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Dear Sullivan,

This picture of you was taken 3 years ago today.

This was right after you transformed from a slimy blueberry to a real life baby.  You were you from the moment I met you.  I knew I would have my hands full.  I secretly hoped I would be able to wrangle you into the perfectly behaved child that I always envisioned for myself but it was obvious you had other plans.

From the beginning, you knew exactly what you wanted and what you didn't want and no amount of coercion from me was ever going to change your mind.  And you have only grown more you as the days pass.

I have learned much about love, compromise and even letting go in the 3 years you have been here.  And I will continue to learn so much from you every day.  I look forward to it.  Even though sometimes I am not sure how much more 3 year old bravado I can honestly handle.

Currently, you are obsessed with super heroes, NOT potty training, drinking from big boy cups only, your Mama, marshmallows, saying something is "my favorite _____ ever", talking about what Santa will bring you, mini corn dogs, hugging babies, dancing, your cousins, Little Einsteins and your new Batman PJs.  You talk non-stop and sometimes I have to tune you out.  Whenever I try to get a video of your talking, you stop...so Sully.

I wish my tiny Batman the happiest 3rd birthday ever!  I wish you many, many more happy and healthy birthdays.  I wish for you to continue to be you and be the person you were meant to be.  I wish you new experiences and confidence and laughter.  I love you more than I ever thought was possible.

Mama

Batman Birfday

Finally, it was here.  The little Mister's Batman Birthday (Birfday, according to him).  We have been talking about it for weeks (ok months).  Anticipating the event and feeling like it was never going to happen, but then it did.

Sully's Auntie Gina really came through in the cake department.  It looked EXACTLY like the Pinterest pic I showed her and it was made from scratch!  Amazing!

 I made the Batman masks.  Sully loved them:)

 Little batman admiring his cake.

For the food, we had a "toddler buffet."  Mini corn dogs, chicken nuggets, homemade mac and cheese and fruit.  My Grandma was not impressed but I think everyone else was satisfied.

 Papa Don and Cousin Harlie.

 Cousin Artists.

And here is were the pics get weird.  No matter how much I tried, the lighting was not sufficient for no flash so I had to breakdown and turn on the flash.

 Cousin helper.

After the present opening, this may have been the highlight of his "Batman Birfday."  After celebrating and singing "Happy Birthday" to Daddy and Mommy this month, he FINALLY had his turn and he enjoyed every second:)

 And for an extra treat, all of us had a little Sully spit on our cake.

Check out the Batman creeper in the background.

Our last birthday pic as a family of 3!  Gets me all teared up and verklempt.  Bittersweet.

So glad my little Super Hero enjoyed his special day.

Bump update

Yup, it just keeps growing!

Here is the comparison from 7 weeks ago...

It is hard to believe I could get any bigger, but I still have a long way to go.  I will start my third trimester next weekend.  Although I am having some issues with the pregnancy, the baby is doing great and that is all that matters.

I am 34 years old today.  I am tired and uncomfortable, but I am happy.  Happy to be here, happy to have my life, my boy, my hubs, my family and my friends.  Even happy to be tired and uncomfortable.  Happy for the opportunities I have been given.  Happy for what is yet to come.  Happy.  Makes for a very Happy Birthday.

Photobook

I finished Sully's photo book before his birthday.  I am so proud of myself.  And yes, I was bawling like a baby when I wrote the text on the second to last page.

Check it out here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=ae8011995bc7be842a944dfefaeb216b&sid=0AbtWzdu0btmL0o

Here is his photo book from last year:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbtWzdu0btmLyw

Nesting...

I have been nesting for a few weeks now.  Mostly, it has entailed readying the baby room.  First I had to clean it out and relocate all the "office-y" stuff that was crammed in the closet.  Then I painted it.  Instead of one of the greens that I showed you here, I opted for a medium blue.  It is a Behr paint called "Swan Sea."  I didn't want my teeth to hurt every time I entered her room due to intense girly-sweetness so I opted for less traditional girl colors.

(Now if I was a real, professional blogger, I would have taken these in the daytime for way better lighting but I am not so you will have to suffer through horrible lighting.  My apologies.)

The focus of the room is obviously the alphabet wall.  Once I saw a few on Pinterest, I knew I had to make my own.  I love what it does for the small room.  I know I need 4 more letters and I will get them eventually.

Since you asked, yes, I did make the crib skirt.

 Clearly this area is not yet done.  No need to fret, it will be done soon.

A close up of some details...

 Already an adorable shoe collection, thanks to Kaiti:)

 Art work by Sullivan James.

 I love ribbon and hot glue and storage bins.

And one night when my pregnancy insomnia was running rampant, I took the liberty of embellishing some onsies...

And then there is the closet...

Lots of pink in there, I know.  I didn't think I would be so pink-crazy but I guess that is what happens when you are expecting a girl.

We are so excited!  We can't wait for "our baby" to get here.

New lens!

I just bought a "new" lens from a friend of mine who upgraded to a super fancy lens.  I was using a 50 mm 1.4 lens for pretty much all my pics.  I bought it about 3 years ago shortly after I got my camera.  About a year ago, I looked into buying an 85 mm lens but just could never pull the trigger and spend the money.  But when I found out my friend was looking to sell hers, I was all over it.  Here are some of the pics I took with it.

 I seriously love this pic of my brother's dog, Buddy.  So soulful.

 This one is slightly blurry mainly due to the fact that with three toddler boys, you don't have time to get the perfect shot.

Then, of course I had to get my favorite subject outside for some more practice.

Yeah, I am still practicing but I love it already and feel like my pics are instantly a thousand percent better than before.

For any of you Canon EOS users out there that want to know what settings I typically use, I almost always shoot in Tv mode since my subject is almost always the little Mister and he moves at the speed of light so I need the shutter speed to be fast.  I do adjust the ISO sometimes, especially if there is low light.  For the white balance, I just choose from the white balance menu depending on if I am in the sunlight, shade, inside, etc.  I don't use a grey card.  I NEVER use the flash.  And any lens I use has to be an auto focus.  Any editing I do is in Picasa because it is free!