Mr. Independent

Excuse me...who is this little boy and what did he do with my baby?

Friday Favorites...

I have seen this Friday blog idea around and thought I would give it a whirl...

Favorite Time of Day:  Morning snuggles with Aiden

AND...When the hubby gets home and Aiden runs up to him...and steals his car keys lol

Favorite Season:  SUMMER...no doubt about it!

Favorite Month:  April...It's my Birthmonth!  If you know me, you know I celebrate my Birthday all month long!!!

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas...especially now that I have my baby boy...it is so much better through his eyes!

Favorite Color:  RED

Favorite Movie:  Stepmom...hit so close to home for me at a time when I my Mom was very very sick!  Thanks God for liver transplants!

Favorite Celebrity:
Carrie Underwood

AND Reese Witherspoon

CLASSY AND CLASSY!!!

Favorite Place to Shop:

Favorite Kind of Music:  Country

Favorite TV Show:    Sex and the City

Favorite Thing To Do:   DUUUUUUH...Spending time with my family

Favorite Place in the world:  ANY Vacation spot

Favorite Hobby:  Working Out

Favorite Kind of Animal:  Siberian Husky...BUDDY

Favorite Place to Live:  Charleston, SC

Favorite Place to Vacation:  Riviera Maya  (so far)

Favorite Restaurant:  Longhorn Steakhouse

Favorite Thing to Cook:  any dip or munchie LOL

Favorite Chore:  Sleeping....OH that's not a chore...hmmmm cleaning kitchen

Favorite Make Up:  Clinique

Favorite Hair Products:  Don't really use hair products but I do wash my hair with Dove shampoo

Favorite Lotion:  Clinique

Favorite thing to blog about:  again...DUUUHHHH...MY FAMILY

Favorite Thing to wear:  Sundress

Favorite Memory:  Hearing Aiden cry for the first time

Just Perfect...

Aiden is now 18 months old and changing every day...literally EVERYDAY!  He is becoming more confident and trying new things...sometimes it is scary!  Where is my baby boy?  It seems like the moment I became a mother I noticed this silly competition between moms...and I have noticed that some moms would rather blantantly lie to me than just admit some small insignificant truth about their child!  For example, "little bobby has slept through the night his entire life"...really?  Well Aiden didn't sleep through the night until he was 16 months old...yep, that's right 16 months old...not 1 month, not 6 months, he was 1 year and 4 months old...Does that make me a bad mom...HA!  Does it matter!  I have found myself shying away from friendships b/c in my honest opinion WHO CARES????  What is really important?  Little Bobby knows his alphabet forwards and backwards, he sleeps until 10 am everyday, rides in the carseat with no problem, knows exactly what he can and can't touch in the house and he can say supercalifragilisticexpealidocious in 35 different lanuages! AWESOME...well Aiden loves to hide the remote...a month later it is still "hidden", he farts in the bath tub and thinks it's funny, and loves to be naked!  Sometimes his clothes are wrinkled, his hair is a mess and he refuses to let me change his diaper!  But he still snuggles, his giggles are contagious, he loves his Momma, Daddy and Buddy, AND he is healthy, happy and ALL MINE!!!  Here's the thing...to me the truth is PERFECT!  No need to embellish or lie.  Aiden may be "developmentally" ahead, behind or right where he belongs...who knows?  Who cares?  Who's counting?  Over the past few weeks I have been reading several blogs that I feel have really brought me to such a great place and reminded me, at the most perfect time, what is REALLY important in life...one in particular is about a little 5 year old girl with brain cancer....it's heartbreaking but at the same time inspiring...her mom put it so perfectly when she said..."I also know that we will never, EVER be the same in many good ways.  I think I will forever appreciate all the little happy moments life has to offer. I don't think I will ever be tied to my calendar so closely again.  What my kids wear, what their hair looks like; none of that matters anymore.  There will be lots of kisses and lots more hugs around our house.  Birthdays will be celebrated a little longer and Christmases will mean so much more.  I know I will enjoy the sun a little more, spend more time outdoors and every moment I can with my children just enjoying life."
So the next time I begin to feel like I have been thrust into LALA land and The lies of a perfect child, I am going to look over at my little boy and THANK GOD that he is PERFECT just the way he is...naked, Dennis the menace hair,       remote in one hand and ketchup bottle in the other!  
If you have a quick minute...say a prayer for little Lucy...I will link to her Mom's blog below!!! 


  http://erikandkatekrull.blogspot.com/

Where ya been???

Not that I have a bunch of readers BUT....sorry I haven't blogged in a while!  To be perfectly honest, we have just been too busy enjoying this beautiful weather here in Charleston, SC, playing outside, meeting new friends, attending gym class and story time and today we start SWIM LESSONS!!!  Here is a glimpse of what we have been up to...

