Getting Congratulatory Cards from the President

Did you know that you can get a congratulatory card from the current President and First Lady? I didn't and wish I knew in time to get one for my first son. To those unaware as I used to be, there are select events that the White House will send a congratulations card for.

They include:

- birth or adoption of child (can be sent up to a year after)
- birthdays (veterans, 70+ or civilians, 80+)
- wedding (send after the event)
- retirement (minimum 30 years on job)
- eagle scout award
- girl scout gold award
- bar/bat mitzvah or equivalent religious occasion

You must be a U.S. Citizen in order to get a response.

Additionally, you must include certain details. Those include:

- name and address
- title to address to (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., etc)
- age or years of marriage
- your name and phone number (daytime hours)
- specific mailing instructions, if any
- exact date of occasion, if applicable
- for weddings be sure to include married names of couple and new address, if applicable

The White House has announced that there is a backlog of requests so you should expect a wait. I mailed mine out only recently so I cannot give an estimate at this time. I know that some women who had babies born in May mailed theirs out and had around a 2-3 month wait period for a reply, but it did come!

This is not limited to President Obama's term. It's traditional for whatever current President is in office to do. For example, my oldest son would have received his card from President Bush.
 
Mail your information to:

President Barack Obama
White House
Greetings Office Rm 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington DC 20500

My son was very excited about this. We've only recently began talking about the concept of a President. The election seemed a perfect time to begin discussing how we pick our leaders and what their jobs actually are. He has no bias about the politicians yet (oh, treasure it!) and really enjoyed the idea of sending mail to such an important man.

Cole even signed the letter.

I'll update this post with a picture of our congratulations card when we receive it!

Update on 11-28-2012:

We mailed off the letter in October and received our reply the day after Thanksgiving. So about a month turn-around for time. I'm thrilled to have it and Cole was ecstatic.

My baby is not so much a baby anymore

My Cole is five today. It boggles my mind that this child is already five years old. You hear the tired old cliches about blinking and they're an adult already and it's starting to seem like there may be some merit to them.
 
It's hard to believe that this tiny little six pound baby has added 30 additional pounds and a whole lot more height.

This whole parenting journey has been very bittersweet for me. Cole and I, we have our ups and downs. He drives me bonkers at times. He can do some seriously obnoxious things, he doesn't listen all of the time, and sometimes -- he can do things that are borderline dangerous (especially as it pertains to his baby brother); but overall, where it counts, he's a fantastic child.

He's smart. He's full of life. He lives to learn, touch, explore, and make sense of the world around him. He is turning into an inquisitive, opinionated, confident little person. He has feelings and thoughts, complex ones. He has learned how to express those feelings and ideas. He's moved mountains.

I have to remember to reward the good behaviors, the good attitudes. I'm not there yet. I recognize how much effort it is for him to go from stomping, yelling, or crying when he's unhappy to taking a deep breath, talking in a good voice, and expressing himself -- even if the words he uses to express himself aren't top notch -- they're effort and in the right direction. Cole is constantly working to improve himself -- I owe him the same.

He still makes me smile daily. He still hugs me daily. He still makes me feel warm inside and squishy. We have a good time. We talk. We read. We cook together. We race each other to the car. We do menial tasks together such as the dishes or the mail retrieval.

Somewhere in the mix of all of this -- my six pound baby who was 100% dependent on me for his life has turned into a very independent man-child. It has been challenging for both of us. It has been fun for both of us.

My sweet boy has given my life extra meaning. My sweet boy has directed my future career. My sweet boy has affected me all throughout my life in the last six years.
 
November 21st, 2007  - 0 Days old

November 2008 - 1 Year Old

November 2009 - 2 Years Old

November 2010 - 3 Years Old

November 2011 - 4 Years Old

 
November 21st, 2012 - 5 Years Old

Here's to another challenging and rewarding five years. I'd be a liar if I didn't say I hope the challenges slow down a little bit.

Our Summer Months

We had a summer break from school together as a family. Collin was born just a week before finals for the semester that we were attending. The fall semester didn't start until late August. In the break between spring and fall, we did much together as a family. Unfortunately, I do not have much by way of photos to detail that.

We kick-started June with taking photographs of Collin baby. My mother made the turtle beanie and back for baby boy. Unfortunately, he didn't cooperate particularly well for taking many photos in it.

It still turned out pretty cute. I love seeing those slender limbs poking out underneath it.

My mother also made the little bird beanie hat. I picked up the golden basket over a year ago for books in Cole's reading nook. I just padded it with a pillow covered in a neutral case. I added button eyes with cute buttons I found at JoAnn's.

I love the baby bird photos.

