Books Read 2009

Seeing as how I've been cross stitching a whole lot more than reading lately, I don't think I'll finish another book before the end of the year. In that case, I'm going to post all of the books that I read this year. The grand total was 35 which is a heck of a lot more than I've been able to read in years past, mostly due to school. I hope the format isn't confusing. Some of these were rereads for movies or just because I wanted to. I put a ^ next to those ones. I also put a star * next to the ones I particularly enjoyed. I hope I can find as much time to read next year, although something tells me that with moving twice and having a second kid, that's not going to happen. If you have any questions regarding specific books or authors, let me know in the comments!

Alias Grace Coraline* Raising Healthy Eaters: 100 Tips for Parents Frankenstein^ The Green Book The Partly Cloudy Patriot The Blithedale Romance The Name of the Rose*The Wordy Shipmates The Lightning Thief* The Thirteenth Tale The Screwtape Letters^* The Lord of the Flies^ The Sea of Monsters The Titan's Curse The Battle of the Labyrinth The Hunger Games* The Graveyard Book The Fire Kimono The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World Angels and Demons^ Stardust Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince^* The Last OlympianFahrenheit 451 Keturah and Lord Death A Curse Dark as Gold 1984* The Time Traveler's Wife^* Possession Brave New World^* Twilight^ The Lost Symbol Catching Fire* New Moon^

Kids Do the Darndest Things

Seeing as I still have no camera, and won't for a little while, I'm going to try and entertain you with a couple of the things Kennedy has done lately. She is so funny and is turning into such a big girl! She's very creative and very smart and I love being with her everyday to see what else she will come up with.

Lately she has been treating Rosie, her favorite bear, as a person. This morning while she was eating breakfast she started smashing her banana into Rosie's mouth and saying "num num num" and "share!", as if to say, "Look mom, I'm a good girl and I'm sharing!" She also decided that Rosie was thirsty and said, "Drink!" while pushing Rosie's face into her cup of milk. Thankfully, it didn't spill. She wants her bears to be dressed up lately and loves to put hats on them and sit them in her chair. Yesterday she made two of her bears kiss. It's really funny to watch.

Yesterday we decided to let Kennedy play MarioKart with us on the Wii, so we gave her her own wheel and character. She knows how to move the wheel, but not how to make herself go. When the race started she was moving her wheel just like us and all of a sudden she started saying, "Go go go!" Then out of nowhere she said, "Yes!" as if she'd just gotten something awesome. We were laughing at her, but then she yelled out, "Crap!" We almost couldn't play anymore because we were laughing so hard. The whole time we were playing she kept yelling those 3 things. She can't play the game, but she certainly knows how to react.

No Pictures for Another Few Days

Dear Camera,

Oh how I miss you. We will be buying a better one on Thursday, but that's still not until Thursday and we have to wait for it to get here. Sad. You can bet I will be taking lots of pictures as soon as it arrives!

Picture lady

Dear Kennedy,

Thank you SO much for sleeping until 8:00 this morning! After 4 days of waking up right at 7:00 and then refusing to take a nap it was very welcome. Now, please please please take a nap today. That would make mommy a very happy camper.

Thankful mom

Dear Snow,

You are so pretty! I was wondering when you would get here and now there is plenty to go around. You do make it kind of hard to drive and get around, but I guess we'll deal with that.

Winter lover

Dear Tummy,

Stop being hungry! I am desperately trying to not get as heavy as I did with Kennedy, and you are thwarting all of my efforts. I think I'm still doing alright, but I am starting to get worried.

Lady who can't lose baby weight

Dear Jo,

Thank you so much for buying our piano! We've been trying to sell it for ages to no avail until you came along. We are happy to keep it for another few weeks while you figure out how to move it, but we are just as happy that it is sold. We'll be happier when we receive our money, but for now, I am content. Now we just have to start selling off some other things and make this apartment empty.

Glad not to have to move the piano

Dear Noah,

Thank you for kicking so much and letting me know that you're there. I would, however, appreciate it if you would not always kick me so hard that it hurts. Thanks.

Your mommy

How Do You Manage?

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much having a child changes your life. Probably because I'm soon to have another one in the house. I have no idea what it is like to juggle two children, but I figure that literally billions of people have done it before me, so I will survive and adjust. Some of the things that Kennedy has been doing lately have made me wonder how it will be when I have several kids in the house who are her age or older. There are some cute, and some not so cute.

*Every time I ask her what color something is she says "Yewow." I don't know why yellow seems to stick in her head, because she actually knows some of her colors, but that's always the first one out of her mouth.

*We now have to buy a new camera because yesterday Kennedy dropped ours and bent the lens. I guess that should teach me not to let a 19 month old handle technology.

*Kennedy is getting into the movie stage. She is always wanting to watch something. "Mouse" (Ratatouille), "Kitty" (Aristocats), "Meeno" (Finding Nemo) and so on. What if our kids all disagree on the movie that should be watched at any given time?

*Kennedy has been coughing so bad lately that it makes her throw up, usually in the mornings. So almost everyday lately I've had to change and wash her sheets, multiple blankets and her bear.

To be honest, I don't even know how I am going to manage to give two kids a bath everyday. At least Noah won't need a bath everyday for the first little while. I am looking forward to seeing him grow, just like I love watching Kennedy grow. I am definitely a little bit nervous, but I'm sure that it will all work out in the end. Especially since I still plan on having more kids. It will be hectic, but it was hectic when Kennedy came and we adjusted. I would never give her back and I am so happy that she is a part of my life. I know that Noah will make me feel the exact same way.

O Tannenbaum

Despite the fact that I couldn't keep anything down until about 1:00 yesterday, we went out and got our Christmas tree. We found a beautiful grand fir at Lowe's and had a great time decorating it. It's so puffy! It looks huge in our apartment and I love it. Brett's sister Jamie went with us and got a tree as well. They decided to attach it to her car by roping it through the windows without realizing that she wouldn't be able to get into her car afterward. So poor Jamie was getting shoved in and out of her car through the window. We now have a house decorated for Christmas and are ready for that holiday cheer!