Last night, Nathan and I hung out by ourselves while Jon went over to Clint’s house to watch the Alabama game. We had a great time. 🙂

He’s crazy and busy and always on the move, but he is SO fun. I am absolutely loving this age of actually playing with him! We laid on the couch and talked and played with his little piggies who kept having to go to the market. 😉

He’s gotten very into singing lately. I think it’s about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. He only sings words he knows, so in the car on the way to church Sunday he was singing, “Mine, mine, mine…Mommy…” Ha!

We met Clint and Leigh Ann for lunch after church on Sunday and had a great time. Such a great time that Nathan fell asleep on the way home – something he hasn’t done in a long time! He apparently found a sticker sheet in the backseat before he crashed though. 🙂

I have gotten up early every day except the weekend since last Tuesday and worked out, showered and done my devotion before Nathan wakes up. And guys, I am hurting. I went on a run yesterday morning (something I haven’t done in a very long time) and saw the sunrise.

I’ve known people who live for the sunrise. The pastor I used to work for back when I was interning would wake up every morning, get a cup of coffee and go watch the sunrise. Then he would come to work all thrilled about it.

Well, y’all. I would like to tell you that a sunrise is basically just a sunset backwards and not as pretty in my personal opinion.

Some of that hate could be due to the fact that my dream morning is sleeping until nine-thirty, drinking a few cups of coffee until eleven and then finally getting dressed and going to Cracker Barrel for peach pancakes. When yesterday morning I was up at seven, running by seven-fifteen and ate a bowl of Special K for breakfast.

New Year’s resolutions. Ugh.

I am finally getting the chance to catch up on here! My grandmother was in town for a week, which was WONDERFUL and I soaked up every second I could with her. And then my great-aunt and great-uncle came in town for a couple of days and left this morning. I loved seeing them again!

So much fun! Nathan has become quite spoiled being the complete and only center of attention. It might be a rough wake-up next week. 😉

Today was really the first day we have had at home in almost three weeks. So, we’ve been doing odds and ends, grocery shopping, cooking again for the first time since Christmas (thanks for feeding us the last few weeks, Mom and Dad!), and playing with our new Christmas toys. 😉

I have a MILLION pictures of this, but Jon got one of those little kid seats for in front of his bike for his birthday and we finally had a chance to try it this Christmas break. Nathan LOVED it!! He kept saying, “More!” and “Wide?” for ride. Too cute.

I got a new sewing machine for Christmas and it was SO fun to finally get it out and play around this afternoon during Nathan’s nap. This is a terrible picture but I finally learned how to applique! It might be a little addicting. 😉

And I’ve got a question for you: Jon and I have a Groupon thing for a movie and we haven’t been to the theater in MONTHS. Is there anything good out? Any movies you would recommend?? I was thinking New Year’s Eve looked cute!

This year has been one of the absolute FASTEST years of my whole life. Maybe because I’ve been chasing this silly around the whole year:

Can you believe this was a year ago tomorrow???

This year has had so much change for us – we went from having a five-month-old who just sat there making silly grins all day to a seventeen-month-old who will NOT sit still for longer than .003 seconds. 😉 We began referring to ourselves in the third person and “Nay-nen” started talking and didn’t ever stop.

Nathan became a seasoned traveler! We met Mickey for the first time and then went back and got incredibly excited at the Lion King musical.

Someone learned how to drive and freaked his mother out about how quickly he really would be driving.

We went to the original Starbucks in Seattle and we swam with the cousins in California.

We welcomed a new friend and played with old friends. 🙂

We had our first Mother’s and Father’s Days.

And one of us turned one.

We remodeled our backyard and took a break from working to go to the State Fair.

And the crazy, wonderful Lunch Bunch came into existence.

We went back out to California to have Thanksgiving with the O’Briens.

And then spent Christmas at home with the Mangum side. What a wonderful, wonderful extended family we have been blessed with!

