A Friday Quickie

I'm not usually one for short posts, as any one who reads this blog ever knows, but right now I just want to get it down that we are in Baltimore. Cold, crisp Bal-tee-more. We've been busy this past week cleaning and packing and getting ready to leave our house until 2013. And now, with hours of flights (and a few delays) behind us, we have arrived. Dex is cuddled up in the only warm room in the house, Peyton is planning out our Tennessee Thanksgiving plans with family, and I am typing away with Grey's paused in the background and a piece of cake staring me down.

So for now, have a wonderful Friday evening and I'll be back with more soon!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Weekly Photo - 25

First off, a HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for Declan. He came in second place out of almost nearly one thousand babies, and I am just so touched by all the people who really were getting into voting. I realized how much of a stay-at-home mom I really am when this became all-consuming. Yeah,  not doing that again for a while.

Now we can get back to normal business. Get the house cleaned. Get in our groove. And then get our bags packed since we leave for our six week holiday trip in just a week and a half! Eep!

Cold weather, east coast, friends, family, and food HERE WE COME! (Speaking of food, we shared our last half cup of oatmeal for breakfast sans milk this morning three mornings ago. I'm telling you, everything was put on hold for this contest. Helllo life, and hopefully grocery store.)

So now on to a State of Our Declan address. Weekly photo numero veinticinco:

{9 month onesies. long-sleeve now for fall/winter}

As for new developments, huge milestones are on the horizon but not quite here.
The rundown:

His first tooth is a-knockin'. ANY day now I will feel the razor blade of death. 

Tummy --> Back Rolling is a go.

Back --> Tummy... not so much.

Got a little yogi on our hands. He doesn't want to roll because he is enamored with his feet. Hit mouth for the first time the other day. And he's learning that even the best attempts sometimes fall short.  

Exhibit A:

B:

And C:

Every day solo sitting gets better, but there still are tons of flop overs. He is super strong in his core but needs to get that pesky balance thing down.

 He wants to crawl, you can see him ache to get to where you are, but just a bit of rocking and appendage flapping is all he can muster.

He is noticing objects much more. Even though he only gets a bottle when I'm out of the house, he recognizes anything in a bottlesque shape as something he might enjoy. He also grabs the paci from our hands within a second, making it clear that he's got this, then proceeds to only get the side in his mouth. Sometimes this ends up in frustration, sometimes with him happily munching.

Fascinated by faces and anything on them, he will grab your lip, beard, or glasses (hence this week's photo.) He carefully controls his shaky hands as they go up, up, up and grab those dark frames. Everything is so gentle until - WUP!... in the mouth. 

Basically our little man is becoming more and more independent. So bittersweet. But isn't development simply fascinating?

So grow, brain, grow! 

(And please, grow a bit more to the right. That baby's flat spot needs a bit of help.)

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Back to Basics

{via}

Yesterday I had plans. Plans to post a weekly photo, update you on Declan developments, and basically just be a mom. And then I read a disarming post.

This writer discussed God and our country and our future. It talked about how we have food, shelter, and freedom because of our belief in God while those in bondage, starvation, and poverty lack this belief. It talked about how the votes we were casting to add "freedom" were really taking us to hell in a hand basket.

I was pissed. I sat here and wrote and wrote, deleting sentences and paragraphs that began my thoughts but didn't end them. None of my feelings were being properly conveyed. There were too many "and this'" "and that's" whizzing around in my head to catch them all and slap them down here.

So, with a baby strapped to my chest and a german shepherd by my side, I went on a walk. The air was crisp and the sun was fading. Neighbors were going around their lit houses preparing dinner. Garage doors were opening and closing, welcoming workers, parents, students, and babies home to warmth and comfort. Life was abuzz.

It was on this walk, seeing political signs and stickers all over, that I was comforted. I once again felt united with my fellow Americans. Sure, there were those that I outwardly agree with based on the name posted, but then there were others who had no stated allegiance or one that differed from mine. I felt proud to have the freedom to show our choices, use our voices, and come together to make things happen.

From what I see, we might differ, but in the end we are oh so similar.

We want security for our friends and family.

We want good health and help when it's lacking.

We want our children to grow up confident in who they are, know they are loved, and have strong values to guide their way.

We want education and knowledge.

We want freedom to voice our opinions, believe our beliefs, and follow what we think is right.

One of the beautiful tenets of this country is the freedom afforded. It is in this freedom that we get strength. To me, diversity is desirable. If we can learn from and respect our differences as a nation we will be that much mightier.