Learning T-Ball

Feeding the Animals at the South Eastern Wildlife Expo

Touring the gardens at Magnolia Plantaion

Making BIG decisions at Daddy's office...

Lunch in Hilton Head, SC

He takes after his Momma...

Boating on a beautiful FEBRUARY day!

This is the life...

Pops teaching Aiden to drive the boat!

So Gentle!!!

There really is a lot going on beyond all of this fun we are having...the new "slate" is out for Leif's  next duty station, we will know our next ship but the end of March, we are planning a big party, going to Disney, going to Mexico and planning for a whirlwind 8 months with the Navy starting at the end of September!  I will definitely be putting some of my thoughts up as things start getting CRAZY!!!!

12 Valentines...

16 Years Old...

Picture this...you're 16...there's this guy!  Yep THAT guy!  Ya know the guy that you think would never ever want to talk to you!  But you take a chance and you maturely tell the whole world that you "like" said guy!  No, you don't tell him...that would be silly!  You just tell EVERYONE but him!  It has to work!  Well, IT DID!  12 years later, I am married to THAT guy and we have an amazing 17 month old boy!  The road to 12 years later hasn't always been an easy one but we had a plan and we worked toward it and here we are!  Sometimes I look at my life and really can't believe that this is MY LIFE!!!  I married my high school sweetheart...we are in love, we live in a nice home, we have an amazing son and a beautiful dog!  I am so grateful and thankful for this amazing man that I get to call my husband!  He is funny, hardworking, disciplined, selfless, giving, inspiring and so darn good looking!  Sometimes he is a mess, he leaves his stuff laying around, turns the TV up way too loud, laughs at his own jokes and tells really long stories...but it really makes life TONS of fun!  I truly could not ask for a better man in my life or father for our son!  Leif has the big things nailed down....ya know he proposed with a pretty fat rock, he buys me amazing gifts, he encourages me to buy new clothes when I have "nothing" to wear, and truly treats me like the princess I always knew I was...but what makes him even more amazing are the little things...the way he covers me up with an extra blanket in the morning, he always lets me have the last bite of everything (the barbie bite), he memorizes my favorite songs and sings them to me, he laughs at my jokes, he makes me a water before we go to bed, lets me sleep in on the weekends and is the father that ever mother dreams of for their child!  To my amazing husband and my best friend...this life that we have built together is more than I could have ever dreamed of!  We have been through so many trying times and have weathered many difficult storms yet we manage to come out on top!  I am so proud of the relationship that we have built from the ground up...we have managed to turn our young 16 year old love into a real committed "grown up" love and yet somehow we still laugh as if we were 16 years old with out a care in the world.  Sometimes I grab a glimpse of you out of the corner of my eye and I think..."WOW, I am so lucky"!  Thank you for making life, love and forever look so bright!  From our wedding vows to the inscription on our rings, those words say it all...I will love you forever because forever never ends!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! 

18 years old...

"Cheering" me on...

An officer and a gentleman...

I DO!

FINALLY...

Worth the wait...(this was minutes after delivery, I look scary)

Our family...

On the road to forever...The Gunderson's!

Fabulous Friday...

I am convinced that my life is fabulous...I have a great family (they never fail in the drama/entertainment department), a wonderful husband and son, a beautiful AND well behaved dog, a nice home, food in my fridge, a warm bed, good health, and great friends.  We are pretty privileged here in Gunder-Land...NO, I don't have a chef, maid, chauffeur, or stylist but I DO have a PCM...what is a PCM you ask?  Well it is a Personal Coffee Maker, of course!  My PCM not only enjoys making my coffee for me but he is also extremely adorable!  Eat your heart out millionaires...money can't buy you this....

Thankful Thursday...

There are so many things that I am extremely thankful for...may I share just a few!

This Man- Not only is he extremely attractive and the love of my life but he is also my best friend, my personal comedian, an amazing father, the best husband in the whole wide world, my biggest fan...yes I could go on and on but in the words of my good friend Jordan I will just say he is thebomb.com

This little boy-all I can say is that I hit the jackpot with this little boy!  He is beyond the light of my life...he is my reason for smiling and has brought so much joy into our lives!  I strive everyday to be worthy of those adorable smiles and giggles that he gives me!

This Lady- Not only did she give me life but she would do anything for her kids and she has and still does give so much of herself to so many others!  I have the best Mom in the whole wide world and she is the best Grammy to her grandkids, too!

These Girls- I truly have an amazing core group of girlies that have been there through thick and thin...they have been there for all of the most amazing moments and have been there for all of the heartbreaking ones too!  They call to just say "hey" and they answer the phone at 3:30 a.m when I am devastated with heartbreaking news!  We laugh together and we cry together!  THANKS LADIES...I miss you more than I can put into words!!!

yes...I am pregnant in this picture!

To all who serve- Including those that I can personally call my friends!

Yes...these men serve our country...but they don't drink on the job...I Swear!  They deserve a break!