Oh my, how time is creeping up on me

So lately my back has been hurting. My lower back. It hurts when I sleep and when I am sitting. It especially hurt today as I was sitting on the living room floor trying to wrap my in-laws' Christmas presents. I got to thinking about why it is hurting and Matthew and I have come up with a reason. Well, several reasons. I'm old. I'm overweight. I'm out-of-shape. I'm sedentary. Well, if that's not enough to squelch the Christmas spirit, I don't know what is. But it's sadly true. And so I started looking for some pictures to see how much I've changed over the years. It's kind of sad, really. Because not only am I heavier now, I'm just plain older. Even just a few years ago I look younger. Because I was. Having kids takes its toll and not just on your stomach and hips. The stress of having a Down syndrome baby and his having open-heart surgery takes its toll, too, even more than I had thought. Because now I just feel old and tired, frumpy and lazy. I know, I know. The solution is easy but implementing it is not. At least let me wait until the new year. Then I'll guilt myself into it. For now, some pictures.

Look at me approximately ten years ago. Woah, check out those furry eyebrows. But so young. This was toward the end of my college days on a statue in Coolidge Park. It had just been built, and we were having fun as kids do.



This was late November 2001 at Tavern on the Green in NYC. Even seven years ago I still looked like a kid. This was our one-year anniversary trip. Little did Matthew know when he planned it months before that NYC would be much different post 9-11. Still a great trip, though. It started my love affair with the city.



I took this picture, as if you couldn't tell from my outstretched arm. If we look tired it's because we were. We were in some random arcade in Japan. I like my eyebrows in this picture. But I think I look quite a bit younger here. Probably because I was. And about 30 pounds thinner. That might have something to do with it. This was 3 1/2 years ago in the summer of 2005, right before I got pregnant with Andrew.



Okay. Enough nostalgia. On with real life. Here are Matthew, Andrew, and Benjamin just this morning. Matthew is reading a book to Andrew about the first Christmas so that Andrew can put some stickers on a nativity scene.



Benjamin is really into it. LOL
Matthew let Andrew put the stickers wherever he wanted to.



Check out B's side pose. I mentioned this in my last post. He likes to hang out on his side. Silly baby.

Who knew it would be so darn hard to get a toddler to stand still and hold up a piece of paper so that his father could take a picture of it? ARG!!

Mommy knew what to do. Lie down on the couch!

Check out the crazy manger scene. I'll bet you didn't picture the first Christmas quite like this. All the stars piled on top of each other. Not to mention the people. Looks more like a frat party than the birth of Christ. Gotta love the flying cow.

Ooh, ooh, here are a few pictures of our new dining room table and chairs!! It's funny. I told Andrew we were getting a new dining room table and he said, "Where's the old one?" I had to remind him that we didn't have an old one. We do have a small kitchen table with four chairs in our eat-in kitchen, but we've never, in our eight years of marriage, had a real dining room table. But now we do! Pardon the mess and clutter of the room. A lot of this stuff will be moved into the "formal living room" once the Christmas tree is put away. I bought this table and eight chairs at JCPenney on Black Friday for a great deal. Then we ordered a piece of glass for the top. Yay!! (Laurie, you and Ben will be the first people to eat on it next Friday!! We haven't even eaten on it yet!)

Tonight after his bath, Andrew wanted to say goodnight to Namma (my mom). They were having a heart-to-heart conversation.

"Namma, what are you doing?"

"I'm wrapping presents."
"What are you going to do after you wrap presents?"

"I'm going to go to bed."
"What are you going to do after you go to bed?"

"I'm going to get up and go to church."
"What are you going to do after you go to church?"

"I'm going to eat lunch."

At which point he turned to me and asked, "Are we eating lunch with Namma tomorrow?"

Sorry, bub. Not tomorrow. :)

A few days ago eating ice cream with Yampa at their house.

Sorting shells this afternoon in Namma's window seat. Mom has taught him five categories: extra small, small, medium, large, and extra large. They have sorted potatoes and shells recently. My mom said that when she first looked at buying this house she could just see her grandchildren sitting in this window seat. She didn't even have any yet. (I was seven months pregnant with Andrew and Michael hadn't even started dating Edie yet.)

Benjamin on the floor of Namma's house tonight. He looks older to me here! But it could just be because he's working on a poopy diaper. The first one in about a week. Way to go, Benji! :)

That's all from this house. I am looking forward to next week! Matthew is only working 1/2 day all week. YAY!!!! I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

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