Friday's Letters {Link Up}

If you believe I have gone a little crazy with linking up lately... you would be correct.  I totally get in ruts when it comes to blogging and while I don't feel like I have too many unique things to say, I find myself drawn to writing anyways.  Thus the amount of prompts recently!

Dear week, You absolutely flew by!  Unfortunately, this wasn't because of the old saying "time flies when you're having fun!" - it was more along the lines of sleeping this week away.  Presley has been taking long afternoon naps lately and for whatever reason, I have been napping when she does!  As much as I love the sleep at the moment (and I have such a lack of energy during the day from staying up so late), I really regret it afterward.  I have it in my brain that Presley sleeps longer when I'm sleeping too (I don't know how true this theory is...) but I am really crossing my fingers and praying for a more productive week ahead.   

Dear taxes, Get ready for me to absolutely HANDLE you this weekend.  That's right, I'm doing my our taxes for the first time since... 2008?  Our amazing (and amazingly inexpensive) tax guy retired and we were so lucky to have his assistance over the last few years.  So since we are tight on money anyways, the best option right now is for me to do it.  Here's hoping I do an excellent job!

Dear Tony, You really amaze me and continue to do so over and over again.  You have just been such a rock-solid partner; I really feel extremely undeserving.  More than anything, thank you for the little things... to me they are so meaningful. You are my biggest cheerleader and I love you for it.  Namely, thanks for believing you married a good cook.  I know it may sound silly, but it means so much to me.

Dear Presley, I cannot wait for Spring, Summer, and Fall!!!  Winter has lasted long enough TOO LONG.  Your daddy and I put together a "Nice Weather Bucket List" and we cannot wait to get started!  Most of all, I cannot wait to see you crawling (and possibly walking and running) in the grass this summer.  You were so little last year that I don't think you even touched grass to be honest with you.  It will be so awesome to watch your little mind at work as you experience so many new things this year.  I love you so much!  Also, please stop bumping your head on everything.  It makes mama so nervous and so sad to see you cry.

Dear fellow bloggers, You are really rocking lately.  There have been a plethora of great reads lately and I consider myself VERY lucky to have found such great people to connect with.  Here have been some of my favorite posts lately:  Catlin over at Catholic Cookie Jar (I know, I'm always talking about her blogs!) just wrote on "Getting Out of a Spiritual Slump" and it's as if some of my biggest concerns were answered for me - almost step by step.  If that isn't God at work, I don't know what is!  And His timing is really amazing.  Now, it's just about finding the courage and will to get out of this slump..!  Next is Allie at Table for MORE.  She wrote a post of some really thoughtful "Mommyisms" of hers - whether they are opinions, tips, advice, etc... she shared some really great thoughts on motherhood and what works for her.  I am absolutely considering implementing some of these!

Dear Nicholas Sparks, While I wouldn't say "True Believer" is at the top of my list of my favorites of your works... you DID surprise me!  What stared off as a very slow read, I ended up flying through it and thoroughly enjoyed the book overall.  Next up is the follow-up book "At First Sight" and guess what?  Just as slow of a start as the last. *sigh*  Hopefully I can stick with this one...

Dear readers, Will someone please tell me what all this hooplah is about the Google Reader issue?  I've tried to read about it and find that I don't understand what this means or who this effects.  Thanks in advance!  Though I still don't understand it (fully) - I am getting the idea that everyone is switching from Google Reader to Bloglovin... so if you'd like to keep up with our happenings here on Chasing Moonlight & Roses - please Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Dear Mexican chocolate cake, You better be worth all the dirty dishes... here is the recipe for the cake (I did not go with the mascarpone frosting - but this frosting recipe instead).

A few pictures from this week:

That's all for now - hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Letters.

Dear Tuesday, I have high hopes for you.  I am looking forward to our weekly family Chick-Fil-A outing as if it's a breath of fresh air!  I am also hoping that I can make it a very productive day all around and keep that energy flowing throughout the rest of the week!

Dear Presley, I think my favorite sight in the world is the cheesy smile that you do these days... it warms my heart and soul.  You are so sweet and beautiful that it is hard for me to believe you are mine.  Your daddy and I are constantly taken aback by the things you do and your reactions to the world around you.  I just hope that I can return the favor by being an amazing mom for you because you deserve that and so much more!

Dear hubby, You are so great to me.  Thank you for all the sweet things you do for me and for Presley.  I know I don't tell you enough how much I appreciate it all.  Thank you for always entertaining my wild ideas and for believing in me!  I can't wait to spend our first special valentine's day together with our tiny valentine!  I love you two so much more than anything!