This year has been the most exhausting, incredible, up-and-down year of my life. I’ve learned that being a mom is hard work. I used to think when Nathan was first born that the hardest time in parenting was going to be those first few weeks when neither of us slept well and both of us were still recovering and getting used to our new life. Looking back, I’m pretty sure those might have been the easiest days of being a mom. 😉

I’ve learned that my house will never be perfect, my writing will never be the single focus in my life it once was, sippy cups have a way of walking off on their own and onesies can be thrown away. I’ve learned that Jesus listens even when I have twenty seconds during the day to read my Bible and God is faithful even when I am not. I’ve learned that a child makes marriage harder but more wonderful at the same time. I’ve learned that the expectations I put on myself as a writer, mom and woman are usually higher than anyone else’s and I’ve learned to let a lot of those go.

I’ve learned that being a mom can be the most lonely job in the world and finding a wonderful group of friends to laugh with can make even the worst days better. I’ve learned that having a supportive and loving family changes everything. I’ve learned that even on days filled with tantrums, diaper rashes, teething and spills that stain the carpet, bedtime always comes eventually. 😉

And I’ve learned that when I think I could never love Jon or Nathan anymore than I do at that moment, the next day I love them even more.

God is so good. I’m so thankful for 2011!

Happy New Year from the O’Brien family! 🙂

This is SO late in coming! We’ve been laying around Mom and Dad’s house all week and Nathan has been totally and completely spoiled rotten. We’ve had the best time!

We went over to my parents’ house on the Thursday night before Christmas Eve because there was talk of a big snowstorm. Bryant’s sweet girlfriend, Michaela, came in town the week of Christmas and I was SO excited to meet her! Nathan adored her – I’m pretty sure he thought she was there for him. 😉

Christmas Eve night, we all got out of our pajamas for our gourmet dinner of prime rib, potatoes rolls and salad and we finished it up with freshly baked Christmas cookies! Even Nathan got to have some – he thought he was about the coolest kid around.

After Caleb’s girlfriend, Ali, got off work that night, we all opened our new Christmas pajamas from Mom and Dad. They all had A Christmas Story quotes on the shirts – best Christmas movie EVER!

Then we all hurried to bed so Santa could come visit and goodness, he did!! 😉

We were all spoiled rotten this Christmas! I’m SO very thankful for my amazing family – God has blessed me far beyond my wildest imaginings. What a wonderful week of hanging out with them!

Nathan has decided that his job is to “help” everyone do everything. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it is not. 😉

Helping Pops with the cinnamon rolls = Good.

Helping Pops clean out the closet?

Um… 😉

He’s also learned the “no” word and yells it at the top of his lungs when he doesn’t want to do something. Joy. Looks like our parenting has moved to a new level. 😉 Praying hard for God to give me patience! He is SO fun, but soooo busy and full of energy! I might have to switch back to my caffeinated coffee. 😉 He talks all. the. time.

Two days ago, my grandmother, Nama, came in town and we have had the BEST time with her so far. We went to the River of Lights, a Christmas light display here in town.

Nathan loved it!

I’m so excited to spend a few more days hanging out with Nama! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! What was your favorite part of the day?

Just in time for Christmas! 🙂

It’s my new e-novella, The Christmas Watch!

Remember, you don’t need a Kindle to read this – you can download a free Kindle app for your computer here (PC and Mac). There’s also a free Kindle app for your smart phone! 🙂

I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

Nathan has had a cough for almost three weeks. It’s off and on and some days are worse than others but it’s mostly at night. I think he just can’t shake it from his last cold, poor kid. 🙁 Last night, we tried putting a pillow in his crib to see if that helped his coughing, which scared the daylights out of me. I kept going in to check on him and make sure it wasn’t on top of his head.

We walked in right before we went to bed and he hadn’t moved since we laid him down, which is very different. He’s usually all over the crib! I thought he looked so sweet!

