the hospital as soon as I can as the contractions are now 1 minute apart - I can't wait to meet my new niece or nephew! ::

:: Almost Baked ::

:: Well we got a call in the middle of the night from my SIL (Paul's sister) Jen, that her water broke. She wasn't due until Jan. 25 so she has gone into labour early (lucky her!). She is checked into the baby hotel and is dilated 4 cm and handling the contractions well...Please pray that all goes well for Jen, Michael and baby H ~ I will update you once we're back from the hospital and have baby news :: :: Have a great day ya'll - I know we will! ::

:: I'm Special ::

:: Is it just me or do you have to have things folded a special way? Paul is a great help, in a not-so-helpful way...he tries to fold stuff the way I like it folded and to be honest, for a guy he does a fabulous job, however, I'm special. Nobody can fold my stuff, especially square items (towels, rags, tea towels etc.) like me, well I'm sure y'all can fold a perfectly perfect towel...but since I'm special - I like it done a certain way, they have to also face a certain way, be stacked a certain way and it drives Paul up the wall! But again I'm special and can be retentive about the way I like to have things folded because it makes me feel better inside.......Like I said I'm special (and I'm not meaning that in a good way, in case you didn't pick up on my dry humour!) ::

:: It's Official ::

:: My brother (younger than me by 18 months) and his beautiful wife of 1.5 years are expecting their first child ::

:: YaY for them (& us!) ::

:: They heard the heartbeat this past week and it was so much fun for me to hear how excited Trevor was. Life is truly a miracle that we take for granted and when someone realizes that it is a miracle it is such a blessing to witness! ::

:: Christy is feeling great and can't wait to be a Mum to her little bump ::

:: Joy to you and your little family T&C - We love you! ::

:: Ps. this picture was taken just before she found out she was pregnant...cool eh!?!? ::

Movie Review :: P.s. I love you

:: It's fabulous...go see it. It's got all the good stuff in it, great story, great humor (okay maybe a little sick in some parts, but I thought it was funny....that's not really saying much!), and it's clean!!! Really, I'm not joking, it is clean! ::

:: Seriously, it is a really good story, which will in one way or another encourage you to go home and do something special for that one you love....::

:: Go watch it ~ it's worth the $10.90! ::

:: Small Pleasures ::

:: FYI ::
To all you Bath and Bodyworks fans, they have their soaps on sale this week....such a great deal. I have yet to come across a person who doesn't like their stuff - they have fabby scents that make any stinky boy smell like roses, well maybe not roses but you know what I mean! If you get a chance to run down State side this week...make sure to stop in and pick some of this stuff up. They are great to have on hand for those unexpected little gifts, just cross your fingers and pray that the person receiving it doesn't think they stink! Okay, enough of that...take it or leave it they are on sale for a killer deal so enjoy!

:: Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies ::

:: This recipe is from one of my most very favorite recipe books...when in doubt just go to the "best of the bridge" - I hope you take time to try and bake these, your husband, children, friends and any one else who gets to them before you will love you for 'em! :::: The Ingredients :::: Cream Butter, Vanilla & Sugars, then add Egg :::: Add Cocoa & Milk ::
:: Add Flour & Baking Soda :: :: Now comes the Chocolate Chips ::
:: Drop onto cookie sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for 12 minutes ::
:: Voila -- you have super amazing Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies! ::

:: Here's the official recipe ::

1 3/4 cups Flour
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Cup Butter or Margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/3 cup Cocoa Poweder
2 tbsp. Milk
1 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts
( I didn't have any so I didn't include this)
3/4 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter, vanilla and sugars. Beat until fluffy. Beat in egg, then cocoa, then milk. Mix in flour until just blended. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on (it says greased cookie sheet, but I have a pampered chef cookie sheet so it's already seasoned, so I don't to that part). Bake for 12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

:: Enjoy ::

:: Chubby Cheeks ::

:: Cole and I had a date on Saturday and ran out to Costco...Just the two of us! Apparently he enjoyed this time without big brother because when we returned home he had nothing but smiles for me...ah he is such a breath of fresh air ::

:: Organizing the Garage ::

:: We attacked the garage a couple of weekends ago to get organized -- I was tired of parking my van in the garage and having to go through a maze of crap, when we have ample storage for our stuff in the garage on shelves, hooks and in cupboards! So here are the "before and afters" - Our boys were so good, Jacob hung (literally) in his orange beetle while Cole reclined in his swing ::

:: Before ::

:: After ::