Dear body, I cannot believe it has been a year since I carried a baby inside of my body.  I cannot BELIEVE it's been a year since my labor and delivery.  I cannot believe it has nearly been an entire year since the moment when Presley laid on me for the first time, ever.  It doesn't matter how disappointed I am with the current state of my body... when I remember all the magic that came from these changes, I can't help but be in awe of everything that has happened in the last year and a half.

Dear Lent, I am so unprepared mentally and emotionally for you.  I have to be honest, we have not been attending church regularly AT ALL and that is the main reason why I am feeling so unprepared.  However, after talking to a friend, Megan, and my sister... I believe one of the things I need to take a break from for the next 40 days is Facebook.  It holds a large amount of my time and attention throughout any given day and I can't say that I've ever taken an extended time away from Facebook in the last six years (aside from my week-long honeymoon).  I just hope I am up for the task and that I can make the most of the time it frees up!

Dear junk, Please... vacate our house, PRONTO!

Dear February, This month we will celebrate surviving the first YEAR of parenthood.  We.  Survived.  And Presley will be ONE next week - which means we will be celebrating this upcoming weekend.  I am so excited to see our friends and family to have some fun!

Dear breastfeeding, Speaking of year anniversaries... I can't believe Presley and I are getting ready to hit the year mark in our breastfeeding relationship!  I swore if I made it to 12 months that I would quit the second that I had the chance - but the funny thing is I don't see that happening anytime soon.  I don't want to brag or jinx myself, but Presley has been in good health all year and I contribute a great part of that to breastfeeding.  She just had her first cold (runny nose, congestion, etc.) last week and it is hardly worth mentioning.  I realize how lucky we are and I really am nervous to break our breastfeeding relationship anytime soon!  (Breastfeeding moms, when did you end breastfeeding your little one?  And how was their health after the fact?)

Dear weather, I can't wait for the weather to warm up just a bit.  Today was bitterly cold!  And I can't wait to start complaining about the warm weather!!!  Spring is JUST around the corner... only five more weeks!

Dear nighttime, What a love/hate relationship we have.  I am exhausted throughout the day and so enjoy my alone time at night.  It's something that has been the same since I can remember and I don't foresee anything changing.  Any tips?

Dear life, You are certainly unpredictable at times and often catch me by surprise - but that is so much part of the beauty of being human; we are often surprised at how different our plans are from reality.

Dear bloggies, I can't wait to post about the family pictures we had made over the weekend!  They turned out so beautifully and we had such a fantastic photographer.  Until then, ENJOY your week!

Dear this past week,

Thank you for being awesome, once again.  I really don't want to sound like a talking cliche, but in the last week it has really started to feel a lot like Christmas in our house.  We got a few of our decorations up - which includes our tree - and I can't wait to crank up my favorite Christmas albums (this, this, this, and this) while we decorate the rest of the way!  Some of the happenings of the past week...

We took family Christmas pictures!
And Presley did amazing, as always, with family pictures.  I think this is the 4th year in a row that Tony and I (and now this year, Presley, too!) have gone to Portrait Innovations to take pictures for Christmas!  They always have such a great staff who are friendly and take such great pictures - not to mention the awesome deal they have for the holidays.  Ideally, I'd like to have more relaxed family pictures taken outside of a studio sometime, but for now - this works!  I'll try not to overload you with too many of our pictures & post just a few of my favorites...

Presley's legwarmers at Sparkle in Pink for such a good price and they are such good quality!

Went to the mall with some of our favorite gals!
As if I need any motivation to go shopping as it is, Megan said her and the girls were going to do some shopping at the mall so Presley and I met them out there!  The girls were so well behaved - despite them taking turns throwing their toys out of the strollers every few minutes.  And on top of the fun outing, I ran into my best friend's sister, Hope!  For the first week in a long time, we didn't get to have our weekly play date with the girls... so no picture of the three of their adorableness!

Got our Christmas cards ready to send out!
Not much to say there... just happy to have them done!  Even if people get them super early in the holiday season - for once I won't be waiting until the last minute!

We bought Presley's first Christmas present!
We didn't go out and do any crazy Black Friday shopping - but we did go to Walmart that afternoon and found a few blu-ray movies as well as Presley's first gift!  Tony and I have always agreed we wouldn't be huge on buying Presley a ton of things and going overboard for birthdays and holidays - but when I saw this I felt like Presley would really like to play with something like this - plus we got a really great deal on it!

