Holiday season is officially here!

The holiday season is officially underway this week. Thanksgiving is on Thursday. Black Friday shopping on Friday. Christmas cards have been ordered. Ugly Christmas sweater party has been scheduled. Christmas decorations will be up this weekend. Days will be filled with family & friends. Hats and gloves are out and waiting for snow! I love this time of year!

I especially love that I will be sharing this holiday season with my husband and our baby.

Everything is sweeter when you share it with your child.

 

I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful for these things everyday, even if I don't take the time to say it out loud everyday. Good health, my wonderful husband, my beautiful baby girl, our warm home, my job, my family, my friends.

 

I hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving.

 

I plan on eating until I am going to explode and then cuddling and napping with my baby girls.

 

 



Odd shaped room

So as of right now, the sale of our house is at a stand still. The house is PERFECT for a couple or family just starting out, now its a matter of finding those right buyers who are looking for a home in the city.
Until then, I am going crazy trying to think of how to give us more room. Our living room is a really ODD shape. Its long and skinny just like the rest of the house. Right now we sort of have the room broken into two rooms. One half we have the couches and tv... the other half we have the computer and pack n play. See below. Behind the couch there is a pack and play, Tori's jumper and the computer.

This is where I need help.

 

We have decided to put the computer/computer desk upstairs in the guest room. This will save us room down here and honestly we don't really use the desktop computer much so as of right now, it really is just taking up space. That will open up one corner of the room significantly. Im not sure how much this will actually help us with re arranging the room though because it doesnt change the shape of the room lol. So as of right now, our next idea is one couch in front of the window, one couch along the right side (where you currently see the dvd case) and then moving the tv to the left side (by the fireplace).

 

If you see a way you think I can rearrange to make this room more open,

please let me know! I need help!

November is busy, duh

Seriously, I know I say this all the time. But life for the Rera's is busy. Busy and fast.
Last weekend Dan and I went to Scranton for a wedding for his dear friend Ryan and his fiancé(now wife) Erin. It was a freaking blast. When Dan was in college he was in a fraternity. The friends he made there are literally brothers to him. Alan, Harry, Regan, Trevor, Joe... he is so lucky that from his fraternity he has taken more best friends then most people get in their whole life, let alone just from college. Move onto me and Dan and I am very lucky and happy to say they treat me like a bff too. I laugh SO hard when I am with them all and I love seeing them interact. It is so sweet seeing Dan let loose, watching them all do what guys do.. you know, make fun of each other relentlessly. I have gotten to see Erin and Ryan(aka Regan) as they dated, going into engagement and now into a married couple. All of the guys were at this wedding. They had a HUGE bridal party and on top of that they are friends with everyone... literally everyone. I feel like everyone says that same thing about me and Dan but it is especially true with Regan and Erin. They are hilarious and seriously get along with everyone so they had a lot of guests who were  there to support them and ready to party. They had an awesome fireworks display, good food, lots of alcohol and everyone also stayed in the same hotel (which transportation was provided for) so even after the wedding the party continued. Not for me of course lol.. Tori slept at my parents house overnight, so we had a perfectly good sitter, we knew she was completely safe and taken care of... but that did not change that this mom cannot hang like she used to lol. I was one of the first people to go to the room and go to sleep after the wedding. I apparently missed an awesome after party at the pool lol. All I know is that there was pizza and wings there. So yeah, Im upset.
This past weekend Dan had a class because he is taking life insurance/financial advising classes right now. The school districts are so messed up financially lately and him being a gym/health teacher.. he wants a back up plan in case his district makes more teaching cuts. That needs a whole other post itself so that's all Ill say for now.
Since Daddy had class, Tori and I just hung out at the house Friday night and then Madelyn came over to hang.. Saturday Tori and I went to Dream dinners with Courtney and I showed Courtney a house... and then we went to Stauffers for a cheese festival they had. Dan and I have gone to it before and we are obsessed. I LOVE cheese lol and this cheese festival thing is free and you literally walk around to different cheese stands and taste test any cheese you can think of. Tori got to enjoy it this year and we met up with Meg (fellow cheese lover) and Ray. It was actually a lot of fun LOL.. which may sound weird because hello it was just us walking around at a grocery store.. but it was awesome lol. Sunday we did family pictures with my whole family at Rocky ridge park in York. It was me, Dan, Tori, my parents, Banana, Kenny, Sami, Stink, Summer, Izzy and my Mammy. My friend Mallory (who did our engagement, wedding and newborn pictures) and her bf Joe did our pictures and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM. Everyone looked wonderful, they did a lot of fun poses for us and although it was windy it was a pretty day. We got pictures of my Mammy with all 3 great grand babies, each family individually, my parents with us kids,with the grand babies.. and then all 3 girls together for pictures just them. It was ADORABLE. They were sitting on this blanket and Tori was eating leaves, Sami would yell, Izzy would laugh, I cannot wait to see how they turn out. The interaction between the 3 of them is amazing!

Have a wonderful week!

 

8 months

My baby girl is 8 months old! She scoots, talks a lot, loves her daddy, will grab anything within reach and has the best laugh I have ever heard.

 

She seriously cracks up when she laughs, her entire little face scrunches up and she laughs to the point of screaming. Mommy makes her laugh the most and I love that. I love that she associates me with safety, comfort, trust and laughter. Those 4 things have been some of the most important qualities I have wanted to give Victoria as her mother.

 

The sun rises and sets on this child. My child. My perfect girl.