Cole took swim lessons and loved them! The summer of 2011, he enjoyed swim lessons but hating submerging his face in the water. This year, it wasn't even an issue. He was always eager to run and leap right in. He got a whole 20 days of swim lessons in across the summer months.

Cole was really sad when swim lessons came to a close. My sister lives at a complex with an awesome pool that is largely unused. We made it a weekly trip for the rest of the summer and the beginning of Fall to visit and swim for a large portion of the day.

We found that our baby slept better and for longer stretches with white noise, but even with white noise -- big brother was regularly waking an over-tired little guy right up. The solution? Noise cancelling headphones with the volume set low (30 decibels is considered the maximum level for infants). The earphones being padded kept them from hurting his head. The headphones also seemed to help when he was getting overstimulated. He gets fussy to this day after a lot of play and stimulation and enjoys laying down with some white noise playing. He'll just stare and zone out. I think it gives his brain a rest and helps him regulate again.

The boys together in July. Collin has really started to fill out. It's such a contrast to Cole, who was very small for his age. I kept some clothing that Cole had as a baby and Collin is months ahead in terms of growth compared to Cole (an example: Collin outgrew at 4 months something that Cole wore at least as late as 8 months per pictures).

Cole is such a proud big brother. He loves being with his little brother and showing him off to others. I hope that never ends.

We really spent August lounging around and enjoying ourselves.

It was some lazy days spent playing with the baby and with each other.
 
Lots of trips to see grandparents. Lots of fun on the playground outside our complex.

August also marked the end of an old, red floral sofa and mint green loveseat (and the couch covers!). It marked the beginning of our most expensive piece of furniture to date.
 
You get a sneak peek in this image

and this one too! I usually don't keep blurry images but this one makes me giggle.

We liked August. I hope August 2013 is even better.

Introducing Baby

I'm kind of back and with a new addition to our family! How very lazy of me to disappear after doing such a good posting year in 2011. It's the tail end of 2012 and I've got two posts to my name. Ouch.

Well, I suppose it all works out. I plan to post photo peeks into our months lost for memory's sake and have a couple of spin-off type posts relative to changes in our home and some bordering on crafting territory.

 I had Collin on May 5th, 2012 at 9:05pm. He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches and just perfect.

We've had an exciting time together as a family. B and I took the summer semester off which enabled all of us to be together and get to know each other. Cole was able to take swim lessons (three sessions totaling 20 days) during July/August and loved it. He's grown so much in swim readiness. I truly believe next summer, he'll be moving into formal swimming lessons with the breast stroke style swimming.

 

Cole has adapted beautifully to being a big brother. He has handled it so much better than I could have ever hoped. He has his moments of jealousy and his moments of frustration with some things that Collin will do now that he's becoming more grabby, but overall -- the boys love each other. Cole needs only to smile across the room and Collin is instantly grinning and laughing. He sure does love Cole.

I do miss the tiny squeaks and sounds that newborn Collin made. I miss how snuggly he was. How still he was, but I'm loving every moment of more interested and grabby Collin too.

My mother's day present from the boys. Isn't it just beautiful? I'll be writing a post about the seller and linking up to her for anyone interested in getting a piece from her.

College Notes:

School started again for B/I in late August and we've been able to swap off our scheduling so that one of us is able to be with Collin, reducing the need for childcare. I've had to cut down from 12 units to just 9, but am managing really well.

Our semester ends in mid-December and we'll take a month off before starting it again! Even at my part-time rate, I'm looking at less than two years of schooling. I haven't been doing strictly AA requirements for school. I've been taking extra courses for specialty type certificates. I need to visit with a school counselor to make sure that all of the specialty courses I've taken are transferable towards a BA, which I believe to be true. Junior college is just so much cheaper than a university so everything I can do at a cheaper college will make my education much more affordable in the long run.

Cole will be entering Kindergarten in the 2013 year. We have entered into a lottery for a January start date at a Montessori school but we'll be applying to two Montessori campuses for a regular start if he doesn't get selected in the mid-year lottery. My boy is turning 5 on the 21st!

Family Photos - Summer 2011 (Image Heavy)

 We got our photos back from Trizza. I cannot preach enough about how awesome she is to work with. She's got an eye for a pretty picture. She's very patient and candid, but open and friendly to posed shots as well. We got the opportunity to meet her husband, new baby, and three girls. They're such a beautiful and sweet family.

The best part about Trizza (aside from her brilliant work and great temperament) is her pricing. It is so reasonable and affordable by professional photographers. I've seen sessions with less offered for so much more from area photographers. She gives us at least 25-30 proofs on a disc, along with copyright release. It's fantastic.

You can find her blog here and her facebook page here.

Without further talking, here's a lot of picture 'porn' from our beach session. We shot at China Beach in San Francisco.