Playskool Explore and Grow Step Start Walk n Ride

Made our holiday plans!
This includes booking some flights for the three of us - which I am looking forward to.  We finally cashed in our credit card points so we didn't have to pay a dime for our transportation this Christmas!  Woo-Hoo!  It also means we will be bypassing the awfully long car ride!!!  However, this will be Presley's first time flying - so we aren't sure how she will react but I am feeling optimistic about it.  Have any of you moms flown with your little ones while they could still sit on your lap?  If so, how did it go and do you have any tips to make the trip smoother?  She will be 10 months when we leave and I've heard that breastfeeding during take off will make it easier on her ears - so I hope she can relax enough to do that.  (When there is noise around her she wants to be up and investigating everything!)  Anyways, I'm just really looking forward to the holidays this year.  We'd like to stay put as much as possible next Christmas because Presley will be a little older and we will want to start our own traditions with each other at that point!  But that is a whole year away - who knows what our life will be like twelve months from now!!!

Did some secret shopping for my main squeeze!
Like I said in a previous post, I am the worst at keeping gifts a secret, especially from Tony!  I just get so excited about it that I end up telling him right away.  Especially if it's something he'd really like.  For example, the first two stocking stuffers I bought him I ended up giving them to him right away - I am that awful!  In the last week or so I've found 3 gifts for his stocking that I know he'll enjoy and they are still a surprise... so far.  Too bad we have nearly a month to go!

So, that's about it, really.  Hasn't been a terribly eventful week - but it was another wonderful week in the Duggan household!  Now, I'm going to work on my cousin, Breanne, sharing her labor & delivery story and see how she would feel about doing a guest blog... I don't know about everybody else but I absolutely love hearing birthday stories.  Anyways, I will leave you guys with my Nine months in - Nine months out picture!  I got the idea from Megan! How fun!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Dear this past week,

You rocked.  Thank you for rocking so hard.  Not only did you fly by, but you also treated me to Breaking Dawn part 2 with my bff last night.  In addition to that wonderful gem, all the new recipes I tried for dinners this week were a huge hit!  This included an extremely easy and delicious Baked Cheese Ravioli recipe that we just finished eating tonight.  Other awesome things this week included....

Presley adding "da-da" to her vocab! 
And Tony could not be happier... he was starting to take it personal!

Our weekly Ali, Presley, Megan, Alli, & Molly play date!
The twins will be ONE year old in about three weeks.  Where in the world has time gone?  They start going to day care around the same time!  Megan and I still talk about having our play dates and I hope we can turn that into a reality!

Could these girls be ANY sweeter?
L to R: Alli, Presley, Molly :)

Buy one get one free Starbucks holiday drinks!
(Mmm... peppermint mocha with half the pumps.)

Another awesome care package from my awesome mother-in-law!

The package she sent included these delicious dipping oils!
So excited to buy some french bread and go to town on these! ;)

Our Christmas cards from Cardstore.com!
And as bad as I want to post them on here... I am not going to spoil the surprise before I even send them out.  I highly, HIGHLY recommend using Cardstore.com - if you haven't done so already, check their website out!

Presley's first visit to see Santa Claus! 
She started crying as soon as Santa walked over to us.  So instead of resisting it, we just kinda went with it and picked out the picture that she looked most upset in.  Go big or go home!

Presley learning to wave for bye-bye!
(She learned waving for "hi" a few weeks back.)  Here she is waving in our birthday (which was Wednesday) video for my sister's fiance, Jonathan!



A visit to the doctor for Presley's 9 month check-up and shots!
She weighed in at 16 pounds 13.5 ounces and was 27 inches tall!  Her head (75%) and height (between the 50-75%) have followed the same curve as always but her weight has started to drop off her curve (25%).  We will go back in a month to weigh her to make sure everything is okay.



We found a stray dog
...and then less than 24 hours later we found her owners with large thanks to social media!  Facebook is so very powerful and useful at connecting folks.

Her name is "Wrigley"

Had one of the best days ever with Presley today.
I don't know what it was about today - if it was Presley's mood or mine or a combination - but I smiled and laughed and enjoyed myself so very much and look forward to so many days like today.




And last weekend, it was my birthday!  I am officially a quarter of a century old and I love where I am at in life.  I don't feel panicky about my age or negative about it at all - especially considering friends and classmates of mine that didn't make it to see these birthdays.  So everybody try your best to remember... birthdays and aging is nothing to complain or be bitter about!  On that note, I hope everybody can take a few moments and reflect on the awesome things that you encountered throughout the week... I will leave you with a few pictures from my birthday celebration at my favorite restaurant - RED ROBIN!