Today is Jon’s first official day of vacation and we are going to soak up every second!! So, what’s a better way to start Christmas vacation than to go meet Santa? Our favorite Santa is part of a Christmas Corral put on by a place that benefits a troubled kids’ ranch here in town. The Christmas Corral is SUCH a cute place!!

Nathan wasn’t too sure about Santa at first but he warmed up to him after playing around the adorable little Christmas village. Then he noticed that there were Christmas lights behind Santa’s chair and that made him a HUGE fan!

I think this picture is so cute!

My new Christmas e-novella, The Christmas Watch, is coming soon!! So excited for you guys to meet Lindsey, Marcus and Jason!

What’s your favorite Christmastime drink?? Please share the recipe! I got hooked on salted caramel hot chocolates last year and I’ve been itching to try something new! 🙂

There are nine shopping days left until Christmas.

NINE.

I do this every year. I plan on being done by now with everything all wrapped under the tree but as of this moment in time, I think I have one person halfway done.

Oy.

Which is partly why I haven’t written anything on this blog in forever. We have been crazy busy! I’ve got a new Christmas novella coming out (stay tuned!!) and more fun news that I can’t wait to share with you!!

Nathan’s new favorite thing to do??

Hang out under the Christmas tree looking at the lights. Ha!

We have to go under there at least five times a day. He’s such a goof. He points to all the tiny lights and says, “Oooo!”

We also tried letting him feed himself spaghetti out of a bowl this week.

My favorite part of this is that his bib says, “Cute but messy – just like Daddy.” Ha! I think he is a fan of spaghetti.

And maybe not quite ready for a bowl. 😉

Yesterday, I met Gammy and Aunt Cayce at the mall to get some shopping done and Nathan talked Gammy into taking him on the carousel (I don’t think it was very hard to convince her 😉 ). It was so cute. He had a great time!

Can you believe that it’s already been a year since this??

I’m excited to see what he does with Santa this year!

Okay, guys, what’s your all time favorite thing to eat at Christmas???

This last weekend, my mom was in the Las Vegas Rock N’ Roll Marathon. I am SO proud of her!! She did great!! 🙂

We had to send her a few signs just to encourage her along the way. I really wanted to go be there to support her, but staying in Vegas with a 16-month-old just didn’t sound too easy to manage. Particularly a BUSY boy like I’ve got!

Last night, we had our Lunch Bunch girls night and a Christmas gift exchange. Everyone was SO sweet and once again, we were locking up with the people who own the restaurant. 🙂 I love these girls and I love our nights out!!

We had our family pictures taken a little bit ago and we got the pictures back! Here are a few of my favorites. I just love them! Our fabulous photographer, Sarah, has taken all of the pictures from engagement on for me and Jon – she’s become a sweet friend. 🙂

The one below is my absolute favorite! 🙂

And my new favorite activity? Nathan absolutely LOVES to go look at the Nativity scene I’ve got up on our mantle. And he can even say “Baby Jesus”! I love it. Just love it. This is such a fun age!

Gammy came and watched Nathan this morning while I went to one of our local coffeehouses and wrote for several hours. What a HUGE help! I got a ton done and now that it’s nap time, I’m hoping to get more done still! Thank you so much, Mom!

What are your favorite Christmas traditions??

Today, we woke up to several inches of snow! What a fantastic way to wake up!! We ate a quick breakfast and then bundled up to go play.

Last year, Nathan was so little that he just cried the whole time we tried to take snow pictures. Things were a little different this year. 🙂

Ha! He LOVED the snow!

He went absolutely ballistic – he and Kody both. We had such a great time!

And maybe did a couple of snow angels and face plants. Ha! 🙂

It wasn’t great packing snow, so we didn’t get to build too much, but he did love throwing snowballs for Kody to catch. I sound very froggy in the video, but both of us have been feeling a million times better!

Snow! from Erynn Mangum on Vimeo.

Then it was time to come inside, drink some hot chocolate and take a hot bath before nap time. Such a fun day! I love, love, LOVE snow!!