Sunday, December 20, 2009

These are a few of my favorite things


JOSH IS FINISHED WITH HIS FIRST SEMESTER OF LAW SCHOOL!!!

Those of you who know our marriage well are aware of the fact that I'm only allowed one exclamation point per blog post...at most. All caps is an absolute no-no. There was just no other way to kick of this happiest of posts. Josh survived (and I'm sure kicked some major booty on) his first round of law school finals.

These are some things I am loving about the end of those pesky tests:

1. I woke up next to my hubby this morning
2. Ava gives a hearty belly laugh every time he enters our room and comes back out without a hefty book
3. His hair doesn't have twisted spots from 'twiddling' (although there is one adorable silver-colored one that sprouted this semester)
4. Two parent parenting is just SO much easier

Our sweet friends, the Browns, invited Ava and I over to make gingerbread houses on one of Josh's last nights of studying. Here are the silly girls working hard on their houses.



Getting down to buisness


The finished product


Playing a vintage Raggedy Ann board game


The Browns also treated us to some fancy desserts to celebrate the end of the semester.


We'd discussed our favorite desserts in Sunday school a few weeks ago.
Tiramisu for me
Turtle Cheesecake for Josh
Adorable sugar cookies for Ava

Amazing friends, thank you so much.


Since we will be leaving on Sunday for a whirlwind driving tour of Texas we decided to have our little family Christmas early. Here are each of our favorites:

A pink whistling tea kettle, love it


Josh has listened to me talk about New York City forever. It's a place I've never been but am extremely homesick to go to. I call it homesick because I don't know how else to describe my feelings. Perhaps Jay Z and Alicia Keys say it best, "The streets will make you feel brand new, Big lights will inspire you".
My sweet hubby gave me a trio of NYC themed gifts along with a promise to take me someday. He even addressed one of the gifts
To: BK from Texas
From: your Jay Z.
Those of you who know the song will understand the romance in the gesture.
Precious, and one of my favorite gifts ever.


My gifts for Josh were all about relaxing for the month. Some new Malcolm Gladwell books, a new Zelda game for his Nintendo DS, and some fun lawyer-themed cards (because to buy the print of this favorite The New Yorker cartoon was crazy expensive). I matted and framed one of the cards at Hobby Lobby. It works for now. The card reads, "You have a pretty good case, Mr. Pitkin, How much justice can you afford?"


Some yummy gifts for all three of us.


One of Ava's favorites - a laundry room for her dollhouse. Josh and I are extremely jealous of the Loving family these days.


She also got her first 'big girl' Legos and a Mrs. Potato Head.


I close this post with one of the best parenting tips I've ever heard. Some of you may have seen this before, and if you have I'm very mad at you for not sharing it with me. On Sunday morning at church our precious childrens minister, JJ, saw Ava and I struggling to put on her coat. She took a few moments to show us 'the flip'. After a few lessons from Grace, Ava is a pro at putting on her own coat. No frustrating 'I want to do it alone, but my arm is stuck' or 'No, this arm in this hole, no that arm, no your left one, no the other left one'.

The Flip
1st - You just lay the coat on the floor in front of your kiddo.
2nd - Have the kid stand at the end with the hood (or top if there is no hood).
3rd - Stick arms through the sleeves from the inside.
4th - Flip the coat over and on, the hood will automatically cover the head.
5th - Hit the road Jack 'cause you're ready

Still confused? Observe:



Merry Christmas from The Three 'Law'ketts!
(Oops, I used another exclamation point. Deal with it.)

5 comments:

Mom to Four said...

Woo Hoo!!!! Way to go Ava-you are a remarkable, precious girl is so capable of anything you put your mind to-you are going to do plenty of amazing things in your life-I am so honored to be a part of your life!

Lockett Family-I hope you have some precious family time over the next few weeks and get to make up for some of the time 'the law books' borrowed from you. Safe travels and see you when you are back.

Unknown said...

Autumn, you must write in a very safe place, Max Brenner, 841 Broadway, New York, NY. Union Square. It is chocolate heaven. Google for the web site. ALL the food has WONDERUL!!! (caps and exclmations)chocolate as an ingredient. They put cocoa in the vents for the aroma to permiate every inch of the shop and restaurant. A trip to New York is incomplete if it does not include this special place for chocolate lovers!
Sincerly in chocolate love,
Rebecca Pederson

Carrie said...

I too am an exclamation point addict. :) And a smiley face addict. :) I love that you want to go to NYC. I also love that one of your Christmas presents was a Yankees shirt. :)

Carrie said...

I am excited for you guys. :) I also have to say that I LOVE (in all-caps) exclamation points. :) I also have an addiction to smiley faces. I keep that out of my professional life, however. :)

Jaryn said...

I'm a little late on my comment but I l-o-v-e that Josh's tag said "To: BK from Texas From: your Jay Z." So clever and of course you would love being referred to as his "BK"!