We have work ahead, but I do not think that it is as simple as needing to keep God in our nation. Countless groups of people have been held down by religion over time, so how 'bout we get back to the basics? We need more love, respect, and compassion. We need to be generous with our thoughts and understand other viewpoints. We need to realize that there are things that we don't agree on, but that many of those things are personal and have no impact on others. We need to focus on the positive, stop trying to control, and be giving to one another.

I feel that yesterday we took strong steps in this direction. I hope we continue on this journey, striving for the best for our country, for our citizens, and for ourselves. Let's show compromise and compassion, respect and no judgment. Let's work together and erase divisiveness. Hate and fear will get us no where. Let's bring back the love.

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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Our Halloween Takes The Cake

**Psst- It's day 4 of the contest and Declan has gone from 18th to 5th place because of ALL YOUR VOTES! 

Have we said how much YOU ROCK?!

Link: http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/1480162

It's not EVEN CLOSE to over yet though. We need to get him to 1st! So please will you vote again?

Remember, you can vote on every device and browser. 

I even have come up with a GREAT idea to help it get shared!! 

Think of three people who you know love babies, are bored at work, or just are crazy about anything internet or voting related. Got em? Now share directly with those three! Maybe they can do the same, and BAM! A gazillion votes. 

Or maybe on facebook? Or by email? Or on your blog!!

As warned in the beginning, I will be annoying this week (sorry), but he is SO close and there are just a few days left. So please just take a few seconds and click. 

EVERY VOTE COUNTS! 
And is SUPER, DUPER important. 

THANK YOU!

________________________________________________________________________________

Yesterday was busy. There ain't no beatin' round that bush. Was it busy in a life threatening way? No. Was it busy in a must-do or bad times will fall upon us way? Nope. It was simply a busy day filled with mama bear duties, fueled by a fierce focus to have my baby win a contest (have you voted, by the way?), and an even fiercer dedication to having a fully finished family costume. It was busy, and it was good. It was the type of day that ends with feet up, SVU on, and two spent parents passing wine back and forth. But above all that, it was Mr. Declan's first halloween.

Halloween with an infant is one of those in betweens where you want to dress them up and take them around because they are so gosh darn cute, but putting time, money, and effort into it? mmm. Not so much. It's not like they care that they are the most adorable thing since baby uggs. Excitement to them can come from a plastic Starbucks lid.

But there are the photos. Oh, the photos. So possibly needing pictoral leverage years from now, we decided his first Halloween was a must. In true Brunyate-Staebler fashion, I buckled down to a sewing machine, came up with a costume, and was sweating up until the minute we left. So glad I whipped it up, but the house is a'hurtin. If you've seen my cleaning motivation, please send it over my way. Thanks.

The drumroll please....

{we found that baby costumes are nearly impossible to keep in their proper places, hence the ankles and falling hooves}

Do you get it? I mean, DO YOU GET IT?!

Probably not, because it's kind of obscure, and definitely meant for big fans of a certain band. Here are a few more hints.

So Peyton was ________. He was meant to be holding a microphone, but at least sported his trucker hat.

I was Kitty-turned-Karen, definitely snazzed up a bit with my attire.

And little man Dex was a sheep with a ticket to heaven attached.

A few more seconds of pondering...

...

...

...

And with the suspense killing even me, I'll just tell you.

Peyton was CAKE, as in the band, I was representing their song "Short Skirt and Long Jacket", hence the clothes, and Declan was "Sheep Go To Heaven." AHHH!!

That probably excites me more than it does you, or anyone else, but we thought it was fantastically clever. (We don't get out much and really enjoy foosball, could that explain it??) I'm not typically one to dress up, but this was simply too good to miss.

{blurry, but what fantastic mother/daughter matching!}

There was lots of this:

Followed by this:

As it should be, of course.

The night ended with sugar induced shenanigans centered around a piece of cake. You know the saying, "Give a kid a box..."

So clearly, the whole night was a success. There were cuddles, costumes, and treats galore. Declan loved kid watching and was the sweetest little lamb I've had the pleasure of enjoying. And years from now we can threaten to unearth those photos when he's being all uppity. That's what this is all for anyway, right? ;)

How was your night of ghouls and goblins? Did you have a themed costume? Stay at home? Trick or treat with the kids dressed as a responsible mom? 

And I'm super excited to say...

Let the holiday season commence!

LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

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